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Book Review: Monsterland: Encounters with UFOS, Bigfoot, and Orange Orbs by Ronny Le Blanc
Explore the Bigfoot sightings, UFO encounters, and mysterious phenomena of Leominster, Massachusetts—dubbed ‘Monsterland’—through the eyes of author and researcher Ronny Le Blanc.
Summary:
There is an area known to the locals of Leominster, Massachusetts as MONSTERLAND. There are sightings of UFOS, Bigfoot and Orange Orbs. They have been coming and going for years. But where are they coming from? Why are they here? It seems that the state of Massachusetts has had a long history of sightings and encounters with these mysterious entities and they are occurring in the present day. Could all of these events somehow be connected? What is so special about Leominster that they have plagued the area for so long? Author and Researcher Ronny Le Blanc of Leominster thinks that he might have the answers to some of these questions. But the answers received lead to a whole new understanding of the unknown…. Welcome to MONSTERLAND.
Review:
Believe it or not, I picked up Monsterland as research for the second book in my paranormal romance series (Get the first book here). Paranormal romance thrives on supernatural creatures, and I wanted to infuse more local flavor by diving into the biggest tall tales of the area. Ronny Le Blanc is something of a local celebrity here in Massachusetts. While reading this at a coffee shop, people literally pointed and said, “Is that Monsterland?!” with wide eyes. I don’t share Ronny’s true believer status, but I do approach these topics with an open mind.
Ronny grew up in Leominster and opens the book with his own childhood encounter with Bigfoot in the Leominster State Forest. This personal connection sets a relatable tone and serves as a thread he frequently returns to. From there, he dives into local legends, including those rooted in the histories of the Nipmuc – the people Indigenous to the area.
One of the most interesting parts of the book is Ronny’s breakdown of commonalities in Bigfoot sightings. He highlights recurring details: the eerie silence of wildlife right before a sighting, tracks appearing and vanishing mysteriously (sometimes even under rocks), and witnesses reporting immobilization, intense fear, and disorientation. According to Ronny, these phenomena are a defense mechanism of Bigfoot—which, he argues, explains the lack of high-quality footage. (Although he also talks about a Canadian man who’s allegedly been consistently communicating with Bigfeet on YouTube.)
The book takes a turn into the mysterious world of orange orbs. Admittedly, these chapters dragged for me, but they’re crucial to Ronny’s overarching theory: Bigfoot are not mere animals—they’re aliens or interdimensional beings. The orange orbs, he believes, represent an intermediary phase of Bigfoot, explaining the disappearing footprints. He also connects this idea to Choctaw and Yaqui cultural beliefs about spirit beings and orbs.
At one point, Ronny recounts speaking aloud to Bigfoot, asking for proof in the form of a marble—and later finding one inexplicably placed in the middle of his home.
My favorite chapters were the tighter, more focused ones. Some of the longer sections could have benefited from more editing to maintain pacing and clarity. That said, there’s something undeniably special about reading folklore rooted in places I know so well. Ronny does an excellent job drawing connections between stories and theories.
However, I noticed a slight anti-yeti bias—Ronny briefly mentions them as the “least intelligent” of Bigfoot species and then essentially drops the subject. I also think the book would have been stronger with an Indigenous co-author for the chapters exploring Native folklore.
Overall, this is an enjoyable read for both cryptid enthusiasts and open-minded skeptics. Ronny’s storytelling style is engaging, and the included photos add a nice visual layer to the experience. If you’re curious about Massachusetts’s Bigfoot sightings, UFO lore, and the unique believer culture of Leominster, this one’s worth picking up.
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4 out of 5 stars
Length: 275 pages – average but on the shorter side
Source: Library
Buy It (Amazon or Bookshop.org)
Friday Fun! (November: Maine Holiday and Thanksgiving)
Oceanside coast of the island in Maine we stayed on.
Hello my lovely readers!
Sorry for the delay in November’s post. I was away for the last week of November on vacation, and I knew it would be the best part of the month to talk about, so I didn’t want to preschedule a post. :-)
My partner and I both had the last week of November off. He usually gets the entire week off for the holiday, and I took an extra three days off on top of the normal Thanksgiving days (day of and day after Thanksgiving). We split our vacation between a trip to Portland, Maine and a trip to vacation to see my dad and brother and his wife and kids.
For those of you who are not from the US and don’t know, November in Maine is *cold*. It’s officially the off-season. This meant we got to go on the cheap but it also meant it was cold We’re both from northern climates though (Vermont and Michigan), so we dealt well. Portland, Maine is a happening, hip small city. It holds 1/3 of the entire population of Maine. We stayed on an island off the coast of Portland, which meant we had to take the ferry in and out of the city each day. Originally our intention was to rent bicycles and bike around the island one day, but it was too cold one of the days and there was snow the other (and the bike rental place didn’t have snow-friendly bikes), so we went into Portland both days. The cabin we stayed in had a hot tub, fire place, and one of those showers that takes up the entire bathroom. So we got to hot tub in the snow, which was an entirely new experience to me, and I clearly loved!
While in Portland, we went to the International Cryptozoology Museum, which is a delightful museum run by the world expert on Bigfoot. I’m more of a sea monster girl myself, but we still got our picture with Bigfoot. We also hit up the Shipyard Brewing Company and got lots of free samples and got to see the bottling and brewing process. I was surprised to learn that Shipyard was started by an immigrant to the US from the UK. We also went to an official Cabot store. Cabot is an American cooperative of New York and New England dairy farms. They have amazing dairy products.
Vegan satay from Green Elephant
For food, we visited the original Otto Pizza. The pizza at the original branch is approximately 100% more delicious than the pizza at the new branches down here in Boston. They also had Magic Hat on tap, which floored me! We also did something special for each of our dietary preferences (I’m veg and my partner is omni). We went to Duck Fat for my partner to get poutine made in duck fat. I couldn’t eat anything at the restaurant because literally everything was friend in duck fat, but I did have a delicious locally brewed beer. For me, we went to the Green Elephant, a vegetarian Thai restaurant that was positively reviewed in VegNews magazine. Their bathrooms were literal saunas, and I for once got to have satay for an app! (Made from seitan). But our favorite place in Portland was an Irish pub named Ri Ra on the waterfront. Their menu catered perfectly to both of our dietary needs, with a house-made white bean veggie burger for me and a perfectly cooked medium burger for my partner. We liked them so much we went twice. (The second night I had mac and cheese made with Irish cheddar and my bf had Maine steamers). Incredibly reasonably priced with fireplaces and a wonderful staff, I wish it was closer to us!
After Maine, we drove up to New Hampshire to visit my family for Thanksgiving. The day of Thanksgiving was just my dad, his dog, and my partner and I, since my brother and sister-in-law were hosting her parents for the holiday. My bf made the turkey (under the direction of my dad), my dad made veggie stuffing and gravy, and I made 3 bean chili (for my main course and their sides). We had untraditional alcoholic smoothies for dessert. It was delicious! The next day, we visited my brother and his family and gave my nephews and niece their Christmas presents. They range in age from 2 to 6, so that was obviously a delight.
The vacation was amazing and just what we needed! And when we got back, we immediately got our tree and set it up, because in only three weeks we’re off on a cross-country trek to visit my partner’s family for the holidays.
Happy holidays all!
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This work by Amanda Nevius is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
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