Tuesday 13 March 2012

Books about the Loch Ness Monster

Not only do I love researching and hunting for Nessie but I like to collect books about Nessie. I have been doing that for over thirty years and I still have not finished. Despite the advent of the Internet, books are still important and with the advent of e-books, their survival in one form or another will continue.

Websites have their advantages and disadvantages. One may presume to find all the information they need but like good and bad books you have good and bad websites and finding the prime sources of information is at the mercy of search engines such as Google.

Indeed, information about the Loch Ness Monster can be diffusely spread across the Internet whereas a well written and researched book can concentrate data in a focused and more organised manner. However, once a paper book is written it is fixed in stone until the next revision or a similar book comes along a few years later. In that respect, Internet and books should work together for the serious researcher.

But it has to be said that websites come and go but books generally do not. One day this website will disappear from the Internet as will others since they tend to be the works of individuals and not corporate entities. So, for those who think there is something worth preserving, they should commit their works to e-books and leave them corporately available via Amazon or other e-book distributors once we have all shuffled this mortal coil.

As with all genres, Nessie has had her share of the good, the bad and the ugly. In fact, I suggest no one should bother writing a book on the Loch Ness Monster unless it fulfills four criteria.

1. It adds to the storehouse of data such as new sightings, films, sonar, photos, etc.
2. It adds to the speculation or theorising about the subject.
3. It adds to the human side of the story (culture, folklore, biographies).
4. It may not add to the above but it present the story in an entertaining and engaging way.

There are plenty of Loch Ness books which do not fulfill these criteria, but I still buy them anyway!

So for the record and for anyone interested in building their own collection I present my own Loch Ness Monster bibliography. The list currently stands at 71 titles and is presented in chronological order but the reprint and revision information is currently incomplete.

The emphasis is on books aimed at a general audience which outwardly take some kind of serious approach to the subject. So juvenile books and fictional works are not included. Books which are not purely Nessie but have a decent section on the monster are included. Books in foreign languages are not included and the vast volume of magazine and newspaper articles that exist are excluded (too much work!). But we do have some good, melodramatic pictures of Nessie that grace our various book covers!

You may also notice I might be a bit hard on some sceptical minded books, but that's because I am biased (as they are). Also, do not equate sceptical books with critical thinking books because you will find that class of analysis across both genres (to varying degrees).

As far as I know, most of these books are out of print and it is unlikely they will be published again. Most of the popular titles can be found on Amazon, Abebooks and eBay under used books but some are so rare that they may only appear at intervals of years apart.

Let me know of any omissions and I will update.


Stewart, Grant. The Popular Superstitions and Festive Amusements of the Highlanders of Scotland. Aylott and Jones, 1823.

Wait a minute, shouldn't the list start around the 1930s and not a century before? Well, maybe, but stories of strange creatures in Loch Ness go back way before the newspapers got a hold of it as this example from Georgian times shows. Grant Stewart tells the tale of the Loch Ness Kelpie as related by Willox Gregor MacGregor of Tomintoul.







Lane, W. H. The Home of The Loch Ness Monster. Moray Press, 1934.

The first book on the Loch Ness Monster published around March 1934. and you may guess from the cover what the author's theory is on the monster's ID. We reviewed this book in a previous article and a profile of the author is here.








Hamilton, W. D & Hughes, J.. The Mysterious Monster of Loch Ness. Fort Augustus Abbey Press, 1934.

The second book on the monster published by the monks at the Abbey around May 1934. This was very much a tourist booklet of 15 pages covering the best sightings up to that point (and even Ogopogo gets a mention).








Gould, Rupert T. The Loch Ness Monster and Others. London: Geoffrey Bles, 1934.

The first serious work on the Monster which came out in June 1934. Gould was an expert on Sea Serpents and the news from Loch Ness compelled him to head north and do his own due diligence. Riding around on a motorbike named "Cynthia", he conducted interviews and conversations with various witnesses and sundry others. The result was this fascinating book consisting of accounts with sketches and a survey of the likely candidates for "X" as he called it. The other cover here is a reprint from 1969, almost 20 years after Gould's death. A seperate look at the book with pictures of some pages can be seen here.





Oudemans, A. C. The Loch Ness Animal. London:Leyden, 1934.

Another Sea Serpent researcher in the form of Oudemans published a small monograph on the creature after Gould. We know it was after Gould because he mentions Gould's work. Oudemans took the view that Nessie was a stray sea serpent and proceeds accordingly.









Munro, Donald John. (Captain), Loch Ness Mystery. Privately Published, 1937.

Captain Munro attempted to raise capital at one shilling a share to form an exploration company called "Loch Ness Monster Ltd". This privately published booklet was essentially the share prospectus document. Why no image? I can't find a copy of this book for love nor money! Not even the mighty National Library of Scotland or British Library have it. One or two old time Nessie researchers (or their beneficiaries) may have copies.




Carruth, J. A. Loch Ness Monster and its Monster. Abbey Press, 1938.

A popular booklet produced by James Aloysius Carruth, a brother at Fort Augustus Abbey. This went through at least nine editions by 1971. You can read more about the book and author here.










Whyte, Constance. The Loch Ness Monster. Headley Brothers, 1951.

This little known 15 page booklet by Loch Ness Monster expert Constance Whyte first covered the subject for the King's College Hospital Gazette but then found its way into print as this booklet. A short treatise on Nessie which would later find greater expansion in her next book.

The copy I have actually has her handwriting in the margin annotating a possible sighting as dubious and she initials it "CW"! The text of this booklet can be found here.





Whyte, Constance. More Than A Legend. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1957.

Constance Whyte started a chain of events that rekindled interest in the Loch Ness Monster. Tim Dinsdale pointed to this book as the catalyst that sent him north to Loch Ness and the rest as they say is history. The book takes up where Gould left off in examining the phenomenon but also adding sightings of the creature since 1934. A second edition appeared in 1961.







Dinsdale, Tim. Loch Ness Monster. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1961

Having sparked world interest in his famous film, Tim published his story and research into Nessie the following year. A popular book that went through various reprints and at least two revisions up to 1982. Tim Dinsdale is the Loch Ness Monster's most prolific author with four titles.








