The name of my blog is “Cryptid History” and as a result it should be no shock that I think it is especially valuable for us to look at cryptids and their associated legends and stories using the tools of the Historian. Related disciplines like folklore, Anthopology, and other humanities in general are also useful. There are a lot of reasons for this, chief among them being the continued, I dare say, rejection, of proper science in the mainstream cryptozoological field. Ideas like these are detailed in my previous blog post “Woo” The Dogman and Moving the Goalposts as well as Sharon Hill’s article “Supernatural Creep:When Explanations slide off to the Fringes” where she sums up the whole issue much more eloquently than I do. Many Cryptozooogists, and more importantly, cryptozoology enthusiasts, the consumers of cryptid based media, are increasingly less concerned with biological and scientifically grounded answers to their questions. They veer off into the folklore, the paranormal and the ghost story. The proliferation of these ideas is less a question for science to examine, and more something for the historian, and the humanities to examine.
That is exactly what David Puglia sets out to do in his book “North American Monsters: A contemporary Legend Casebook” wherein he collects 19 different essays on topics ranging from Gators in the Sewers to Mothman and everything in between. Puglia makes no bones about it, he wants to examine monsters in the lens of folklore. Since he is examining folklore or stories, he is not as concerned with questions like “is the creature actually real?” Instead the real question is whether or not the story is plausible enough for people to believe it. Puglia seems to very much respect the “why” people are interested in and entranced by monster stories, writing that “Legendary monsters hint at the romantic and transcendent in a sanitized, rationalistic world, at an urge for adventure,and at a lust for the unknown.” (Pg 19) The collection of essays that Puglia puts forth wonderfully complements his goals of examining these local monsters through the lens of folklore.
Something I appreciate in the makeup of the essays in Puglia’s casebook is the diversity of the authors. People like Loren Coleman, a colossal name in Cryptozoology today and Benjamin Redford, someone who is known skeptic and perhaps as well known among skeptics as Loren Coleman is among cryptozoology enthusiasts are both included side by side in this collection. For me this adds to the bone fides of this collection as something that all people who are interested in Cryptozoology should read, whether they are more skeptical in their approach or more in the vein of the true believers.
Puglia’s book is an excellent reference that I believe will influence the study of legendary monsters and cryptozoology phenomenon in the United States. It places stories and legends into something that is lacking from most paranormal and cryptozoology themed writing and media, social, historical and cultural context. Something that is sorely missing from a lot of modern writing on the subjects. North American Monster’s is a must read and should be added to the collection of every cryptozoology researcher and enthusiast.
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