apologies

 Sorry no posts this month. Very ill . Hoping to pick up for christmas .Have a wonderful Christmas 

everyone and all the best for New Year. Keep watching the woods,lakes and skies for strange things xx

Monster of the Medway?

 

Kent Sea Monster?

Sightings of a sea serpent have been reported this week in Chatham in Kent, leaving many to wonder whether the fabled Monster of The Medway has returned to the river.

Estimated to be 30 feet long, with A COW-LIKE HEAD and bulging green eyes, the ‘Monster of the Medway’ was seen this week moving slowly through the water close to the dockyard.

Dockyard volunteer George Hornby said: “I was standing on the deck of HMS CAVALIER,  taking a few minutes for myself when I saw a long shadow moving across the river.  It seemed strange to me on a cloudy day to see a shadow – it clearly wasn’t a reflection! Then I saw what looked like a head rise from the water, bob and then snort and I knew that it wasn’t a shadow!”

This is not the first time that a sea serpent has been spotted in the Medway.

On the 4th October 1911 the Dublin Daily Express carried a story about a sea serpent who was trailed in the Medway by a naval boat, with a nine-pounder gun in the bow, sent in search of the monster who had been troubling the people of Chatham.  Back in October 1911, the naval boat reportedly fired shots at the monster but it got away due to having “a bullet-proof carcase” that the “shots have harmlessly rebounded from”.

Other monstrous sightings have been recorded over the years in Chatham.  Lynnette Crisp, Director of Communications and Public Engagement here at Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust said: “We have records in our archives detailing the capture of a monster fish of eleven feet in length and girth of six feet’ back in October 1850.  There are also newspaper cuttings from 1911 detailing the thirty foot long serpent, headed like a cow, with green, bulging eyes, and a jointed ridge the thickness of a man’s arm running along its back.  The newspaper reported scores of eye-witnesses who gave account of this particular ‘Medway Monster’.”

The Medway has undergone some work over the last decade with The Maritime Trust aerating the basins, which has seen an increase in wildlife to the region.  Grant Leathwhite from Chatham Maritime Trust said: “I’ve had a hunch about the presence of monsters in the Medway for quite some time. 15 Aeration heads are based in Basin 2 and have been in place for about 5 years and this has resulted in significant life coming back to the Basin. We do have some fairly large jellyfish in there. Basin 1 is where the Seals, Rays, Eels come in through the lock gates from the Medway. Who knows if more mysterious life has also come back?”

Here at the dockyard, the team are unsure whether the recent sighting this week is the original Sea Serpent from 1911 or a descendent of the beast. Sadly, the eyewitnesses who saw the beast was too shocked to reach for his phone and take a photograph.

Lynnette Crisp, added: “we have alerted everyone in the Dockyard and asked all to keep a watching brief – we believe that we should find it easier to catalogue this particular monster now that everyone carries a camera phone with them these days – unlike in 1911!”

https://thedockyard.co.uk/news/sea-serpent-kraken-spotted-in-the-river-medway/?srsltid=AfmBOorWF-MwoZhkPRunlr4JO3Zg1-KMbH2r2l7Gi9FyKNuDVcD2XPwy

Seems genuine until you check the date April 1^st !

 

Godzilla or Mirage?

 

The Antarctic Sea Monster

 In February  1950, the Daiichi Nisshinmaru a whaling expedition, came across something strange in the Antarctic Ocean. Early in the morning  the helmsman saw a strange creature   on the port side. Its head was sticking out of the sea . He called to  the second mate and the radio chief to see it.They saw It had a face like  a turtle with a large neck. It was covered with dark brown hair. It repeatedly dived and reappeared

In 1957 There was a strange sighting at Shoa Station in the Antarctic. A  member of the team Toru Kikuchi, swore he saw a huge Godzilla-like monster .It was assumed to be a mirage.

Then in February 13, 1958, in the evening , the crew of the Soya , a Japanese research spotted   a large  black object on the surface of the sea some distance  away. As the captain and crew watched  the object turned toward the ship .The creature  was covered with  dark brown hair .The head was shaped like a cow or horse, but the top  of the head was rounded. It had large eyes .One crew member said it had dorsal spikes.Some said it had a long neck. It was in sight for less than a minute.

.S o had Godzilla appeared or was it some prehistoric relic still alive? Or was it just a mirage caused by the icy seas and landscape? Maybe some other sightings  may be reported or found.

The Berwick Vampire

 

A vampire story for Halloween.

Berwick is a town in the borders of Scotland. 

Berwick upon Tweed Vampire

’ This account of a haunting is considered to be one of the earliest possible accounts of a vampire in Britain. It was written by William Parvus, also known as William of Newburgh (or Newbury) (Born 1136 – Died 1198), an Augustinian Canon who wrote several accounts of haunting/potential vampire cases.

