Monsters of the Midwest: True Tales of Bigfoot, Werewolves, and Other Legendary Creatures

by Jessica Freeburg, Natalie Fowler

Read 23 chilling stories, from two paranormal investigators, about reportedly true encounters with monsters in the Midwest. A mysterious snake grows to frightening proportions. A slimy, clawed, green-scaled beast terrorizes swimmers from the bottom of a lake. Two enormous birds try to prey upon farm animals—and children. The Midwest’s history includes several unimaginable encounters with legendary creatures. This collection of “ghost stories” presents the creepiest, most surprising tales of monsters in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Authors Jessica Freeburg and Natalie Fowler are active paranormal investigators with a shared fascination for things that go bump in the night. The professional writers spent countless hours combing the region for the strangest and scariest run-ins with the unexplained. Horror fans and history buffs will delight in these 23 terrifying tales. They’re based on reportedly true accounts, proving that the Midwest is the setting for some of the most unsettling monster tales ever told. The short stories are ideal for quick reading, and they are sure to captivate even the most reluctant of readers. Share them with friends around a campfire, or try them alone at home—if you dare.

Genres: Nonfiction, Paranormal, Vampires, Americana, Folklore

144 pages, Paperback

Published September 6, 2022

Reviews

[Emily Klawiter · Rating 2 out of 5]

The stories were spooky but they felt incomplete. Also, the table of contents had an error and that bummed me out.

[S.N. Arly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of stories, told in the old campfire ghost story style. Some of the stories were more engaging than others.

I picked this up when I was researching cryptids for a panel at a convention. I specifically wanted to learn about Midwestern monsters and mythology so I could discuss how fantasy and horror writers are missing a great opportunity when they go back to the European standards of vampires, werewolves and fae.

[Jonathan Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good intro to 23 different cryptids in the midwest. Is it exhaustive? No. Was it fun? Yep.

[Austin Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/3 stars. It was alright, it was interesting how they turned eyewitness accounts into short stories about the cryptids but over all it was okay.

[Sammy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dookie

Thank god this was my work book otherwise I would have DNF’d it. It was getting to the point where i would rather sit and do nothing at work than read this book.

[Serena · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was very annoyed by this book. Was hoping for some more fleshed out stories on each of these monsters, but most of the stories were 5 pages long or less. Sometimes there weren't even descriptions of the monsters, just context. As someone from Michigan who knew of the Dog Man, I was extremely disappointed in that section of this book. Definitely would not recommend.

[Leah B · Rating 2 out of 5]

Funky, this was ok. I picked this up to use as reference material for a story idea and it got the job done.

Readability was tough though, I was expecting these to read more like campfire stories, but they read more like newspaper articles.

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

My sister has this thing where she either one recommends a really interesting book that turns out to be nothing that it promises, which is disappointing in its own right, or she jinxes me with some crazy mess. Today's crazy mess was her run-in with what she calls dumb-down nonfiction or creative nonfiction while she suggested that I should give it a try. Thus my pick for the day's read somehow ended up meeting the above two criteria without really looking for it.

Although I love cryptids and the study of them this is one book that doesn't truly hit the mark for those who are hard into the research. The authors take various eyewitness accounts to retell in their own words while at the same time adding details if they seem to be lacking them so the reader may be able to immerse themselves into the information. Unfortunately actual information on most of these "legends" is lacking or very limited so unless you have done some previous studies there is really not much else to learn besides some of the sightings that have been reported throughout the years as well as the time that it was suppose to have been reported and a few of the important physical attributes of the beasts.

Although I would rather be given with information on these animals I must give another star for the formatting of this book as it does make this book unique from other cryptid books. Furthermore I am so glad that the authors chose to include a warning for such studies whether frowned or supported by scientists are often dangerous while even the television shows going out of the way to prove or disprove these beasts don't often highly emphasize the peril factor.

The only illustrations found in the book are black-and-white illustrations under each chapter section while it doesn't tell the reader what monster it is meant to portray. Otherwise each story that is told to the reader has the state shape to lead the chapter and that is about it.

In the end its uniqueness factor basically passes the book straight into the YA crowd range or even for beginning readers of the subject. Simple and easy-to-understand without an overflow of facts this is definitely just one stepping stone for cryptid fans to more comprehensive cryptid works.

[Harris · Rating 2 out of 5]

There isn’t that much to Monsters of the Midwest really, it’s pretty much an ephemeral collection of condensed, paraphrased dramatizations of a few “real life” bits of monster lore, and barely lasted one evening of camping for me. Even for the stories I hadn’t heard before, like the Van Meter Mystery of Van Meter, Iowa, I feel like I didn’t learn much.

Arranged into rather arbitrary types, including land creatures, water creatures, bigfoots (bigfeet?), and so on, the entries are rarely very informative, and simply condense the narratives into a brief summary. For the most part, the authors draw their tales from just two or three sources for each entry, generally a more detailed book on the subject, an article from a popular magazine or newspaper, or even a creepypasta, helpfully compiled in a bibliography. Unfortunately, in the ebook, many of these sources link to ancient vintage web 1.0 sites or the infamous 404 error. There is, in the end, really no analysis of any of these legends, either as “cryptozoology” or as folklore.

Of course, as one of the “skeptics” finger waved at by the authors in the introduction, perhaps I’m asking for too much. It’s a quick read and I found out about a few weird new bits of local Midwestern folklore, so it would be a fun place to start for someone interested in learning the basics of some strange stories.

