The Case for Cryptids

by E.F. Schraeder

NEW

Editions:Paperback

The Case for Cryptids: Field Notes of a Believer brings a humorous tone to the life and politics of the [possibly] mythological. From dogma to dismay, Schraeder brings unknown creatures into conversation with contemporary conflicts of opinion, urging readers to legalize Frogman or reconsider the harmful effects of deforestation on Bigfoot and his family.

Half guidebook, half protest sign, these poems question assumptions and test the limits of belief, inviting readers into a liminal space of wonder and doubt. And sure, okay…on the odd page, the Mothman just might try to seduce you. But don’t worry. Local authorities have already been contacted.

Published: August 20, 2026
Publisher: Raw Dog Screaming Press
Editors:

Stephanie M. Wytovich

Illustrators:

E. F. Schraeder

Cover Artists:

Jennifer Barnes

Genres:

Horror, Horror - Fairy Tale/Folklore, Paranormal, Paranormal - Comedy, Paranormal - Magical Beings, Paranormal - Monsters, Poetry

Tags:

author - american

About the Author

A queer writer from the rustbelt, E. F. Schraeder believes in ghosts, magic, and dogs. Schraeder is the author of the Saturday 'Visiter' Award Nominee What Happened Was Impossible (Ghoulish Books) and the poetry collection The Price of a Small Hot Fire (Raw Dog Screaming Press).
Other works include As Fast as She Can (Sirens Call Publications, 2022); the Imadjinn Award finalist, Liar: Memoir of a Haunting (Omnium Gatherum, 2021); the story collection Ghastly Tales of Gaiety and Greed (Omnium Gatherum, 2020), and several poetry chapbooks. A semi-finalist in Headmistress Press’ 2019 Charlotte Mew Chapbook Contest, Schraeder's creative work has appeared in many journals and anthologies including What Remains, Dancing in the Shadows: A Tribute to Anne Rice, Moonflowers & Nightshade: An Anthology of Sapphic Horror, Sinister Wisdom, Lavender Review, Mobius: The Journal of Social Change, and others. Schraeder’s nonfiction has appeared at Fright Girl, Vastarien: A Literary Journal, the American Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Blog, Radical Teacher, and other venues.

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Summary: All her life, Serafina Talarico has searched in vain for a place where she and her mystical talents belong. She never found it in Rome—the city of her birth—where her family’s Ethiopian origins marked them as immigrants. After traveling halfway across Europe to study with Alpennia’s Royal Thaumaturgist, her hopes of finding a home among Margerit Sovitre’s circle of scholars are dashed, for Serafina can perceive, but not evoke, the mystical forces of the Mysteries of the Saints and even Margerit can’t awaken her talents. When Serafina takes lodgings with Luzie Valorin, widowed music teacher and aspiring composer, both their lives are changed forever. Luzie’s music holds a power to rival the Mysteries, and Serafina alone has the vision to guide her talents. For sorcery threatens the fate of Alpennia—indeed of all of Europe—locking the mountains in a malevolent storm meant to change the course of history. Alpennia’s mystic protections are under attack and the key to survival may lie in the unlikeliest of places: Luzie’s ambition to write an opera on the life of the medieval philosopher Tanfrit.