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Monsters of the Deep , livre ebook

Visible Ink Press - Nick Redfern

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322 pages

English

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Description

Nearly 100 examples of ocean monsters, sea creatures, and other cryptozoological critters from the historical record—and potentially still among us

Stories gleaned from first-person accounts and historical documents—and government files

Logical organization makes finding information quick and easy

Numerous black-and-white photographs

Thoroughly indexed

Authoritative resource

Sure to appeal to anyone interested in cryptozoology, monsters, and sea creatures

Publicity and promotion aimed at the wide array of websites focused on true crime, the unexplained, and the conspiratorial

Promotion targeting more mainstream media and websites with a popular topic

Promotion targeting national radio, including Coast to Coast AM and numerous other late-night radio syndicates looking for knowledgeable guests

Promotion to local radio

Promotion targeting current events magazines and newspapers politics editors
A deep dive into the undersea netherworld of sea serpents, lake monsters, surviving dinosaurs, genetically altered mutants, and legendary aquatic creatures.

Water takes up 70 percent of Earth’s surface, with countless lakes, rivers, ponds, streams, seas and oceans covering much of the land, but what lurks beneath the water? For centuries, sightings have been made of huge, marauding monsters swimming the world’s oceans and lakes. They include Scotland’s legendary Loch Ness Monster; the United States’ equivalent, Champ, of Lake Champlain; and Canada’s long-necked denizen of the deep known as Ogopogo. These, and many more, famous monsters of the world below us also include giant squid, massive octopi, and even the fabled Kraken and the fabled mermaids of millennia long-gone. Possibly, too, there survive populations of marine reptiles that were assumed to have gone extinct millions of years ago, in the Jurassic period, such as the plesiosaur.

Whether scaly or slithery, massive prehistoric dinosaurs or mutant serpents, Monsters of the Deep catalogs nearly 100 accounts of eels, alligators, reptiles, giant squids, snakes, worms, deadly fish, and cold-blooded creatures of all manner and ilk. It reveals the astonishing extent to which lake monsters and sea serpents have surfaced throughout history to terrify, perplex, and amaze those who have crossed paths with these monsters of the unknown.

Master storyteller, established author, and respected expert on the unexplained and paranormal Nick Redfern sifts through the historical record, first-person accounts, and unearthed government files on lake monsters and sea serpents to tell of encounters with a variety of beasts, including ...

Cheever Felch’s 19th-century account of the massive Gloucester, New England, Sea Serpent

The brontosaurus-like Mokele-Mbembe of the Congo

The supernatural Bunyip, a monster that lurks within the creeks, lagoons, and swamps of Australia that has been known to the Aboriginal people for centuries

The disputed claims of Teddy May, former Commissioner of Sewers in New York, of alligators roaming the sewers of the city

The monster-sized fish in the River Nene, in the Fens, Cambridgeshire, England

Modern mutants genetically altered by pollution

And many more!

This richly researched reference overflows with fascinating information to make you think about—and reconsider—dipping your toes into water. With more than 120 photos and graphics, this tome is nicely illustrated. Monsters of the Deep also includes a helpful bibliography and an extensive index, adding to its usefulness.
The Lake Storjson Monster

There is a particularly fascinating story of a lake monster that dates back to 1878. It came from a man named Martin Olsson. He was a mechanic at the nearby Ostersund, Sweden sawmill, and who lived in a cabin at the edge of the lake. He described his dramatic encounter with the monster:

“I was fishing near Forson Island when I got a strange feeling someone was watching me. I looked behind me and the lake creature was not more than forty meters behind my boat. I dropped my pole and line in the lake when I saw it. The weather was bright and sunny, and I got a good view of the animal. The neck was long, about as round as a man’s body at the base where it came up out of the water. It tapered up about six feet to a snake-like head that was larger than what I figured the neck could support. There was a hairy fringe just back of the neck. Hanging down the back. This ‘ribbon’ was stuck close to the neck, possibly because of the wetness. The color was greyish brown. The thing had two distinct eyes that were reddish in appearance. There were a couple of dark humps visible beyond the neck. Both of these humps, and the part that was out of the water, glistened in the sunlight. I did not see scales. There was a skin on the animal that resembled the skin of a fish.

