The Peter O' Connor Photograph (Part I)

It is a photograph which has courted controversy similar to Frank Searle and Tony Shiels and has divided opinion between Nessie cryptozoologists. I am referring to the picture taken by Peter O’ Connor on May 27th 1960 at Loch Ness.

The image is immediately recognisable amongst the lake cryptid community, but has been questioned by a sizable number of them. If a democratic vote amongst cryptozoologists was all that was needed, then the photograph may well have been consigned to the dustbin of research a long time ago.

Be that as it may, the story and picture first came to light in the 16th June edition of The Weekly Scotsman and added to the rising interest in the Monster generated by the Dinsdale film only three days before. Reaction to the picture was of course mixed. Tim Dinsdale was favourable to it in his book "Loch Ness Monster", but Maurice Burton dismissed it in his work, "The Elusive Monster" implying it was a hoax.

So, it would be appropriate to first recount the story from the man himself. Peter O' Connor wrote an account of his photograph to Tim Dinsdale, which was printed in the first edition of his book “Loch Ness Monster”. This is reproduced below.

Between 0600–0630 hours I left the camp (1 mile N.E. of Foyers Bay) and went N.E. for 100 yards. The Loch Ness Monster glided around the headland at a fast walking pace. I waded into the water to get as close to the route it intended passing as possible. I was waist deep and decided to go no closer as it had turned its head in my direction and I am sure it knew I was there. For a moment (a horrible one) I thought it intended coming towards me. I watched its head closely.

It had small sheeplike features set on a very, very, strong neck - the muscles kept rippling in it, reminding me of a panther's leg when pacing a cage. The head was approx. 10 inches long, the neck 6-7 inches in diameter increasing in thickness towards water - there was 2-3 ft. exposed and behind the neck was a large hump or body, greyish-black in colour. Where I expected limbs (i.e. Plesiosaurus) I saw the occasional swirl of water indicating them. I saw no eyes, but its facial structure suggests it has them, but its 'lids' were shut. The skin appeared smooth, as on a seal, but could have been fine scale.

When I took the photograph with a flash bulb inserted, I turned and yelled to my companion who was lying in the tent (the tent was built so a view of the loch could be obtained in any direction, i.e. no walls except cliff), and as I did so I gave the camera a couple of turns and took another photo of it disappearing with a great deal of commotion in the water. My friend said he saw something black for an instant and the water disturbance, which was not small.

I was within 25 yards of the creature when the photograph was taken, I am not sure if the light or my voice frightened it—one or both did. I am not fully satisfied that it was the same creature as seen on Wednesday May 24th, as it was smaller and a different colour. I think both skins were wet or at least damp - one on Friday certainly was. I do not know why I was frightened of it as it reminded me of a docile swan - perhaps it was the power it had at its disposal and the fact it was an unknown quantity.

Tim added his own comments at the end:

When I first saw this photograph published in a northern newspaper I was fascinated by it, and realized that if it was, in truth, the Monster it was without doubt the closest and most revealing still photograph ever taken—and therefore of unique importance. Upon studying it I found certain features in it that suggested to me it was indeed the Monster, although there were others equally difficult to explain, at first sight, but whatever the facts really were about it I knew there was only one way to find out the truth, and that was to talk to Peter O'Connor himself. This I have now done, and the report recorded above is from his own pen, and his picture is published in this book because I know it is from the original scrap of negative film, which is genuine; 

THE REACTION

If we compare this to the report which appeared in the Weekly Scotsman, there is no material difference in the account. However, the newspaper adds some speculation that the creature was 50 feet in length, 50 tonnes in weight, lived at a depth between 40 and 150 feet and liked to bask on the surface! I doubt all that was deduced from this one photograph and was rather O' Connor's own independent speculations.

The newspaper article only served to heighten interest in the Loch Ness Monster coming off the recent publicity of the Dinsdale film which made its public debut on the BBC programme, Panorama. However, the newspaper printed a picture of Mr. O’ Connor, which may interest readers.

Now, in the sceptics’ mind, two statements will fire through their brains. The first is “Too good to be true”, followed by “Fake Photograph”. But then again, all Nessie pictures for them fall into either the “Too good to be true” or “Too vague to be conclusive” categories. One thing is for sure, this photo is either a hoax or the real deal. I see no room for misidentification here.

The “Cheeky Chappie” look on O’ Connor’s face will no doubt persuade critics further that he was up to no good. After all, had he not committed one of the “Seven Sins of the Debunkers” when he had previously joked about his upcoming visit to the loch? To wit, the Sunday Express for the 4th October 1959, ran an article on O’ Connor’s plans for an expedition to Loch Ness to capture the animal, dead or alive.

The reference to Bren guns goes a bit beyond the normal kit list of a Monster Hunter. This was too much for one person who wrote a letter of protest to the Glasgow Herald, dated 15th October 1959:

NESSIE IN PERIL?

To the Editor 'The Glasgow Herald' October 13, 1959.

Sir,—It was with a feeling approaching consternation that I heard yesterday evening on the Scottish news the recording of an interview in which a group of people from Gateshead intimated their intention of killing the Loch Ness Monster. Had the announcement come from the Fellows of Regents Park I might have taken a less histrionic but equally stern view of this.

The news, however, that the lads of Gateshead were planning to come north with bombs and Bren guns causes one to regard this zoo quest as something verging on a national affront. I heard a young man interviewed say, seriously enough, that there was no alternative to killing the monster. This is a strong statement and one is obliged to inquire what harm the monster has done. It is locally popular. It has not eaten its way through the maidens of Drumnadrochit in a like manner to that southern dragon the English saint had to put down.

ln short, Nessie appears to be a douce beast with an eye to the tourist trade and it would be unthinkable for her to be shot out of hand. Before the rattle of the Bren is beard in the woods of Inverfarigaig could I suggest that the Gateshead naturalists turn their attentions to that other monster out Todday way? There they would be sure, like the rocketeers, of a warm reception.—I am, etc., 

ANDREW BEVIRIDGE. 9 Evan Crescent, Giffnock.

