Why do People Believe in Monsters?
Why do People Believe in Monsters?
The Complexity of Cryptozoology
This chapter discusses how projects to describe, categorize, and probe claims of legendary beasts extend back through the modern era and medieval period. For centuries, reports of mysterious creatures have drawn the interest of natural historians, popular writers, and explorers, as well as the public. Many of these people are interested because they are persuaded that cryptids exist, but around 13 percent of those who do not believe in cryptids have made the effort to seek out information about these hypothetical creatures. Like other subcultures, cryptozoology is stratified by level of knowledge and involvement. Whether believers or disbelievers, only a subset of those who form an interest in cryptozoological topics go on to pursue cryptozoology as a hobby, or sustained area of investigation.
Keywords: legendary beasts, cryptids, hypothetical creatures, subcultures, cryptozoology
Columbia Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs, and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us .
