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What lurks beneath the dark waters of Scotland’s Loch Ness? Newly released documents on display Tuesday in Scotland show that during the 1930s, police in Scotland were convinced some sort of creature inhabited the Highlands lake — so sure, in fact, that they worried about how to protect it from big-game hunters.

The files from the National Archive of Scotland show that local officials asked Britain’s Parliament to investigate the issue and confirm the monster’s existence — in the interests of science.

“That there is some strange creature in Loch Ness now seems beyond doubt,” wrote William Fraser, a senior police officer, “but that the police have any power to protect it is very doubtful.”

The Nessie Files, kept secret for 70 years, were revealed as part of an exhibition on government secrecy. The exhibit examines how governments once kept almost everything secret, and how attitudes evolved to move toward more open government in modern times.

Nessie, of course, was the epitome of mystery. The loch in which the monster is said to swim is the deepest inland expanse of water in Britain. At about 750 feet (230 meters) to the bottom, it’s even deeper than the North Sea.

The legend of what lies beneath the surface dates to 565 A.D., when an early Christian, St. Columba, is recorded as having driven away a water monster by the power of prayer, the National Archive said.

The documents also offer a glimpse of the collision of centuries-old lake lore with an emerging mass media — a modern effort to document a long-held superstition. The search grew feverish in the 1930s after a surgeon snapped a (now discredited) photo of a black dinosaur-like head rising from the depths.

Archivist Tristram Clarke said the letters reveal that some people sincerely believed there was a monster in the loch — though the cool response from the government suggests there plenty of detractors. If nothing else, Clarke said the Fraser letter proves that the police were under pressure to protect the monster — whatever it was.

Fraser’s letter to officials in London warned that he feared hunters Peter Kent and Marion Stirling were “determined to catch the monster dead or alive” and planned to use a “special harpoon gun.”

Kent was preparing a major operation including 20 experienced hunters and Fraser said he warned of the “desirability of having the creature left alone.”

The idea didn’t get very far in the end. The files show that it was deemed better not to kill the monster — or the myth — by stationing cameras or observers around the lake.

Though the sightings proved to be a hoaxes, they didn’t stop a Nessie-spotting tourism industry from springing up, together with three-humped cuddle toys, T-shirts and mugs.

“I think Nessie is such an iconic part of Scotland,” Clarke said. “The legend lives on. It’s almost part of Scotland’s identity.”

Though the number of sightings has tailed off recently, devoted believers continue to scour the loch. Gary Campbell of the Official Loch Ness monster club lives in hope of finding Nessie one day.

“Fourteen years ago I saw a hump break the water on the loch, I took a double take and then more of it appeared,” he said. “I haven’t seen anything since, but I keep looking. It probably cost me my social life.”

The faithful have long speculated about what the monster is. Some suggest a completely unknown species, or a sturgeon, or even a last surviving dinosaur.

“The reason why the Nessie myth persists is it such a good story,” said Lee Barron, a lecturer in media and culture at Northumbria University. “We get a sense of wonder out of the ‘what ifs’ of it all.

“There are lots of monster in the lake myths around the globe, including the U.S. and Europe, but because of the sightings, the fake photos and the romance of Loch Ness, Nessie is the greatest of them all.”

Source: news.yahoo

A mystery beast that resembles a chupacabra (”goat-sucker”), a legendary, fearsome and possibly mythical beast said to inhabit parts of the Americas and Puerto Rico, is seen shortly after its capture in a village in Suining, Sichuan Province on March 24.

In this case, the gray colored animal wasn’t attacking goats, but chickens and it was the fowls’ cries that alerted village Ke Suying to find the mystery predator tearing into his birds. He tried to drive it away with a stick but failed, though later with the help of neighbors caught it in a steel net.

It resembles a large rat or a mutant mix of kangaroo and dog, with large claws. It is about 60 centimeters long, with a 30-centimeter tail. Villagers describe it as “quite fierce” and said it ravenously consumes both meat and vegetables fed to it.

Most of its brown fur has fallen out, with only a little left on its back and a front foot.

The creature has been given to the Sichuan Province forestry department for further examination.

Source: globaltimes

A California-based production company has heard about the legend of a sea creature in Raystown Lake, referred to locally as Raystown Ray, and is coming to the area next month to investigate.

A.J. D’Agostino, an associate producer with Base Productions of Burbank, said a team of 10 people will visit the area on?April 27 and 28 to spend time on the lake and gather information from people who think they may have seen the creature.

Matt Price, executive director of the Huntingdon County Convention and Visitors Bureau, who has been in communication with Base, said the company is producing a six-episode show and dedicating half of one of the episodes to Raystown Ray. He said it may air on the SyFy Channel. A release from Base said the show, on the paranormal, is to be broadcast in June.

“We are looking for people to be interviewed on the show,” D’Agostino said. “Eyewitness accounts are the best … people who have been near the lake or on the lake who would be willing to share their story. If they have photos or videos, that would be amazing.”

Base Productions decided to investigate after viewing information on the Web site raystownray.com. The Web site was created five years ago for reporting sightings, photos and gathering information.

“We saw the most recent photo of Raystown Ray and that looks pretty compelling,” D’Agostino said. “We have a team of investigators who look at video clips and photos of things that are either aliens, strange creatures or ghosts.”

The investigation will focus on the Seven Points area, where a recent sighting of the sea monster was reported, she said.

“This will be our first field investigation,” she said. “We hope to find evidence.”

One witness on the Web site wrote, “We saw it from about 50 yards from us when it raised up, it’s head moved from side to side. It made no sound. I’d say it was at least 20 feet long.”

Witnesses can post information on sightings by visiting the Web site and e-mailing their story or photo plus contact information.

D’Agostino said witnesses should think about when and where they saw a creature, what they saw, what they heard, and what they thought about it.

Price said the investigation will go beyond talking to eyewitnesses.

“We’ve put them in touch with a local scuba diver and also with Seven Points Marina. We’re assisting them with the dive and with the fishfinder equipment and I believe … they are also talking with a fishing guide,” Price said.

Base Productions plans on being in the area for two days of production and Price said eyewitness interviews will be conducted on the back deck of the visitors center, which overlooks the lake.

Base Productions also produces “Sport Science,” which airs on Fox Sports Net, and A&E’s justice series “Crime 360.”

Price said he’s never seen Raystown Ray, but “if he exists, it certainly hasn’t affected the ecosystem much, the fish are large, vegetation is plentiful, it hasn’t disturbed swimmers.”

He welcomes the national exposure.

“It’s an opportunity to get our area on national television,” he said.

Source: alttonamirror.com