He had nothing to fear as O’ Connor was just cracking a joke. Indeed, it may have been that O' Connor was referring to a previous expedition when he made this quip. However, that was enough for some Loch Ness researchers to close the case on his later photograph. Well, I guess that implies they had never cracked jokes about monsters and monster hunting? Aye, that’ll be right, as we say in Glasgow.

The funny thing is, I have read sceptical Loch Ness researchers comment that reputations count for nothing in the world of Nessie photos. For example, take the case of the other vilified Nessie photographer, Peter MacNab. Respected author, president of the Clan MacNab Society,  local councillor and bank manager count for nothing it seems. 

So, logically, Peter O’ Connor’s reputation should count for nothing as well? Not quite it seems. Oh well, whatever it takes to win the case. But this article is not just about Peter O’ Connor. You would have noticed that a Maurice Burton was named as an adviser to O’ Connor and that seems to have been the beginning of a less than fruitful relationship.

It was Maurice Burton, more than anyone, who had the most to write against this picture. Here we concentrate, not on arguments for this being a monster photo, but on arguments against this being such a photo. For you see, when arguments are made for and against, one could imagine a pendulum swinging towards "hoax" or through "inconclusive" towards "real" as the debate ebbs and flows. Maurice Burton stated his case and ever since the pendulum has spent most of its time beyond "inconclusive" in the "hoax" area.

On the other hand, if one can demonstrate such an argument is on shaky ground, then the pendulum starts moving back towards the "inconclusive" and perhaps beyond to the other side. That depends on the individual and their own bias and prejudices (which I hope I don't have to prove occurs on either side of the overall debate).

MAURICE BURTON

Maurice Burton (pictured below) was a well-known naturalist who lived through much of the Nessie era since it beginnings in 1933. He was a popular author on wildlife and helped to popularise science through the publication of various books and media appearances. Such was the regard in which he was held that he regularly corresponded for the Daily Telegraph and the Illustrated London News. I suppose he was a kind of precursor to the BBC's David Attenborough.

His obituary can be found here, although like a lot of deceased Nessie-related personalities, their eulogisers tend to airbrush out that particular monstrous association. Interestingly, this obituary was written by Denys Tucker who more than once crossed swords with him over the Loch Ness Monster.

When the Loch Ness Monster came to the world's attention, Maurice Burton was not quite in the public view and was curator of sponges at the British Museum. Despite the museum's sceptical stance, this young man offered his opinion to the Daily Express in 1934 that the creature may in fact be a walrus and so began an interest in the monster that continued in various forms until his death in 1992.

However, years later, Burton denied that he had said the monster was a walrus and tells us that he in fact at the time believed it to be a giant eel. So it seems that he believed in some kind of unknown animal in the loch from day one. By the time he left the position of Deputy Keeper of Zoology for a writing career in 1959, it looks like he was more inclined to the plesiosaur view of Nessie but that position was soon to crumble as he headed to the loch with a team in 1960 to perform his own investigations. The following year he published "The Elusive Monster" which was an attempt to explain the various reported sightings of the creature as misidentifications of otters, rotting vegetable mats and other objects known to be found around the loch.

The Express article stated that Maurice Burton was described as an "adviser" to Peter O' Connor and his upcoming expedition. It seems that there was some kind of cryptozoological relationship between Burton and O' Connor but this should not surprise us as Burton was very much regarded as a leading authority on Nessie to whom others would seek wisdom. In fact, Tim Dinsdale himself (who lived about forty miles from Burton outside London) had made contact with Burton before his 1960 trip to Loch Ness and one of the Burton family had lent the cine camera to Dinsdale with which he shot his famous footage.

Indeed, the first ever mention of Tim Dinsdale in a monster context is in an article by Burton in 1959 when he makes reference to Dinsdale's analysis of  the best sightings - an analysis which later made it into Dinsdale's book.

So it seems that around October 1959, Burton was still a believer because in that O' Connor article, he talks about Nessie in familiar creature terms. Indeed, when Tim Dinsdale headed north in late April 1960 with the Burton camera, one may presume he was also of such a mind else he would not have lent the camera. However, by the time he reached Loch Ness in June 1960, he was there to seek out evidence for his embryonic book and I think the driving force behind that trip were the recent images taken by his "students", Dinsdale and O' Connor.

When the expedition was over, Burton had built his case against his former students and he could now progress with his book. But the mystery is why Burton had so quickly turned against the Loch Ness Monster despite this new evidence from his own students coming to light? Surely now was the time for him to consolidate his place as a recognised Loch Ness expert, back up Dinsdale and O' Connor, write relevant works and generally make a name for himself?

But the exact opposite happened and we need to sift around to find out why. Given Burton's stature in the cryptozoological world, it is not surprising that others have mused on this "volte face" by Burton.

A clue may lie in an article Burton wrote for the Sunday Express on the 2nd August 1959 entitled "Is there really a Loch Ness Monster?". In this article, Dr. Maurice Burton is presented as the Deputy Keeper of the British Museum. The article itself is revealing as Burton talks favourably of the plesiosaur theory and berates his zoological colleagues for hiding behind their reputations and not taking a risk in the matter. Nine weeks later in our aforementioned 4th October article on Peter O' Connor, Burton is described as the former Deputy Keeper.

Could it be that Burton's criticism of his academic peers was the last straw for them? The polite version is that Burton left for a writing career, but one would have thought you could do that and continue to hold a prestigious academic position. The only question for me was whether this was a dismissal or resignation.

