Strange Ark


STRANGE ARK



The investigation of natural mysteries with a biological emphasis.



Cryptozoology resources





We live in an era where it is almost too easy to communicate rapidly, where books can be printed on demand, newspaper archives have been digitized, and websites can be created in minutes. Still, one has to be careful not to trust every source, to critically examine theories and evidence, to interpret logically and not emotionally. Depth is often lacking in online articles, and there's a serious disinterest in fact-checking with certain writers (along the entire spectrum from believer to naysayer).


Here, I'll add a few resources and suggestions for those starting out in cryptozoology.​



A Basic Investigative Library for Cryptozoology


First, my Recommended Books for the beginning investigator.



The Search for Enigmatic Animals


Back in 1995, I self-published a short booklet on cryptozoological investigation techniques. Besides covering methodology I considered important, it included tips from a number of investigators from across the country. Obviously, the technological advantages of today far outstrip what was available then, but for posterity, here is a modified version of that booklet.



craig heinselman's crypto



Back in the late '90s to early 2000s, Craig Heinselman produced a cryptozoology newsletter, along with a few special issues. You can download the PDFs here. (If I recall correctly, the earliest issues were print only, so not available here.) [Also, below, a link to the 2001 Myths & Monsters Conference papers from Australia, edited by Paul Cropper.]


CRYPTO, vol. 2, no. 2


CRYPTO, vol. 2, no. 3


CRYPTO, vol. 2, no. 4


CRYPTO, vol. 2, no. 5


CRYPTO, vol. 3, no. 1


CRYPTO, vol. 3, no. 2


CRYPTO, vol. 3, no. 3


CRYPTO, vol. 3, no. 4


CRYPTO, vol. 4, no. 1


Special Hominid Issue, no. 1


Special Hominid Issue, no. 2


Special Dracontology Issue


2001 Myths & Monsters Conference



Ron Schaffner's Creature Chronicles



Back in the 1980s and 1990s, Ron Schaffner produced a newsletter, Creature Chronicles, that will be of particular interest to Ohio investigators and researchers in eastern North America. Ron gave permission to Blake Mathys to host these on his website, and they can be downloaded from Blake's site.


Creature Chronicles Archive



north american biofortean review



I started NABR as an online newsletter in 1999, and it ran until 2006 with help from Brad LaGrange, Craig Heinselman, and many contributing authors. All but one are available for download here (apparently I lost #10 in a crash some years ago).


North American BioFortean Review 1 (1999)

  • Kentucky's Hairless Animal
  • Active Sasquatch in Coshocton County, Ohio
  • Canadian "Black Alligators": A Preliminary Look
  • Primates in Harrison County, Indiana?
  • The Case of the Mysterious, Unexplained Nocturnal Sound near Vincennes, Indiana
  • Unusual Color Morph of the American Longtailed Salamander
  • Eyewitness Account: A Mystery Cat in Missouri
  • The California "Snow-Worm"
  • Lake Monster Captured?
  • Giant Amerindians
  • A Mounted Cat Mystery
  • Frederick Gerstacker's "Wild Men of the Woods"
  • A Tennessee Mystery Cat
  • Cryptoherps of Indiana
  • Fish Finder Cryptozoology
  • South Bay Bessie: A Continuing Investigation into an Alleged Great Lakes Serpent
  • Abstracts and Reviews
  • Investigation Technique
  • Biological Modeling in Cryptozoology


North American BioFortean Review 2 (1999)

  • Honey Bears: A piece of local folklore
  • Giant Centipedes in the Ozarks
  • Stejneger's Review of Steller's Sea-Ape
  • Commentary on Stejneger's Sea-Ape Review
  • New Zuiyo maru Cryptid Observations
  • A Tale from Ohio
  • A Problematic Translation
  • Abstracts and Book Review
  • Clarification on the "Harrison County Ape"
  • An Imprint in Stone
  • Strange Crustacean Folklore
  • A Tale of Texas Skeletons


North American BioFortean Review 3 (2000)

  • Bigfoot Event Report
  • BioFortean Notes
  • Great Bugs in Onondaga
  • Introduction to the Folklore of Henry W. Shoemaker
  • The Gorilla
  • The Courage of Peter Pentz
  • Felis Catus in Pennsylvania?
  • Virginia Devil Monkey Reports
  • Black Panthers in North America
  • On Monsters
  • Miscellaneous


