Thursday 19 December 2019

Another Weird Nessie Book Cover




The 1970s was the heyday of weird and wacky Loch Ness Monster book covers, you can check out the various covers that were produced to entice buyers in those days at this link. But they don't come much weirder than this one that fellow researcher, Nick Redfern, alerted me to a few days back. The advert states it was published by Futura on December 15th, 1974, which was a year after the original hardback book with the more familiar cover below.




What the cover depicted and what it had to do with the book's thesis was not immediately apparent. The artwork was evidently that of William Blake (1757-1827), though the sketch was not known to me. Nick put me right and said it was his work "The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed In Sun" which is based on the Book of Revelation 12:1-4.

Okay, the dragon correlation is obvious, though the dragon in Blake's work is symbolic of the Devil himself. But the woman clothed in light? You got me there, so answers on a postcard please. That makes it now four variations on the Dragon and Disc covers, including this dragon and UFO artwork below. The fourth variant is a blue version of the green cover above.




The book cover is featured on Amazon though I am not sure how you buy that actual cover. It looks like a stock photo and so I will leave that to other collectors, I have enough books for now! Nick wondered about the provenance of the book as it was advertised as "import". That is what is says on amazon.com but on amazon.co.uk, it is not import, which makes me think it is was a book for the British market only and was imported into the USA marketplace.



The author can be contacted at lochnesskelpie@gmail.com






33 comments:

  1. Unusual, odd, strange, bizarre, and just plain nuts!

    I prefer your approach to LNM books Roland, I own a copy of " When monsters come ashore " which I enjoyed reading. Next I will treat myself to " The water horses of Loch Ness "

    Could you let us Nessie enthusiasts know of your 2020 plans on and around the Loch? Any new ideas or searches being planned? I wish you success and hope you find new information and fresh leads on the mystery. May 2020 be your year - perhaps a clear video or photographs. I look forward to another year of your findings, cheers to you!!

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    1. 2020 should be steady as you go - usual plans. I am working on another project, not Nessie related, so no extra time for new thinking.

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  2. I recall reading this book a good number of years ago and at the time it totally captivated my imagination. However, in retrospect I must admit that my earlier view of this work has now changed. A lot of the arguments that Holiday put forth in his book are largely speculative and completely outside the realms of provability.

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    1. Paranormal nessies are not high on my list, though I was once an advocate of some form of that theory.

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    2. I suspect that the paranormal theory has arisen from the inability of researchers to establish any physical evidence for the existence of a "monster".

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  3. Ya can't judge a book by its cover!!!! Lol...Ted Holiday.. King of Loch Ness..

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    1. Perfect evaluation Roy LOL, Yup Ted holiday would sure be royalty among the cast of LNM researchers. All hail to the King!

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    2. There's a good deal of truth in that. His first book on the subject might make the most sceptical analyst re-evaluate the situation. His next two were at least as fascinating, but a little more hallucinogenic in tone, and maybe out of reach of the average citizen.

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  4. Great book. It'll maybe be evaluated as masterpiece at some stage. I'm passing mine onto one of my children, but I haven't worked out which one yet.

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    1. Give it to the most skeptical one...Oh the irony!

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    2. Unfortunately I have them all open minded! Maybe I'll pass it on to their mother....

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    3. Ah, the 1970s was pretty wacky, those lines of books at respectable bookshops on ghosts, monsters, UFOs and so on. Now all gone but very much present online.

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  5. I don't quite agree. Ted was trying to rationalise all the information that had come to him. Those things he reported as fact may sound very far fetched, but other researchers corroborate some of the many strange goings on. I'm not saying it all makes sense, but neither does Nessie.
    He did go very far out on a limb, and I certainly don't agree with the scattergun approach to his definition of the universe, but I do think that his studies have the potential to be the acorn that might grow.

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  6. A great mystery..and Ted was one of the mystery Hunters of Loch Ness. We have had a few over the years and still have.. Dindsdale favoured a plesiosaur.. Mackal a large amphibian.. Steve Feltham a catfish.. Shine a sturgeon..Mr raynor natural things ie waves wakes and mistakes ...and Ted an unknown creature after pointing out his tullimunstrem. All with different opinions but for me Ted was closest to the truth.I love his book great orm of Loch Ness..Im glad he had a sighting which was witnessed by others...Good old Ted!!! ...cheers

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    1. I like him too, a lateral thinker who wasn't satisfied with dominant plesiosaur theories or simplistic sceptical explanations.