Indeed, recent revelations on his colleague, Dr. Denys Tucker, show that he was dismissed from his post at the Natural History Museum in July 1960. We may not know, but was a similar dismissal of Burton the catalyst to get at the cause - the Loch Ness Monster? Or rather indirectly via two of its main proponents and his former students.

The book itself was written about the same time as Tim Dinsdale's "Loch Ness Monster" but the prevailing tide of public opinion was moving towards a large creature in Loch Ness and so Burton's book was generally ignored and taken to task by such Nessie authors as Ted Holiday. One problem with Burton's book was his disproportionate preoccupation with vegetable mats as an explanation. As it turned out, such objects are exceedingly rare on Loch Ness and water bailiff, Alex Campbell, could only recall seeing two such mats in his forty odd years (and even then it was clear what they were).

Later research by Adrian Shine and the Loch Ness Project proved that low decomposition rates in the loch precluded such a phenomenon except in certain localities around Urquhart Bay and Fort Augustus. However, Burton's campaign against any exotic creature in Loch Ness went on until his dying day and his line of scepticism continues to this day in a modified form amongst other such minded people.

OBJECTIONS AND REBUTTALS

Having given of his time to help O' Connor, Burton did an about turn and went on the offensive. Burton first raised two objections to the photograph. The first was that it looked too dark for the stated time of day. The second was that the lighting elevation appeared to suggest a height of twelve feet rather than the two feet or so that would be inconsistent with O' Connor wading waist high in the water. These objections will be examined in a later instalment of this article.

However, the final nail in O' Connor's coffin seemed to have been hammered in when Burton unveiled more revelations when he stated that his expedition had gone to O' Connor's camp site two weeks after he left and found evidence of deception.

That particular information is embedded within a general diatribe of the monster which is somewhat arrogant and dismissive in its delivery. When a "believer" becomes a "sceptic", they can sometimes turn out to be the most vitriolic opponents of the mystery.

Regarding the Hugh Gray photograph, he says the contact positive plates, "show clearly that his supposed 40ft monster was a common otter rolling at the surface." How many sceptics agree with that interpretation today?

Likewise, he concludes the Surgeon's Photo is the tail of an otter diving back into the water. He quotes the RSPB director, Peter Conder, who dismissively states "I do not think anyone can have any doubt at all that the surgeon's photograph was one of an otter ...". Another "expert" interpretation that was proven wrong and shows that just because someone is an expert, does not mean they will avoid talking nonsense.

With an air that makes us all wonder how we did not see it all before, Burton says the Peter MacNab "is simply a stern wave from a ship that has passed a short while before ..." and the Cockrell picture is just a stick. Dinsdale's film is dismissed as a boat and he names Jock Forbes as the pilot (however,  my own recent enquiries to his son, Donald, suggest his father did not use a boat at all).

Against this backdrop, O' Connor was not likely to be exonerated. The visit to O' Connor's campsite is described in a letter to the New Scientist for 23rd January 1969. The relevant portion is reproduced below.

Burton adds more details in a New Scientist article from the 24th June 1982 where he states the following in the extract below. In this he adds that he found the very pump nozzle used to inflate the alleged monster.

In the light of all this, fellow sceptic, Steuart Campbell, wrote to him in preparation for his 1986 book, "The Loch Ness Monster: The Evidence". Burton gave a fuller account of his alleged trip to O' Connor's location which was summarised by Campbell:

P9 was published on 16 June 1960, just before Burton and his team arrived at Foyers. Naturally it was discussed among the guests at the hotel, some suggesting that it was a half-submerged but inflated sack. Burton ignored the picture, which he thought unconvincing, but the gillie who took him and his family out in his motorboat for occasional excursions insisted on taking them to what he called 'O'Connor's Cove'. 

On landing they found abundant signs that someone had camped there; ashes from a fire lay about and a bivouac had been made by tying down the lower branches of a small tree (with an unusual kind of red-and-white string). There were used flash bulbs and charred fragments of what must have been several white plastic sacks! One of the party, who had decided to paddle in the shallows, tripped over some red-and-white string (the same) which turned out to be attached to half a dozen rocks each about 25cm across and forming a circle about 1m in diameter. It was clear that someone had inflated a plastic sack and weighted it around the edge with stones.

The head and neck of the 'monster' had consisted of a stick which Burton and his party missed because it was lying in the bivouac, but it was discovered shortly afterwards by retired journalist Angus Forbes. Unfortunately the stick was lost when Forbes attempted a reconstruction of the mode1.

So do we move on like the sceptics? No, I think there is more to say on this matter.

BURTON RECONSIDERED

The case seems such a foregone conclusion and subsequent sceptical researchers have just repeated what Burton has claimed and added little else. But there are problems with his story which I will now explore.

The first and biggest one stands out like a sore thumb. Burton and his family were at Foyers from at least the 19th to the 27th June while O' Connor's photograph had previously went public on the 16th. He went on to write about this expedition in his 1961 book, "The Elusive Monster" and included photographs taken during it.

However, when his book gets around to discussing the O' Connor photograph, it completely fails to mention the saga of the beach findings and all we get is a brief paragraph on how the photo is too dark and the flash bulb too high.

So, let me get this straight, Mr. Burton. You went to the beach. You found the remains of plastic sacks, a pump nozzle, a bunch of used flash bulbs and a stick that looked like the head-neck. You even reproduced a similar photograph. You have multiple witnesses to the event and you .... do not print one solitary word about this in the book describing the expedition and critiquing the photograph?

Talk about snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Or perhaps there are unseen issues here? It's a no-brainer to print all these revelations, but instead we have to wait another eight years to see anything about it in print. Is this an "epic fail" to quote the vernacular?

