Cryptozoology

Cryptozoology is a pseudoscience and subculture that aims to prove the existence of entities from the folklore record, such as Bigfoot, the chupacabra, or Mokele-mbembe. Cryptozoologists refer to these entities as cryptids, a term coined by the subculture. Because it does not follow the scientific method, cryptozoology is considered a pseudoscience by the academic world: it is neither a branch of zoology nor folkloristics. It was originally founded in the 1950s by zoologists Bernard Heuvelmans and Ivan T. Sanderson.

Scholars have noted that the pseudoscience rejected mainstream approaches from
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Cryptozoology A to Z: The Encyclopedia of Loch Monsters, Sasquatch, Chupacabras & Other Authentic Mysteries of Nature
The Mothman Prophecies
The Beasts that Hide from Man: Seeking the World's Last Undiscovered Animals
Abominable Science!  Origins of the Yeti, Nessie, and Other Famous Cryptids
Mysterious America: The Ultimate Guide to the Nation's Weirdest Wonders, Strangest Spots, and Creepiest Creatures
The United States of Cryptids: A Tour of American Myths and Monsters
On the Track of Unknown Animals
Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science
Abominable Snowmen: Legend Come to Life
Bigfoot!: The True Story of Apes in America
Mysterious Creatures: A Guide to Cryptozoology
American Monsters: A History of Monster Lore, Legends, and Sightings in America
The Complete Guide to Mysterious Beings
In the Wake of the Sea-Serpents
The Beast of Boggy Creek The True Story of the Fouke Monster
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt ScamanderGnomes by Wil HuygenFaeries by Brian FroudA Tolkien Bestiary by David DayThe Book of Imaginary Beings by Jorge Luis Borges
Bestiaries
281 books — 134 voters

In Cold Blood by Truman CapoteThe Devil in the White City by Erik LarsonThe Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate SummerscaleConspiracy Encyclopedia by Thom BurnettEncyclopedia of Urban Legends by Jan Harold Brunvand
Non-Fiction Monsters
101 books — 19 voters

Lemons by Melissa SavageLoch by Paul ZindelThe Bigfoot Files by Lindsay EagarNessie Quest by Melissa SavageSweep by Jonathan Auxier
#MGCarousel - Books About Cryptids
30 books — 5 voters
Roanoke Ridge by J.J. DupuisDevolution by Max BrooksMisadventures of a Cryptid Hunter by Michael KelsoBigfoot Crank Stomp by Erik WilliamsKillerpede by Marek Z. Turner
Best Cryptid Fiction
54 books — 31 voters


In a single stroke, the Linnaean classification system wiped monsters off the face of the map. There might still be unknown beasts and fearsome creatures out there, but now they each would have a family, a genus, a species; no matter how strange an animal might be, it was now under the rubric of scientific study and discussion. Thus, the medieval world's monsters and wonders were, one by one, either incorporated into this taxonomy or excluded as myth. The kraken became the genus Architeuthis, th ...more
Colin Dickey, The Unidentified: Mythical Monsters, Alien Encounters, and Our Obsession with the Unexplained

For me, it is no longer possible to believe in an organic Bigfoot, Almas, or Yeti. Instead I welcome these creatures to the safe ark of the Phantom Menagerie, where all things are real, provided you define the sort of reality you want. —Tedd Holiday, The Goblin Universe
Ted Holiday

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