‘At the mouth of the river Tweed, and in the jurisdiction of the king of Scotland, there stands a noble city which is called Berwick. In this town a certain man, very wealthy, but as it afterwards appeared a great rogue, having been buried, after his death sallied forth (by the contrivance, as it is believed, of Satan) out of his grave by night, and was borne hither and thither, pursued by a pack of dogs with loud barkings; thus striking great terror into the neighbours, and returning to his tomb before daylight. After this had continued for several days, and no one dared to be found out of doors after dusk - for each dreaded an encounter with this deadly monster - the higher and middle classes of the people held a necessary investigation into what was requisite to he done; the more simple among them fearing, in the event of negligence, to be soundly beaten by this prodigy of the grave; but the wiser shrewdly concluding that were a remedy further delayed, the atmosphere, infected and corrupted by the constant whirlings through it of the pestiferous corpse, would engender disease and death t o a great extent; the necessity of providing against which was shown by frequent examples in similar cases. They, therefore, procured ten young men renowned for boldness, who were to dig up the horrible carcass, and, having cut it limb from limb, reduce it into food and fuel for the flames. When this was done, the commotion ceased. Moreover, it is stated that the monster, while it was being borne about (as it is said) by Satan, had told certain persons whom it had by chance encountered, that as long as it remained unburned the people should have no peace. Being burnt, tranquility appeared to be restored to them; but a pestilence, which arose in consequence, carried off the greater portion of them: for never did it so furiously rage elsewhere, though it was at that time general throughout

Is it just a folktale? What do you think?

Lake St. Clair Serpent

 

Lake St Clair Monster

 Lake St. Clair is part of the great lakes system. Lake St. Clair connects Lake Huron (to the north) with Lake Erie (to the south). It  has an average depth of  11 feet (3.4 metres) but  23 feet  (over 7 metres) at its deepest point. It is 27 feet (8.2 m) deep in the navigation channel which is dredged by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The lake is fed by the St. Clair River. which flows to Lake Huron.

It is said to have a sea serpent resident there.

In August 23rd, 1897, a newspaper called the Essex Free Press wrote about a  monster being observed  in the lake.

"While Miss Ella Burdickand some friends were out fishing on Lake St. Clair, one evening last week at sundown, a dark peculiar looking object was seen coming up the lake. They rowed very close to the object and were able to get a good look at it. It appeared to have a head somewhat like a dog, with huge eyes protruding and tusk-like projections on each side of the head. Its body appeared to lie some seven or eight feet under water. Some fishermen also saw it and claimed it was some sort of sea serpent. It was certainly a very dangerous and horrible-looking object and was swimming at a very rapid rate."

Also  in 1897, some  fishermen left their horse on the lake side  and went fishing. A witness saw a creature drag the animal into the lake. The witness described  an eel-like sea serpent  to the local authorities.

Later in the same year, a creature was seen in the St. Clair Flats from a Riverside Hotel. The male observer   said that it moved at a "terrific rate of speed."

There have been no recent sightings. However both Lake Huron and Lake Erie are also said to have monsters resident. AS they are all connected could it be a family of creatures travel  between the lakes ?

Lake Huron has average depth of 195 ft ( 59 m), while the maximum recorded (by sonar) depth is  is 750 ft ( 229 m).. In 1975 a group of creatures were reported seen by the London Ontario Free Press on June 12th near Kincardine and another in the Goderich area in 1989.

Lake Erie is 241 miles long( approx 389kms) and 57 miles(approx 90kms) at its widest point.It is shallow compared to other great lakes but is said to be over 200 feet(over 65 metres) at its deepest.

The lake creature, now known as Bessie, was first reported in 1817 when the crew of a schooner reported seeing a large serpent like creature swimming in the lake. On July 8th, 1898, the Daily Register Newspaper, of Ohio reported that the lake monster was able to live on both land and in water and  was a fierce, ugly, coiling creature between 25(8 metres) and 30 feet long ( 10 metres)and at least 12 inches thick( .3 metres).

It became a bit of joke in 1912 when some hoaxers tried to pass off an exotic snake as the creature. Then more sightings began to be reported.

In 1960, Ken Golic was fishing off a pier in Sandusky when he heard what he thought were  rats. He decided to throw a couple of rocks at them but then when he got close he saw a cigar shaped creature.

In 1969, Jim Schindler was startled by a snake like creature came near South Bass Island. He said it appeared to be about 2 feet ( .6 metre)wide.

In September 1981, Theresa Kovach of Akron watched a snake like creature  from a house on the shore.She said  that "was so large that it could easily capsized a boat."

In 1983, Mary M. Landoll saw Bessie off Rye Beach in Huron. Mary was out to the front porch just before dawn when from the lake she heard a rowing sound and saw what looked like a capsized boat, but realised it was animate. It was a greenish-brown and about 50 feet (18metres) long .It had a long neck and an eye was visible on the side of the head .