Perhaps Burton was afraid that O' Connor would sue him for calling him a hoaxer? That seems to be the suggestion in communications I had with another researcher. Burton claimed O' Connor threatened to sue him if he said anything against him or Dinsdale; so Burton said he pulled this account. But this is just nonsense, don't the other objections to the photo made in his book make that same accusation and Dinsdale certainly did not escape Burton's withering analysis? So, let's just conclude that Burton's lawsuit reason is actually no more than an excuse!

Comparing the quote from "The Loch Ness Monster: The Evidence" with the New Scientist articles, the second issue arises.  In the 1969 New Scientist article quoted above, Burton claims he convincingly reproduced the O' Connor photo using a polythene bag and the stick he found at the camp site "that looked identical with the neck and head of O' Connor's monster".

Unfortunately, for Burton, he let the cat out of the bag by admitting to Campbell that he never had this head-neck stick. It was allegedly discovered later on by a journalist who lost it himself. In other words, the story about reproducing the picture with the stick is false.

So, it is no surprise this "convincing" reproduction has never been published and I wager never shall. What we do have is a truly awful reproduction that Burton made at Loch Ness and had published in the Illustrated London News dated July 23rd 1960. This article was essentially a report on his week's trip to Loch Ness.

In that article he talks about the various objects and conditions that can deceive the observer, but again he makes no mention of findings at O' Connor's campsite. Perhaps he was also afraid O'Connor would sue the Illustrated London News!? As part of his photo compendium he reproduced the picture below using a rock and a stick.

Now I would not call this picture convincing of anything. One wonders why he did not use the O' Connor reproduction which did "not differ in any significant way from O' Connor's picture"? The answer? Because it did not exist.

THE SUM OF THE PARTS?

Moving onto the general items of "evidence" at this campsite, we have three lists described by Maurice Burton in separate publications.

In his 1969 piece, he mentions the remains of three large polythene bags, a circle of 9 inch rocks, a stick and red-white string. 

His 1982 article mentions remains of white plastic sacks, a pump nozzle, the stone ring and the stick.

His final conversation with Steuart Campbell produces a third list of used flash bulbs, charred fragments of several white plastic sacks, the stone ring and red-white string.

Does this actually mean anything that leads one to a solid deduction? The logic applied here clearly attempts to synergise separate objects into the concept of a larger whole (a hoax). However, the argument relies on these smaller items having clear, designated functions.

Firstly, used flash bulbs on the beach carries no compelling argument as to a sinister use. It merely implies that photographs were taken in conditions of low light levels. We know two such bulbs were used in the reported incident, what the others were used for has a multiplicity of possible uses. Burton gives us no information with which we can draw our own conclusions. How many bulbs did he see lying around? Five, ten, twenty? What did he see that suggested a sinister and not harmless use for them? Nothing would be my conclusion based on what he said.

Regarding the charred fragments of white, polythene sacks. Again, Burton is unclear in what he states. The so called sacks were not complete but rather charred fragments. Could he actually tell how big they originally were and what their overall shape originally was?

Instead of positing inflated monsters, it would be simpler to read the text of the description of the camp to come to another conclusion. I note Burton says a branch was tied down to form a bivouac. This implies O' Connor brought no tent but improvised a shelter. That required some material to form the covering - such as plastic sheets or canvas. I think O' Connor brought polythene sheets to form a bivouac with and simply burnt some or all of them when he decamped. Burton was allowing his desire to find a monster hoax colour his interpretation of the scene.

What about the pump nozzle? Well, what about it? I take a pump nozzle with me when I camp at Loch Ness every year. However, it is not used for any sinister purpose. I use it to inflate the airbeds we sleep on! They had inflatable camp beds in 1960 which were pretty much similar to what we have today. Again, there is nothing sinister here which does not have a simpler, more innocent explanation.

The final item is more interesting and that is the submerged stone circle with the red-white string. Burton connects the circle with O'Connor because the red-white string was also found tying up the bivouac. Burton hypothesises that the arrangement of stones was used to weigh down a suggested inflatable monster.

Okay, there is an immediate problem with this interpretation. We have a circle of stones and we have a monster picture. The impression I get from the photograph is of a body that is not describing a circle but an ellipse where it interfaces with the water. I would suggest you cannot create an elliptical object from a circular base. You will get into all kinds of trouble trying to do that in water only a few inches deep.

In fact, since critics of this photo like to employ Occam's Razor in a rather indiscriminate way, why don't I suggest a simpler reason for a circle of stones at a campsite? I photographed this object at the area of the O' Connor site last year.

It is a campfire and you get them all over Loch Ness from wild campers. They existed before Peter O' Connor turned up at Loch Ness and they continue to be built to this day. But, some overheated sceptic may jump in at this point and tell me O' Connor's stone circle was underwater. It was, and barely so according to what I have read. The reason I do not regard this as a problem is the two pictures below which I took with one of my trap cameras back in 2011.

As you can see, the loch level can differ substantially even after two days. The water level of the loch can go up and down according to the inflow of waters from its many rivers and streams. In fact, it can go up or down by as much as seven feet. My simple contention is that O' Connor built a campfire that subsequently was submerged by rising loch levels.

This is borne out by the rainfall figures from the nearby Nairn weather station for May and June 1960. May 1960 had a monthly rainfall figure of 7.9 mm which was very low. In fact, the records go back to 1931 and May 1960 was the fourth driest month in 29 years.

Looking at the rainfall for June 1960 (when Burton was there), the figure was 78.5mm. That gives a rainfall increase of 70.6mm. Comparing this with other monthly differentials makes it the 41st highest climb in rainfall out of 1000+ data points. That would suggest that Mr. O 'Connor's camp fire was going to be submerged.

