Once again, rolling through social media is a silly story about whale penises mistakenly perceived as “sea monsters”. Here’s a nice bit to set things straight. It’s a Twitter thread by Dr. Darren Naish from April of 2021. I’ve unrolled it for easy reading. By now about a million of you have shared the ‘a… Continue reading The whale-penis-as-sea-serpent clarification
Monsters of the DeepNick Redfern2021, Visible Ink Press366 pp Following the format of Redfern’s other books with Visible Ink, this volume is a long, winding stroll through most of the prominent reported cases of water creatures, often through use of huge sections of quotes from other sources. As with previous volumes, the content draws heavily… Continue reading Monsters of the Deep – N. Redfern
Palaeontologist Dr. Darren Naish tweeted a thread today on the more detailed story about the Hook Island tadpole monster picture. For ease of reading, here is the thread Spooled for easy reading and searching. [Twitter threads are not like blog posts in that they can not be edited once posted. I have made minor edits… Continue reading The fuller story of the Hook Island tadpole monster
Palaeontologist Dr. Darren Naish tweeted a thread today on why the sensationalistic version of the Spicer sighting at Loch Ness doesn’t match what was originally reported. [Twitter threads are not like blog posts in that they can not be edited once posted. I have made minor edits in punctuation and format below. Missing words are… Continue reading Loch Ness Monster eating a sheep: The popular depiction of the Spicer sighting has issues
Ogopogo: The True Story of the Okanagan Lake Million Dollar MonsterGaal, Arlene1955, Big Country Books1986, Hancock House128 pp. Gaal, who believes she has seen Ogopogo several times, is the closest thing this cryptid has to an official historian. This is a brief but lively account of the Canadian lake monster, with an excellent photo section… Continue reading Ogopogo – A. Gaal
There Are Giants in the Sea: Monsters and Mysteries of the Depths ExploredBright, Michael1989, Robson Books224pp. Bright, a biologist, offers an enjoyable survey of large and unusual sea creatures (the known and the unknown). He writes well and has obviously done his research, but the value of the book is seriously weakened by the lack… Continue reading There Are Giants in the Sea – M. Bright
Monsters of the Sea: The History, Natural History, and Mythodology of the Oceans’ Most Fantastic CreaturesEllis, Richard1994, Alfred A. Knopf429 pp.
The Case for the Sea SerpentRupert T. Gould1930, Phillip Allen1934, G.P. Putnam’s Sons There are several good books concerning large animals reported from the oceans. Gould’s book is one of them. Writing when many witnesses to the “classic” cases were still alive, Gould presented a formidable brief in favor of the existence of one or… Continue reading The Case for the Sea Serpent – R.T. Gould
In Search of Ogopogo: Sacred Creature of the OkanaganGaal, Arlene2001, Hancock House208 pp. Gaal’s second book on the reported creature of Lake Okanagan includes a detailed chronology and many photographs. The author argues the presence of unknown animals “can no longer be disputed” which remains… in dispute still today. The book also contains a conservation… Continue reading In Search of Ogopogo – A. Gaal
The Monsters of Loch NessRoy P. Mackal1976, The Swallow Press402 pp. A scientific-minded exploration of the Loch Ness phenomena by a biology professor who participated in on-site investigations in 1966. Dr. Mackal considers the environment and evidence and suggests some possibilities for the monsters (plural) that could be causing the commotion. A bit dated now,… Continue reading The Monsters of Loch Ness – R. Mackal
The Untold Story of Champ: A social history of America’s Loch Ness MonsterRobert Bartholomew2012, Excelsior Editions270 pp. A good, objective history of the Lake Champlain monster story, separating myth from facts. Champ was a household name in the 1870’s before Nessie was the world’s most popular lake monster. Hundreds looked for the bease, rewards were… Continue reading Untold Story of Champ – R. Bartholomew
Sea Monsters on Medieval and Renaissance MapsChet Van Duzer2013, British Library144 pp.
In the Wake of the Sea-SerpentsBernard Heuvelmans1968, Hill and Wang362 pp.
The Great Sea Serpent: An Historical and Critical Treatise A.C. Oudemans 1892 Out of copyright and freely available online
Title – A. Author The Loch Ness Monster: The EvidenceCampbell, Steuart1997, Prometheus Books2004, Birlinn Ltd; 4th edition128 pp
The Book of Sea MonstersEggleton, Bob, and Nigel Suckling1998, Overlook Press112pp.
The Search for the Giant Squid: The Biology and Mythology of the World’s Most Elusive Sea CreatureEllis, Richard1998, Lyons Press1999, Penguin Books336 pp.
In the Domain of the Lake Monsters: The Search for Denizens of the DeepKirk, John 1998, Key Porter Books302 pp
The Great New England Sea Serpent: An Account of Unknown Creatures Sighted by Many Respectable Persons Between 1638 and the Present DayO’Neill, June P.1999, Down East Books 2003, Paraview256pp.
Loch Ness Monster, Nessie And MeHarmsworth, Tony2011, self published, lulu.com
Modern Cryptozoology 