Burton, Maurice. The Elusive Monster. London: Rupert Hart Davis, 1961

At the same time Dinsdale published his seminal book, Burton countered with the first sceptical book on the Loch Ness Monster. It would be another 22 years before another such book arrived on the scene. Burton was a sceptic, then believer, then sceptic again and as such employs an array of standard explanations to (in his eyes) consign Nessie to the dustbin of history. Expect much talk about otters, birds, deer, vegetable mats and hoaxers.






Dinsdale, Tim. The Leviathans. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1966

I think this is the first book that treats generally of all fresh and salt water cryptids. Tim Dinsdale's in-depth exploration of lake monsters, sea serpents, washed up carcasses and various other genres of the aquatic cryptid.

The book was revised and expanded to nearly 300 pages for the US market as the book "Monster Hunt" in 1972.





James, David. Loch Ness Investigation. Loch Ness Phenomenon Investigation Bureau Ltd, 1968

Written by one of the founders of the LNPIB, this is a short 40 page treatise of the monster bringing readers up to the work of that organisation. No date of publication but given the evidence of the text, no earlier than 1967.







Holiday, F.W. The Great Orm of Loch Ness. Faber & Faber, 1968

Ted Holiday was one of the most seasoned monster hunters and indulged in some lateral thinking in his first book by suggesting the "Orm" as he called it was a giant version of a long extinct invertebrate.

Note also the publisher Avon's less than invertebrate-like and more plesiosaur-like cover designed for the 1970 paperback version! I guess dinosaurs sell better than worms.



Cooke, David C & Yvonne. The Great Monster Hunt. Norton, 1969


When I first picked up this book subtitled "The Story of the Loch Ness Investigation" I thought it was a recounting of the activities of the Loch Ness Phenonomenon Investigation Bureau. They are included but it is rather the authors' personal recounting of their trip to Loch Ness and the various interviews they conducted plus conclusions and observations. A good read actually all told.





Hastain, Ronald. Loch Ness and the Monster. J. Arthur Dixon, 1971

A standard tourist trade booklet to flick through as one watches the loch from the Castle to the skirl of the bagpipes. The picture is of a well-formed standing wave and not Nessie. However, Nicholas Witchell in a precursor to his main book did provide the text.

The 1970s proved to be the best decade for Nessie books as the various photos that came out created a storm of interest in the monster. Publishing success also guranteed some very nice (albeit unrealistic) cover artwork.




Baumann, Elwood. The Loch Ness Monster. London: Franklin Watts, 1972

This was one of several mysteries books written by Baumann. It is another boilerplate book which basically surveys the sightings history though since Mr. Elwood was a member of the LNPIB there is a bit of extra emphasis on their work. The book suffers the indignity of the Hugh Gray Nessie photograph being printed upside-down and the front cover sculpture of Nessie by Dick Dulany is intriguing to say the least!






Klein, Martin. Underwater Search at Loch Ness. Academy of Applied Sciences, 1972

Martin Klein documents the earlier expeditions of the Academy of Applied Science. Contributions from Rines and Dinsdale as well (so I am not sure if this counts as a fifth book for Tim Dinsdale).








Blackdown High School. Loch Ness Survey Report. SuDaK, 1972

A well written privately published 57 page report on the school's expedition to Loch Ness in 1971-72 where locals were interviewed, searches conducted as well as a general social, biological survey of the area. Frank Searle, Alex Campbell, Constance Whyte are amongst the contributors.






Holiday, F.W. The Dragon and The Disc. Norton, 1973

Though still holding to his invertebrate theory, Holiday began to venture into the paranormal with this book as he explored his theory about long past dragon and disc cults in Britain and their connection. As far as I know, only Holiday called Nessie a dragon (though she was always referred to as a kelpie or similar in the Highlands).

Also titled "Creatures from the Inner Sphere" and "Serpents of the Sky, Dragons of the Earth" in reprints.



Dinsdale, Tim. The Story of The Loch Ness Monster. Tandem Publishing, 1973

 A Lite version of the Nessie story from our intrepid monster hunter. My favourite bit is the claimed sighting by a William Shakespeare which the newspaper staff at the local Inverness Courier were reticent to print. Sceptics will no doubt claim Shakespeare's sighting was a work of fiction!





Witchell, Nicholas. The Loch Ness Story. Terence Dalton, 1974

The definitive history of the Loch Ness Monster (albeit a bit dated now). Witchell employed a wide array of sources with the help of seasoned monster hunters to give us the best survey of the monster and its hunters. Its success ensured various revisions and reprints.





Costello, Peter. In Search of Lake Monsters. Garnstone Press, 1974

My favourite general book on lake cryptids and the one with IMO the best section on the Loch Ness Monster in that genre of books. So I include it here and I still refer to it to this day. Republished in 2015 by Anomalist Books with a new foreword by Loren Coleman and a preface by Bernard Heuvelmans. I review the book here.







MacRae, Jim. Loch Ness Monster Handbook. John G. Eccles, 1974

One of those boilerplate booklets that typified the 70s and 80s. I review the book here.








Perera, Victor. The Loch Ness Monster Watchers. Capra Press, 1974

Author Victor Perera spent a few weeks in Scotland as he toured the loch and spoke to various people associated with the mystery. This is an entertaining and insightful read of 43 pages which includes interviews with Dick Raynor, Frank Searle, J. A. Carruth (see booket above) and Alex Campbell all espousing their belief in the Loch Ness Monster.







Witchell, Nicholas. Loch Ness and the Monster. J. Arthur Dixon, 1975

A short 32-page tourist booklet brought up to date for the then recent Rines underwater pictures.












Dinsdale, Tim. Project Water Horse. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1975

A great and informative read as Tim Dinsdale moves the focus away from the Monster and onto the contemporary people, equipment and strategies involved in the hunt as well as various other goings-on around the loch.









