Table of contents for #7: Monstro Bizarro in RUE MORGUE

I’VE BEEN IN LOVE WITH BIGFOOT SINCE I WAS A LITTLE KID. “LOVE” IS A STRONG WORD, I KNOW, BUT I don’t know how else to describe my crush on the hairy guy. I grew up in the 1970s. Star Wars and Bigfoot were my main jams. As is the case with a lot of people my age, Star Wars changed my life. It sparked my interest in filmmaking. How do they make these things? How can I make my own? Bigfoot fascinated me in a different way because it was rooted in reality. How could this thing possibly exist? Monsters aren’t real. And if Bigfoot doesn’t exist, then what is all this evidence being found all over the place? But most importantly – for the genre of filmmaking I…

IT’S THE ZAPRUDER FILM OF THE CRYPTOZOO WORLD: A GRAINY, AMATEUR MOVIE CLIP THAT’S BEEN CONSTANTLY analyzed and debated since it was first recorded in the 1960s. For some it is the holy grail of Sasquatch science and for others, simply a man in a suit. It is, of course, the famous Patterson-Gimlin film that allegedly captured a seven-foot-tall man-like ape as it strolled across a dry creek bed in Northern California back in 1967. More than four decades have passed since it first gripped the public’s fear and fascination, and with ongoing claims that suggest it may be a hoax, the controversy continues. I recently spoke to Bob Gimlin and Philip Morris, two men who find themselves at opposite ends of the suit-debate spectrum. Gimlin was the partner of…

IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT BOBCAT GOLDTHWAIT, YOU’RE PROBABLY WONDERING WHAT FLUKE IN THE HORROR universe landed him in a director’s chair. Goldthwait – for those not familiar – is an actor and comedian best known for his goofy, high-pitched voice and recurring role in the string of Police Academy movies throughout the 1980s. But forget that. In the last decade, Goldthwait turned his talents to directing and writing, where he’s earned accolades for his black comedies World’s Greatest Dad (2009) and God Bless America (2011). In 2014 he finally took a stab at a horror film, where he proves that sometimes the most unlikely director can make a fresh footprint on familiar ground. With Willow Creek, Goldthwait uses the found-footage template to weave a terror tale in the land…

BIGFOOT, FOR ALL HIS BIG-TIME STAR QUALITY, IS NOTORIOUSLY HARD TO CAPTURE ON FILM. HIS ALLEGED real-life sightings are invariably grainy and out of focus, while his fictional film appearances don’t always measure up to his enormous reputation. It seems directors have had a tough time bringing a convincing Sasquatch to the big screen. If you’ve watched even a few of the hairy-handed clunkers out there (sorry ol’ pal), then you know that many lapse into unintentional humour rather than offer much in the way of formidable scares or suspense. But then Savage comes lumbering across our radar in 2011 and ups the ante for cryptozoo creepiness by delivering a leaner, meaner, and more terrifying creature. When a suspicious wildfire blazes through a national park, it stirs up a shadowy…

WHEN HORROR NOVELIST ERIC S. BROWN RELEASED BIGFOOT WAR IN 2010, HE HAD NO WAY OF knowing it would spawn ten sequels and a movie. At the time, he was merely focused on a single book centred on one of his favourite legendary monsters. The story, set in the small town of Babble Creek, was a simple tale of revenge, albeit not the human kind. When one of the residents kills a Bigfoot in the nearby woods as payback for an attack on his family, a horde of these normally reclusive creatures decides to step from the shadows and exact their own brand of vengeance. As the hapless townsfolk of Babble Creek grapple with the reality and primitive force of the creatures, Brown serves up a generous helping of fast-paced…

OVER THE YEARS, A NUMBER OF STILL PHOTOS AND FILMS HAVE BEEN OFFERED AS EVIDENCE OF THE EXISTENCE OF CRYPTIDS. While some of these have been exposed as hoaxes, most have yet to give up their secrets… PATTERSON-GIMLIN BIGFOOT Undoubtedly the most famous photo of an alleged cryptid comes from a sequence of film captured on October 20, 1967. The footage, which consists of 954 frames, was shot by Roger Patterson in Bluff Creek, California, while he and partner Bob Gimlin were searching for Bigfoot. Over the years there have been attempts to discredit the film, including a “confession” by a man who said he wore the monster suit and claims by a costume designer who insisted he crafted the furry getup. However, no definitive proof has been provided to…

