South Carolina’s Own Loch Ness Monster!

Author: Danny Herrera

It seems like everywhere you go there tends to be a myth that monsters are roaming the lakes. People make up the stories and they often get a lot of attention from others. Those who do not believe nor want to believe have no solid evidence to prove that the monsters are fake. Lake monsters can be considered to be large snakes down to a prehistoric creature. Since it is difficult to spot the actual creature, unless it is seen face to face, it can be mistaken as a mythical monster instead of an animal that is already known.

Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster, is a well-known lake monster who has been around for many decades. It’s been said that Nessie has been around since 565 A.D., but Nessie wasn’t considered a monster until May 2nd, 1933. It just proves we don’t actually know what other mysterious creatures have been around for so long.

There are many rumours about the Loch Ness Monster, but a lot of people in the U.S. do not care for a monster that they would probably never get a chance to see. Luckily for us, people have their own monster similar to Nessie and almost have identical names. This monster is located in South Carolina in Lake Murray near Irmo. Messie was first spotted in 1933 and ever since then, there has been more sightings. It makes people question the reality of Messie. It’s a coincidence that Nessie was considered a monster in 1933 and then it just so happens that Messie is also discovered in the same year.  It seems like people got paranoid and started to believe they were seeing things in the lakes from where they would fish.

Lake Murray is a manmade lake that was impounded in the late 1920s to provide hydroelectric power to South Carolina. Lake Murray is 41 miles long and 14 miles wide. At the time of the lake being finished, it was considered the world’s largest manmade reservoir. Once the lake became a recreational attraction, this allured a lot of fishers and people with boats to cruise around in the lake. This lake is a good size to fit a big creature, but it’s strange to have a creature in a manmade lake, which caused it to have it’s doubts of having a monster in the lake.

For example, “Buddy Browning, his wife Shirley and their friend Kord Brazell were enjoying themselves fishing on the lake back in one of the coves when the monster charged them. They denied a South Carolina Wildlife Department claim that it could have been an alligator or a large fish, like a sturgeon. (Alligators are not native to the lake.) (Byers, Thomas).” As those three witnesses stated, they believe they saw something in Lake Murray that was out of the ordinary. Without any actual evidence, people find it hard to believe.

 This leaves people wondering, “do these monsters actually exist?” The only way of getting answers to figure out if they are real,  is if you decide to go visit the lake yourself. That may not be the best option for people because if they do end up seeing the monster, it might end up attacking them.

Works Cited

Byers, Thomas. “Lake Murray Lake Monster Appears Again.” Lake Murray Lake Monster Appears Again, 1 Jan. 1970, paranormalforyou.blogspot.com/2013/12/lake-murray-lake-monster-appears-again.html#.XJ2VRihKjD6.

“Lake Murray (South Carolina).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 1 July 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Murray_(South_Carolina).

“Loch Ness Monster.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 7 Mar. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loch_Ness_Monster.

Offutt, Jason, et al. “Exploring American Monsters: South Carolina.” Mysterious Universe, 10 Aug. 2016, mysteriousuniverse.org/2016/08/exploring-american-monsters-south-carolina/.

 Warren, Amanda. “Can of Mystery.” Search Results for Lake+Murray+Monster, 1 Jan. 1970, canofmystery.blogspot.com/search?q=lake%2Bmurray%2Bmonster.

Links for further research:

PBS NOVA http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/legend-loch-ness.html
The article gives a brief history of the Loch Ness legend.

http://cryptozoo-oscity.blogspot.com/2009/09/two-lake-murray-monsters.html
Gives more details about Messie. Combines information on the Lake and also Messie.

http://www.irmo-sc.com/irmo019.html
Has the latest sighting seen on Messie and more detailed.

