Monster Mythology

Museums for Bigfoot, Mothman, and the Skunk Ape. Where to go, what you'll see, hours and admission—plus the legends behind America's favorite cryptids.

A strange, scary farce that brought together Old World legends and racist scare tactics.

Meet these slippery, mischievous reflections of our anxieties about technology.

How a superstition goes from the Talmud to TikTok.

The Madan people knew the Missouri River could bring both salvation and destruction.

"When the wind blows you run away because you think it’s a night runner.”

But make sure you bring the fossegrim the proper offering—or else.

Nahuelito’s plesiosaur visage can be found all over the small town of Bariloche.

But its complex Aboriginal Australian origins have today been commodified and suppressed.

One man hopes to turn the wolfish cryptid into a mascot for saving the state's imperiled wetlands.

Is one of these crafty cryptids on display in a small museum?

This terrifying creature has evolved over millennia—but never lost the need to feed.

A "terrifying pantheon" of ogres, sorcerers, and malevolent mermaids reflects a diversity in geography and environment.

From Dracula’s Indian inspiration to just how long it would take these mythical bloodsuckers to annihilate humanity.

These canine-humanoid shapeshifters travel between worlds using magical doors.

Scholars are learning what bestial and depraved characters can reveal about ancient authors and cultural attitudes.