THE FEAR AND FASCINATION OF UNKNOWN THINGS LURKING IN RIVERS, LAKES AND OTHER FRESH WATER IS ANCIENT and universal. Cave paintings of strange aquatic creatures, South African folklore about gigantic river eels called the Inkanyamba and, of course, the countless documented sightings of bizarre creatures throughout North American waterways over the past century are but a few examples. Our fascination with both the fact and fiction of these creatures endures for two powerful reasons. One, there’s the primal fear of man-eating monsters so close to where humans live on land – unlike the leviathans of the ocean in the faraway depths. And two, some of these “monsters” actually exist. That’s where Jeremy Wade comes in. Described as an “extreme angler,” the host of Animal Planet’s River Monsters has travelled the…

MANKIND, IT SEEMS, HAS ALWAYS BEEN FASCINATED BY THE CONCEPT OF AQUATIC OR REPTILIAN humanoids. Whether perceived as monsters or gods, various incarnations of “reptile men” or “fish men” are woven into the fabric of our mythology, religion and folklore. An early example dates back to the ancient Greek legends of Cecrops, the mythical king of Athens who was depicted as having the upper body of a man and the lower body of a serpent. In ancient Egypt, the god Sobek took the form of a human with a crocodile head. Still more examples can be found in Aztec, Hindu, Iranian and Islamic mythology, and in the rich folklore of Portugal and Galicia (Spain). Native Americans, as well, often told of their encounters with reptilian beings that they believed shared…

WHERE THERE’S A MONSTER, THERE’S A TOY! AND NO DOUBT CRYPTOZOOLOGY HAS PROVIDED THE basis for some monstrous playthings over the years. Beginning in the 1960s, toymakers began to tap into the growing popularity of the Yeti, followed by Bigfoot in the 1970s. Since that time, a steady stream of cryptozoo-based toys have been spotted around the world. Here are some of the best examples.…

MYSTERIOUS APE-MEN, SEA MONSTERS, BLOOD-SUCKING ALIENS, SNOW CREATURES, LIVING dinosaurs, human-sized moths, giant spiders, thunderbirds, Tasmanian tigers… they all populate the world of cryptozoology, which is defined as “the study of hidden animals.” For as long as mankind has been around, there have been tales of strange and fantastic creatures that lurk on the fringes, but it wasn’t until recently that a museum dedicated solely to cryptozoology was officially established. Opened in November of 2009 by curator and world renowned cryptozoologist Loren Coleman, the International Cryptozoology Museum is located in picturesque Portland, Maine, nestled among the quirky stores and coffee shops just a few blocks from the waterfront. Rock coasts line Portland’s age-old shipping channels, which converge here from all over the world. Ships groan, lighthouses flash their lonely beacons…

WHEN YOU’VE SEEN ALL THE MOVIES AND READ ALL THE BOOKS, WHERE DO YOU GO TO satisfy that insatiable desire to delve deeper into the world of horror lore? Simple: you create your own. That is exactly what UK-based artist, writer and band frontman Alex CF has done for over a decade. His varied and colourful career has seen him perform with several post-hardcore bands, including scene favourites Fall of Efrafa, a group whose lyrical objective was to explore the socio-political undertones present in Richard Adams’ book Watership Down. (If that sounds a bit highbrow, then it’s worth noting that they were heavy as hell.) Additionally, he creates stunning illustrative work and has become known for pushing boundaries within the world of genre-themed sculpture and performance art. A somewhat elusive…

