The International Cryptozoology Museum!

While I was in New England, I had to stop by the world famous International Cryptozoology Museum!

According to their website, Cryptozoology is "the study of hidden animals."

The International Museum of Cryptozoology is located in Portland, Maine and has been presenting mysterious animals since 2003!

Their current location has two stories of artifacts, props, and models of both fictitious and possibly real creatures!  I included this funky museum on this blog, because it also displays numerous action figure depictions of our favorite cryptids!

They had an interesting section on the famous Universal Monster, The Creature from the Black Lagoon!

Fellow pop culture enthusiast, Alex Pentecost, stands by a life size model of the Gill Man!

Here is a life size model of an Orang Pendek or "short person" hairy hominid! These were supposedly seen in Sumatra!

This was a cabinet dedicated to gremlin and troll-like creatures! Notice the figure of the Gremlin from my favorite Twilight Zone episode, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet!"

A life replica of a Gremlin from the famous 1984 movie!

I forgot exactly what they called this, but I think it is just a statue of one interpretation of the Chupacabra!

Here are some small figures from the fun, but short-lived Cartoon Network original cartoon, The Secret Saturdays!

This is a replica of the famous mysterious Easter Island heads in Chile!

Here is a life-sized replica of a lesser known cryptid, the Dover Demon!

Some more Dover Demon stuff! Notice, the custom action figure in the back!

The museum had more Bigfoot stuff than anything else; here are some foot casts of possible real Sasquatch steps!

It was difficult to shoot strong photos of some of the cabinets because of the lighting, but the museum had a bunch of custom figures of Cryptid-related characters! I am fond of the 1/6 Kolchak the Night Stalker!

Here are some customs made from Marvel Legends; that's an old Toybiz Iceman on the right!

Here is a custom Skinwalker made on a Marvel Legends Pizza Spider-Man buck!

Almas are apparently Bigfoot type creatures spotted in Central Asia!

Here is a collection of Harry and the Hendersons merchandise!

More Bigfoot stuff!

This is a very early Mezco, 1/18 Bigfoot action figure! I actually remember seeing these at Toys R Us in the early 2000's!

Of course if they have Bigfoot, they have to include his cousin, the Himalayan Yeti!

In the back is one of best G.I. Joe Adventure Team sets Hasbro released, "Search for the Yeti!" I actually made a toy story with that yeti here!

Here are life size models of a Mothman and a Pteranodon!

Some more Mothman stuff!

Some models of a Colossal Squid and a Tatzelwurm!

Here is a fun custom Mego size Abominable Snowman!

Interestingly, this museum does not own the official 2008 G.I. Joe Con exclusive "Search for Sasquatch" set. I can tell this is actually a G.I. Joe Yeti (as mentioned earlier) dyed brown with some paint highlights!

This is a 1/12 Himalayn Yeti from the independent company, Creatureplicas! This is a small line of figures, but they are each very well-made!

Here are some figures from the controversial 1955 Toho Monster film, Half-Human! I have seen this film, but apparently it offended the Japanese ethnic group, Burakumin. Because of this controversy, this film's distribution and associated merchandise are quite inconsistent.

Some more Sasquatch paraphernalia!

Apparently there is a Specter Moose of Maine!

Here is the Jersey Devil from that early Mezco 1/18 figure line!

Some miniature Chupacabra figures!

This is the Cajun Rougarou! The figure to the left is from Creatureplicas!

Here is a miniature version of the sea monster who could not stand water from the eclectic 1964 film, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao!

This is yours truly doing his best impression of the life-size Sasquatch model behind him. Notice how I even instantly grew more facial hair just for the camera!

There was much more than I could possibly capture in photos, and honestly, just viewing pictures of this stuff is inferior to experiencing it in person! The International Cryptozoology Museum is a must for anyone who relishes pulpy monsters, action, and adventure!

-Chuck