Cryptozoology Books

Bigfoot and Other Hairy Hominids General Lake Monsters Reptiles Sea Monsters

Many books have been written about cryptozoological topics. I've listed a few that I believe you'll find interesting and informative. I add more titles as I come across new books or I reread old books so I can summarize them.

Click on the title for a book which is still in print to find publishing information or to purchase a copy from the online book store at amazon.com or directly from the publisher for some titles. You can also search amazon.com for more books on cryptozoology.

For a more comprehensive listing of titles about cryptozoological topics, see Karl P. N. Shuker's bibliography.

Bigfoot and Other Hairy Hominids

• Big Footprints (1992) by Grover S. Krantz offers a scientific inquiry into the existence of the Sasquatch. Krantz, a professor of anthropology at Washington State University, has been studying Bigfoot for over thirty years. Includes extensive discussion of footprints, the Patterson film, the fossil record, Bigfoot hunters, and much more.

• Field Guide to the Sasquatch (1992) by David George Gordon and the Society of Cryptozoology offers a short 48 page summary of the history of Sasquatch encounters. Includes conjectures about the creature's behavior, living habits, and relationship with other hominoids/hominids.

• In Pursuit of the Abominable Snowman (1971) by Odette Tchernine synthesizes reports (up through 1970) about the Yeti and similar "remnant hominds". An appendix lists 131 names and terms for such creatures from around the world.

• Sasquatch & Bigfoot (1993) by Don Hunter and René Dahinden is an updated version of the 1973 book entitled Sasquatch. The authors provide a good compilation of Bigfoot sightings and an analysis of the Patterson film.

• The Field Guide to Bigfoot, Yeti and Other Mystery Primates Worldwide (1999) by Loren Coleman offers a comprehensive look at reports of ape-like and human-like creatures throughout history. Coleman suggests a new nine-category classification system for such creatures. The book includes fifty case studies and illustrations for each. A few excerpts from the book are available online.

• Where Bigfoot Walks : Crossing the Dark Divide (1995) by nature writer Robert Michael Pyle relates his search for Bigfoot. Pyle was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship to investigate the Sasquatch legends. Includes interviews with Native Americans and a number of well-known names in Bigfoot research.

General

• Cryptozoology A to Z: The Encyclopedia of Loch Monsters, Sasquatch, Chupacabra (1999) by Loren Coleman and Jerome Clark provides an up-to-date look at two hundred famous and not-so-famous cryptids. Includes drawings, photographs, eyewitness accounts, and much more.

• Dragons in Amber (1951) by Willy Ley discusses unusual living creatures such as the Giant Panda and the Milu as well as the extinct American camels, mammoths, insects in amber, and more. A chapter entitled "The Islands of Adventive Fauna" will appeal to anyone interested in volcanos. In it Ley talks about the repopulation of the islands of Krakatoa by a variety of plants and animals -- without human assistance -- after the great volcanic explosion of 1883 completely denuded the islands.

• In Exotic Zoology (1959) Willy Ley updates some of his essays on zoological and cryptozoological topics from his earlier books The Lungfish, the Dodo, and the Unicorn; Dragons in Amber; and Salamanders and Other Wonders.

• From Flying Toads to Snakes with Wings : From the Pages of Fate Magazine (1997) by Karl P. N. Shuker compiles articles about cryptids he wrote for FATE magazine. Includes winged feathered serpents, possible living dinosaurs, giant Chinese toads, mystery bears, blue horses, giant jellyfish, and many more.

• In Search of Prehistoric Survivors (1995) by Karl P. N. Shuker offers a modern review of the search for "living fossils," particularly large unknown reptiles and mammals.

• Monster Hunting Today (1983) by Daniel Cohen is a book about cryptozoology aimed at younger readers. The text is printed in large type and so may also be useful for the vision impaired. Cohen offers a brief introduction to cryptozoology and chapters on Mokele Mbembe; Lake Monsters like Champ and Chessie; search efforts at Loch Ness; the giant octopus; the Alma and other wildmen; and Bigfoot. Includes photos of the gigantic octopus remains washed ashore at St. Augustine, Florida in 1896.

