Be it what presidential candidate to vote for, what religion to follow, or whether or not to believe in the Loch Ness Monster, we all, at some point in our lives, must address and resolve the Big Questions. Having just made the important decisions with elections, I think it is an appropriate time to decide upon the validity of the Loch Ness Monster.

Loch Ness, an enormous freshwater lake in Scotland, is perhaps best known for being home to the legendary Loch Ness Monster. The tale of the Loch Ness Monster has been documented since the seventh century in the book Life of St. Columba, which tells of a story in which Columba saved the life of a man being attacked by a monster in Lake Loch Ness.

There was little public knowledge or interest in the matter until 1933, when George Spicer and his wife claimed to have seen an enormous creature, which, according to Wikipedia, had “a large body (about 4 feet high and 25 feet long), and long, narrow neck, slightly thicker than an elephant’s trunk and as long as the ten to twelve-feet width of the road.”

Later that same year, several more sightings of a creature fitting the same description were reported, and as the public became aware of this sensation, the mystery creature was dubbed “Nessie.” The legend took root.

Further sightings have strengthened the belief in Nessie’s existence.  C.B. Farrel, a 1943 fighter in WWII, claimed to have seen a “large-eyed, ‘finned’ creature, which had a twenty- to thirty-foot long body, and a neck that protruded about 4-5 feet out of the water,” and a 1954 sonar detection by fishing boat Rival III of a large object moving in 480 foot deep water in Loch Ness. [Wikipedia]

Although many photographs and videos taken by those who have claimed to see Nessie over the decades have captured the public’s attention, most have been proved as fakes. Since 1934, expeditions, investigations, and studies have been undertaken by organizations such as “Loch Ness Phenomena Investigation Bureau” and “The Big Expedition of 1970.” Proposed theories as to what creature Nessie could actually be have varied widely, and include theories of a giant eel, a long necked seal, a giant newt, and an  evolved plesiosaur (an extinct species of dinosaur).

Those supporting the view that Nessie does not exist cite optical illusions, boat wakes, and trees as the sources that may easily be mistaken for a moving creature. Logs floating through the lake often can fit the descriptions of Nessie, and boat wakes and winds frequently create seemingly dark moving shapes on the water, which could be mistaken for a large creature.

A similar, yet lesser-known legend exists in Loch Morar, Scotland.  A monster, known as Morag, fits a similar description of Nessie and there are said to have been sightings dating back to 1887. However, Lake Monsters are not unique to Scotland; legends and stories of strange creatures thought to reside in freshwater lakes are told all over the world, though none have attained the fame and attention of Nessie.

And so, dear reader, I urge you to take a position on this issue. I hope that having read this article you are better informed on Nessie, and are now able to decide for yourself whether or not Nessie is the real deal or if it is simply a fabricated story. Please consider whether you are a believer or a nonbeliever of the legend of Nessie.