THERE’S HARDLY A PATCH OF SPOOKY WOODS OR SINISTER SWAMPLAND ANYWHERE THAT DOESN’T BOAST tales of its own resident “monster.” Some of the stories are obviously outlandish, some are outright hoaxes and others are oddly unexplainable, but regardless of any dubious birthright, they are nonetheless intriguing to those of us with a flair for cryptids. One such local beastie goes by the name of Momo. As with many monsters tied to a specific region, his name is derived from his stomping grounds: the Missouri Monster, or “Momo” for short. Despite the rather cuddly-sounding moniker, Momo is reputed to be a foul-smelling, hairy, manlike beast that roams the banks of the Mississippi River just south of the Ted Shanks Conservation Area, a wildlife preserve near the town of Louisiana, Missouri. His…

I’D LIKE TO SEND OUT A BIG MONSTER THANKS TO ALL THOSE WHO HELPED MAKE THIS BOOK POSSIBLE. First, to my long-time friend and Rue Morgue publisher Rodrigo Gudiño, who trusted I could write and oversee such a project. His encouragement and enthusiasm for the subjects of horror and cryptozoology have always been inspiring. And to my horror brother and mighty editor-in-chief Dave Alexander, who has helped me along all these years as a Rue Morgue contributor. His guidance and confidence in my writing have been among the most important elements in my success as a writer and book author. Rue Morgue was the springboard into my professional writing ventures, and I’m forever grateful for the opportunity. Thanks also to my other fellow members of the Rue Crew who infused…

I’VE ALWAYS LOVED MONSTERS. AS FAR BACK AS I CAN REMEMBER, I SOUGHT THEM OUT IN ALL FORMS. I have vague memories of watching the daytime drama Dark Shadows on television back in the 1970s. I couldn’t understand the plot, but there were vampires and werewolves, and that was good enough for me. As I grew older, my summer revolved around “Monster Week,” the most awesome week of broadcast television, which aired the likes of Hammer horrors, rampaging beasts, giant insects and slithery terrors that excited me beyond all childhood measure. Then there were the silver screen classics haunting my late-night Saturdays. They both chilled and soothed me to sleep on my parents’ couch. Then there were the books, old issues of Famous Monsters magazine, and the toys, the glorious…

FOR COUNTLESS MOVIEGOERS AND TELEVISION VIEWERS IN THE 1970S, THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK, released in 1972, was a truly frightening experience. Based on real-life reports of a hairy, ape-like creature said to haunt the boggy bottomlands of Southern Arkansas, the film managed to blur the lines between the real and sensational aspects of the case, resulting in copious childhood nightmares and huge box office sales. Boggy Creek was the directorial debut of the late Charles B. Pierce (The Town That Dreaded Sundown, The Evictors), who put aside a career in advertising to pursue filmmaking. Pierce was living in Texarkana, Arkansas, in the early 1970s and, like most residents of the area, had been following the sensational newspaper reports about a strange creature sighted near the small, rural town of…

WHETHER OR NOT SOME SORT OF CRYPTOZOOLOGICAL CREATURE SKULKS AROUND BOGGY CREEK is obviously up for debate, but there’s no denying that monsters live in the muddy areas of our minds. Horror is the obscuring, confusing or even destroying of boundaries – the destabilizing of the categories that help us understand the world and conquer our ancient fears of it. Between science and mythology, human and hominid, animal and monster, resides the Boggy Creek Monster. The Legend of Boggy Creek uses that lack of clarity as its aesthetic; after all, the print looks like it may have been dragged through a boggy creek before reaching the film projector. It’s that dirty, shaky feel, similar to Tobe Hooper’s 1974 genre classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, that lends Charles B. Pierce’s movie…

WHILE A MULTITUDE OF NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURES HAVE ENDURING LEGENDS ABOUT GIANT, hairy savages said to dwell deep in the wilderness, the modern-day search for the monster we commonly call Bigfoot essentially began in 1956, when Swiss-born adventurer René Dahinden entered the office of a British Columbia newspaper editor by the name of John Green to express his intent to get to the bottom of the mystery. Three decades earlier, a local schoolteacher named John W. Burns had penned an article for a Canadian magazine relating true tales of the “Sasquatch” (an Anglicized version of a hard-to-pronounce Salish Indian name). Dahinden and Green were both familiar with Burns’ write-up and were intrigued by the possibility that there was some truth behind the stories. The men decided to join forces, collecting…