And what about that red-white string tied around the stones? I don't know, but I do know it has nothing to do with monster hoaxes. The stone circle was likely on dry ground when O' Connor was there, but comments are welcome. My own opinion is that this is another "over-interpreted" statement from Burton akin to his words about finding the head-neck stick and photographing a near perfect reproduction.

RELIABILITY

Given the theory that Burton had over interpreted what was seen on the shoreline that day, it seemed appropriate to seek corroboration from one of the other people present at "O' Connor's Cove". I emailed Maurice Burton's son, Robert, back in 2012 asking about that beach visit and the alleged reproduction photograph. His reply was as follows:

That you have asked the question suggests that you have not read "Elusive Monster". I have nothing to add to what is in that book.

Well, the book says nothing about what I asked and Robert's terse reply suggested he thought there was nothing to add beyond it. I would agree with that, there is nothing to add against the O' Connor picture beyond the 1961 book.

In terms of accepting the evidence that Maurice Burton has proffered in the past, it seems some caution has been urged by researchers. Peter Costello offered the most scathing line when he gave his opinion on this matter of beach evidence:

Nevertheless, Dr Burton would have to produce evidence for the existence of the all too easily found polythene bag before I would believe him.

In the original text from "In Search of Lake Monsters", the last word "him" is italicised. Costello had looked at Burton's other pronouncements and the runaround he had given him on the G. E. Taylor film and come to his own conclusions.You can find similar words directed at Dr. Burton by Roy Mackal in his book when he discusses the same film.

Of course, it all seemed strange that O' Connor was so cavalier in leaving so much alleged evidence of wrongdoing. It all seemed so convenient and Peter Costello knew it. Given the false flag episode with the stick photo story, I can see Costello's issue with whatever bold statements Burton would make.

Later, Burton was to be found unreliable again in stating the facts when he was again asked about the Taylor film. To quote one Loch Ness researcher:

In his The Loch Ness Monster: the Evidence (New York: Prometheus Books, 1997[4th ed.], p.56) Steuart Campbell refers to a letter sent to him by Dr. Burton in which he stated that a short while before [the filming] there had been a newspaper report of a four-horned monster in the lake, which was later identified as the bloated body of a horse. This indicated that he thought that the Taylor's object was this same dead horse. 

However, a German researcher and the editor of a magazine BILK, Ulrich Magin, claimed (in one of the issues, which I don't have with me at the moment) that there was no such newspaper report about the horse's body, implying that Burton was mistaking.

I would concur that I have never seen such a report either. Whether Burton lied or just got muddled is beside the point, Costello was right when he said more demands should be placed on Burton when he made statements about Loch Ness Monster cases.

CONCLUSION

Whatever you may think about this photograph, I suggest you do not rely on what Maurice Burton said about his visit to the O' Connor campsite back in June 1960. There may be other objections, which I shall come to, but this is not one of them.

Debates about monster photographs or films do not merely focus on what the "believer" side of things say and do. There is also the small matter of what the sceptics are saying. Burton has made pronouncements about this photograph going back fifty years. Nobody (as far as I know) has made an attempt to critique his arguments. Sceptics rarely take on others from their own camp. Perhaps they want to show a united front against those silly monster believers.

Unfortunately, closing ranks does nothing for critical thinking and that problem continues today when you see sceptical forums which are more dedicated to bashing "believers" than critiquing the barmiest of arguments that lightweight sceptics post. Self regulation appears not to work in these instances.



The author can be contacted at lochnesskelpie@gmail.com

Loch Ness Monster report from 1998

When I was camping at Loch Ness last May, I met a young man by the name of Gary Northorpe who was working in the area. Naturally, (if I am involved in the conversation), matters turned to the Loch Ness Monster. Gary then volunteered information about a sighting he had as a kid. 

He recounted that when he was 12 years old, he had been on a trip to Inverness from his home in Arbroath. In the car with him were his uncle, aunt and two cousins. It was a summer day and the weather was sunny and the loch had a flat, calm surface. Gary reckoned it would have been between 12 and 3pm as they motored down the A82 while he trained a pair of binoculars on the loch, hoping for a glimpse of the loch's famous resident.

As he continued to watch the waters, something appeared in his field of view in the middle of the loch. For up out of the water appeared a dark hump-like shape. Puzzled by what he was seeing, he continued to watch the object through the binoculars. After what he estimated was about five seconds, the object disappeared back into the water; no more to be seen.

Not surprisingly, when he excitedly told his car companions what he saw, no one believed him and they continued on and away from Loch Ness. Based on the fact that he was now 29 years old, we placed the sighting in the Summer of 1998.

I asked Gary to draw what he saw that day and it is shown at the top of this page. The drawing does indeed reflect the most common type of Nessie sighting, the single hump. Given he was now older and had had some time now to observe the moods of the loch, I asked if it could have been a boat wake he was witnessing. He discounted that explanation based on the dome shape of the object and the fact that it submerged.

Others may suggest that he saw a seal on a rare trip to Loch Ness. I wouldn't discount that possibility since we have a record of a seal in Loch Ness in the following year of 1999. Whether there was a seal in Loch Ness in 1998 is not clear and it is simplistic to call upon this solution purely on a convenience basis.

As a comparison, there is the video sequence below taken by Geoff Mitchinson perhaps only weeks after on the 5th September 1998. This is also a fleeting appearance of a hump like object. Are they the same creature? Seal or monster?

The main issue is the sighting lasted only five seconds and it is not clear how big the object was given it was exclusively seen in the narrow field of view of binoculars. If Gary had been on the shore and had time to continue watching, we may have had more information to aid an assessment of this possible Nessie sighting. You can read about more 1998 reports on Gary Campbell's sightings website.

As an aside, I also spoke to a lady who was working on the campsite who had seen something odd some months before as she looked out on the loch from Foyers. At first she thought it was some canoes making their way down the loch, but on a further look, she realised there was no canoes causing the wave patterns. I took note of what she said, but whether she saw something to do with the Loch Ness Monster is hard to say.

