Welcome to the 6th issue of Pop Cryptid Spectator. I’ve found a fun collection of news, media, and pop cryptid information to share, featuring dragons and Bigfoot. As always, my aim is to urge the reader to question their boundaries of the definition of cryptid and to recognize how this has changed over time. Today, the use is looser and wider, where science and facts are almost unnecessary because finding an actual zoological animal is less of the point. Cryptids are icons and symbols in popular culture that can and should be viewed with different lenses.
In this edition:
- How to become a cryptozoologist? Indeed.
- Historical sightings of Chinese dragons
- American Cryptids movie for 2025
- Followup to Cryptid Cinema book
- Cryptid Merch: My cryptid crush
- Saxsquatch
- Betting on Bigfoot sightings
- Cryptid? Yes or No? Dragon.
How to become a cryptozoologist? Indeed.
If you peruse online forums about cryptids, you will often see posters asking how they can become a “cryptozoologist”. The answers are typically down-to-earth and reasonable, noting that this isn’t an actual career. Those who take the subject seriously become zoologists or wildlife biologists because they love animals. Or, they pursue writing or acting to showcase their interests in strange tales and mysteries. I was surprised, and a bit amused, to find that the job search website Indeed (UK) has a page for “how to become a cryptozoologist” that appears to have been written by AI scraping content from fictional works. It says:
“Cryptozoologists are science professionals who specialise in looking for and studying unobserved species of animal. They often lead research teams to investigate reports of potential animal sightings and compile any available evidence.”
Eh? Really? No, not really. There are a handful of people who might actually do this but they aren’t professional scientists. It is not a recognized science discipline, but instead is a title that people adopt for themselves (or gets bestowed upon them) because of their interest or content production. There remain no accredited degree programs or actual job listings for cryptozoologists – “professional” or amateur. This page seems like an example of wishful reality-shifting from last issue, where people imagine an alternative world of their own choosing to live in. Or, more likely, the people in charge of the pages of Indeed don’t have a clue. Unfortunately, there is no need for a paid position to legitimately investigate mysterious animals full-time. For now, you could be a YouTuber, author, or even a sociologist that specializes in cryptozoology, and even call yourself one, as many people do, but you won’t find job listings on Indeed or Zip Recruiter. Maybe check out the Werewolf Hunter position and more at Mystic Investigations.
Historical sightings of Chinese dragons
Peter Huston shared his recent article with me on his findings in historical volumes regarding dragons in ancient Chinese culture. It was a fascinating piece that sparked some important thoughts about cryptids. It also reminded me of the way we consider the tales of Native Americans to be associated with cryptids like Sasquatch and the Thunderbird.
While studying Chinese history (from the 13th to 17th centuries), Peter noted that people believed in the reality of dragons as uncommon creatures with awesome power to affect nature by bringing storms or destruction. Reports of dragons were noted in documents, carefully recorded by government officials. Of note, Peter says that these reports, while interesting, reflected the technology and knowledge of the time.
“[T]hese official reports in the documentation are not first hand reports by eye witnesses to the event. They are at least second or third hand reports. Nor were they intended to be seen or used as part of any investigative process.”
An obvious question arises: Can we use these accounts to research what people actually saw or assume that some mystery animal was a cause? Peter continues with a crucial point:
“[T]hat is a question rooted in modern conceptions where the value of the scientific method is recognized, and thus the world is divided into things that are natural, meaning recognized, measure, and defined by science, and things that are supernatural, meaning not recognized, measured, defined, or behaving in ways and producing actions definable by science.”
In other words, the dragon tales are of their time and place. This documentation is not scientific evidence.
It’s not only in China that dragons were taken seriously; stories were told in parts of Europe of dragons as well, though they looked a bit different.
It is not reasonable to apply our current knowledge framework to the distant past and to a culture to which we have no connection. This leads to mistaken assumptions. It is common in cryptozoology to use such stories, even the native lore, as anecdotal evidence to suggest some cryptid represents a real animal to be discovered. This is fraught with problems. As Peter concludes, “It is just part of the human condition that people occasionally seemingly truthfully and without intent to deceive, state they saw things that were not there.” It could be that their beliefs inform their tales, or that they have creative interpretations of a mundane event. While anecdotes can suggest a legitimate inquiry should be made, a strong argument exists that old tales are simply not suitable to be treated as evidence of a distinct mystery animal. We should avoid doing that.
For more on the problems with the similar claim that a creature, which represents Bigfoot/Sasquatch (as we know it), commonly appears in indigenous stories and folklore, check out this extensively researched video on The Native Bigfoot by Trey the Explainer.
