American Monsters: The History of America’s Most Persistent Urban Tales about Strange Birds, Serpents and Wolfmen

People have always been fascinated with the hidden, the mysterious, and the unexplained. Every society has its tall tales and ghost stories, its odd legends, and heroes. Also, every society has its stories of strange beasts, dangerous or benign, that live in the twilight world between the everyday and the legendary. Through most of history, people have been closely tied to nature, hunting in forests and having an intimate knowledge of the animals in their regions. So-called “primitive” peoples were walking encyclopedias of the natural world, and yet most believed there were more creatures lurking in those woods than the ones they usually encountered. Even as the world becomes more connected, the belief in strange creatures continues as strong as ever.

As a result, in one sense it shouldn’t be surprising that people across the United States have reported seeing weird cryptids, including giant birds, sea serpents, wolfmen, and a creature so bizarre it defies any rational classification. The only thing these monsters have in common is that all have been seen regularly and reported by seemingly sober, rational witnesses in the United States, even as conventional science suggests these monsters cannot exist and that all the sightings are mistakes, misidentifications, or hoaxes.

In some cases, this may be true, but in others, it’s harder to accept. For example, one story about a 10-year-old boy being carried off by a giant bird was witnessed by several other people. Likewise, the Gloucester sea serpent seen by hundreds of people and carefully and scientifically investigated, and during one week in 1909, hundreds if not thousands of people reported seeing the Jersey Devil. Sightings of wolf-like creatures walking on two legs have been reported for more than 100 years.