Sasquatch is My Neighbor: A Collection of Hairy Cryptid Lore

by A.M. Symes, L.M. Kaplin, Alan Fishbone

Could it be those tall tales you learned as a child contained a few kernels of dark truth? Could Sasquatch be among us right now, watching our every move? Or does he just want to be left alone? This collection of cryptid horrors will take you into the depths of some of the most remote areas of North America and beyond. They will also take you right down your street...and into your own backyard. Is Sasquatch real? Does a bear...Oh, never mind. Read and find out.

168 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 28, 2024

Reviews

[Shannon Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sasquatch is My Neighbor looks into the lore and mythos of Sasquatch. It was a very fascinating book! There are 8 stories in this folklore book, 9 if you count the intro. Each story is uniquely written and shows all of the different authors' take on the myth of bigfoot.

[Jessica (Read book. Repeat) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable collection of stories that were all based around Sasquatch. I believe that the authors of all stories were given the directive to use the line "sasquatch is my neighbour" somewhere in their stories for it to qualify, I found this to be a fun little addition, and I did find myself looking for the line throughout each story. The stories vary in length, but I enjoyed all of them. Some more than others, but that's to be expected. I love collections like this because it gives me a chance to try out new to me authors without committing to a full-length novel. I get to see how they write and what their voice is like in a sort of taster. I've been on a bit of a sasquatch journey lately, so this popped up at just the right time and was a quick read that I knocked over in a day or so.

[Books For Decaying Millennials · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note from a Decaying Millennial:
I picked up a copy of this book from a local business. I'm always game for checking out and amplifying local and regional writers. Especially if elements of Horror and Cryptozoology are present. All views are my own, provided at no cost.
-
One thing that is to be said about the greater subject of Sasquatch is that there is no shortage of stories, folklore, annecodates etc, and that doesn't even include material from beyond continental North America... So there is no shortage of fuel from which to germinate stories including Sasquatch.
The members of the "The Dead Birds Writing Group" seem to have grasped this fact quite clearly and ran with it. What was birthed from their endeavors was Sasquatch is My Neighbor , a surprisingly diverse collection of stories. As stated in the preliminary note, I'm always game for supporting local and regional writers, and a number of the writers in this collection fit that bill (one apparently even lives in town here somewhere). Those regional authors, each in their own way, brought the diverse regional voices and flavor to life in their stories. I was also happily surprised to discover that one author A.M. Symes has had writing featured on the "NoSleep Podcast", of which I am a long time listener. The cover art by Sheryl Mei is honestly what initially caught my eye, and her internal illustrations provide and delightful creepy flavor to the collection.

This collection was born from a writing prompt, "Sasquatch is My Neighbor", which each writer had to include a statement in their piece. Just as their is such a diverse and varied scope of Sasquatch lore out there, so too did each writer take their won unique approach to crafting a story. The end result is akin to being present to people gathered around a campfire, each telling a story in round robin fashion. I've said elsewhere that I've had a long standing love of story collections. They provide an opportunity to discover diverse voices. In this book you'll get a bit sized taste of the writing style of different authors, just be sure to spit out the squatch hairs.

[Leon Scheppink · Rating 4 out of 5]

Granted, I figured this would only contain short stories on Bigfoot but the subtitle clearly states 'A collection of hairy cryptid lore' and that's true. For the most part, anyway. This books contains a nice mixture of stories: some bloody, some quirky and some more on the emotional side. As said, the hairy beasties involved are mostly Bigfoot, but not all, which actually was a pleasant surprise. Although one or two stories took some effort getting through, the collection was enjoyable nonetheless.

[Melissa Coffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great , fun collection of stories!!

[Michelle Sweeney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this quarky collection of stories! All of the contributors were given one condition; somewhere in the text of the story he phrase "sasquatch is my neighbor" needed to appear. They took the challenge and ran with it. A few standouts for me were
The Whopper
In the Darkness, Amongst Us
Judy's Last Promise

[Danielle Muething · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a fan of all things Cryptid and was excited to dive into a book about Sasquatch. This collection of short stories all had to include the line “Sasquatch is my Neighbor” and, I believe, mention a state park. It was fun to see how each author interpreted the challenge. I found all of the stories enjoyable.

[N L Hiser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Officially giving this anthology 4.75/5 stars!
I actually wrote the flash fiction piece for the intro, but I had never read any of the other authors. The Legend of Abel Scary gives all the summerween vibes with its classic storytelling-around-the-campfire moment! And In The Darkness Among Us - holy crap that twist! These two stories are my favorites within the anthology, but I honestly thoroughly enjoyed each and every story included. Some were creepy, some were a bit spooky, and others were humorous. But most of them took unique twists on the classic Sasquatch myth. Now I have several new-to-me authors to look up and read more from!