In 1985,there were two reported sightings . Tony Schill of Avon, Ohio was boating with friends north of Vermilion when they saw a dark brown snake like creature with a flat tail. Tony stated that "five humps came out of the water. No way it was a sturgeon." .In 1985, Dale Munro of Lorain was also boating when he saw something strange. He stated that it had three humps and was black.

In 1989, Gail Kasner had a sonar reading,a graph, from a boat owned by Ken Smith of Streetsboro. It appeared to show cigar shape object about 35 feet (11 metres)in length at a depth of about 30 feet.(10 metres)

Then there were several sightings in 1990 including:

Susan Seeson, of Salem saw a  creature two miles from Cedar Point. In September , Bob Soracco was jet skiing when he saw something.. He told reporters that he saw humps with gray spots. "It was very long as I moved closer and it was going down.". In the same month, Harold Bricker and his family were fishing north of Cedar Point Amusement Park when a creature swam by their boat .They described it as being 35 feet (11 metres)long and having  a snake like head. It moved as fast as their boat. Also in  September  Fire inspectors, Jim Johnson and Steve Dircks of Huron, saw the creature from a window facing Lake Erie. They described it as  black at about 30 feet( 10 metres) long.

In September 1991, Dennis Szececinski,was fishing in the bay when something long and black slithered in front of him. Also in in 1991, George Repicz shot  some video footage which he claimed showed  Bessie.

In the summer of 1998, Leslee Rasgaitis reported seeing 3 black humps moving in the water of the shore of Huntington Beach, Ohio.

There are some more recent sightings I believe but the explanation given is that it is a sturgeon.

However it could be a large snake or serpent family of creatures  that travels between the lakes through the river system .What do you think?

Thunderbirds or Sea Eagles?

 

Thunderbirds in Scotland?

Farmer claims sea eagles snatched his five Shetland pony foals

A farmer from South Uist claims sea eagles are behind the disappearance of five Shetland pony foals from his hillside croft.

Donald John Cameron said they vanished without a trace over a nine-week period between May and July, and that he has often seen the birds of prey circling his animals.

Sea eagles, also known as white-tailed eagles, are known to attack livestock and farmers claim to have seen them carrying lambs away.

However, the National Centre for Birds of Prey believed it was "most unlikely" that sea eagles would be capable of flying off with a foal.

Scotland's nature agency NatureScot said that while there was "no direct evidence" the birds were responsible, they would be "analysing prey remains from sea eagle nests" on the island.

Source:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7vlvlvyl5go

So if a sea eagle isn’t the culprit could it be a legendary thunderbird? Thunderbirds are believed to be prehistoric survivors  such as Pterosaurs, flying lizards .Some grew to huge sizes. There continues to be sightings to this day .See below for more information. Could thunderbirds still be around, what do you think?

https://cryptozoo-oscity.blogspot.com/2009/11/piasa-bird-legend-or-thunderbird.html

https://cryptozoo-oscity.blogspot.com/2011/10/more-thunderbird-sightings-reported.html

Film of Lake Monster in Okanagan Lake?

 Lake Okanagan in Canada is said to be the home of a water monster called Ogopogo The lake is approximately 120 kilometres long; 3.5 kilometres wide and is 235 metres at its deepest point. Indigenous people have legends about a monster in the lake. To the syilx, it’s n ̓x̌ax̌aitkʷ which means “the sacred spirit of the lake. To members of the Westbank First Nation, n ̓x̌ax̌aitkʷ and Ogopogo are two separate things.One is a spirit and one is an animal.

There used to be all one connecting lake, Okanagan and Skaha, and there are stories  of caverns that connect the two where a creature could live.

Sightings are reported of a creature 20 to 50 feet long, with a horse shaped head and an undulating serpent like body.The first recorded sighting was by John Allison in 1872.

In 2000 marathon swimmer, Daryl Ellis, reported being accompanied for a short distance during his swim by two large creatures as he passed Rattlesnake Island. He described them as one being 6 - 9 metres (20 - 30 feet) long and the second being smaller. They followed him for quite awhile and then disappeared. When he swam near Okanagan Lake floating bridge in Kelowna, a creature with a large eye the size of a grapefruit came within 9 metres to get a close look at him.

A south Okanagan man is convinced he’s captured the most conclusive piece of evidence yet of the legendary and elusive lake monster in the Okanagan known as the Ogopogo in june 2011.Jim La Rocque was enjoying his mother-in-law’s lakefront property with his two children in Kaleden, B.C. on June 1 when he says he noticed an inexplicable wake on Skaha Lake.The longtime Okanagan resident said he couldn’t believe his eyes.La Rocque believes he witnessed a giant, serpentine creature swimming across the lake with at least seven fins paddling in sync.He estimates it was at least 36 metres (120 feet) long.“I’d describe it as like a dragon boat race, like with oars, so if you flipped the dragon boat upside down, you would see all those oars coming out of the water,” he said.

This new sighting was reported in the press.