The author can be contacted at lochnesskelpie@gmail.com

Nessie Books, Talks and Interviews

It is August now and one may think that the roster of Loch Ness Monster books would be near completion for 2015. That may not appear to be the case, but first a look at what has been out so far this year.

The first book is one of those small, downloadable, Kindle formats that one sees more and more these days. Written by Elgin Cook, it is a 35 page introduction to the mystery of the Loch Ness Monster. It is good for those who want the basic facts, though more seasoned researchers may find it too familiar.

The second book is of an order of magnitude better and is entitled "Loch Ness: From Out of the Depths" by Patrick Gallacher. It is a compilation of many newspaper reports concerning the Loch Ness Monster from May 1933 to December 1934. 

At 386 pages, it is certainly one of the biggest books on the Loch Ness Monster, though it has to be realised that this is an edited compilation of pre-existing material. Now, all of these old newspaper reports can be accessed on such online resources as the British Newspaper Archive, but I like the idea that they are now available in digital and paper format. I like it is digital because it is now on my Kindle reader and is readily searchable. Of course, the original online resources are searchable too, but I find this format more comfortable.

I will also order the paperback version just so I have a paper backup of these old and valuable newspaper reports. One will also find that this is not just a monotone recounting of Nessie reports. It contains contemporary opinions and debate as to the monster's identity as well as folklore, other lake monsters and sea serpent tales. All in all, a good book for the cryptozoological shelf.

AND STILL TO COME

But 2015 has still not yet seen the last of books on the Loch Ness Monster. The next book that is expected is Malcolm Robinson's "The Monsters of Loch Ness". This is due for imminent publication and I hope to review it as soon as it comes out.

Malcolm is a well known researcher and author in UFO and paranormal circles, but, as a fellow Scot, his great love is the Loch Ness Monster. As he says on his own facebook page:

Update on my upcoming book, 'The Monsters of Loch Ness' (The history and the mystery) A chap presented me with some photographs that he took of "Nessie" back in 2011 and a drawing of "Nessie's" head. This along with his testimony, will now be going into my book as an extra. My new publisher has said that he is happy to use this and we are still looking to get this book published later this year. As I stated before, this book to me, is far more important than my other three books on UFOs and ghosts, that's not to say that I am disrespecting my previous three books, far from it. What I am saying is Loch Ness to me holds such a big part of my heart and life, and my research there over the years and going down in the Loch Ness submarine back in 1994 all combined to a book being written on a subject so dear to me, "Nessie". More news when I have it.

I look forward to reading Malcolm's book. 

Also anticipated this year is Karl Shuker's "Here's Nessie!" being subtitled "A Monstrous Compendium From Loch Ness". I don't know much about this book apart from knowing that it will mainly consist of Karl's previous writings on Nessie. So, this book may be familiar to you depending on how much you follow Karl.

Lastly, we still await Paul Harrison's book on notorious monster hunter, Frank Searle. It may come out this year, it may not. Either way, I expect this to be a highly anticipated and readable book as Paul recounts the life of this Loch Ness character and the interviews Paul had with Frank at his Lancashire home many years after he left the loch.

OTHER ITEMS

I recently gave an interview on the Loch Ness Monster to the Bruce Collins radio show. You can hear that interview podcast here. It lasts about 30 minutes and covers the basics of the mystery. 

And as a final heads up, I will talking on our favourite cryptid at the 2016 Scottish UFO and Paranormal Conference in Glasgow next June. More details to follow!

 

On the Horns of a Dilemma

Before I went on holiday, somebody posted on Facebook an excerpt from Peter Costello's book "In Search of Lake Monsters". I reproduce that piece below.

Now it is not a new thing that deer have been suggested as misidentified Nessies, but that is not the problem. Every "believer" accepts people misidentify objects for the Loch Ness Monster, but not to the ridiculous proportions demanded by sceptics. The problem lies in this particular treatment of three reports.

Peter Costello stated that reports of monsters with horns could actually be deer because younger stag had short unbranched antlers in August and that was when these three horned monster sightings were reported. Maurice Burton, in his book, The Elusive Monster, echoes this theory by printing a photograph of the proposed type of deer.

With this in mind, I decided to update the list of horned reports forty years on. The list is shown below, beginning with the original three.

1. Mr. A.H. Palmer 10th August 1933
2. Peter Grant 12th August 1934
3. Mrs Greta Finlay 20th August 1952
4. Kenneth A Key 11th September 1952
5. Pupil from Fort Augustus School November 1960
6. Helen McNaughton 8th September 1965
7. Farmer and wife May 1982   
8. Jan Erik Beckjord 6th August 1983

There are some horned sightings which I have excluded. The first is the legendary MacRae film which cites horns, but we have no proof that this eyewitness event even took place (if it did, it may have been in July).

The second is the (in)famous 1975 Rines underwater photograph which alleges to show a horned head. Since deer don't tend to travel 40 feet under the surface of Loch Ness, it's not a valid report for this type of discussion.

Finally, Maurice Burton mentions account number five. It was a sighting involving multiple schoolboys but not all describe horns. I include it nonetheless, because if one starts stripping out sightings based on various objections, one assessor may keep all them and another may reject the lot.

So the monthly distribution is now:

August - 4
September - 2
November - 1
May - 1

Looking at the cases in general, the most famous horned case is number three - Greta Finlay. You can read more about that report in my previous articles here and here.

Case number one may also be familiar to readers as it is a curious affair involving what seems to be no more than a head. Maurice Burton tried to present this as another deer event as the following scan from his book demonstrates. However, this time a hornless deer is invoked rather than a horned one (which rather begs the question as to why Peter Costello used it in his August Antler theory).

