#popcryptidspectator — Public Fediverse posts

Pop Cryptid Spectator 18

Hi, everyone.

The Pop Cryptid Spectator is about the proliferation of depictions of cryptids in popular culture. In particular, these depictions are outside the context of the original, and serious, concept of cryptozoology as a specialized branch of zoology.

I realize this is a very niche topic. First, you have to know about cryptozoology. Then, you have to have some concept about how it was framed in its early inception. Finally, you have to be aware of, and interested in, the modern cryptid landscape, which exploded with new and imaginative ideas. Cryptids are EVERYWHERE today. And their presence in popular culture rarely has anything to do with a scientific endeavor to find a mystery animal unknown to science.

That calculation results in a tiny population of people that is going to get the gist of this specific newsletter. If you are one of them, thanks for coming along with me on this journey.

There are self-styled cryptozoologists and even scholars writing about these topics that don’t see the subject through the lens of pop cryptids. Even they aren’t catching this vibe. It’s still important for me to document the pop cryptid concept, since it helps me understand what’s happening in real time and tease out the reasons why cryptids are so popular these days, both commercially and socially. As always, I’m here to deliver examples of this popularity with each edition.

Through the pop cryptid lens, the creatures called “cryptids”, as defined and redefined continually through products of our society, transcend the idea of a “hidden animal” to be identified by zoological science. This is no longer the primary goal. Instead, the pop cryptid model shines a light on the many other purposes and goals. It’s important to document these cultural ideas because they can affect how we identify with the places we live or visit and our beliefs and our immediate environment. Cryptids are used in the stories we tell to convey important messages about ourselves and how we see the world. They reflect our fears and our relationship with the nature or the beyond-nature. The stories also play a huge role in tourism and media products. Let me illustrate…

In this edition:

• Jersey Devil is a Cryptid of the Moment
• Cryptid AI vlogs
• SpiracyCon goes heavy on cryptids and Christian commentators
• What’s with the “archiness” of water monsters?
• Monster Festivals Season – Thank the Mothman
• In Research Of… The Mothman Prophecies deep dive
• Pop Cryptid trivia

Jersey Devil is a Cryptid of the Moment

One can reasonably argue that the Jersey Devil (JD) is not a cryptid because it was viewed as a folklore creature, a mass panic event, or, in reality, a political smear campaign, instead of an animal to be discovered. However, JD clearly ranks as a top pop cryptid. It’s a fantastic creature and I love it. Reactor magazine has a lovely article about how a current book of poetry, a play, and a comic about the Jersey Devil have arrived to show it is still beloved. The three very different ways of utilizing the same subject show how versatile JD is. The writer remarks that it is “a combination of the Jersey Devil’s unique qualities and vague history that make it so appealing to writers and storytellers right now.”

Cryptid AI vlogs

I wrote a new piece for Modern Cryptozoology about the sudden proliferation of cryptid vlogs on visual social media platforms.

Starting in June 2025, video blog shorts have been materializing daily featuring cryptids rendered with amazing realism. They are meant to be humorous, with the cryptids pointing the phone cam at themselves and their friends, making jokes, and showing the viewer what it’s like to be their best selves. They talk, sing, demonstrate life skills, discover cool things, and even interact with people. Check out the piece here.

SpiracyCon goes heavy on cryptids and Christian commentators

I just want everyone to take a look at the header for SpiracyCon. This is really something!

This conspiracy conference promises “a world of intrigue and revelation!” “With a wide variety of speakers—bold investigators, daring theorists, and passionate truth-tellers… this event promises to challenge everything you think you know.” You wouldn’t expect cryptids to feature so prevalently – maybe UFOs and JFK. But, the dogman/werewolf, Bigfoot, and Mothman imagery is concerning when the content is advertised as “a thrilling mix of talks and discussions that dive deep into topics like government cover-ups, unexplained phenomena, and forbidden knowledge.” The term “truth seekers” is mentioned several times.

Of the content creators on the speakers list of 19 so far, 16 have “Christian” or Biblical studies in their bio. The other 3 might just not say it out loud, but clearly know this is an event with a seriously militant Christian vibe. Four mention Bigfoot research or cryptids in general. More than a few bios are downright terrifying in an evident personality disorder kind of way. If you know anything about the insane conspiracy ideas such as aliens as demons, Bigfoot as Nephilim, and Satanic allegations against one’s political enemies, you can bet what will be mentioned here will be even worse.

I would not be the least bit comfortable in such a crowd. However, it is not new that ideas about cryptids are popularly blending with the supernatural and occult, government coverups, and End Times Biblical stuff. Some people go hard core. Take this as a wake-up call – not all cryptid fans are in it for the fun.

What’s with the “archiness” of water monsters?

Charles Paxton and Adrian Shine have a new journal article out examining the “sticky” cultural image of water monsters depicted with “arches” of their long, serpentine bodies out of water. The conclusion of the article is that only very few eyewitness reports describe these “arches” in contrast to the very many media, art, and consumer imagery that does.

The more common description of “humps” (showing no space between the flesh and the water), while not examined in this article, is treated in Shine’s book A Natural History of Sea Serpents where he argues that the appearance of humps are frequently the result of natural wakes or waves on calm water. There is no related trend of eyewitnesses reporting “arches” even though the common pop-cultural depiction of, say, Nessie, shows these. This conclusion contrasts with other evidence that clearly suggests that pop-cultural depictions of cryptids influence eyewitness reports of seeing them. So, this is an intriguing finding.

It’s important to emphasize that NO vertebrate animal can move in a way that creates vertical “arches”, not even snakes. The best nature can do is a series of surface breaches just on the surface, such as when dolphins or porpoises travel in a line. Therefore, if a witness reports “arches” instead of humps, they can fairly be deemed to be mistaken to some degree.

A closing note on this, the BBC had a write-up where they got things confused regarding arches vs humps. People definitely see humps, but not arches.

Monster Festivals Season – Thank the Mothman

Town monster festival season continues: The Grafton monster festival, in its second year as one of several cryptid festivals located in West Virginia, was a huge success, and Port Henry, New York will hold its 40th Champ Day at Lake Champlain in early August.

Several other events coming in later summer and fall are ramping up to attract more visitors than ever as previous visitors tell their friends and families and word spreads via social media. Typically, these festival feature vendors, bands, and speakers. The speakers are frequently content creators, or associated with a TV show, what we colloquially call “para-celebs”. It used to be ghost hunters who got all the attention; but this social cachet is now rubbing off on cryptid investigators. If you visit one in your area, let me know how it was by emailing me!

Why do we have cryptid town festivals multiplying and growing every year? Mothman. Several new festivals, such as for Ol’ Green Eyes, Albatwitch, Grafton, Van Meter, and more, are spun from the template of Point Pleasant’s Mothman Festival.

In Research Of… The Mothman Prophecies deep dive

Here is a fantastic two-parter podcast that you must check out. Jeb Card and Blake Smith of In Research Of… go step by step through The Mothman Prophecies (2002) film. They compare the book to the movie and discuss aspects of the film and the phenomenon that you will certainly not have heard before. Instead of the usual Wikipedia-referencing shallow cryptid podcast, indulge with two extremely well-versed commentators sharing their thoughts on Mothman, movies, John Keel, and pop cryptids.
Part 1 https://inresearchof.libsyn.com/s04-bonus-the-mothman-prophecies-part-1
Part 2 https://inresearchof.libsyn.com/s4-bonus-the-mothman-prophecies-part-2

The Mothman festival, one of the most popular cryptid town festivals in the world, was almost certainly a result of this movie. And, remember, without the Mothman festival, there would probably not be the plethora of other monster festivals worldwide that we have today.

Pop Cryptid trivia

See if you can answer this movie trivia question.

What actress has appeared in TWO movies as a cancer-stricken wife of a man who embarks on a personal journey involving a cryptid?

Click here to go to my “reveal” page with the answer.

Thanks for reading.

Please continue to send me links to interesting news and content. I really appreciate that. Email sharon(at)sharonahill.com.

For more, click on Pop goes the Cryptid landing page. Make sure you subscribe to all the posts – it’s always free and I don’t send annoying spam. 

Pop Cryptid Spectator is also available on Substack. Please share this with cryptid fans you know!

Pop Cryptid Spectator 17

Pop Cryptid Spectator 16

Pop Cryptid Spectator 15

Pop Cryptid Spectator 14

Pop Cryptid Spectator 13

Pop Cryptid Spectator 12

#AICryptids #BigfootAsAlien #conspiracy #cryptidFestivals #JerseyDevil #Mothman #Nessie #popCryptid #PopCryptidSpectator #popCryptids

https://sharonahill.com/?p=9936

Pop Cryptid Spectator 17

Hello everyone. Welcome to the 17th issue of Pop Cryptid Spectator featuring cryptids in mainstream popular culture.

As I scroll through news feeds, I keep an eye out for examples of pop cryptids. They are NOT hidden, they are ubiquitous, making their appearance known every day in movies, TV, games, social media, folk culture, and consumer culture. I’ve collected more examples over the past few weeks. I’ll never be short of them!

In this edition:

• Bear Lake monster marker
• Join the cryptid crawl
• Cryptids as sports icons
• New York Times Monster Quest Strands puzzle
• Blue Ridge Hunting game features Appalachian cryptids
• Seeking Mothgirl
• Another fake Bigfoot promo video
• Nessie Quest 2025 is a bust

Bear Lake monster marker

A Utah State University student headed a project to give Bear Lake its own official cryptid commemorative sign. The Bear Lake monster, a typical Nessie-like creature legend common to dozens of lakes in North America, is the subject of Utah’s first “Legends & Lore” sign. According to the USU press on the unveiling of the sign, the modern legend began in 1868, when Joseph C. Rich, a local Mormon writer, popularized a tale that was likely adapted from Shoshone oral traditions via a letter to the Deseret News. Rich later admitted that the story was fiction, but that never stood in the way of a good monster story. The co-opting of a Native legend of a spirit animal to fuel a story about a potentially dangerous lake creature is a ploy used over and over again. The older legends add credibility, but are used without proper context. The newly revamped tale catches on.

