http://www.thereporter.com/hamlin/ci_7177157
QUOTE
Bigfoot or goatman?
By Brian Hamlin
Article Launched: 10/14/2007 07:26:21 AM PDT
Don't you hate it when casual cocktail hour conversation turns abruptly to the subject of cryptozoology and you don't even know the difference between a Sasquatch and a skunk ape?
Embarrassing? You bet.
But it doesn't have to be, because now you can arm yourself with Scott Francis' comprehensive new "Monster Spotter's Guide to North America" (2007, F+W Publications, Cincinnati, Ohio, $14.95, 248 Pages).
This convenient paperback volume is no fly-by-night guide to something a Cecilville farmer thought he saw out by the hay baler one December about the time his blue tick hound got spooked by something.
No, indeed.
The "Monster Spotter's Guide" has it all, from the Abominable Swamp Slob to Zombies.
Not only does Francis identify dozens of monsters from coast to coast, he also includes detailed, at-a-glance fact boxes with each of them, highlighting general physical characteristics, size, habitat, favorite food and precautions one should take if one encounters one of the unusual beasts.
The Murphysboro Mud Monster, for example, is a "tall, apelike creature with white hair, usually covered in mud." Seven- to eight-feet tall, it usually hangs around Murphysboro, Ill. (well duh...), is omnivorous and may be dangerous if cornered or startled.
The latter should come as no surprise to anyone, since even Republicans may be dangerous if cornered or startled without an attorney present.
Perhaps best of all, the guide includes plenty of little-known creatures familiar only to the inhabitants of small, forgotten hamlets and villages.
Sure, Francis' compendium of curiosities includes the "Big Three" of legendary creatures - Big Foot, the Abominable Snowman and the Loch Ness Monster - but he also has detailed descriptions of such creatures as Texas' Lake Worth Monster, the Cactus Cat of the Southwest - a notoriously bad drunk - and Idaho's elusive Pend Oreille Paddler plesiosaur.
Some of the beasts included in Francis' guide are the stuff of old-fashioned folklore, whereas others have been repeatedly sighted by reliable sources, many of them sober.
To make things easier for novice monster spotters, the author has placed each reported creature into one of seven specific categories - Sasquatch and hairy monsters, flying monsters, ocean, lake and river monsters, folklore monsters, UFO-related monsters, reptilian humanoids (one of my personal favorites) and phantom animals.
Big Foot, for example, is included among hairy monsters, as is the aromatic Everglades Skunk Ape. Two-foot-tall Pennsylvania Squonks, on the other hand, are relegated to the folklore category.
Then there are Globsters - huge piles of decomposing organic matter that may, or may not, have once been legendary creatures of the sea. Globsters periodically wash up on shore and fascinate aficionados of, er, large, unidentified decomposing piles of aquatic life ....
Brian Hamlin can be reached at courts@thereporter.com.
By Brian Hamlin
Article Launched: 10/14/2007 07:26:21 AM PDT
Don't you hate it when casual cocktail hour conversation turns abruptly to the subject of cryptozoology and you don't even know the difference between a Sasquatch and a skunk ape?
Embarrassing? You bet.
But it doesn't have to be, because now you can arm yourself with Scott Francis' comprehensive new "Monster Spotter's Guide to North America" (2007, F+W Publications, Cincinnati, Ohio, $14.95, 248 Pages).
This convenient paperback volume is no fly-by-night guide to something a Cecilville farmer thought he saw out by the hay baler one December about the time his blue tick hound got spooked by something.
No, indeed.
The "Monster Spotter's Guide" has it all, from the Abominable Swamp Slob to Zombies.
Not only does Francis identify dozens of monsters from coast to coast, he also includes detailed, at-a-glance fact boxes with each of them, highlighting general physical characteristics, size, habitat, favorite food and precautions one should take if one encounters one of the unusual beasts.
The Murphysboro Mud Monster, for example, is a "tall, apelike creature with white hair, usually covered in mud." Seven- to eight-feet tall, it usually hangs around Murphysboro, Ill. (well duh...), is omnivorous and may be dangerous if cornered or startled.
The latter should come as no surprise to anyone, since even Republicans may be dangerous if cornered or startled without an attorney present.
Perhaps best of all, the guide includes plenty of little-known creatures familiar only to the inhabitants of small, forgotten hamlets and villages.
Sure, Francis' compendium of curiosities includes the "Big Three" of legendary creatures - Big Foot, the Abominable Snowman and the Loch Ness Monster - but he also has detailed descriptions of such creatures as Texas' Lake Worth Monster, the Cactus Cat of the Southwest - a notoriously bad drunk - and Idaho's elusive Pend Oreille Paddler plesiosaur.
Some of the beasts included in Francis' guide are the stuff of old-fashioned folklore, whereas others have been repeatedly sighted by reliable sources, many of them sober.
To make things easier for novice monster spotters, the author has placed each reported creature into one of seven specific categories - Sasquatch and hairy monsters, flying monsters, ocean, lake and river monsters, folklore monsters, UFO-related monsters, reptilian humanoids (one of my personal favorites) and phantom animals.
Big Foot, for example, is included among hairy monsters, as is the aromatic Everglades Skunk Ape. Two-foot-tall Pennsylvania Squonks, on the other hand, are relegated to the folklore category.
Then there are Globsters - huge piles of decomposing organic matter that may, or may not, have once been legendary creatures of the sea. Globsters periodically wash up on shore and fascinate aficionados of, er, large, unidentified decomposing piles of aquatic life ....
Brian Hamlin can be reached at courts@thereporter.com.