A Creator's Guide to Appalachian Cryptids

More than a quarter of all reported bigfoot sightings are from the 13 Appalachian states, and that's is far from the only cryptid said to inhabit the region. Appalachia is rich in folklore and has long been a hotspot for sightings of unknown and unusual animals, though in the past those legends were often little-known outside a single town or county. In recent years, many towns in the region have embraced their local monster, holding festivals for creatures like Mothman, the Loveland Frogman, the Woodbooger, and the Squonk that have brought Appalachia's cryptids into the limelight.

The 142 creatures in A Creator's Guide to Appalachian Cryptids take a variety of forms, from bigfoot-like hairy hominids to lake monsters, dogmen, living gargoyles, and some that are so unique they defy description (though, in true writer fashion, I've done my best to describe them anyway). The primary purpose of this guide is to serve as a reference for artists, writers, game designers, and others who want to use cryptids in their creative work. Really, though, it's for anyone who wants to learn more about the strange creatures said to inhabit Appalachia.

Jess Simms is a freelance writer from Pittsburgh, PA, where they're a co-founder of Scribble House and the managing editor of After Happy Hour Review. They are the author of the flash fiction chapbook Cryptid Bits (Last-Picked Books, 2024) and have published stories and essays in Mythaxis, Eleventh Hour, SLAB, Atlas Obscura, Rinky Dink Press, and elsewhere. Find them online at https: //jesssimms.com.

A writer, illustrator, and comic creator from Pittsburgh, PA, Grant Lankard is the creator of the hit indie comics Beowulf, Memoirs of the Morbid, and League of Cryptids. Lankard also wrote and drew a section in Don Simpson's Megaton Man: Multimensions. You can find him on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky under @gwlankard.