Grimshaw, Roger and Lester, Paul. The Meaning of the Loch Ness Monster. University of Birmingham, 1976

An interesting, 42-page academic work which is a sociological commentary on the Loch Ness Monster phenomemon. It is not so much an attempt to identify any such creature but rather to explain how people have framed the phenomenon through various eyes from the ancients and their folklore up to the present day and the interpretations of enthusiasts, the media, entrepreneurs, scientists and the general public. Great cover art by Fortean Times artist, Hunt Emerson.





Smith, Warren. Strange Secrets of The Loch Ness Monster. New York: Kensington Publishing, 1976

A book with a back cover which asks some startling questions. Such as is Nessie the relic of a lost underwater civilisation? Is there a connection between Nessie and the Hollow Earth, Bermuda Triangle and UFOs? Best of all, is her picture carved in ancient pyramids?

Pertinent questions to which the answer is a collective "No". As it turns out, this boilerplate book is a general survey of lake monsters worldwide with perhaps a third of its 234 pages devoted to Nessie and other Highland creatures.



Mackal, Roy. The Monsters of Loch Ness. Swallow Press, 1976

One of the best books on the Monster and certainly the biggest one at 401 pages. Dr. Mackal applies his knowledge of biology and science in general to the loch and its mysterious inhabitant to come up with the most erudite work to date. The front cover gives away his prime choice of candidate.







Searle, Frank. Nessie: Seven Years in search of The Monster. London: Coronet Books, 1976

Frank Searle published this at the height of his fame. His Sunday Mail expose was not long after this. Lots of alleged Nessie photographs, Girl Fridays and one cat.








Searle, Frank. The Story of Loch Ness. John Eccles Printers, 1977

Arch hoaxer Frank Searle also dipped into the publishing world with a few tourist oriented booklets. This book was reviewed previously here.










Harvey, Alex. Alex Harvey Presents The Loch Ness Monster. K-Tel Records, 1977. (Republished by VoicePrint Records, 2009)

A booklet accompanying a CD and originally a vinyl record. I review this booklet here.










Searle, Frank. Around Loch Ness. John Eccles Printers, 1977

This is essentially a slightly bigger version of "The Story of Loch Ness" where Searle adds his brand of monster hunting tips such as places and equipment.










Robertson, Barrie. Loch Ness and The Great Glen. James Heap Ltd, 1977

It's that two humped beastie again and you can guess who features strongly inside. Another tourist booklet for the area with Frank Searle's stuff used as the attractant.








Meredith, Dennis L. Search at Loch Ness. New York: Quadrangle, 1977

Meredith accompanied Rines and his Academy of Applied Science team to Loch Ness with the New York Times in 1976. This is the group's account of that time and their other work up to that point in time.







Snyder, Gerald. Is There a Loch Ness Monster?. New York: Julian Messner, 1977

The answer is "Yes" and Mr. Snyder who was based in Inverness goes about this survey in a fairly thorough and engaging way. So I hesitate to class this book as "boilerplate" as he does approach fulfillng the fourth of my criteria above (and I did pick up a few useful things from his book).








Akins, William. The Loch Ness Monster. Signet, 1977

A well researched book which is a kind of mini-version of Roy Mackal's book. Useful sections on eyewitness reliability, candidates and the 1976 Rines expedition. Akins takes a semi-skeptical view of much evidence but comes out in favour of the giant eel hypothesis. Interestingly, he thinks he sees a child's face in the Hugh Gray photo (as opposed to the much vaunted labrador dog).







Cornell, James. The Monster of Loch Ness. Scholastic Book Services, 1978

Another in that series of boilerplate books where someone goes to Loch Ness for a few weeks, talks to people, goes home and writes a book to cash in on the 1970s Nessie bandwagon. In Cornell's case, he went along to see if the Rines expedition could repeat their success of 1975 along with a whole army of media men and the New York Times which had first rights on any exclusives. Needless to say, he went home disappointed. Needless to say, as a collector I still bought it.






Resciniti, Angelo and Damon, Duane. Bigfoot and Nessie. School Book Fairs Inc, 1979

Perhaps the final boilerplate of the manic 70s? This book is covered here.











Harmsworth, Tony. The Mysterious Monsters of Loch Ness, Precision Press, 1980

As curator of the newly established "Official Loch Ness Monster Exhibition", Tony produced this well written booklet for visitors. Empahsis is on the evolved plesiosaur theory. More on this book can be found here.










Omand, Donald. The Devil Hunter. Sphere Books Ltd, 1981

What has this to do with Nessie? Well, the Reverend Donald Omand conducted the famous exorcism of Loch Ness in 1973 helped by F. W. Holiday (who writes his own version in "The Goblin Universe" below). He devoted a chapter to this and a few other sea monsters.









Sensical, Benjamin, Loch Ness: An Explanation. Privately Published, 1982.

A short booklet which has disappeared from view but which Mr. Seniscal reprinted in his autobiography. A well reasoned discourse on how rotting vegetation and forestry debris can produce gas propelled biomasses. More on this book can be found here.








Searle, Frank. Loch Ness Investigation. Unpublished, 1983

 Subtitled "What Really Happened", the publishers pulled this book in the face of possible legal action over some rather inflammatory things Frank had to say about other Loch Ness researchers. After this, he left Loch Ness for good never to darken her shores again. Whether Searle still believed in a Nessie or ever saw it or photographed it is forever lost in the noise of his fakes.

I looked at Searle and his book in this article. Mike Dash did a good piece on it here.




Armstrong, Edward. Sticking My Neck Out. Privately Published, 1983

A bit of an oddity this one but it certainly delivers an interesting read. I have previously addressed one item from this 24 page book with his theory that a seagull flies past the "Monster" in the Surgeon's Photo (see link). However, his main thrust is to promote the theory that Nessie is some form of aquatic pachyderm (i.e. related to the elephant).








Binns, Ronald. The Loch Ness Mystery: Solved. Open Books, 1983

We enter the era of the Sceptic as various disaffected monster hunters and "just plain against it from the start" people enter the fray. Ronald Binns published first with a title described as "prematurely titled" by another sceptic (why I am not sure). The formula was simple and not much different from Maurice Burton - waves, boats, birds, otters, deer, etc, etc. Even inert rocks get a look in (are people that stupid?) Pictures of small animals are zoomed in to the point of graininess to make them look huge and frozen snapshots of unsustainable postures (see cover) suggest the "SOLVED" should be appended with a big question mark.




