Cryptozoology And The Paranormal

The Tooth of Nessie

Two American students once claimed to find the tooth of the Loch Ness Monster during their vacation to Scotland. They found it in a dead deer laying by the shore of the loch. Shortly after taking pictures of it a park ranger passed by and confiscated it. They posted the pictures online later to publicize their claim. The “tooth” was identified by keen eyed viewers as an antler from a roe muntjac deer. It’s said that the story was all a hoax and was actually a publicity stunt to help promote an upcoming book about the Loch Ness Monster.

Nessie in the News

Nessie is Scotlands beloved lake monster. She has been sighted hundreds of times over hundreds of years, some of those encounters even end up in the local newspapers. Above are a couple newspaper clippings about Nessie. Newspapers are great ways to document sightings and stories of Nessie that would otherwise have been forgotten. Nessie reached her peak of fame in 1933 where the whole world had their eyes on Loch Ness. She has since had fewer and fewer sightings as time went on but she still came to become a Scottish icon. Loch Ness has gained worldwide fame because of Nessie, however we still have yet to find irrefutable proof of her existence.

Loch Ness Monster on Land 1933

In 1933 Mr. and Mrs. Spicer were driving down the east side of Loch Ness. They were somewhere between Dores and Foyers at about 3:30pm when something shocking happened. The Spicers spotted something crossing the road ahead of them in the distance. They described it as a hideous beast with dark grey skin moving in the direction of the loch. A long neck was buried into the foliage with the head out of visibility. The body was huge and jerked as it moved. The neck curled up and straightened out as it moved, similar to the movement of a worm. Near the point where the neck met the body the Spicers noted something flopping which would have probably been the creature’s flipper. They also spotted what appeared to be a dead animal laying on its back which is presumed to have been a sheep. It was about 6 feet tall and wider than the road which was 12 feet wide. By the time they approached the place where the creature was they noticed a distinctive trail of where it moved. The grass had been trampled down and vegetation disturbed and destroyed. They slowed down at the spot where the creature crossed and tried to see it but the trees and tall grass blocked their view of the shoreline. At the time the Spicers hadn’t heard of the Loch Ness Monster but they stopped a biker further down the road to tell him about it. He told them of the recent reports of a lake monster and told them they probably just saw the famed Nessie. This is one of the few reports of seeing Nessie on land and is one of the best documented sightings of the creature.

The Stuart Photograph

In 1951 Lachlan Stuart took this photograph claiming that he captured the humps of the Loch Ness Monster. Stuart worked for the Forestry Commision at the time and was a well respected employee. When he released this photo of the legendary Nessie people were shocked. The photo became without question an authentic photograph for two decades. It wasn’t until over 20 years later that the photograph was questioned. Nessie researchers found out where the photo was taken and journeyed to that part of the loch. To their surprise the water was incredibly shallow, too shallow for a creature the size of Nessie to swim in. It wasn’t until this discovery that it was found out that Stuart hoaxed the photograph. The humps seen in the photo are nothing more than bales of hay covered in tarpaulins.

Labynkyr Lake Devil

Secluded deep in the Siberian wilderness lies Lake Labynkyr. It is a peaceful lake, but it could be home to what locals call a devil. For centuries a strange creature has been seen in the area. Could Siberia really have their very own Nessie? The Lake has a large population of dogfish, pike, and other fish which means a sustainable food source. The Lake at its deepest point reaches 263 feet and covers 17 square miles, leaving plenty of room for a large creature to swim about. And it does freeze over during the colder months of the year. But what evidence is there to show for the creature? Fisherman often report their nets being torn, and large creatures swimming below the surface. The same reports also come from Lake Vorota which is nearby leading many researchers to believe in an underground connection between the two lakes. Sonar readings on multiple occasions have detected large anomalies about 18-21 feet long below the surface. In 2014 Russian Geologists journeyed to the bottom of the lake, breaking the record for deepest ice dive. The largest animals they encountered were dogfish but none of monstrous proportions. They claimed to have found a large jawbone and skeletal remains but no physical or photographic evidence has been disclosed to the public. So what is this creature? And is there more than one? Some say it is a surviving icthyosaur, while others say an overgrown pike. It is unknown what’s truly in the Lake, but it is still being seen. Are the legends of a lake devil true? The answers lie deep in the Siberian wilderness waiting to be found.

Champ Caught On Camera?

It’s very rare that a good lake monster video surfaces on the internet, and it’s been a while since we’ve heard anything from Lake Champlain. This video was posted on December 31st in 2015 by YouTube user Enoch who says the video was sent to them after filming it in Lake Champlain.