Possible Ogopogo sighting on Okanagan Lake, ahead of National Sea Serpent Day

As luck would have it, we received a note from a man named Stuart on Wednesday, Aug. 6 – the day before National Sea Serpent Day. Here's what Stuart wrote:

"I was sitting on my deck on a calm evening and saw the water start to swirl going south then suddenly turned to the north and something appeared on the water that I immediately captured with my phone!

"It seemed very large and long and then suddenly disappeared! I did snap a few photos and wish at the time I would have videoed. I have had a property above Lake Okanagan for 23 years and have never seen anything quite like this."

Stuart lives in Vernon at Canadian Lakeview Estates above Okanagan Lake.

Read rest and see film here:

https://www.vicnews.com/trending-now/possible-ogopogo-sighting-on-okanagan-lake-ahead-of-national-sea-serpent-day-8181041

It looks like a large snake and so far there hasn’t been a credible explanation put forward. Could it really be Ogopogo?  What do you think?

A French Dragon

 

The Niort Dragon

There are four bronze dragons in the main shopping street of Niort in France. Niort is also known as the Green Venice

They are based on the story of a dragon from  1692.

The city was terrorised by a giant snake with wings that devoured  women ,children and men  The dragon sat on Notre-Dame and drank water from the Sèvre Niortaise. No one dared to challenge  it. Then Jacques Allonneau, a convicted deserter, a soldier .who was condemned to death offered to fight the dragon in exchange for his freedom. Wearing a suit of armour, that included a glass visor, he was  armed with a long spear and dagger. He fatally stabbed the dragon in the throat.  When he lifted his visor in triumph the dragon spat venom at him with its dying breath. The soldier was mortally poisoned .

His tomb was located in the old cemetery of Notre Dame de Niort , but the cemetery was destroyed in 1792,

A Description of the tombstone was found:

The tomb was roof-shaped, from which two sculptures can be seen on the tombstone:

First side: a character representing a soldier wearing a short coat and  holding  a short sword on his chest.His head is covered with a helmet.The top of his head is decorated with a cross.

The Second side shows  a winged serpent a  Dragon

So was this really the tomb of a dragon slayer? We shall never know but the town celebrates the story as real.

 

The Scottish Boobrie

 

The  Boobrie

 The boobrie is a legendary creature inhabiting the lochs in the west coast of Scotland. It is described as normally looking like a giant bird but sometimes looks like  a water bull. A shape shifting entity. . It can also manifest as a water horse .

It tends to be aggressive preying on livestock being transported across the lochs and also eats otters. Sometimes in the summer it appears as a giant insect sucking the blood of horses

The  folklorist  John Campbell of Islay, wrote an account of the size of the boobrie  provided by a witness .It is claimed to be "larger than seventeen of the biggest eagles put together".It has a strong black beak about 11 inches  wide and 17 inches  in length, the final 5 inches  of which taper like that of an eagle. The creature's neck is almost 3 feet  long with a girth of a little under 2 feet . Short black powerful legs lead to webbed feet with gigantic claws.”

 A footprint of  a boobrie's foot fond in some mud by a loch was said to  equal "the span of a large wide-spreading pair of red deer's horns".

 He also wrote that it bellowed loudly when angry.

The West coast sea lochs are its preferred home.

The great auk,now  extinct, is thought by some to be the source of a number of boobrie sightings due to its large size and similar colour.

I am surprised it hasn’t been cited as an explanation for Nessie. Its probably the only thing that hasn’t !

 

Campbell, John Francis (1860), Popular Tales of the West Highlands, vol. I, Edmonston and Douglas

Two articles about Cryptids

 Something I have thought about .If you found definitive proof what would happen?

What happens if someone finds the Loch Ness Monster?

People have been looking for Nessie for almost 100 years.

Humps have been seen moving across Loch Ness, and strange sounds heard from beneath the surface - but no actual monster.

A four-day "quest" - the latest in a long series of efforts to unravel the mystery - has been held this week.

But what would happen if the Loch Ness Monster was found - besides, of course, creating a global sensation?

The Nessie Contingency Plan sounds like it should be in an episode of TV sci-fi drama The X Files.

But it is a set of guidelines written by Scotland's nature agency, NatureScot.

A spokesperson told us: "The Nessie Contingency Plan was produced back in 2001, at a time when there was a lot of Nessie-hunting activity on the loch.

"We were regularly being asked by the media and others what we would do if or when she, or he, was found.

"The code of practice, which was partly serious and partly for a bit of fun, was drawn up to offer protection not just to the elusive monster, but to any new species found in the loch."

Read rest here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyzxmjj3m2o

 

 

I have speculated that cryptids could be hybrids that have evolved into a new species. It seems it could be a reality.

It Looks Like a Dolphin, Acts Like a Whale: This Bizarre Sea Creature Wasn’t Meant to Survive—Then It Had Babies

With traits from both a dolphin and a whale-like species, this rare creature is unlike anything scientists expected. Its surprising origins and even more unexpected legacy continue to puzzle researchers.

