The Top Cryptozoology Books of 2025

by Loren Coleman, Director, International Cryptozoology Museum

Our yearly top selections are choices from the nonfiction literature about the familiar cryptids amongst the titles in the expanding proliferation of books we have grown to expect. The first and last may surprise you!

The Best of 2025:

#1 The Secret World of Denisovans: The Epic Story of the Ancient Cousins to Sapiens and Neanderthals by Silvana Conderni and Francois Savatier. 272 pages. Translated from Italian to English, and first published in English in 2025.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Page 179:

“From a scientific point of view, the Yeti is a crypto hominoid…, known from Asia to North America. It acts as a psychological tool to help us untangle the question of our origins by imagining an ancestral form that is half man, half monkey: hairy, primitive, enormous, strong, and endowed with human feelings. The discovery on the Tibetan plateau, not of the Yeti, but the ‘abominable snow Denisovan’ was therefore an astonishing one indeed.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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#2. Chasing North American Monsters: A Guide to Over 250 Creatures from Greenland to Guatemala by Jason Offutt, (Loren Coleman “Foreword”). 416 pages.

Contains the most updated discussion of the discovery of the origins of the term “cryptozoology,” back to 1941.

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#3. Cryptids and Cryptozoology: Spine-Chilling Encounters with Bigfoot, the Yeti, the Loch Ness Monster and Other Legendary Beasts. A Terrifying Collection of Stories, History, Trivia, and Facts by Oscar Johnson. 156 pages. This year appears to be one in which the publishing of such volumes is setting a record.

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#4. Cryptid Creatures of The World: An Illustrated Guide to Myths, Monsters, and Mysterious Creatures Haunting Six Continents by Karen E. Mueller. 170 pages.

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#5. The World of Cryptids: A Fascinating Guide to Hidden Сreatures and Monsters from all Corners of the Earth by Adam Orwell. 152 pages.

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#6A. The De Facto Sasquatch (Book 1): Cultural Legacies and Military Encounters by Bobbie Short. 260 pages. While it was known that Ms. Short heavily edited her selections of others’ works based on her preferences, nevertheless she archived a vast store of sources.

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#6B. The De Facto Sasquatch (Book 2): Behavioral Patterns and Witness Accounts by Bobbie Short. 416 pages.

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#7. Hacking Bigfoot: Deconstructing an Unknown Species by Marcus Daily. 286 pages. An interesting approach.

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Juvenile Choices

#8. Cryptid Sea Monsters: A Field Guide to 50 Fascinating Beasts by Kelly Milner Halls and Rick Spears. 208 pages. This is a good companion to their Cryptid Creatures (2019).

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#9. Cryptids Around the World: The Ultimate Field Guide for Kids – The Loch Ness Monster, Chupacabra, Bigfoot, Mothman, and More By Blaire Ingram. 181 pages.

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One Toddler Choice.

#10. Cryptid Babies by Kelly Milner Halls, Ness Halls and Rick Spears. 22 pages.

Highly recommended for the introduction of cryptozoology to young humans.