Samuel DenHartog's Blog: The Road to 1,440 - Posts Tagged "fantasy-survivial"

Step into the towering forests of the Pacific Northwest, where an ancient guardian watches over a land that is both his home and his battleground. Told in the first-person voice of a solitary Bigfoot, this story weaves together moments of awe, tension, and deep introspection. Readers are invited into the mind of one of nature’s most mysterious creatures, experiencing life as he does—one shadowed by human encroachment yet filled with the timeless beauty of the wilderness.

As the narrative unfolds, we follow the cryptid’s life across centuries, from his memories of family and the teachings of his ancestors to his present-day struggles against modern threats. The story delves into poignant moments of connection, including a lost child guided back to safety, encounters with wildfires, and even a fleeting appreciation for human music. These experiences are juxtaposed with flashbacks of a time when his kind thrived alongside Indigenous peoples who revered them as protectors of the forest.

The book takes a dramatic turn when our guardian discovers he is not alone. A chance meeting with another Bigfoot—a female with two young children—offers a glimmer of hope in an otherwise solitary existence. Together, they navigate the dangers of their world while striving to create a safe haven for their family. The challenges of staying hidden, teaching the next generation, and reclaiming their legacy drive the latter half of the story, leading to a deeply satisfying conclusion.

Through its evocative storytelling and heartfelt themes, this book offers readers a rare glimpse into a life spent on the edge of myth and reality. It is not just a tale of survival but a celebration of resilience, connection, and the enduring power of nature. For those seeking an unforgettable journey, this story delivers an emotional and thought-provoking adventure that lingers long after the final page.

The legend of the chupacabra has fascinated people for decades, but I wanted to dive deeper—into the mind of the creature itself. With this book, I set out to imagine what it would be like to live under a curse that turns man into monster, exploring a story that spans centuries yet feels rooted in the present. By placing the reader inside Tlaca’s thoughts, I hope to give a perspective that’s rarely explored: not just the actions of a predator but the emotions, regrets, and memories that shape his existence.

One of the challenges in writing this story was balancing the ancient roots of the legend with the modern world, where technology and human expansion leave little room for myth to hide. In crafting Tlaca’s journey, I wanted to show how he adapts to this changing world, how the very land he’s tied to transforms over time. From the fall of Tenochtitlán to present-day Texas, his story is as much about survival as it is about identity and legacy.

Writing in the first person for this book allowed me to truly inhabit Tlaca’s perspective, creating a narrative that feels personal and alive. His thoughts, his struggles, and his moments of reflection paint a portrait of a creature who is far more than a monster. Through him, I explored questions about what it means to endure, to adapt, and to find purpose in the face of an unending curse.

"Chupacabra Among Us" is a book that blends mythology, suspense, and the deeply human themes of isolation and perseverance. It’s been an incredible journey bringing this story to life, and I hope readers find it as compelling to experience as it was for me to write.

Every legend begins somewhere, but few grow to capture imaginations like that of the Mothman. With my latest release, I’ve delved deep into the mythos, bringing a unique perspective to a tale that has haunted and fascinated people for decades. This is more than just a recounting of eerie sightings—it’s an exploration of the mysterious being behind the legend.

Through vivid storytelling and an intense first-person narrative, this book invites readers into the mind of the creature itself, known to the world as the Mothman. From his arrival on Earth to his internal struggles as an outsider, the story peels back the layers of myth and presents a thoughtful portrayal of identity, purpose, and the longing to belong.

The backdrop of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, with its eerie woods, small-town charm, and the infamous Silver Bridge collapse, provides a richly atmospheric setting. It’s a world that feels as alive as the characters themselves. The book also examines humanity through the creature’s eyes, reflecting on themes of fear, resilience, and the power of belief.

If you’re intrigued by the blend of folklore, suspense, and emotional depth, this story will leave you wondering what’s real, what’s imagined, and what might still be watching from the fringes of our world.

For centuries, the Pine Barrens have been haunted by whispers of a winged terror, a creature glimpsed in the night, feared by those who dare to tread too close to its domain. The stories of the Jersey Devil have always been told from the outside, from the fearful voices of those who claim to have seen it, from the desperate accounts of those who have hunted it. But what if the creature could speak for itself? What if the legend was only the beginning?

This book steps into the mind of the beast, unraveling the tale from the inside, through eyes that have seen centuries pass and claws that have torn through the fabric of human history. It is not just about fear—it is about purpose, about hunger, about the voice that has guided it since its first breath. From colonial nights to the burning glow of the modern world, the creature has endured, not just as a monster, but as something more. The Devil does not create without reason, and this is the story of what it truly means to be his own.

