The Top 20 Cryptozoology Books of 2020
by Loren Coleman, Founder/Director, International Cryptozoology Museum, Portland, Maine, Author/Coauthor of Bigfoot: The True Story of Apes in America, Cryptozoology A to Z, and several other books.
What a year. Here is a look at 20 romantic zoology books, covering topics ranging from Bigfoot to Merbeings, Mystery Cats to Sea Serpents, Lake Monsters to the complicated ways to view the world that helped us escape one level of reality of 2020 and tried to find another.
+++
The Best Bigfoot and Hominology Books
by Zach Bales
“The style and art were great.” - Cliff Barackman.
“A must own for serious Bigfooters.” - Ken Gerhard
“This enjoyable, accessible, well-written, nicely illustrated atlas of various Sasquatch-oriented locations is the bright shining light for how 2020 needs to be remembered ~ a roadmap to future adventures. Definitely, the ‘Book of the Year.’” – Loren Coleman
Wendigo Lore: Monsters, Myths, and Madness
by Chad Lewis and Kevin Lee Nelson.
“The authors of this book do take these cannibalistic denizens of the northern woods seriously indeed, carefully combing the historical record for accounts of their appearances and disappearances. The text is not only illustrated, it is written with care and also in a lively manner, so it will appeal to general readers with a taste for thrills and chills as well as to students interested in Native subjects and Canadian themes.” — John Robert Colombo
Wood Knocks Volume 4: Journal of Sasquatch Research
by David Weatherly, Chad Lewis, et al.
“Weatherly has, again, collected a great list of writers, who each give their own unique spin on this subject.” – Mitch Smith
Forgotten Bigfoots Around the World
by Malcolm Smith
“Standing on Ivan T. Sanderson’s shoulders, an Australian cryptozoologist gives new insights into hominology globally.” - Loren Coleman
Boggy Creek Casebook: Fouke Monster Encounters 1908 to Present
by Lyle Blackburn
“Atmospheric, thoroughly researched, and full of eerie and evocative artwork, Boggy Creek Casebook is an essential read and an incredibly entertaining tribute to the famous Southern monster legend. Highly recommended.” – Sean Whitley
Sinister Swamps: Monsters and Mysteries from the Mire
by Lyle Blackburn
“Lyle is at the paddle as he navigates us from one quagmire, marsh, and bog to another.” – Loren Coleman
+++
The Best Sea Serpent, Lake Monster, and Merbeing Books of 2020
by David Goudsward
“This is truly an extraordinary book! Not just because it focuses on sightings of sea monsters in the sunny Caribbean realm…and not because it contains an exhaustive bibliography… It’s because it describes, strictly in words, in clear detail, the features of strange animals.” — Paul LeBlond
“The writer, researcher, and investigator who is Dave Goudsward is one of the best researchers I know… All told, Goudsward’s extended examination of all the cryptids of Florida and the surrounding area is enlightening. Enjoy the quest!” — Loren Coleman
by Malcolm Smith
by Malcolm Smith
“I am pleased to announce that I have just published three new cryptozoological books, made possible by the mass digitalisation of old newspapers, journals, and other documents by the Australian National Library. The first two, The Truth About Bunyips and Australian Sea Serpents, will, I am confident, become the definitive works on the respective subjects. The third, Forgotten Sea Serpents will be required reading for all those seeking to complete their documentation of this unusual subject.” – Malcolm Smith
by Malcolm Smith
by Vaughn Scribner
“The image of a mermaid—or, less frequently, a merman—perched on a rock, luring sailors to either danger or destiny, is weaved throughout human history. In 1493, Christopher Columbus saw what he believed to be three mermaids off the coast of the Dominican Republic. . . . This visual history plunges into the representations of merpeople throughout the ages, from Homer and Hans Christian Anderson to the 1984 film Splash.” - History Revealed
Cryptid Felines
By Karl P.N. Shuker
“Let me say immediately that this is one of the most fascinating books that I have read for many a long day. The author is not a sentimental mythologist but a hard headed zoologist and a notable authority on cryptozoology.” — Roy Robinson
Best Regional Cryptozoology Books of 2020
Monsters of the Last Frontier: Cryptids & Legends of Alaska
by David Weatherly
“For a lover of monster legend and lore, this is a delightful book to read. Weatherly does not accept all the creatures here as real, but he doesn’t throw everything into the ‘hoax or myth’ bucket, either. Weatherly is always respectful of the First Nations/Alaska Native traditions but does not insist they have to be literally true.” – Matt Bille
Monsters of the Crossroads: Cryptids & Legends of Indiana
by David Weatherly