People will see what they believe. The Bear Lake monster’s disparate descriptions range from sea serpent-like, to resembling plesiosaurs, mosasaurs, crocodiles, or large fish. It’s clearly imaginary, which actually gives it limitless flexibility in the current culture.

Certain lakes are particularly prone to reports of lake monsters thanks to a combination of popular cultural depictions and wakes on the lake that are mistaken for humped creatures. The surfacing of large fish or the occasional swimming mammal will also do wonders to propel the legend. The USU write-up was clear that there is no real undiscovered animal in the lake; instead, the sign celebrates the value of community that is evident in their beloved shared story of the monster. Melissa Anderson, the grad student who won the grant to erect the sign, expressed this very pop cryptid sentiment:  

“Whether the story of the Bear Lake Monster is true or not, there’s truth in its impact, which is really awesome,” Anderson said. “And I think monsters are fun.” 

Join the cryptid crawl

In PCS 16, I mentioned a cryptid crawl taking place in Ohio. Up popped another one in Lancaster, PA! The Tales from the Shadows weekend event features cryptid and paranormal activities in the downtown area aimed at families and in support of small businesses. The cryptid crawl features popular legendary creatures included Pennsylvania’s own Squonk, a top pop cryptid these days. The crawl encourages participants to visit locations around town to collect stickers and, when complete, to receive a commemorative prize. Look for this type of community event to catch on.

Cryptids as sports icons

In PCS 4 and 5, I linked to the saga of the Utah Hockey Club trying and failing to obtain the name “Yetis” for their team. There are many North American sports teams that use cryptids as team names or as their mascots. Check out this article I wrote back in 2024 with several examples and some background on why cryptids are so popular in this role. I recently updated the article with the addition of a football club from Texas called the Chupacabras. Of course, there is an awesome logo!

New York Times Monster Quest Strands puzzle

Forteans and cryptid fans rejoiced on June 4 as the NYT “strands” puzzle featured a cryptid theme. What a stellar example of how cryptids have hit the mainstream! “Cryptids” was the “spangram” word.

Blue Ridge Hunting game features Appalachian cryptids

A new 3D graphics video game joins a growing list of games that invoke Appalachian folk horror as a theme for an immersive and spooky experience. The Blue Ridge Hunting game uses the trope about seeing something in the woods, but no one believes you or doesn’t want to hear about it. (“No, you didn’t.”) While you aim to hunt the monsters, they are hunting you. So, don’t be too noisy….

Blue Ridge Hunting allows you to team up with your friends to investigate some of the most infamous cryptids said to haunt the Appalachian region. Players can utilize various tools to collect evidence and track down creatures. Income from successful hunts can be invested in new equipment – but be careful! Creatures are always listening and looking; utilize proximity voice chat and your radio for communication, but be careful not to attract too much attention…

In a way, I rather like that idea. People walking in the woods need to stop talking so loudly, hooting and hollering. Just listen, you may hear something.

Seeking Mothgirl

Are you getting the gist that cryptids are huge in gaming? If you don’t like camo-wearing, gun-wielding games, you might enjoy Lost Records: Bloom & Rage where you go looking for the Moth Girl via a theme within the game called Capturing the Cryptid. The Moth Girl cryptid is a cutified version of Mothman. Various versions of a “moth girl” can be found in art, cosplay, and fiction. Cute versions of cryptids are a predominant theme of pop cryptids.

Another fake Bigfoot promo video

It’s a thing, now, for outdoor companies in the US west to stage “Bigfoot” sightings for tourism promotion. Sometimes they do it live for tourists passing by. Other times, they stage a cheap stunt for social media promotion. That’s what was done in late May for Colorado River Expeditions. They put someone in the standard Bigfoot suit:

And made them pose for the camera. See for yourself in this video by ParaBreakdown:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mtGC1Ymjn4

Nessie Quest 2025 is a bust

The annual Nessie Quest weekend in May, bringing hundreds of people together in person and online to search for the mystery cryptid, turned up zero evidence this year. It seems a bit silly after all these decades to keep trying to find scientific evidence when Nessie is obviously far more valuable as a legend. But the event is a good ploy for people to play pretend scientists. This year, there wasn’t even blurry footage of waves to speculate about. The best that the news media could find was an image of a pike eyeing some bait. The Glasgow media spun this in the most optimistic light possible by saying “experts hunters” (how can you be an expert if you’ve never gotten a creature?!) say the large fish would serve as food for a large predator. Sure, sure.

Thanks for reading! Send comments, questions, or suggestions to sharon(at)sharonahill.com. If you want to send some cryptid plushies or other merch, or books to review, email for my physical mailing address.

For more, click on Pop goes the Cryptid landing page. Make sure you subscribe to all the posts – it’s always free and I don’t send annoying spam. 

Pop Cryptid Spectator is also available on Substack. Please share this with cryptid fans you know!

Pop Cryptid Spectator 16

Pop Cryptid Spectator 15

Pop Cryptid Spectator 14

Pop Cryptid Spectator 13

Pop Cryptid Spectator 12

Pop Cryptid Spectator 11

#AICryptids #cryptids #cryptidtiktok #folklore #hoax #LochNessMonster #Nessie #nightmarefuel #TheSasqualogist #VeggieMan #WestVirginia

https://sharonahill.com/?p=9679

Pop Cryptid Spectator 17

Hello everyone. Welcome to the 17th issue of Pop Cryptid Spectator featuring cryptids in mainstream popular culture.

As I scroll through news feeds, I keep an eye out for examples of pop cryptids. They are NOT hidden, they are ubiquitous, making their appearance known every day in movies, TV, games, social media, folk culture, and consumer culture. I’ve collected more examples over the past few weeks. I’ll never be short of them!

In this edition:

• Bear Lake monster marker
• Join the cryptid crawl
• Cryptids as sports icons
• New York Times Monster Quest Strands puzzle
• Blue Ridge Hunting game features Appalachian cryptids
• Seeking Mothgirl
• Another fake Bigfoot promo video
• Nessie Quest 2025 is a bust

Bear Lake monster marker

A Utah State University student headed a project to give Bear Lake its own official cryptid commemorative sign. The Bear Lake monster, a typical Nessie-like creature legend common to dozens of lakes in North America, is the subject of Utah’s first “Legends & Lore” sign. According to the USU press on the unveiling of the sign, the modern legend began in 1868, when Joseph C. Rich, a local Mormon writer, popularized a tale that was likely adapted from Shoshone oral traditions via a letter to the Deseret News. Rich later admitted that the story was fiction, but that never stood in the way of a good monster story. The co-opting of a Native legend of a spirit animal to fuel a story about a potentially dangerous lake creature is a ploy used over and over again. The older legends add credibility, but are used without proper context. The newly revamped tale catches on.

People will see what they believe. The Bear Lake monster’s disparate descriptions range from sea serpent-like, to resembling plesiosaurs, mosasaurs, crocodiles, or large fish. It’s clearly imaginary, which actually gives it limitless flexibility in the current culture.

Certain lakes are particularly prone to reports of lake monsters thanks to a combination of popular cultural depictions and wakes on the lake that are mistaken for humped creatures. The surfacing of large fish or the occasional swimming mammal will also do wonders to propel the legend. The USU write-up was clear that there is no real undiscovered animal in the lake; instead, the sign celebrates the value of community that is evident in their beloved shared story of the monster. Melissa Anderson, the grad student who won the grant to erect the sign, expressed this very pop cryptid sentiment:  

“Whether the story of the Bear Lake Monster is true or not, there’s truth in its impact, which is really awesome,” Anderson said. “And I think monsters are fun.” 

Join the cryptid crawl

In PCS 16, I mentioned a cryptid crawl taking place in Ohio. Up popped another one in Lancaster, PA! The Tales from the Shadows weekend event features cryptid and paranormal activities in the downtown area aimed at families and in support of small businesses. The cryptid crawl features popular legendary creatures included Pennsylvania’s own Squonk, a top pop cryptid these days. The crawl encourages participants to visit locations around town to collect stickers and, when complete, to receive a commemorative prize. Look for this type of community event to catch on.

Cryptids as sports icons

In PCS 4 and 5, I linked to the saga of the Utah Hockey Club trying and failing to obtain the name “Yetis” for their team. There are many North American sports teams that use cryptids as team names or as their mascots. Check out this article I wrote back in 2024 with several examples and some background on why cryptids are so popular in this role. I recently updated the article with the addition of a football club from Texas called the Chupacabras. Of course, there is an awesome logo!

New York Times Monster Quest Strands puzzle

Forteans and cryptid fans rejoiced on June 4 as the NYT “strands” puzzle featured a cryptid theme. What a stellar example of how cryptids have hit the mainstream! “Cryptids” was the “spangram” word.

Blue Ridge Hunting game features Appalachian cryptids

A new 3D graphics video game joins a growing list of games that invoke Appalachian folk horror as a theme for an immersive and spooky experience. The Blue Ridge Hunting game uses the trope about seeing something in the woods, but no one believes you or doesn’t want to hear about it. (“No, you didn’t.”) While you aim to hunt the monsters, they are hunting you. So, don’t be too noisy….

Blue Ridge Hunting allows you to team up with your friends to investigate some of the most infamous cryptids said to haunt the Appalachian region. Players can utilize various tools to collect evidence and track down creatures. Income from successful hunts can be invested in new equipment – but be careful! Creatures are always listening and looking; utilize proximity voice chat and your radio for communication, but be careful not to attract too much attention…

In a way, I rather like that idea. People walking in the woods need to stop talking so loudly, hooting and hollering. Just listen, you may hear something.

Seeking Mothgirl

Are you getting the gist that cryptids are huge in gaming? If you don’t like camo-wearing, gun-wielding games, you might enjoy Lost Records: Bloom & Rage where you go looking for the Moth Girl via a theme within the game called Capturing the Cryptid. The Moth Girl cryptid is a cutified version of Mothman. Various versions of a “moth girl” can be found in art, cosplay, and fiction. Cute versions of cryptids are a predominant theme of pop cryptids.

