Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always been fascinated by monsters. Growing up I saw television shows and read books about famous ones like Bigfoot and Nessie, and always wanted to search for them and discover the truth. That led me to a degree in psychology to learn about human cognition and perception, and a career in folklore to understand how legends and rumors spread. But I also wanted field experience, and spent time at Loch Ness, in Canadian woods said to house Sasquatch, to the Amazon, Sahara, and the jungles of Central America looking for the chupacabra. Along the way became an author, writing books including Tracking the Chupacabra, Lake Monster Mysteries, Big—If True, and Investigating Ghosts


I wrote

Tracking the Chupacabra: The Vampire Beast in Fact, Fiction and Folklore

By Benjamin Radford,

Book cover of Tracking the Chupacabra: The Vampire Beast in Fact, Fiction and Folklore

What is my book about?

Among the monsters said to roam the world’s jungles and desolate deserts, none is more feared than the chupacabra—the blood-sucking…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Monsters of the Gevaudan: The Making of a Beast

Benjamin Radford Why did I love this book?

There are many terrifying monsters, but few were as feared as the beast of Gévaudan, which terrorized the French countryside in the 1760s.

Said to be, variously, a werewolf, a dog-hybrid, a hyena, or some unknown beast, it was blamed for killing many dozens of villagers. The French government sent top hunters to kill the beast, and conspiracy theories ran rampant. I recommend Monsters of the Gevaudan because I love the way it blends history, folklore, and investigation into a compelling mystery.

Don’t believe the mystery-mongering TV shows offering wild theories: the truth is in this book—and it’s stranger than fiction. 

By Jay M. Smith,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Monsters of the Gevaudan as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In a brilliant, original rendition, Monsters of the Gevaudan revisits a spellbinding French tale that has captivated imaginations for over two hundred years, and offers the definitive explanation of the strange events that underlie this timeless story.

In 1764 a peasant girl was killed and partially eaten while tending a flock of sheep. Eventually, over a hundred victims fell prey to a mysterious creature, or creatures, whose cunning and deadly efficiency terrorized the region and mesmerized Europe. The fearsome aggressor quickly took on mythic status, and the beast of the Gevaudan passed into French folklore.

What species was this killer,…


Book cover of Abominable Science! Origins of the Yeti, Nessie, and Other Famous Cryptids

Benjamin Radford Why did I love this book?

Like Jay Smith’s book, Loxton and Prothero dig deep into the world’s most famous monsters, and help separate fact from fiction.

Everyone has seen the famous 1967 film clip of a Bigfoot—but do you know the story behind it?  From sea serpents to the Loch Ness monster and modern-day dinosaur reports, Abominable Science applies science and critical thinking to the mysteries. Even better, the book includes a very useful discussion on the field of cryptozoology—the search for hidden (and possibly mythical) creatures.

I have personally investigated many of these monsters—including in the field—and learned a lot from this book. Though they take a scientific and skeptical approach, they advocate for taking the topic seriously and doing good research. A fascinating and indispensable book for any monster lover. 

By Daniel Loxton, Donald R. Prothero,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Abominable Science! Origins of the Yeti, Nessie, and Other Famous Cryptids as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Throughout our history, humans have been captivated by mythic beasts and legendary creatures. Tales of Bigfoot, the Yeti, and the Loch Ness monster are part of our collective experience. Now comes a book from two dedicated investigators that explores and elucidates the fascinating world of cryptozoology. Daniel Loxton and Donald R. Prothero have written an entertaining, educational, and definitive text on cryptids, presenting the arguments both for and against their existence and systematically challenging the pseudoscience that perpetuates their myths. After examining the nature of science and pseudoscience and their relation to cryptozoology, Loxton and Prothero take on Bigfoot; the…


Book cover of The Secret History of the Jersey Devil: How Quakers, Hucksters, and Benjamin Franklin Created a Monster

Benjamin Radford Why did I love this book?

The Jersey Devil, is a horrifying creature said to lurk in the rugged New Jersey pine barrens.

It’s been the subject of (fruitless) searches and scary legends for well over a century. But it’s not an intrepid cryptozoologist or weekend monster hunter who finally cornered the beast, but instead two historians, Brian Regal and Frank Esposito.

Just as Jay Smith tackled the beast of Gévaudan as a historial mystery, the pair trace the origins of the Jersey Devil from an eighteenth-century settler named Daniel Leeds to the present day.

Along the way we find a smattering of compelling –yet evidence-free—eyewitness reports, much folklore, some professional feuds, and several outright hoaxes (including a painted kangaroo exhibited as the Devil!)

As with the chupacabra and other monsters, the true story is in many ways more interesting than the fictional one. 

By Brian Regal, Frank J. Esposito,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Secret History of the Jersey Devil as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A provocative look at the mystery surrounding the Jersey Devil, a beast born of colonial times that haunts the corners of the Pine Barrens-and the American imagination-to this day.

Legend has it that in 1735, a witch named Mother Leeds gave birth to a horrifying monster-a deformed flying horse with glowing red eyes-that flew up the chimney of her New Jersey home and disappeared into the Pine Barrens. Ever since, this nightmarish beast has haunted those woods, presaging catastrophe and frightening innocent passersby-or so the story goes. In The Secret History of the Jersey Devil, Brian Regal and Frank J.…


Book cover of Legends of the Fire Spirits: Jinn and Genies from Arabia to Zanzibar

Benjamin Radford Why did I love this book?

