Fortean Book Corner: Chasing American Monsters

Jason Offutt’s latest is a fun read, but a little shallow.

All over the globe, ever since humans first came together in tribal groups, there have been stories of creatures, many of which have long since been relegated to the dusty mythology section of our cultural library.  Dragons.  Sea serpents.  Minotaurs. Wild men.  We’re told by scholars that these creatures were created to help our primitive ancestors make sense of the world, and to keep themselves safe.  If an ancient sailor ‘knew’ there was a sea serpent out to sink his vessel, he was going to be more vigilant.  If there were cannibalistic wild men in the surrounding hills, children were less likely to wander off too far.

But—

What about now?  We’ve arguably been living in a version of ‘modern society’ at least since the Industrial Revolution, yet sightings of monsters and creatures haven’t stopped.  In a supposedly more grounded, less superstitious society, it would be expected that the monsters of old would be laid to rest, except for depictions in books and movies.  And yet, across the world, strange, out of place, bizarre creatures still get reported on a regular basis.  Such authors as Loren Coleman and Karl Shuker have built careers around researching such cryptids.

And now, Jason Offutt has thrown his hat into the ring with his new book, Chasing American Monsters:  Over 250 Creatures, Cryptids, and Hairy Beasts.  Offutt’s scope goes beyond the well-known American menagerie of animal oddities, widening his scope to include little known, local legends that, while not as well known, still serve to mystify and sometimes terrify the surrounding areas.

Rather than section his book out into chapters for creatures, he instead provides a state-by-state inventory of legends and creatures.  Bigfoot is here, of course (several times over), as is Mothman, and the Jersey Devil, and other well-known creatures of American legend. 

However, by focusing his attention on individual states, Offutt finds the latitude to inform the reader about lesser known, more obscure creatures.  Did you know that there’s a mermaid in the Pascagoula River in Mississippi?  Or Devil Monkeys in New Hampshire?  They all get equal time here, alongside their more famous brethren, such as Florida’s Skunk Ape or the Lizard Man of South Carolina. 

Offutt writes in an engaging tone, never getting overly dry or sensationalistic, probably the result of his lengthy background in journalism.  He presents each creature briefly, describing each thoroughly and providing the documented sightings or experiences with each, providing witness testimony when possible.  This approach is both the book’s strength and its weakness.  The brevity of each entry provides the room to have an incredibly wide scope as he examines each creature in each state.  However, that same brevity makes some entries seem perfunctory at times, which has the effect of frustrating the reader who wants to know more.  There’s little to no analysis of the creatures, which makes the book more a survey of folklore than a true study. Still, it’s entertaining stuff!

Offutt does provide a bibliography for those who want to explore further, but even there, several entries are limited to a single source, leaving it up to the armchair researcher to do their own digging, should they want to expand their knowledge.

Overall, Chasing American Monsters is best viewed as a primer, or a springboard for further study, rather than a definitive source on any of its hundreds of subjects.  It’s definitely worth a read for anyone who just wants to dip their toes into the pool of cryptozoology, and for those of us who want to learn a little something about creatures that have been overshadowed by their more culturally significant counterparts.  3.75 Armchairs out of 5