The United States of Cryptids: A Tour of American Myths and Monsters
- Downloads：1720
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-08-14 01:19:36
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：J.W. Ocker
- ISBN：1683693221
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
J。W。 Ocker
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Author here。 I cannot describe how much fun this book was to write。 Hope you have even 10% of the fun reading it。
Emily Rundle
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Thank you to NetGalley and Quirk Books for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review。 I have been around the cryptid block a few times in my life as any person with a love of history and strangeness generally has been， but this book was a new adventure for me。 Explaining cryptids through their cities （and their reverence for them or lack thereof） was a refreshing take on the nonfiction monster genre。 I often feel like I've seen it all when it comes to books and media about crypti Thank you to NetGalley and Quirk Books for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review。 I have been around the cryptid block a few times in my life as any person with a love of history and strangeness generally has been， but this book was a new adventure for me。 Explaining cryptids through their cities （and their reverence for them or lack thereof） was a refreshing take on the nonfiction monster genre。 I often feel like I've seen it all when it comes to books and media about cryptids both foreign and domestic， but this book somehow taught me about monsters I had never heard of before， including some in my backyard！ I don't know whether it is more of a monster book or a travel book， but in either case I very much enjoyed it！ As an East coaster and listener of many spooky podcasts I had of course heard of Nain Rouge， the Jersey Devil， Mothman， Wendigos， etc， but many of the hoax creatures mentioned （including the Silver Lake Serpent） and some of the lesser known creatures were totally new to me！ This book is refreshing as it doesn't take itself too seriously in the best possible way。 The new knowledge I found in this book combined with the truly comedic tone made this book was an absolute winner for me。 I'd recommend this for crytid enthusiasts， anyone who was raised on a steady diet of Scooby Doo， fans of Buzzfeed Unsolved （everyone's favorite ghoul boys）， and for anyone who likes to learn a little more about the strange world we live in。 。。。more
Kayla
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Huge thanks to Quirk Books and Netgalley for an early release copy of The United States of Cryptids for my honest review！This was so much fun！ I took my time to read this one。 A couple of chapters every night before bed or in the afternoon。 I really liked that Ocker split the book up into sections starting with the East Coast and heading West。 It allowed for some stories to cross over into each region， but it never felt like as a reader we got stuck on a specific cryptid。 Because there is so muc Huge thanks to Quirk Books and Netgalley for an early release copy of The United States of Cryptids for my honest review！This was so much fun！ I took my time to read this one。 A couple of chapters every night before bed or in the afternoon。 I really liked that Ocker split the book up into sections starting with the East Coast and heading West。 It allowed for some stories to cross over into each region， but it never felt like as a reader we got stuck on a specific cryptid。 Because there is so much Bigfoot， everywhere。 It also made the story feel like a journey， a road trip as we stopped to learn about each of these monsters。Normally I'm not a big notetaker while I read。 Occasionally I highlight a funny line， or a quick though so I don't forget for the review。 But， with this book， I took down so many notes and thoughts as I read along。 I think part of it has to do with the fact I love Ocker's narration throughout the book， never taking themselves too seriously just enjoying what their writing。 It was just random thought that popped while I was reading that I felt I needed to jot down， and the app I read this had a note-taking funtion。On top of taking notes， I did a lot of Googling as I read。 The artwork found throughout the book is great because not all of these cryptids have normal forms So it was great to get an of what people thought they saw， and a lovely little shock to just scroll down and a strange creature was looking at you。 But， a handful of these stories had footage involved with their stories。 So I would Google that after the chapter， or look up the photos that were taken。 Which was fun， mostly creepy， but fun。I did get to thinking with this book about the biggest time period of people seeing these cryptids， and it left me with some thoughts。 That maybe we don't see so many cryptids encounters these days because of the advancements in technology and TV Shows。 The world doesn't seem too big and vast these days， and so many people are quick with the need to debunk stories attached to cryptids。 Personally， I liked the idea that these things are out there somewhere。 Like there's still a bit of magic in the world， and only a lucky， frightened， few have gotten to see it。 Maybe it's silly because a part of me can definitely sit down and rationalize what those people probably saw。 But， where's the fun in that。 I like the idea of the monster under the bed or these cases mostly in the woods。What makes this book stand out is how much fun Ocker seemed to have as they wrote it。 This was something shared with Ocker's family， well researched， and never taking itself too seriously。 Even stories that had proven a hoax were included in this book。 Because they're still a good story， a good legend to be told around a campfire。 It was fun to read because it felt like Ocker had a blast researching for it。 And， I don't think there was a part that didn't enjoy。No that's a lie， my least favorite story was the grey aliens， only that doesn't have anything to with Ocker and everything to with the fact the idea of grey aliens creeps me right out。 Not a fan。 My favorite story was Sinkhole Sam， but I grew up on stories of Sam since I was born and raised in Kansas。 So I was beyond thrilled to him make the pages of this work。 The Thunderbird is also a favorite of mine。 And， the weirdest story by a mile was the Slide-Rock Bolter。 I had to read that story twice to make sure what I thought I read， was what I actually read。 Because what？！This book was great and I cannot thank Quirk Books enough for letting me snag it early！ This will definitely be one I buy to add to my shelves！ The Unitest States of Cryptids: A Tour of American Myths and Monsters will go on sale on September 27 of this year！ 。。。more
