Summer Re-Reading: American Monsters

A few summers ago, my interest in cryptozoology was rekindled. Initially nurtured in my childhood by a steady diet of my parents’ copies of World News and the National Enquirer, this interest has re-emerged thanks in part to a new interest in folklore as well as listening to a number of excellent crytpid and folklore related podcasts and reality television shows. Once a niche filed of ineterst, well-written and academic reading about such creatures as the Mothman, Bigfoot and others has also  become much more readily available. Though there was magic in the halcyon days of Bat Boy, the writing has also become more polished, professional and consistently entertaining.

Due to the clean writing style and accessible nature of her writing, Linda S. Godfrey has quickly found her way to my nightstand as one of my go-to cryptid informer and literary palette cleansers. “One of America’s foremost experts on mystery creatures”, Godfrey’s books take a journalistic approach to retelling anecdotes and presenting histories of a variety of “monsters”, both familiar and unfamiliar. American Monsters: A History of Monster Lore, Legends, and Sightings in America spans an extensive timeline of experiences, often relayed through first-hand accounts of a multitude of incidents with mysterious creatures. While re-reading sections this summer, I was also pleased to see the number of secondary sources from smaller publishes she references, in particular, those dealing with local or regional folklore.

"Wendigo" illustration, page 254.

The encyclopedic text is divided into three parts, Air, Sea and Land, and further organized into chapters. Each chapter is then broken into small accounts of related creatures ranging in length from one to four pages. The anecdotes also include reference to numerous sources, information from which is used so effectively I found myself keeping a small "to read" list of these small press publications. This org -group. The book opens, for example, with “Part One: Monsters by Air”, beginning with “Chapter 1. Feathered Fiends” before moving into tales of Bigclaw, the Micmac Culloo and other historical Big Birds. In a language that is conversational and a tone that is suggests a suspension of disbelief, the writer comes across as neither pandering nor naive. Godfrey clearly lays out the experiences of  individuals in a manner that evokes each the eerie mood of each encounter and evokes the historical and cultural context from which each emerged.

One of the book’s chief accomplishments, beyond being wildly entertaining, is taking advantage of opportunities to add additional layers of insight to those topics readers might incorrectly presume they have heard everything about. The expert here is clearly Godfrey and she’s come equipped with multiple approaches to each subject. An excellent example of this is the section entitled “Challenge of Chupacabres.” Having seen the X-Files episode as well as one or two short videos on YouTube, it might be easy to assume one has all the relevant information necessary to make a personal call on the existence of this “hell monkey”.  While not offering a definitive answer on the existence of chupacabres, Godfrey does provide some examples of encounters and sightings with ancillary creatures that may be related to the Chupacabra phenomenon. Throughout the text, Godfrey also provides samples of photographic evidence and illustrations that range from the evidentiary to the ornamental. (As an aside, that evidence which is referenced throughout, but not included here, is readily available via a quick online search.)

American Monsters is a very entertaining and informative summer reading selection which continues to foster a personal interest in unusual creatures and the zeitgeist from which they sprang. In so many ways, each story is telling a small piece of the American story, which I continue to find fascinating. My guess is that if you take the chance to pick-up this unique tome, you will find the same.

*Originally posted 7/23/18, Revised 7/16/2020

Tales from My Funko Pop Shelf 1

Target Exclusive Aggretsuko (Date Night) and Fallout 76 Mothman boxed...

Tchotchke, whether ceramic figures, thimbles or salt and pepper shakers, each Funko Pop in my burgeoning collection has a story behind its purchase. Sometimes it is an extension of appreciation for a recent comic book title or film or, more often than not, it is because the character appeals to a sense of nostalgia. Occasionally it is simply random purchase due to its design. More anecdote or vignette, than full bore "story", as a means of writing practice, I thought I'd share some of the personal backstory behind some of the more interesting Pops in my collection beginning with two of my more recent additions.

Though not of the Point Pleasant variety, I came across the Fallout 76 Mothman at a small boutique-style store in a local mall. Background regarding the character within the context of the game was not included on the box, so in my head it will continue to be a tribute to one of America's premiere cryptids. As a child, copies of my father's Weekly World News were required breakfast-time reading, so my appreciation of this American original began at a young age. I am unfamiliar with Fallout 76 and it's accompanying line of Funkos, so it was nice to come across something new and distinctive in the wild. Additionally, because I always seem to miss out on reasonably priced versions of the multitude of Bigfoot/Sasquatch/Yeti exclusives released as part of the "Funko Myths" line (at increasingly exorbitant third party prices), I did not want to pass this up. More insectoid than the slightly more humanoid Mothman of cryptozoology legend, the bright red eyes and imposing stature remain consistent with the Mothman of Virginia folklore thereby deserving of a spot on my shelf.

Not too long ago I came across the anime-esqu stylings of the Evan with Higgedly Funko Pop of the Ni No Kuni: Revenant Kingdom line on the discount table at a local rpg store. On a recent stop at Target, the Aggretsuko (Date Night) exclusive caught my eye. Since my manga collecting days of youth (okay, more like my early twenties) I have always appreciated the anthropomorphic chibi design of some Japanese characters. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the character design, Aggretsuko was developed by the same company that spawned Hello Kitty, Sanrio. Season 1 of the web show on which this series of Funkos is based, Aggretsuko, currently streams on Netflix, so I was able to catch a few episodes following my purchase. The narrative background provided therein only increased my appreciation of Aggretsuko. The descriptions from the Sanrio website follows almost word-for-word that on the Funko box that describe her as "a single, 25 year-old red panda. Yet despite her cute appearance, something deep within her is filled with rage." That perfectly describes the show. The juxtaposition between the overall character visual designs, post-collegiate angst, and death metal is an incredibly entertaining one. That fact that Aggretsuko carries her own mic to nightly decompression sessions of karaoke only takes things the next level of excellence. Of course, now I need to tack down the Aggretsuko (Rage) Funko to balance out my own collection.

... and unboxed!