| Loch Ness Monster a.k.a. Nessie |
| The famous 1934 "Surgeon's" photo. Now known to be a hoax. |
| The Loch Ness Monster, sometimes called Nessie, is a mysterious and unidentified animal or group of creatures said to inhabit Loch Ness, a large deep freshwater loch near the city of Inverness in northern Scotland. Nessie is usually categorized as a type of lake monster. Its disputed "scientific" name, as chosen by the late Sir Peter Scott, is Nessiteras rhombopteryx (which, coincidentally or not, is an anagram of "Monster Hoax by Sir Peter S.") Although no evidence exists to suggest the alleged creature's sex, the nickname "Nessie" sounds feminine, so the creature is often referred to as female. Along with Bigfoot and the Abominable Snowman, Nessie is one of the best-known mysteries of cryptozoology. Most mainstream scientists and other experts find current evidence supporting Nessie unpersuasive, and regard the occasional sightings as hoaxes or misidentification of mundane creatures or natural phenomena. However, the issue remains controversial. Some have argued a history of "monster" sightings in the loch provides circumstantial evidence supporting the creature's existence. Note that the validity and origins of these stories have been challenged, along with any "history" predating the early 1930s. There have been around 10,000 such sightings, a third of which were reported in one form of media or another. |
These are the newer, unverified "Nessie" photos
| Taken underwater from a sub |
| These two were taken by vacationers on Loch Ness |
The famous "hoax" photos
The Spray Photograph
November 12, 1933: Hugh Gray was walking back from church
when he saw an "object of considerable dimensions—making a
big splash with spray on the surface" of the Loch. Luckily he had
his camera with him, so he began snapping pictures. Only one of
the pictures showed anything. Nessie believers hailed it as the
first photographic evidence of the monster. Skeptics, however,
dismissed it as a blurry mess that doesn't show anything at all.
Many have suggested that it looks like a distorted image of a dog
(perhaps Mr. Gray's own) carrying a stick in its mouth as it swims
through water.
November 12, 1933: Hugh Gray was walking back from church
when he saw an "object of considerable dimensions—making a
big splash with spray on the surface" of the Loch. Luckily he had
his camera with him, so he began snapping pictures. Only one of
the pictures showed anything. Nessie believers hailed it as the
first photographic evidence of the monster. Skeptics, however,
dismissed it as a blurry mess that doesn't show anything at all.
Many have suggested that it looks like a distorted image of a dog
(perhaps Mr. Gray's own) carrying a stick in its mouth as it swims
through water.
The Surgeon's Photo
April 19, 1934: Colonel Robert Wilson, a surgeon, was driving
along the north shore of the Loch early in the morning when he
noticed something large moving in the water, so he stopped and
took a picture of it. At least, that was his story. For the next sixty
years this picture was regarded as one of the best pieces of
evidence of Nessie's existence. It wasn't until 1994 that the full
truth came out. What Wilson had taken a picture of was not the
Loch Ness Monster. It was a toy submarine outfitted with a
sea-serpent head. Moreover, Wilson himself hadn't even taken
the picture. He had simply been the frontman for an elaborate
hoax.
April 19, 1934: Colonel Robert Wilson, a surgeon, was driving
along the north shore of the Loch early in the morning when he
noticed something large moving in the water, so he stopped and
took a picture of it. At least, that was his story. For the next sixty
years this picture was regarded as one of the best pieces of
evidence of Nessie's existence. It wasn't until 1994 that the full
truth came out. What Wilson had taken a picture of was not the
Loch Ness Monster. It was a toy submarine outfitted with a
sea-serpent head. Moreover, Wilson himself hadn't even taken
the picture. He had simply been the frontman for an elaborate
hoax.
The Stuart Photograph
July 14, 1951: Forestry Commission employee Lachlan Stuart took
a picture of mysterious humps rising from the loch. Over twenty
years later researchers visited the spot where he had taken the
picture and realized the humps would have been in extremely
shallow water close to the shore, meaning that Stuart's monster
must have been awfully flat. Confirming their suspicions, author
Richard Frere later revealed that Stuart had confessed to him the
humps were nothing more than bales of hay covered with
tarpaulins.
July 14, 1951: Forestry Commission employee Lachlan Stuart took
a picture of mysterious humps rising from the loch. Over twenty
years later researchers visited the spot where he had taken the
picture and realized the humps would have been in extremely
shallow water close to the shore, meaning that Stuart's monster
must have been awfully flat. Confirming their suspicions, author
Richard Frere later revealed that Stuart had confessed to him the
humps were nothing more than bales of hay covered with
tarpaulins.