• On The Track Of Unknown Animals (1995) by Bernard Heuvelmans is a reissue of the classic work on the subject of cryptozoology. The 1958 edition has been reprinted with a new introduction by Heuvelmans detailing some of the most important finds in the last forty or so years, as well as some new photos. This book is a "must have" if you are interested in cryptozoology.

• Rumors of Existence : Newly Discovered, Supposedly Extinct, and Unconfirmed Inhabitants of the Animal Kingdom (1995) by Matthew A. Bille concentrates on the most recently discovered and rarest animals.

• Salamanders & Other Wonders (1955) by Willy Ley includes sections on the Abominable Snowmen; fabulous trees such as the upas, the Javanese Tree of Death; and animals which were once near extinction such as the Bermuda Cahow and the Swiss Waldrapp.

• The Complete Guide to Mysterious Beings (1994) by John Keel covers some cryptozoological entries along with vampires, werewolves, aliens, and other oddities. Includes many eyewitness accounts of strange creatures.

• The Encyclopedia of Monsters (1989) by Daniel Cohen covers Bigfoot and friends, land monsters, monster birds and bats, phantoms, lake and river monsters, sea monsters, alien and supernatural visitors, and weird creatures in folklore. Includes helpful commentary on hoaxes and an annotated bibliography.

• The Field Guide to North American Monsters : Everything You Need to Know About (1998) by W. Haden Blackman catalogs many of the bizarre and elusive creatures said to inhabit North America, including hairy hominids, lake and sea serpents, and a variety of supernatural monsters.

• The Lungfish, the Dodo, and the Unicorn (1948) by Willy Ley is the first in a classic series of books by Ley on zoological and cryptozoological topics. Willy Ley, space scientist with a deep interest in zoology, ignited my interest both in astronomy and cryptozoology when I was very young. As a youngster, I found the chapter on the "Dragon of the Ishtar Gate" of Babylon to be the most intriguing. I was fascinated by the idea that the animal depicted by the Babylonians, which they called the Sirrush (Mushrushu), might have been a "living fossil" from the age of the dinosaurs.

• Unexplained! : Strange Sightings, Incredible Occurrences & Puzzling Physical Phenomena (1998) by Jerome Clark is the second edition of his collection of "Forteana" including sea serpents, merfolk, the Jersey Devil, bigfoot, Chupacabras, and many more items which will tickle the fancy of cryptozoology lovers and Forteans alike.

Lake Monsters

• In Search of Lake Monsters (1974) by Peter Costello discusses the evidence for lake monsters all over the world, including of course the Loch Ness monster. Includes sections on the Highland water horses of Scotland, the Pooka and Piast of Ireland, the Soe-Orm and Skrimsl of Scandinavia, Ogopogo and others in Canada, Slimey Slim and others in the United States, the Waitoreke and Bunyip of Australia, the "Patagonian Plesiosaur," and others. Costello suggests that the Loch Ness monster and many others are sightings of a large long-necked grassigrade pinniped, i.e., a long-necked seal.

• In the Domain of the Lake Monsters (1998) by John Kirk discusses the search efforts by the author and others for Ogopogo, provides an overview of the large number of lake monsters reported about the world, examines the relationship between Ogopogo and Cadborosaurus Willsi of British Columbia, and studies the apparent comparative physical differences between Ogopogo and the Loch Ness Monster. Kirk is president of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club.

• Monster Hunt (1972) by Tim Dinsdale traces the history of appearances of the Loch Ness monster and similar creatures around the world. He discusses the scientific expeditions to investigate Loch Ness which took place in the 1960s and 1970s. Dinsdale was a photographer on some of these expeditions.

• Search at Loch Ness (1977) describes the 1976 expedition undertaken by The New York Times and the Academy of Applied Science, to search for the Loch Ness monster.

• The Great Orm of Loch Ness (1969) by F. W. Holiday suggests the Loch Ness Monster is a giant vermiform invertebrate.

