Encounters with Flying Humanoids: Mothman, Manbirds, Gargoyles & Other Winged Beasts

by Ken Gerhard

A strange creature with gigantic, blood-red embers for eyes crept out of the dark in West Virginia. Dozens of witnesses reported seeing the winged beast--later identified as the Mothman--take flight, chasing cars at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour.

Cryptozoologist Ken Gerhard has traveled the world collecting evidence on the Mothman, the Owlman, the Van Meter Creature, the Valkyrie of Voltana, the Houston Batman, and other strange "bird people" that have been sighted throughout history. Packed with famous historical cases and dozens of chilling first-person accounts, this is the first book to focus exclusively on flying humanoids--a wide array of airborne entities that seem to "feed off our fear like psychic vampires."

Genres: Cryptozoology, Monsters, Nonfiction, Paranormal, Cryptids, Supernatural

240 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2013

About the author

Ken Gerhard is a professional monster hunter and has investigated reports of mysterious beasts around the world including Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, the Chupacabra, giant winged creatures like Mothman and Thunderbirds and even werewolves.

In addition to appearing in three episodes of the television series Monster Quest (History Channel), Texan Cryptozoologist Ken Gerhard is featured in the History Channel special The Real Wolfman, as well as Legend Hunters (Travel Channel/A&E), Paranatural (National Geographic), Ultimate Encounters (truTV) and William Shatner's Weird or What? (History Television). His credits include multiple appearances on Coast to Coast AM, major news broadcasts and Ireland’s Newstalk radio, as well as being featured in major books and in articles by the Associated Press, Houston Chronicle and Tampa Tribune.

Ken is author of the book Big Bird: Modern Sightings of Flying Monsters, as well as the co-author of Monsters of Texas (with Nick Redfern) and has contributed to trade publications including Fate Magazine, Animals and Men, The Journal of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club and Bigfoot Times.

Ken has traveled to twenty-six different countries on six continents and almost all of the United States. An avid adventurer, he has camped along the Amazon Jungle, explored the Galapagos Islands, hiked the Australian Outback and has visited many ancient and mysterious sites from Machu Pichu to Stonehenge to Australia, Thailand and Tunisia.

He currently lectures and exhibits at events across the United States.

Reviews

[Kyle Philson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Encounters with Flying Humanoids is one of the best sources for a full compendium/list of esoteric flying cryptids. It is packed from cover to cover with stories of strange beast that have been spotted all over the entire world. The author did far more than just research these creatures from the internet and compile them for this book. He actually traveled to some of these places and interviewed some of the eyewitnesses himself and it really shows. Before this book I was only aware of the ever-popular Mothman of Point Pleasant West Virginia. I had no idea of all of the sightings of these unusual beings that have been sighted throughout time. Creatures such as Owlman, Batsquatch, the Briggs Road Bat Man, the Brentford Griffin, the Jersey Devil, the Houston Bat Man and my favorite the Batwinged Monkey Bird. The list goes on and on. If you love bizarre stories of strange and unusual cryptids or you know someone who does, do yourself a favor and read this book. You will not be disappointed.

[Margaret Sholders · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting book to read. I have always been drawn to anything odd, paranormal and otherwise strange. I especially liked this book because Ken worked hard to include a great many countries and stories I had never heard of before. There were stories in Cornwall, Britain, South America, Mexico and top of the list is our very own Mothman in West Virginia. I am rather drawn to the Jersey Devil as it has been spotted in my husband's hometown of Swedesboro, New Jersey. I am always on the fence over these tales. Are they real or Hey, people do you really believe this? I believe there is something out there. Read this book and decide for yourself.

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much like his previous book, “Big Bird!”, the book is easy to read through, with each entity having its own article-like section of the book, and it is easy to read the book all at once without realizing. Gerhard has also managed to fix some of the issues present in his previous book, citing several other professionals in his investigations, ultimately leading to a mix of perspectives that greatly enhances the book as a whole. This book can easily be recommended to anyone who is interested in cryptozoology, being a more in-depth summary of dozens of different sightings of winged beings through the years.
I have to admit, I was very pleased by the variety of humanoids in this book. The stories of Spring-Heeled Jack were something that I have found interesting/spooky, and the Hopkinsville goblins have always been terrifying to me. The fact that Gerhard was willing to touch on the subject of extra-terrestrial beings in this book is something that I enjoy, as that is a subject that some people are not comfortable going near, fearing that it will make their work seem less reputable.
My biggest issues with this book were trivial really. I was somewhat irritated with the lack of a table of contents, if anything because it made looking back at the book for this review more difficult. I also had a conflict of perspectives when reading his views on positive and negative energies, and their potential for causing the sightings of flighted humanoids, but when it comes down to it, I tend to be skeptical of such things in general, so I have an admitted bias. Other than these items, though, the book was a fantastic read.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book you will find anywhere about flying humanoids! Ken Gerhard is one of the top Cryptozoologists in the world. When he writes a book, it is based on facts and information that he has thoroughly investigated.

The stories in this book are fasinating. Mr. Gerhard writes in a style that the reader can easily understand and follow. Mothman has always been one of my favorite subjects and is one of the subjects well covered in this book.

This is a must read for anyone interested in flying humanoids.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apparently, a bunch of people all over the world have come forward to saying they observed half bird/bat half human flying monsters. there is allegedly a Batsquatch. A flying Bigfoot. This is what I learned. The book was kind of ridiculous, but I enjoyed reading it. The whole premise is pretty silly and I definitely have my doubts as to the veracity of the accounts, but it was a fun book nevertheless.

[Katharine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly I only read the chapter on Mothman. I found it unnerving despite myself- I suppose because the author didn't embellish, just gave what people said about their encounters in a matter-of-fact tone, which made it sound more believable.
It was helpful for me to muse on how genuinely terrifying it is for one to be faced with something that doesn't match with one's view of the 'real' world. I forget by reading too much fantasy- and it is a helpful thought to keep in mind as I set my story characters into situations that force them to meet the unexpected. The unexpected isn't just curious or confusing- its spine tingling and paralyzing. Hmmm...

[Maggie Haberman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a good overview of flying cryptids. Where the author loses me is essentially EVERY conclusion he reaches. He uses the terms “evidently” and “obviously” to append bizarro conclusions onto otherwise ambiguous stories. His conclusion did not feel like it was derived from the rest of the text. I enjoyed this book greatly, but the author’s bias was distracting and frustrating.

[James B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better written and more coherently organized than most books in the genre. It does not rise to a systematic examination, but still worth owning as a reference.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Freaky, freaky, freaky!!!

[Erkcan2 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

[Matthew Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun read! I want to believe!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicely done, but fairly typical of books of this genre, book of reports of "Unidentified Flying Humanoids." I especially enjoyed both the author's insights into John Keel's (Mothman Prophecies author) role in the Mothman story and the chapter at the end about humanlike flying creatures in world folklore.

[Brent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting for the compilation of reports. Less interesting for the authors inexact use of the words "mind" (e.g. "the mind is a strange organ" wtf?), "diabolical" and others I can't remember. While I knew what he was meaning, it was jarring.

[Trey Nowell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting accounts of various beings seen over centuries and reported by multiple sources. Appendix was also very enjoyable to read.

[Rabbit {Paint me like one of your 19th century gothic heroines!} · Rating 4 out of 5]

I currently have a bit of an obsession with cryptids.



As you can tell by my shirt, along with one of the newest members of our family, the scale bb. ^_^ (I still need to take a picture of the pet rat).

I'm skeptical when it comes to cryptids, but they are fun to read about. You never know they might be out there ;P