Erin
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Honestly， I love reading these types of nonfiction。 The author clearly loves the subject but recognizes how weird it is， and now I want to travel to all of the mentioned places and find those cryptids。
Melissa McCauley
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What a treat！ I've been super into creepy/cryptid books lately and this certainly scratched that itch。 The USC （the United States of Cryptids） combines some of our classic weirdos as well as a few deep cuts， all neatly organized by region。 I recommend reading this book around a campfire with friends for a good， fun， spooky time！ （p。s。 I'm only slightly disappointed that my hometown hero， The Goat Man of Denton， TX， isn't included。 I'm assuming he's just too much of a star thanks to the Ghoul Boy What a treat！ I've been super into creepy/cryptid books lately and this certainly scratched that itch。 The USC （the United States of Cryptids） combines some of our classic weirdos as well as a few deep cuts， all neatly organized by region。 I recommend reading this book around a campfire with friends for a good， fun， spooky time！ （p。s。 I'm only slightly disappointed that my hometown hero， The Goat Man of Denton， TX， isn't included。 I'm assuming he's just too much of a star thanks to the Ghoul Boys of Buzzfeed Unsolved to be included。） 。。。more
Chloe
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Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this title， in exchange for an honest review。This was such a joy to read！ It's more of a small coffeetable anthology than a sit-down-and-read-in-one-go book。 Ocker clearly loves this topic and visited a lot of different cities and states with his daughters to research this book。 The collection is not only filled with insight on cryptids itself， but on each town's views on the cryptid from the people who live there。 Often times， the town uses the cryptid as a Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this title， in exchange for an honest review。This was such a joy to read！ It's more of a small coffeetable anthology than a sit-down-and-read-in-one-go book。 Ocker clearly loves this topic and visited a lot of different cities and states with his daughters to research this book。 The collection is not only filled with insight on cryptids itself， but on each town's views on the cryptid from the people who live there。 Often times， the town uses the cryptid as a tourism vehicle， and it's so heartwarming to hear from a museum in the middle of nowhere or a children's softball team with a hairy beast as their mascot。 I wish there were more pictures， and I wish that it had covered every state （even though they cover a lot of them）， but all in all I recommend this collection for people who want a definitive guide on all things weird。 。。。more
Jessica
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Such a fun book！ Taking a look at different cryptids across the United States in short entries outlining the cryptid's backstory， area， and theories and if there is a town/area/museum dedicated to the cryptid。 There are also some drawings of cryptids as well as some asides from the author interspersed。The author does a great job of striking the tone between serious research and playful tone that makes the reader feel a part of the fun。 I enjoyed learning about these stories （who knew Ohio was cr Such a fun book！ Taking a look at different cryptids across the United States in short entries outlining the cryptid's backstory， area， and theories and if there is a town/area/museum dedicated to the cryptid。 There are also some drawings of cryptids as well as some asides from the author interspersed。The author does a great job of striking the tone between serious research and playful tone that makes the reader feel a part of the fun。 I enjoyed learning about these stories （who knew Ohio was cryptid central？） and I have been sharing the stories and planning some road trips with friends already to check these places out for ourselves。 The best way to describe this book is it gives Gravity Falls' Mystery Shack vibes - not everything is real， nothing it taken too serious， but everyone's enthusiasm makes up for any dashed hopes。 I've already pre-ordered a copy for myself and I can't wait to highlight and talk about it with everyone （even more than I am now）。 。。。more
mallory
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This is such a fun read; sort of an A to Z of cryptids split up by their region of supposed origin。 I loved how it read and you can really hear Ocker’s personal voice and excitement of these creatures while you read。It isn’t a dense fact book full of scientific research， but a reminder that cryptozoology is a field full of mystery， what-if’s， and dedication。 Each section included small anecdotes of Ocker’s trips to different museums， restaurants， monuments， etc。 and how each region’s culture has This is such a fun read; sort of an A to Z of cryptids split up by their region of supposed origin。 I loved how it read and you can really hear Ocker’s personal voice and excitement of these creatures while you read。It isn’t a dense fact book full of scientific research， but a reminder that cryptozoology is a field full of mystery， what-if’s， and dedication。 Each section included small anecdotes of Ocker’s trips to different museums， restaurants， monuments， etc。 and how each region’s culture has been affected by reports of their pride-and-joy cryptid。 Amusing， interesting， and an all-around engrossing book！ 。。。more
Christine Piepmeier
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