The Cryptonaturalist

You can’t always believe your ears and you shouldn’t trust cute, furry faces peering up from the sea.

This episode was thought-up and mostly written by the wonderfully talented Julia Schifini. Julia is a writer, sound designer, voice actor, and aspiring professional wrestler. She is the co-host and producer of Spirits, a boozy dive into myths and legends. She loves world-building, fancy cheese, and all things creepy and cool. She works with networks like Multitude Productions and The Whisperforge. You can hear her work on other shows such as Janus Descending, Tides, What’s the Frequency, 1994, and Greater Boston. (You can also hear her on episode 14 of this show.)

Our hidden lore piece “The Seaweed” was written by Doug Marshall. Doug Marshall, known to many as Spyglass, is a crepuscular gremlin of the twilight hours who engages in a variety of creative pursuits, including the creation of two podcasts: the science fiction anthology Starhopper Radio, and the upcoming actual-play tabletop RPG show called The Escape Artists. He is an avid consumer of fiction in many forms, a student of astrobiology, and an occasional world traveler on the side. He can be found under the handle of SpyglassRealms on Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr.

The patchwork islands of greenery nestled on the edges of roadways hold secrets worth our attention.

Hidden Lore fiction by Olivia Williams. Olivia is a student of geoscience and literature. She writes short fiction, poetry, science articles, funding applications, and D&D sessions, but when she’s not doing any of that you can find her in the woods looking for cool fungus. Her writing and opinions about rocks live on Twitter @OliviaOnCampus.

Willow Armstrong was played by Lucille Valentine. Lucille Valentine is a desert rat masquerading as a voice actor, poet, visual artist, and LGBTQ+ community advocate whose works often include themes of poverty, womanhood, queer and trans experience, along with whatever her current existential crisis is. You can hear her in the podcasts The Six Disappearances of Ella McCray, the upcoming second season of Unplaced, among a number of other upcoming shows, or by pressing your ear up against a cactus skeleton on a windy night. You can find her disappointing every grammar elitist over on twitter @severelytrans.

Beneath our feet, the under hawks glide in search of shadows to pluck from the surface of the world.

Hidden Lore poetry by Eli Reeve. Eli is an aspiring artist and writer from Norway nesting in the jungles of Hawaii. Find her on Instagram at username eli.reeve (instagram.com/eli.reeve).

There’s a wilderness inside every library. This episode visits one of the nocturnal residents after closing time.

Hidden Lore poetry by Lucille Valentine. Lucille is a desert rat masquerading as a voice actor, poet, visual artist, and LGBTQ+ community advocate whose works often include themes of poverty, womanhood, queer and trans experience, along with whatever her current existential crisis is. You can hear her in the podcasts The Six Disappearances of Ella McCray, the upcoming second season of Unplaced, among a number of other upcoming shows, or by pressing your ear up against a cactus skeleton on a windy night. You can find her disappointing every grammar elitist over on twitter @severelytrans

A special thanks to my friend Saker for playing the voice of Jed VanDorn. Saker is a cohost of It's All Been Done: A Barenaked Ladies podcast. It’s a comedy podcast in which two pals take a journey through BNL’s entire discography a song at a time. You can find it on your favorite podcast catcher. Saker also has a nerd hip-hop group called 2d6, online at 2d6music.com.

A strange visitor joins the CryptoNaturalist around the campfire for a pleasant, if one-sided, conversation.

Special thanks to Tim Sniffin for being the voice of The Transmission. Hear more of Tim on the Hello From The Magic Tavern podcast as the Mysterious Man, and find more of Tim's work at timsniffen.com

Oh, and subscribe to our new YouTube channel for upcoming bonus videos. We’re currently working on a CryptoNaturalist makeup tutorial video, which is just as strange as it sounds.

Hidden lore fiction by Madison Trupp. Madison is a Canadian writer and artist with a love for haunted fantasy, escapism, and standing under streetlights on rainy nights. She writes novels for children and blog posts about writing. You can find more of her work at www.madisontrupp.com.

The Cryptonaturalist is lost and then found in the usual place, a twisted scientist’s volcano lair.

Hidden lore poetry by Leslie J. Anderson. Leslie’s writing has appeared in Asimov’s, Uncanny Magazine, Strange Horizons, Daily Science Fiction, and Apex, to name a few. Her collection of poetry, An Inheritance of Stone, was released from Alliteration Ink and was nominated for an Elgin award. Poems from it have won 2nd place in the Asimov’s Reader’s Awards, and were nominated for Pushcart and Rhysling award. Find Leslie at www.lesliejanderson.com or @inkhat on twitter.

The CryptoNaturalist is missing, but Cassandra is on the case.

Hidden lore poetry by Emily Olorin Emily is a writer from Down Under (whether the depths of hell or Australia is open to interpretation). They are interested in body horror, sci-fi, and pretty poetry - preferably in combination. Further works can be found at: olorinwrites.wordpress.com

Today we visit an elusive cryptid that hides in plain sight and borrows human voices.

Hidden lore poetry by Alice Pow. Alice Pow allegedly saw Mothman in a Chicago neighborhood during the summer of 2017. She is a writer of prose, poetry, and the upcoming podcast Stone Soup for the Gut. Find her on twitter @Alicepow and if you like her work, feel free to reach out. She is always in search of the most abundant, yet elusive cryptid: friends.

We’re all made of star stuff, some of us more literally than others.

Lauren Dee was played by Julia Schifini. Julia is a podcaster, historian, and big fan of professional wrestling. She is the co-host of Spirits Podcast, a boozy tour of mythology, legends, and folklore, as well as a voice actor on several audio dramas. To find out more about her work, visit juliaschifini.com

Lauren Dee was named for Patreon supporter Lauren Dermody. Thanks to Lauren for her support.

Thanks to Phoebe Wagner for contributing the poem “Glacial.” Phoebe Wagner grew up in Pennsylvania, the third generation to live in the Susquehanna River Valley. She currently lives in Reno, Nevada with her tree-climbing husband Andy and their two cats: Mab and Mith. When not writing, you can find Phoebe at the nearest riverbank.

This week we visit home territory and visit a special grove of sassafras trees.

Hidden lore segment poetry contributed by Suzannah Dalzell. Suzannah lives on Whidbey Island north of Seattle, Wa where she divides her time more or less equally between writing and land conservation. Among the journals her work has appeared in are Flyway, Pilgrimage Magazine, About Place, Earthspeak and The Raven Chronicles. She is currently working on a collection of poems that explore the places where her ancestry bumps up against race, class and environmental damage.