The MacNab Photograph
July 29, 1955: Bank manager Peter MacNab snapped a photo of
something large moving through the water of the loch near
Urquhart Castle. But when researcher Roy Mackal studied the
photo, he discovered differences between the negative of the
image and the print that MacNab had originally shown to the media.
Specifically, there was more of the image in the print than there was
in the negative (the tree at the bottom left is missing from the
negative). This led him to conclude that the "negative" had been
created by re-photographing a print. In other words, it was clear
that the image had been doctored.
July 29, 1955: Bank manager Peter MacNab snapped a photo of
something large moving through the water of the loch near
Urquhart Castle. But when researcher Roy Mackal studied the
photo, he discovered differences between the negative of the
image and the print that MacNab had originally shown to the media.
Specifically, there was more of the image in the print than there was
in the negative (the tree at the bottom left is missing from the
negative). This led him to conclude that the "negative" had been
created by re-photographing a print. In other words, it was clear
that the image had been doctored.
Frank Searle
Frank Searle, a former army captain, arrived in Loch Ness to search
for the monster during the early 1970s and soon established a
reputation as a definite character. He was like a colonial-style
adventurer, assisted by a succession of attractive young "monster
huntresses." He took an enormous number of photos of Nessie,
many of which were published by the media, but all of which have
been dismissed by experts as fakes. His early photos, such as the
one above (taken in October 1972) have been identified as pictures
of floating tree trunks. In later photos he progressed to
cutting-and-pasting dinosaurs from postcards into his images.
Searle left the loch in 1985 and died in 2005.
Frank Searle, a former army captain, arrived in Loch Ness to search
for the monster during the early 1970s and soon established a
reputation as a definite character. He was like a colonial-style
adventurer, assisted by a succession of attractive young "monster
huntresses." He took an enormous number of photos of Nessie,
many of which were published by the media, but all of which have
been dismissed by experts as fakes. His early photos, such as the
one above (taken in October 1972) have been identified as pictures
of floating tree trunks. In later photos he progressed to
cutting-and-pasting dinosaurs from postcards into his images.
Searle left the loch in 1985 and died in 2005.
The Flipper Photo
August 7, 1972: An expedition to find Nessie led by Dr.
Robert Rines of the Academy of Applied Science struck
gold when its underwater camera took a picture of what
appeared to be the flipper of a large aquatic animal
resembling a plesiosaur. However, the relatively clear
image of a flipper shown to the public was not quite what
the camera had initially recorded. The initial image was far
less distinct. (It basically looked like a shot of a bunch of
bubbles or sediment in the water.) This initial picture was
then computer enhanced by the NASA Jet Propulsion
Laboratories in Pasadena, and apparently the
computer-enhanced image was further artistically
enhanced by the Academy of Applied Science team (i.e. it
was retouched), thereby producing the final flipper photo.
Modern image-enhancement software has not been able to
conjure anything resembling a flipper from the original
image.
August 7, 1972: An expedition to find Nessie led by Dr.
Robert Rines of the Academy of Applied Science struck
gold when its underwater camera took a picture of what
appeared to be the flipper of a large aquatic animal
resembling a plesiosaur. However, the relatively clear
image of a flipper shown to the public was not quite what
the camera had initially recorded. The initial image was far
less distinct. (It basically looked like a shot of a bunch of
bubbles or sediment in the water.) This initial picture was
then computer enhanced by the NASA Jet Propulsion
Laboratories in Pasadena, and apparently the
computer-enhanced image was further artistically
enhanced by the Academy of Applied Science team (i.e. it
was retouched), thereby producing the final flipper photo.
Modern image-enhancement software has not been able to
conjure anything resembling a flipper from the original
image.
| The more widely know "flipper photograph" has been highly retouched from the actual original image. |
Nessiteras Rhombopteryx
1975: Sir Peter Scott of the Loch Ness Phenomena Investigation Bureau participated in the 1972
expedition that produced the flipper photo. Feeling that the photo provided proof that some kind of
large creature existed in the loch, he decided to give the animal a scientific name: Nessiteras
Rhombopteryx (which meant "the Ness wonder with a diamond fin"). But London newspapers soon
pointed out that if you juggled around the letters in this name, you got the phrase "monster hoax by
Sir Peter S." Was this evidence that the flipper photo had been a deliberate hoax? Scott denied it.