Harmsworth, Tony. Loch Ness - The Monster. Peter Gray Ltd, 1985

A well written 30-page booklet written by the then curator of the Loch Ness Exhibition Centre. Presumably written to accompany the exhibition.










Campbell, Steuart. The Loch Ness Monster: The Evidence. Aquarian Press, 1986

Steuart Campbell, a general sceptic who has also written against UFOs and Religion follows on from Binns with another sceptical book and adds some of his own analysis.

Revised in 1997 I believe.







Bauer, Henry. The Enigma of Loch Ness. University of Illinois Press, 1986

Midst all this sceptical writings came Henry Bauer who erects a robust defense for the creatures of Loch Ness. The Dinsdale Film is defended amongst other classic pieces and this book also has a valuable list of all recorded sightings with sources up to that point in time (helped by the researcher Ulrich Magin).







Holiday, F.W. The Goblin Universe. Llewellyn Publications, 1986

Holiday finally makes his break from any animal theories in this full blown disseration on the paranormal origins of Nessie. However, Holiday did not publish it and Colin Wilson undertook the job after Holiday's death in 1980.

I spoke about this book here. The book was modified and republished by Xanadu Publications in 1990.




Zarzynski, Joseph W. Monster Wrecks of Loch Ness and Lake Champlain. M-Z Information, 1986

An interesting look at other stories from Loch Ness concerning underwater wrecks and various other machines used in the search for Nessie. I had a look at this book here.







Owen, William. The Loch Ness Monster. Jarrold Publishing, 1986

A standard booklet for the tourist trade which appears to have manifested in more than one form. Nuff said, though apparently William Owen was a "dab hand" at painting plesiosaurs!








Frere, Richard. Loch Ness. John Murray Publishers, 1988

 Though not a dedicated Nessie Sceptic book, it continues in the line of such books appearing at that time. Being a general book on the history and features of Loch Ness it has a chapter on the Loch Ness Monster. Confessing himself to be a Nessie Atheist, Frere makes his views known and also claimed that a famous Nessie photograph was hoaxed (which we shall speak about some other time).







Gibson, J.A. & Heppell, David. The Search for Nessie in the 1980s. The Scottish Natural History Library, Kilbarchan, 1988

A symposium on the Loch Ness Monster was held at the Royal Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh on July 25th 1987 which was organised by the Society for the History of Natural History and the International Society for Cryptozoology. The proceedings of the meeting were published in two parts in the centenary edition of the Scottish Naturalist and contained contributions from various leading lights of the Loch Ness mystery including Tim Dinsdale, Henry Bauer, Adrian Shine, Roy Mackal and Robert Rines. A thorough going analysis of Loch Ness, its ecology and its most famous resident.


Shiels, Tony. Monstrum! A Wizard's Tale. Fortean Tomes, 1990

In amongst naked witches, fairies, owlmen and general wizardry hokum you will find an interesting read about Shiels' "psychic" adventures with the Loch Ness Monster and some other aquatic cryptids. His take on paranormal squid is worth the read on its own, whether you believe he is a hoaxer or not.







Picknett, Lynn. The Loch Ness Monster. Pitkin Pictorials Ltd, 1993

Yet another tourist trade booklet, professionaly done though for 20 pages worth.










Boyd, Alastair and Martin, David. Nessie: The Surgeon's Photograph Exposed. Privately Published, 1999

A book beloved of sceptics as it dismantles the most iconic picture of the Loch Ness Monster. It doesn't occur to them that Alastair Boyd was a firm believer in Nessie with a good hump sighting in the 1970s. Martin and Boyd use the plot line of The Sting film to trace a story of deception and revenge that led to the hoaxing of this famous picture.







Harrison, Paul. The Encyclopaedia of The Loch Ness Monster. 
Robert Hale Ltd, 1999

A great resource for getting to the raw facts on key persons and events that are connected with the mystery of Loch Ness. The definitive A to Z of Nessie.

Also recently revised and updated for the Amazon Kindle (see link).






Lee, Norman. Nessie Sighting. 
Self Published, 2000

Norman Lee claimed a sighting in 1970 which he goes into detail in this small e-book. Further details can be found here.








Shine, Adrian. Loch Ness.Loch Ness Project, 2006

As current curator of the Loch Ness Centre, Adrian Shine employs his extensive knowledge of Loch Ness Flora and Fauna to give an overview of the loch's ecology as well as a potted history of its most famous inhabitant in this small booklet (albeit from a sceptical point of view).









Betts, Jonathan. Time Restored: The Harrison Timekeepers and R.T.Gould. Oxford University Press, 2006

Monster hunter Rupert Gould was a man of many talents as this book demonstrates. However, our interest is in the chapter on his pursuit of the Loch Ness Monster. Also interesting is the claim that Gould recanted on the famous Spicers land sighting (which I covered here).







Stott, Colin: Four-Teans Go To Ness. Self Published, 2009

A tale of four Nessie hunters on their expedition. You can read more about this e-book here.









Caisteal, Graeme: A Tale From Loch Ness. Self Published, 2009

Another e-book about one man's quest for the monster and his views on the monster scene. Also covers the times with his friend, Frank Searle. More details here.








Harmsworth, Tony. Loch Ness, Nessie and Me. Faber & Faber, 2010

The latest in our line of sceptical books written by the former designer and curator of the Loch Ness Exhibition Centre. I reviewed this book previously here. It has also been republished as "Loch Ness Understood".

I think all the sceptics have put pen to paper now, so is this the last of these type of books for another few decades?






Watson, Roland. The Water Horses of Loch Ness. Createspace Publishing, 2011

A book which surveys the pre-Nessie era of sightings and folklore tales of the Loch Ness Water Horse and other such Highland creatures. The book is talked about here.








Byrne, Gerald. Gestalt Forms of Loch Ness. JRP Ringier, November 2011

I have not seen this book yet, but I suspect the book is not only a personal voyage in pictures but a look at how everyday objects can deceive. More on the book at this link.







