Night is Earth’s shadow and many creatures call it home. The moon’s shadow is a different sort of night entirely. Thanks to Nicolette Nuytten for today’s hidden lore, “Water Beetles.” Nicolette works at the library and spends her free time walking in the woods or reading everything she can get her grubby little hands on. She lives in Manitoba with her wife and a little grey chinchilla. You can find her at www.nicolettenuytten.com or on Twitter @LibraryNii The CryptoNaturalist is written and...

What counts as a ghost is, perhaps, open to interpretation.  Thanks to Steve Shell for voicing today’s field report. Steve is a co-creator, writer, and voice of the narrator on the Old Gods of Appalachia podcast. Old Gods is entering the homestretch of their fourth season and will be heading out on tour again this summer.  Thanks to Emilie Lygren for today’s hidden lore poem, “Chrysalis.” Emilie Lygren is a poet and educator who has published poems in several literary journals and...

An early morning record focusing on starting the day The CryptoNaturalist way. Thanks to Joseph Giglio for today’s hidden lore, “The Sky.” Joseph is currently an MFA student at George Mason University and originally from Buffalo, NY. He has been previously published in Corvus Review and Dead Fern Press amongst others. He is often somewhere he shouldn't be looking for birds or ghosts, but never bird ghosts. You can find him @JoeWritesWeird on Twitter. Thanks to Ella Watts for voicing today’s...

There’s something playing music just down the path, but that isn’t the only worthy mystery beneath the trees.  Today’s hidden lore was “The Bone Mother’s Daughter” by Tim Goldstone. Tim Goldstone is based on a true event. He has roamed widely and currently writes in remote rural Wales  Published internationally in numerous print and online journals and anthologies, including The Speculative Book, Altered States, Veil: Journal of Darker Musings, Selcouth Station, I Become The Beast,...

The Feather Fountain is as beautiful as it is deadly and it’s plenty of both. Thanks to Cecil Baldwin for voicing the Stairway Keeper. Cecil has long been one of my favorite voices in podcasting and you can hear him on the show that first inspired me to create audio-fiction, Welcome to Night Vale. Thanks to Kathryn Nuernberger for today’s hidden lore poem. Kathryn is the author of THE WITCH OF EYE, essays about witches and witch trials, and RUE, poems about plants historically used for...

The mirror falls, like all water, links us to many other versions of ourself. Thanks to Cat Stone for lending her voice to this episode. Hidden lore poetry by Matt Dennison. Matt is the author of Kind Surgery, from Urtica Press (Fr.) and Waiting for Better, from Main Street Rag Press. His poetry has appeared in Verse Daily, Rattle, Bayou Magazine, Redivider and Cider Press Review, among others. His fiction has appeared in ShortStory Substack, THEMA, GUD, The Blue Crow (Aus), Prole (UK), The...

The Uneasiness waits and watches somewhere beyond dark windows. Thanks to Tim Murphy for his hidden lore poem “Wildness Unafraid.” Tim Murphy (he/him) is a disabled, bisexual poet who lives in Portland, Oregon. His writing explores disability and our complex, tenuous relationship to the more-than-human world. Tim's poetry appears in Wordgathering, Remington Review, Writers Resist, The Long COVID Reader, and more. “Wildness Unafraid” originally appeared in Writers Resist. You can find him on...

Rumor has it the mecha-shrew is extinct, but not all rumors are trustworthy.   Thanks to Emily Benson for this episode’s hidden lore poem, “On the Question of the Happiness of Clams.” Emily Benson lives in Western New York with her husband and two sons. Previous publications include Deep Wild Journal, Gastropoda, Literary Mama, Moist Poetry Journal, Paddler Press, and The Dillydoun Review. Her work can be found at www.emilybensonpoet.com.   To find bonus content and a variety of strange...

The Shadow Fly drinks from your shadow, which, in turn, drinks from you. Thanks to Hannah Ringler for this episodes hidden lore poem. Hannah Ringler is a poet, parent, and gardener from North Carolina. She is the coordinator for the North Carolina Poetry Society's Poetry in Plain Sight program, which is a community outreach program across North Carolina to bring North Carolina poets and readers together. To find bonus content and a variety of strange rewards, support our show by visiting...

