Loren Coleman of Portland talks about cryptozoology, or the study of unknown and undiscovered animals, on Saturday, July 5, 2008, at Fort Knox. (Bangor Daily News/Bridget Brown)

Over the weekend, unbeknownst to me, the Bangor Daily News ran an online article about the conference being held up at Prospect, Maine. Here’s part of what they had to say online and in their newspaper today (I couldn’t help myself, however, as I’ve corrected the various wrong ways the paper spelled “Bigfoot”):

Loren Coleman, often referred to as “Maine’s nonfiction Stephen King,” sat behind a table filled with models and artwork of monsters and fantastic creatures and some of the 30 books he has written on hidden or unknown animals.

This category includes what Coleman calls “The Big 3″ — the Abominable Snowman, Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster, Nessie.

“Everyone talks about these three, but in 1999 I wrote a cryptozoologists’ encyclopedia that includes 150 cryptids, or animals, yet to be verified,” Coleman said. Coleman has appeared on The History Channel and “Unsolved Mysteries,” among other television shows.

Closer to home, however, Coleman said Maine has its own mystery creatures. “In Waldo County and other parts of Maine, there have been many sightings of black panthers [and] mountain lions. And since the 1800s, there have been reports of sea serpents along Maine’s coast.”

Coleman said the most famous of these is Cassie, the Casco Bay sea serpent, who has been frequently seen from Portland to the Penobscot River. He said there also were Native American legends of a Bigfoot creature near Mt. Katahdin but more recent reports are centered in the woods of Quebec.

“It appears that Bigfoot is a tourist in Maine,” he said with a laugh. A sense of humor seems to help this modern-day Indiana Jones. “I’ve been doing this since the 1960s and I have thick skin,” he said. When people make fun of his business, Coleman said it is because they have not educated themselves.

Coleman also said he does not consider himself a true believer. “I’m a scientist,” he said. “Eighty percent of sightings that come my way are misidentifications. But it is the 20 percent of unknown animals that keeps me going.”

Coleman said that when a strange animal, nicknamed The Beast, was found dead in Auburn in 2006 after being struck by a car, there were widespread rumors that it was an unknown creature. DNA testing, however, revealed it was a dog.

“They called me in immediately and I told them right away it was a dog,” Coleman said.

Coleman, whose 30 books include The Field Guide to Bigfoot and Cryptozoology A to Z, said he has degrees in anthropology, zoology and psychiatry [actually, as stated, psychiatric social work - LC]. “I always start my investigation of witnesses from the psychiatric, professional point of view. If they pass that test, then I begin looking for tracks and other physical evidence.”

Coleman has retired from the University of Southern Maine and now practices cryptozoology full time.

“It is fun and it’s my passion.”

The early online version had the headline, “Fort Knox fair features renowned cryptozoologist” by Sharon Kiley Mack, Bangor Daily News, Saturday, July 05, 2008, but that has been followed by a published print edition entitled, “Fair at Fort Knox delves into unknown,” on Monday, July 7, 2008.

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