• The Loch Ness Monster : The Evidence (1997) by Steuart Campbell examines eyewitness evidence, reports, photos, and sonar evidence with a critical eye. He concludes the evidence fails to support the existence of the Loch Ness monster (and by extension, other lake monsters). Campbell suggests many sightings at Loch Ness have been natural phenomena such as standing waves, otters, or swimming deer.

• The Loch Ness Mystery Solved (1984) by Ronald Binns suggests that there is no scientific evidence of monsters in Loch Ness. He suggests most if not all sightings are actually of birds, roe deer, large fish, otters, and wave wake phenomena.

• The Monsters of Loch Ness: The First Complete Scientific Study (1976) by Roy P. Mackal includes a review of eyewitness accounts, photos, and sonar data.

Reptiles

• A Living Dinosaur : In Search of Mokele-Mbembe (1987) by Roy P. Mackal reports on his travels to central Africa to look for Mokele-Mbembe, a large sauropod-like creature supposed to inhabit the Congo. Mackal didn't find the creature but he did uncover lots of interesting native lore about it.

• Claws Jaws and Dinosaurs (1999) by Kent Hovind and William J. Gibbons offers an introduction to cryptozoology for younger readers. The authors write from a Christian Creationist point of view so some of their statements about religion and evolution may not appeal to all readers.

• Drums Along the Congo : On the Trail of Mokele-Mbembe, the Last Living Dinosaur (1993) by Rory Nugent details his travels on the trail of the supposed river-dwelling living dinosaur. Nugent spots what might be the creature from a distance, but his guides restrain him from approaching more closely out of fear for their lives. Nugent offers lots of fascinating detail about the Congo and the people who live there.

• No Mercy : A Journey to the Heart of the Congo (1997) by Redmond O'Hanlon recounts his trek to the Congo to search for Mokele-Mbembe, a purported living dinosaur. This book is actually much more of a travelog, autobiography, and commentary on life than a strict cryptozoological work.

Sea Monsters

• The Great New England Sea Serpent: An Account of Unknown Creatures Sighted by Many Respectable Persons Between 1638 and the Present Day (1999) by J. P. O'Neill discusses the sightings of the unknown marine creature which appeared off the Massachusetts coast during the early 1800s. O'Neill's book contains many newly discovered contemporary accounts which have not been reprinted since the early 1800s. She also corrects a number of errors which have been propagated in previous books and articles on the subject. O'Neill's essay on the Great New England Sea Serpent offers an introduction to the subject of her book.

• Hydra and Kraken, Or, the Lore and Lure of Lake-Monsters and Sea-Serpents (1996) by Noel Peattie is a short 56 page introduction to the "lore and lure of lake monsters and sea serpents."

• In the Wake of the Sea-Serpents (1968) by Bernard Heuvelmans covers over 500 sightings of sea serpents and giant squid through the middle 1960s. Heuvelmans suggests the sea serpent sightings break down into nine different types of animals. He doesn't cover fresh water monsters like the Loch Ness monster in this book.

• Monsters of the Sea (1994) by Richard Ellis discusses sea serpents, leviathans, mermaids, krakens, and other legendary sea creatures. He offers plausible referents in known existing animals for many of these creatures. Ellis includes a lot of information about sharks, squid, octopi, and marine mammals like the manatee. Ellis also covers "globsters," those mysterious rotting carcasses that have sometimes been taken as dead sea monsters. One of the appendices lists historical sightings and strandings of the giant squid.

• Sea Serpents (1991) by Charles Bright provides a short introduction to the history of sea serpent sightings, from early times to the present day. Includes a discussion of sea serpents in mythology, famous hoaxes, and the possible identity of some of these creatures.

• The Search for the Giant Squid (1998) by Richard Ellis provides a solid introduction to this unusual creature. In addition to the natural history of the giant squid, Ellis describes its appearance in fiction and cinema. The book includes a fine collection of rarely before seen images of the giant squid.

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