It’s unclear what’s being seen breaking the surface, as always the video is a little blurry. But it does appear to be something large. It’s breaks the surface many times and definitely isn’t a floating object such as a log because the animal has movement. Some have suggested it’s just a large sturgeon, and I Lake Champlain does have some large sturgeon and I’ve wrote about them before. Many who have seen it say it’s the best evidence of Champ since the Mansi photograph. What do you think?

German UB-85 Sunk by “Sea Monster”

Pictured above is the wreck of the famous German UB85 which met its fate in April of 1918. The British discovered the German submarine when it was forced the ascend to the surface due to extensive damages that the ship suffered from an attack by a sea monster. The Germans surrendered to the British because their vessel was in no condition to fight. When questioned by British intelligence, Captain Günther Krech told a horrifying tale of their encounter with the monster. The monster appeared out of the blue and attacked the ship, he described it as being very large with horns, giant teeth and small eyes that set deep within its skull. It proceeded to attack the submarine by biting at it and ramming it. It chomped pieces out of the main gun, of which the Germans frequently fired at the creature with. After counter-attacking the beast it swam off and the Germans then rose to the surface. It is unclear whether the story was fabricated or not but the wreck was found last year and the story’s authenticity is currently under intense investigation nearly a hundred years later.

The Man Behind The Surgeons Photo

Marmaduke Wetherell (pictured sitting above) is the one who fooled the world. He is responsible for tricking the whole world into believing that a toy submarine was actually the Loch Ness Monster. When the monster was first spotted in the Loch, the Daily Mail sent for big game hunter Marmaduke Wetherell to find Nessie. After searching for the monster to no avail he finally found something! He saw what appeared to be large footprints leading into the water. After closer examination by the Natural History museum the footprints were said to be fake and Wetherell was humiliated. He then gave up his search for the monster.

Months later Wetherell devised a scheme to get “proof” of the monster, and to get his revenge. His son quoted with saying “we’ll give them their monster!” as he planned the great hoax. So he set up a sea serpents head to a toy submarine, with the help of Christian Spurling who modeled the creatures head. He snapped the famous photo and prepared for it to be shown to the public. But he couldn’t reveal the photo because nobody would believe him, so he gave it to British surgeon Colonel Robert Wilson who would then release the photo to the public. Wilson knew it was a fraud and refused to have his name associated with the photo which is why it became known as the “surgeon’s photo.”

It wasn’t until 1994 when Christian Spurling laid on his death bed that he admitted that the photo was a fake. He revealed to the world the details of the photo and how they faked it. In the end Marmaduke Wetherell did get his revenge, he managed to fool the world for 60 years in what many people call the greatest hoax of all time.

Nessie Finally Spotted? May 7th, 2017

This video surfaced on May 8th showing what appears to be a strange anomaly on the surface of the loch. People are claiming it’s the return of the Loch Ness Monster who’s been absent for 8 months. But the object in question is very suspicious. The first thing to note is the lack of movement from the subject in question. It appears to just float without any movement. The other thing to note is the boat that moves past it. The boat doesn’t stop to investigate it just passes by and keeps going. Perhaps they noticed it was the famed Nessie and wanted to gain some space between them and her, or they realized it was nothing special and kept driving. The lack of movement makes me think it’s just some floating debris, perhaps a log but logs don’t usually float straight up. Perhaps it was a hoax set up by some pranksters or even the people on the boat. Whatever was filmed is questionable and it may not be Nessie. If anybody has any ideas please share them!

YouTube: Sweetie

Jonathan Bright

Nessie Killed By The Nazis

During the beginning years of World War II, the Germans executed many air raids on the United Kingdom. Called “The Blitz” by members of the Allied powers to describe the German tactic of Blitzkrieg meaning “lightning war” which involved many air raids and bombings of the United Kingdom. It was reported in 1941 that Nessie had been killed during one such air raid. This troubled and angered the Scottish who viewed Nessie as a national icon. It wasn’t until August of 1941 that she was spotted swimming in the Loch which relieved the Scottish who now knew that Nessie would live on to fight another day.

Old Greeny

Ever since the 1800’s a large serpent like creature has been seen in Cuyuga Lake. Those who knew of the creature back then stayed away from the water in fear of it. The 435ft deep lake is a perfect place for a lake monster to hide. The creature got its name of “Old Greeny” when a local and his friend were driving passed the lake when they spotted a large serpent swimming on the surface.

In 1929 it was suggested that two serpents were living in the lake. This meant there could be a breeding population which meant that even more could be out there. In 1979 a boy was attacked by the creature, it bit his arm so hard while he was swimming that it broke his arm. The victim said it looked like an eel but much larger. The same year a 35ft serpent almost collided with a boat on the lake, they thought it was a log until they came close to it. The creature swam down to the depths leaving the eyewitnesses shocked.

