American Monsters
A History of Monster Lore, Legends, and Sightings in America
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3.5 • 6 Ratings
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
From pre-Columbian legends to modern-day eyewitness accounts, this comprehensive guide covers the history, sightings and lore surrounding the most mysterious monsters in America—including Bigfoot, the Jersey Devil, and more.
Bigfoot, the chupacabra, and thunderbirds aren’t just figments of our overactive imaginations—according to thousands of eyewitnesses, they exist, in every corner of the United States. Throughout America’s history, shocked onlookers have seen unbelievable creatures of every stripe—from sea serpents to apelike beings, giant bats to monkeymen—in every region.
Author, investigator, and creature expert Linda S. Godfrey brings the same fearless reporting she lent to Real Wolfmen to this essential guide, using historical record, present-day news reports, and eyewitness interviews to examine this hidden menagerie of America’s homegrown beasts.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Mystery expert Godfrey (Real Wolfmen) collects the eyewitness accounts of Americans who claim to have crossed paths with monsters at least in the author's sense of the word. These so called monsters Godfrey defines as beings who are "bigger than they ought to be," who "hiss, growl... and scream." They are divided by terrain into three groups: those who roam the land (bigfoots, werewolves, and freakish felines), those who fly across the sky (dragons, oversized bats, and the Mothman), and those and lurk underwater (alligator men, squids, merpeople, and sea serpents). Godfrey frequently draws from myth and folklore and cites cases from history and pop culture, demonstrating extensive knowledge of her subject matter. She offers theories as to why certain regions attract certain types of monsters. Many of the stories she includes are similar tales of people driving and spotting a weird creature, and this piling-on of stories book often reads like a list. Despite its repetitiveness, the book will prove a handy encyclopedia for enthusiastic cryptozoologists of all ages.