Mysterious Monsters of the Deep: Messie and Nessie

Peyton Smith

 

We’ve all heard the fictional stories of creatures that live in the deep, but have you ever considered where those theories and stories originated? According to Stephen Lyons, in his article “The Legend of Loch Ness”, the earliest evidence of the Loch Ness monster is dated back to the first century A.D., “when the Romans first came to Scotland and found it occupied by fierce, tattoo-covered tribes they called the Picts, or painted people.” The Picts had many animal statues carved in stone, all of which were recognizable except for one which was “a strange beast with an elongated beak or muzzle, a head locket or spout, and flippers instead of feet” (Lyons). It was described by many as a “swimming elephant.” Even though the Pictish statues were the first real evidence, “the earliest written evidence can be found in the biography of Saint Columba, in 565 A.D. when he saw a giant beast about to attack a swimmer in the lake” (Lyons). However, Lyons said the Loch Ness legend we all know about today arose in 1933, when a couple driving home passed the loch and saw “an enormous animal rolling and plunging on the surface.” Based on this sighting the first real description of the beast was created, and this description is still how we depict the creature today. The beast was said to have a long slender neck, distinct humps along its back, and fins. Does this monster seem believable to you?

In Bejnamin Radford’s book Lake Monster Mysteries, he discusses some of the most iconic photos of the Loch Ness monster, one of which was photographed by a London doctor named R. Kenneth Wilson. This photo became the most popular form of evidence to many because it came from someone as credible as a doctor, who was believed to be too well respected to lie about a monster. This photo was later falsified and the story behind the hoax was recorded in Radford’s book, it was also recorded in Stephen Lyons’ article “The Legend of Loch Ness”

Hearing about the Loch Ness monster can be terrifying for some, but many people don’t care about the urban legend since it is so far away in a loch in the middle of Scotland. But what if I were to tell you that there have been sightings of a similar beast in a lake many people in South Carolina visit frequently. In 1933, the first sighting of Messie the Lake Murray monster appeared. Lake Murray is a manmade lake located near Irmo, South Carolina, it is over 41 miles in length, 14 miles in width and about 200 feet in depth. The creature was first spotted by a husband and wife, who were out in a boat fishing on the lake, when they said the beast attacked their boat and they had to fight it off with oars to avoid sinking (SC Lakes). Over the years many Messie sightings have occurred, each time “it is always noted as being a giant snake with fins and has been calculated as being 40 to 60 feet long” (SC Lakes). Now next time you decide to go for a swim, beware of what could be lurking just under the surface.

Works Cited:
Lyons, Stephen. “The Legend of the Loch Ness.” pbs.org. PBS-NOVA, 12 Jan. 1999. Web. 7 October 2015.

Radford, Benjamin. Lake Monster Mysteries. Lexington: The UP of Kentucky, 2006. Print

SC Lakes. “Lake Murray Monster.” sclakes.com. SC Lakes, 17 Sept. 2009. Web. 14 October 2015.
Wilson, R. Kenneth. Surgeon’s Photo. 1934. American Museum of Natural History. amnh.org. Web. 14 October 2015.

Links for Further Research:
Can of Mystery: Lake Monsters: Messie and Nessiehttp://canofmystery.blogspot.com/2012/10/lake-monsters-messie-and-nessie.html
This website is a blog post about the Loch Ness Monster and the Lake Murray Monster, it gives a lot of background information about the two creatures.

American Museum of Natural History: Sea Monstershttp://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/past-exhibitions/mythic-creatures/water-creatures-of-the-deep/sea-monsters
This website explains the theory behind why people believe in sea monsters and discusses many sea monsters such as the loch ness monster, giant squids/kraken, and sea serpents.

Metro News… But Not As You Know Ithttp://metro.co.uk/2015/04/18/loch-ness-monster-really-does-exists-natural-history-museum-scientist-said-5156146/
This news article describes a scientist’s first hand encounter with a loch ness monster sighting and his theory that the beast is an aquatic dinosaur thought to be long ago extinct.

Lake Monsters: Messie and Nessie

Author: Kylie Burkes

Lake monsters saturate our society. It seems like any lake you visit will have some sort of strange beast living beneath its surface. What are these creatures? What environment is best suited for them to live? Why are there so many? Lake monsters can be anything from a large snake to a prehistoric creature. Jamie Hall, the creator of the website The Cryptid Zoo, tells us in his article about lake monsters that they were once generally believed to be plesiosaurs. Now, he tells us, they are believed to be zeuglodons, a primitive whale that can easily live in cold waters. The shift in opinion happened because most lake monsters are found in northern waters that would be too cold for the reptilian plesiosaurs (“The Cryptid Zoo: Lake Monsters”). Because of the variation in the descriptions of lake monsters, there is a wide variety of creatures that could be in the lakes.

