The Loch Ness Monster: a Myth or Reality?

Loch Ness…a place filled with mystery and legends!

First of all let us say that the Loch Ness is the second largest loch (Irish and Gaelic word for lake) in Scotland, extending southwest of the well-known town Inverness.

However, what is more mythical about this place is not its history or its setting, but the most famous monster of all time…

…Nessie!

It’s most likely that you’ve already heard of the name but…how much do you really know? Keep reading to find out more!

The Loch Ness Monster or Nessie is said to be a creature living in the Scottish Highlands. People who have allegedly seen it, describe it as a large in size beast, with a long neck and one or more humps protruding from the water. 

According to the myth, the “water beast” attacked and ate a local resident, but was forced to return underwater, due to its master’s commands. This incident allegedly took place back in 565 AD…well, that was a long time ago, right? 

After that, the second discussion of a sighting of a strange creature in the loch may have been in the 1870s, when D. Mackenzie of Balnain claimed to have seen something “wriggling and churning up the water”—these were his exact words. He said that “the object moved slowly at first, disappearing at a faster speed”. However, he had not shared his story until 1934, when other people started reporting the sighting of a similar monster. Research, though, indicates that several newspapers did publish items about a creature in the loch well before 1934.

Well, if you ask me, it doesn’t really matter if the legend of Nessie was real or fake, mostly because it was passed down from generation to generation and is still alive in our traditions to this day! Which makes it really cool, whether it is a myth or reality…don’t you agree?

Amongst other ventures, the monster inspired many movies in Hollywood, such as “The Water Horse”, in 2007 or the “Loch Ness” movie, in 1996.

Of course, the film industry wasn’t the only one that was enchanted by this mystery. These kind of ancient Scottish myths about such water creatures, caught the attention of the scientific community as well.

In 1994, London surgeon R. K. Wilson was able to take a picture that appeared to show a tenuous head and neck rising above the surface of the water…instantly, Nessie was again the front page of all newspapers!

Additionally, there have been many organized attempts to search for the Loch Ness Monster. Some of them are named below:

 

1. 1901 The John Murray Expedition
2. 1911 Bathymetrical Survey
3. 1933 Wetherell Daily Mail Expedition
4. 1934 Sir Edward Mountain’s Expedition
5. 1960 Peter Baker Expedition
6. 1961 Birmingham University Expedition
7. 1962 Cambridge University Expedition
8. 1962 – 1972 The Loch Ness Phenomena Investigation Bureau
9. 1972 – Present The Academy of Applied Science Expeditions
10. 1974 – Present The Loch Ness and Morar Project
11. 2001 – Operation Cleansweep by GUST

 

The one-million-dollar question though is: did anyone find any solid proof to support the existence of this magical creature?

Well, the truth is that the whole subject is open until today and all expeditions ended up inconclusive. Who knows! 

But there truly is something special about Loch Ness and its vast waters. Meaning that this doesn’t stop us from keeping these amazing myths and legends alive in our imagination!

Scotland has unique ancient traditions and extraordinary myths, that can all be inspired by! My advice? Take a look at the magnificent lore and let your imagination run wild!

Written by Lydia Kendall