You never forget your first and mine was the Mothman.
My mom and I rented The Mothman Prophecies back in the days before Netflix and I was immediately very into the real-or-not-real nature of the Mothman. I’ve always been interested in things for which there can be no real answer, and I was a frequent purchaser of Weird New Jersey in the late ‘90s. I remember exactly where I was the first time I heard a version of the story of the Jersey Devil. Every elementary school probably has a slightly different version of the tale of that unwanted 13th child who turned out to have wings and hooves. I, personally, would not voluntarily wander the lesser-inhabited parts of the Pine Barons alone at night.
I also got very, very into Welcome to Night Vale for a time and while cryptozoology is not the primary focus of that particular desert town radio station, they do have a hell of a lot of weird deer (who are all Realtors, naturally).
Cryptid horror books allow us to imagine that something else is out there and that we haven’t seen everything there is to see. Cryptoids are probably not real, you tell yourself, but what if they are? What if they’re out there, waiting for your next evening walk home? Quick, tell me what a deer is supposed to look like.
While I was absolutely delighted by the amount of cryptid romance there is out there with remarkably clever titles, I tried to focus this list on books to make you feel frightened rather than…any other feelings. I do wish the happy couple in I’m Getting Married to Mothman all the best, though.
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What is a Cryptid, Exactly?
Cryptozoology is the study of animals whose existence is disputed or unproven, whether they are legendary, unknown, or extinct. You are probably familiar with Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, and the Kraken but cryptids exist across the world and across cultures. Sometimes, they’re humanoid but unusually large or unusually small, while other times, they’re simply thought to be remnants of species that are otherwise believed to be extinct—there have been reported sightings of moa in New Zealand and great auks in the northern Atlantic, both of which became extinct hundreds of years ago.
I have tried to prioritize Indigenous voices in this list, in addition to noting the origin of certain mythical beings. I will acknowledge that I was unable to find very many books about cryptids written by women, which is odd when you consider the fear that most women know of things watching us from the darkness.
Discount Armageddon by Seanan McGuire
The first of the InCryptid series, this book follows cryptozoologist Verity Price. She intends to spend a year in Manhattan pursuing a career in ballroom dance rather than studying the monsters of the world. However, when local cryptids begin to disappear, she must investigate rumors of a dragon underneath the city.
Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.
Many Indigenous cultures warn against whistling at night. This anthology features hauntings, curses, uneasy family legacies, ghosts, and many other things that could be out there in the darkness.
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
The Only Good Indians follows the lives of four American Indian men following a disturbing event that took place in their youth. Years later, they find themselves being stalked by a malicious entity and their traditions may not be able to save them from its vengeance.
Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice
An Anishinaabe community is cut off from the world and their food supply. Then, visitors arrive to take advantage of the situation. A young man and his friends must lean on each other and on their traditions to restore order in a post-apocalyptic society.
Where the Chill Waits by T. Chris Martindale
At the behest of their leader, four men entered the forest, but only two returned. What was supposed to be a rite of passage changed everything when the animals they sought refused to die…and followed them home instead.
The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher
A young woman agrees to clean out her late grandmother’s home only to find a journal describing terrifying horrors. She is ready to dismiss it as paranoid ramblings until some of those terrifying things begin to happen to her. The beings in the woods have noticed her.
Crota by Owl Goingback
An inexplicable murder that seems too brutal to have been perpetrated by a human leads Skip Harding to partner with an Indigenous medicine man and a game warden to identify and stop a monster before it’s too late. This novel draws from Indigenous mythology and won the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel.
I hope at least one of these titles makes you a little hesitant to go into the woods alone. Now, if you’ll excuse me…did you hear that voice out there? I should follow it, right? Someone might need help…
