New Loch Ness Monster TV Documentary

Tune your televisions to Channel 5 on November 24th at 8pm in the UK. As part of a currently running series entitled "Missing Evidence", the Monster of Loch Ness will feature in one episode. To quote one website:

This week the show looks at one of Scotland's most enduring mysteries - that of the Loch Ness monster. Tales of the monster that has haunted the river go back nearly 1,500 years, but in the last century the story has really taken off. Over 1,000 eye witnesses since the 1930's believe they have photographed a monster in the water. The evidence has never been that definitive though, so Dr Charles Paxton of St Andrews University has decided to compile each piece of evidence on the supposed beast to finally explain the truth behind the myth of the monster. The show looks at well-known photos and video evidence in a more scientific light, as well as meeting fabled Nessie hunter Adrian Shine. Albert Jack, a historian also features as he believes the first sightings were in fact a bunch of elephants. Another expert, Chris French believes that the real source of the animal comes from a mixture between media reports of hoaxes, natural phenomena, everyday animals and out own monstrous imaginations.

 

It seems we will learn new things, like Loch Ness is a "river" and not, as I was led to understand, a lake.

I also take note of the phrase "fabled Nessie hunter Adrian Shine" as if Adrian's existence was as in much dispute as Nessie herself. I am sure the program will present ample video evidence for Adrian's existence, to which I can add my own sightings of him on several occasions. But of what use is eyewitness testimony? I may have mistaken a deer for him. Therefore, each video clip of him needs to be assessed on its own merits as the use of Photoshop can never be discounted. This particular debate could rage on for decades ...

Anyway, Charles Paxton is featured and I, again, point readers to his talk on the Statistics of Loch Ness Monster Sightings at the Edinburgh Fortean Society tomorrow (11th). Gordon Holmes should also feature, which is just as well, because everyone else mentioned does not seem to believe in the Loch Ness Monster. That would make for a pretty boring program. But who this Chris French is, I cannot say. Another fabled Nessie hunter?

I look forward to seeing this documentary when it transmits and will review it shortly after.

New Nessie Video

Monster fever mounts that little bit more as a new video purporting to be of Nessie appears in the Scottish Daily Record. It was taken by Richard Collis on Thursday, 6th November as he was motoring about a mile north of Fort Augustus. He caught sight of an unusual object 150-200 metres out in the loch and got out to take the mobile phone footage which you can see on the Record website. I post an image from that clip above.

I have not had much time to look at it at all, but it has the classic head-neck pose beloved of monster researchers. The object appears to rise and fall in the water. How much of that is due to increased wave action or the object itself, I am not sure, but it looks to me like part of it is due to the object moving and not the water. Whether the object itself is moving across the loch is hard to tell, but there is a branch in the foreground which can help further analysis. Certainly, at that distance out, the depth is easily 200 feet, so we would expect the object to be at the mercy of the rough waves - unless it had it own form of propulsion.

But what is it? Branch, bird, debris or monster. You decide!

POSTSCRIPT: I got an email from Jonathan Bright who was on site that week who took the image below while he was there.

He adds the following:

I have seen this during my investigation of the Loch the previous week -on 6th afteroon to be exact, as I was coming back from a cruise from Fort Augustus- and as I have also said to the editor of the article, I can assure you that it's not the Loch Ness 'monster'. It looks like a tree log or branch, most possibly put there deliberately (it's just across the road from a lodge), either as a reference to the Surgeon photo, or, just a prank. (it would be interesting if it was not 'man caused' though)

We stopped and filmed this for sometime as an example of potential misidentifications...

It seems really strange that the photographer did not realize this, since the object was clearly fixed at this position and was not getting carried away by the waves and current but only moving up and down...

Steve Feltham also sent me this photo of the stick from the other side. It was taken by Marcus Atkinson from one of his cruise boats which comes out of Fort Augustus. You can see it to the right.

