"Appalachia Cryptids", my recent work depicting some of your favorite #cryptids. Created by hand using acrylic paint, Pentel brush pens and Posca paint pens. Go get a signed print at https://shawnlangley.myshopify.com & https://shawnlangleyart.etsy.com
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Pop Cryptid Spectator 19
Hello everyone. Welcome to a rundown of the most important pop cryptid information from the last month. Sure, there were a handful of poor Bigfoot and Nessie sightings, but those are so common that I hardly pay attention to them anymore. They don’t hold much value and fall off the radar in a week or so. My interest is in the social use of cryptids and the changing scope from potential zoological creatures to consumer and cultural examples. Those examples are sticking around.
In this edition:
Cryptids are the new coal
Recall in PCS 11, I included the story of the Vegetable Man, a bizarre hyperlocal legend from Fairmont, West Virginia. This year’s Veggie Man festival in mid-July was another rousing success. This remarkable quote came from a participant who wore the cryptid costume, Greg Popovich:
“I firmly believe cryptids are the new coal,” Popovich said. “They’re fantastic for West Virginia tourism and I just wanted to come out and show my support.”
The “new coal” refers to West Virginia as the heart of Appalachian coal country. Coal isn’t king these days for Appalachia. But cryptids might be. West Virginia eight cryptid festivals, including the top one in the eastern US, and a model for all the rest – the Mothman festival. He is saying that cryptids are bringing in the money to the state. Now, that’s an exaggeration, for sure, and it ignores all the negatives that came with coal mining and now the tourists. It indicates that the communities want to have their own emblematic characteristic. The cryptids of each town have become the genius loci – or spirit of place unique to that location. Once the concept is monetized, it will stick around, and probably proliferate. This we have seen as pop cryptids are alive and well in the consumer landscape. Here is the PDF of that paywalled article.
Build a Mothman XL
The original Mothman at Build-a-Bear was really popular. So, they decided to cash in on an even bigger one. People are buying, even though it will cost you $128. Not very original.
https://www.tiktok.com/@buildabear/video/7524726506917006606?_r=1&_t=ZT-8xzVYtwa9Lq
In other Mothman media – a new horror movie is in the works. This one looks to stick to the legend, the horror “creature feature” theme, and add modern effects. Director Austin Birtch said, “I think audiences are going to love seeing this throwback creature feature that honors a familiar legend with a fresh spin – especially as audiences show renewed appreciation for practical effects and character-driven storytelling.”
The Naga of Golden Gate Park
A giant metal sculpture of the Naga, a supernatural water serpent from Asia, has been installed in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. The creature is an obvious spectator draw. It will eventually be lit up in a stunning display. Naga lore is rich and ancient in Asian cultures, where it may be depicted as a human-snake, a snake with many heads, or a dragon.
Delta academic symposium chooses cryptid theme
Arkansas’ Department of English, Philosophy and World Languages has selected “Monsters, Cryptids, and the Monstrous” as the theme for their April 8-11, 2026 Delta Symposium. The event features presentations of scholarship and creative work that focuses on the Mississippi Delta area history and culture. I’m betting the Fouke Monster makes an appearance! Cryptid scholarship and monster studies are becoming a big deal as recognition grows regarding the importance of folklore and creature tales in society.
Bigfoot gets its own emoji
It’s about time! We have a ghost, aliens and flying saucers, and a dragon. Now we have a Big Hairy Monster. Curiously, it’s not been called Bigfoot, leaving it open to being a Yeti, Yeren, Skunk Ape, Almas, or any of the dozens of tall, bipedal, ape-like beings we all know and love. Of note, when you expand the emoji, it’s blurry, because of course it is.
Rochester Lion has Disappeared
If you were following along at my blog, you saw I was keeping track of the Rochester, New York mountain lion search. After the initial few days, the only additional sightings were from photoshopped marketing posts on Facebook for the local business. There was no further info on cat. My guess? It was someone’s pet. They lured it back home and kept the secret. But, who knows, maybe it will show up if it’s journeying around the east, looking for friends.
Encyclopedia of Confused Cryptids
I’ve done a review on a book from last year. It’s another cryptid encyclopedia – Bigfoot to Mothman: A Global Encyclopedia of Legendary Beasts and Monsters by Margo Demello, who is an anthrozoologist. If you are going to write an encyclopedia on a topic, you should be an expert. But this book is all over the place. It’s clearly about cryptids, as stated in the preface, yet half of it clearly isn’t about cryptids – it’s about legendary and magical monsters. It’s all very confusing but is a good example of how modern media is deliberately mixing Bigfoot and Wendigo. The second half of the book is “extinct, invented or mythical creatures similar to cryptids” including Cerberus, the Fresno Nightcrawler, the quagga, and the selkie. [What the actual hell do these have in common?]. Way to really mess with the idea of a “cryptid”. There are a many serious problems with this book. Check out the very short review here.