Derry, J.F. Loch Ness Monster (and other explained mysteries). Haynes Publishing, July 2013

A montage of Daily Mirror stories to celebrate 80 years of Nessie. I look at this book here









Loxton, Daniel and Prothero, Donald. Abominable Science!. Columbia University Press, August 2013

I thought the series of sceptical books had ended but up pops this one with a 67 page chapter on Nessie. I review it here and Henry Bauer has a go here.









Dinsdale, Angus. The Man Who Filmed Nessie. Hancock House, August 2013

A biography on Nessie's most famous pursuer - Tim Dinsdale. His youngest son, Angus, tells the story of his father from birth to his untimely death. I review it here.







Gallagher, Patrick. Loch Ness: From Out of the Depths. Createspace, July 2015

A compilation of Nessie sightings, people and theories as printed in the British press between 1933 and 1934. The book was reviewed here.







Williams, Gareth. A Monstrous Commotion. Orion, November 2015

An extensive multi-biography of the various monster hunters, supporters detractors of our famous cryptid and how they interacted in all too human ways. A review of the book is here.








Gallagher, Patrick. Loch Ness: Back into the Depths. Createspace, April 2016

A compilation of Nessie sightings, people and theories as printed in the British press between 1935 and 1955. This is a sequel to the 2015 "From Out of the Depths" and the book is reviewed here.








Robinson, Malcolm. Loch Ness: The Monsters of Loch Ness. lulu.com, July 2016

Possibly the biggest book on Nessie at 590 pages. An up to date history of the loch and its monster, with personal perspectives from leading paranormal researcher, Malcolm Robinson. A review of this book can be found here.






Redfern, Nick. Nessie: Exploring the Supernatural Origins of the Loch Ness Monster. Llewellyn Publications, September 2016

The first book in 25 years to champion a paranormal Nessie. Ted Holiday, Doc Shiels, Aleister Crowley and Kevin Carlyon all rub shoulders in this supernatural defense. A review of this book is here.







Shuker, Karl. Here's Nessie! A Monstrous Compendium from Loch Ness. CFZ Publications, August 2016

Karl publishes an anthology of his various articles on Nessie and her ilk, adding his zoological distinctiveness. A review of the book is here.








Binns, Ronald. The Loch Ness Mystery Reloaded. Zoilus Press, August 2017

After a good 2016 for Nessie books, 2017 took a nosedive. Arch sceptic Ronald Binns follows up his 1983 book with some more Nessie bashing. Reviews can be viewed here and here.




 

Watson, Roland. When Monsters Come Ashore. Createspace Publishing, February 2018

The first book on the monster to focus solely on the mystery of the creature seen on land. More details can be obtained here. Copies are obtainable from Amazon.








Watson, Roland. Photographs of the Loch Ness Monster. KDP Publishing, February 2019

Another first book on the monster this time dedicated to still photographs of the monster, be they good, bad or ugly. More details can be obtained here. Copies are obtainable from Amazon.









Cornes, Rob. The Loch Ness Sea Lion. Independently published, August 2019

Did an errant sea lion contribute to Loch Ness Monster sightings in the 1930s? A review will be posted in due course.











Gerhard, Ken. The Essential Guide to the Loch Ness Monster. Crypto Excursions, February 2021

A survey of various lake cryptids, sea serpents with Nessie getting the most attention. The Basilosaurus theory of Roy Mackal is given a fresh airing.










Zarzynski, Joe.
 Lochend - Monster Hunting on the Run 
. Book Baby, December 2021

Thirty five years after his book on Loch Ness underwater wrecks, Joe now publishes his 
memoirs of Nessie hunting over three decades. The book is reviewed here.

Monday 12 March 2012

Follow Up to the William Jobes Photo

Remember this picture from last year taken by William Jobes?



At the time I concluded my post by saying:

"Again, we need to see the other pictures and ask some more questions."

Because since I could not contact the witness, I could not take it further. Some suggested it was rubbish floating in from the Fort Augustus end of the loch which is fair enough but Rip Hepple in his latest Nessletter (more of that below) thought the object looked familiar to a photo he had once seen of a log. I dug around and found this picture in a 1977 book on Nessie.



Does this prove Mr. Jobes saw nothing more than a log? The witness himself said in the Daily Mail report:

'To be honest I know the difference between a piece of wood or a particular animal"

So it is the photo versus the photo-taker here (once again). The other thing cited against William Jobes was the allegation that he saw the same object in the same area again the next day. If so, the argument swings towards the log and away from Nessie.

However, to me the object looks a bit too "hump-like" to be a typical branch or trunk, though that does not prelude other pieces of human or natural debris.

Anyway, I always believe in the right of reply here. After all, key facts in a case have been known to be misreported or unreported in media articles before. So, if William Jobes stumbles upon this article and has something to say, send me a comment.

P.S.
Rip Hepple runs the Nessletter newsletter which has been running for nearly forty years now. I subscribe to it and so do other Loch Ness researchers. Rip brings decades of experience to the subject since his LNI days and was watching the loch when I was in my daipers. The Internet may bring information closer to you, but not necessarily experience and that is why I subscribe to Rip's newsletter. You should too if you have an interest in the Loch Ness Monster.

£3 or $10 to subscribe:

R.R.Hepple
7 Huntshieldford
St John's Chapel
Weardale
Co Durham
DL13 1RQ
United Kingdom

Wednesday 7 March 2012

New Loch Ness Video Footage

Whether it is Nessie or not is a moot point. It was taken on 11th April 2010 with a Canon ELPH near Urquhart Castle and the disturbance is in Urquhart Bay. The witness is from my own home town of Glasgow, Scotland.

The object at about 500m away is too far away for a proper analysis but it is interesting nevertheless. So what is it? A group of fish playing near the surface? A strange wind-wave effect? It does not look like a boat wake to me. Any ideas?

The waves that can be seen moving towards the shore just below centre-right may also be relevant in any opinion formed.