Another fake Bigfoot promo video

It’s a thing, now, for outdoor companies in the US west to stage “Bigfoot” sightings for tourism promotion. Sometimes they do it live for tourists passing by. Other times, they stage a cheap stunt for social media promotion. That’s what was done in late May for Colorado River Expeditions. They put someone in the standard Bigfoot suit:

And made them pose for the camera. See for yourself in this video by ParaBreakdown:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mtGC1Ymjn4

Nessie Quest 2025 is a bust

The annual Nessie Quest weekend in May, bringing hundreds of people together in person and online to search for the mystery cryptid, turned up zero evidence this year. It seems a bit silly after all these decades to keep trying to find scientific evidence when Nessie is obviously far more valuable as a legend. But the event is a good ploy for people to play pretend scientists. This year, there wasn’t even blurry footage of waves to speculate about. The best that the news media could find was an image of a pike eyeing some bait. The Glasgow media spun this in the most optimistic light possible by saying “experts hunters” (how can you be an expert if you’ve never gotten a creature?!) say the large fish would serve as food for a large predator. Sure, sure.

Thanks for reading! Send comments, questions, or suggestions to sharon(at)sharonahill.com. If you want to send some cryptid plushies or other merch, or books to review, email for my physical mailing address.

For more, click on Pop goes the Cryptid landing page. Make sure you subscribe to all the posts – it’s always free and I don’t send annoying spam. 

Pop Cryptid Spectator is also available on Substack. Please share this with cryptid fans you know!

Pop Cryptid Spectator 16

Pop Cryptid Spectator 15

Pop Cryptid Spectator 14

Pop Cryptid Spectator 13

Pop Cryptid Spectator 12

Pop Cryptid Spectator 11

#AICryptids #cryptids #cryptidtiktok #folklore #hoax #LochNessMonster #Nessie #nightmarefuel #TheSasqualogist #VeggieMan #WestVirginia

https://sharonahill.com/?p=9679

Pop Cryptid Spectator 17

Hello everyone. Welcome to the 17th issue of Pop Cryptid Spectator featuring cryptids in mainstream popular culture.

As I scroll through news feeds, I keep an eye out for examples of pop cryptids. They are NOT hidden, they are ubiquitous, making their appearance known every day in movies, TV, games, social media, folk culture, and consumer culture. I’ve collected more examples over the past few weeks. I’ll never be short of them!

In this edition:

• Bear Lake monster marker
• Join the cryptid crawl
• Cryptids as sports icons
• New York Times Monster Quest Strands puzzle
• Blue Ridge Hunting game features Appalachian cryptids
• Seeking Mothgirl
• Another fake Bigfoot promo video
• Nessie Quest 2025 is a bust

Bear Lake monster marker

A Utah State University student headed a project to give Bear Lake its own official cryptid commemorative sign. The Bear Lake monster, a typical Nessie-like creature legend common to dozens of lakes in North America, is the subject of Utah’s first “Legends & Lore” sign. According to the USU press on the unveiling of the sign, the modern legend began in 1868, when Joseph C. Rich, a local Mormon writer, popularized a tale that was likely adapted from Shoshone oral traditions via a letter to the Deseret News. Rich later admitted that the story was fiction, but that never stood in the way of a good monster story. The co-opting of a Native legend of a spirit animal to fuel a story about a potentially dangerous lake creature is a ploy used over and over again. The older legends add credibility, but are used without proper context. The newly revamped tale catches on.

People will see what they believe. The Bear Lake monster’s disparate descriptions range from sea serpent-like, to resembling plesiosaurs, mosasaurs, crocodiles, or large fish. It’s clearly imaginary, which actually gives it limitless flexibility in the current culture.

Certain lakes are particularly prone to reports of lake monsters thanks to a combination of popular cultural depictions and wakes on the lake that are mistaken for humped creatures. The surfacing of large fish or the occasional swimming mammal will also do wonders to propel the legend. The USU write-up was clear that there is no real undiscovered animal in the lake; instead, the sign celebrates the value of community that is evident in their beloved shared story of the monster. Melissa Anderson, the grad student who won the grant to erect the sign, expressed this very pop cryptid sentiment:  

“Whether the story of the Bear Lake Monster is true or not, there’s truth in its impact, which is really awesome,” Anderson said. “And I think monsters are fun.” 

Join the cryptid crawl

In PCS 16, I mentioned a cryptid crawl taking place in Ohio. Up popped another one in Lancaster, PA! The Tales from the Shadows weekend event features cryptid and paranormal activities in the downtown area aimed at families and in support of small businesses. The cryptid crawl features popular legendary creatures included Pennsylvania’s own Squonk, a top pop cryptid these days. The crawl encourages participants to visit locations around town to collect stickers and, when complete, to receive a commemorative prize. Look for this type of community event to catch on.

Cryptids as sports icons

In PCS 4 and 5, I linked to the saga of the Utah Hockey Club trying and failing to obtain the name “Yetis” for their team. There are many North American sports teams that use cryptids as team names or as their mascots. Check out this article I wrote back in 2024 with several examples and some background on why cryptids are so popular in this role. I recently updated the article with the addition of a football club from Texas called the Chupacabras. Of course, there is an awesome logo!

New York Times Monster Quest Strands puzzle

Forteans and cryptid fans rejoiced on June 4 as the NYT “strands” puzzle featured a cryptid theme. What a stellar example of how cryptids have hit the mainstream! “Cryptids” was the “spangram” word.

Blue Ridge Hunting game features Appalachian cryptids

A new 3D graphics video game joins a growing list of games that invoke Appalachian folk horror as a theme for an immersive and spooky experience. The Blue Ridge Hunting game uses the trope about seeing something in the woods, but no one believes you or doesn’t want to hear about it. (“No, you didn’t.”) While you aim to hunt the monsters, they are hunting you. So, don’t be too noisy….

Blue Ridge Hunting allows you to team up with your friends to investigate some of the most infamous cryptids said to haunt the Appalachian region. Players can utilize various tools to collect evidence and track down creatures. Income from successful hunts can be invested in new equipment – but be careful! Creatures are always listening and looking; utilize proximity voice chat and your radio for communication, but be careful not to attract too much attention…

In a way, I rather like that idea. People walking in the woods need to stop talking so loudly, hooting and hollering. Just listen, you may hear something.

Seeking Mothgirl

Are you getting the gist that cryptids are huge in gaming? If you don’t like camo-wearing, gun-wielding games, you might enjoy Lost Records: Bloom & Rage where you go looking for the Moth Girl via a theme within the game called Capturing the Cryptid. The Moth Girl cryptid is a cutified version of Mothman. Various versions of a “moth girl” can be found in art, cosplay, and fiction. Cute versions of cryptids are a predominant theme of pop cryptids.

Another fake Bigfoot promo video

It’s a thing, now, for outdoor companies in the US west to stage “Bigfoot” sightings for tourism promotion. Sometimes they do it live for tourists passing by. Other times, they stage a cheap stunt for social media promotion. That’s what was done in late May for Colorado River Expeditions. They put someone in the standard Bigfoot suit:

And made them pose for the camera. See for yourself in this video by ParaBreakdown:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mtGC1Ymjn4

Nessie Quest 2025 is a bust

The annual Nessie Quest weekend in May, bringing hundreds of people together in person and online to search for the mystery cryptid, turned up zero evidence this year. It seems a bit silly after all these decades to keep trying to find scientific evidence when Nessie is obviously far more valuable as a legend. But the event is a good ploy for people to play pretend scientists. This year, there wasn’t even blurry footage of waves to speculate about. The best that the news media could find was an image of a pike eyeing some bait. The Glasgow media spun this in the most optimistic light possible by saying “experts hunters” (how can you be an expert if you’ve never gotten a creature?!) say the large fish would serve as food for a large predator. Sure, sure.

Thanks for reading! Send comments, questions, or suggestions to sharon(at)sharonahill.com. If you want to send some cryptid plushies or other merch, or books to review, email for my physical mailing address.

For more, click on Pop goes the Cryptid landing page. Make sure you subscribe to all the posts – it’s always free and I don’t send annoying spam. 

Pop Cryptid Spectator is also available on Substack. Please share this with cryptid fans you know!

Pop Cryptid Spectator 16

Pop Cryptid Spectator 15

Pop Cryptid Spectator 14

Pop Cryptid Spectator 13

Pop Cryptid Spectator 12

Pop Cryptid Spectator 11

#AICryptids #cryptids #cryptidtiktok #folklore #hoax #LochNessMonster #Nessie #nightmarefuel #TheSasqualogist #VeggieMan #WestVirginia

https://sharonahill.com/?p=9679

Pop Cryptid Spectator 17

Hello everyone. Welcome to the 17th issue of Pop Cryptid Spectator featuring cryptids in mainstream popular culture.

As I scroll through news feeds, I keep an eye out for examples of pop cryptids. They are NOT hidden, they are ubiquitous, making their appearance known every day in movies, TV, games, social media, folk culture, and consumer culture. I’ve collected more examples over the past few weeks. I’ll never be short of them!

In this edition:

• Bear Lake monster marker
• Join the cryptid crawl
• Cryptids as sports icons
• New York Times Monster Quest Strands puzzle
• Blue Ridge Hunting game features Appalachian cryptids
• Seeking Mothgirl
• Another fake Bigfoot promo video
• Nessie Quest 2025 is a bust

Bear Lake monster marker

A Utah State University student headed a project to give Bear Lake its own official cryptid commemorative sign. The Bear Lake monster, a typical Nessie-like creature legend common to dozens of lakes in North America, is the subject of Utah’s first “Legends & Lore” sign. According to the USU press on the unveiling of the sign, the modern legend began in 1868, when Joseph C. Rich, a local Mormon writer, popularized a tale that was likely adapted from Shoshone oral traditions via a letter to the Deseret News. Rich later admitted that the story was fiction, but that never stood in the way of a good monster story. The co-opting of a Native legend of a spirit animal to fuel a story about a potentially dangerous lake creature is a ploy used over and over again. The older legends add credibility, but are used without proper context. The newly revamped tale catches on.

