Richard Freeman (born 1970) is a cryptozoologist, author, zoological journalist, and WebTV Presenter. He is also the zoological director of the Centre for Fortean Zoology (CFZ),[1][2] and co-edits both the journal, Animals & Men[2] and several editions of the annual CFZ Yearbook.[citation needed] Freeman has written, co-written, or edited a number of books, and has contributed widely to both Fortean and zoological magazines, as well as other newspapers and periodicals, including Fortean Times and Paranormal Magazine.[citation needed]
He has also lectured across the UK at events such as the Fortean Times Unconvention, the Weird Weekend, Microcon[3] and at museums and universities such as the Natural History Museum, the Grant Museum of Zoology, Queen Mary, University of London and the Last Tuesday Society.[citation needed]
Richard claims an early obsession with the classic science fiction series Doctor Who (with Jon Pertwee) had sparked an interest in all things weird.[2][4] He studied zoology at Leeds University.[5] After school, he became a zoo keeper at Twycross Zoo in Leicestershire and became head keeper of reptiles, working with more than 400 exotic species from ants to elephants (but with a special interest in crocodilians).[citation needed] After leaving the zoo, he worked in an exotic pet shop, a reptile rescue centre, and as a gravedigger.[citation needed]
Whilst on holiday he learned of the CFZ and bought a copy of the Centre's journal, Animals & Men, which left him impressed enough to subscribe and begin contributing.[5] He eventually became the CFZ's Yorkshire representative, then moved to Devon to become a full-time member of the Centre.[citation needed] He is now the zoological director[1] and co-editor of Animals & Men.[citation needed]
Guyana in 2007 for the giant anaconda, the di-di (a yeti-like hominid), the water tiger (a spotted semi-aquatic, flesh eating mammal), and the bushmen, an unrecorded race of three-foot pygmies with red faces. He also heard of what may be a new species of tiny caiman with a red strip running along its back.
The Great Yokai Encyclopedia; an A to Z of Japanese Monsters (CFZ Press, Bideford, 2010)
Orang-pendek: Sumatra's Forgotten Ape (CFZ Press, Bideford, 2011) ISBN978-1905723829
Green Unpleasant Land; 18 stories of British Horror (CFZ Press, Bideford, 2012) ISBN978-1905723850
Hyakumonogatari: Tales of Japanese Horror (CFZ Press, Bideford, 2012)
Adventures in Cryptozology: Hunting for Yetis Mongolian Deathworms and Other Not-So-Mythical Monsters (Mango Publishing, Florida 2019) ISBN978-1642500165
In Search of Real Monsters: Adventures in Cryptozology Volume Two (Mango Publishing, Florida 2022 )
" Creatures That Eat People"(Mango Publishing, Florida 2024 )
^ abRegal, Brian (2011), Regal, Brian (ed.), "A Life with Monsters"(PDF), Searching for Sasquatch: Crackpots, Eggheads, and Cryptozoology, Palgrave Studies in the History of Science and Technology, New York: Palgrave Macmillan US, pp. 157–186, doi:10.1057/9780230118294_8, ISBN978-0-230-11829-4, retrieved 5 July 2021