North American BioFortean Review 4 (2000)

  • The Gowrow vs. Occam's Razor
  • The Santer: North Carolina's Own Mystery Cat?
  • A Pennsylvania "Gorilla" Flap
  • Strangest of All
  • Cryptonotes with "Grizzly" Adams
  • Dinos in the U.S.A.
  • An Old Black Panther Report
  • More Odd "Wildcat" Reports
  • My Two Fortean Experiences
  • Lying Eyes
  • Devil Monkeys or Wampus Cats?
  • A New Urban Myth
  • Newspaper Notes from the Past


North American BioFortean Review 5 (2000)

  • Black Panther in Perry County, Indiana
  • Our Worst Snake
  • Notes on Lummis' Pitchu-Cuate
  • Bipedal Dinos in North America: An Additional Record
  • Hawaii's Giant Octopuses
  • Crypto-varmints
  • Indian Pony Mystery
  • Hot Water Fish
  • Two Gulf Cryptids?
  • A Different Look: Honey Island Swamp Monster
  • Giant Snakes in Pennsylvania
  • Corals and Kings: Reports of an unrecognized snake in Ohio
  • A Freshwater Octopus?
  • Florida's Lost Volcano
  • Old Zoo Photos
  • Maned Lions in Native American Myths: A Cautionary Note
  • Book Review


North American BioFortean Review 6 (2001)

  • News Notes
  • The Other "Jersey Devil" of 1909
  • Cryptozoology and US Military Insignia
  • The Economic Introduction of the Kangaroo in America
  • An Overview of the 13th Annual Bigfoot Conference
  • Black Panther Sighting
  • Book Reviews
  • Wampus Cats, Mystery Felids, and the Santer
  • Wild White Cattle
  • Cryptozoology in the Movies: Grizzly
  • Investigations of the Lake Erie Monster
  • A Pennsylvania Primate
  • A Study on Gunshots and Sasquatch Sightings
  • A Western Oddity
  • Testing the New Moon Theory at Lake Champlain
  • The Trail of the Blue Tiger
  • "Black Panthers of the Navajo"
  • Newspaper Notes from the Past


North American BioFortean Review 7 (2001)

  • Letters to the Editors and Updates
  • Book Reviews
  • News Notes
  • Search for Cougars in the East
  • Update on the Jongari
  • Some Little Known Cougar Sightings in New Hampshire
  • Three New Pennsylvania Thunderbird Reports
  • Giant Armadillos in Florida?
  • CZ Conversations: Giant Spiders
  • Century-Old Mystery Rises from the Shadows
  • Arkansas' "Black Panthers"
  • Possible Cougar Photographed in Maryland
  • Strange Creatures from Slavic Folklore
  • A Pink Invertebrate from Loch Ness
  • Dragon-fly Storms
  • Fabulous Creatures of China
  • A Strange Frog
  • Myths of the Amazonian Indians
  • Hunting the Ipi
  • The Okapi
  • A Chinese Woodpecker
  • Eyes that Shine at Night
  • Newspaper Notes from the Past


North American BioFortean Review 8 (2002)

  • News Notes
  • Book Reviews
  • A Lake Monster in New Hampshire?
  • Early Notes on the Indian "Kol-Bhalu"
  • Out-of-place Lizards in Tennessee
  • A Mathematical Viewpoint in Regard to Cryptozoology
  • The Black Panther Mystery
  • Data Evaluation of Selected Eastern United States Sasquatch Reports
  • On a Supposed New Species of Hippopotamus
  • Two-headed Snakes
  • Red Dogs and Thous
  • The Nondescript
  • New Zealand Moa
  • Pygmies
  • Newspaper Notes from the Past


North American BioFortean Review 9 (2002)