1. BIGFOOT Location: Worldwide Class: Hairy hominoid Description: Large, bipedal, man-like ape, seven to nine feet tall, covered in hair Sightings of this legendary ape-man date back several centuries and have been reported in more than a dozen countries around the world. Although the term “Bigfoot” wasn’t coined until 1958, sightings of similar “wild men” often turned up in early newspapers, and legends of “hairy men” were told by Native Americans. Sightings of Bigfoot are most prominent in the Pacific Northwest, an area that includes Oregon and Washington in the US and British Columbia in Canada. But they also occur with frequency in nearly all US states and across Canada, as well as in Asia, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Russia and South America. There are a number of theories as to…

WHEN IT COMES TO CRYPTOZOOLOGY-BASED CINEMA, SEARCHING FOR GEMS IS NOT UNLIKE hunting for the creatures themselves – the specimens can often be elusive but when one does make a discovery, it’s well worth the effort. Aside from the standout movies covered elsewhere in this book, there are other notable entries that must be mentioned. Let the hunt begin! CREATURE FROM BLACK LAKE (1976) Starring Jack Elam, John David Carson and Dennis Fimple Directed by Joy N. Houck Jr. Hailing from the humid swamps of southern Louisiana, Creature From Black Lake is a classic among cryptid monster movies. The film attempted to capitalize on the success of 1972’s The Legend of Boggy Creek by offering its own tale of an aggressive Sasquatch lurking in the Deep South. Like Boggy Creek,…

THE FIELD OF CRYPTOZOOLOGY INCLUDES A VAST RANGE OF CREATURES. SOME, LIKE THE SASQUATCH, have been reported for decades all over the world. But there are other oddities that fall within this field of study that are far stranger and more obscure. Below are six of the more unusual cryptid-like creatures that have allegedly been encountered over the years. 1. DEVIL MONKEY Location: United States Class: Hairy humanoid Description: Primate-like creature, three to five feet tall with brown or black fur, kangaroo-like legs, razor-clawed feet, a tail, a canine face and pointed ears Devil monkeys have been reported throughout the 20th century. Witnesses say the creatures can move with lightning speed and jump distances up to twenty feet. An early account from the 1960s involves two nurses on their way…

THE LOCH NESS MONSTER MAY BE THE MOST FAMOUS OF THE LAKE-DWELLING BEASTS, BUT IT’S CERTAINLY not alone, as hundreds of lakes and rivers around the world boast their own brand of elusive freshwater monstrosity. There’s just something about the murky depths of a cold, dark lake or river that either inspires imaginations or effectively hides undocumented species that have somehow managed to survive well beyond their prehistoric shelf life. Unlike classic sea serpents that haunt the faraway depths of the ocean, these creatures are within reach of a weekend getaway. They slither around our boats, brush past our paddling feet, and pop their heads out of the water just long enough to send a chill down our spines. Here’s a look at ten of the most mysterious freshwater dwellers……

IN THE WORLD OF HORROR CINEMA, IT’S AN UNDENIABLE FACT THAT PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS OFTEN EXCEED THE quality and thrill factor of the films they’re created to sell. That trend certainly applies to the realm of cryptozoo-based creature features, although, to the subgenre’s credit, some of the best posters actually do belong to some of the most memorable films. These hearken back to the heyday of hand-painted posters, when masters such as Ralph McQuarrie created striking key art for The Legend of Boggy Creek, Creature From Black Lake and other low-budget monster movies. Dramatic images were also masterminded by the creators of such cryptid-inspired films as Half Human, Shriek of the Mutilated and Yeti: Giant of the 20th Century. In recent years, photography and digital rendering were employed on eye-catching promotions…

I‘D HEARD RUMOURS OF ITS EXISTENCE: A MONSTROUS BAND THAT ROAMS THE FRINGES OF MUSICAL MAYHEM, FUSING together bone-crushing death metal with visions of bloodthirsty ape-men and legendary giants. But it wasn’t until recently that I was able to capture tangible proof. The band is Troglodyte and its fourth and latest release, Don’t Go in the Woods, successfully combines a highly evolved form of metal with tales of Bigfoot, skunk apes and Yetis. The band’s website defines the Missouri-based quartet as “neandercore,” although essentially it is of the species Metallicum mortem (i.e. death metal), fitting into the same genus as bands such as Carcass, Obituary and Cannibal Corpse. However, when it comes to the genre’s typical themes, Troglodyte treads where few others, if any, have gone before. “Bigfoot metal” may…

