Peter O'Connor's Canoe

 

Peter O'Connor's Canoe

On May 27, 1960 in the early hours near the shores of Loch Ness, Peter O'Connor caught...well something on his camera. He had been camping through out the night in hopes of capturing the best evidence of the monster yet. Sometime between 6:00-6:30 AM the monster quietly and without recoil swam near his camp site. O'Connor waded into the dark and cold waters up until the surface was at his waist. He paid close attention to the creatures head which he claimed possessed "sheep like" features. The monster turned in O'Connor's direction but maintained its course. He described the neck as strong and rippling with muscles. The head being about 10" long the neck 6-7" in diameter. The body was about 2-3' exposed behind with a large central hump. It's eyes appeared to be closed shut with smooth skin not unlike a seal. *BOOM* A bright flash and smoke arose from his antiquated camera, O'Connor yelled for his companion (who up until this point was fast asleep in his tent.) The monster jolted and with a great commotion submerged into the depths. O'Connor stated that he was frightened during the experience, but the monster had shown no hostility.

After Peter had reported his sighting a then naturalist, Maurice Burton went to the camp site to investigate for evidence of a hoax. They found red and white string, tied to a circle of large stones, and multiple flash bulbs. The team also found large white sacs and after researching the area a large stick which they assumed was the neck in the picture. Turns out Burton was lying. Burton was at Loch Ness on the days prior to the 27th, but had in fact left the day the picture was taken. 

So what can we derive from the encounter and consequentially the photograph? Well, I find it hard to believe, at least for myself, that a man could muster the courage to enter the water when a behemoth of an unknown animal comes swimming by. I personally think I would lock up in fear, but maybe O'Connor is the brave type. And this was the opportunity he had waited for, so why not take a chance even a deadly one to capture evidence of the elusive Nessie? The thought of being in the Loch in the early hours of the morning, with the churning at your legs produced by an animal up until this point you had never seen is mind numbingly horrifying. Second, why wouldn't you wake your friend? Surely he'd want to see this creature as well? 

Moving on, the photo is easier to digest than the experience. We do see a hump and neck-like object just above the surface of the water. 

Picture of a time period canoe.

Above is the model of canoe (Tyne Perfect) O'Connor was reported to have taken to the Loch with him that day. Notice anything similar between this canoe and the hump in the photograph? That's right, grab a capsized canoe and large log, and you too can have yourself a photo of Nessie.

This photo and story scream hoax to me. Lack of substantial evidence and the only eye witness we have is Peter himself. Nessie didn't make her appearance on that morning in 1960, but Peter O'Connor and his disheveled canoe certainly did.

-T

Go No Further...

"Go no further..."

This encounter was recorded in the Life of Saint Columba which was written by Adomnan of Iona one of the Saint's relatives and follower. On August 22, 564; St. Columba while converting the "heathen" pagans of Scotland wondered upon a group of villagers burying a man down by the River Ness. The villagers claimed that the man had been attacked and drowned by a behemoth in the waters. Hearing this the holy Saint instructed one of his followers to swim across the river to retrieve a boat. Without question or reservation the man began his trek across. Midway the monster surfaced and began to pursue the pious man. St. Columba immediately approached the river and stretching out his hand made the sign of the cross. He commanded, "Go no further, nor touch the man, go back with all speed!" The villagers described the monster come to a stop and retreat as if pulled back by ropes into the waters depths. The follower retrieved the boat and safely made his way back to the shoreline. The pagans dropped to their knees and were converted right there on the spot after witnessing the miracle preformed.

I thought I would touch on this writing as it is the first recorded of a sighting near the waters of Loch Ness and a fantastical story. The River Ness feeds the Loch via the Moray Firth a bay that opens out to the North Sea. I won't comment on the virility of this story as many mythical stories were written in a bid to convert the Pagans of Northern Europe to Christianity. I find it interesting however that a consistent history of a monster has existed in the Loch's folklore. Does this bias the sightings all the way in the 1900's? Witnesses could have grown up on the same legends and stories like the one mentioned above. Or does this legend lend more credence to the existence of Nessie?

Only God knows.

-T

The Flipper Photo

 The Flipper Photo

Preface: Most of the information I researched for this article can be found in a former one written by the folks over at Tetzoo. Link to the article: https://tetzoo.com/blog/2020/8/17/loch-ness-monster-flipper-photos 

The 70's were a notorious time for Loch Ness. Money and technology began to funnel into the area by scientific associations and amateur investigators alike. Two notable groups that had made a mutual alliance in searching for the monster were the LNIB (Loch Ness Phenomenon Investigation Bureau) and the AAS (US Academy of Applied Science.) Members of the AAS team included Martin Klein ,Charles Wyckoff , Robert Rines, and Professor Harold Edgerton of MIT. The AAS was able to lend some new equipment for the hunt of the monster involving what is called high-speed strobe photography. The camera shutter is held open on Bulb, and when the "shutter-beam" detects an object it fires the strobe. (Woodselec, N.D.) Utilizing this technology AAS in conjunction with LNIB attached this form of underwater camera and strobe to the boat "Nan," and the second boat "Narwhal" carried sonar equipment to detect any subsurface objects. Using this technique the team in August of 1972 supposedly came in contact with two beasts in the loch. 2000 shutters were taken during this encounter and were supposedly so alarming that the photos were sent back to the US immediately for development. 

