January 8, 2009

Boston Phoenix: Where The Wild Cryptids Are

Rarely do I see a weekly newspaper create a cryptozoological magnum opus. But it may have happened.

The Boston Phoenix has published a long, indeed, a very long essay that fairly and, in great detail, profiles cryptozoology and me. Their extraordinarily lengthy Lifestyle Features article on cryptids, the International Cryptozoology Museum and more can be found in their January 7, 2009 edition, which went live online late Wednesday, and will be at New England newstands all this week.

Reporter Mike Miliard’s “Where the wild things are” begins by noting, “As our planet edges closer to the apocalypse, the escapist, fantasy world of cryptids is suddenly coming to life.”

“Cryptids are recession-proof,” says Loren Coleman (no relation to Norm), who lives in Portland, Maine, and is perhaps the world’s foremost promulgator of cryptozoological wisdom.– Mike Miliard, Boston Phoenix.

Hardly ever does an article on our field not drift away from the topic at hand. But as you will see, Miliard’s is an excellent example of an on-target treatment, done sincerely and seriously. It is well-written, and filled with quotes from some of my favorite New England friends ~ John Hodgman, Jeff Belanger, and Chris Balzano.

“For every square mile that man has walked on the Earth, three hundred square miles exist that have never been touched by human feet — but may indeed have been touched by the hooves, paws, tentacles, and horrid tongue-foot-pads of the cryptids.” — John Hodgman

See the four-part piece here.

(In celebration of a world of few errors, the article contents only one nit-picking stumble: The Bigfoot on the porch is covered with tanned legal musk oxen hides, not yak fur.)

For the “Slideshow: Cryptids In Maine,” of the great photographs by Matthew Robbins, click here.

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Donations to the Save The Museum fund can be delivered via PayPal to LColeman@maine.rr.com or snail mailed to International Cryptozoology Museum, PO Box 360, Portland, ME 04112, USA.

Lil’ Bigfoot Cartoon Credit: Cunningham/Pittz

Loren Coleman 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.

Filed under Breaking News, CryptoZoo News, Cryptozoologists, Cryptozoology, Media Appearances, Men in Cryptozoology, Pop Culture