AUSTIN IS A UNIQUE PLACE. SO UNIQUE, YOU COULD SAY IT’S DOWNRIGHT WEIRD. RIGHT SMACK in the middle of conservative Texas, the state capital is known more for its wild side than its Republican dinner parties. Of course, it has its share of obligatory Texas barbecue spots, stately government buildings and spirited college sports culture, but the liberal and eclectic lifestyle of its inhabitants is what stands out the most. Among other self-proclaimed honours, Austin has dubbed itself the “Live Music Capital of the World,” boasting more live music venues per capita than any other US city. It’s the only major Texas city that has no ordinance against women appearing topless in public. And there’s even a bridge that hosts bat-watching parties (yes, the leathery-skinned flying sort). Austin defies the…

THERE’S SOMETHING ENDLESSLY FASCINATING ABOUT DINOSAURS AND OUR QUEST TO UNDERSTAND THEM – digging for bones, scraping for evidence and sorting through archaeological clues in order to reconstruct their massive forms and prehistoric environments. I, for one, was completely captivated by dinosaurs at an early age; I spent hours drawing them and trying to memorize each species’ name. I couldn’t wait for reruns of films such as The Land That Time Forgot or One Million Years B.C. so I could see them in action. I was disappointed they no longer existed, but I eventually came to accept that their descendants had either shrunk down to the size of common lizards or morphed into modern birds. Sure, there are holdovers such as crocodiles or Komodo dragons, but in essence, real dinosaurs…

THE CONGO RIVER BASIN, MADE UP OF SEVERAL COUNTRIES IN WESTERN AFRICA, IS ONE OF THE MOST dangerous places in the world, with a long history of horrors linked to violent tribal warfare, the ivory trade and a host of beasties that slither, claw and bite. The Congo oozes with legends of human-hunting cannibals and mysterious creatures, some of which have been hard to disprove due to the near-impenetrable jungles that seem unwilling to give up their secrets. One such monster is Kongamato. Described as a huge, flying animal that resembles a prehistoric pterodactyl or giant bat, it’s alleged to live near the Jiundu swamps in what is now Zambia. Kongamato (meaning “breaker of boats”) first came to the attention of the Western world when a writer and traveller by…

MANY OF OUR MOST BELOVED MOVIE MONSTERS HAVE ROOTS IN MYTHOLOGY AND HISTORY. THE WEREWOLF finds its heritage traceable to the earliest European folklore, where the moonstruck man-beast was used to explain everything from medical conditions to serial killings. Likewise, his more cultured counterpart, the vampire, shares a gruesome lineage with real-life butcher Vlad the Impaler, who was one of the inspirations for the classic character of Dracula. The zombie has a toehold in the real world as well, born of voodoo beliefs and now routinely imagined as the potential outcome of a modern-day viral plague. But today, when lycanthropy, vampirism and voodoo magic are largely considered myths, the legacy of these creatures is primarily left to the imaginations of moviemakers and writers. So are we to assume, in our…

WHEN BIGFOOT FIRST BEGAN TO APPEAR IN HORROR FILMS IN THE EARLY 1970S, THE CREATURE’S persona was that of a monster. Films such as The Legend of Boggy Creek (1972) and Creature From Black Lake (1976) portrayed the legendary beasts as mysterious and dangerous, while at the same time grounding themselves in enough reality to make the thought of man-like apes living on the fringes of our society a sobering one. But as the golden era of Bigfoot waned into the 1980s and beyond, the once-menacing protagonist was often reduced to a cuddly pop-culture icon whose face was more likely to be imprinted on a board game box than upon moviegoers’ nightmares. In the last decade there’s been a growing number of Bigfoot-themed movies that have attempted to reinstate the…