In 1985, on the southeastern shore of Oahu, an unusual marine birth at Sea Life Park startled researchers and captured the imagination of biologists worldwide. From the mating of two distinctly different marine mammals—a female bottlenose dolphin named Punahele and a male false killer whale named I’Anui—came a calf unlike any previously seen. The animal, named Kekaimalu, bore characteristics of both species, but conformed to neither.

Read rest here:

https://indiandefencereview.com/it-looks-like-a-dolphin-acts-like-a-whale-this-bizarre-sea-creature-wasnt-meant-to-survive-then-it-had-babies/

The Ngani-vatu Killer Bird.

 

The Ngani-vatu 

Ngani-vatu  is a huge bird from Fijian lore. Said to carry off people and animals to devour and able to block out the sun with its wings.  Male birds have  a light green back, while females are  a light brown hue. Sounds like prehistoric giant terror birds,the phorusrhacids,except they were flightless.

A story from local legend.

Okova and Tutu-wathiwathi, a married couple, were out fishing in their boat when the ngani-vatu swooped from the sky and carried Tutu-wathiwathi away. Okova went  to enlist the help of his p brother in law , Rokoua., to pursue the bird. They followed  the bird to its home  home on the island of Sawa-i-Lau, but were too late. All they found left of Tutu-wathiwathi were her fingers -. They swore revenge, and the two lay in wait.The ngani-vatu eventually returned, with a load of prey and began to eat. Okova and Rokoua plunged their spears into it . The bird collapsed, causing an avalanche, but the two managed to escape.

Sounds like the thunderbirds sighted in the USA . There are reports of giant birds from all over the world. Mistaken identity or prehistoric survivors..what do you think?

Zeegangsa of Indonesia.

 

Zeegangsa

A Zeegangsa is a water dwelling  cryptid that is said to live  in the Kali Miring River in Java, Indonesia.

In  1907, some  British businessmen working  in Surabaya, Java, went on a trip  crocodile hunting on the Kali Miring River.

Sitting in a boat near the mouth of the river, they saw something like  a swan's head appeared out of the water on the east bank . The group thought it was a dead tree trunk, but when they looked closed   they discovered that the top of the object had a mouth that opened and closed with teeth. The helmsman saw a crescent-shaped object protruding from the water on the starboard side, which he thoughts  was the creature's tail. They estimated it be  about 9 metres ( 27 feet) long between its head and its  tail.

One of the group shot at  the monster with a crocodile  gun. The bullet appeared to hit the creature and it slowly disappeared into the water. They told their story to a local  fisherman, who told them that it was a creature called Zeegangsa, a mild and harmless river-dwelling creature.

It sounded like many aquatic cryptids ,a sort of plesiosaur shape but not aggressive. A creature worth studying  and perhaps in the future someone may do so.

The Gyedarra.,Australian Cryptid.

 Gyedarra

The gyedarra is a cryptid that has been said to live in Queensland  Australia. The local indigenous people describe it as a giant wombat ,the size of  a horse,that lived near water holes.

 It  has stocky legs and is a herbivore. Mainly a solitary creature it was seen digging in creek beds for vegetable matter and plants.

A man from Gowrie Station in Queensland  was shown the fossilized bones of  a Diprotodon  in 1871 and identified them as the bones of a gyedarra.. The Diprotodon was thought to be extinct about 10,000years ago. The Wiradjuri people, who live near Gowrie Station, said the Gyedarra are now rare animals,

In June  1997, a man called  John claimed to have seen a giant wombat-like creature while driving in  New South Wales. The animal walked out of the bush in front of him and he had to brake suddenly. The  creature  turned to face him . He said it looked like a very large  wombat, with dark fur and long limbs. Afraid John fled at speed .

In 2001, a woman  named as Claire said she saw an unusual animal near Foster, Victoria. Walking through a thicket, a dark brown, long-limbed, tailless animal roughly the size of a sheep run across in front of her.She was left shaken.

So could the Diprotodon still be living in the Australian bush? Many animals thought to be extinct have been discovered  again in recent years,so it is a possibility

Malaysian Bigfoot ?

 

Hantu Sakai

The bigfoot of Malaysia.

 The Semang people of Malaysia reported sightings of a tribe of hairy-ape like creatures  called the Hantu Sakai. They are described as 5ft 10in tall (almost 2 metres), with long hair and some wearing loincloths made of tree bark. They live in trees and walk bipedally. Hantu means devil. One was captured in the  1870s and sketched by Aug Frederickson. Its fate is unknown. In 1953 several witnesses on a rubber plantation near Terolak in Perak State saw two males and a female. They said there was a strong smell. It seems there are types of bigfoot in most parts of the world. Descriptions are often similar : strong smell,hairy ,family groups. Could they be the missing link in evolution, these wild people?

Monsters or Giant Eels?