While some people may not think of genies (or jinn) as monsters in the same category as Bigfoot or dragons, from a cultural and folkloric point of view they definitely are.

Most Americans probably think of the wisecracking genie in Disney’s Aladdin, but belief in genies is both serious and widespread. In his book Legends of the Fire Spirits journalist Robert Lebling describes how the creatures appear in the Koran (hint: it’s closer to the recent film Three Thousand Years of Longing).

They are in some ways the Muslim equivalent of Christian angels, imbued with magical powers and viewed by the devout not as real and tangible as you or I. What I love about this book is how Lebling reveals the real stories of jinn—in both their wonder (granting wishes) and terrible vengeance (mass murder).

As with all monsters, whether you believe in them or not is beside the point; understanding why others believe is far more interesting. 

By Robert Lebling,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Legends of the Fire Spirits as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In the magical tale of Aladdin in "The Arabian Nights", the genie that suddenly appears out of the lamp is powerful, playful and utterly mysterious. Supernatural, shape-shifting figures have been given many names over the ages - genie, demon, spirit, ghoul, shaitan and jinn. Those who have seen them believe jinn shadow us in our daily lives, causing endless mischief, providing amazing services and sometimes inducing sheer terror. "Legends of the Fire Spirits" explores the enduring phenomenon of the jinn. From North Africa to Central Asia, from the Mediterranean to sub-Saharan Africa and beyond, this riveting book draws on long-forgotten…


Book cover of Speaking with Vampires: Rumor and History in Colonial Africa

Benjamin Radford Why did I love this book?

Among all the world’s monsters one perennial favorite is vampires.

Yes, I know they’ve been done to death (or would that be undeath?) but there’s a rich history of vampires beyond Dracula, Nosferatu, Lestat, and their legions. I’m talking about “real” vampires—or at least those people believed to be real vampires.

This is the subject of Luise White’s book Speaking with Vampires: Rumor and History in Colonial Africa. White is an anthropologist and folklorist who investigated rumors of vampires throughout East Africa. She found that many Africans told similar stories of real, actual vampires that sucked the blood out of Africans.

What I love about this book is how White takes a scholarly approach to the rumors of (alleged) real-life vampires, sometimes from their victims. Along the way we learn about colonialism, racism, and the cultural contexts in which these rumors flourish.

By Luise White,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Speaking with Vampires as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

During the colonial period, Africans told each other terrifying rumors that Africans who worked for white colonists captured unwary residents and took their blood. In colonial Tanganyika, for example, Africans were said to be captured by these agents of colonialism and hung upside down, their throats cut so their blood drained into huge buckets. In Kampala, the police were said to abduct Africans and keep them in pits, where their blood was sucked. Luise White presents and interprets vampire stories from East and Central Africa as a way of understanding the world as the storytellers did. Using gossip and rumor…


Explore my book 😀

Tracking the Chupacabra: The Vampire Beast in Fact, Fiction and Folklore

By Benjamin Radford,

Book cover of Tracking the Chupacabra: The Vampire Beast in Fact, Fiction and Folklore

What is my book about?

Among the monsters said to roam the world’s jungles and desolate deserts, none is more feared than the chupacabra—the blood-sucking beast blamed for the mysterious deaths of thousands of animals since the 1990s. To some it’s a joke; to many it is a very real threat and even a harbinger of the apocalypse. Rooted in conspiracy theory and anti-American sentiment, the beast is said to be the result of Frankenstein-like secret U.S. government experiments in the Puerto Rican jungles. Combining five years of careful investigation with a close study of the creature’s cultural and folkloric significance, this book is the first to fully explore—and solve—the decades-old mystery of the chupacabra.

Tracking the Chupacabra was a Finalist for the 2011 Book of the Year Award, and a Finalist for the New Mexico Book Awards.

Book cover of Monsters of the Gevaudan: The Making of a Beast
Book cover of Abominable Science! Origins of the Yeti, Nessie, and Other Famous Cryptids
Book cover of The Secret History of the Jersey Devil: How Quakers, Hucksters, and Benjamin Franklin Created a Monster

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Caesar’s Soldier

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Book cover of Caesar’s Soldier

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Why am I passionate about this?

Author History nut Ancient Rome nut Scientist Guitarist

Alex's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

Who was the man who would become Caesar's lieutenant, Brutus' rival, Cleopatra's lover, and Octavian's enemy? 

When his stepfather is executed for his involvement in the Catilinarian conspiracy, Mark Antony and his family are disgraced. His adolescence is marked by scandal and mischief, his love affairs are fleeting, and yet, his ambition is vast.

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Caesar’s Soldier

By Alex Gough,

What is this book about?

Who was the man that would become Caesar's lieutenant, Brutus' rival, Cleopatra's lover, and Octavian's enemy?

When his stepfather is executed for his involvement in the Catilinarian conspiracy, Mark Antony and his family are disgraced. His adolescence is marked by scandal and mischief, his love affairs are fleeting, and yet, his ambition is vast.

Antony's path to prosperity leads him to an education in Athens, a campaign for a seat in the Senate, and a position of military command. Undeterred by his baptism of fire on the battlefields of Judaea and Egypt, he climbs the ranks to become the right…


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