(Two photos believed to depict a diamond shaped flipped)

Bingo! The team had successfully captured three photos of a diamond shaped flipped on one of the animals. Two were extremely well focused and used when the news broke. On November 1, 1972 the two photos shown above were published in Time Magazine as well as other journals and news affiliated papers. The Natural History Museum announced that the photos were genuine and appeared to depict an animal unknown to science. The species was coined 'Nessiteras Rhombopteryx' adding to the validity of the scientific outlook on proposed animals to inhabit Loch Ness.

Many experts in the scientific community then and now are skeptical of these photos. Many claim the the veracity and process of taking these photos are mediocre at best. Some scientists even claimed that the team mistakenly took photos of pieces of sunken ships at the bottom of the Loch. But let us take a look at one of the original photos pre-enhanced by computers...

Well what can we ascertain from this photo? Certainly not the detail we see in the enhanced versions. The articulate diamond flippers sporting an arterial vain, are, in this photo just a jumble of spots and lines. 

This photo is a computer enhancement done by Alan Gillespie at the Jet Propulsion Laboratories in the United States. The computer enhanced only what it thought was necessary, and as you can see does not reflect the final photos taken by AAS. The photos were manipulated to fit the minds eye on what the team so hoped it would be. 

My take...

The events that took place when the flipper photos were taken and subsequently the debunking thereafter are all abnormal. For instance, the enhancement done by the AAS was done using multiple computer enhancement layers, while Gillespie only used one. It could be argued that the one enhancement is all that is needed to ascertain that there is nothing really there. Maybe peat disturbed by the camera equipment bumping into the loch floor. Or a rock formation that was mistaken for an appendage. However, the sonar contacts that were made when the photos were taken adds to the validity that something was indeed there. To think the team dragged their equipment on the Loch's bottom and not one of the member's of this reputable group didn't raise a hand is difficult to accept.

Add this one to the unsolved mysteries of the loch pile. I don't think we will ever have a definitive answer on the "flippers" of Nessiteras Rhombopteryx. 

-T

About that Surgeon

 

About that Surgeon...

The most popular picture of Nessie ever, and the most likely to be a hoax. April 21,1934; the Daily Mail a famous London based news journal headlines "London Surgeons Photo of the Monster." A black and white photo of a neck and posterior hump floating on top of the waters of Loch Ness. The photo is taken by a physician named Dr. Robert Kenneth Wilson who taking photos of the local bird population with a friend when he spotted the beast. 

The photo was a cropped version of the original which I have included for scale. What can we tell from this photo other than the black figure in the foreground? Well for one, the uncropped image depicts an animal or object that is significantly smaller than the photo delivered to the Daily Mail. Of course, no one would want to have to put on their spectacles to examine the beast. A ring of wakes surround the object alluding to the fact that there is something physical floating in the water. Finally, a small slither of the shoreline can be seen in the uncropped photo giving us a minor hint to the location. (Somewhere in the Loch) Other than those observances, not much more can be derived by a regular reader of the Mail. 

Finally, proof of the Water Horse, the Kelpie, Nessie herself! Or so was thought by the general public for 60 years. In 1994, David Martin discovered an old newspaper clipping published in 1975 sporting Ian Wetherell, son to the famous big game hunter Marmaduke Wetherell. (NOVA, 2000) In it Ian admits that the photo was actually staged by Maurice Chambers the "friend" the Doctor had claimed he was visiting. It is also believed that Ian having known so much about the details of the plot had in fact taken the photo and not Dr. Wilson. The photo was a revenge attempt carried out as revenge on the Daily Mail for the "hippo foot" fiasco that involved Marmaduke years prior. (NOVA, 2000) Dr. Wilson was used as a proxy to submit the photo without suspicion from the Mail. Christian Spurling step-brother to the late Ian Wetherall, was able to confirm the plot upon his death bed confession.

(Diagram of theorized submarine)

The theory is that Chambers used a plastic wooden toy submarine retrofitted with the head and neck of Nessie. Floated into the middle of the Loch, and towed by string or line, this toy is believed to have given birth to the photo that shocked the world. It is a simple solution when you think about it. Reputable witness and photographer? Check. An object with the likeness of Nessie? Check. In the middle of Loch Ness? Check. Marmaduke got the revenge he was seeking.

However, there is always a however when it comes to the infamous Nessie. Many experts are unsure that the toy submarines of the time were capable of carrying out the task prescribed to obtain the perfect photo of the monster. Moreover, why did Christian Spurling wait until his death to confirm that the hoax was real and subsequently the photo a fake? These are two questions that are near impossible to resolve and hence they both remain.

