1734
The great sea
serpent is featured in ancient legends and folklore going
back to the earliest origins of written literature. However, the
serpent really came into widespread public interest in the great
age of sail, especially from the 16th to early 19th Centuries.
Once steamships became routine, reports of the serpents dropped
to almost zero and have continued at essentially zero ever
since. There is one very obvious explanation for many if
not all of the serpent's appearances. It was usually seen
at a fairly large distance from the ships, and thus was nearly
on the horizon. The sketches loosely based on
"eye-witness" sightings were not made by the witnesses and
presumably contain huge amounts of artistic license. The serpent
is variously depicted as reptilian, with scales, or alternately
a thick coat of hair!
|
1734 |
 1746 |
 1848 |
 1879 |
 1879 |
The only place in the world that I
know of where sea monsters are still routinely sighted is off
the coast of Cornwall,
England. Reports are still coming in from there once in a
while, involving the sighting of what is usually called "Morgawr."
 |
 |
Do you know what you are looking at here? This is a very likely explanation for almost all sea monster sightings.
 |
 |
