The Legend of the Loch Ness Monster

Almost 1,500 years have passed since the legend of the Loch Ness Monster arose in Scotland. The Loch Ness Monster is an alleged creature that has been said to live in Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. The Loch Ness Monster legend originated in the first century A.D. when Romans came to northern Scotland. The Scottish Highlands were home to fierce, tattoo-covered tribes called the Picts. The Picts found animals to be very fascinating, and they treated animals with great respect and belief. They drew carvings on stones that still stand today. All of the animals that were carved onto the stone were easily recognizable except for one. The creature drawn had an elongated beak and flippers in place of feet. The Pictish carving was the oldest recognizable evidence for what was thought to be the Loch Ness Monster.

The earliest account of the Loch Ness Monster was in A.D. 565 by a man named Saint Columba. According to his biography, Columba was traveling to visit a Pictish king when he glanced upon Loch Ness and saw a large creature about to attack a man that was swimming. Columba raised his hand, commanding the monster to “go back with all speed.” The beast followed Columba’s command, and the man that was swimming in the lake was saved.

The most modern legend was told around 1933 when a road was being constructed by the shore of Loch Ness. On an April afternoon, a young couple was driving by the lake and claimed to see a large animal on the surface of the water. The sighting was later recorded in Inverness Courier, and thus the legend spread. The article sparked public interest during the spring of 1933, and hit an all time high when a another couple reported seeing the creature on land.

In October, several London newspapers were...

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... stood out above the rest. The photograph was taken by a man named R. Kenneth Wilson, and it showed an animal with a slender neck rising to the surface of the water. From the moment the photograph was displayed to the public, it became the face of the Loch Ness Monster and evidence that such creature really existed.

Years later however, in 1994, the photograph was reported as a fake by an art teacher named Alastair Boyd who claimed to have saw the animal himself in 1979. Boyd discovered that the picture was nothing more than a wood neck attached to a toy submarine. The Loch Ness Monster may or may not be real. No evidence has been found affirming the creatures existence, but no evidence has been found denying the animals existence either. The truth behind the Loch Ness Monster may never be known, but the legend will continue to expand so long as some still believe.