The United States of Cryptids

A Tour of American Myths and Monsters

By: J. W. Ocker

Narrated by: Mark Sanderlin

Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

Come and meet the monsters in our midst, from bigfoot to batsquatch and beyond!

Welcome to the United States of Cryptids, where mysterious monsters lurk in the dark forests, deep lakes, and sticky swamps of all fifty states. From the infamous Jersey Devil to the obscure Snallygaster, travel writer and chronicler of the strange J. W. Ocker not only uncovers the bizarre stories of these creatures but investigates the ways in which communities have embraced and celebrated their local cryptids. Listeners will learn about:

• The Mothman of West Virginia, a hybrid monster blamed for a deadly bridge collapse in 1967;
• The Batsquatch of Washington, a winged bigfoot that is said to have emerged from the eruption of Mount Saint Helens in 1980;
• The Lizard Man of South Carolina, a reptilian mutant that attacked a teenager in the summer of 1988;
• The Pope Lick Monster of Kentucky, a goat-man that lures people to their deaths on a train trestle bridge in Louisville;
• The Nain Rouge of Detroit, a fierce red goblin that has been spotted before every major city disaster;
• and many more!

Whether you believe in bigfoot or not, this compendium is a fun, frightening, fascinating tour through American folklore and history, exploring not just the stories we tell about monsters but also what stories of monsters say about us.

©2022 J. W. Ocker (P)2022 Blackstone Publishing

Hooked!

Fantastic narration! Loved this book it’s way too short ! So much fun makes you want to take a road trip to visit and look for your monsters on the journey.

Educational and fun

A pleasure to listen to. Went over good facts about so many towns the celebrate cryptids. Makes me want to go out for an adventure.

A quick favorite

J.W. Ocker has quickly become a favorite author of mine. He covers topics in fun ways and keeps your focused all the way through. An excellent listen.

Good overview, a bit sophomoric

It's an interesting overview of cryptids in the United States. It was a bit sophomoric at times, I guess that is intended to add humor and keep people interested.

Interesting and Entertaining

A fun little book about American myths. Well presented in terms of both content and presentation.

If You Like Tall Tails this is for You

Was good breakdown at the tall animal tails across US. Was not expecting a look at some alien sightings and talk of some statues, but I enjoyed it.

A great introduction to cryptozoology, and a must have.

Very fun audiobook. The author covers the cultural aspects of cryptids and uses fortean-style humor to describe them, which is the way cryptozoology is more enjoyable to discuss. The author also introduces new information explaining a few of the cases, which other authors and TV shows don’t mention. The material discussed is objective but doesn’t take away the mystique and entertainment aspect of the subject. The narrator does a fantastic job, too.

Interesting features of creature lore.

Well written overviews of creature encounters and the societal reactions following them, including adoption of creatures as mascots for cities and sports teams. Material is fascinating and even more relishing because of the performance of the narrator. Five stars. Highly recommend.

Love Cryptids, but it’s missing a few things

This was a great book and I always love hearing about cryptids and other things like that. One big thing I thought the author missed though would be in the OOPS(out of place species) section. I thought that the bull shark should have been included in a section for the Mississippi River or the the Ohio River

Great book

I really enjoyed this book. Might have been better if they turned this into a couple of books with more back story and history on each cryptid. Overall good though!