"Mythical Creatures of Maine" with Christopher Packard

Join biologist and folklorist Christopher Packard for an introduction to the creatures, beings, and monsters found in the stories and legends of all the cultures that have called Maine home, with a special focus Downeast for this talk. Packard will share the descriptions and stories of two dozen magical and mysterious creatures said to be found in the Maine woods and waters. Inspired by family oral tradition and personal experience, Packard conducted extensive research and investigation while writing his book “Mythical Creatures of Maine: Fantastic Beasts from Legend & Folklore” and he’ll share some of his favorite creatures in this talk which will take you well beyond bigfoot. From the humorous to the terrifying, Maine has it all. 

Speaker Bio:

Christopher Packard is the author of Mythical Creature of Maine (Down East Books, 2021) - which is a field guide to the mysterious, magical, and cryptozoological creatures traditionally found in Maine. Packard comes from a long line of Maine storytellers and does talks and traditional performance storytelling of Maine creature legends across the state. He is also the author of the children’s book Lumpy’s Gift, and has published essays, short stories, and poetry in various anthologies and periodicals. Packard holds a M.Ed. in Education and a M.S. in Biology, for which his capstone research paper was “A Consideration of the Recovery of Wolves in Maine.” Professionally, Packard is a biologist, a high school science teacher, and the assistant director of the International Cryptozoology Museum. Formerly he has worked as an outdoor educator and naturalist at nature centers and camps, and as a professional field botanist, ecological restoration technician, and biological consultant. When not writing or teaching about nature and science Packard enjoys paddling his canoe, trail running, blacksmithing, and swordfighting.