Maurice Burton also discusses the second case in his book involving a Mr. Peter Grant. I went to the closest source for this particular case, which was printed in the Northern Chronicle of 15th August 1934 and is reproduced below.

No sketch accompanied this account, so Maurice Burton sent the report to some artists he knew and asked them to draw what they thought was being described. These drawings are again reproduced below, though one must be aware that there will always be a degree of subjectivity when one is attempting to draw an animal which one has not personally seen or is not under the supervision of the one who did. The variation in the drawings exemplifies this.

So what are the problems with Peter Costello's analysis? The first is the chart below which shows the monthly distribution of monster reports. The peak month is August which coincides with the peak month for horned monster reports. The explanation behind this chart is simple, more people are watching the loch in the Summer months right up to a peak in August which then tails off into Autumn as the tourists leave, the locals stay indoors more and daylight hours decrease.

So to treat this theory properly, the data has to be weighted to take into account the increased number of observers in the Summer months. So, for example, we note that there almost twice as many reports in August as there are in September. It is also noted that the number of horned reports is again twice as much in August as it is in September. In other words, the proportions are similar which suggests the variation is not down to deer with velvet horns in August, but the number of observers in each month.

Having said that, I won't attempt a reweighting as we come to the second problem.The issue here is the size of the dataset and its useful in finding statistically significant results. Eight reports of horns over eighty years is really not a lot and one wonders if anything statistically useful can be done with it. Overall, this eight constitutes only about 0.6% of the entire sightings record.

This inadequate dataset is demonstrated by the fact that there are no horn reports for the next busiest months of June and July. That signifies an inadequacy in the dataset and hence making observations about August reports is not a valid approach.

Thirdly and finally, I question whether deer horns in August is in fact a viable theory at all. When you read Peter Costello's statement again, you may be led to think that August was the only month in which deer display monster-significant antlers.

So, we are told that these short antlers are covered in velvet in August and this somehow makes the deer more monster-like. But what about June, July, September and October? Of course, the antlers will be growing throughout gaining and then losing this velvet covering, but I fail to see how deer in these other four months are significantly less deceptive. 

The table of antler growth below charts the development of deer antler. I note that the deer sheds its first set of antlers in April/May of its second year of life and the new set grows to full size by August. This suggests that antlers that are so-called "monster-significant" should be present in July and perhaps even June. The absence of horn reports in these months suggests it has nothing to do with deer antler but other non-deer factors.

CONCLUSION

I don't doubt some people have been fooled by deer, but my own conviction is that these are more likely for sightings seen at further distances or hampered by other factors such as brevity of time or poor observational conditions. In the case of reports such as Greta Finlay where the creature was 20 yards away, we can reject deer explanations as forced and naive.

What we can see is that horns are not a significant part of the Loch Ness Mystery. This may be in part due to the fact that most sightings are not amenable to seeing such a small feature. Other close sightings (such as John MacLean) do not mention any such antennae.

In fact, the idea of horns on the monster only really became popular with the 1975 underwater "gargoyle" picture which in turn inspired the "Courtship in Loch Ness" painting by Sir Peter Scott. From thereon in, they occasionally appear in the cultural representations of Nessie, such as the recent Water Horse film.

But since I accept that sightings such as those by Greta Finlay are genuine, then I accept the concept of "horns" whatever they may be. And there lies the horns of a dilemma, what exactly are we seeing here? One suggestion is that these are snorkels to take in air and are even retractable (which would seem to be their default position).

Since I believe the monster is a water breather, I don't see them as snorkels, though retractability is acceptable. More likely to me is the idea that they may be sensory organs akin to barbels which are useful for sensing the dark environment of the loch waters.

Of course, one's interpretation depends on how one views the Loch Ness Monster phenomenon; be you fish, plesiosaur, salamander or sceptic oriented. But then again, perhaps the sceptic at the top of the page had no business submitting this argument?

It seems that some of that ilk have declared that you can't trust witnesses or the newspapers that report them not to embellish their stories with lies. So, the big question is, how does a sceptic know that horns were not added by the witness or reporter for dramatic effect? They don't, so they have no business giving an opinion on any eyewitness testimony.

But, five years on and still going strong, this blog will continue to give its views on what eyewitnesses have seen and will continue to expose sceptical arguments for what they are.

See you next article!

The author can be contacted at lochnesskelpie@gmail.com

Interesting eBay item owned by Constance Whyte

Seasoned Loch Ness researchers will know about Constance Whyte. She was the author of the 1957 book, "More than a Legend" and was an influence on later Loch Ness Monster researchers. This we certainly know of Tim Dinsdale who states that her book was a major influence on him before he headed up to Loch Ness for the first time.

In fact, she was one of the few people who was a link between the beginning of the Nessie phenomenon in the 1930s and the later activities and research around the loch in the 1960s. I believe she died around 1980.

So, it was a pleasant surprise to find this painting on eBay which was created by herself. I did not realise she had other talents. The work depicts the town of Inverness and, though it has no explicit Loch Ness Monster reference, it may be of interest to some readers.

The link to the auction is here and the auction ends in nine hours at the time of writing.

ANOTHER MORE MYSTERIOUS PAINTING

While I am here on the subject of paintings, I came across this item from the Dundee Courier dated the 20th of September 1934. It refers to a painting for sale depicting the Loch Ness Monster.

From the text, it appears to suggest that an artist, based on the River Ness, had seen the monster and executed a painting "on the spot" which rather suggests he was in the process of painting Loch Ness when something broke the surface.

I know nothing about any such painting and suggestions are invited as to what this could be. I would be confident that said painting is still in existence, but 81 years on, it would seem an impossible task to track it down.