All trees talk. Some trees walk. Special thanks to Ellen Weatherford for voicing today’s field report! Ellen is a co-host on the Just the Zoo of Us podcast, a family-friendly show that researches, rates, and reviews wildlife, along with hosting a wonderful variety of expert guests.

There’s a strange, watchful feeling that lingers in waiting rooms. That feeling is courtesy of a strange, watchful creature.

The Brambleberry Scrambler is just on the edge of being real, which is a perfectly lovely place to call home. Hidden Lore poetry by Katelyn Allred. Katelyn is a writer and student currently working towards a Bachelor’s Degree in English. Her work has been featured in The Merrimack Review, and you can find her on Instagram @katelynallredwrites. Special thanks to Matthew Zahnzinger for playing Professor Taylor Hoyt. Matthew is a stage actor in the Greater Boston area, a devotee of Peter...

In this episode, The CryptoNaturalist shares a homemade winter tradition and ponders the importance of making meaning, ritual, and gratitude.

Humans once believed that doorways were a separate place  – neither one room nor the other, but their own distinct world.  Broadly speaking, people don’t believe that anymore, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true. Reminder: Transcripts of this and every episode are available at cryptonaturalist.com.   Exclusive stickers, pins, shirts, and access to bonus content and strange expertise on strange topics awaits you at our patreon page. Patreon.com/CryptoNaturalist.   You’ll find information...

Thoughts about loving ourselves in an imperfect world in a strange tavern on a dark hill.

Cassandra recalls an old friend and a nameless fish.  The CryptoNaturalist is written by Jarod K. Anderson and Leslie J. Anderson. Cassandra is voiced by Leslie J. Anderson. The CryptoNaturalist is voiced by Jarod K. Anderson.  Reminder: Transcripts of this and every episode are available at cryptonaturalist.com.  Exclusive stickers, pins, shirts, and access to bonus content and strange expertise on strange topics awaits you at our patreon page. Patreon.com/CryptoNaturalist.   You’ll find...

An island that swims. A gift of a moment. Hummingbirds that rattle the landscape like thunder.

Welcome to the Cassandra Logs. In this episode, Cassandra visits with a dragon.

The thing about an unexplainable RV is that it’s unexplainable, but let’s give it a shot anyway. Thanks to Fara Tucker for this week’s hidden lore poetry. Fara Tucker is a writer, poet, storyteller, teacher, photographer, former therapist, and current therapy client. She is currently wading through liminal space, which is occasionally good for producing poetry, and consistently good for producing anxiety. You can find her on IG @faratucker where she shares reflections on this beautiful and...

A jellyfish is part ghost part flower and part trap. Is it any surprise that some defy explanation?  

The forest. The fire. The guitar in the wind. The covered bridge that has no business being there. Background guitar music was “Three Ravens” by Axletree. Downloaded from https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Axletree. Thanks to Meredith Smith for this episode’s hidden lore poetry. Meredith is a flash fiction writer and micropoet in Seattle, WA. She is an alumna of the Hugo House and student of writers who are students of Raymond Carver. She lives in a brick building by the lake with her tiny...

There are many places to hide strange nature. Mountaintop snows. Undersea trenches. In your pocket. Thanks to The Pine Hill Haints for permission to play their song. You should get to know them. Visit thepinehillhaints.com to learn more. Hidden lore poetry by Hal Y. Zhang. Hal Y. Zhang is a lapsed physicist who splits her time between ghosts of her once-green plants and the Internet, where she writes at halyzhang.com. Her language-and-loss chapbook AMNESIA was published by Newfound, and her...

A simple old tale about a RV, a cosmic bat, and a low Earth orbit mosquito.

The train in the pines is a great getaway provided you can get there and then get away. Hidden lore poetry by Annie McAndrew. Annie is a writer of speculative fiction from the edge of the Texas Hill Country. She can be found exploring the local creek trails and other odd, fantastical worlds.