Loch Ness Monster: A History of Sightings

George Spicer and his wife saw ‘a most extraordinary form of animal’ cross the road in front of their car. They described the creature as having a large body (about 4 feet (1 m) high and 25 feet (8 m) long), and long, narrow neck, slightly thicker than an elephant’s trunk and as long as the ten- to twelve-feet (3.0–3.7 m) width of the road.  The animal lurched across the road towards the loch 20 yards (20 m) away, leaving only a trail of broken undergrowth in its wake.

In August 1933 Arthur Grant was riding his motorcycle on a moonlit night near Abraichan.  Grant maintains that he saw a creature with a small head and  a long neck cross the road in front of him. When Grant followed the creature to the Loch he saw only ripples. Critics say that this was a humorous explanation of a motorcycle accident.

A young maidservant called Margaret Munro also observed the creature that summer.  In the early morning of 5th June she supposedly observed the creature for nearly twenty minutes. She spotted it on shore from about 200 yards (180 m) and  described it as having elephant-like skin, a long neck, a small head and two short forelegs or flippers. The sighting came to an end when the creature re-reverted to  the water.

3. The Surgeons Photograph 1934

Source: Wikipedia

In 1934 an iconic photo of the monster showing the head and neck was published in the Daily Mail. The image was reputedly taken by Robert Wilson, a London gynecologist.  When Wilson refused to attach his name to the photograph it became known as the Surgeon’s Photograph. Although the image has entered popular culture it is a fake.  The ripples in the photo are typical of small disturbances as opposed to large waves.  Christian Spurling confessed to the hoax in 1994. He described how he had attached a sculpted head to a toy submarine. He hoax had been masterminded by his father in law, Marmaduke Wetherall, who had been ridiculed by the Daily Mail. Earlier in the 1930s Marmaduke Wetherall had supplied the paper with photographs showing the monster’s footprints.  The paper discredited the imprints as those made by a hippopotamus foot umbrella stand.

4. C.B. Farrel (1943)

In May 1943,C.B.Farrel worked for the Royal Observer Corp. He saw a large-eyed, finned creature, which had a 20-to-30-foot (6 to 9 m) long body, and a neck that protruded about 4–5 feet (1.2–1.5 m) from the Loch.

5. Sonar contact (1954)

In December 1954 the fishing boat Rival III picked up an unusual sonar signal. A large object trailed the boat at a depth of 480 feet (146 m) for over half a mile before contact was lost.

6. The Dinsdale film (1960)

In 1960, aeronautical engineer Tim Dinsdalefilmed a hump crossing the water in a powerful wake unlike that of a boat.  Critics have argued that when the contract is increased a man and a boat can be clearly seen in the picture. In 1993 the film makers Discovery Communications subjected the film to digital enhancement.  Intriguingly the enhanced image shows the faint outline of a plesiosaur like creature.

7. The Holmes video (2007)

On 26 May 2007, Gordon Holmes, a 55-year-old lab technician, captured video of what he said was “this jet black thing, about 45 feet (14 m) long, moving fairly fast in the water