International Cryptozoology Museum
Reviewed by David Goudsward
Cryptozoology is the study of animals that are unrecognized by science but usually well known in local lore. The most familiar of these cryptids are the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, and the Mothman, but there are thousands of other reports ranging from sea serpents to giant birds. Cryptozoologist Loren Coleman has taken his 50-year collection of artifacts to create the International Cryptozoology Museum, the world’s only museum devoted exclusively to cryptozoology.
Located just off Congress Street in downtown Portland, Maine, you’ll know you’re in the right place upon arrival since a life-size model of a Bigfoot guards the entrance along with a model of a Coelacanth. The museum is divided into two sections, the first being devoted the hirsute hominid of legend. Exhibits in this area include a collection of skulls and footprints of various species that might be a candidate for the identity of Sasquatch. Additional items on exhibit are a copy of the 1967 Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot film, and hair samples of the Abominable Snowman, Yowie, and Orang Pendek. Rounding a corner and you are immersed in displays on lake monsters and sea serpents followed by a variety of lesser known cryptids such as mystery felines, the Dover Demon, and the maybe not quite extinct Tasmanian tiger.
Enter the second room and things become slightly less serious but no less scholarly with a display on Cryptids in Pop Culture: a collection of tourist tchotchkes, dolls, and similar indignities. ICM is quick to identify fakes as well—jackalopes, fur-bearing trout and a replica of a Fiji mermaid serve as segues back into serious exhibits on African cryptids, the Jersey Devil and the Mothman.
The museum is low-key; no one is trying to convince the visitors to the validity of the various cryptozoological claims. The evidence is there to be accepted as face-value or to inspire further investigation. Portland may be a little off the beaten trail for the average horror fan (unless you’re heading to Bangor to stalk Stephen King), but it is easily a day trip from Boston and points north. And frankly, where else could you have your picture taken with a Bigfoot?
At A Glance
11 Avon St, Portland, ME 04101
cryptozoologymuseum.com
Admission:
Children (kids 12 and below) = $5.00 each
Everyone else (13 and older) = $7.00 each