People will see what they believe. The Bear Lake monster’s disparate descriptions range from sea serpent-like, to resembling plesiosaurs, mosasaurs, crocodiles, or large fish. It’s clearly imaginary, which actually gives it limitless flexibility in the current culture.

Certain lakes are particularly prone to reports of lake monsters thanks to a combination of popular cultural depictions and wakes on the lake that are mistaken for humped creatures. The surfacing of large fish or the occasional swimming mammal will also do wonders to propel the legend. The USU write-up was clear that there is no real undiscovered animal in the lake; instead, the sign celebrates the value of community that is evident in their beloved shared story of the monster. Melissa Anderson, the grad student who won the grant to erect the sign, expressed this very pop cryptid sentiment:  

“Whether the story of the Bear Lake Monster is true or not, there’s truth in its impact, which is really awesome,” Anderson said. “And I think monsters are fun.” 

Join the cryptid crawl

In PCS 16, I mentioned a cryptid crawl taking place in Ohio. Up popped another one in Lancaster, PA! The Tales from the Shadows weekend event features cryptid and paranormal activities in the downtown area aimed at families and in support of small businesses. The cryptid crawl features popular legendary creatures included Pennsylvania’s own Squonk, a top pop cryptid these days. The crawl encourages participants to visit locations around town to collect stickers and, when complete, to receive a commemorative prize. Look for this type of community event to catch on.

Cryptids as sports icons

In PCS 4 and 5, I linked to the saga of the Utah Hockey Club trying and failing to obtain the name “Yetis” for their team. There are many North American sports teams that use cryptids as team names or as their mascots. Check out this article I wrote back in 2024 with several examples and some background on why cryptids are so popular in this role. I recently updated the article with the addition of a football club from Texas called the Chupacabras. Of course, there is an awesome logo!

New York Times Monster Quest Strands puzzle

Forteans and cryptid fans rejoiced on June 4 as the NYT “strands” puzzle featured a cryptid theme. What a stellar example of how cryptids have hit the mainstream! “Cryptids” was the “spangram” word.

Blue Ridge Hunting game features Appalachian cryptids

A new 3D graphics video game joins a growing list of games that invoke Appalachian folk horror as a theme for an immersive and spooky experience. The Blue Ridge Hunting game uses the trope about seeing something in the woods, but no one believes you or doesn’t want to hear about it. (“No, you didn’t.”) While you aim to hunt the monsters, they are hunting you. So, don’t be too noisy….

Blue Ridge Hunting allows you to team up with your friends to investigate some of the most infamous cryptids said to haunt the Appalachian region. Players can utilize various tools to collect evidence and track down creatures. Income from successful hunts can be invested in new equipment – but be careful! Creatures are always listening and looking; utilize proximity voice chat and your radio for communication, but be careful not to attract too much attention…

In a way, I rather like that idea. People walking in the woods need to stop talking so loudly, hooting and hollering. Just listen, you may hear something.

Seeking Mothgirl

Are you getting the gist that cryptids are huge in gaming? If you don’t like camo-wearing, gun-wielding games, you might enjoy Lost Records: Bloom & Rage where you go looking for the Moth Girl via a theme within the game called Capturing the Cryptid. The Moth Girl cryptid is a cutified version of Mothman. Various versions of a “moth girl” can be found in art, cosplay, and fiction. Cute versions of cryptids are a predominant theme of pop cryptids.

Another fake Bigfoot promo video

It’s a thing, now, for outdoor companies in the US west to stage “Bigfoot” sightings for tourism promotion. Sometimes they do it live for tourists passing by. Other times, they stage a cheap stunt for social media promotion. That’s what was done in late May for Colorado River Expeditions. They put someone in the standard Bigfoot suit:

And made them pose for the camera. See for yourself in this video by ParaBreakdown:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mtGC1Ymjn4

Nessie Quest 2025 is a bust

The annual Nessie Quest weekend in May, bringing hundreds of people together in person and online to search for the mystery cryptid, turned up zero evidence this year. It seems a bit silly after all these decades to keep trying to find scientific evidence when Nessie is obviously far more valuable as a legend. But the event is a good ploy for people to play pretend scientists. This year, there wasn’t even blurry footage of waves to speculate about. The best that the news media could find was an image of a pike eyeing some bait. The Glasgow media spun this in the most optimistic light possible by saying “experts hunters” (how can you be an expert if you’ve never gotten a creature?!) say the large fish would serve as food for a large predator. Sure, sure.

Thanks for reading! Send comments, questions, or suggestions to sharon(at)sharonahill.com. If you want to send some cryptid plushies or other merch, or books to review, email for my physical mailing address.

For more, click on Pop goes the Cryptid landing page. Make sure you subscribe to all the posts – it’s always free and I don’t send annoying spam. 

Pop Cryptid Spectator is also available on Substack. Please share this with cryptid fans you know!

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#AICryptids #cryptids #cryptidtiktok #folklore #hoax #LochNessMonster #Nessie #nightmarefuel #TheSasqualogist #VeggieMan #WestVirginia

https://sharonahill.com/?p=9679

Pop Cryptid Spectator 10

Welcome to PCS number 10. Spring is nearly here. I can tell because I’ve been noticing a number of media reports ramping up for cryptid spotting. A key feature of pop cryptids is the idea that they are in your neighborhood and should be celebrated and marketed. So, I’m sharing some examples of these observations in this Spectator, as well as past and future ones. If you spot one from your area, drop me a message!

In this edition:

• California’s Bigfoot law – Spot the Sasquatch
• The British Bigfoot
• Wisconsin’s New Cryptid and Paranormal Convention
• Mothman-flavored chips
• First Nessie sighting of the year

California’s Bigfoot law – Spot the Sasquatch

Here is an update to PCS #9 issue that covered the proposed bill to make Bigfoot the official cryptid of California. While I explained that it makes sense to market your local famous monster for tourism dollars, the truth about this proposal appears to be much more… umm, shallow and dumb. In an article for a local CA paper, the assemblyman who introduced the bill admits that it was supposed to be a bit of a joke in terms of a “spot” or placeholder bill:

“…[W]e thought that it would be especially funny to introduce a spot bill regarding Bigfoot because typically spot bills disappear. We thought we would go over-the-top with AB 666 and that down the road if we needed to, we could amend the bill and tell people, ‘Bigfoot disappears; Bigfoot’s elusive.’”

Yeah, funny – wasting time with phony legislation. Hilarious, except the bill got a lot of attention. Now it’s not much of a joke.

The article goes on to note how deeply ingrained the Bigfoot belief is to the county. A volunteer for the Willow Creek China Flat Museum said that they had visitors from all ages and from around the world, noting the boost gained from TV shows:

“I think it’s generational. Every generation it seems to get legs again,” Nelson said. “A friend of mine who has a shop in Willow Creek that has some Bigfoot memorabilia was noticing that he was having grown adult (visitors), parents that were influenced by ‘In Search of …’ with Leonard Nimoy, and their children were motivated by or inspired by ‘Finding Bigfoot.’

“We have so many YouTube creators that come through. There are maybe four or five individual YouTube creators that filmed Bluff Creek content over the summer. It’s continual.”

So the Gen Xers had In Search Of… and the Millennials had Finding Bigfoot! The beat goes on with YouTubers and TikTokkers.

Wisconsin’s New Cryptid and Paranormal Convention

One new event this year is the Wisconsin Cryptids, Anomalies, and Paranormal Convention. This is organized by a local paranormal society: Cryptids, Anomalies and the Paranormal Society (CAPS). From a media report:

“Cryptids, Anomalies and the Paranormal Society is a research-based group out of Wisconsin,” said Barnaby Jones, founder and lead researcher for CAPS. “We research all aspects of the paranormal — UFOs, Bigfoot, the Beast of Bray Road, Mothman — any kind of creatures that are currently unidentified by modern science.”

“I’ve always been interested in the paranormal, ever since I was young,” he said. “I’ve always been interested in cryptids as well — the undiscovered animals. When I was younger, I always thought that Bigfoot was out in the Pacific Northwest. I never realized that he had been sighted in all 49 states aside from Hawaii.

There are a few notable items in these quotes. First, “I’ve always been interested in the paranormal” is a phrase uttered countless times. I could say it for myself, and if you are reading this, there is a good chance to you can also attest to it. Once the itch to read more about the mysterious and unexplained gets to you, it forever needs to be scratched. For Gen Xers and later, we were provided with plenty of paranormal media in books, on TV, and then on the internet, to stoke interest. This is a primary reason why paranormal events are so popular and making money! It’s nostalgic for many and feeds into the chosen identity for others.

Next, it’s important to note, once again, the association of cryptids with paranormal topics. More than ever, there is little to reference regarding the zoology of cryptids. The idea of it rings hollow even though it’s mentioned quite a bit by speakers invited to these conventions. Even though the phrase “modern science” is used in terms of investigating a cryptid, this is lip service only, as nothing in these town festivals is scientific; it is entirely cultural.

Finally, “Bigfoot was out in the Pacific Northwest” until suddenly, it was in every state. This is something I have heard verbatim from those not interested in cryptids but just living their lives and finding cryptids were in their backyard. They were shocked to learn that Bigfoot research was taking place in their state – Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio. In the 1970s, Bigfoot’s relations were noted nationwide and if you had what you considered to be a Bigfoot experience, it would not be considered that weird.

These points are essential to the framing of Pop Goes the Cryptid. The creatures became part of every small town and you knew of it. Then, everyone else knew of it too. Cryptid festivals capitalize on this knowledge and a pride in the local monster that reflects what it means to live in this state or town.

An updated list of cryptid festivals is kept at Modern Cryptozoology where I continue to update it as new events are publicized.

The British Bigfoot

Not only has Bigfoot spread to every US state and much of Canada, but it also made its way across the ocean to Britain. With England being a very unlikely place for a forest-dwelling wilderness creature to live, this great article from Esquire explains that you can pinpoint the surge in popularity of the British Bigfoot to 2015, associated with the arrival of the Finding Bigfoot crew.

“By the late 2010s, everywhere in the UK seemed to have a Bigfoot. Cryptid enthusiast Andy McGrath’s 2017 book Beasts of Britain is full of tales of people’s experiences and most sightings are reported as happening after 2010. Among these eyewitness accounts are the Box Hill Ape, the Haslingden Chewbacca and the Ape-Man of Scotland’s Abernethy Forest.”