 Giant Eels

In The Monsters of Loch Ness by Roy P Mackal (1976 Futura London) he wrote about the investigations in Ireland. The Loch Ness investigation teams did not confine themselves just to Loch Ness but also looked at Loch Morar and a couple of loughs in Ireland. .Some of the information that lead them to look at Irish loughs is detailed in the book( p37-39 in the edition cited above)) and includes:

Teige O’Donovan reporting sightings going back to 1914 from Lough Abisdealy (which translated means the lake of the monster). The descriptions of the creature were that it had a small flat head , along neck and three large loops sticking out of the water. Size was estimated at 25 feet( 8 metres) and the creature was dark brown. Interestingly one of the observers said the creature swung a portion of it’s body out of the water and described it as “looking exactly like the tail end of a huge conger eel”.

Lough Fadda In Ireland is known for it’s salmon and trout fishing, and also reports of an unknown creature seen in the lake. For generations the locals of the Connemara area spoke of strange creatures called Horse Eels that inhabited the surrounding bog waters and children were warned to stay away from the loughs as Horse Eels dwelt there. In the 20th Century a lot of people dismissed it as folklore. Then there was a sighting in 1954. Four members of the local Clifden community saw the creature and two were reported to be very disturbed by the experience, so much so that when they returned to Clifden they insisted men armed with rifles be sent to the scene.

In June 1954 Georgina Carberry and three friends cycled down to Lough Fadda. They took a boat owned by the Clifden Angling Association and set out to fish. Later in the afternoon they decided to set the boat ashore along a finger of land that almost splits the lake in half to have some refreshments. They were sitting down with their tea when one of the group pointed out an object moving from "an island" which she assumed was a man swimming. The object was approaching them and as it got closer it was obviously too big to be a human swimming . They began to get concerned and when it reached within twenty yards (18 metres) Georgina made the first move and jumped back, the others followed and moved away from the waters edge. The movement must have disturbed the creature and it swung right around a rock near the shore and dived. In two minutes it was up to the island again where they were watching and reappeared. When the creature came close to the group on shore it opened its "huge great mouth". Two big humps were noticed sticking above the water behind its head. Georgina said she spotted a forked tail when it swung around the rock. (Another witness "Ann", didn't recall seeing one, when interviewed later). Georgina likened the creature’s mouth to a shark's and described the animal's skin as "wormy" or "creepy". (She explained to F.W. Holiday when interviewed that the "body seemed to have movement all over it all the time.)The witness called “Ann” recalled later on being interviewed that it had prominent eyes to the front of the head. “Ann”,( one of the two surviving members of the group) was interviewer in 2001 by a local historian and the details of the sighting she told him matched the details from nearly 50 years previously, it was still so clear in her mind.

There was apparently was an earlier sighting of some sort by two men in a boat during the 1940s but no details have been forthcoming and a search was conducted in Lough Fadda during the early 1980s that was mentioned in the local newspaper but again no details have been forthcoming about what was found.

The Loch Ness Investigation bureau came to search the lough in 1965. The team included Captain Lionel Leslie, Dr. Roy P. Mackal , and David James, founder of the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau. Captain Leslie set off 5 lbs of explosive along the shore of Lough Fadda in an attempt to lure the creature out.( a similar thing had been tried at Loch Ness in an attempt to imitate the 1933 road blasting to lure out Nessie, the police at Inverness however made them stop). It was recorded that about ten seconds after the blast, a long black object broke the surface and began violently thrashing about. Cameras were on hand but apparently failed to capture any footage. The creature thrashed so wildly no identification or conclusions could be made of the brief sighting. Nets were left across the lough but no further evidence was obtained.

There was strange sighting at Lough Claddaghduff by a Mr. Michael Coyne in 1956 who reported seeing a creature like looked like a large eel with ten feet showing as it turned over to display it’s lighter underbelly.

There was the story of the large eel stuck in a gully between Loughs Gowlan and Derrylesa from 100 years ago , which died.

In Lough Neagh in 1956 fishermen reported their nets damaged “by a thing like a giant eel”

You may wonder how this was connected to Loch Ness. There were stories that Roy Mackal mentions(p68) from older residents of Loch Ness that claimed eels of 10 feet(3 metres) to 16 feet( 5 metres) long had been caught in the loch years ago. I also heard the same stories from an elderly fisherman in 1972. He said when the eel fishing had been at it’s peak many years ago ,very large eels had been caught . I have been unable to substantiate this but I have seen it mentioned in other books about the Loch( I believe Tim Dinsdale mentions it in his books). Eels live in the loch in large numbers but are the normal European eel who don’t normally grow to enormous sizes. There have been reports of eels with manes being seen in the loch and divers reporting eels thicker than a man's leg, but no proof has been forthcoming. The theory that the lake monsters are giant eels is not a new one but when you look at reported sightings the descriptions of many say “eel like” . Eels tend to dwell near the bottoms of lakes and would only occasionally appear on the surface, perhaps when chasing fish. The manes reported could be a frill such as some fish like the Oar Fish have and a very large eel would indeed be very thick around the middle to be almost as big as a man’s thigh. There is a history ,this report was printed in The  London Times  March 6, 1856:

