Review of Weird Winged Wonders: The Twilight World of Cryptid Creatures, edited by Timothy Green Beckley

 (New Brunswick, NJ: Global Communications/Conspiracy Journal). ISBN: 9781606112489

Over the past few years, there have been dozens of documented sightings of flying humanoids over the city of Chicago, IL, reigniting interest among the general public in this phenomena, which has been a part of human art and culture since the earliest civilizations up through the well-known Mothman sightings on the Ohio River in the late 1960s.

I am what is referred to among crypto-zoologists and paranormal investigators as an “experiencer,” as is my wife. In August 2009, while exploring outside of Point Pleasant, WV, where the Mothman was first seen, we saw a flying humanoid cross the road in front of us. Since that time, we have also witnessed interdimensionals. All of these experiences are detailed in our upcoming book from Visionary Living.

I grew up at the Jersey Shore, near the fabled Pine Barrens, home of another winged cryptid—the Jersey Devil.

If you consider human fascination with dragons, griffons, gargoyles, angels, demons, and all manner of winged creatures, it is clear that there must be some truth in all of the mythology. Given the considerable number of witnesses—many who are police officers and others who are deemed by researchers as “highly credible”—it is clear that this isn’t all imagination. These can’t all be sandhill cranes, like university professors and other gatekeepers tried to convince the public about the Mothman, or mistake raptors and other birds of prey. There is something legitimate going on here, and some very reputable, seasoned researchers have been amassing data for decades.

For newcomers to the field, Weird Winged Wonders: The Twilight World of Cryptid Creatures is an excellent primer. Its authors cover the ancient Sumerians and Egyptians right up through the latest sightings over Chicago (October 27, 2017 being the last entry in a handy timeline). With such veterans of the subject as Beckley (his chapter on the Jersey Devil is a highlight of the collection), Brad Steiger, Allen Greenfield, and Steve Ward contributing chapters, the reader is getting the best from the best.

A mix of case studies, interview excerpts, and theory, Weird Winged Wonders’s diverse methodologies cover the subject from numerous angles—a practice absolutely essential in these types of investigations. Whether your interest is from a purely mythological point of view, from dragons to griffons, or from the flesh and blood versus interdimensional debate, there is something here to meet your focus. There is even a compendium of “aerial beings” compiled by Hercules Invictus.

One important aspect of the phenomena of flying cryptids is the debate over whether what people are seeing are some type of pterosaurs. Jonathan David Whitcomb contributes an excellent chapter on the subject, while Greenfield and Steiger’s chapters on the Thunderbird are essential reading.

For those readers interested in the Mothman, Greenfield and Ward provide the broad strokes to get you started. In addition, they situate the Mothman in the work of Gray Barker and John Keel, two of the foremost researchers in this field.

With the dimensions of a coffee table book, filled with newspaper clippings, eyewitness sketches, fantasy art, and lots of photos, Weird Winged Wonders should have a place on any paranormal researcher’s shelves. Many of the contributors have their own radio shows, and each chapter ends with a bio and list of works by the author, making this primer an entryway for going as deep as the read cares to.

Whether or not you are a cynic, skeptic, true believer, or experiencer, Weird Winged Wonders is a trip worth taking. And keep your eyes open next time you’re outside—you never know what you might see coming at you from the skies.