Not to burst anyone’s balloon, but this is obviously a cultural phenomenon that has been easily adapted to fill the “wildman” niche for this part of the world.

“There’s a specific bucolic undercurrent in all these sightings, a notion that Bigfoot is a link back to a lost Britain — Edenic, gentle and free of urban sprawl. Believing that Bigfoot is happily sloping through forests and across hillsides makes our country feel like a more beautiful, rural place; at the same time, the improbability of his existence makes us mourn a landscape that is long lost. He’s a ghost of who we were before all the dark satanic mills and whatnot sprang up….He makes mundane surroundings seem vivid with possibility.”

The article keys in on the internet, particularly YouTube, that has aided in population Britain with Bigfoots. The proponents argue among themselves, disputing the legitimacy of tales and the reality of the creature. As is typical, when the zoology doesn’t make sense, the fallback is to the paranormal explanations, or what I call Supernatural Creep. People are insistent on what they saw, but because that doesn’t make natural sense, they drift to the para-natural to explain it rather than give up the belief. What are people seeing? It’s impossible to say except to note they are seeing what they believe in. Back in the day, they might have said they saw fairies and, not too long ago, ghosts or aliens. Today, it’s Bigfoot, because he’s reported to be literally everywhere, but found nowhere.

Mothman flavored chips

I don’t know if I can keep up with all the Mothman inspired products these days. The iconic creature is constantly featured in so many products including clothing, candles, and cocktails. Might as well capitalize on the popularity, right? Mister Bee’s, a snack company from West Virginia has introduced a potato chip flavor inspired by the cryptid legend. The spice blend is undisclosed but available locally in the Parkersburg area of WV. It will be statewide in time for Point Pleasant’s Mothman Festival in September, where I’m sure it will be a hit.

First Nessie sighting of the year

Scottish media outlets report the exciting news that Nessie has been seen for the first time in 2025. It seems the news brings with it hope that it will be a banner year for the creature. It doesn’t take much. The evidence for Nessie is found in ambiguous photos and dramatic eyewitness accounts, which is plenty to keep attention on one of the world’s most famous and beloved cryptids. This new account comes from the Loch Ness Centre, a key tourist destination that offers a museum of history and boat trips. An unnamed witness observed what appeared to be a dark form beneath the calm, still waters of the loch. The account leaves many questions, though. A photo accompanied the story, showing a dark blob under the water that is not exactly “calm”.

The object actually does not look particularly large considering the size of the waves (which are probably 10-12 inches, at most). The pixellation suggested the photo was greately zoomed and cropped. With the witness remaining unnamed, the photo is credited to the Centre, not the photographer. Hmm…. Off to a good start for tourist season, though! To the critical viewer, however, the image is entirely unimpressive.

Thanks for reading! Send comments, questions, or suggestions to sharon(at)sharonahill.com. If you want to send some cryptid plushies or other merch, or books to review, email for my physical mailing address.

For more, click on Pop goes the Cryptid landing page. Make sure you subscribe to all the posts – it’s always free and I don’t send annoying spam. 

Pop Cryptid Spectator is also available on Substack. Please share this with cryptid fans you know!

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#Bigfoot #BritishBigfoot #cryptid #cryptidFestivals #Cryptozoology #LochNess #LochNessMonster #MothmanChips #NessieSighting #popCryptid #PopCryptidSpectator

https://sharonahill.com/?p=9665

Pop Cryptid Spectator 8

Welcome to the Pop Cryptid Spectator no. 8. This edition illustrates more examples of how cryptids are an integral part of culture, if you are in town, in the woods, on or offline.

In this edition:

• Bigfoot proposed as California’s official cryptid
• Monster Snap VR Game
• What is a “cryptoid”?
• Fakelore to folklore: The Rake

Bigfoot proposed as California’s official cryptid

The big(foot) news this week was the introduction of a bill in the California Assembly to name Bigfoot as an the official cryptid of California. On February 14, 2025, Chris Rogers (Democrat) proposed bill AB 666*:

Existing law establishes the state flag and the state’s emblems, including, among other things, the golden poppy as the official state flower and the California redwood as the official state tree.

This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would designate Bigfoot as the official state cryptid.

*Bigfoot could be the “mountain or wood devil” if you are predisposed to never seeing a coincidence.

Some people didn’t respond positively to the news, noticing that California has more important things to attend to right now and in the foreseeable future. But state legislators are overly fond of such memorial acts, and regularly waste time pushing them through. California already has 42 official state symbols. Why not another one? The symbolic gestures provide recognition and anchors the symbols to the state.

Rogers’ represents the Northern part of the state that is heavily associated with Bigfoot and benefits already from the link. Humboldt County includes Bluff Creek, the location of the infamous Patterson-Gimlin film from 1967, and nearby Willow Creek, home of huge Bigfoot Daze festival. Willow Creek was the place where Bigfoot supposedly made its historic entrance into American popular culture when in 1958, loggers found giant footprints that were reported in the local Humboldt Times, giving the unknown creature the name “Bigfoot”.

Therefore, it does make sense that Rogers’ would like to cement this notoriety. The effort clearly is intended to encourage tourism from those people who believe, or just really want to believe, the forest still hides a mysterious creature that, like some supernatural being, has remained hidden and magical. Rogers’ noted that Bigfoot “generates buzz and interest from outdoor enthusiasts,” more so than other cryptids. He’s not wrong.

Washington and Oregon, however, may have a beef about it, but there is no reason why Bigfoot can’t also be their official cryptid. Heck, Bigfoot or its relations have been reported spotted in every US state with the possible exception of Hawaii. Bigfoot is the top US, for sure.

More from SF Gate and from the SF Chronicle.

Monster Snap VR game

A new virtual reality game coming in 2026 promises to give you a chance to collect photo evidence of cryptids. Monster Snap maroons you in the Bermuda Triangle where mysterious secrets are hidden. (Gosh, this is SO OLD. But I guess having a bunch of mysterious secrets existing in a single named location is convenient.) You can also encounter Bigfoot and spot Nessie. For PC-VR and Meta Quest 2 & 3.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYMAgt6k8q0

What is a “cryptoid”?

If you peruse online cryptid content, you may sometimes see the term “cryptoid”. It struck me as a possibly useful term to distinguish between sci-cryptids (those viewed with a zoological lens) and the fantastical or folkloric version of cryptids (such as mermaids, dragons, shapeshifters, jackalopes, etc.). So I took a look into where the term might have come from and how it’s used.

The suffix “-oid” means “similar to” or “likeness”, giving us words like “planetoid”, “humanoid” and “factoid”. It can also be a way to make an interesting derogatory word sometimes referring to a particular ideology or group of people as in “schizoid” or “skeptoid“. Or just a fun suffix for made up things like “graboid“.

According to Loren Coleman, whom I found had addressed the question of the difference between a cryptid and a cryptoid back in 2011, he seems to think it’s mostly a mistaken attempt to mean “cryptid”. In a way, “cryptoid” works when someone is intending a humorous or monstrous description of a mystery creature. But it will be confusing if not consistently used that way.

“Cryptoid phenomena” was a term used by Emile Boirac beginning around 1918 to refer to hidden psychic abilities. Later, it also comes up as the term “cryptoID”, which can ruin your search results. But there are a few books in the 2000s that intentionally use “cryptoid” as a humorous term (as with comics or monster-related art) or simply as a strange error by self-published writers who didn’t have an editor. (Worse than that, some even more careless will use “crypoids” [sic].) Unless it’s used in a more deliberate sense, it seems to be an indicator that the user isn’t well versed on “cryptids”.

Finallly, “Cryptoid” is an official trademarked name of a pyrethroid insecticide. (There’s the -oid again, meaning similar to the natural pesticide pyrethrum.) The trademark makes me jettison the nub of an idea to use the word to mean cryptid-like.

Hope you enjoyed this rather strange etymology lesson.

P.S. Remember the “noid“? Um, on second thought, avoid the noid.

Fakelore to folklore: The Rake

Cryptid Wiki explicitly rejects discussion on “creepypasta monsters such as slenderman, herobrine, the rake”. This is understandable as there is a flood of new creatures invented all the time. To include them would dilute the idea of cryptids. Creepypasta is related to digital transmission of fictional tales. CW also rejects outright fictional characters from books and films as well. While it’s reasonable to mark, say, Cthulhu as an inappropriate cryptid, there are many examples where it’s not easy to draw an objective line.

The Rake is the prime example of a creepypasta creature. The spark was set in motion on 4Chan and then the idea morphed from there. It was formalized, and given a fictional history, in a story from 2009 as a pale hairless humanoid, often spindly in appearance, with small sharp teeth, black voids as eyes, and an unnerving disjointed look, and highly agile way of moving on all fours.

The description and characteristics varied as the stories spread online. It was described similar to slenderman, without a defined face, watching in the background, often in suburban areas. Originally described as a “crawler”, it acquired the name “rake” a bit later and eventually was associated with shapeshifters and “fleshgaits”, as a generally unpleasant entity. It also is not that far from depictions of modern aliens. The lore has grown and evolved online and, as such, I currently can’t find a great resource for the Rake. As time goes on, you can see overlap and blending of creatures with similar features and stories (pale crawlers, skinwalker, wendigo, etc.), and these all diverge widely from the original tales. The rake continues to grow in popularity and is often listed as a cryptid.

A photo circulated widely in 2010 of a pale crawling creature framed as a “swamp monster” captured on a trail camera in Berwick, Louisiana. It was discussed (however seriously or not) as a real or hoaxed thing in the woods. At the time, my opinion was that it was a manipulated image using a digital model. In a short while, this picture became labeled as a rake and the story of the image in the swamp morphed into other tales as well.

A problem arises when creepypasta or “mythical” creatures are seen by people. Long ago, people swore to having real experiences with fairies and dragons. Today, we have many people attesting that they see werewolves (often in the form of dogmen). There is a popular suggestion that fictional beings are thought into existence; that is, since so many people hear about them and visualize them, they manifest themselves into our reality. This is also known as the tulpa origin of cryptids.

