Tales of the Cryptids: Mysterious Creatures That May or May Not Exist (Darby Creek Publishing)

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Darren Naish brings his expertise in zoology and paleontology to the world of cryptids such as Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster. Very few places can say, “Come see our giant turtle festivalfrom this one time a gigantic turtle was found in our pond in the 1950s. It is the unicorn (or alicorn) here which concerns the text- and related material ranging from the quite antiquated, to the medieval, and the then-modern as anthropology and adventure made its way further into the outlands of Africa, India, and Tibet. Of course, it’s equally satisfying when they go right ahead and sucker punch the bad guy, ‘cuz hey—only the good guys give warnings, right? The book could benefit from more anecdotes about each cryptid and more visual/infographic type material to make the book less dense.

Cryptozoology (76 books) - Goodreads Cryptozoology (76 books) - Goodreads

W. Ocker uncovers the bizarre stories of these creatures and investigates the ways in which communities embrace and celebrate their local cryptids. You mention in your entry on Skinwalkers that those cryptids have a big following on TikTok—I get served videos like that on my For You Page pretty often.Prothero break down the arguments for and against the existence of cryptids before diving into the legends and myths that have contributed to making creatures like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster the paranormal celebrities they are today. One of my favorite things about this novel is, despite the supernatural creature, it’s not over-the-top and everything feels real including the actions and choices of the characters. And in the final installment, a trip to a remote island off the coast of Canada brings Vanessa face to face with mysterious sea serpents. A science experiment intended to lengthen the human lifespan goes awry when a feral beast is set loose in the Alaskan wilderness and starts to make its way toward a major city. I liked the organization here because it would be easy to read a story each day, maybe even with kids.

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As a big fan of cryptids like Nessie, mermaids, and catamounts, I was all in when I saw there was a book about Mothman. If TikTok had been around for the Loch Ness monster, the most famous cryptid of all time, the person who saw it would have put it on TikTok, and it would have been over in two seconds. I sometimes joke that when I say I’m hunting cryptids, what I mean is that I’m driving to a town to drink a craft beer named after one.Everything eventually comes to a head in December 1967, when tragedy strikes Point Pleasant, and Keel can’t help but wonder if it's all connected to the mysterious winged creature. Most of us who heart cryptids are fine with that imprecision and aren’t overly invested in the -ology part of cryptozoology.