I would also note, against the backdrop of recent discussions about mobile phone evidence, how poor the quality of the image is. In fact, too poor to make informed judgements. The photographs are better but a video with the crispness of such pictures is always better.

From the Daily Record:

TREE planter Richard Collis captured this amazing video on his iPhone after he spotted something unusual while driving alongside the loch last week.

AN Astonishing new video claiming to show the Loch Ness Monster has surfaced.

Tree planter Richard Collis captured this amazing video on his iPhone after he spotted something unusual while driving alongside the loch last week.

He said: " I was travelling along the side of Loch Ness, saw something out the corner of my eye, pulled over and went down to the Loch and took some photographs.            

“As I was watching, I was thinking what the hell is that!    

         

“The loch was quite rough and I wanted to get as best a picture that I could possibly get because I knew it wasn’t going to last forever.

“It was about roughly 150-200 metres out in the water on a stretch about a mile from Fort Augustus heading towards Invermoriston.          

  

“It’s quite difficult to know how long it lasted but it felt like a couple of minutes.”

The footage Richard shot was filmed last Thursday and appears to show a creature swimming through the choppy water.

The photographs taken last week look eerily similar to the famous Surgeons photograph of Nessie which was later exposed as a hoax in 1993.

Richard, 58, was so shocked by what he saw he immediately called his wife Vibeke.

He said: "She thought I was having a joke and I said ‘No no, I’ve got mobile phone footage of it’ then when she saw it she said that’s strange.

“It’s similar to the Surgeons photo, that’s what I thought was weird. To me it looks like a long neck and a small head. Like a serpent - the old highland name of it was sea serpent or water horse.            

“What do I make of it? I just think it’s an anomaly that I can’t really explain. I’m a bit of a doubter of a lot of things until I see it myself and I wouldn’t have believed what I saw if someone else was telling me.            

“I’ve fished the loch man and boy and I haven’t ever seen anything like that. As I say I don’t really believe in anything like that until I see it but what I saw was obviously what the Loch Ness Monster is - I’m not saying it was a fire breathing dragon and I never saw teeth or anything like that, but I must have thought there was something there if I stopped to take pictures.

“It’s like seeing a UFO or something like that. I’ve seen what potentially could be the Loch Ness Monster. I’m excited about seeing it and I’d like to see it again.”       

     

Richard’s wife Vibeke, 60, added: “I’ve been here 37 years and my husband has been here his whole life, so we are completely aware of how unique this is.    

“I couldn’t believe it and laughed when he showed me because I knew he could never set that up. He’s not very technical or not very computer wise either.           

“I couldn’t believe it because when you live here everyone wants a shot, even if it’s a log, but the thing is it does not look like a log.            

“It’s definitely not a seal because it’s got a really long neck and it’s too round and smooth to be a log and why would it bob the way it does and then just go away.”      

      

She added: “I can’t believe that my husband managed to get this. It is amazing.”

Jonathan Bright Photo goes Mainstream

I am glad to see that Jonathan Bright's photo of Nessie has gone live on the mainstream media. The major papers are running it now as you can see below.

Daily Express

Daily Mirror

Scotsman

My original article on Jonathan's picture was top google hit for this picture, but that won't last long as people visit these sites for the latest evidence of Nessie. Well done, Jonathan, on raising Nessie awareness. And, no, I do not think it is a wave.

P.S. We have had innumerable comments by sceptics that this is a wave. More than enough in fact, so let this picture bask in its temporary glory ... so no comments for this article.

Nessie at the Stake

An effigy of the Scottish First Minster, Alex Salmond, will be burned at the traditional Lewes Guy Fawkes bonfire tonight. All I can say is, what has poor Nessie done to deserve this?

A Day At The Scottish Paranormal Festival

It was off to Stirling this Friday as I made the short trip from Edinburgh for a day of paranormal lectures with Nessie surfacing somewhere along the line. The event was into its second of four days at the Albert Halls just outside the town centre.