Tuesday 6 March 2012

Some Tales of Mhorag of Loch Morar

Following on from our tales of the Loch Oich Monster. The witness who told me that story also mentioned an experience a friend had in the late 80s or early 90s at Loch Morar:


"Another pair of friends were seakayaking in Loch Morar, heading to Tarbert to portage through and paddle back down Loch Nevis and camped the night on an island in Loch Morar. During the night one got up for a pee and as he was standing in the dark a huge commotion in the water nearby went on for several minutes, then stopped.

Suddenly a large wave of displaced water rushed up the shingle beach evidence of a large object having moved about vigorously. Nothing to see and no signs of anything in the morning, and no boat engines or evidence of other craft."

Staying on that subject and moving further back in time, I mentioned the Carmichael Watson Project website nine months ago at this link. Although there was a rich vein of folklore tales by Carmichael Watson to tap as regards Loch Monsters, the "mining" was too difficult due to the sources being in Gaelic. I contacted them at the time about translation work and got this reply:

"I'm afraid that the translation of Alexander Carmichael's notebooks was not one of the tasks in our project's remit, however the combination of the catalogue entry, which gives a synopsis in English, and the full-text transcription should go some way to revealing the contents of Gaelic notes. It is unlikely that translation work will take place on the notebooks unless by independent researchers."

I left it at that but some translations are beginning to come through as is evident with these items on the legendary creature of Loch Morar called "Mhorag". Cryptozoologists are familiar with modern sightings of this creature but the folklore aspects add some interesting details. The original articles can be found here, but I shall summarise the cryptozoological aspects below.

Carmichael had visited the district including Loch Morar perhaps around 1902 and as was his wont would takes notes on local stories. Three stories about Mhorag appear in his own texts from over 100 years ago.

Text 1:

" Morag is always seen before a death and before a drowning especially before the death of the proprietor.

When Iain Ruadh was drowned she was seen by Coll MacColl a native of Tiree.
She was seen about six years ago before a man was drowned. Eoghan Dughallach saw the Morag several times in his long life.

The Morag came to a man in Gleann Loch an aineach and spoke to him. "

Text 2:

"There is a creature in Lochmorar and she is called Morag. She is never seen save when one of the daoine duchasach – of the hereditary people of the place dies. The last time she was seen was when Aonas na Traigh, Aeneas Macdonnell, died in 1898.

The Morag is peculiar to Loch Morar. She is seen in broad daylight and by many persons – including church persons – parsons.

She appears in a cnap dubh – a black heap or ball slowing and deliberately rising in the water and moving along like a boat water logged.

The Morag is much disliked and is called by many uncomplimentary terms – Morag dhubh – black Morag – morally not physically – Morag Odhar – dun Morag. Morag dhuibhre – dusky Morag. Morag Ghranda – ugly Morag.

As sure as Morag is seen as surely a heredient dies immediately thereafter. She is not seen when one of the common people dies but is always seen when one of the heredients dies - One of the native chiefs or relatives of one of the native chiefs. The last time Morag was seen was immediately before the death of Aonas of Traigh in 1898.

Eoghan Dughallach Beoraid bheag – Beoraid Mhic Shimi – firmly believed in the Morag and gave many vivid descriptions of its appearance and occurrence."

Text 3:

The Morag dwells in Loch Morar. She gives her name to the lake and still appears when any of the old Macdonalds of Morar die. Like the other water deities she is half human half fish. The lower portions of her body is in the form of a grilse and the upper in the form of a small woman of highly developed breasts with long flowing yellow hair falling down her snow white back and breast. She is represented as being fair, beautiful and very timid and never seen save when one of the Morar family dies or when the clan falls in battle.

Then she is seen rushing about with great speed and is heard wailing in great distress bemoaning and weeping the loss of the House of Morar laid desolate. The Morag has often brought out of their houses at night the people living along the shores of the lake and in the neighbourhood of her haunts causing much anxiety to the men and much sore weeping to the women. When the Morag was heard weeping and wailing the most thoughtless became serious and the most obdurate became subdued.

Old Macdougall, crofter, Mallaig Bheag said that the horn of the steamer, the shriek of the train and the crank of the rifle were inimical to the Morag giving no peace no rest no repose to bird or beast or fish day or night driving them all from their habitats to their secret hiding places in the recesses of sea and lake and mountain.

Macdougall described the Morag her form and face her hair and breasts her weeping and waling her rushing to and fro on the water with force and reality that carried conviction! The writer caught himself several times giving furtive glances away from his book to the calm bosom of Loch Morar in the late autumn eve.”


The blogger at the Carmichael website notes the distinction between the third account of a mermaid like creature and the less inspiring "cnap dubh" or "black heap" of the other two accounts. Here is where reality and folklore depart. The black heap is far more in keeping with modern sightings of dark humps moving across the water whereas mermaids are more the stuff of fantasy.

Although a mermaid in a loch rather than out at sea may seem more strange, this is not the first time we have come across mermaids in lochs as a previous post on Loch Duntelchaig demonstrated. What I did find interesting from the mermaid account was its aversion to modern noise which makes it flee to the deepest recesses of the loch. Researchers familiar with the Loch Ness Monster's sensitivity to shouts and car doors slamming may find a grain of truth there.

Nevertheless, our blogger theorises that Carmichael took the third account from a James MacDonald whom he may have met at a Gaelic song and story convention called the "Mod". You can read his line of thought in his third post here.

That the Mhorag appeared before the death of a person is already a documented feature of this creature and indeed the "monstrum" (Latin for "omen") or portentous aspect of water horses was already a feared attribute across the Highlands. Indeed, people even refrained from talking about seeing them for fear of a supernatural backlash.

But for those who seek the true creature behind these stories, the most telling line below speaks of the slow moving dark hump seen in the loch at the end of the nineteenth century.

"She appears in a cnap dubh – a black heap or ball slowing and deliberately rising in the water and moving along like a boat water logged."

Those further interested in the Loch Morar Monster could consult the standard book on this subject titled "The Search for Morag" by Elizabeth Campbell and David Solomon.