Catfish and Nessie

Steve Feltham has created a bit of a stir in the media by suggesting that the Loch Ness Monster could be a Wels Catfish. Some newspapers were suggesting that Steve would now bow out of monster hunting, as if the mystery had finally been solved.

That won't happen and as Steve suggested, the theory is fluid and could be ditched by him the next day. Steve has toyed with this idea for years now and this is not the first time he has been (mis)quoted on this theory.

Some have suggested the idea of a Wels catfish going back ten years or more, but the idea goes back before any such people were born and is parallel with the start of the Nessie story in 1933-1934. Rupert T. Gould mentions catfish in his 1934 book, "The Loch Ness Monster and Others", ascribing it to Dr. A. Van Veldhuizen, Professor of Theology at Groningen, who was no doubt familiar with the Silurus Glanis of the Danube River.

Gould's comment is stark when he says this is "another example of a theory entirely divorced from the evidence". It seems with this theory, the skeptics have relaxed their demands on physical evidence. As it turns out, there is as much evidence for catfish in Loch Ness as there is for plesiosauri in Loch Ness.

By a strange coincidence, I visited the aquarium in Copehagen as the catfish theory was circulating the media websites. Their Wels Catfish was sharing a tank with that other Nessie candidate, the Atlantic Sturgeon. I captured this photograph of them both together, though the light level was low and the catfish was decidedly inanimate. The smaller sturgeon is swimming above the catfish.

Now either the aquarium administrators were fleet of foot on new news or they had their own view on Nessie as the display beside the fish said:

The Wels Catfish is one of the world's largest fresh water fish. It can be up to 5 metres in length and weigh up to 300 kg. Due to its size, it has been identified as the Loch Ness Monster.

Every fish has its day, but for me, this is not the Loch Ness Monster.

While I am on Nessie related stuff at this aquarium, I noted they were selling clockwork submarines. I was tempted to buy one and recreate a famous Nessie photograph. The box says "Good Clean Fun". Try telling that to the Loch Ness Monster community!

The author can be contacted at lochnesskelpie@gmail.com

Thoughts on John MacLean, Lachlan Stuart and the An Seileag

First off, I wrote an article on the famous John MacLean sighting a while back. The item was linked by James Jeffrey Paul a few days back which led to a comment by well known Nessie sceptic, Tony Harmsworth. He "explained" to James that it was a combination of a cormorant and waves. Shall we now go home? Not likely.

So what gets on my pectorals more than anything else in this subject? It's sceptics dissing and dumbing down Nessie witnesses without exception. It can be summed up in that most unusual of sceptical dogmas:

No Loch Ness Monster eyewitness has ever accurately described what they claimed to see.

That applies to all 1500 or so reports that we know about. Yes, it does sound counter-intuitive, doesn't it? But the only way they get away with this outlandish axiom is because the alternative is seen as even more counter-intuitive by the general public; that a monster inhabits Loch Ness. Sorry, but one implausibility should not rely on another for its justification.

But John MacLean was a local man who fished Loch Ness, I think he would have had some experience of the wildlife around Loch Ness. How much experience do you need around the loch to recognise a cormorant?

He was only about sixty feet from this animal, how close do you have to be to recognise a cormorant?

He observed this creature for six minutes, how long do you need to tell a cormorant from a monster?

Clearly none of this is relevant to the sceptic.

LACHLAN STUART

Thirteen years later, Lachlan Stuart claimed to have seen and photographed the Loch Ness Monster on the other side of the loch. Tony Harmsworth also has a hook into this story in his 1985 booklet, The Mysterious Monsters of Loch Ness. In this short work, he states that Richard Frere approached him and told him that he had witnessed Lachlan Stuart and Taylor Hay set up hay bales and tarpaulin to photograph a hoax.

This was at variance with later accounts which had Stuart merely confessing the deed to Frere. Tony stood by his version until he stated "I got it wrong" at the Nessie at 80 conference. Given the 28 year gap between booklet and recantation, I put it to you the recall of the 1985 Tony would be more reliable than the 2013 Tony.

But my main point here was I always wondered what a hay bale from that time would have looked like. Eventually I found a 1950s picture of Inchnacardoch Bay with hay bales in the distance. Judge for yourselves whether these types of objects are up to the task. I would say the job is not so clear cut as some make out, but no doubt one or two sceptics will come up with creative answers.

As a comparison, here is a photograph of hay bales in an Irish field.

THE AN SEILEAG

Moving on to more folkloric times, I recently found this story from The Celtic Review of 1905. It is set in the Isle of Lewis and Harris amongst the small lochs of that island. 

Many years have passed since my old grandmother told me the tale; and she said that it was a very old story then. In the lochs there dwelt a huge monster, a water-horse. He was very dangerous. He used to swell the loch, so that any one that happened to be in the neighbourhood was swept into it, and afterwards devoured. This monster had a liking for women and children, whom he enticed to his dwellings under the loch, there to eat them up. The grass round the loch also served him for food. Not very long ago there was a seileig in a loch over the way of Leurbost.

A seileig is not the same as the each-uisge. It is like an enormous eel, and is supposed to come from the sea. Several people saw a part of this seileig rise like an island in the middle of the loch. They got a big hook and fastened it to a long chain. On the hook they hung the carcass of a sheep, and threw it into the loch. Next day they pulled out the chain. The sheep was gone, and the great hook had been pulled straight.

There was a burn running from the loch to the sea, and some time after, when it was in spate, the people saw traces along the sides of the burn as if some slimy monster had been making its way from the loch to the sea. It must have been the seileig for nothing more was seen of it in the loch. 

Giant eels form part of the tapestry of Scottish monsters. For example, one could argue that we can read an eel into the etymology of Loch Shiel (gaelic sealg or seileig).

AND KELPIES

Finally, a poem about the feared Kelpie taken from the The Mataura Ensign newspaper dated 6th May 1892.