We all love a good monster.

And not just zombies, vampires, and werewolves.

There is a deep and abiding love for monsters that we believe, or suspect, or even hope are out there going bump in our collective nights. Creatures that common sense, scientific research, thorough investigation, and statistical analysis suggest do not and, in many cases could not exist. We listen, we read the debunking articles, we see the clarifying memes on social media, but … we still believe.

This issue of Weird Tales presents a variety of stories, essays, and poems about cryptids and urban legends. Not to dispel, but to reveal.

THE EYRIE by Jonathan Maberry“Cry of the Yeti” by Brian Asman“An Introduction to Cryptozoology” by Matt Bille“The Exact Nature of Our Wrongs” by Keith DeCandido“Mixed Tape” by Bryan Young“Meet-up” by Scott Sigler“Kolchak Meets the Jersey Devil” by James Aquilone“Our Mothers’ Arms” by Lee Murray“The Grave Marker” by Cavan Scott“Crimson Eyes” by Samantha Underhill“Spider McGee and the Nidus” by Marie Whittaker“The Translator” by Preston Grassmann“Buford and the Swamp Ape” by James Jensen“Concerning Cryptids” by Henry Herz“Whistlin’ Through the Door” by Gretchen McNeil“My Tears Shall Drown the World” by Bev Vincent“Ol’ Nal” by Dana Fredsti“Mokele-mbembe Explains Only Once” by Anne Walsh