Is it a strange mammal related to the seals, a descendant of a prehistoric reptile, or a new, unidentified animal? Whatever it is, or was, the witnesses call it a sea serpent. Remarkably similar descriptions of a creature with a long body, undulating motion, and horse-sized, snake-like head have left a trail of clues and controversy going back three centuries. In "The Great New England Sea Serpent," J.P. O'Neill draws on the historical record as well as previously unpublished first-hand accounts to chronicle more than 230 sightings of the mysterious marine creatures inhabiting the Gulf of Maine.

Massachusetts and weird: not too much of a stretch, some would say. But the authors dug a little deeper and found all kinds of local legends, bizarre beasts, surprising cemeteries, and uncovered the best kept secrets from all over the Bay State. If it's unusual or unexplainable or fantastic, and in the Bay State, you'll find it all here.

The Definitive Study and Solution to the Centuries-old Mystery of the World's Most Sighted Sea Serpent There is a long history of conflating sightings of unidentified marine objects (UMOs) as purported sea serpents. Most sightings are either of an extremely brief duration or made by a single observer, and thus often easy to dismiss. This is not the case, however, with respect to the so-called Gloucester Sea Serpent which frequented the Massachusetts and New York coasts during the early nineteenth century. Witnessed by hundreds of people for extended periods repeatedly over many days, the Gloucester UMO is the most sighted 'sea serpent' in history. As well, due to being the object of study at the time and shortly thereafter by naturalists, the mysterious creature remains the most thoroughly investigated of all putative sea serpents. For these reasons, it has achieved an exalted status among cryptozoologists who maintain it represents the best evidence for the existence of sea serpents. For the first time, an eminently qualified aquatic biologist and ethnozoologist presents the definitive history of the phenomena and carefully examines the evidence. It is concluded that the most parsimonious explanation behind the Gloucester Sea Serpent is as early evidence for what is today recognized as being one of the most serious threats to marine biodiversity: entanglement in fishing gear and other maritime debris. Therefore, although widely considered to be restricted to the advent and widespread use of non-degradable plastic in the middle of the twentieth century, this new interpretation of the Gloucester UMO suggests that entanglement has a much longer environmental history than is commonly believed. Robert L. France is a world-renowned scientist at Dalhousie University and the author or editor of twenty books and two hundred papers on a wide range of environmental subjects. He has undertaken conservation biology research from the High Arctic to the tropics, on organisms from bacteria to whales, which has been cited many thousands of times in the literature. Dr. France is a leading authority on many aspects of aquatic zoology, including marine ecology and ethnozoology, and may be the most qualified person to have recently undertaken research and published peer-reviewed articles on the beguiling and befuddling topic of aquatic mystery animals, known as 'cryptids'.

From the serpentine "Champie" of Lake Champlain to the venerable "Nessie" of Loch Ness, extraordinary-and un-explained-creatures of the deep have been reported in sightings throughout the twentieth century. Now, two of the world's leading cryptozoological investigators provide a globetrotting field guide to when, where, and what kind of mysterious aquatic beasts have gripped the public—and sometimes the scientific—imagination. Filled with comprehensive drawings, classifications, and maps, their book offers an invaluable and unusual resource for the intrepidly curious to investigate these sightings firsthand or to simply enjoy the fascinating accounts that others have given.

On every continent and in every nation, animals unrecognized by modern science are reported on a daily basis. People passionately pursue these creatures--the name given to their field of study is cryptozoology. Coined in the 1950s, the term literally means the science of hidden animals. When the International Society of Cryptozoology (ISC) was formed in 1982, the founders declared that the branch of science is also concerned with "the possible existence of known animals in areas where they are not supposed to occur (either now or in the past) as well as the unknown persistence of presumed extinct animals to the present time or to the recent past...what makes an animal of interest to cryptology is that it is unexpected." This reference work presents a "flesh and blood" view of cryptozoology. Here, 2,744 entries are listed, the majority of which each describe one specific creature or type of creature. Other entries cover 742 places where unnamed cryptids are said to appear; profiles of 77 groups and 112 individuals who have contributed to the field; descriptions of objects and events important to the subject; and essays on cryptotourism and hoaxes, for example. Appendices offer a timeline of zoological discoveries, annotated lists of movies and television series with cryptozoological themes, a list of crypto-fiction titles and a list of Internet websites devoted to cryptozoology.

A historical succession of specific locales brings alive the flavor and diversity of coastal life. Maps, line drawings, and more than one hundred color and b&w photos capture the essence of New England.