The fictional origins of creepypasta monsters can get lost if they are removed from their original context and are mistaken for genuine eyewitness stories. This video embedded below is a good rundown of the history of the rake, though I have not confirmed the details and dates. (They do sound right, but you might want to ignore most of the visuals.) Also, the title portrays the rake as the “first Internet cryptid” – eh, I’m not buying that as the chupacabra from 1992 and others since may more rightly deserves that title. It is a good explanation of why it’s can be difficult to differentiate the rake as a cryptid.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3x7k4hjDBwU

People claim to encounter the rake, even though it’s fiction. It is unclear if they are telling what they think is the truth or just playing along in a shared manufactured reality. The phenomenon of creepypasta creatures showing up in the real world seems similar to the true story of a made-up April Fools song on a Michigan radio station in 1987 that resulted in a wave of stories from the past and continuing today about the Dogman.

Where can we draw the line for when a fictional creature can exist under the “cryptid” label? Cryptids are liminal creatures, and they deftly pass between the realms of real and fiction. The label is a dependent on the moment in time when people report, and others believe, that the creature could exist in our reality.

Thanks for reading! Send comments, questions, or suggestions to popcryptid(at)proton.me. If you want to send some cryptid plushies or other merch, or books to review, email for my physical mailing address.

For more, click on Pop goes the Cryptid landing page. Make sure you subscribe to all the posts – it’s always free and I don’t send annoying spam. 

Pop Cryptid Spectator is also available on Substack. Please share this with cryptid fans you know!

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https://sharonahill.com/?p=9570

Pop Cryptid Spectator 8

Welcome to the Pop Cryptid Spectator no. 8. This edition illustrates more examples of how cryptids are an integral part of culture, if you are in town, in the woods, on or offline.

In this edition:

• Bigfoot proposed as California’s official cryptid
• Monster Snap VR Game
• What is a “cryptoid”?
• Fakelore to folklore: The Rake

Bigfoot proposed as California’s official cryptid

The big(foot) news this week was the introduction of a bill in the California Assembly to name Bigfoot as an the official cryptid of California. On February 14, 2025, Chris Rogers (Democrat) proposed bill AB 666*:

Existing law establishes the state flag and the state’s emblems, including, among other things, the golden poppy as the official state flower and the California redwood as the official state tree.

This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would designate Bigfoot as the official state cryptid.

*Bigfoot could be the “mountain or wood devil” if you are predisposed to never seeing a coincidence.

Some people didn’t respond positively to the news, noticing that California has more important things to attend to right now and in the foreseeable future. But state legislators are overly fond of such memorial acts, and regularly waste time pushing them through. California already has 42 official state symbols. Why not another one? The symbolic gestures provide recognition and anchors the symbols to the state.

Rogers’ represents the Northern part of the state that is heavily associated with Bigfoot and benefits already from the link. Humboldt County includes Bluff Creek, the location of the infamous Patterson-Gimlin film from 1967, and nearby Willow Creek, home of the huge Bigfoot Daze festival. Willow Creek was the place where Bigfoot supposedly made its historic entrance into American popular culture when in 1958, loggers found giant footprints that were reported in the local Humboldt Times, giving the unknown creature the name “Bigfoot”.

Therefore, it does make sense that Rogers’ would like to cement this notoriety. The effort clearly is intended to encourage tourism from those people who believe, or just really want to believe, the forest still hides a mysterious creature that, like some supernatural being, has remained hidden and magical. Rogers’ noted that Bigfoot “generates buzz and interest from outdoor enthusiasts,” more so than other cryptids. He’s not wrong.

Washington and Oregon, however, may have a beef about it, but there is no reason why Bigfoot can’t also be their official cryptid. Heck, Bigfoot or its relations have been reported spotted in every US state with the possible exception of Hawaii. Bigfoot is the top US, for sure.

More from SF Gate and from the SF Chronicle.

Monster Snap VR game

A new virtual reality game coming in 2026 promises to give you a chance to collect photo evidence of cryptids. Monster Snap maroons you in the Bermuda Triangle where mysterious secrets are hidden. (Gosh, this is SO OLD. But I guess having a bunch of mysterious secrets existing in a single named location is convenient.) You can also encounter Bigfoot and spot Nessie. For PC-VR and Meta Quest 2 & 3.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYMAgt6k8q0

What is a “cryptoid”?

If you peruse online cryptid content, you may sometimes see the term “cryptoid”. It struck me as a possibly useful term to distinguish between sci-cryptids (those viewed with a zoological lens) and the fantastical or folkloric version of cryptids (such as mermaids, dragons, shapeshifters, jackalopes, etc.). So I took a look into where the term might have come from and how it’s used.

The suffix “-oid” means “similar to” or “likeness”, giving us words like “planetoid”, “humanoid” and “factoid”. It can also be a way to make an interesting derogatory word sometimes referring to a particular ideology or group of people as in “schizoid” or “skeptoid“. Or just a fun suffix for made up things like “graboid“.

According to Loren Coleman, whom I found had addressed the question of the difference between a cryptid and a cryptoid back in 2011, he seems to think it’s mostly a mistaken attempt to mean “cryptid”. In a way, “cryptoid” works when someone is intending a humorous or monstrous description of a mystery creature. But it will be confusing if not consistently used that way.

“Cryptoid phenomena” was a term used by Emile Boirac beginning around 1918 to refer to hidden psychic abilities. Later, it also comes up as the term “cryptoID”, which can ruin your search results. But there are a few books in the 2000s that intentionally use “cryptoid” as a humorous term (as with comics or monster-related art) or simply as a strange error by self-published writers who didn’t have an editor. (Worse than that, some even more careless will use “crypoids” [sic].) Unless it’s used in a more deliberate sense, it seems to be an indicator that the user isn’t well versed on “cryptids”.

Finallly, “Cryptoid” is an official trademarked name of a pyrethroid insecticide. (There’s the -oid again, meaning similar to the natural pesticide pyrethrum.) The trademark makes me jettison the nub of an idea to use the word to mean cryptid-like.

Hope you enjoyed this rather strange etymology lesson.

P.S. Remember the “noid“? Um, on second thought, avoid the noid.

Fakelore to folklore: The Rake

Cryptid Wiki explicitly rejects discussion on “creepypasta monsters such as slenderman, herobrine, the rake”. This is understandable as there is a flood of new creatures invented all the time. To include them would dilute the idea of cryptids. Creepypasta is related to digital transmission of fictional tales. CW also rejects outright fictional characters from books and films as well. While it’s reasonable to mark, say, Cthulhu as an inappropriate cryptid, there are many examples where it’s not easy to draw an objective line.

The Rake is the prime example of a creepypasta creature. The spark was set in motion on 4Chan and then the idea morphed from there. It was formalized, and given a fictional history, in a story from 2009 as a pale hairless humanoid, often spindly in appearance, with small sharp teeth, black voids as eyes, and an unnerving disjointed look, and highly agile way of moving on all fours.

The description and characteristics varied as the stories spread online. It was described similar to slenderman, without a defined face, watching in the background, often in suburban areas. Originally described as a “crawler”, it acquired the name “rake” a bit later and eventually was associated with shapeshifters and “fleshgaits”, as a generally unpleasant entity. It also is not that far from depictions of modern aliens. The lore has grown and evolved online and, as such, I currently can’t find a great resource for the Rake. As time goes on, you can see overlap and blending of creatures with similar features and stories (pale crawlers, skinwalker, wendigo, etc.), and these all diverge widely from the original tales. The rake continues to grow in popularity and is often listed as a cryptid.

A photo circulated widely in 2010 of a pale crawling creature framed as a “swamp monster” captured on a trail camera in Berwick, Louisiana. It was discussed (however seriously or not) as a real or hoaxed thing in the woods. At the time, my opinion was that it was a manipulated image using a digital model. In a short while, this picture became labeled as a rake and the story of the image in the swamp morphed into other tales as well.

A problem arises when creepypasta or “mythical” creatures are seen by people. Long ago, people swore to having real experiences with fairies and dragons. Today, we have many people attesting that they see werewolves (often in the form of dogmen). There is a popular suggestion that fictional beings are thought into existence; that is, since so many people hear about them and visualize them, they manifest themselves into our reality. This is also known as the tulpa origin of cryptids.

The fictional origins of creepypasta monsters can get lost if they are removed from their original context and are mistaken for genuine eyewitness stories. This video embedded below is a good rundown of the history of the rake, though I have not confirmed the details and dates. (They do sound right, but you might want to ignore most of the visuals.) Also, the title portrays the rake as the “first Internet cryptid” – eh, I’m not buying that as the chupacabra from 1992 and others since may more rightly deserves that title. It is a good explanation of why it’s can be difficult to differentiate the rake as a cryptid.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3x7k4hjDBwU

People claim to encounter the rake, even though it’s fiction. It is unclear if they are telling what they think is the truth or just playing along in a shared manufactured reality. The phenomenon of creepypasta creatures showing up in the real world seems similar to the true story of a made-up April Fools song on a Michigan radio station in 1987 that resulted in a wave of stories from the past and continuing today about the Dogman.

Where can we draw the line for when a fictional creature can exist under the “cryptid” label? Cryptids are liminal creatures, and they deftly pass between the realms of real and fiction. The label is a dependent on the moment in time when people report, and others believe, that the creature could exist in our reality.

Thanks for reading! Send comments, questions, or suggestions to popcryptid(at)proton.me. If you want to send some cryptid plushies or other merch, or books to review, email for my physical mailing address.

For more, click on Pop goes the Cryptid landing page. Make sure you subscribe to all the posts – it’s always free and I don’t send annoying spam. 

Pop Cryptid Spectator is also available on Substack. Please share this with cryptid fans you know!

