Explore the unexplained at cryptozoology museum’s new Bangor home

BANGOR, Maine (WABI) - Spooky season is a time to venture into the unknown, and the International Cryptozoology Museum specializes in just that.

Exploring the elusive has been author Loren Coleman’s life work, leading to the museum’s opening in Portland in 2003.

Over the summer, the museum moved into a larger building on Broadway in Bangor.

Christopher Packard, the museum’s assistant director, describes cryptozoology as “the science for people who are interested in the edge of science, what might be out there.”

Housing more than 20,000 artifacts, including 250 Bigfoot prints, the museum explores the science and pop culture of creatures whose existence remains unverified.

Here, you’ll find classic cryptids such as Mothman and werewolves, alongside local Maine lore such as the Allagash alien abductions and Pamola, the traditional Wabanaki winged moose that protects Katahdin.

Cryptozoology also includes out-of-place animals and living fossils once thought extinct or entirely unreal.

“The colossal squid and the giant squid are things that were depicted in art of sailor stories and on maps. And then, of course, they were real, right? Like we actually found those scientifically,” Packard says.

Maine has had its share of misplaced animals.

The museum showcases the skin of the Westbrook River Monster, which turned out to be an anaconda, not a relative of Nessie. It also has the preserved foot of the Turner Terror, which had the whole town on edge and was found to be just a Husky mix.

“But then these [Turner Terror] sightings had been going on for years, right? So like, is that all the explanation?” Packard questions.

For museum leaders, whether these creatures are real or folklore doesn’t matter as much as the impact on the people who experience them.

“Part of cryptozoology is, for better or worse, hoaxing. Some stuff is fake, right? And that’s part of the story of cryptozoology. We have stuff about pop culture and movies, and we tell those stories,” Packard says.

“Throughout human history, people have always had these stories, and they’re similar stories. They’re stories about big, hairy, giant men in the forest. They’re stories about water serpents in lakes and rivers and oceans. They’re stories of fearsome beasts of all sorts and giant birds. And I don’t think it’s necessarily a coincidence that people, no matter where they are, have these same stories,” details Packard. “People should wonder what’s out there, what’s real, and they should go out and try and have experiences.”

You can find the International Cryptozoology Museum at 490 Broadway in Bangor.

Regular admission is $10 for adults and $5 for kids 12 and younger. The museum frequently hosts author events and more that are free to attend.