Book Review: Connecticut Cryptids

Tales From the Cryptids
Connecticut Cryptids, Patrick Scalisi & Illustrations by Valerie Ruby-Omen (2023)

Never judge a book by its cover. And, usually, never judge a book by its Goodreads reviews. But always judge Goodreads reviewers by their idiotic reviews:

That has to be one of the least self-aware things I’ve ever read. Hey, Reviewer Guy, I hate to be the one to break this to you, but cryptids are nothing but urban legends, folklore and local history. I literally LOL’d at this guy’s comment.

But he unintentionally spells out exactly why this book is a fun and entertaining book – the “wink-wink, nudge-nudge” aspect to it is the absolute correct tone when writing about The Goat Man of the Opera House (Ansonia) or the Glawackus (Glastonbury). As for his contention that the Wildman of Winsted is a legit 150 year old Sasquatch, well, I guess that’s how we have people relying on the Affordable Care Act voting a particular way because they hate that awful ObamaCare thing.

Connecticut Cryptids is written by Patrick Scalisi, a writer, editor, journalist, and communications professional from Connecticut. It is illustrated by Valerie Ruby-Omen, a freelance illustrator. When Val is not creating art, she is an event coordinator and organizer in Connecticut queer artist communities.

But here’s the thing. In the book’s introduction Sclalisi claims a certificate in cryptid field observation from Nutmeg State University and Ruby-Omen (can’t be her real name) claims a certificate in cryptid illustrative works from Constitution State College. So they start the book off with a “wink-wink, nudge-nudge.” This book is a lark, yes, but it does delve into the lore and the history when available (and real).

Three things I absolutely love about the book:

1. They refer to Connecticut residents as “Connecticutians.” I am 100% onboard with this terminology and try to use it whenever I can.

2. Be still my heart:

Also, in the Winsted Wildman chapter, it is noted that Winsted is a section of Winchester. Love it.

3. The only reference the Melonheads (Shelton & Monroe area), the Frog People (Bethel), and the Raggies is to say that they were purposely not included because these are real people. The first two where disabled and incapacitated “others” and the legends that grew up around them were cruel and discriminatory. The third, the Raggies, are again, real people in the northwest hills who were discriminated against as immigrants. Respect to the author.

They also don’t go into Dudleytown because as I’ve been screaming from the mountaintops, it’s just an abandoned community with cellar holes. It is now private property and the owners are sick and tired of people hanging out there thinking it’s haunted. It’s not haunted. Stop. It’s the dumbest lore in the entire state.

So what is in the book? Everything else you’ve heard of and a bunch you haven’t, presented in a field guide format. There are about 50 “cryptids” here, each getting its own chapter. I found myself more interested in the stories that were new to me. Like, for instance, The Marsh Monster.

I have hiked through there, all around that marsh on the Mattatuck Trail. (One weird thing the author does is he never mentions the well-traveled trails that go through some of these cryptid lands. The Quinnipiac travels Downs Road, the Mohawk walks through Dudleytown, the Metacomet past the Black Dog of Hanging Hills and the Talcott Mountain Robot, for some examples.)

Anyway, I didn’t see the Marsh Monster that day and I really only bring it up to highlight the illustrations in the book.

Rad.

The “big three” are written with a little more detail. They would be, of course, the Black Dog of Hanging Hills, Glawackus of Glastonbury, and the Winsted Wildman. I guess I agree with those three.

And, with all three, the author dives deep into the histories behind each tale. The Glawackus is certainly the most far-reaching, as it was written about in area newspapers and its legend extended beyond Connecticut in the 1930’s. There were credible sightings and credible maimed livestock.

A rogue panther or wolf? A fisher cat? The name was made up by the press, a mash-up of GLAstonbury and WACKy. There were real hunts for the thing and enterprising businessmen had sales and products using the moniker. It was apparently caught in 1939 in a bear trap and was a large, brown, mangey dog. But even today, you’ll hear mention of it on occasion when someone claims to have seen a mountain lion in the area.

The Black Dog legend is a convoluted tale that says something like if you see it three times in the Hanging Hills, you’ll die. I love that Connecticut Cryptids puts that one to rest:

Scalisi also goes into the true history of Little People’s Kingdom, right off of I-84 in Middlebury. Here’s the thing, just like Holy Land USA a few exits east, the real story behind the real place is fascinating on its own. There’s no need to make up crap about haunted thrones and ghost midgets running around the joint.

A guy owned some land and was going to create a nursery as his business. Many nurseries today feature similar set-ups to keep kids entertained while their parents shop. Heck, there was one directly behind my old house in West Hartford (now, sadly, McMansions.) That’s it. That’s the story but you know what? It’s still cool to check out!

The Hanging Hills are still beautiful to hike and Dudleytown is still historically interesting.

I enjoyed learning about the Downs Road Monster (Hamden & Bethany), the Old Saybrook Blockheads (unexplained alien invaders) and the legend of Perry Boney out in New Fairfield, the latter two which were unknown to me.

The only knock on the book is that it features some goofy filler “cryptids” there were parts of advertising campaigns; the most famous being Naugy for Uniroyal Rubber. There’s also a whole chapter on Buddy the Beefalo which, although the author admits it’s dumb to include, he still included it.

Still, Connecticut Cryptids is a fun book and contains enough legitimate history for me to recommend it to my fellow rational Connecticutians who like this sort of thing. There’s even a dedicated website, which contains “archival materials” and a couple bonus chapters. I like the thoroughness here.

Connecticut Cryptids Website
CTMQ’s List and Reviews of Connecticut Books