You don’t have to be a fan of cryptozoology to have heard of the Loch Ness Monster. In terms of creatures that may or may not exist, Nessie ranks right up there with Bigfoot, the Mothman, the Chupacabra, and of course, the Jackalope. Sightings of Nessie date back to the 500s, though the most notable stems from a debunked photo from 1934 which you may have seen before.
Even though the above photo was proven to be false, the legend of Nessie still persists to the point where sightings are still documented and investigated in the hopes of proving the creature’s existence. One of the people dedicated to this is Eoin O’Faodhagain, who in April of 2020, recorded the largest sighting of Nessie to be verified by the official Loch Ness Monster Sightings Register.
The full video can be seen on The Scottish Sun, but included below is a screen capture of the elusive beast.
Yup, that’s right, that shadow in the water…that’s allegedly the biggest ever sighting of Nessie. I certainly don’t want to sound dismissive or like I’m trying to quash people’s enthusiasm, but if that video is all it takes for something to be considered a sighting of the legendary Loch Ness Monster, then this might be the lowest bar ever set for proof that time the kid on the school yard told you that his uncle worked for Nintendo.
Nessie sightings are actually at a historic high, with 8 ‘recorded’ and reported cases.
Carl Sagan is famous for a number of reasons, but one of them is for using the phrase, “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.” The idea of a sea monster taking up residence in a lake in Scotland is a pretty extraordinary one. This video is not extraordinary evidence of anything; except that maybe people in Scotland need better cameras.
I happen to know several people in Scotland who are wonderful friends and they are die-hard believers in the Loch Ness Monster. This is of course, not to say that all Scottish people believe in this particular sea monster, but it’s almost as if Nessie is part of a cultural identity. It feels like some people very much want this to be true and unfortunately if you want something that badly, it can alter your perceptions as to what is and isn’t legitimate evidence.
Or maybe I’m wrong and the object in that video actually IS Nessie instead of any number of far more likely things. Or maybe it’s the emergence of Cthulhu and we’re all doomed anyway.