Pop Cryptid Spectator 7

Pop Cryptid Spectator Issue 6

Pop Cryptid Spectator 5

Pop Cryptid Spectator 4

Pop Cryptid Spectator 3

Pop Cryptid Spectator 2

Pop Cryptid Spectator 1

#1 #chupacabra #cryptid #Cryptozoology #deathOfAUnicorn #popCryptid #reddit #rollerCoaster #scientific #seaSerpents #Skinwalker #Wendigo

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Pop Cryptid Spectator 8

Welcome to the Pop Cryptid Spectator no. 8. This edition illustrates more examples of how cryptids are an integral part of culture, if you are in town, in the woods, on or offline.

In this edition:

• Bigfoot proposed as California’s official cryptid
• Monster Snap VR Game
• What is a “cryptoid”?
• Fakelore to folklore: The Rake

Bigfoot proposed as California’s official cryptid

The big(foot) news this week was the introduction of a bill in the California Assembly to name Bigfoot as an the official cryptid of California. On February 14, 2025, Chris Rogers (Democrat) proposed bill AB 666*:

Existing law establishes the state flag and the state’s emblems, including, among other things, the golden poppy as the official state flower and the California redwood as the official state tree.

This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would designate Bigfoot as the official state cryptid.

*Bigfoot could be the “mountain or wood devil” if you are predisposed to never seeing a coincidence.

Some people didn’t respond positively to the news, noticing that California has more important things to attend to right now and in the foreseeable future. But state legislators are overly fond of such memorial acts, and regularly waste time pushing them through. California already has 42 official state symbols. Why not another one? The symbolic gestures provide recognition and anchors the symbols to the state.

Rogers’ represents the Northern part of the state that is heavily associated with Bigfoot and benefits already from the link. Humboldt County includes Bluff Creek, the location of the infamous Patterson-Gimlin film from 1967, and nearby Willow Creek, home of the huge Bigfoot Daze festival. Willow Creek was the place where Bigfoot supposedly made its historic entrance into American popular culture when in 1958, loggers found giant footprints that were reported in the local Humboldt Times, giving the unknown creature the name “Bigfoot”.

Therefore, it does make sense that Rogers’ would like to cement this notoriety. The effort clearly is intended to encourage tourism from those people who believe, or just really want to believe, the forest still hides a mysterious creature that, like some supernatural being, has remained hidden and magical. Rogers’ noted that Bigfoot “generates buzz and interest from outdoor enthusiasts,” more so than other cryptids. He’s not wrong.

Washington and Oregon, however, may have a beef about it, but there is no reason why Bigfoot can’t also be their official cryptid. Heck, Bigfoot or its relations have been reported spotted in every US state with the possible exception of Hawaii. Bigfoot is the top US, for sure.

More from SF Gate and from the SF Chronicle.

Monster Snap VR game

A new virtual reality game coming in 2026 promises to give you a chance to collect photo evidence of cryptids. Monster Snap maroons you in the Bermuda Triangle where mysterious secrets are hidden. (Gosh, this is SO OLD. But I guess having a bunch of mysterious secrets existing in a single named location is convenient.) You can also encounter Bigfoot and spot Nessie. For PC-VR and Meta Quest 2 & 3.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYMAgt6k8q0

What is a “cryptoid”?

If you peruse online cryptid content, you may sometimes see the term “cryptoid”. It struck me as a possibly useful term to distinguish between sci-cryptids (those viewed with a zoological lens) and the fantastical or folkloric version of cryptids (such as mermaids, dragons, shapeshifters, jackalopes, etc.). So I took a look into where the term might have come from and how it’s used.

The suffix “-oid” means “similar to” or “likeness”, giving us words like “planetoid”, “humanoid” and “factoid”. It can also be a way to make an interesting derogatory word sometimes referring to a particular ideology or group of people as in “schizoid” or “skeptoid“. Or just a fun suffix for made up things like “graboid“.

According to Loren Coleman, whom I found had addressed the question of the difference between a cryptid and a cryptoid back in 2011, he seems to think it’s mostly a mistaken attempt to mean “cryptid”. In a way, “cryptoid” works when someone is intending a humorous or monstrous description of a mystery creature. But it will be confusing if not consistently used that way.

“Cryptoid phenomena” was a term used by Emile Boirac beginning around 1918 to refer to hidden psychic abilities. Later, it also comes up as the term “cryptoID”, which can ruin your search results. But there are a few books in the 2000s that intentionally use “cryptoid” as a humorous term (as with comics or monster-related art) or simply as a strange error by self-published writers who didn’t have an editor. (Worse than that, some even more careless will use “crypoids” [sic].) Unless it’s used in a more deliberate sense, it seems to be an indicator that the user isn’t well versed on “cryptids”.

Finallly, “Cryptoid” is an official trademarked name of a pyrethroid insecticide. (There’s the -oid again, meaning similar to the natural pesticide pyrethrum.) The trademark makes me jettison the nub of an idea to use the word to mean cryptid-like.

Hope you enjoyed this rather strange etymology lesson.

P.S. Remember the “noid“? Um, on second thought, avoid the noid.

Fakelore to folklore: The Rake

Cryptid Wiki explicitly rejects discussion on “creepypasta monsters such as slenderman, herobrine, the rake”. This is understandable as there is a flood of new creatures invented all the time. To include them would dilute the idea of cryptids. Creepypasta is related to digital transmission of fictional tales. CW also rejects outright fictional characters from books and films as well. While it’s reasonable to mark, say, Cthulhu as an inappropriate cryptid, there are many examples where it’s not easy to draw an objective line.

The Rake is the prime example of a creepypasta creature. The spark was set in motion on 4Chan and then the idea morphed from there. It was formalized, and given a fictional history, in a story from 2009 as a pale hairless humanoid, often spindly in appearance, with small sharp teeth, black voids as eyes, and an unnerving disjointed look, and highly agile way of moving on all fours.

The description and characteristics varied as the stories spread online. It was described similar to slenderman, without a defined face, watching in the background, often in suburban areas. Originally described as a “crawler”, it acquired the name “rake” a bit later and eventually was associated with shapeshifters and “fleshgaits”, as a generally unpleasant entity. It also is not that far from depictions of modern aliens. The lore has grown and evolved online and, as such, I currently can’t find a great resource for the Rake. As time goes on, you can see overlap and blending of creatures with similar features and stories (pale crawlers, skinwalker, wendigo, etc.), and these all diverge widely from the original tales. The rake continues to grow in popularity and is often listed as a cryptid.

A photo circulated widely in 2010 of a pale crawling creature framed as a “swamp monster” captured on a trail camera in Berwick, Louisiana. It was discussed (however seriously or not) as a real or hoaxed thing in the woods. At the time, my opinion was that it was a manipulated image using a digital model. In a short while, this picture became labeled as a rake and the story of the image in the swamp morphed into other tales as well.

A problem arises when creepypasta or “mythical” creatures are seen by people. Long ago, people swore to having real experiences with fairies and dragons. Today, we have many people attesting that they see werewolves (often in the form of dogmen). There is a popular suggestion that fictional beings are thought into existence; that is, since so many people hear about them and visualize them, they manifest themselves into our reality. This is also known as the tulpa origin of cryptids.

The fictional origins of creepypasta monsters can get lost if they are removed from their original context and are mistaken for genuine eyewitness stories. This video embedded below is a good rundown of the history of the rake, though I have not confirmed the details and dates. (They do sound right, but you might want to ignore most of the visuals.) Also, the title portrays the rake as the “first Internet cryptid” – eh, I’m not buying that as the chupacabra from 1992 and others since may more rightly deserves that title. It is a good explanation of why it’s can be difficult to differentiate the rake as a cryptid.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3x7k4hjDBwU

People claim to encounter the rake, even though it’s fiction. It is unclear if they are telling what they think is the truth or just playing along in a shared manufactured reality. The phenomenon of creepypasta creatures showing up in the real world seems similar to the true story of a made-up April Fools song on a Michigan radio station in 1987 that resulted in a wave of stories from the past and continuing today about the Dogman.

Where can we draw the line for when a fictional creature can exist under the “cryptid” label? Cryptids are liminal creatures, and they deftly pass between the realms of real and fiction. The label is a dependent on the moment in time when people report, and others believe, that the creature could exist in our reality.

Thanks for reading! Send comments, questions, or suggestions to popcryptid(at)proton.me. If you want to send some cryptid plushies or other merch, or books to review, email for my physical mailing address.

For more, click on Pop goes the Cryptid landing page. Make sure you subscribe to all the posts – it’s always free and I don’t send annoying spam. 

Pop Cryptid Spectator is also available on Substack. Please share this with cryptid fans you know!

Pop Cryptid Spectator 7

Pop Cryptid Spectator Issue 6

Pop Cryptid Spectator 5

Pop Cryptid Spectator 4

Pop Cryptid Spectator 3

Pop Cryptid Spectator 2

Pop Cryptid Spectator 1

#1 #chupacabra #cryptid #Cryptozoology #deathOfAUnicorn #popCryptid #reddit #rollerCoaster #scientific #seaSerpents #Skinwalker #Wendigo

https://sharonahill.com/?p=9144

Pop Cryptid Spectator 7

Welcome to the Pop Cryptid Spectator no. 7. This edition is chock full of news, media, and pop cryptid information. Cryptid popularity is exploding. Even old cryptid ideas are resurfacing in new ways all the time, as we’ll see regarding sea serpents and living dinosaurs. Books, movies, internet content, and music work to spread the modern concepts of cryptids, leaving behind crusty old ideas of “unknown animals” and repackaging them as new and exciting entities that share whatever “reality” we wish to embrace.

In this edition:

• Cryptozoology diploma
• Saxsquatch in Rolling Stone
• Past and future of Small Town Monsters
• Modern resurgence of mokele-mbembe
• Fresno Nightcrawler on Monstrum – Is it a cryptid?
• Frogman Festival in March
• Cryptid biographies
• Book review: A Natural History of Sea Serpents

Cryptozoology Diploma

A participant on the Forteana Forums on the Pop Goes the Cryptid thread pointed me to a “Cryptozoology diploma” provided by the Centre for Excellence online shop. You can take a (paid) course that claims to teach you to able to “decide whether lake monsters, sea serpents, Thunderbirds and other mythical monsters are rumours or a reality”. That is, if your really need to pay for that! This tip was in response to the item in last PCS 6 exposing the ridiculous article on the Indeed job search site regarding “How to Become a Cryptozoologist”. This “diploma” is worthless as credentials but might be fun if you like learning new things you don’t known anything about. And, it shows just how mainstream the topic is. Unfortunately, as I discovered with a similar course, I can safely assume the instruction is terrible, the source material is low quality and full of errors, and the effort might make you more misinformed than educated in the topic.