Friday 2 March 2012

The Loch Oich Monster


I received an email from a witness a while back recounting his previously unpublicised story of a sighting in Loch Oich. Since such reports are few and far between, this seemed a good point to first recount the story of the Loch Oich Monster. Or should I say the Loch Ness Monster in Loch Oich for there is little doubt in my mind that any such reports are in fact our own Nessie travelling incognito. My reasoning for this position are four fold:

1. Loch Oich at a mere four miles long and no more than a quarter of a mile across could fit into Loch Ness nearly 300 times over. In that light, it seems unlikely to be a sole habitat for its own monsters.

2. Loch Oich is connected to Loch Ness by the River Oich which flows about four miles as the crow flies between the two lochs. So it is possible for a Loch Ness Monster to navigate between the two lochs, though it would require some effort and motivation (e.g. chasing salmon runs). In fact, the difficulty of the trek makes it no surprise that sightings in Loch Oich are even rarer than in Loch Ness.

3. It is unlikely that two adjoining lochs have two separate and distinct species of unknown creature.

4. Sightings are so rare as to suggest a transient presence in the loch.


FOLKLORE


Now looking at the history of the Loch Oich Monster, we first look back into the mists of time and the folklore tradition. When I was researching my book on Scottish Water Horses, I did not find any contemporary traditions of such a creature in Loch Oich (i.e. pre-Nessie era). However, author Alasdair Alpin MacGregor made reference to a water horse tradition in Loch Oich in his 1937 book "The peat-fire flame: folk-tales and traditions of the Highlands and Islands".

Sadly, he supplies no further details or sources but given that he also mentions sightings of the creature in the previous year (see below), he was most likely inspired by these to verify older traditions.

However, the first claimed mention of a creature in Loch Oich is by the famous Dutch cryptozoologist A. C. Oudemans in 1934 when he relates the tale of "The Children's Pool". This was a tale of children who saw a creature like a deformed pony appear beside a deep pool of the River Garry which feeds into Loch Oich. The children mounted the docile beast which then flew and plunged into the pool with the children to their doom. The story is believed to be from at least 1894 and though strictly this is perhaps more of a river Kelpie than a loch inhabiting Each Uisge, it is still worth a mention.

Peter Costello, who related the Oudemans reference in his book "In Search of Lake Monsters" felt that Oudemans took the story a bit too seriously and I would agree with him as children riding to their doom was a common motif in the Water Horse genre across various lochs in the old Highlands (as related in the book "The Water Horses of Loch Ness"). Nevertheless, it does suggest an oral tradition of an Each Uisge in and around Loch Oich before modern times.


MODERN SIGHTINGS

So when is the first reported sighting of a strange creature in this loch? The answer as far as I can ascertain is 1936 when the Scotsman (and other papers) ran some articles on reports on a strange animal in Loch Oich. This would have been three years after Nessie hit the world headlines and by then things were relatively quiet at Loch Ness in terms of media coverage.

The first report I have is from the 14th August 1936 (click on original report of the time below for more details). The date of the sighting would be Tuesday 11th August and involved a Mr. Alderman Richards, his son and a Mr. G M. Wilkinson who were boating at the southern end of the loch. A black two humped creature with a total visible length of 12 feet appeared a mere 36 feet from them and moved around at a decent speed.

The head was described as dog-like and "shaggy" (though this description was applied to the head and not the humps). The head would be shaken vigorously as it resurfaced and the humps appear to have been uniformly semi-circular as they are described as three foot high by three foot across. Interestingly, the humps were described as "snake like coils" in appearance with three feet separating each visible part of the creature (i.e. a head and two humps). The creature continually submerged and reappeared in the sequence of rear hump first, other hump and then head.




And so began a sequence of reports that received national coverage. Naturally, some will suggest the witnesses saw a line of otters playing together in the water and an appropriately configured line of otters can be produced to convince one and all (such as the image below). However, it is strange that none of the other otters decided to surface their heads at the same time plus three feet is far too high for an otter to be protruding out of the water.



So we have a little mystery here. But things did not finish there and further reports appeared in the Scotsman twelve days later on the 26th August. This time, two sets of witnesses claimed to have seen the creature on the weekend of the 22nd August, namely a Mr. Alastair Grant and two other foresters and elsewhere some tourists including the former Canadian Minster of Agriculture, Duncan Marshall.

No details of the sightings were given in that newspaper account, but in a subsequent Scotsman article from the 1st September, it was five foresters who saw the object which it turned out was a dark two part shape near the surface of the water about 8 to 12 feet in length and moving against the wind. The object submerged out of sight after about 100 yards. The two parts may have been humps but the high elevation of the sighting could not confirm the height of the object above water.

Evidently, the Scotsman correspondent had done a bit more investigation as we are introduced to two further witnesses. The first was a 70 year old lady called Mary MacDonald who recounted the story of her father declaring the presence of a strange beast in Loch Oich in the 1870s.

The second was a Simon Cameron who was the bridge keeper at the southern end of the loch. As it turns out, Mr. Cameron had lent his boat to the Aldermans when they had their sighting and had his own strange experience the very next morning (12th August) at about 7am from his house. The description sounds quite similar in that he describes seeing a shaggy dog-like head with a body at least six feet long with possibly more hidden beneath the surface. Curiously, the dog-like attributes are further enhanced when he describes the motion as "a dog-like action of its front feet or fins".

Mr. Cameron was of the opinion that it was indeed an otter but "an enormous, great otter". In fact, an otter that does not even exist in Europe and which even the Giant Otter of the Amazon below would be challenged to match (picture source). Note it is uncertain from this picture how long the otter can sustain this "periscope" effect or whether it requires itself to be touching the bottom of the river in shallow water.



Finally, it seems that Mr. Cameron had sight again of this creature for the Scotsman ran one final report on the 22nd September saying that he had seen the animal again on Saturday the 19th (clipping below). However, the report sounds so similar to the first that we wonder if the newspaper has not erroneously ran the same report again!




This prompted one person to suggest this was a giant otter, perhaps even the extinct giant Megalenhydris Barbaricina which would certainly have exceeded six feet in length. However, the two humped aspect of these sightings would be a feat of contortionism beyond any otter.

As it turns out, not even the Loch Oich Monster has escaped the deprecating gaze of the sceptic. The Cameron report was dismissed as a seal by one such person who with a prescience that suggested he must have been present when Cameron was questioned said:

"Cameron was doubtless taunting the credulous reporter who failed to recognise the excellent visual description of a seal ..."

