I was thinking this morning about the meaning of the word, cryptozoology. For some reason, Tales From The Crypt came to mind. Tales From The Crypt started as a comic book series in the early fifties, then became a movie in 1972 and a TV series from 1989 to 1996. There were a few more Tales From The Crypt movies since then, an animated TV series in 1999, and finally an album by C-Bo.

Crypt means “an underground room or vault used as a burial place, or a place for secret meetings” which has nothing to do with the subject of cryptozoology which is the study of creatures whose existence has not yet been proven, such as Bigfoot. So I looked up the origin of the word. Dictionary.Com gives the origin as the word kryptós, a feminine Greek word meaning hidden. Well, obviously Bigfoot and other unproven animals are hidden. And zoology is the study of animals.

Cryptozoology is the study of hidden animals.