STOP ME IF YOU’VE HEARD THIS ONE BEFORE: A GROUP OF TWENTYSOMETHINGS TAKE A WEEKEND TRIP TO A remote cabin. The locals warn them not to go but they do anyway, losing cellphone reception in the process. After some bickering and skinny-dipping, they lose copious amounts of blood (and dignity) to the local forest monster, which – well, you know the rest. It’s a trope that’s been used ad nauseam in horror films, especially ones in which the monster-of-choice is Bigfoot – a creature whose very essence requires a forest setting and a suitable pool of victims. But a body count isn’t necessarily a prerequisite for scares when it comes to the subject of Sasquatch. The idea that a huge, undiscovered and potentially intelligent man-like ape could be watching us…

WHILE MANY DISMISS BIGFOOT AS PURE MYTH, THERE IS SOME RATHER COMPELLING CIRCUMSTANTIAL evidence to suggest the creature may be more than shadows. Granted, there is still no hard physical evidence, such as a “type specimen” (something required by scientific zoological protocol to verify a species). But when examining the collective data presented over the years, it’s hard to completely dismiss the possibility that an unlikely, yet exceptional, animal may be roaming the woods and thus far evading discovery. Here are the six best reasons to keep your eyes open while travelling the backroads… 1. FOOTPRINTS AND CASTS THEREOF In lieu of actual remains, the most tangible evidence of Bigfoot are the thousands of tracks that have been found, photographed or cast with plaster since the 1950s. While it is…

IN NOVEMBER 1966, CITIZENS OF THE WEST VIRGINIA TOWN OF POINT PLEASANT WERE PLUNGED INTO FEAR and paranoia when a diabolical, winged, red-eyed monster descended on the area. The flying humanoid terrified anyone who dared to cross its path. It allegedly pursued hysterical drivers in the dead of night and, according to some, was even responsible for the catastrophic collapse of the landmark Silver Bridge on December 15, 1967 – a disaster that sent 46 people to their deaths in the Ohio River. The creature that haunted the town was given the memorable name of “Mothman.” Mothman, however, wasn’t the only weird thing plaguing Point Pleasant at the time. Mysterious “Men in Black” were said to have been prowling around town, threatening the creature’s eyewitnesses to remain silent. UFO sightings…

WHEN IT COMES TO THE PANTHEON OF ICONIC MONSTERS, THERE’S LITTLE DISPUTE THAT THE werewolf holds a prominent position. The archetype successfully transitioned from folklore to literary tales and eventually to cinema, making it one of the most recognizable of all horror villains. Its roots initially grew from the belief that humans could morph into beasts, whether by magic or other means. However, this notion has long since waned, so we must depend on the vivid imaginations of writers, illustrators and moviemakers to keep the legend of the werewolf alive. Or do we? While a physical change from man to wolf remains improbable at best, there’s another concept circulating in the realms of cryptozoology: that of the “dogman,” or, in more dramatic terms, the “real-life wolfman.” These hair-covered cryptids resemble…

OVER A PERIOD OF 25 YEARS, THE TREMORS SERIES HAS DEVELOPED A CULT FOLLOWING. Spanning five films and a short-lived TV series, the franchise incorporates a blend of horror, humour and cryptozoology, featuring battles with monstrous, tunnelling sand worms known as “graboids.” The creatures are undoubtedly beasts of pure monster fun, but a grain of truth may lie just under the sand. Long before filmmakers dreamed up the graboid, tales of a strikingly similar creature had been circulating in the heart of the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. There, in the vast sands, natives still speak of a legendary creature that dwells below the surface. People of the region call it the “olgoi-khorkhoi” – a Mongolian word that translates as “large intestine worm” – but English-speaking cryptozoologists know it as the…

IT’S HARD TO TURN ON A TELEVISION THESE DAYS WITHOUT RUNNING ACROSS A SHOW THAT INVOLVES PARANORMAL investigation. There are ghost hunts, monster quests, UFO chases and even scientific studies out to prove that unknown boogeymen truly do exist in our world. It’s a popular premise for pseudo-reality programs that feature everything from cryptozoologists tromping through the woods to ghost busters using high-tech gadgets to facilitate communication with the dead. The monsters they hunt are familiar – Bigfoot, Chupacabra, extraterrestrials, even demons – but who are these individuals dedicating their lives to the pursuit? That’s exactly what journalist Tea Krulos reveals in his book Monster Hunters: On the Trail with Ghost Hunters, Bigfooters, Ufologists, and Other Paranormal Investigators (Chicago Review Press). Within its pages, Krulos turns the spotlight on the…

