In the news: The werewolf/dogman stuff is still steadily rolling out and gaining momentum. A new crop circle cost the farmer some significant damages. And, an excessively exaggerated “haunted” location now has another kooky claim.
Tales of spooky encounters with “Not-deer” appeared decades ago but have evolved to fit modern cryptid ideas.
A mishmash of monster mentions. A quick book review, a link to info on the latest Bigfoot hoax and dogman programming, and an upcoming must-have volume for pop cryptid fans.
The popular origin of the griffin as inspired by Protoceratops dinosaur fossils is questioned. Can we ever really know for sure if there is a connection?
Professor Ronald Hutton gives a fantastic and entertaining lecture on why we have dragons worldwide.
Pop cryptids items: Representation at cryptozoology conferences, the EFF incorporates cryptids into their promotional drive and the passing of a well-loved author and artist.
Cryptids have increasingly become associated with location and entertainment and less connected to the failed scientific endeavor of cryptozoology. Long live the cryptids!
Dogs were caught on camera doing surprising damage to cars. It’s yet another reminder that we do not need to invoke monsters as the cause of mysterious situations.
Weird hairless animals attract morbid attention. Is it a mutant? A monster? Well, it’s most likely an unfortunate local animal who fortunately left remains for us to photograph, gawk over, get grossed out about, and share around the world on social media.
A review of Chasing American Monsters: Over 250 Creatures, Cryptids, and Hairy Beasts by Jason Offutt (2019). I’ve been thinking a lot about cryptozoology lately. While consuming content about many other subjects, I see excellent examples in cryptozoology to illustrate public attitudes towards and understanding of science, paranormal thinking, colonialist themes, misperceptions about evidence, media… Read More »
Bigfoots and their other monstrous cohorts were presented to U.S. audience in a serious television documentary for the first time in 1974. The outing was so successful that it still is notable today. This documentary, its remixes, and a few other pieces of media gold from that decade paved the way for ideas of Bigfoot/Sasquatch… Read More »
Every once in a while, I remember one of the books from my childhood that I recall with great fondness. Thanks to the Internet, I can usually find a blurb on what I had long discarded or gave away. I have been trying for a while to locate a kids activity book about monsters that… Read More »
A review of The Monster Book: Creatures, Beasts and Fiends of Nature by Nick Redfern. Cryptozoology literature has a problem.
Originally published as Supernatural Creep: The Slippery Slope to Unfalsifiability for my column Sounds Sciencey on csicop.org May 29, 2013. I’m taking a step beyond sciencey with the following topic. What happens when science doesn’t cooperate with your subject area? Researchers of unexplained events may get frustrated and disenchanted with the scientific process when the eyewitness accounts they collect are too weird to explain via… Read More »
The results of the 2018 Chapman University survey of American Fears have been released and they suggest that America (that is, even well-educated America) is even more accepting of the paranormal than in the past three years. You can view the entire survey here but let me highlight the major points as well as some… Read More »
A recent discussion with a person who pitches ideas for TV shows got me thinking about what a solid, informative, program about the paranormal would look like. The bottom line… it would be really difficult and producers are likely not willing to take a risk on it. The slew of paranormal-themed “reality” television shows is… Read More »
“The Secret History of the Jersey Devil: How Quakers, Hucksters, and Benjamin Franklin Created a Monster” by Brian Regal and Frank J. Esposito, dispels myths about the ‘Jersey Devil’. Rooting the legend in 17th-century quarrels, politics and media-driven hoaxes, they argue that the monster is a misinterpretation of stories from the Leeds family, rather than a supernatural creature.
Kingsbury examines sociological aspects of the pararnormal and those who pursue it.
A trip to the first CryptidCon reveals how these mysterious monsters are represented in modern culture.
In the classic book Psychology of Superstition, Gustav Jahoda writes that beliefs are not just in our heads, they affect our behavior, and that self-fulfilling prophecy is not uncommon in human affairs (p. 8). Many events seem trivial and unspectacular, but when placed into a paranormal context, they take on a new and enhanced meaning.… Read More »