Volume 1 originally published: Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2001.

Legendary creatures such as Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster hold endless fascination for people around the globe. Do these creatures really exist? Countless eyewitnesses say yes, and scientists are discovering new animal species every year, so perhaps it isn’t impossible. But how would such large animals survive? Where would they live, and what would they eat? In Monster Hunt, Jim Arnosky presents mythical creatures of the past and gigantic prehistoric animals that have survived to the present. He examines accounts of Kraken, Bigfoot, and Nessie, and then invites readers to join him in exploring what might be living in the deep waters of Lake Champlain. With its combination of folklore, natural history, and field research, this beautifully illustrated book is ideal for anyone who is curious and enjoys a little mystery.

Monsters, ghosts, fantastic beings, and supernatural phenomena of all sorts haunt the folklore and popular culture of Japan. Broadly labeled yokai, these creatures come in infinite shapes and sizes, from tengu mountain goblins and kappa water spirits to shape-shifting foxes and long-tongued ceiling-lickers. Currently popular in anime, manga, film, and computer games, many yokai originated in local legends, folktales, and regional ghost stories. Drawing on years of research in Japan, Michael Dylan Foster unpacks the history and cultural context of yokai, tracing their roots, interpreting their meanings, and introducing people who have hunted them through the ages. In this delightful and accessible narrative, readers will explore the roles played by these mysterious beings within Japanese culture and will also learn of their abundance and variety through detailed entries, some with original illustrations, on more than fifty individual creatures. The Book of Yokai provides a lively excursion into Japanese folklore and its ever-expanding influence on global popular culture. It also invites readers to examine how people create, transmit, and collect folklore, and how they make sense of the mysteries in the world around them. By exploring yokai as a concept, we can better understand broader processes of tradition, innovation, storytelling, and individual and communal creativity. Ê

An examination of the legends and history of strange creatures.

Describes animals and monsters whose existence is in doubt, providing information on where and when they were sighted, the research being done about these creatures, and their supposed physical characteristics and behaviors.

Explore monster myths and legends of the Empire State.

From Bigfoot and the Yeti, to the spooky Chupacabra, these monsters live among us . . . or do they?