A great book by author JW Ocker with a chapter on the impact the Mothman has had on Point Pleasant, West Virginia
You might be asking yourself, what is a cryptid? You may not know the word, but you have definitely heard of specific cryptids. Does the name Bigfoot ring a bell? How about The Loch Ness Monster? Those are the big name headliners in a field called cryptozoology. To borrow from JW Ocker’s book, “a cryptid is a creature or species whose existence is scientifically unproven.”
Author JW Ocker does not take cryptids as seriously as cryptozoologists do, but he’s all in on the fun of the possibility of cryptids, and I’m with him on that!
Wouldn’t it be a wonderful, fun world if all those legends like the Mothman, The Jersey Devil, and the Loch Ness Monster were all true? Let’s get on with the interview!
Picture from CNBC
TPF: How did your interest in the paranormal begin?
JW: As a kid I liked monsters and I was also raised religious, so soul-deep in gods and demons, but it wasn’t until college or thereafter that I really started digging the strange in a real way. Probably at that moment when I got my first real job and a place all my own and was supposed to start getting serious about life. I looked out at that landscape and realized, “Ah. The regular world kind of sucks. Guess I’ll be spooky instead.”
-
- The Mothman statue in Point Pleasant, WV commemorating 1966-1967, the years of the Mothman.
-
- A 2016 pic taken in Point Pleasant of something that looked like the Mothman
TPF: Which of the creatures you wrote about is your favorite, and why?
JW: The Mothman. It’s got a great story arc (most cryptid stories peter out, but the Mothman story raises to a climax with the collapse of the Silver Bridge), but also because Point Pleasant supports its creature in a way that has become the template for all other cryptid towns. Plus, you can explore the TNT area where the creature was most often sighted and pretend it’s the late 1960s and it could pop up anytime with its glowing red eyes and freaky motionless flying.
The Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp-Pic from Redbubble
TPF: Which creature would scare you the most if you came upon it in the wild?
JW: The Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp or, if you can count them, Gray Aliens. The former is because a humanoid reptile just sounds like it could mess you up more than anything else in cryptid lore (minus the water monsters, which is a totally different fear). The latter is mostly because of the movie Communion.
Pic from ABC News 2015. https://abcnews.go.com/US/man-claims-photographed-mythical-jersey-devil-legend-dating/story?id=34442356
TPF: What did you do before you figured out that you could make a living writing about interesting oddities?
JW: Oh, I can’t. Not and keep my family in Bigfoot t-shirts. I’m also a strategist at an agency in Boston. That basically means I tell stories for businesses, which is a lot like telling paranormal stories except that the monsters all wear suits and I’ve got to pitch them to rooms full of people with “Chief” in their titles.
TPF: Those monsters sound scarier than anything else we’ve discussed here!
TPF: When I look at your collection of books, it seems like you’ve covered almost everything. Do you have a work in progress right now, and if so what is it about?
JW: I’m currently working on a book about cults that will come out next year. There’s still a ton of weirdness out there I want to tackle, but after my last three nonfiction books–cursed objects, cryptids, and cults–I might just be out of c-words.
Thank you for your time JW. I’m completely enjoying Cryptids and I’m planning some trips in hopes of seeing a Jersey Devil or maybe a Snallygaster! To my readers, JW is a fun follow on social media and has a website: OddThingsIveSeen.com which is always a fun read. You can also find him on Facebook. In addition to his paranormal subjects, he also has quite a few fiction novels for both young readers and adults. You can find his entire collection on Amazon!
Have a great Saturday everyone! ~Phil
I’d be interested in reading “A Season with the Witch.” Looks interesting! Fascinating post. As a kid, I was fascinated by the existence of Big Foot and the Loch Ness monster, as well as ghosts, etc. Still am but lean more toward the witchy these days, lol.
There’s nothing wrong with witches or witchy stuff. I wish I had time to read all his books
I absolutely love cryptids! There’s a series (or rather, a selection of series) on Prime called Smalltown Monsters, by a bloke called Seth Breedlove. I highly recommend it. Even if you’ve heard of all the beasties mentioned, it’s still a good watch.
I’ve heard of Smalltown Monsters but haven’t watched it yet. Thanks for the reminder.
I just had an idea. Would you like to write a guest post for my blog about the cryptid closest to where you live?
I would love that! (I’m guessing you don’t mean my weird cat, though?) 🤣🤣🤣
No, I don’t mean you’re weird cat. I could write a post about my own weird cat.
What is the Cryptid closest to where you live?
Can I use something that’s only been spotted once? If so, it’s the Brentford Griffin. However, next month I’m going on holiday to Scotland and it’s crytpids a go-go there!
If griffins and Scottish cryptids aren’t your thing, I would love to write something else paranormal for your site. My blog is about my cat so, aside from pre-Hallowe’en posts throughout October, I don’t really get to indulge much in my paranormal passion on WordPress!
Write whatever you want!