Review: Werewolves, Dogmen, and other Shapeshifters Stalking North America

Product description: Have you ever been driving, alone, at night, and know that what you saw along the side of the road was not human? Do you ever wonder just what was howling on your last camping trip? Have you ever felt your skin crawl as you passed by that hitchhiker in the fog?

Join Pamela K. Kinney as she explores the North American tales and mythology that deal with shapeshifting frights. From the arid deserts of the American Southwest to the dense forest of the American Northwest, and even farther north to the Last Frontier of Alaska; from the Midwest to the Appalachian Mountains, continuing to the Atlantic Ocean in the east and down south to Florida, the tales of were-beasts are myriad—and hauntingly similar.

With all these stories spanning cultures and landscapes, might there be some spark of truth to them?

My thoughts: Need a werewolf fix ? Have I got a book for you. Pamela Kinney has wandered away from haunted locations for a topic more on the wild side … werewolves! What perfect timing, I was reading Kinney’s book while watching wolfman movies on Svengoolie.

Seriously, I had no idea that there were so many werewolf sightings in North America. While I remain highly skeptical of the stories, I have to admit that I enjoyed reading through the various accounts. Interestingly, Kinney draws a line between wolf and canine.

Her next section covers the legendary Dogman. Once again, I had no idea that there were so many Dogman stories. I guess that my biggest misconception was my impression that the Dogman stories were fairly recent, but they do have some age to them.

All of that said, my favorite part was shapeshifters from Native American folklore. Kinney covers some of these legends and expands with some interesting facts from several other cultures. Let’s be honest, how could you not love the Celtic folklore about the badger ???

I highly recommend this one. If you are interested in cryptid this book is for you.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Pamela K. Kinney and  DreamPunk Press. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”