  • BioFortean Notes
  • Anecdotal Accounts of "Big Birds" and "Pterosaurs"
  • The Kangaroo-headed Bunyip
  • Audubon's Lily Rediscovered
  • Unidentified Canids of North America
  • Bluff Creek Revisited
  • Migration might explain Ivorybill Survival
  • Concerning the Luminous Appearance...
  • One Explanation of Reported Showers of Toads
  • Captive Pygmy Elephants in America
  • The Eastern Panther in Harford County, MD
  • Early Notes on the Origin of the Indian Bis-Cobra
  • Additional Proof... of huge Animals in the Ocean
  • Further Evidence... of the Kraken
  • Dwarf Horses of the Grand Canyon
  • Newspaper Notes from the Past


North American BioFortean Review 10 (2003)

  • BioFortean Notes: Natural History Magazine
  • Book Reviews
  • Sculptured Anthropoid Ape Heads...[Oregon]
  • Searching for Roaming African Saurians during the Roaring '20s...
  • CryptoClassic: The Rhinoceros Whale
  • The Myth of the Monkey Chain
  • Notes on the Anthropological Folklore of Strange Races from the Montana Salish
  • BioFortean Abstract: Bug in your ear?

North American BioFortean Review 11 (2003)

  • BioFortean Notes: Science News Letter
  • Rumors of an Unknown Vermont Lake Monster: The Lake Bomoseen Cryptid
  • Report on the Remnant Skin of a Patagonian Ground Sloth
  • Monsters and Fabulous Animals, from Savage Africa
  • A Few Notes on Reade's Working Materials
  • An American Dragon [North America: Pottery]
  • Canyon of the Little Horses


North American BioFortean Review 12 (2003)

  • BioFortean Notes — Science News Letter
  • Book Review
  • CZ Conversations: Darren Naish on Plesiosaurs, Basilosaurs, ...
  • Gold, Treasure Hunters — And Bigfoot!
  • The Legend of the I'iga Yaaga
  • A Sampling of U.K. Mermaid Folklore


North American BioFortean Review 13 (2003)

  • BioFortean Notes — Science News Letter
  • Video Review
  • Fall of Blood in Chatham County, NC
  • Lake Tanganyika Cryptid
  • Waitoteke
  • Dutch Henry Monster
  • Bigfoot in letters-to-the-editor (True, Saga, Argosy)
  • Camel Brigade


North American BioFortean Review 14 (2004)

  • BioFortean Notes — Science News Letter
  • From the Readers: Albinotic Possum, Hairless Monkey, Southwestern River Otters
  • Book Reviews
  • Amazon River Monster
  • Ivory-billed Woodpeckers
  • "Blonde" Eskimos


North American BioFortean Review 15 (2004)

  • BioFortean History — 1922 Patagonian "Plesiosaur" Expedition
  • Book Review
  • Notes on modern short cryptofiction
  • Three-Part series revolving around Oudemans' Great Sea-Serpent
  • Valley without a Head


North American BioFortean Review 16 (2005)

  • Book Reviews
  • On Cryptozoological Publishing Efforts
  • "Ape Men" of Labrador
  • Greenfield Hill Phantom (Big Cat?)
  • An Early Marine Longneck Representation
  • A Lost Australian Sea Serpent Photo
  • A Georgia "Gorilla" from the 1950s


North American BioFortean Review 17 (2005)

  • BioFortean Notes
  • The Newest Humans: The Hobbits of Flores
  • A Survey of the Hobbit Literature
  • Book Reviews


North American BioFortean Review 18 (2006)

  • BioFortean Note
  • Letters to the Editor
  • A Pre-Civil War Immature Bigfoot Report?
  • Canada's Headless Valley Revisited
  • The Adventures of Brigadier Donald Ffellowes
  • Jim Newman's Yarn (cryptofiction)
  • Book Review
  • A Final Note


biofortean review



After ending the downloadable North American BioFortean Review newsletter, I put out an online version with short articles and reviews. This output for this was sporadic from 2006 to 2011.


BioFortean Review: Articles

BioFortean Review: Book Reviews

BioFortean Review: Historical Papers



biofortean notes


I originally set up BioFortean Notes as a print-on-demand publication, but have converted all issues (five so far,) to PDFs. Each issue includes articles and notes on various subjects related to cryptozoology and zoological anomalies. They can be downloaded free. Future issues will be sent first to subscribers of the Coachwhip Books cryptozoology title announcement list, then added to this site.





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