The Sea Serpent in the Highlands

The village of Leurbost, Parish of Lochs, Lewis, is at present the scene of an unusual occurrence.  This is no less than the appearance in one of the inland fresh-water lakes of an animal which from its great size and dimensions has not a little puzzled our island naturalists.  Some suppose him to be a description of the hitherto mythological water-kelpie; while others refer it to the minute descriptions of the "sea-serpent," which are revived from time to time in the newspaper columns.  It has been repeatedly seen within the last fortnight by crowds of people, many of whom have come from the remotest parts of the parish to witness the uncommon spectacle.  The animal is described by some as being in appearance and size like "a large peat stack," while others affirm that a "six-oared boat" could pass between the huge fins, which are occasionally visible.  All, however, agree in describing its form as that of an eel; and we have heard one, whose evidence we can rely upon, state that in length he supposed it to be about 40 feet.  It is probable that it is no more than a conger eel after all, animals of this description having been caught in the Highland lakes which have attained huge size.  He is currently reported to have swallowed a blanket inadvertently left on the bank by a girl herding cattle.  A sportsman ensconced himself with a rifle in the vicinity of the loch during a whole day, hoping to get a shot, but did no execution.

. Anything is of course conjecture but then science starts with conjecture and observation and then tries to prove or disprove a theory , which is what cryptozoologists are actively doing.It gives some credence to those who believe Nessie is a giant eel.

 

storms and consequences.

 I am finally back online after a month with no phone or landline after the storm .So apologies once again for lack of posts .Thank you for your support in reading the blog x

Monster Man Eating Lobster?

 

A Monster Tale?

In April of 1863, the Montreal Ocean Steamship Company’s ship Anglo Saxon, stuffed with emigrants from England and cargo, ran ashore in thick fog on the southeastern tip of Newfoundland, where wind and waves battered it to pieces and claimed nearly 300 lives.

Not long after, three divers were sent down to try to recover valuable items.

One of those divers told the Bangor Commercial newspaper in 1893 what happened next.Diving alone, he said he was inside the wreck moving some bales around when he saw “a huge creature moving toward the vessel” I had never seen anything like it before,” he said. “It seemed to be several feet high and about eight feet long and it had on each side an enormous arm.”

He said it had countless little legs, a mottled brown color and two shining black eyes, along with two “supple horns, each resembling an enormous whip.”

 “A numb terror seized me,” the diver said, and he quickly moved to depart from the ship so he could be hauled back to the surface.

“But, as if knowing what I intended, this brute, looking straight at me with its frightful, motionless eyes, walked or rather crawled directly at me,” he said.

As he stepped onto the rocky floor beside the wreckage, the diver said, “the two writhing horns were twining about me and untwining. Then he would touch me with these and sweep them up and down as if feeling what kind of prey I was.”

“Suddenly and without any warning,” he said, “the monster threw out one of its arms and seized me below the shoulder. I felt as if my bones were being crushed.”

He resisted, but the more he struggled, the worse the pain he felt. At the end of each arm, the creature had a claw that “opened and shut convulsively,” he said, adding that he could see “two rows of shining white teeth” in its mouth in front of him.

He said he pulled a knife from his belt and tried to thrust it into the beast, but its shell was too hard.

“Those terrifying eyes” then moved, the diver said, and the huge lobster’s arms closed around him.

Desperate, he plunged the knife into one of the eyes. Inky fluid poured out, he said, and the creature stopped its attack, but held on.

The diver then sliced into the other eye, blinding the creature.

It still held on. The diver said the pain grew unbearable and he blacked out.

The next thing he knew, he was in a skiff on the surface, hauled out by his comrades who had dived down after getting worried at his absence. They told him they’d sliced the creature’s arm off to free him. 

The diver said his rescuers told him they had seen “an awful, deep-sea lobster.”

Did it really happen? There is no way to know.

 

Source:

https://www.sunjournal.com/2025/02/15/deep-sea-diver-insists-a-huge-lobster-nearly-killed-him/

 

Humboldt River Monster

 

Humboldt River Serpent

The Humboldt River Basin is in north-central Nevada and  runs east-to-west terminating in the Humboldt Sink in northwest Churchill County. It  is approximately 330 miles in length.

There has been reports of  a sea serpent in the river.

In The West Coast Signal August 19, 1877

I have been requested to write you the following for publication. I had first thought that I would not for the reason that I didn’t like to have my word doubted when I speak only the truth. Although this may not be believed by some of the readers of the SIGNAL, it is something that can be sworn to by three or four different parties.

About three months ago as I was on my way to Garberville, not far below what is know as Phillip’s Flat  I saw what I thought was a foot log coming down the South Fork of the  river, and was not a little surprised to see such a thing adrift at that season of the year.

