THE NORTH AMERICAN CRYPTID MUSEUM, PLANO,TX.
Ever since I saw the trailer for the movie Sasquatch, and saw the episode of In Search Of... that I documented here, I've been a believer. In Bigfoot. Many have considered me a doof for doing so, but I figure if they believe in demons and boogeymen, I'm safe in my faith in a mysterious woodland being that happens to be completely undocumented.
The North American Cryptid Museum just happens to be in the town I live in, Plano TX. Frani and I decided to check it out today, and it was actually pretty impressive. Attached in the building that houses the popular haunted attraction known as Dark Hour, it was pretty easy to find as well. The "Ranger" who was our tour guide was funny, wise, knowledgeable and came at the museum's displays from not just a lore angle, but a fairly scientific one as well. I think The North American Cryptid Museum would be appreciated by followers of Loren Coleman as well as Sid & Marty Krofft.
It's wide ranging and pretty comprehensive. Examples of cryptids are in abundance and well-detailed. Not just by the fantastic designs and craftsmanship executing them, but in the visual and written examples of corroboration. There's not just news videos rolling alongside both the towering and tiny cryptids on display, but tons of written media documentation underlining the eyewitness accounts dating back in many cases to the 1800's or even earlier. What's really cool is the examples of very familiar-to-me cryptids, like the Hodag, and the infamous Beast of Bray Road. The latter of which's display has a nice shout-out to the late great journalist Linda Godfried, who wrote the preeminent text on
the matter.
Our guide's anecdotes of encounters mixed nicely with matter-of-fact accounts were often funny as well as chilling. He pointed out that Bigfoot has been witnessed in every state except Hawaii, and that every state has examples of a cryptid. License plates nicely accent the many examples, as well as displays that textualize details that are both informative and creepy. Some language is nicely handled by covering words and names that may be culturally insensitive if shared aloud, and I respect the hell out of that. There's depth here that I didn't expect, and once I found that the whole museum is really a "labour of love" by the Dark Hour owner, it wasn't hard to see why that angle was taken.
This was a blast of a thing to do for so-called Spooky Season, but really, for everyone, this is something that can be taken in year round. And with the constant updating and fun additions like the Seattle Raccoon sensation, Jimothy, it wouldn't be repetitive to pop back in more than once. I highly recommend The North American Cryptid Museum, and not just for Bigfoot aficionados like myself, but the civilian as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment