From ghoulies and ghosties
And long-leggetty beasties
And things that go bump in the night
Good Lord deliver us.
Verse from a Cornish litany
Imaginary creatures, or cryptids,
have been reported everywhere.
Some animals, once considered imaginary—like the panda, platypus,
and black swan—turned out to be real.
So we won’t speculate. Intrepid explorers are seeking them out. Together, they provide data for the examples in this book.
Creatures
Table B-1 lists the creatures that we’ll investigate.
Table B-1. A mini-bestiary
Name
Country
Area
Description
AKA
Abaia
FJ
Lake eel
Afanc
UK
CYM
Welsh lake monster
Agropelter
US
ME
Forest twig flinger
Akkorokamui
JP
Giant Ainu octopus
Albatwitch
US
PA
Apple-stealing mini Bigfoot
Alicanto
CL
Gold-eating bird
Altamata-ha
US
GA
Swamp creature
Altie
Amarok
CA
Inuit wolf spirit
Auli
CY
Ayia Napa Sea Monster
The Friendly Monster
Azeban
CA
Trickster spirit
The Raccoon
Batsquatch
US
WA
Flying sasquatch
Beast of Bladenboro
US
NC
Dog bloodsucker
Beast of Bray Road
US
WI
Wisconsin werewolf
Beast of Busco
US
IN
Giant turtle
Beast of Gevaudan
FR
French werewolf
Beaver Eater
CA
Lodge flipper
Saytoechin
Bigfoot
US
Yeti’s Cousin Eddie
Sasquatch
Bukavac
HR
Lake strangler
Bunyip
AU
Aquatic Aussie
Cadborosaurus
CA
BC
Sea serpent
Caddie
Champ
US
VT
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