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Lair of the Beasts: Monsters of Vermont

Green Mountain Ghouls in Print

By Nick Redfern October 31, 2009

The Vermont Monster Guide, written by Joseph A. Citro and with artwork provided by Stephen R. Bissette(2009).
© UPNE

I received in the mail a few days ago an excellent new book titled The Vermont Monster Guide, written by Joseph A. Citro and with artwork provided by Stephen R. Bissette. As you might guess from its title, the book is dedicated to chronicling the many and varied (and in some cases centuries-old) tales of strange creatures seen in the Green Mountain State.

And, if like me, you’re fascinated by those unknown animals that are said to haunt the dark woods, the murky waters, and the night skies of our world, The Vermont Monster Guide is a book you most definitely won’t want to miss – at all.

The book has a very cool design to it indeed, and greatly resembles a combination of one of those old horror comic-books of the 1960s, like Marvel Comics’ Where Monsters Dwell, and a modern-day graphic novel. And, the front-cover picture of a classic long-necked lake-monster rearing up out of the shadowy depths of a Vermont lake while a full moon hangs overhead in a starry sky, only reinforces that imagery.

So, with that all said, what does the book tell us? Well, the answer to that question is: a great deal indeed.

It’s written in a style that is as informative as it is entertaining, and Citro collectively uses humor, intrigue, suspense and atmosphere as he weaves dark, gothic and suspense-filled tales of Vermont monsters. And, with a fine artistic rendition of each and every one of the monsters in question supplied by Bissette, this book is a joy to read.

As for the strange creatures that lurk within the packed pages of The Vermont Monster Guide, well, they are a weird and varied bunch – all of them memorable and very, very monstrous, of course.

Things kick off in an appropriately surreal fashion with the Pigman of Northfield: a truly diabolical critter that struck terror into the heart of the local neighborhood back in 1971, and particularly in the vicinity of an old pig-farm near the intriguingly-named Devil’s Washbowl: a foreboding area of dark and wet woodland.

By all accounts, the Pigman was an evil, ugly and violent beast: man-like in appearance, but possessing a pig-like snout. It wasn’t a local, in other words. But, there are far weirder things than the Pigman roaming around Vermont, as Citro and Bissette easily demonstrate.

We also get the lowdown on a monstrous bear-like animal that came to be known as Old Slipperyskin. The Slipster, as I like to call him, was big, bad and very mean. And he was not a fan of people, either. Large, vicious and deeply cunning, he scared the hell out of the good folk of Morgan, Victory, Lemington and elsewhere. Was the story merely a myth? Could the slippery one have been a huge, mutant bear? Or was he the relic of a bygone era? The jury, it seems, is still out.

Of course, no study of strange animals would be complete without touching upon the mystery of Bigfoot – and The Vermont Monster Guide does not disappoint on this particular matter, either. Such local legends of the Goonyak, the Hopping Horror of East Dorset, and the Forest Wanderer all evoke thoughts and images of mysterious, hairy apes on the loose.

And while we’re still on the subject of mysterious, hairy things: werewolves also feature in the pages of the book. Certainly the most memorable of all tales of a distinctly lycanthrope-type is that concerning a woman named Tonya, who very nearly ended up as dinner for what may well have been a ravenous pack of flesh-eating werewolves hiding out in northern Vermont.

As for the rest of the book: well, there is a great deal to keep you entertained and informed on a dark and stormy night, such as the stories of the Black Beast of Snake Mountain; the weird and grotesque thing that became known as “Bighead” and which was fleetingly seen sitting in the back of someone’s car one evening in 1998; and the colony of monster-bats with human-like faces rumored to inhabit a cave in the Green Mountain National Forest.

The very well-known, and near legendary, lake-monster Champ (of Lake Champlain) gets much coverage in the section of the book dealing with aquatic monsters – as do the stories of the furry trout (yes, really!); the Willoughby Wisp – another long-necked water-beast; and those concerning giant, marauding eels.

Moving onto monsters of the skies, the book contains a wealth of material on giant-sized winged-things, the legendary Thunderbirds of Native American Indian lore, pterosaur-style entities, and much more.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The Vermont Monster Guide is a book I most definitely recommend to everyone fascinated by the unknown creatures that dwell in the shadows. Best read after sunset and while a chill wind howls!

Nick Redfern is the author of many books on unexplained phenomena. His most recent is Science Fiction Secrets.