I bought a whole day pass which gained me entrance to the day's five lectures, starting with our very own cryptid at 10am. The speaker was Jonathan Bright, who will be familiar to regulars here as the taker of an alleged photograph of Nessie back in 2011. I say alleged because not all agree on the identity of the object in the picture. This blog takes the view that it is Nessie, others interpret it as a wave.

Jonathan gave some background on his own general, paranormal investigations at home (in Greece) and beyond. But his photo took pride of place in the presentation as Jonathan discussed how he saw a horse like head in the picture which followed in the tradition of the good old water horse of old. He then went through the various ways in which the Loch Ness Monster could be interpreted as a paranormal phenomenon. I'll develop that more as I describe the day.

The second talk by Jonathan Downes on the Chupacabra was cancelled. I don't know why and I was disappointed not to hear and meet Jon for the first time. As a result of this gap, the Q&A session for the Loch Ness Monster talked was extended.

After this, the third scheduled talk was by the "Paranormal Contractor", Stephen Mera. This concerned his various call outs to investigate strange goings on across Britain.There was no theory here but a series of tales of his adventures as he came across phenomena which were explicable and inexplicable. Swinging lights were explained by a kid with a yo-yo, but water which was observed to travel across a ceiling like a snake and drop down like rain was beyond his powers of deduction.

Equally, if not more compelling was the talk by Nick Kyle of the Scottish Society for Psychical Research. Ironically, he was a replacement for another call-off, Hayley Stevens, who is a ghost-hunting sceptic. I say ironic because Nck is the opposite of Hayley in his conclusions. Some fascinating tales, pictures and audios made for an interesting case for phenomena which require an explanation beyond what the sceptics normally offer. Then again, I have not read their explanations for these events and so will say no more.

The final talk of the day was by Peter McCue and entitled "Orchestrations of the Trickster". This took me back to the musings of Charles Fort, from whom we derive the word "Fortean". Fort speculated on whether the odd stories he had compiled over the years were evidence of a Cosmic Trickster playing tricks on mankind. 

How much Fort believed this I don't know, but Peter McCue brought it up to date by suggesting phenomena such as UFOs, Bigfoot and Poltergeist activity had the same origin in a higher intelligence. By implication, this would extend to other cryptids. This is not a new theory, but it still baffles me as to the motives of such a "Trickster" who persists in this apparently puerile behaviour for millenia. Suggestions are welcome.

So ended an interesting day, but how applicable was all this to the Loch Ness Monster? Firstly, I would say that Nessie hunters of the past such as Tim Dinsdale and Ted Holiday would have been quite at home with these proceedings and would happily have taken their seats here. Indeed, seeing one or both of them presenting a talk would not have been out of the question.

There are a plurality of readers of this blog who subscribe to a paranormal Loch Ness Monster. Again, they would have no problem turning up at such a conference. But quite how this all hangs together is vague (to me at least).

I, myself, believe in paranormal phenomena and have even subscribed to a paranormal Nessie in the past. From what I discerned this Friday past, it is not clear whether that theory has developed much. To take a paranormal position will get rid of supposed problems such as food supply and the lack of a carcass. However, to say Nessie is a solidified thought form looks as easy to say as the sceptics saying Greta Finlay only saw a deer. Easy to say, but how do you convince those outside your "camp" of this?

Perhaps a more solid theory explaining this will be forthcoming, in which case I will pay more attention. In the meantime, you are free to post your musings and theories.

On a final note, I talked to Malcolm Robinson, who has written various books on strange phenomena. He tells me that he hopes to publish a new book on the Loch Ness Monster entitled "The Monsters of Loch Ness" by the end of the year. I look forward to that, though note this is the same title as the late Roy Mackal's book. Can you do that?

And to finally bring this article back to the blog's position, Malcolm agrees with me that Nessie is a water breathing animal!