[Jasmine Banasik · Rating 2 out of 5]

:( I was sadly disappointed by this book. I'm always on the lookout for new books on cryptozoology, especially for local cryptids but I found this one insubstantial and near useless. Each entry is a dull retelling of an encounter with the cryptid, although some are so far removed and lacking, they might've as well not appeared in the book at all. I think this book would have benefitted from a short descriptor for each cryptid at the beginning of their entry, just to make this feel like it is worthwhile.
There was also multiple instances where things felt borderline racist, which is a fairly recent book should not be happening.

[Allie Baker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t know why I thought a book placed next to the checkout enticing people to pick it up as a impulse buy (which works as I did indeed impulse buy) would be a academically sourced and written collection of folklore and mythology of creatures in the Midwest (perhaps including stories influenced by the cultures of its settlers) but I did. So that expectation is more my fault.

While this is not that, the book is a fun romp through a collection of urban legends told in a format fitting a campfire.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd give it a 3.5 if that was an option. Definitely an interesting read as it has monsters or cryptids both popular and unpopular. Saw a few names I recognized like the Wendigo, but still a lot I didn't which was pretty cool to learn the stories of. However, the individual stories for each are pretty short, around 3-6 pages each. Definitely made to be read over a longer period of time instead of all at once, or even in just a few days, otherwise the book is just repetitive and honestly a bit boring.

[Kitty · Rating 3 out of 5]

What drew me in: Stories about the area I’m living in!

What I enjoyed: Each story is told very quickly and in a snackable format. These are perfect if you want to read around a campfire! They also are great for kids as they’re not too scary.

What I didn’t love: They’re a bit juvenile for what I hoped to get. I wanted a little more lore and backstory, but these ended up being short first-hand sighting stories more than anything.

Bottom line: Depends on what you’re looking for and what kind of reader you are.

[Tamara · Rating 2 out of 5]

A search about cryptozoology brought up this ebook in our library catalog and I was intrigued by the title as a lifelong resident of the Midwest with an interest in the subject matter. While some of the stories were quite fascinating, such as accounts of Bigfoot, the Dogman and water monsters, the others just didn't hold my interest. Teens and Tweens with an interest in the subject would find it worth a read.

[Dakota · Rating 3 out of 5]

I grabbed this book expecting an informative delve into the lesser-known mythical creatures and cryptids of the Midwest (where I am from). However this was much more like a book of campfire tales, with very little to no theory or explanation to such creatures and encounters with them. Despite this, it was still a good - and very quick - read.

[Kasey · Rating 2 out of 5]

A couple of the stories are good/interesting, but for the most part they are all very short (and poorly written) 2-3 page stories and half the time there is no real sighting or contact with the creatures. Just "oh hey something weird happened, bet it was a monster" or "weird stuff we can't explain, can't even imagine what it could be"

[Serena]

I love this stuff. It's mildly spooky but not enough to give me nightmares. Anything paranormal like this, I will eat up forever and always. There's something about a ghost story that gets my attention. I will watch anything about Appalachia that pops up on my TikTok, even if it's scary. I wish that stuff doesn't fall upon me. This is the reason why I have a massive fear of the dark btw

[Christen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read. I enjoyed learning more about the monsters of the Midwest. This book is a lot like pixelated photos of Bigfoot. You get the general impression, but it leaves me wanting more detailed information. I enjoyed the short story approach to introducing these creatures properly in a horror context. I just wish there was more depth.

[Ginger · Rating 2 out of 5]

These were pretty good stories, all of them were true accounts. I am just not a fan of short stories, sometimes the story was missing some details and some of the stories just were not written very good.

[Hatie Parmeter · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would like this book if it were better written. The grammar is not great and some of the stories are so short they shouldn't be included. I wish this was more thoroughly edited and researched. The authors are great at descriptions and can really paint a picture with words, though.

[Katelyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Would have liked this better if there were a few illustrations of these creatures (not just stylized chapter starters) or maybe actual accounts not just take from a Boy Scout trying to entertain 11 year old for a minute of rain.

[Sierra Trotter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read, good introduction to some monsters of the Midwest. I just wish there had been more than brief couple of page stories and a little information for each one. Reminds me of old campfire stories but speed round style.

[Aaron · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love wacky cryptid stuff like this, but didn't really enjoy the brief fictionalized tidbits doled out here as they are. There's a bibliography in the back referencing old articles and books that I would presumably enjoy more.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alot of different cryptids I feel like it lack a certain factor tho like the stories were supposed to be like campfire stories of encounters what we got was a kin to ancient aliens on the history channel which is entertaining but nothing sticks with you once it's over

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

While semi-interesting, the book seems to be written in a style suitable to fifth graders and I'm not sure it was intentional. There was one story that creeped me out (The Clawed Green Beast).

[Gayle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good gathering of stories. I expected more in depth research into the history of the stories.

[Aldonza C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compelling, spooky, and informative! A fun and fast read for cryptid lovers.

[Allen · Rating 2 out of 5]

No, it was not about the Chicago Bears, but it was OK anyway.

[Maryam · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing I found to be sloppy, lazy, and inconsistent. For material as interesting as it was, the delivery did not do the subject justice.

[Helen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Goofy. It started off fun goofy but then became the exact opposite.

Take a shot everytime a mystical Native American “character” appears.