The field that comes closest to reuniting the supernatural with the natural is cryptozoology, the study of unverified animals, and nothing brings sci-fi closer to reality.
Certainly, the average person is quite likely to regard the hunt for Bigfoot as falling squarely in the paranormal field, and mainstream scientists are almost unanimous in dismissing cryptozoology as pseudoscience. However, no scientist will deny that there are countless undiscovered species of animals, and cryptozoologists have a number of impressive discoveries on their side.
From the okapi to the mountain gorilla, several species that were once largely thought to be a product of myth and folklore have been proven to exist. The megamouth shark discovery in 1976 is but the most obvious proof that the oceans are likely teeming with undiscovered life on a sizable scale, and several large land regions of the Earth are too remote or sparsely settled for us to believe that we’ve seen all they have to offer.
Additionally, cryptozoologists are interested in sightings of animals that occur far outside the normal range of any similar species, such as the Alien Big Cats or Phantom Cats of Europe, Australia, Hawaii and elsewhere. There is also the possibility of survival by species thought to be extinct, from the humble Ivory-billed Woodpecker to ‘living dinosaurs’ such as Nessie or Mokèlé-mbèmbé.
Cryptozoologists regularly cross into more vividly supernatural areas, such as the Jersey Devil and the Mothman. The latter case also represents the uncommon near-human sightings, including the Orang Pendek; such primate, missing-link, or near-human cryptids were given more weight by discoveries such as the “Hobbit” remains of the Flores Islands (itself proving the Ebu Gogo legends of that island’s people).
Personally, my favorite is the Mongolian Death Worm…