I believe the photo is authentic and depicts the creature that either lived or lives in the Loch. And that the news article featuring Ian and his story on how the hoax was concocted are fantasy and a way for Ian to capitalize where his father did not. Marmaduke never tracked down the monster, but how great would it be to attach himself to the proof that did. Even if it was in the form of an "elaborate hoax." It is hard for me to accept that given even the calmest of days on the surface of the Loch, the men boated out placed a submarine and were able to balance the top heavy neck long enough to retreat and snap a photo. Would no one see them make their way to the loch with this significantly large model of the creature? Wouldn't that bystander come forward and rebuke the claims made by the renowned Surgeon?

The Hippocratic Oath states to do no harm, Dr. Wilson was able to cure any doubt as to the existence of a monster in the depths of Loch Ness.

-T

Public Broadcasting Service. (n.d.). Nova online | the beast of loch ness | birth of a legend (3). PBS. Retrieved July 7, 2022, from https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lochness/legend3.html

Rick Steve's Take

Recently I came across an article titled "US Travel Writer Brands Loch Ness 'Waste of Space' and says Monster has Never Existed." In the article writer, Rick Steve's and photographer Cameron Hewitt detail their displeasure during their time at the Loch. According to Rick "It's simply a long, narrow lake with a string of cheesy roadside attractions, and a not-very-dramatic mountains on the far side." He believes the Loch is nothing more than a tourist attraction, and that no monster has ever lived there. Well, maybe he is right. No one has ever found solid proof of Nessie in the Loch's waters, and except for a few thousand sightings and obscure photos, nothing has ever stuck.

    It's not a preposterous to think that Nessie is the fabrication of myth, hoaxes, and mistaken identity. In fact, a good majority of sightings could be dismissed as just that, illusions or mirages that play on the mind. I've never been to Loch Ness, but when I do go, I may be hesitant to enter the peat laden waters. Not because I have some irrational fear of drowning, but because of the legends that surround the cold depths. So I have to give it to Rick, the Loch could simply be the result of a wealth generating scheme to attract unsuspecting travel writers to a place that "doesn't even crack the top 25 list of prettiest Scottish lochs."

    I however like to believe that reality is never that abstract, meaning the idea that some poor highland citizens concocted the idea of a water beast (which has been in Scottish legend for thousands of years) and used it to drum up some business. There have certainly been a handful of witnesses that have capitalized on fakes and hoaxes, but as a community at large this is not the case. A town may capitalize on a cryptozoological animal in their waters, it doesn't mean they invented the creature itself. Were the citizens of Loch Ness so burdened and poor that they rang everyone to the Town Hall in 1933 and devised one of the greatest mysteries of all time? 

Thousands of sightings from reputable members of society speak to something greater going on beneath those waters. The lack of physical proof could point to other theories about what Nessie is. Invertebrates for instance, leave little to no physical matter after their deaths and consumption. Could it be some species of giant worm that rarely surfaces and upon expiration is dissolved by natural processes? A worm that spends most of its time scouring the bottom of the loch for plants and small fishes? Perhaps a large eel, that when seen by fishermen isn't given a second look because of the familiarity of the animal? 

One trip to Loch Ness and a souvenir is not enough evidence for me to dismiss the existence of Nessie. I'll happily scour the Loch for proof, even if that means from the perch of the local gift store.

-T

Link to the Article Here: https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news/travel-writer-brands-loch-ness-24236121 

Murphy, S., & Broomhead, M. (2022, June 15). US travel writer brands Loch Ness “waste of space” and says monster has “never existed.” WalesOnline. https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news/travel-writer-brands-loch-ness-24236121

The Spicers Land Sighting

 July 22, 1933

Mr and Mrs George Spicer, a couple from London, we’re returning from their lovely Scottish vacation by automobile in the early evening hours. Along their side the murky and deep waters of Loch Ness turned. Their route put them somewhere along the Dores to Flyers road, suddenly their headlights illuminated something truly disturbing. About 200 yards beyond the front of their vehicle, was a monstrosity that Mr. Spicer likened to a prehistoric beast. It’s length spanned that of the road, and the creature moved in a series of jerks. Elephant gray skin, and what they believed to be a neck that undulated in an up and down direction Loch ward. The couple noticed what they thought was a sheep, or small animal being carried by the creature. Almost a small appendage to the front of the body. (They were never able to confirm.) Within seconds the creature had bounded over the roadway and down the brush into the Loch. One quick mention to this story is that the monster could not have slid down the side of the road without obstruction. There is a wall that exists in this part of the stretch, it is now believed the monster may have scaled this wall. 

The Spicer’s sighting is one of the most popular in that of Nessie lore. Never before had a more detailed land sighting been recorded. What I find most interesting about this story, is that Mr. Spicer was truly disturbed by the way the creature moved, as if the unnatural jerks stirred and horrified his human instincts. In later interviews with newspapers, Mr. Spicer likened the monster to that of a dinosaur or some prehistoric beast. My biggest issue with this comparison is how out of line it is with what they recorded to have witnessed. The elephant gray skin is obviously infers this creature was mammalian. The undulating neck I will admit is not very mammalian like, but it does not reflect any creature in the fossil record. Plesiosaurs as we know could not lift their necks above water, and had a stiff neck. The neck in this sighting is more closely related to that of an invertebrate. I surmise that the monster the Spicer’s saw was not a dinosaur, but some undiscovered species of mammal.