Writing this book was an experience unlike any other, diving into the raw and unsettling reality of a creature that was never meant to be tamed. Every sighting, every encounter, every scream in the night is a thread in a much larger tapestry of something ancient, something patient, something waiting. The Jersey Devil is a force, shaped by the fear of those who refuse to believe and strengthened by those who do. This is a tale of horror, power, inevitability, and a darkness that will never fade.

"The Jersey Devil Unchained" is now available, and with it, a new way to look at one of America’s oldest and most terrifying legends. If you have ever wondered what lurks beyond the reach of firelight, what watches from the depths of the woods when the world grows quiet, this book offers a glimpse into that abyss. But be warned—the thing in the Barrens has waited long enough, and now, it is ready to speak.

There is something captivating about the enduring mystery of the Himalayas. For centuries, the Yeti has existed in whispers—footprints vanishing into the snow, fleeting glimpses reported by explorers, and tales passed down by monks who walk the high passes. With this book, I wanted to step into that world, not as an outsider looking in, but from the perspective of the creature itself. This is a story of solitude, survival, and the delicate balance between remaining hidden and intervening in the affairs of the world below.

The journey of writing this book took me deep into the history and folklore surrounding the Yeti. From encounters with Sherpas and mountaineers to legends of spiritual guardians watching over the peaks, the story became more than just a cryptid’s tale. It weaves together real historical moments—such as the Dalai Lama’s flight through the mountains and the first ascent of Everest—with imagined traditions and beliefs that shape the Yeti’s existence. In exploring these themes, I sought to create a narrative that feels both timeless and deeply personal.

At its core, this book is about change. The world presses in, bringing explorers, climbers, and researchers with tools that see further than ever before. The Yeti must adapt, deciding when to remain in the shadows and when to act. Along the way, moments of quiet reverence, heartbreaking loss, and deep reflection shape the creature’s understanding of its own place in a changing world. The legend is no longer just something to be feared—it is something to be understood.

I’m excited to share this story with readers who love cryptids, history, and a touch of the unknown. This book is not about proving whether the Yeti is real, but about what it would mean to live as one—watching, protecting, and carrying the weight of an ancient legacy. I hope it offers an immersive and thought-provoking experience, one that lingers like footprints in freshly fallen snow.

Long before hikers brought their cameras and climbers charted safe routes through the Cairngorms, stories whispered of something far older than the stones underfoot. The Big Grey Man of Ben MacDhui has haunted Scotland’s highest slopes with a presence that defies explanation—seen by few, sensed by many, and feared by all who linger too long in the mist. It’s this chilling blend of myth, psychology, and raw wilderness that inspired the newest addition to my cryptid series.

Told entirely from the creature’s point of view, this story dives deep into the lonely soul of something that is not quite man, not quite ghost. Part relic hominid, part force of nature, the narrator is a being shaped as much by fear as by flesh. It remembers when the world was quiet, when the mountains kept their secrets, and it watches as people begin to forget how dangerous silence can be. Its transformation—from flesh and blood to something more shadow than skin—is as slow and inevitable as snowfall over stone.

I wanted the story to feel intimate but vast, rooted in the terrain yet untethered from time. The creature doesn’t simply lurk in the fog—it becomes the fog, the wind, the presence that makes the air too still. Readers step into the mind of a being that was never meant to be understood, only felt. And through its voice, the mountain speaks.

If you’ve ever stood alone on a ridge and felt the hair on your neck rise without reason, this book was written for you. The line between fear and awe is thin up there, and no legend embodies that tension more than "The Big Grey Man."

When I began shaping this story, I knew I wanted to explore the moment when harmony breaks and what might grow in the silence that follows. The book follows a young Diné (Navajo) Medicine Man whose life begins in balance, deeply rooted in tradition, family, and the sacred songs that shape his world. His bond with his twin brother is nearly unshakable, and their childhood in the high desert is filled with ceremony, laughter, and the early signs of who they will become. But when love and jealousy collide, that bond shatters in a single moment of violence.

What follows is not just a fall from grace but a transformation that crosses the lines between human and animal, body and spirit. The man we once knew becomes something else entirely. He walks roads far from his people and far from the name he once carried, changing in ways both physical and spiritual. These transformations are not gifts. They are consequences. Each one reflects a new stage of exile and a new way the world fears or misunderstands what he has become.

This story lives at the edge of Diné belief, where beauty and balance guide the living, and the consequences of breaking that harmony ripple outward like a cracked drum. I spent a great deal of time researching traditional songs, ceremonies, and mythic figures to echo their gravity within a fictional framework. My aim was not to define what a Skinwalker is, but to imagine what kind of man might walk that road.

By the final chapter, the man walks where names no longer follow. Whether or not there is peace is left for the reader to decide. This is not a tale of redemption, but one of reckoning, shaped by the weight of what cannot be undone. That is the story at the heart of "Skinwalker Rising."