I was on a cliff of rocks, about 50 feet above the river, and stopped to watch the curious looking object, when I saw to my surprise it was a large serpent. The monster was at least 20 feet long in the water, and its head was raised about 3 feet above the surface of the stream, and was about as large as a dog’s head. It saw me, but did not seem to be alarmed, for it headed for the last cliff on which I was standing.

It was one of those hot days that we are accustomed on the South Fork, and the monster seemed to be hunting shade. It was about a foot in diameter; its color a dark brown, with large light and yellow spots. I watched him until he came under the cliff where the rocks hid him from view. It was seen twice more at the same place and once again further up the river. It seems to go to the woods for food, as there can be no other inducement.

It was signed a SOUTHFORKER

It was not the end of the matter .An article appeared in 1911.

Elko Free Press  July 14, 1911:

"While fishing on the Humboldt river a few miles east of Elko a few days ago, G.P. Griffith and Alex Hay had an experience that is still haunting them in their sleep. Both are reliable men and not given to 'seeing things,' and their report carries weight with their friends.

"They left town early for an all day's fishing trip, and had proceeded up the river to where the big dam backs up the river in the Fernald field, just opposite the road on the south side of the stream, near the bluffs. Here for several yards the stream is wide and quite deep. Mr. Griffith said he saw something coming down stream, which he thought at first was a flock of wild ducks, following one another in a long line. Being a sportsman, he was interested in the sight, and stepped back into a clump of bushes to watch them pass, and called to his companion. But to his wonder and amazement, when the object got opposite them, it was a huge serpent, swimming on the surface of the water, with it's head, or heads, held high and its long, huge, black, glistening, undulating body, gracefully cleaving the pure, limpid, mountain water, the reptile searching the banks of either side for prey.

"About twenty-feet was visible, and the monster had four heads, shaped something like a dog's head, the body of a black color, and as large as a man's leg. Fascinated, they watched the huge snake, but as soon as one of them spoke it disappeared on the instant. Mr. Griffith hurriedly left for his gun, and Mr. Hay remained to watch for its reappearance. A few minutes later it again came to the surface and Mr. Hay declares it was at least thirty feet long, with a tail like a fish, and the four heads, showing clearly, but when the man with the gun returned it had gone, and did not appear again, although they waited and watched a long time.

"Since it was seen, quite a number of our fisherman have gone to the place, but no one has had a glimpse of the monster."

That seemed to be the end of the story. There was one curious incident.The local indigenous people left the river on hearing the story.They believed in a river serpent that could swallow a child.

Large snakes are not unknown though they normally are found in South America. Could this have been one brought from there and released  ? It would explain why there were no more sightings as it probably passed away.

 

Hells Gate Sea Serpent

 

Hells Gate Sea Monster

Hells gate is a drainage system in the New York area. City Island is located at the extreme western end of Long Island Sound, south of Pelham Bay Park.

Long Island Sound off the shores of Pelham  had been the source of sightings of a mysterious sea serpent for a few years.There were so many reports during that two or three year period in the late 1870's that the respected scientific journal Scientific American collected, analyzed, and published  eyewitness accounts. No definitive proof was found.

Captain Banta ,the river pilot, rowing a small boat off the waters of City Island shortly before daylight in August 1895 on his way to meet a vessel that he was  to guide through the treacherous waters of nearby Hells Gate. Suddenly  a huge  creature with "big black eyes, which gleamed like dark lanterns" and that made a noise that "resembled that of a big steamer turning about in midstream" rose from the deep and struck his boat, raising it out of the water and nearly capsizing it.  Captain Banta dropped his oars and held onto the sides of the boat for dear life. 

The sea monster sank beneath the waters  and  then rose again  striking the boat a second time and lifting it out of the water  The monster was then attracted by the sound of a steamer and headed away leaving Banta to steer his damaged boat to shore

Three members of the United States Military also sighted the  Sea Serpent in 1895, the large beast had a head covered with "a big shock of hair."  It could lift that massive head out of the water on a long neck that writhed in the air.  Its neck was "at least four feet in diameter" and had skin that was scaly and "spotted white in places."  The face of the beast had great whiskers.."  It had a green beard and bright blue eyes with big flippers that it used to propel itself along.  Most frighteningly, when the beast dove into the depths of the Long Island Sound, its tail would shoot upward into the air "clad in rattles exactly like a rattlesnake."  When the tail reached its highest point out of the water, the rattles would begin to clang before the beast disappeared into the deep.

  A  few days after this a twenty-five foot long snake thought to be a boa constrictor floated out of the Sound and onto the shores of an island near Hell Gate, It was reported in local newspapers.

 The snake's back was badly torn as if it had  been killed by the paddle wheel of a steamer."

Some reports cite Banta’s experience as 1902 which would be after the snake was found. If that is the correct date then the dead snake was not responsible for the sightings.