The Loch Ness Monster and the BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has digitised their perennial publication, the Radio Times from 1923 to 2009. It is now online and searchable which means you can find out what was on TV when you were born (for me, it was the Woodentops, Gardening Club and Dr. Kildare).

But we can also have a look at what was being broadcast, first on the wireless, and then on TV regarding the Loch Ness Monster over the years. However, it seems the Beeb got off to a pretty unserious start in their decades long coverage of the mystery. It was 8pm on the 27th February 1934 and time for "A Recital of Gramophone Records" with a band recital of a song called "I'm the Monster of Loch Ness".

I have heard this song before, its not likely to top the charts in any year, let alone 1934. You can view the search of the archive for the Loch Ness Monster here. Notable items are Lt. Commander Rupert T. Gould and his radio talks in the 1930s, which included his continual opponent E. G. Boulanger, director of the Aquarium of the London Zoo.

There is the documentary, "The Legend of the Loch", from 15th May 1958, hosted by well known BBC presenter, Raymond Baxter. We also had Maurice Burton (author of the sceptical "The Elusive Monster") facing up to LNIB man, Richard Fitter, in "The Naturalist" on the 2nd May 1965.

Famous cryptozoologist, Bernard Heuvalmans (below), made an appearance on the 9th December 1966, while Robin McEwen defended the Monster against Anthony Lincoln, Q.C. in a court room style debate in July 1968.

F. W. Holiday gave a talk to "Woman's Hour" on Radio 2 on the 16th April 1969. Presumably in the aftermath of the publication of his book, "The Great Orm of Loch Ness". There is also the children's programme "Fabulous Animals", presented by David Attenborough. I remember watching this as a youngster, sitting enthralled by tales of strange beasts from the past and present. The book of the series (below) had a small section on Nessie.

Other famous Nessie men made their appearances, such as Sir Peter Scott in July 1977 as Monster Fever took off again in the late 70s. As we move into the 1980s, the popular cartoon series "The Family Ness" dominates, while famous magician, Paul Daniels, goes to Loch Ness to hunt the beast in 1985.

By the time we get to the 1990s, our own Steve Feltham arrives on the scene when the BBC televised "Video Diaries" on the 1st August 1992, featuring Steve leaving the Rat Race to take up residence at Loch Ness. That episode can be viewed here.

However, there is not much in the way of serious programs throughout the 80s and 90s, reflecting the increasing scepticism towards the Loch Ness Monster. Entertainment-wise, there is the Nessie like episode of the X-Files entitled "Quagmire" (below).

One program of interest from 16th June 1997, suggests a trend of re-interpretation documentaries. In this case, giant eels were the subject of "Tales from the River Bank". To wit:

Tonight's programme attempts to verify claims that giant eels - more than 20 feet in length - exist in Loch Ness, and meets some of the anglers who go to great lengths to land a monster eel. 

I believe this ended up as a chapter in the equivalent book. I wonder what strength of line they recommended? On the back of the popularity of the "X Files", a series on cryptids called "The X Creatures" was produced by the BBC in 1998 and Nessie was the subject on the 9th September. Though some of these episodes have appeared on YouTube, I have not located that one. Perhaps some intrepid Internet explorer could oblige here.

Another documentary I would like to see was Steve Leonard's "Search for the Loch Ness Monster" televised on the 27th July 2003 which came complete with a model plesiosaur head (below). I believe this was the program with the sonar hunt that claimed to have disproved Nessie after picking up no sonar hits on a loch wide scan.

And, finally, we have Barnaby Bear of the BBC Children's channel, CBeebies, in search of the monster here.

Having said all this, the one feature that is missing is a link to click through to the video or audio stream for the original program. If that was there, I would look forward to hours of great Nessie entertainment. But, of course, I am not expecting this as some of the original programs would have been long erased, lost or degraded. It doesn't help that the BBC had a policy of mass recycling of video tapes over the 1960s and 1970s; but economics trumped heritage.