Doubtless he was .. if you require such anomalous reports to be seals. So Mr. Cameron is dismissed as a practical joker in the eyes of this sceptic without the slightest shred of evidence. This sadly is an accusation I have seen levelled at locals before - that they are a bunch of liars who cannot resist the temptation to deceive others. Evidently they lie to each other as well as the story of Mary MacDonald above suggests. Though it is crystal clear that some people have lied in the past, we should avoid needless extrapolation and dismiss such defamation at the more general level.

The other point this sceptical person fails to highlight is the scarcity of seals in Loch Oich. They rarely turn up in Loch Ness and progressing further inland to Loch Oich is even more of a trial for such a sea-farer. As an aside, in an example of towering irony he then takes his opponent to task for:

"... dismissing the observations that do not suit your purpose ..."

As if sceptics never do such a thing (regular readers of this blog will get what I am saying)! But come rain or shine, this blog will continue to treat witnesses in a less dismissive manner.

So 1936 came and went and, as far as I can tell, no more was heard of the monster of Loch Oich. Well, apart from a hoax by Jonathan Routh and some students in the summer of 1961 who set off a motorised "monster" down the loch. The thing was dutifully photographed and made its way into the Scottish Daily Express of the 8th July 1961. You can see a photo of their model in situ at this link.

THE RECENT SIGHTING

And so 62 long years later on the 22nd August 1998, we come to the latest story of the Loch Oich Monster. The witness is a local Lochaber person and has requested anonymity, but I have his details and can vouch for who he is. I had noticed his comments on the Internet about strange goings on in the waters of that area and contacted him for further details. I will quote his own story as to what happened that day:

"A friend and I saw a large hump surface a few hundred metres east of the Well of The Heads and about 20 metres from the shore as we were driving along the road. It broke the surface and as it rose up we could see underneath it, so it obviously had some additional bulk on either side of the hump that was below the surface. It was dark coloured and rough and quite symmetrical. We ran down onto the shore with cameras but it had gone down again and the water was all disturbed. There was a small sailing boat from the Water Park nearby, tacking to and fro, and very close to the object but the sailor had their back to the object so did not see it.

I'm very experienced in the outdoors, photograph and film nature professionally, and have decades of outdoors experience. My friend is a mountain guide and qualified naturalist with decades of field experience. Neither of us had seen anything like this. If I'd to hazard a guess as to what it was - it'd be a giant eel, But one that was 18 inches in diameter which is pretty extreme. Whatever it was it wasn't an emerging gassy tree trunk, nor a duck, nor a swimming deer, or a swimming sheep, nor anything else like that ALL of which I've seen. This was animate, and odd. And two of us saw the same thing.
"

With the help of Google Earth we can show the rough location of the sighting from above (white circle) and on the road (where the Well of the Seven Heads monument is in the foreground). As the witness report suggests, there is good visibility of the loch and quick access to the shoreline.





When I enquired about seals in Loch Oich, our witness further stated:

"And, fact is, if it was a seal I saw then that's even more remarkable because it would have to be huge. Two of us witnessed something really unusual - I've seen and filmed otters in a line doing a porpoise thing - mother and three cubs in/out/in/out of the water - THAT really looked like a monster. Swimming deer - seen those. Swimming sheep, seen them. Gassy logs - seen them too. Floating garden sheds - seen them. Divers working - seen them, done it too."

I made further enquiries as to the creature's appearance. The hump was about 1.5m (4ft) across and was 60cm (2ft) high. But the important thing I did not initially twig from the report was that:

"as it rose up we could see underneath it"

So offering me clarification:

"Picture a large grey/green/brown inner tube 'stretched' so it wasn't entirely round and popped up out of the water. Initially it appeared to be a solid 'hump' but as it broke the surface you could see the underside of it as the water flowed off it, revealing the girth. Then it slid back under again vertically. It lasted only 20 seconds or so. We saw it as we drove, squealed with excitement, headed for the layby just before Well of the Heads and legged it onto the shore but it was gone leaving a frothy surface and the wind whipped it away.
"

In other words, this was a coiled animal giving the appearance of a huge inner tube rising out of the water. The witness estimated its body to be one foot thick and it is no surprise he therefore speculated that it could have been a giant eel.


CONCLUSIONS

Applying a normal length to diameter ratio for an eel to this creature would give a length of at least 13-20 feet. However, eels do not raise their body above the water in the manner of this creature (and neither do otters). This beast requires some other explanation.

The other point to note is that the 1936 witness, Alderman Richards, described the humps in a similar manner as "snake like coils". In other words, it seems that he too described the creature as being "inner tube" in appearance 62 years before. Now I have to admit that the Loch Ness Monster is not generally described this way. If there is one argument for this beast being separate from Nessie then this is it.

I would make one final observation which is Nessie-like and that is the words:

"but it was gone leaving a frothy surface and the wind whipped it away"

Now when animals submerge, they will disturb the water but they won't leave a frothy surface. This feature has been reported more than once when the Loch Ness Monster surfaces and submerges - a foaming kind of effect appears amongst the waves. That this appears to be more than just water is indicated by the witness' statement that the wind whipped it away. My conjecture is that this is something to do with gas/fluid ejecta which aids bouyancy but, of course, it is merely speculation.

The fellow that comes to mind in this respect is the late Maurice Burton who favoured gas generated vegetable mats as an explanation for some monster sightings. This would indeed produce a frothing at the surface as the gas of decomposition raises the mass of vegetation to the surface and then dissipates leaving the clump to fall back down again.

Whether Loch Oich at this apparently deep point could achieve this is another matter. However, what this experienced witness saw does not sound in any way like a frothing mass of vegetation.

So the Loch Oich Monster reared itself up to human gaze in 1998, but will we have to wait another 62 years before anyone sees it again? Let's hope not. But then again, did not the previous story of old Mary MacDonald occur about 62 years before the accounts of 1936 ... ?

PREVIOUS BLOGS:
A Loch Ness Monster Quiz
Some Monster Hunter Photographs