“I didn’t want to alarm the animal, but I did want to get away as quickly as possible. Moving very cautiously, I took my oars and pulled slowly away from the spot. I became even more frightened when I had rowed about ten meters distance and the animal began to swim towards me. I stopped rowing, and the thing just lay there in the water staring at me. This much have gone on for about five minutes. I’m uncertain because my mind was on anything but the passage of time. There was no doubt in my mind that this thing could have overturned my little boat. I thanked god when he dropped beneath the water and I saw a blackish hump move out in the opposite direction.”

The Paddler

Situated in Idaho, Lake Pend Oreille is a huge expanse of water that extends in excess of forty miles in length and 1,000 feet in depth. And, it might accurately be said that the lake is the home to a creature not unlike Loch Ness, Scotland’s legendary Nessie. On the other hand, however, Lake Pen Oreille’s lake monster – known locally as Paddler – might be something even stranger.

Sightings of the prehistoric-looking thing date back to the 1940s and continue to the present day. A particularly spectacular encounter with Paddler occurred on Memorial Day 1985. That was when a woman named Julie Green was on the lake with several friends when they all caught sight of something huge and fantastic: a large, gray-colored thing racing across the lake, seemingly partially above and below the surface of the water. That the thing was only around 600 feet away meant Green and her friends were able to determine that whatever it was, it wasn’t a wave.

Then, in 1996, the Groves family of Pasadena, California – vacationing with family who lived in the lake area – reported seeing early on a Sunday morning a large, gray-colored object break the waters. It was described as resembling the back of an elephant, in both color and size. Needless to say, Lake Pen Oreille isn’t home to a herd of elephants that enjoy taking morning swims.
About the Author

Acknowledgments

Preface

Introduction

1: Jonah, a Mysterious Whale, and the Leviathan

2: Mermaids and Mermen

3: The Mighty Kraken

4: Tales of 19th Century Sea Serpents

5: Into the 20th Century

6: African Lake Monsters

7: Freaky Frog People

8: Anarchy in the U.K.

9: Giant Snakes

10: The Loch Ness Enigma

11: Monsters from a Land Down Under

12: South America’s Super-Sized Snakes and Other Creatures

13: Alligators and Crocodiles in the Sewers

14: Giant Insects and Cattle Mutilations

15: Monster Madness and Media Mayhem

16: Massive Eels on the Rampage

17: The Biggest Squids of All

18: Godzilla-Sized Octopuses

19: Not Extinct, After All

20: Reptilians on the Loose

21: Mysterious Creatures in the USA and Canada

22: Bizarre Beasts and Government Conspiracies

23: Bigfoot, Water, and its Secret Underground

24: Secret Caves and Shadowy Caverns

25: Mysterious, Massive “Worms”

26: Cthulhu Lives?

27: A Deadly Fish in the Heart of Wales

28: Hidden Below the Surface

29: Serpents, Human Sacrifice, and Secrets

30: A Catalog of Creepy Creatures

31: 2Modern Day Monsters and Environmental Pollution

32: Conclusions

Unexplained Phenomena

Body (disambiguation)

Unidentified flying object

Spirituality

Supernatural

UFO

Informations

Publié par	Visible Ink Press
Date de parution	01 août 2020
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781578597246
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	9 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0950€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

A CKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to offer my very sincere thanks to my tireless agent and agent, Lisa Hagan, and to everyone at Visible Ink Press, and particularly Roger J necke and Kevin Hile.
C ONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Photo Sources
Introduction
OCEAN CREATURES
Tales of Nineteenth-Century Sea Serpents
The Mighty Kraken
Beware of the Giant Squid
Attacked by Monsters of the Sea
Cthulhu Lives?
NESSIE AND NESSIE-LIKE MONSTERS
Nessie Officially Comes to Life
Famous Photos and Film
Nessie into the 1980s, 90s, and the New Century
An Aleister Crowley Connection
Banishing a Monster
A Cousin of Nessie
The River Ness Monster and Early Years
Champ, Big Wally, Pepie, Ogopogo, and Paddler
ROTHER INLAND WATER MONSTERS
African Lake Monsters
The Deadlies Lake Monsters of All
Giant Insects
Extraordinary Beavers and Bears
Monster Madness and Media Mayhem
Giant Turtles and Other Goliaths
A Deadly Fish in the Waters of Wales
Creepy Creatures
In Search of a Mighty Fish
Monsters from a Land Down Under
Salim es River Snake
DRAGONS AND WURMS
Sea Beasts in the Twentieth Century
Lindorms and Other Scandinavian Beasts
Monstrous, Massive Worms
SNAKES AND EELS
Giant Snakes
Giant Eels on the Rampage
Bolivian Snake and the CIA
CREATURES INHABITING CAVES, TUNNELS, AND SEWERS
Alligators in the Sewers
London Underground Horrors
WATER GODS, SPIRITS, AND MYTHOLOGICALS
Jonah s Whale, Leviathan, and the Hydra
Anarchy in the United Kingdom
Serpents, Human Sacrifice, and Secrets
A Basilisk in Africa
HUMANOIDS OF THE WATER
Mermaids and Mermen
Freaky Frog People
A Wolfman of the Waters
The Didi
Bigfoot, a Creature of the Water
Secret Caves and Shadowy Caverns
REPTILIANS AND ALIEN INFLUENCES
A Reptilian from the Stars
Reptilians on the Loose
THEORIES
Heuvelmans Creature Categorization
A Global Template for Monsters
Modern-Day Monsters and Environmental Pollution
Further Reading
Index
P HOTO S OURCES
Abbasi1111: p. 338 .
Tim Bertelink: p. 297 .
Bibliotekarin (Wikicommons): p. 199 .
Cave Junction, USA: p. 288 .
Centre for Fortean Zoology: pp. 124 , 170 .
Chiswick Chap (Wikicommons): p. 48 .
Tony Corsini: p. 145 .
Em ke D nes: p. 299 .
Drw25 (Wikicommons): p. 273 .
Dieter Florian: p. 153 .
GerardM (Wikicommons): p. 207 .
GeShaFish (Wikicommons): p. 181 .
Salvor Gissurardottir: p. 205 .
Illustrated London News Ltd./Mary Evans Picture Library: p. 58 .
Juhauski72 (Wikicommons): p. 210 .
Kallerna (Wikicommons): p. 254 .
Lynne Kirton: p. 82 .
Frederic A. Lucas: p. 137 .
Mary Evans Picture Library: pp. 324 , 329 .
Rolf M ller: p. 284 .
Mus um de Toulouse, France: p. 115 .
Museum Kunstpalast, Germany: p. 226 .
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: p. 43 .
Natural History of Norway (1755): p. 18 .
New York Public Library Archives: p. 23 .
Nuno Nogueira: p. 293 .
Rickard Olsson: p. 177 .
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography : p. 9 .
The Penny Illustrated Paper and Illustrated Times : p. 29 .
Sea Monsters Unmasked (1884): p. 33 .
Seth J (Wikicommons): p. 332 .
Shutterstock: pp. 3 , 6 , 36 , 41 , 51 , 53 , 55 , 69 , 71 , 77 , 80 , 85 , 88 , 89 , 93 , 94 , 96 , 105 , 111 , 113 , 121 , 130 , 133 , 139 , 141 , 142 , 146 , 148 , 150 , 164 , 168 , 192 , 196 , 202 , 215 , 219 , 229 , 232 , 235 , 238 , 241 , 242 , 256 , 260 , 267 , 269 , 276 , 280 , 281 , 290 , 292 , 307 , 315 , 318 , 334 .
William Leo Smith: p. 91 .
Aaron Sneddon: p. 66 .
Ryan Somma: p. 119 .
Tfa4freedom (Freedom Festival; Wikicommons): p. 271 .
University of Augsburg, Germany: p. 21 .
U.S. Geological Survey: p. 341 .
U.S. Government: p. 257 .
Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History: p. 31 .
Public domain: pp. 5 , 11 , 13 , 15 , 25 , 39 , 62 , 73 , 84 , 102 , 103 , 109 , 160 , 174 , 175 , 179 , 185 , 188 , 217 , 245 , 248 , 252 , 263 , 300 , 304 .
I NTRODUCTION
The word Zoology is defined by the Environmental Science website as the study of animals and their behavior. Zoologists may study a particular species or group of species, either in the wild or in captivity. Zoologists study animals and their interactions with ecosystems. They study their physical characteristics, diets, behaviors, and the impacts humans have on them. They study all kinds of animals, both in their natural habitats and in captivity in zoos and aquariums. They may specialize in studying a particular animal or animal group.
Just about all zoologists would fully agree with that statement. The book that you are about to read, however, is focused upon animals that the world of mainstream zoology has very little time for and which are very far removed from the domain of zoology. Indeed, they fall into a totally different category: it goes by the title of cryptozoology. Within its many and varied numbers are the chupacabra, the abominable snowman, and mothman. This book, however, focuses on strange and bizarre creatures that may be significantly different to each other and that science decries, but they all have one important thing in common: they all live in the water at least part of the time.
