Biography
Loren Coleman is a leading figure in cryptozoology worldwide. He is a prominent media consultant and author specializing in cryptozoology, unusual phenomena, and unexplained human behaviors. Coleman has authored books and over 300 articles, frequently appearing on radio and television, and has given lectures from Idaho to Loch Ness. He has served as both on-camera and behind-the-scenes consultant for Fox/USA Network's "In Search Of," NBC's "Unsolved Mysteries," A&E's "Ancient Mysteries," History Channel's "In Search of History" and "History's Mysteries," Discovery Channel's "In the Unknown," among other reality-based shows. He regularly contributes cryptozoology columns such as "On the Trail" for the London-based Fortean Times and "Mysterious World" for Fate magazine, along with articles for The Anomalist and Fortean Studies.
In 2000, Coleman was the Senior Series Consultant for the revived "In Search Of..." program aired on Fox and USA Network. On October 20, 1997, marking the 30th anniversary of the iconic California Sasquatch footage, he was among the first ten inductees into the Roger Patterson Memorial Bigfoot Museum in Portland, Oregon. In December 1999, the Center for Bigfoot Studies of California honored him as "Bigfooter of the Year."
Born on July 12, 1947, in Norfolk, Virginia, Coleman began exploring cryptozoological evidence and folklore in 1960 after developing an interest in the Abominable Snowmen. His research expanded to include mysterious panther sightings and reports of apes in the American Midwest. He has traveled across 45 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico, Scotland, and the Virgin Islands, interviewing witnesses of lake monsters, Sasquatch, giant snakes, mystery felines, phantom kangaroos, thunderbirds, and other cryptids. His first articles appeared in 1969. He co-authored two books with Jerome Clark: The Unidentified (1975) and Creatures of the Outer Edge (1978), both published by Warner. During the 1980s, he released bestsellers such as Mysterious America (1983), Curious Encounters (1985), and Tom Slick and the Search for the Yeti (1989) through Faber and Faber.
In 1999, Coleman co-wrote two books: The Field Guide to Bigfoot, Yeti, and Other Mystery Primates Worldwide with Patrick Huyghe (Avon), and Cryptozoology A to Z: The Encyclopedia of Loch Monsters, Sasquatch, Chupacabras, and Other Authentic Mysteries of Nature with Jerome Clark (Simon and Schuster/Fireside). His expanded and revised edition of Mysterious America was published by Paraview Press in 2001.
Coleman holds an undergraduate degree in anthropology with a zoology minor from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, where he also pursued summer archaeology studies. He earned a graduate degree in psychiatric social work from Simmons College in Boston. He was admitted to Ph.D. programs and completed doctoral coursework in social anthropology at Brandeis University and sociology at the University of New Hampshire's Family Research Laboratory. Since 1980, Coleman has worked as an instructor, assistant/associate professor, research associate, and documentary filmmaker in various academic settings.
He has an extensive publication record in human services, authoring, coauthoring, or editing eight books, including the notable Suicide Clusters (Faber and Faber, 1987), which was selected by the Psychology Book Club and led to an appearance on "The Larry King Show." His research on baseball player suicides received coverage in Sports Illustrated, The Sporting News, ESPN, and major media outlets worldwide.