The most well-known lake monster is Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster. Nessie has been around for decades. In the Monsters of the Loch Ness Roy Mackal provides a table of recorded Nessie sightings in the index. The earliest sighting was in 565 A.D. (225) showing that the legend has been around for centuries.

 Out of all the sightings of Nessie, there is no agreement on what the monster looks like. In the appendix of the Monsters of the Loch Ness there is a table of monster sightings. In two of the 251 water sightings, Nessie appeared to have some sort of limbs; in most of the land sightings, Nessie had at least two flippers (225-264). The number of appendages, whether there are two or four, is varied in the sightings. The Legend of Nessie, the official site for the Loch Ness Monster, tells us that in 20 % of the sightings Nessie’s back had distinct humps (Legend). The humps can be considered a common trait because of the percentage of sightings in which humps were sighted. Mackal believes the humps can be explained by a possible dorsal fin folding over when the creature surfaces. If Nessie were a large eel, then the eel’s horizontal and vertical swimming motion could also cause the multiple humps (150-155). This is a probable explanation but does not account for the descriptions of her having limbs.

On the home page of www.nessie.co.uk there is a list of facts about the loch ness. The lake is about twenty two and a half miles long, between one to one and a half miles wide and 754 feet deep. The site describes the lake floor as being “as flat as a bowling green” (Legend). The lake is large enough for a creature of Nessie’s size to live without being detected.

 Fourteen Pictures Library via PBS.org. This iconic photo has been subject to much controversy and debate.

In Lake Murray in South Carolina there are reports of a monster living beneath the surface. Lake murray is a manmade lake close to Irmo. The lake has now become popular for recreational activities, and a large number of those activities revolve around boating. Lakemurraymonster.com is a single page website that provides information about this mysterious creature known as Messie. The monster was first spotted in 1933 near Irmo, SC. The monster is believed to be an aggressive cousin of the Loch Ness Monster. It has been described as a prehistoric serpent (The Lake Murray Monster). When I was younger, my family would go on day trips to the lake, and we would spend the entire day boating and swimming. As a child, I was worried that I would be attacked by a water mocasin, a venomous water snake, or by a large snapping turtle. If I had been told about Messie, I would never have gotten near a lake again. The thought of a giant, aggressive monster is enough to give anyone the chills.

According to lakemurraymonster.com, the Gilbert Little sighting in 1933 was the first time the monster was seen. The most recent sighting was September 15, 2002 by Mrs. Sandie Hurst. She saw a ripple which bore a remarkable resemblance to a picture on the website (The Lake Murray Monster). The ripples she saw could have been Messie, but it also could have been something else like an animal, a log, or a wave. There is no way to be certain of what Mrs. Hurst because we weren’t there.

Do these creatures really exist? In order to prove beyond a shadow of doubt lake monsters exist, the lakes they live in would have to be drained. This process would destroy the ecosystems of hundreds of animals and kill the monsters in the process. Until a better solution is found, it is up to you to decide if our world is inhabited by large lake dwelling monster like Messie and Nessie.

 Works cited:

Hall, Jamie “The Cryptid Zoo: Lake Monsters” The Cryptid Zoo. n.p. 2005. Web. 17 Oct. 2012.

The Lake Murray Monster. n.p., n.d.Web. 17 Oct. 2012.

The Legend of Nessie the Ultimate Loch Ness Monster Site. n.p., 2012.Web. 17 Oct. 2012.

Mackal, Roy P. The Monsters of Loch Ness. Chicago: Swallow, 1976. Print.

Wilson, R. Kenneth. The Surgeon’s Photo. 1 April 1934. Daily Mail: London. pbs.org. Web. 22 October 2012.

Links for further research:

PBS NOVA http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/legend-loch-ness.html
The article gives a brief history of the Loch Ness legend, a summary of searches for the monster, and an explanation of the “Surgeon’s Photo” hoax.

The Museum of Unnatural Mystery http://www.unmuseum.org/lochness.htm
The article on Nessie provides more detailed information on the legend such as different hoaxes, modern sightings, and non-animal explanations.

Weird Things http://weirdthings.com/2009/12/the-lake-monster-south-carolina-invented/
The blog discusses the Lake Murray Monster skeptically, and the author claims South Carolina made up the legend.