Thanks for reading.
Please continue to send me links to interesting news and content. I really appreciate that. Email sharon(at)sharonahill.com.
For more, click on Pop goes the Cryptid landing page. Make sure you subscribe to my posts – it’s always free and I don’t send annoying spam.
Pop Cryptid Spectator is also available on Substack. Please share this with cryptid fans you know!
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Mail call from @CultTVman
The Mothman!
Pre-ordered it the moment I knew I could. I love cryptids and Mothman is native to my home state.
As tempted as I am to start this now ... I'm already building the Bride for Halloween, so I'll (try to) wait.
Pop Cryptid Spectator 18
Hi, everyone.
The Pop Cryptid Spectator is about the proliferation of depictions of cryptids in popular culture. In particular, these depictions are outside the context of the original, and serious, concept of cryptozoology as a specialized branch of zoology.
I realize this is a very niche topic. First, you have to know about cryptozoology. Then, you have to have some concept about how it was framed in its early inception. Finally, you have to be aware of, and interested in, the modern cryptid landscape, which exploded with new and imaginative ideas. Cryptids are EVERYWHERE today. And their presence in popular culture rarely has anything to do with a scientific endeavor to find a mystery animal unknown to science.
That calculation results in a tiny population of people that is going to get the gist of this specific newsletter. If you are one of them, thanks for coming along with me on this journey.
There are self-styled cryptozoologists and even scholars writing about these topics that don’t see the subject through the lens of pop cryptids. Even they aren’t catching this vibe. It’s still important for me to document the pop cryptid concept, since it helps me understand what’s happening in real time and tease out the reasons why cryptids are so popular these days, both commercially and socially. As always, I’m here to deliver examples of this popularity with each edition.
Through the pop cryptid lens, the creatures called “cryptids”, as defined and redefined continually through products of our society, transcend the idea of a “hidden animal” to be identified by zoological science. This is no longer the primary goal. Instead, the pop cryptid model shines a light on the many other purposes and goals. It’s important to document these cultural ideas because they can affect how we identify with the places we live or visit and our beliefs and our immediate environment. Cryptids are used in the stories we tell to convey important messages about ourselves and how we see the world. They reflect our fears and our relationship with the nature or the beyond-nature. The stories also play a huge role in tourism and media products. Let me illustrate…
In this edition:
Jersey Devil is a Cryptid of the Moment
One can reasonably argue that the Jersey Devil (JD) is not a cryptid because it was viewed as a folklore creature, a mass panic event, or, in reality, a political smear campaign, instead of an animal to be discovered. However, JD clearly ranks as a top pop cryptid. It’s a fantastic creature and I love it. Reactor magazine has a lovely article about how a current book of poetry, a play, and a comic about the Jersey Devil have arrived to show it is still beloved. The three very different ways of utilizing the same subject show how versatile JD is. The writer remarks that it is “a combination of the Jersey Devil’s unique qualities and vague history that make it so appealing to writers and storytellers right now.”
Cryptid AI vlogs
I wrote a new piece for Modern Cryptozoology about the sudden proliferation of cryptid vlogs on visual social media platforms.
Starting in June 2025, video blog shorts have been materializing daily featuring cryptids rendered with amazing realism. They are meant to be humorous, with the cryptids pointing the phone cam at themselves and their friends, making jokes, and showing the viewer what it’s like to be their best selves. They talk, sing, demonstrate life skills, discover cool things, and even interact with people. Check out the piece here.
SpiracyCon goes heavy on cryptids and Christian commentators
I just want everyone to take a look at the header for SpiracyCon. This is really something!
This conspiracy conference promises “a world of intrigue and revelation!” “With a wide variety of speakers—bold investigators, daring theorists, and passionate truth-tellers… this event promises to challenge everything you think you know.” You wouldn’t expect cryptids to feature so prevalently – maybe UFOs and JFK. But, the dogman/werewolf, Bigfoot, and Mothman imagery is concerning when the content is advertised as “a thrilling mix of talks and discussions that dive deep into topics like government cover-ups, unexplained phenomena, and forbidden knowledge.” The term “truth seekers” is mentioned several times.
