Reviews

The Monsters of Templeton

Cryptofiction comes in all forms. Today’s selection is a unique book reviewed in the Los Angeles Times. What monsters are hidden there? Like many an excellent chronicler of village life, Lauren Groff gives us early in “The Monsters of Templeton” (Voice/Hyperion: 364 pp., $24.95) an ensemble view of the citizens of Templeton, a place very closely modeled on Cooperstown, N.Y., birthplace of baseball — and Groff. You know what an ensemble view is: an event prompting villagers to come out in force, an opportunity for the narrator’s camera to move from face to face. In Cheever’s “The Wapshot Scandal,” for [...]

What Do You Think of John Keel?

John A. Keel was a significant author of works in Forteana, cryptozoology, and ufology in the 1960s and 1970s. His Strange Creatures from Time and Space and The Mothman Prophecies, as well as his numerous articles in magazines, influenced other writers, researchers, and the general public. After the Mothman book-inspired movie appeared in 2002, interest in Keel resurfaced, briefly. His declining health, few public lectures, and then heart attack, created less attention to Keel than might have been expected. I was wondering how Cryptomundians consider his impact, legacy, and import today? What place do you think Keel with have in [...]

Cryptozoo Book With A Warning

Extreme Expedition: Travel Adventures Stalking the World’s Mystery Animals by Adam Davies (Anomalist Books) has been published. It contains a rare “warning label” not often seen on cryptozoological works. Davies, who is departing on a new Yeren expedition on April 28, 2008, is sharing with the world his most recent adventures. Does a dinosaur exist in the Congo? Does a Yeti-like creature live in the jungles of Sumatra? Does a fearsome Death Worm inhabit the deserts of Mongolia? Explorer Adam Davies has traveled some of the most dangerous places in the world in search of these and other supposedly mythical [...]

Cryptomundo Mermaids Do Exist

Recently someone emailed in a complaint: “I can’t help noticing the dearth or paucity of Mermaid information on an otherwise very complete site. Even I, a rank amateur, keep stumbling across references to live sightings. Even if some do turn out to be Dugongs, it seems as if some are less easy to explain — witness the case in Newfoundland, which is hardly Dugong territory.” I thought I would share a couple helpful hints about using Cryptomundo. Please click on the image for the full-size editorial image. First, of course, mermaids and all kinds of other fantastic creatures, curious cryptids, [...]

“Die, Researchers, Die!”

Perhaps it is a coincidence but on March 22, 2008, a renegade alignment of “thinkers” calling themselves the RRRgroup (although known by some critics as the “KKKgroup”) wrote a blog (together?) entitled “Death(s) will clean the UFO palate.” They begin by stating, “When ufology’s old-guard passes on – Dick Hall, Stan Friedman, Kevin Randall, John Schuessler, and even the 60ish Jerry Clark to name a few – taking hangers-on and sycophants with them (and you know who they are), the UFO palate will be cleansed.” The RRRGroup then mention others who “include Paul Kimball, Nick Redfern, Greg Bishop, and Mac [...]

Beyond Loch Ness And Beyond

When Beyond Loch Ness was first broadcast on Sci Fi Channel on January 5, 2008, I didn’t get a chance to watch it. Tonight, from 7-9 PM Eastern, I viewed the film. It was my first chance to see this one. But then, I had to. After all, I am a cryptozoologist. The body count was ten people, one coyote, and several so-called “Nessies.” The experience was your typical cable B-movie sci-fi fare. The plot wasn’t too bad for a revenge film, the acting was first rate, and the special effects were mostly good. The creatures (a “60-foot plesiosaur mother” [...]

Mothman on A&E

Monday, March 3, 2008, 10:00 PM: A&E, “Paranormal State” ~ episode title: Mothman. What did you think?

Cryptozoology for Beginners

B.T. Makishima has kindly published on Sunday, February 17, 2008, a new blog entitled “My recommendation for a book for beginners.” Makishima writes: My recommendation for beginners in the field of cryptozoology who want a book to read about is Cryptozoology A to Z. I know, I know, it sounds like a little kid’s book. But, if you don’t believe me, check out this info. First of all, it is 258 pages long, second, it alphabetizes the names and histories of the cryptids, and third, well, I think no little kid would understand ANY of it. (Read the rest here.) [...]