Loren Coleman

This article is about the cryptozoologist. For the science-fiction writer, see Loren L. Coleman.

Loren Coleman
Born	July 12, 1947 Norfolk, Virginia, United States
Nationality	American
Subject	Cryptozoology, Forteana, folklore, psychology
Notable works	Mysterious America The Copycat Effect
Years active	1960–present
Website
www.lorencoleman.com

Loren Coleman (born July 12, 1947) is an American cryptozoologist who has written books on a number of topics, including cryptozoology.

Early life and education

Coleman was born in Norfolk, Virginia, grew up in Decatur, IL and graduated in 1965 from MacArthur High School. He studied anthropology and zoology at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, and psychiatric social work at the Simmons College School of Social Work in Boston. He did further studies in anthropology at Brandeis University and sociology at the University of New Hampshire. Coleman taught at New England universities from 1980 to 2004, also having been a senior researcher at the Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Policy from 1983 to 1996, before retiring from teaching to write, lecture, and consult.

Cryptozoology

Coleman writes on popular culture, animal mysteries, folklore, and cryptozoology. An editor of the Skeptical Inquirer said, "[a]mong monster hunters, Loren's one of the more reputable, but I'm not convinced that what cryptozoologists seek is actually out there." He has appeared on television and radio interviews about cryptids. He has written articles and books on cryptozoology and other Fortean topics. He was a publicity consultant on The Mothman Prophecies.

Coleman has carried out fieldwork throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico, regarding sightings, trace evidence, and Native peoples' traditions of Sasquatch/Windigo/Bigfoot. He has written on Yeti and Bigfoot expedition sponsor Tom Slick and appeared on NPR discussing the death of Grover Krantz. Coleman has won awards for this documentary and literary work.

Paraview Press introduced a series of books, "Loren Coleman Presents" in 2004. Coleman wrote introductions to volumes in the series.

International Cryptozoology Museum

Coleman established his Cryptozoology Museum in 2003 in Portland, Maine.

Coleman contributed to the exhibition "Cryptozoology: Out of Time Place Scale", shown at Bates College Museum of Art (June 24 - October 8, 2006) and at the H & R Block Artspace at the Kansas City Art Institute (October 28 - December 20, 2006). He delivered the keynote address, "An Introduction to Cryptozoology", at the symposium at Bates College in October 2005, and gave a similar talk at the American Museum of Natural History in 2007.

Coleman is also a contributor/coauthor to the 2006 Bates exhibition catalogue and book, Cryptozoology: Out of Time Place Scale (JRP/Ringier Books, Switzerland, 2006). He also wrote the essay “Cryptids” for Alexis Rockman. (Monacelli Press, 2005).

The first public location for the museum opened in November 2009, occupying the rear of The Green Hand Bookshop, a Portland general used bookshop specializing in weird fiction. On October 30, 2011, two years after moving onto Congress Street, it re-opened in a much larger space around the corner at 11 Avon Street, although it is still located in the Trelawny Building.

The museum was named Yankee magazine's "Best Quirky Museum" in their Maine Best Attractions 2010 list.

The Copycat Effect

Coleman has a masters in social work and acts as a consultant for the Maine Youth Suicide Program. A specific concern is murder-suicides among the young, as well as the possibility of clusters and the influence of media coverage, leading to his writing of The Copycat Effect. He has been called on for statements in the aftermath of school shootings and how best to respond to the problem.

Personal

Coleman has been married three times, from 1968-1978, from 1980-1995, and from 2013–present. He has three sons and resides in Portland, ME.

Bibliography

• The Field Guide to Bigfoot and Other Mystery Primates (NY: Anomalist Books, 2006, ISBN 1-933665-12-2)
• The Unidentified & Creatures of the Outer Edge: The Early Works of Jerome Clark and Loren Coleman (NY: Anomalist Books, 2006, ISBN 1-933665-11-4)
• Weird Ohio with James Willis and Andrew Henderson (New York: Barnes and Noble, 2005, ISBN 1-4027-3382-8)
• The Copycat Effect (New York: Paraview Pocket-Simon & Schuster, 2004, ISBN 0-7434-8223-9)
• The Field Guide to Lake Monsters, Sea Serpents and Other Mystery Denizens of the Deep with Patrick Huyghe (NY: Tarcher-Penguin, 2003, ISBN 1-58542-252-5)
• BIGFOOT!: The True Story of Apes in America (NY: Paraview Pocket-Simon & Schuster, 2003, ISBN 0-7434-6975-5)
• Tom Slick: True Life Encounters in Cryptozoology (Fresno: Craven Street/Linden Press, 2002, ISBN 0-941936-74-0)
• Mothman and Other Curious Encounters (NY: Paraview, 2002, ISBN 1-931044-34-1)
• Mysterious America: The Revised Edition (NY: Paraview, 2001, ISBN 1-931044-05-8)HB 2004 (ISBN 1-931044-84-8).
• Cryptozoology A to Z: The Encyclopedia of Loch Monsters, Sasquatch, Chupacabras, and Other Authentic Mysteries of Nature with Jerome Clark (NY: Simon & Schuster, 1999, ISBN 0-684-85602-6)
• The Field Guide to Bigfoot, Yeti and Other Mystery Primates Worldwide with Patrick Huyghe (NY: HarperCollins, 1999, ISBN 0-380-80263-5)

External links

• Official website
• Website of Coleman's The Copycat Effect (now called Twilight Language)
• CryptoZooNews (Coleman's cryptozoology blog)
• Loren Coleman at the Internet Movie Database