American Cryptids movie for 2025
A new horror film is in the making about two feuding families, one human and one not human. With American Cryptids, subtitled “Folklore no more”, the name and theme will further boost the framing of cryptids as a pop cultural theme. Writer Joseph Zettelmaier said,
“I’ve always been a huge fan of American folklore, and getting to deep dive into that world was a thrill. Cryptids are homegrown horror, and I love the way different communities have really embraced the local creatures as their own.”
The exclusive source is Rue Morgue. For more on how communities embraced local creatures, see Cryptid Festivals.
Followup to Cryptid Cinema book
Stephen Bissette writes on Bluesky that he is working on two followups to his Cryptid Cinema book. Along with Cryptid Cinema (2017) which covers an array of cryptid appearances in movies, TV series, comic books, toys, action figures, and other media, Stephen also wrote Cryptid Cinema: A Boggy Creek Primer, the true story behind the making of the 1972 independent boxoffice hit The Legend of Boggy Creek. Stephen’s books are available on Amazon.
Cryptid Merch: My cryptid crush
Cute, colorful critters are hugely popular in the world of pop cryptids. Check out this fundraiser for My Cryptid Crush – “a pin and plush collection for all the monster kissers out there!” Featuring over a dozen lovingly rendered cryptids. There are 1,133 backers with almost $100K raised to make 18″ plushies that can be dressed and cuddled. Whatever floats your boat!
In 2024, the Build-a-Bear version of plush Mothman sold out fast. They added a gargoyle and a Yeti as well. See also Cuddly Cryptids, Strange Fellows, Hazy Dell Press Plushies, and Etsy: Cryptid plush.
Saxsquatch
An online and touring musician adopted the persona of “Saxsquatch” and has made it stick. As his story goes, Saxsquatch is a native of the forests near Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He thrifted the saxophone and has been playing it ever since. With the support of his grandfather, whom he calls “Gigfoot,” and sister, whom he calls “Bigflute,” Saxsquatch has created a very real career as a musician. It’s a living!
Betting on Bigfoot sightings
Here’s a strange source of Bigfoot news: the Bet Ohio site covering sports gambling. One author there took the data from the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization to compile the number of reported Bigfoot sightings by state. He then developed the odds of seeing the creature in each. The leading state was Washington with a 13.3% chance that you could see Bigfoot.
I can’t say that I understand the process of calculating the odds, but it seems to me that you have to take into account a great many factors including the size of the area in question, how much is uninhabited or conducive to wildlife, etc. I won’t even go into how unreliable the BFRO sightings database is. However, since no Bigfoot sighting has ever been unequivocally validated, and we don’t know if it even exists or how to find it, this article is nonsense clickbait. It was written for fun. While I’m providing the link for reference, it would be nice if you didn’t click on it; it just encourages more of this silliness and revenue for gambling promotion. If we could make odds of a real Bigfoot being found this year, they would be ridiculously long.
However, to be more down to earth, it’s not unreasonable to give advice on the best location to have an experience that could be labeled as a “Bigfoot encounter”. It would be to go to the place with the most reported claims of Bigfoot encounters. This would be your best bet to have your own “Bigfoot experience” whatever the cause. And many people do follow this advice.
Cryptid? Yes or No?
As I’ve mentioned in past editions of the PCS, the definition of cryptid has changed. This changing meaning is at the heart of the Pop Cryptid framing that expanded the concept beyond that of “a mystery/hidden animal” that can be discovered and zoologically classified. The modern use of “cryptid” is any creature that is rumored to exist (in various degrees of seriousness) but is disputed by mainstream science. Today’s cryptid is defined by whatever stories are told about it at the moment. To illustrate, we have the example of the dragon as described above.
Is a dragon a cryptid?
- Yes. If the word existed during the times where the creature was supposedly encountered and believed to have existed, then it would have been a cryptid.
- Yes. If we consider that some people believe they may exist, even under magical circumstances.
- Yes. If people still claim to see dragons today or express a wish/hope that they exist in some form.
- No. If the end goal is to identify an animal that fits the description of a chimeric large beast. The historic dragon would be labeled a fantasy or mythical creature instead as part of zoologic-based cryptozoology.
- No now but Yes then. If we conclude that dragon (dinosaur) bones accounted for dragon tales, then it was a cryptid, but isn’t now because we have derived the natural explanation.
You can see that this gets confusing – the use of cryptid is imprecise, fluid, and depends on different perspectives of time, place, and belief. The dragon is generally considered not a cryptid by sci-cryptozoologists because, if we assume a dragon is a large land, water, or airborne snake-like creature with armored skin, talons, etc., there is no reasonable biological animal that could fit that description. The more absurd characteristics of fire-breathing, gold-guarding, invisibility, etc. further kick the claim right out of the zoological realm. But, in the most mundane sense, could a large snake have been mistaken for a dragon in the past? Were dinosaur bones imagined as once-living terrible lizards? Sure. So in terms of the Pop Cryptid big sociological tent – a dragon is a cryptid.
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