The Loch Ness Monster, Fact or Fiction?

Near Inverness, Scotland is The Great Glen, a rift valley 60 miles long that splits the Scottish Highlands in two. It forms a chain of rivers, canals and lakes, (or lochs), that connect the North Sea with the Atlantic Ocean. One of these lakes, Loch Ness, is rumored to be the home of perhaps one of the most famous and beloved “monsters” of our time. The Loch Ness monster.

Loch Ness, which lays claim to being the largest freshwater lake in the British Isles, is twenty-four miles long, at one point, and one and a half miles wide. It has an average depth of four hundred and fifty feet and at times plunges to almost a thousand. It is cold and murky, with dangerous currents.

The Loch Ness “monster” — affectionately known as “Nessie” by fans worldwide — is supposedly a large, long-necked creature perhaps a throwback to the dinosaurs or a genuine sea serpent, which lives in Loch Ness. Many sightings of the “monster” have been recorded over the centuries, going back at least as far as St. Columba, the Irish monk who converted most of Scotland to Christianity in the 6th century. He reportedly saved the life of a swimmer by bravely going out on the waters and vanquishing the beast through prayer, so that the swimmer’s life was spared.

The ancient history of the creature was well-known by the locals, but largely taken to be fiction. A harmless legend concocted by their ancestors of long ago to add a little drama to the area. Good for some chuckles and a bit of conjecture, but not to be taken too seriously. So while there was some talk and speculation, people for the most part came to the lake to vacation or enjoy some leisure time rather than to search for a mythical creature.

Modern Legend

The modern legend of Nessie began its chapter in 1933 after a new road was built along the north edge of the loch providing a clear view of the entire loch. The number of sightings reported suddenly sky-rocketed. Yes indeed, seems old Nessie, far from being extinct, was flourishing somewhere out there in the shadowy depths of Loch Ness. The Nessie revival continued in 1934 when Dr. Robert Kenneth Wilson, a London physician, claimed to have photographed a plesiosaur-like creature with a long neck rising above the murky waters. That picture, since proven to be fake, is known as the “surgeon’s photo” and gave credibility to the existence of the Loch Ness monster, that until then, despite inspiring cult-like devotion, had been only the product of legend and myth.