Of the content creators on the speakers list of 19 so far, 16 have “Christian” or Biblical studies in their bio. The other 3 might just not say it out loud, but clearly know this is an event with a seriously militant Christian vibe. Four mention Bigfoot research or cryptids in general. More than a few bios are downright terrifying in an evident personality disorder kind of way. If you know anything about the insane conspiracy ideas such as aliens as demons, Bigfoot as Nephilim, and Satanic allegations against one’s political enemies, you can bet what will be mentioned here will be even worse.
I would not be the least bit comfortable in such a crowd. However, it is not new that ideas about cryptids are popularly blending with the supernatural and occult, government coverups, and End Times Biblical stuff. Some people go hard core. Take this as a wake-up call – not all cryptid fans are in it for the fun.
What’s with the “archiness” of water monsters?
Charles Paxton and Adrian Shine have a new journal article out examining the “sticky” cultural image of water monsters depicted with “arches” of their long, serpentine bodies out of water. The conclusion of the article is that only very few eyewitness reports describe these “arches” in contrast to the very many media, art, and consumer imagery that does.
The more common description of “humps” (showing no space between the flesh and the water), while not examined in this article, is treated in Shine’s book A Natural History of Sea Serpents where he argues that the appearance of humps are frequently the result of natural wakes or waves on calm water. There is no related trend of eyewitnesses reporting “arches” even though the common pop-cultural depiction of, say, Nessie, shows these. This conclusion contrasts with other evidence that clearly suggests that pop-cultural depictions of cryptids influence eyewitness reports of seeing them. So, this is an intriguing finding.
It’s important to emphasize that NO vertebrate animal can move in a way that creates vertical “arches”, not even snakes. The best nature can do is a series of surface breaches just on the surface, such as when dolphins or porpoises travel in a line. Therefore, if a witness reports “arches” instead of humps, they can fairly be deemed to be mistaken to some degree.
A closing note on this, the BBC had a write-up where they got things confused regarding arches vs humps. People definitely see humps, but not arches.
Monster Festivals Season – Thank the Mothman
Town monster festival season continues: The Grafton monster festival, in its second year as one of several cryptid festivals located in West Virginia, was a huge success, and Port Henry, New York will hold its 40th Champ Day at Lake Champlain in early August.
Several other events coming in later summer and fall are ramping up to attract more visitors than ever as previous visitors tell their friends and families and word spreads via social media. Typically, these festival feature vendors, bands, and speakers. The speakers are frequently content creators, or associated with a TV show, what we colloquially call “para-celebs”. It used to be ghost hunters who got all the attention; but this social cachet is now rubbing off on cryptid investigators. If you visit one in your area, let me know how it was by emailing me!
Why do we have cryptid town festivals multiplying and growing every year? Mothman. Several new festivals, such as for Ol’ Green Eyes, Albatwitch, Grafton, Van Meter, and more, are spun from the template of Point Pleasant’s Mothman Festival.
In Research Of… The Mothman Prophecies deep dive
Here is a fantastic two-parter podcast that you must check out. Jeb Card and Blake Smith of In Research Of… go step by step through The Mothman Prophecies (2002) film. They compare the book to the movie and discuss aspects of the film and the phenomenon that you will certainly not have heard before. Instead of the usual Wikipedia-referencing shallow cryptid podcast, indulge with two extremely well-versed commentators sharing their thoughts on Mothman, movies, John Keel, and pop cryptids.
Part 1 https://inresearchof.libsyn.com/s04-bonus-the-mothman-prophecies-part-1
Part 2 https://inresearchof.libsyn.com/s4-bonus-the-mothman-prophecies-part-2
The Mothman festival, one of the most popular cryptid town festivals in the world, was almost certainly a result of this movie. And, remember, without the Mothman festival, there would probably not be the plethora of other monster festivals worldwide that we have today.
Pop Cryptid trivia
See if you can answer this movie trivia question.
What actress has appeared in TWO movies as a cancer-stricken wife of a man who embarks on a personal journey involving a cryptid?
Click here to go to my “reveal” page with the answer.
Thanks for reading.
Please continue to send me links to interesting news and content. I really appreciate that. Email sharon(at)sharonahill.com.
For more, click on Pop goes the Cryptid landing page. Make sure you subscribe to all the posts – it’s always free and I don’t send annoying spam.
Pop Cryptid Spectator is also available on Substack. Please share this with cryptid fans you know!
Pop Cryptid Spectator Pop Cryptid Spectator 19Pop Cryptid Spectator 17
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