What exactly Old Greeny is may never be known. It has been suggested that a species of giant eels could call the lake home, or maybe perhaps a large sturgeon. Sightings of Old Greeny are rare nowadays, leaving many to believe the creature ultimately succumbed to age. Or maybe it swam out to Lake Ontario through the Seneca River. But maybe perhaps it still resides under the surface, waiting for an unlucky swimmer to pass by for its next meal.

Mira Grant

Google Earth Nessie

When I was younger I would play around on Google Earth, searching for anything paranormal or strange. When I virtually visited Loch Ness I was sure that I had discovered the Loch Ness monster! I could see what appeared to be a large creature swimming below the surface. Later on I noticed that many other people had discovered this anomaly as well.

People were seeing an animal with a large head, fins and a long tail swimming through the water. At a first glance it looks like a monster, but after further studying of the image it is simply a boat moving on the loch. The large head, tail and fins are simply the wake that is being created by the watercraft.

Lake Tahoe Tessie

Stretching between the states of Nevada and California lies North America’s largest alpine lake, Lake Tahoe. With a maximum depth of 1,645ft, it is believed that lurking in its depths is a massive serpent like creature that strikes fear into those who bear witness to it. Known as “Tahoe’s Nessie” it eventually came to be called Tessie.

The local Washoe and Paiute tribes who lived near the lake said the serpent lived in an underwater cave near Cave Rock. Cave Rock is a sacred place to the Washoe tribe. Described as a 30ft long black serpent with reptilian features, the creature continues to be spotted until today. Many eyewitness accounts are from fisherman, divers and kayakers. However one encounter involved two police officers who said that a long serpent like creature kept speed with their boat that was going 60mph.

The famous French explorer and oceanographer Jacques Cousteau apparently had an underwater encounter with the creature. In the 1970’s he did a deepwater dive into the lake, he emerged horrified with what he had experienced. He refused to ever talk about what he saw during that dive, but exclaimed that “the world is not ready for what’s down there.” Most believe he came into contact with Tessie, but there are some that believe something else. There are reports that what he truly saw was bodies of men who were dumped into the lake by the mafia who were active in the area from the 1920’s until the 1940’s. But if he saw this, why didn’t he report that to the police? Surely uncovering an underwater graveyard would be horrifying to witness but the right thing to do would be to inform the authorities. Perhaps he truly did have a run-in with a living legend, a creature he believes the world isn’t ready for. A creature so haunting that he vowed to never speak of it. The answer to what he truly experienced will never be known, unless you too can brave a trip to the depths of Lake Tahoe.

Peter O'Connor’s Nessie Photo

In May of 1960 Peter O'Connor was camping near the shore of Loch Ness. When he had the urge to urinate he exited his tent in the early morning hours to see a large creature slowly swimming in the Loch. He claims he waded into the water about waist deep and snapped this photo. He claimed he was able to do it stealthily without the creature noticing due to his Royal Marine Commando training. The results are what appears to be an up-close photo of the legendary Nessie.

The photo itself raised some questions. If he was truly waist deep the photo should have been taken closer to the water’s surface. He also claimed it was taken around 6:30am, however at this time in May he sun would be rising and the photo appears too dark for any appearance of the sun. The only light source is from the camera flash which was estimated to be about 4 meters above the water’s surface which only further disproves the claim he waded into water. The creature in the photo also appears to be stationary, but O'Connor claims it was moving.

When the location of the photo was investigated by Maurice Burton (a renowned British zoologist) he discovered three polythene bags, stones tied together with a rope, and a log which “looked exactly like the creature’s head.” From this point on the photo was discredited as an elaborate hoax by a man looking for fame.

Update From Lake Norman

I posted about a “Nessie” spotted in North Carolina not too long ago. Yet another monster has been spotted in Lake Norman. A 76 year old retired man who lives along the lake said he spotted a “snake-like” creature in the water. He noticed splashing in the water when sitting on his balcony overlooking the lake one day. The long reptile was visible on the surface for about 30 seconds before descending back to the depths. Could this be the same “dinosaur like” creature reported by a park ranger not too long ago that was attacking a duck on the lake’s surface? That creature was identified as looking like “Nessie” which fits the description of a plesiosaur. This most recent encounter describes something else.

Although this creature was “snake like” perhaps it is the same creature. Maybe only the neck of the plesiosaur was spotted by the retired man, leading him to believe the creature was “snake-like.” If there truly is a lake monster residing here, perhaps it swam in through the connecting rivers that empty into the Atlantic. Does this new eyewitness account prove that there truly is something large in the lake that hasn’t been spotted before? Is there a plesiosaur in the lake? Or perhaps a large snake or eel is what the man saw. I eagerly await another update from the residents of Lake Norman, North Carolina.