Some items will still be in the BBC archives, some may even be in private hands. Either way, it won't be easy to see them. The BBC tends to only put out past productions if they see a profit in it. That means popular serials and films and not the Loch Ness Monster, which is a hotch pot of occasional documentaries and features within other programs.

Oh, well!

The Treasure of Urquhart Castle

Strange creatures in Loch Ness are not the only legend to be associated with this dark stretch of water. During my research for "The Water Horses of Loch Ness", I found various stories which, though unrelated to the Kelpie legend, proved interesting nonetheless.

One of these concerned Urquhart Castle, as I found when looking at "In the Hebrides" authored by Constance Gordon-Cumming in 1883. 

Taking passage by the steamer, we sailed up beautiful Loch Ness, taking a farewell look at Castle Urquhart, once an old holding of the Clan Cumming, and in later days one of the royal forts of Scotland, besieged by Edward I in 1303. Many a hard tussle with the English did it witness, but for the last three hundred years there has been no mention of it in any chronicle of fight or fray.

It is now a picturesque ruin, rising from the loch on a rocky promontory. The Highlanders call these grey ruins Strone Castle, and believe that two mysterious vaulted cells are hollowed in the rock below. The one contains a countless treasure of gold; but in the other a fearful pestilence is sealed up, which, if once released, would stalk forth in irresistible might and depopulate the land, having first slain the rash hand that opened its prison door. So the dread of liberating so dire a scourge has even subdued the covetous craving for gold, and the treasure-chamber remains inviolate.

The same story is told in the 1893 book, "Urquhart and Glenmoriston; olden times in a Highland parish" written by William Mackay:

It is believed in the Parish that there are two secret chambers underneath the ruins of the Castle — the one filled with gold and the other with the plague. On account of the risk of letting loose the pestilence, no attempt has ever been made to discover the treasure. This myth, in various forms, and associated with various places, is as old as the classic fable of Pandora. 

Looking at this story, one is reminded of similar treasure curses, such as the tomb of King Tut. But one wonders if there is any truth behind this legend. Just as many believe there is a real creature behind the poetical Each Uisge, could there be a real trove of gold, silver and precious stones under Urquhart Castle? Given that the castle was raided, pillaged and finally blown up, there would seem to be little room for hidden treasure.

But there is another legend of a local treasure hoard, and that is the Jacobite gold of Bonnie Prince Charlie. It is told that Spain had financed the Jacobite Army to the tune of 400,000 gold livre a month. Seven boxes of these coins had arrived after the defeat at Culloden in 1745 and they were reputedly hidden in the forests not far from Loch Arkaig, over thirty miles from Castle Urquhart as the crow files. Could some of this have found its way to Loch Ness?

We could speculate further on the Templars and the treasure of King Baldwin the Second (died 1131). His treasure was allegedly taken to Rosslyn Chapel near Edinburgh, but there was also a Templar house near Urquhart Castle (now only remembered in the location of Temple Pier). This one is a bit of a longer shot.

In general, troubled times usually impel men of wealth to carefully hide their worldly goods and so I would not entirely dismiss the story out of hand. The curse part of the story can be seen as a deterrent to treasure seekers, but is it possible that some owner of the castle was forced to leave the castle in haste without his hidden treasure and his secret died with him in some distant place?

Who can tell, but it is to be noted that the level of Loch Ness rose by six feet with the building of the Caledonian Canal in the early 19th century. Perhaps our fabled hoard is now only accessible to divers? Or perhaps a long sealed door of stone lies undetected, now overrun by bushes and trees?

Today, a kind of modern combination of plague and treasure may be argued for the castle. With record numbers paying record prices to visit the site under the aegis of Historic Scotland, the uncovered treasure is certainly there to behold. On the other hand, some locals certainly regarded the plans to expand the site some years back as a plague of sorts upon the landscape. 

All in all, a fascinating story, but one beyond verification; until someone stumbles upon a strange looking rock one day ...