CFZ's Next Generation Initiative

Last night, Colin Schneider’s Crypto-Kid show retuned. Colin’s guest was Matt Bille, a cryptozoologist who has written two books on the subject - Rumors of Existence and Shadows of Existence . They talked mystery cats, bears,  ceataceans (whales/dolphins), and thylacines. Listen below. You can find Matt’s blog here . Check out Colin’s Facebook page for updates on his show. -Tyler Houck **I have decided to post news about new episodes on Monday on my other blog Tyler's Cryptozoo , I will post the archived shows on this blog.** - TH

I have two new books coming out sometime in the near future, both focusing on some of Ohio's cryptid creatures. First, Buckeye Beasts: Historical Accounts of "Wild Men," "Gorillas," and Other Hairy Monsters in Ohio.  The book is an examination of old "wild man" accounts from the 18- and early 1900s in the state. I cover sightings from the "first" report in 1896 up to 1950, since the '50s were the decade when "Bigfoot" was born. After looking at all the newspaper reports, I compare them to other stories of "wild men" from throughout the world (Australia and England for example) and also to modern Bigfoot reports. The book should be available on Amazon before long and I will update things when it is! The other is The Ohio Monster Guidebook: A Look at the Buckeye State's Most Mysterious Creatures. This one is being published by CFZ Press and things are currently underway. In this book, I cover many Ohio cryp...

At the end of January, Anomalist Books published a new title from cryptid investigator Michael Mayes, who runs the  Texas Cryptid Hunter  blog. The book is  Shadow Cats: The Black Panthers of North America,  and, as the title suggests, it is an examination of sightings of anomalous big cats in the United States, primarily focused on the American South and the author's home state of Texas. Mayes starts off his book by going over the anecdotal history of "black panthers" and the history of the term. He notes that, in the South, the term "panther" is always used to describe black cats, and differentiates from normal-colored pumas or jaguars. Several chapters are also devoted to historical and contemporary sightings and reports of large black cats in the American South. Chapters 6-10 examine the possible suspects. Mayes goes over the biology and diversity of several cat species that could possibly be misidentified by witnesses as black panthers. These cats i...