We are talking about lake monsters (such as the famous Loch Ness monster of Scotland, Ogopogo, and Champ), sea serpents, massive eels, the origins and myths surrounding mermaids, the mighty kraken, giant octopi, and oversized and deadly squids. Real-life equivalents of H. P. Lovecraft s near-legendary creation, Cthulhu; snakes in excess of forty-feet in length; and even man-beasts not at all unlike the deadly monster in the 1954 movie Creature from the Black Lagoon are part and parcel of the creepy, eerie equation.
In addition, you will learn that some so-called monsters of the deep may not be modern creatures at all. Rather, they might be surviving relics of animals that were presumed to have gone belly-up millions of years ago-even tens of millions of years ago. In other words, some of them might be survivors from millions of years ago when mosasaurs and plesiosaurs swam Earth s waters. A scenario akin to a real-life Jurassic Park ? Incredibly, that just might be the case. In our arrogance, we believe that we know just about all there is to know about our world. Wrong. The fact is that we don t know much at all. The beasts that I m talking about may be swimming through the deeper parts of our seas and oceans right now. Or they just might be in your local lake, watching you through a pair of beady, penetrating eyes.
And on the matter of Jurassic Park , let us end this introduction with a story that well and truly sets the scene for what is to come ahead: the discovery of an ancient fish that was assumed to be extinct. Those assumptions were incredibly wrong. Against all of the odds, it survived for millions of years after it was presumed long dead. It s a story that prompts an important question: if one such creature can survive across a periods of tens of millions of years, then how many others could do likewise? The answer could be surprising. Now, let us get to the heart of the story.
The keepers of the Smithsonian s website states: Coelacanths (seel-acanths) were once known only from fossils and were thought to have gone extinct approximately 65 million years ago (mya), during the great extinction in which the dinosaurs disappeared. The most recent fossil record dates from about 80 mya but the earliest records date back as far as approximately 360 mya. At one time coelacanths were a large group comprising about 90 valid species that were distributed worldwide in both marine and freshwaters. Today, there are two known living species.
It is very important to note that the coelacanth is not a tiny, blink-andyou ll-miss-it type of fish. Rather, it grows to lengths of six-and-a-half-feet in length. An adult coelacanth can weigh up to 175 pounds. And, yet, for so long they remained completely and utterly undetected. The Sea and Sky website provide us this information on this legendary and amazing fish: Fossils of the coelacanth have been found that date back over 350 million years. But, against all odds, in 1938, a fisherman actually caught a live coelacanth off the coast of South Africa. A second specimen was captured in 1952 off the coast of the Comoros Islands off the eastern coast of Africa near Madagascar. Needless to say, this caused a sensation throughout the scientific community. Since then, live coelacanths have been sighted and photographed many times in the wild.
The U.S. government s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has a deep interest in the coelacanth, stating and stressing these words: The coelacanth has several unique physical features. Most notably are its paired lobe fins that extend away from the body and move in an alternating pattern. The body of the fish appears iridescent dark blue in film or video footage but under natural light the color is light brown with white blotches throughout that have been used for individual identification. They also have thick, armor-like scales and a unique joint at the back of the skull that allows them to open their upper and lower jaws at the same time. The coelacanth is a slow drift-hunter and eats a variety of benthic and epi-benthic prey, such as cephalopods, eels, cuttlefish, and deep-water fishes.
NOAA continues with its background on the coelacanth: The Tanzanian distinct population segment of African coelacanth lives among deep, rocky terraces comprised of sedimentary limestone. In this habitat, coelacanths are thought to use submarine cavities and shelves that have eroded out of the limestone composite for shelter between 230 to 460 feet in depth and in temperatures around 68 F. The average lifespan of coelacanths is estimated to be 48 years of age. Female coelacanths reach maturity between 16 and 19 years and give birth to live young after a very lengthy gestation period of 3 years, which is the longest gestation period of any vertebrate species.
NOAA concludes: Historically,