Saxquatch in Rolling Stone

Regarding the Saxsquatch story from last week, he then appeared as a Creature Feature in Rolling Stone. He’s a very BIG deal!

Past and Future of STM

You really can’t talk about the spread of cryptids in popular culture in the US without recognizing Small Town Monsters, a production company founded by Seth Breedlove and friends, that has been making documentary films for 10 years now. They make little-known cryptids into icons, small towns into tourist attractions. I was a big fan of STM films starting with The Minerva Monster (Ohio) and Beast of Whitehall (New York). Since those early projects, it’s become increasingly difficult to keep track of, let alone watch, all the various monster and paranormal content that they put out. Every time I watch a new film or YouTube series episode, I see familiar faces from the field of high strangeness, and I learn new things. While STM prides themselves on being the only company who take an “objective” approach to their subjects, making an effort to let the witnesses and researchers do the talking, they have slanted more towards the extreme paranormal stuff as time has gone on. This tendency, however, is the normal trajectory of Pop Cryptids, so it’s altogether possible that STM isn’t just riding the wave, but also helping to steer the boat.

Seth has produced a new intro video for this year explaining some of the challenges to the small company, mainly distribution issues, that shed light on the seemingly chaotic release schedule. He also gives a preview of the movies for 2025.

• The Kinderhook Creature is a story about a Bigfoot that terrorized families in the Catskills of New York in the 1980s. I am unfamiliar with this story which Breedlove calls “Minerva Monster writ large”. I fully expect the film treatment will launch this cryptid into the popular sphere.
• Dawn of the Dogman promises to explore the origins of the Michigan dogman, which is known to have been popularized by a hoax story put into song. Breedlove says that Linda Godfrey was consulted on the project prior to her death in 2022. Again, really looking forward to this topic since Dogman is the current king of Pop Cryptids.
• From the Beyond: The Bennington Triangle will take on the array of different phenomena reported in this area of southern Vermont. Window areas are of particular interest to me related to my Spooky Geology niche. I have written about the Bennington Triangle.

You can see Monster Chronicles: The Past and Future of STM on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE7xW4yfN5c

Modern resurgence of mokele-mbembe

Syfy website put out an article regarding the claim of living dinosaurs in the African Congo River Basin. The most famous of these is mokele-mbembe, which cryptozoologists interpret as a potential sauropod dinosaur. The article is, as you will often find, clickbait promotion, in this case linked to the next upcoming Jurassic Park franchise movie. It piggy backs off a Nat Geo article from early February about deforestation. Due to this environmental condition, encounters between locals and wildlife are becoming more frequent. People aren’t all that used to being so close to elephants and gorillas and seem to be attributing sounds and experiences to the folklore creature instead.

“In bigger settlements where habitats are being pushed into and people aren’t used to seeing large animals, they’re suddenly encountering them all the time,” says Laura Vlachova, a Czech conservationist. “It’s these people who tell me they’ve seen mokele-mbembe. I think what it really shows is how folklore is starting to reflect the reality of a shrinking ecosystem.”

Fresno Nightcrawler on Monstrum – Is it a cryptid?

Monstrum is a very popular PBS produced series on folklore creatures. The latest episode is on Pop Cryptid star, the Fresno Nightcrawler – a creature known from a grainy video from 2007 that shows a pale entity made up almost entirely of billowy legs and maybe a really tiny head on top. Host Emily Zarka can’t decide whether this is a “cryptid” or not, first calling it that but then suggesting it’s something else. She defines a cryptid as a biological creature that people say exists but science hasn’t documented, which, as I have shown in previous issues of PCS, can be problematic. The old school idea of a cryptid is zoological, however, the nightcrawler doesn’t seem to be perambulating anywhere near the path of zoological discovery. Mostly perceived as a hoax, I have seen some attempts to recreate it – digitally and manually. But nothing quite works. So the Nightcrawler remains a fun and creepy mystery. But, is it a cryptid?

• Yes. People claim to encounter the creature in other areas after the original Fresno incident came to light. If we consider cryptids as a mysterious and unrecognized creature that, supported by anecdotal (and bad video) evidence, then it’s a cryptid.
• Yes. Even if the supposition is that it’s an alien or spirit being, it’s a usually hidden entity that sometimes walks through our physical space. This is boosted by poorly sourced claims that it resembles some creature of Native American lore.
• No. In no way does it depict a plausible biological creature, and there is no indication it can be captured or has a typical organic existence; it looks like a pair of puppet pants; it’s a made-up creature.
• Yes. The Fresno nightcrawler always ranks high on lists of favorite cryptids. People remain fascinated by it, and it is the subject of a crazy amount of merchandise because it is cute and easy to draw! Pop cryptid all the way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrGcxeyIPx4

Frogman Festival in March

Coming up on March 1-2 in Loveland, Ohio is the Frogman Festival celebrating the sightings of a humanoid frog- or lizard-like entity reported in 1955, 1972 and 2016. The festival features the usual family fun and merch vendors riding the Pop Cryptid wave. But the speakers are always my main interest. Among the paranormal and metaphysical “researchers” speaking at the event is an academic who is the most knowledgeable of all these presenters put together, Dr. Jeb Card. Unfortunately, this location is a bit too far for a day drive for me. If you are within reach, give it a go and let me know what you think.

Cryptid biographies

Incidentally, the Frogman has no well-researched cryptid biography. Surprisingly, neither does Mothman. Here are some recommended books to explore the “true” stories behind some famous cryptids:

• Tracking the Chupacabra: The Vampire Beast in Fact, Fiction, and Folklore – Benjamin Radford, 2011
• The Secret History of the Jersey Devil: How Quakers, Hucksters, and Benjamin Franklin Created a Monster – Brian Regal and Frank Esposito, 2018
• The Untold Story of Champ: A social history of America’s Loch Ness Monster – Robert Bartholomew, 2012
• Ogopogo: The True Story of the Okanagan Lake Million Dollar Monster – Arlene Gaal, 1955
• The Beast of Boggy Creek: The True Story of the Fouke Monster – Lyle Blackburn, 2012
• Lizard Man: The True Story of the Bishopville Monster – Lyle Blackburn, 2013
• The Great Sea Serpent: An Historical and Critical Treatise – A.C. Oudemans, 1892
• The Great New England Sea Serpent: An Account of Unknown Creatures Sighted by Many Respectable Persons Between 1638 and the Present Day – June P. O’Neill, 1999
• Bigfoot: The Life and Times of a Legend – Joshua Blu Buhs, 2009
• Bigfoot: The Yeti and Sasquatch in Myth and Reality – John Russell Napier, 1972

Might I suggest purchasing books from local or independent booksellers instead of Amazon. Try https://bookshop.org/ or https://www.ebooks.com/en-us/.

Book Review: A Natural History of Sea Serpents

A Natural History of Sea Serpents by Adrian Shine (Coming March 2025)
I am a tough book critic, particular regarding my favorite subject. No copy-paste, Wikipedia-sourced garbage passes muster with me. What I truly appreciate is a genuine expert, who has put in the time, presenting their well-reasoned arguments, supported by evidence. You can hardly get a better example of this than Adrian Shine’s new volume on sea serpents. Shine is the world’s foremost expert on the Loch Ness creature reports.

In this book, he guides us through the history of a long-bodied swimming creature that people have reported for centuries, how it changed, and what people probably saw. For example, early sea serpent sightings were of “loops” surfacing in the water with the suggestion of a flexible tubular animal. But around 1848, Shine explains the change to interpreting the same shape as “humps” connected to the back of an animal with a larger middle, like a plesiosaur. This version of the idea also continued into Loch Ness reports.

There are an array of historical sightings by sailors and other credible witnesses for which sensationalistic cryptid literature will label as representing mysterious creatures or unknown species. Shine declares what all reasonable people with some biology background already know – a hooping/looping animal is absurd. Maned water creatures, like cadborosaurus, make no sense. The volumes of eyewitness testimony, examined individually, is not compelling to suggest a mystery creature exists; there is a complete dearth of scientific evidence for these water cryptids.

Shine blasts a few worn tropes clear out of the water. First, locals and professionals don’t always know the animal they are seeing, if it’s an animal at all. Everyone can be fooled by viewing an unfamiliar or atypical situation. Second, there is no need to invent new animals to account for these sightings. Third, no single animal is going to account for all the various descriptions grouped under a single phenomenon, such as “Nessie” or “sea serpent”.

Shine provides convincing explanations for the most famous accounts cited by cryptid proponents, and he supports his conclusions with photographic examples. Even though no exotic cryptid is proposed as an explanation, his presentation is fascinating.

As with other cryptid-related books of outstanding scholarship, cryptozoological proponents will reject, ignore, or foolishly try to sink it. Back in 2012, a few big-mouthed and small-minded cryptid fans protested the book Abominable Science by Loxton and Prothero, probably because it spelled out cogent arguments against the zoological reality of famous cryptid creatures. The bottom line for sci-cryptozoologists is that they still lack substantive evidence for their extraordinary claims. I suspect they will dislike Shine’s book too. Their loss. Or, the accumulated wisdom he has will be acknowledged and respected.

Thanks for reading! Send comments, questions, or suggestions to popcryptid(at)proton.me. If you want to send some cryptid plushies or other merch, or books to review, email for my physical mailing address.

For more, click on Pop goes the Cryptid landing page. Make sure you subscribe to all the posts – it’s always free and I don’t send annoying spam. 

Pop Cryptid Spectator is also available on Substack. Please share this with cryptid fans you know!

#7 #ANaturalHistoryOfSeaSerpents #bookReview #cryptids #Cryptozoology #FresnoNightcrawler #LovelandFrogman #mokeleMbembe #popCryptid #PopCryptidSpectator #popCulture #seaSerpents

https://sharonahill.com/?p=9536