Real Monsters, Gruesome Critters, and Beasts from the Darkside

by Brad Steiger

Over 250 of the most bloodcurdling and bone-chillingly fascinating and true monster stories. Not recommended for reading just before bedtime! Monsters have been spotted everywhere, not just slithering under a child’s bed or lurking in the closet. Paranormal researcher extraordinaire Brad Steiger, an author of thousands of books and articles on the mysterious and unknown, collects some of the scariest, most unbelievable but true monster stories in his latest collection, Real Monsters, Gruesome Critters and Beasts from the Darkside . From slightly demented humans to spine-tingling paranormal encounters, each outlandish occurrence is detailed with thorough research and recounted with a storyteller’s crafted voice. This bold telling of verified monster sightings taken from historical records and first-person accounts features:

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

377 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I took my time reading this book. I would read a chapter and then go to something else for a while before I'd come back and read another chapter. I think this is the way you should read this book. I really enjoyed it this way. I didn't realize this was a non-fiction book when I picked it up to read. Then because it was non-fiction it became more interesting and also hearing all the first hand accounts from normal people.

[Dee brown · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well written, just not my cup of tea .

[Sean · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'll be honest now: I got two-thirds of the way through the book and just skimmed the rest. Because it was just terrible.

Even, mind you, even for a book on crazy things that people believe even though they0 are silly, it was still terrible.

Here's why:

a) You don't need a line break AND an indentation at the beginning of every paragraph;

b) Paragraphs should, generally speaking, strive to be more than a single sentence a piece;

c) Pics or it didn't happen.

Now Sean, I hear you say, it is a book about widely-believed but totally unverifiable supernatural phenomena, how can you expect the author to include pictures?

Well now sir, sirree, sirrah, there are hundreds of 'photographs' of UFO's, Bigfoot, and all sorts of other things that Mr. Steiger could've included here. But no, what did he choose instead? Poorly done cartoons, and photos from iStock. YUP.

Okokok, I may be being too harsh with the photographs things, I mean, who wants to fill their book with blurry, half blackened pictures of what could be UFO's but are probably street lamps? I get it, you make a fair point. BUT, I say, BUT for the WHOLE CHAPTER ABOUT SNAKES. Snakes. Real snakes! Snakes that both exist in real life, AND are widely photographed and documented. I mean, for pity's sake he spends the first three pages of this chapter talking about the Burmese Python and the Anaconda.

I'll EVEN make this concession, so nobody can say I'm not being fair. But if you aren't going to have any photos of ANY of these supernatural creatures/experiences/phenomena, then at least do us the courtesy of not WASTING OUR TIME WITH DISCUSSIONS OF FAMOUS PHOTOGRAPHS YOU WON'T EVEN LET US SEE, THANK YOU.

Oh, plus it was boring.

[Elsa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty comprehensive (read really, really long) guide to scary stuff. It covered quite a wide variety of topics like bogey men and headless horesmen and aliens and werewolves. Some of it was really interesting, some of it not.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy this book even though at times it read more like an encyclopedia. Some more real pictures would have been nice, even if they were a bit blurry and ill defined. The numerous drawings seemed ridiculous at times and more like something that belonged in a 1950's pulp magazine or something.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a okay read. Some chapters were repeated later on and could of been combined with previous chapters. The artwork was very good, but the details were matching the artists style, not the descriptions given by witnesses.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

An encyclopedia if cryptids. A bit too lengthy and small print for reluctants. Original art too small and use of stock photos is disappointing.

[Jo Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice book for light browsing something to flip through when a novel feels to demanding. Interesting stories about spooky creatures.