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  7. I've never said that nessie 'is' a catfish.
    I have often said that nessie is more likely to turn out to be a catfish than any of the other current proposed explanations .
    Current best guess...to me.
    But each and every guess is as valid as the next until the actual answer is identified.
    Speculation and no more.
    None of us are experts,nessie will turn out to be whatever nessie is,regardless of what any so called experts will have you believe.
    No matter how hard you wish you cannot change the outcome.
    Currently the race is still running, and any explanation may yet come out the winner.
    ....I wouldn't be betting my lunch on it being a plesiasaur.

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    1. What we need is another scientific witness like PhD Biologist professor Tucker- who said Nessie is an Elasmosaurus.
      So I'LL take your bet!

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  8. Ted Holiday was kinda nuts. And I mean that as a compliment and a diss. Good writer, passionate, thinks outside the box, credible - but ironically makes a superb case for non existence. Can't find evidence for the physical anomaly? Nae bother - it's paranormal. That's too big a logical leap - multiplying the improbable nature of the issue by a huge factor. However, I still find his ideas hugely entertaining and respect his work very much.

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    1. And Nessie continued to show herself after Ted's "ironically supurb case for non existence" SMH.

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    2. Ted Holiday was the Jacques Valle of Nessie hunters. Both outside the box thinkers.

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  9. Goodnight and a Merry Christmas to all.

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  10. No Steve uve never said directly nessie is a catfish but as u said its ur best guess. I agree with a lot u say and admire ur dedication but I don't agree on the catfish.. Only my humble opinion.. Catfish come up head first.. Have long barbs in the mouth.. have a dorsal fin and nobody as ever seen or caught one in Loch Ness plus they woudnt grow that big in cold Scottish waters! They don't resemble nessie sightings... We will have to agree to disagree lol hope u had a good crimbo up at the Loch and look forward to the new year with hopefully more sightings. Yeah Ted might have sounded a bit barmy towards the end but for me he suffered from what a lot of Hunters do.. Long time at the Loch with no success leads to frustration then a change of mind. Ted was closer to the truth first time round in my opinion and his book grea orm is a great read.. Cheers all.. Hope u have a great festive season.... Roy

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  11. David Bryant runs a website http://www.chilling-tales.com and under the section Lake monsters, ABCs, strange creatures! he writes about a Nessie sighting he had in 1972. I think this account might be of interest to readers of this blog. Its an interesting website for anyone interested in all things out of the ordinary.

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    1. Yeah, if you're ever frustrated by the Loch Ness Monster Hoodo. Where's a camera when you need one. LOL

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    2. Funny, that's my name too! Though the closest that I've ever been to the loch is through the webcam...

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  12. I've just had a look at David Bryant's site which is very well written. I first went to his Loch Ness sighting which was very impressive to say the least. However, on looking at other entries it appears that David has also had 4 sightings of mysterious big cats and 2 of a legendary East Anglian devil dog whose appearance indicates an imminent death. Now I may be cynical but the sheer number of sightings of mysterious unknown creatures had the net effect on me of reducing the credibility of each individual sighting. I know there is an element of good luck in all such sightings but 7...?

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  13. Also he claims to show the "labrador" in the Hugh Gray photo by simply increasing the contrast. Try as I may I cannot reproduce what he shows by any manipulation of contrast. I think he has done some retouching.

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  14. Sadly, after seeing what happened to Denys Tucker in the aftermath of his professed support of the plesiosaur theory, I wouldn’t bet on any credentialed scientific authority backing that theory anytime soon.

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  15. "Aleister Crowley: The Other Loch Ness Monster (2000)"
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=593_RAHV7qs
    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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    1. Too bad the old spooky Boleskine house burn't down, but I hear it's under restoration. Crowley a monster! Nah, he was just misunderstood. LOL

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  16. Happy New Year to all the Lochnessmystery regulars!

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  17. Wishing a very happy and successful new year and decade to GB and all contributors to this blog.
    To think the continuing mystery of this vast loch has the sceptics and pseudo scientists tearing their hair out is enough reason to celebrate!
    Cheers 🍷(as Roy would say).

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  18. Great mystery.. .Great blog...Happy New year to you all.. CHEERS .. lol

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