“Absolutely exceptional! David Weatherly’s Monsters at the Crossroads is another win in what quickly became my favorite series of books. Focusing on Cryptids and Legends of Indiana, it doesn’t just serve up stories of Bigfoot and other hairy hominids (though that is in here too) BUT instead he devotes entire chapters to lesser know creatures like the inexplicable Crawfordsville Monster, the Beast of Busco, the Green Clawed Beast, Pukwudgies, and others!” - Shawn J Engelmann
The Best Winged Weirdies Book of 2020
Mothman Territory: History and High Strangeness
by George Dudding
“Born in Point Pleasant and growing up in Mason County, George Dudding was there in 1966-1967 when the Mothman strangeness unfolded. He shares his unique stories and insights from those days.” – Loren Coleman
Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World’s Largest Owl
by Jonathan C. Slaght
“One of the surprise books of the year: the story of a man’s five-year journey into the Russian Far East to preserve the world’s most mysterious owl, brought to life by brilliant writing, dashes across thawing rivers and madcap secondary characters.”―Richard Fitzpatrick
Looking At Cryptozoology From Yet Another Angle In This Crazy Year
The Unidentified: Mythical Monsters, Alien Encounters, and Our Obsession with the Unexplained
by Colin Dickey
“Absolutely perfect for the current moment.” –Buzzfeed
“Fascinating, troubling, compassionate and—in the end—deeply thoughtful…Dickey’s sense of history reminds us of the complex reasons our odder beliefs endure.” —New York Times Book Review
“It can be helpful to focus on the wonder of the natural world when so much of what is happening around us feels out of our control . . . World of Wonders urges us to take a breath and look around.” ― NPR Morning Edition
“World of Wonders, kind of like Aimee, is flabbergasted, gobsmacked, and astonished with glee by all kinds of creatures and phenomena, all kinds of kin, from flamingos to catalpas, from monsoons to corpse flowers, from dancing frogs to axolotls.” ― Ross Gay
by Denver Riggleman
“Congressman Denver Riggleman’s new book, Bigfoot…It’s Complicated, begins with a chapter called ‘A Discussion on Simian Genitalia.’ In other words, Riggleman, who was accused of enjoying ‘Bigfoot erotica’ during his 2018 congressional campaign, is leaning in….Riggleman…found time to publish [this] 150-page narrative describing two Bigfoot finding expeditions he took in the 2000s. Led by an unscrupulous expedition leader and accompanied by a handful of true believers, Riggleman forked over a few grand for the privilege of camping out in the woods of Washington and West Virginia to search for the monster….I have to note that this book is absolutely jam-packed with Bigfoot sex. I mean it is just so, so horny. Riggleman says he’s not a fan of Bigfoot erotica—“I do not dabble in monster porn, although my wife does call me her silverback,” he writes, a line that might give pause to patrons of the couple’s Silverback Distillery—but throughout the story he misses no opportunity to get lascivious.” - Ben Hitchcock.
“This volume may be one of the most unintentionally funniest Bigfoot books to avoid reading in 2020.” – Loren Coleman
Where The Footprints End: High Strangeness and the Bigfoot Phenomenon
by Joshua Cutchin and Timothy Renner
“This book poses a danger to the foundations of cryptozoology. While mainstream Bigfoot investigators would have you believe that people around the world are merely encountering a lost ape, Cutchin and Renner dig into the details they’ve swept under the rug….Where the Footprints End is poised to do for Bigfoot what Passport to Magonia did for UFOs.”- Greg Newkirk
“The book by sincere authors is no threat to biological cryptozoology, in the least. It serves as good evidence for why Ivan T. Sanderson stated, ‘Never use one unknown to explain another unknown.’” – Loren Coleman
+++++++
Special Mention: A Fictional Delight
Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre
by Max Brooks
“One of the best books I’ve ever read. A very scary horror fable. A morality play, a satire, a warning. A look into the most primitive part of the human brain. One is left with the question, who’s the real monster?” – Jenny Coleman
Goodbye 2020!
And two for 2021….
=======
Cryptozoology exists in the world.
Preserve it at the International Cryptozoology Museum
through your visits
and support via the CryptoStore.
Donate here.
[...] the Lifetime Achievement Award 2020 goes to Christopher L. Murphy. Check out the details. Next are The Top 20 Cryptozoology Books of 2020. There are a lot of good books here, including some published by Anomalist Books, [...]
[...] the Lifetime Achievement Award 2020 goes to Christopher L. Murphy. Check out the details. Next are The Top 20 Cryptozoology Books of 2020. There are a lot of good books here, including some published by Anomalist Books, like Sun, Sand, [...]
[...] the Lifetime Achievement Award 2020 goes to Christopher L. Murphy. Check out the details. Next are The Top 20 Cryptozoology Books of 2020. There are a lot of good books here, including some published by Anomalist Books, like Sun, Sand, [...]