WHEN IT COMES TO CRYPTID CASES, A SMALL-TOWN SETTING is a no-brainer. The towns usually exist off the beaten path, where whispered voices and rumoured legends speak of strange animals in the nearby woods or bayous. Perhaps this pairing isn’t coincidental – large animals would naturally require an out-of-the-way habitat to thrive and elude discovery – but nonetheless, it’s a combination that adds a certain quaint creepiness when these beasts venture from the realm of backwoods legend to the edge of rural reality. It is this very association that Ohio-based film company Small Town Monsters is committed to exploring. In their series of documentaries covering notable cryptozoology cases, the filmmakers focus not only on the alleged monsters themselves, but the small towns they haunt. In the company’s first release, 2015’s…

WHEN I STARTED RESEARCHING MY BOOK THE BEAST OF BOGGY CREEK, THE FIRST PLACE I VISITED was Monster Mart in Fouke, Arkansas. At the time, it was an unassuming little convenience store that only hinted at the town’s big legend. The outside of the establishment did have a small mural of the creature made famous by the 1972 movie The Legend of Boggy Creek, but the inside merely offered a cheerless curio case and a few old newspaper clippings tacked to a bulletin board near the front door. It was better than nothing, but all in all, it was a rather disappointing display of memorabilia and crude merchandise that, to me, seemed unworthy of the town’s intriguing history. Since the release of my book, however, there have been some major…

OVER THE LAST DECADE, A GROWING NUMBER OF TELEVISION NETWORKS HAVE LAUNCHED CRYPTOZOOLOGY-related shows. The programs – featuring the search for Bigfoot, Chupacabra, Loch Ness Monster, Mothman and more – tantalize viewers with spooky tales, eyewitness testimony and night-time monster hunts. But what is the reality of these televised pursuits for legendary creatures? Rue Morgue considers the facts for each series. MONSTERQUEST – HISTORY (2007-2010) MonsterQuest is arguably the best of the modern television shows to examine cryptozoological mysteries. In each episode, a revolving team of scientists, cryptozoologists and skeptics attempt to prove or disprove legendary cryptids from around the globe. Both eyewitness testimony and possible physical evidence is scrutinized using high-tech equipment to offer an intelligent and balanced evaluation of each case. LOST TAPES – ANIMAL PLANET (2008-2010) Lost…

IT’S NOT OFTEN THAT HISTORY IS COOPERATIVE ENOUGH TO GIVE US A MOUNTED TAXIDERMY SPECIMEN OF AN ALLEGED cryptozoological beast, but in the case of the Shunka Warak’in, this might be a real possibility. The name for this legendary creepy canid was provided by the Ioway Indians and can be roughly translated as “carrying off dogs.” It’s said to be a four-legged animal similar to a wolf or hyena that lives (or lived) in the Midwestern United States, most notably in the Montana region. Little is known about Shunka, but according to the native peoples of the area, it was indeed a real animal. The first modern report of a creature fitting this description dates back to the 1880s, when Israel Hutchins and his family first settled in the Madison…

LYLE BLACKBURN is an author, musician and cryptid researcher from Texas. His investigative cryptozoology books, The Beast of Boggy Creek and Lizard Man, reflect his lifelong fascination with legends and sighting reports of real-life “monsters.” Lyle is also a writer for Rue Morgue magazine and founder of the rock band Ghoultown. He has been a guest on numerous radio programs, including Coast to Coast AM, and has appeared on various television shows airing on Discovery, Animal Planet, Destination America, A&E, HGTV and CBS. Most recently, Lyle served as a consulting producer and special episode host for the television show Monsters and Mysteries in America. For more info, visit lyleblackburn.com. KEN GERHARDis a widely recognized cryptozoologist and author. He has travelled the world searching for evidence of mysterious beasts, including Bigfoot,…