Staying On Track: 2008’s Forthcoming Cryptozoology Books
Posted by: Loren Coleman on January 13th, 2008
A new year is always exciting, for no telling what it holds.
New species to be discovered? Of course. New cryptid sightings? Certainly. New cryptozoology books being published? Needless to say.
The Top Cryptozoology Books of 2007 have been picked and discussed, so it is time to look to the future.
There, indeed, are hints of many new cryptozoology books on the horizon. Let me split them between the nonfiction and cryptofiction.
Cryptozoology Nonfiction Titles
Ivan T. Sanderson’s classic book, Abominable Snowmen: Legend Come to Life has been republished by Cosimo in 2008, with a new preface. I have already mentioned this 525 page book and more on it can be found here.
Boss Snakes: Stories and Sightings of Giant Snakes in North America by Chad Arment.
Boss Snakes promises to be one of the more intriguing volumes of the year. Giant snake reports and sightings involve many levels of cryptozoology ~ actual unknowns, misidentifications, known species, eyewitness mistakes, folklore, archival news accounts, and escaped pets. Arment appreciates reptiles, and his newest book appears well-suited to his special skills and interests.
Above is one of Arment’s Boss Snakes maps, this one plotting localities of alleged sightings of giant snakes (8+ feet in length). The book itself may feel as big as a giant snake, at almost 400 pages in length.
Anomalist Books will publish the exciting adventures of Adam Davies (above with an Orang Pendek cast).
This new book details the mild-mannered British civil servant by day, a sweaty keen cryptozoologist by night, as he and his expedition members use their linguistic and fieldwork skills to track down unknown creatures during their cryptoholidays, all the while managing to avoid ancient curses.
Anomalist Books has other cryptozoology titles in the pipeline, although no firm titles are available yet.
Things and More Things: Myths, Mysteries and Marvels! by Ivan T. Sanderson.
Adventures Unlimited Press combines Sanderson’s two classic paperback books into one trade paperbound volume. Cryptozoology chapters (from old magazine articles) by Sanderson cover the following topics: globsters, sea serpents, lake monsters, giant eels, hairy hominoids, neodinosaurs, moas, giant penguins, giant skulls, and frozen mammoths. Since the paperbacks are so difficult to find nowadays, this is a welcome reprint for new cryptozoologists.
The Centre for Fortean Zoology apparently has various cryptozoology books forthcoming, and the first one out of the chute is their annual yearbook. The 2008 volume includes chapters on mystery cats, Swansea Bay cryptids, Death Worms, Orang Pendek, Loch Morar reports, and more.
Bernard Heuvelmans’ book on the Iceman is set to be republished this spring, and excitingly, the new edition will contain all of the as-yet-unpublished photographs the “Father of Cryptozoology” took in Minnesota.
Bigfoot Caught on Film: And Other Monster Sightings! (24/7: Science Behind the Scenes) by Michael Teitelbaum
Being a part of a “Scholastic” series, this Bigfoot examination appears to be a juvenile title that overviews the common issues related to Sasquatch and other cryptids. The “film” in the title also may allude to a closer look at the Patterson-Gimlin footage.
Other titles I have heard about:
Cosimo Books may have as many as five new cryptozoology classics published by the end of the year. My updated, revised book, Mothman: Evil Incarnate will be published this year by Cosimo.
Bigfooter Rick Fisher is writing a book about Pennyslvania cryptids, due in 2008.
Hancock House will publish Kathy Moskowitz Strain’s Giants, Cannibals, & Monsters: Bigfoot in Native Cultures. Also this same publisher is set soon to bring forth Christopher Murphy’s Know the Sasquatch, a massive volume filled with Bigfoot researchers’ high-quality color photographs.
Coachwhip Publications has plans for a new book on the Atlantic and Pacific Sea Serpents, but writer delays may cause it to be pushed off to 2009.
I know little more than the title of this youth-oriented book: Bigfoot, Yeti, and Other Ape-Men by Preston Dennett and Rosemary Ellen Guiley.
Cryptofiction Titles
The Devil’s Ridge by Andre Bergeron
This action adventure novel is set in the Eastern Kentucky Appalachians, where Brad Brown and his team are pursuing a mysterious quarry–North America’s great ape, the Sasquatch. Advising the group is Jesse McCoy, a young man whose own past encounter with the creature fuels his desire for answers. They track down three of the elusive beasts, but the ensuing confrontation spells tragedy for some and redemption for others in an all-out fight for survival.
The Ape Cave Horror: The Sasquatch Encounters Two by Clint Romag
Three years have passed since Chad Gamin escaped the massacre in Canada. Dealing with the aftermath, Chad thought he was safe in Longview, not realizing that the danger was so near.
Over the last year, hikers and campers have gone missing around the Mount Saint Helens area. Andrew Bridgeston, a Sasquatch enthusiast, is positive that one of these legendary creatures is involved with the disappearances. With his team of Sasquatch hunters, he is determined to capture one and volunteers the help of a reluctant Chad.
They discover a hidden cave system and what they find in the depths is an unimaginable horror. Attacked and hunted, their only chance to survive is to find a way back to the surface. Even then, it may already be too late.
Also included is the short story “Meredith’s Journey” Taking place a few days after the events in “The Unleashing,” Meredith was last seen being pulled through a window by a Bigfoot. Her body was never found. Did she die or did something worse happen?
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If you are writing or publishing a new book in the field of cryptozoology, in 2008, please send your review copy to Loren Coleman, P. O. Box 360, Portland, ME 04112 USA, for a critique and consideration of the year end “best of” lists. I review, cite, and/or mention past books that need to be noted, even if they are a few years old, as well as new titles. Thank you.
About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
Great read!
Thanks Loren!
That giant snake book looks very interesting. Any giant snakes seen in Florida that are not escaped boas or pythons are probably Florida Indigo Snakes, but all those sightings in Pennsylvania and other Northern states are not so easily explained. I can’t wait to read the book, I had no idea there were so many giant snake sightings in the US.
Two thoughts:
I am surprised the big snake sightings are not most numerous in Florida through East Texas as opposed to much further North.
The Sasquatch stories have a fearsome quality about them. How about one where Sasquatch is a guardian of the mountain forest and helps some lost kids? Maybe a bunch more messin’ with Sasquatch commercials?
hey loren & everyone wow there does look like alot great new books about cryptozoology animals & sasquatch comeing out this year so far. good morning. bill green 🙂
I can’t wait to read Rick Fisher’s book!
Hi all, looking forward to Chris Murphy’s new one. If his last ones are any indication, this should be great!
I clicked on the link for “The Devil’s Ridge.”
The Amazon.com overview I read referred to the sasquatch as “North America’s great ape.”
One takes one’s progress where one can.
Yeah, Chris Murphy’s new one sounds great plus the other one of Hancock House. Great publisher by the way.
I’d love to read Boss Snakes… and that Cryptofiction book called Devils Ridge. Awesome!
What about you, Loren? Got some new plans? Mysterious America Vol. 2? What happened to “True Giants”?
Chris Murphy’s book, for clarification, is a revised and updated version of his earlier Sasquatch book.
Oh, yes, there are several hints of works in there by me or with introductions by me.
True Giants is in limbo, pending some health-related and computer-related issues of the coauthors that have slowed down a variety of pre-production elements of the book.