The Unidentified by Colin Dickey

The Unidentified: Mythical Monsters, Alien Encounters, and Our Obsession with the Unexplained by Colin Dickey

"...if you could spin a wild tale with just the right mix of fact and fiction, it would burn itself indelibly in the public's minds..." Colin Dickey, The Unidentified

Let me just start by saying I don't believe in Bigfoot. I'm not a Flat-Earther. I don't believe in alien abductions, although I do believe with a universe so vast as the one we have, we probably aren't the only ones living in it. And Area 51? Ok, I admit I can't imagine what they might be doing in there, so hiding a ufo is probably as good a guess as any other, even though I don't think we've been visited... But how would I know? I'm on this side of the security fence.

As you may have guessed The Unidentified is about monsters, alien encounters, and conspiracy theories, and why we feel like we have to believe in them despite there being no scientific evidence to back it up, and sometimes existing scientific evidence that disproves them. It's non-fiction, about things that are probably fictitious.

Why am I reading a book about supernatural phenomena when I don't fully believe? Because it's a creepy good time. These things are fun to think about, because they offer the question of 'what if?' What if they were real? Plus, this might be the only book in the world where I was going to read the three words Kentucky, meat, and shower, in that exact order. That's right, I learned about the Kentucky Meat Shower... I wonder if this is the only blog where you'll read those words in that exact order?

This book was very readable for non-fiction, and well thought out. The author gave plenty of examples of monster encounters and conspiracy theories though the ages and introduces some of the people who report them. He offers quotes from witnesses, believers, and experts to solidify some of his points and insights.

As for creature features, there's a few chapters on sea monsters and bigfoot and then almost too many chapters on aliens. I kind of wish more classic monsters had been included like mothman, wendigo, maybe ghosts...But this wasn't really that kind of book. It was never about the monsters. It was about the belief, the history, the science, and the psychology of the monsters.

I quite liked this and if you are fascinated by the things that go bump in the night, you might like it too.