Dr. Rines came to his rescue by pointing out that if you juggled the letters around a bit more, you
could spell "Yes, both pix are monsters. R."
1975: Sir Peter Scott of the Loch Ness Phenomena Investigation Bureau participated in the 1972
expedition that produced the flipper photo. Feeling that the photo provided proof that some kind of
large creature existed in the loch, he decided to give the animal a scientific name: Nessiteras
Rhombopteryx (which meant "the Ness wonder with a diamond fin"). But London newspapers soon
pointed out that if you juggled around the letters in this name, you got the phrase "monster hoax by
Sir Peter S." Was this evidence that the flipper photo had been a deliberate hoax? Scott denied it.
Dr. Rines came to his rescue by pointing out that if you juggled the letters around a bit more, you
could spell "Yes, both pix are monsters. R."
The Loch Ness Muppet
May 21, 1977: Anthony 'Doc' Shiels claimed that he took this picture
while camping beside Urquhart Castle. Its startling clarity (it's
probably the clearest picture of Nessie ever taken) has made it
popular with the public. But it's hard to find any expert willing to take
it seriously, simply because the creature depicted in it looks so
obviously fake. (And it's odd that there are no ripples in the water
around the neck.) Skeptics refer to Shiels's monster as "The Loch
Ness Muppet." The fact that Shiels was a showman, "wizard," and
psychic entertainer who was developing a side business as a
professional monster hunter didn't help his credibility. Shiels himself
commented that while he definitely took photos of lake monsters, he
didn't believe in them.
May 21, 1977: Anthony 'Doc' Shiels claimed that he took this picture
while camping beside Urquhart Castle. Its startling clarity (it's
probably the clearest picture of Nessie ever taken) has made it
popular with the public. But it's hard to find any expert willing to take
it seriously, simply because the creature depicted in it looks so
obviously fake. (And it's odd that there are no ripples in the water
around the neck.) Skeptics refer to Shiels's monster as "The Loch
Ness Muppet." The fact that Shiels was a showman, "wizard," and
psychic entertainer who was developing a side business as a
professional monster hunter didn't help his credibility. Shiels himself
commented that while he definitely took photos of lake monsters, he
didn't believe in them.
Text copyright © 2005 Alex Boese: Museum of Hoaxes
"Nessie" in pop culture
| Even Scooby and the gang have had an encounter |
| It's a roller coaster in Bush Gardens amusement park in Virginia. |
| The Plesiosaur Theory Reports persist that the "monster" is a plesiosaur. This theory is troubled, however, as the loch traces to the last Ice Age, being about 10,000 years old, while the plesiosaur is thought to have gone extinct millions of years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous Period during the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event. Other arguments against the plesiosaur theory include the fact that the lake is too cold for a cold-blooded animal to survive easily, that air-breathing animals like plesiosaurs would be easily spotted when they surface to breathe, that the lake is too small to support a breeding colony and that the loch itself formed only 10,000 years ago during the last ice age. However, these arguments have all been opposed by Robert Rines, who said that "animals can adapt" and that "some reptiles can stay in water for a long time". "Many sightings tell of "horns" or "ears", which may be nostrils. If it(the monster) breathes regularly, it could breathe without being noticed". Supporters of the plesiosaur theory also say that the coelecanth was also thought to be extinct since the time of the plesiosaurs and was rediscovered in 1938. Although these ideas have not been proven, we cannot be sure that plesiosaurs or any other prehistoric animal were warm-blooded. There is some evidence that dinosaurs (which were contemporaries of plesiosaurs) were warm-blooded [13]. Also, some reptiles, such as crocodilians and some dinosaurs, which are said to be 'cold-blooded', may be distantly related to birds that are warm-blooded, although this is controversial. There are some theories of how plesiosaurs may have surfaced to breathe but supporters of the notion of surviving plesiosaurs say that plesiosaurs may have lifted only their nostrils above the surface to breathe. Some artist's impressions of plesiosaurs support this. In 2001, the Academy of Applied Science, known for Robert Rines' photographs, had videoed a powerful V-shaped wake going across the water on a calm day [14]. They also found what looked like a decaying carcass of an animal bigger than a fish. In 2002, the Academy of Applied Science verified the presence of ancient sea beds, ancient marine clam shells and former ancient sea life buried under the silty bottom in about 325 feet of freshwater in Urquhart Bay, halfway between Inverness and Fort Augustus. Copyright (C) 2000,2001,2002 Free Software Foundation, Inc. 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this license document, but changing it is not allowed. |
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