A grainy 2007 video from Fresno, California, sparked an internet phenomenon—the Fresno Nightcrawlers. From cryptid lore to viral fame, this video explores how a 20-second clip turned into a legend, inspiring countless theories, debates, and even adorable merchandise. For audio descriptions, go to Settings - Audio Track - English Descriptive. ***** PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateStoried ***** Written and Hosted by: Dr. Emily Zarka Director: David Schulte Executive Producer: Amanda Fox Executive Producer: Dr. Emily Zarka Producer: Thomas Fernandes Editor/Animator: Ben Harrison Illustrator: Samuel Allan Executive in Charge (PBS): Maribel Lopez Director of Programming (PBS): Gabrielle Ewing Additional Footage: Shutterstock Music: APM Music Descriptive Audio & Captions provided by The Described and Captioned Media Program Produced by Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios. Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/monstrumpbs -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bibliography DeMello, Margo. Bigfoot to Mothman: A Global Encyclopedia of Legendary Beasts and Monsters. United Kingdom, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2024. Galan, Fernanda. “Cryptid fans are in love with this ‘funky little dude.’ What is the Fresno Nightcrawler?” Fresno Bee, 15 Oct. 2024. Hanks, Michele. “Haunted Objects: English Paranormal Investigation and the Material Mediation of Doubt.” Nova Religio 22, no. 4 (2019): 60–74. Hemmerlein, Sandi. “Reptile Men, Winged Demons and More: Discover 10 Legendary SoCal ‘Monsters.’” PBS SoCal, 28 Oct. 2022. Holmes, Helen. The Materiality of Nothing: Exploring Our Everyday Relationships with Objects Absent and Present, Taylor & Francis Group, 2023. Puglia, David J. “The (Mostly) Unseen World of Cryptids: Legendary Monsters in North America.” Humanities (Basel) 13, no. 1 (2023), pp. 1-15. “Strange creature reported in Carmel area.” The Highland County Press, 19 Dec. 2014.
Sociolinguist Dr. Erica Brozovsky fınds the fascinating, thought-provoking, and funny stories behind the words and sounds we take for granted.
Join Emily Zarka, Ph.D. on a journey to discover humans’ unique drive to create and shape monster mythology through oral storytelling, literature and film.
Dig into the stories and characters of mythologies, both ancient and modern, from all around the world with Dr. Moiya McTier & Dr. Emily Zarka.

Shorts

Storied
• 10 days ago
This week, the Senate will vote on whether to eliminate previously-approved funding for public media, which would have a devastating impact on essential educational, local, and cultural programming that public media provides. However, changes are still possible and your support can make a difference. Visit protect.pbs.org to urge them to remove the proposal targeting public media from the package.
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Storied
• 3 weeks ago
As our subscriber count creeps towards 1 million🎉 Dr.B and Dr.Z are teaming up for a special Q&A just for our fans, and we want to hear from YOU. Now's your chance to ask them something. Anything. Tell them a joke. Share your hottest word take or monster opinion. Want BTS secrets? Want to know what it takes to be a linguist? Be bold. Be weird. Leave your comment below, and we might just feature it in our video!👀💬
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Storied
• 1 month ago
Did you know words like “serendipity,” freelancers,” and even “meme” were coined by famous authors? We called our friend over at ​ ⁨‪@MerriamWebster‬ to help us explore some of the most popular words invented by authors📚 Watch our latest short to learn more! https://www.youtube.com/shorts/MqJZYp...
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Storied
• 2 months ago
We won, AND all winners of the Webby Awards get to deliver a signature 5-Word Speech! What should ours be? You can help us win the Internet… again! - Dr. B
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Storied
• 4 months ago
Happy fourth anniversary of the premiere of Otherwords! Whether you're a longtime viewer or new friend, thanks for joining in on the word nerdery! Here's a little behind-the-scenes of what filming *actually* looks like. We have a very serious quality control manager making sure each take is perfect. - Dr. B
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• 5 months ago
If you know, you know. First episode of the season coming tomorrow!—Dr. Z
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