STORYWORKS-Loch Ness LoLex

Nonfiction
Is there a monster
living in Scotland’s legendary lake?
Beast Loch Ness
The
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Text Evidence One main idea of this article is that people
feel a need to explore the mysteries around them. Look for
evidence to support this idea as you read.
GARY HANNA
GARY HANNA
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t was an April afternoon in 1933. Aldie and John Mackay were
driving along the shores of one of Scotland’s largest lakes, Loch
Ness. (Loch is the Scottish term for lake, pronounced “lock.”)
The road, the A82, was brand-new. Aldie was enjoying the view.
April is usually rainy in the Scottish Highlands, but this day was
bright. The trees were vivid green. Even the murky waters of the lake
seemed to sparkle.
S T O R Y W O R K S
Then Aldie saw something she would
never forget. The water rippled, and a
huge creature seemed to rise from the loch.
It seemed to be black, with a humped back.
Aldie trembled with fright. She pointed
out the window. “Stop! The beast!” she
gasped. John screeched the car to a halt.
For several minutes, the stunned couple
watched the loch. The creature seemed to
“roll and plunge.” Finally, the waters calmed.
For a few days, Aldie and John kept
quiet about what they had seen. After all,
who would believe them? A monster in Loch
Ness? It sounded crazy. People would think
they were liars or, worse, that they were
insane.
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For thousands of years,
people from around the world
have been telling stories
of strange creatures. Some
of these beasts are clearly fictional, just
like Norbert, Hagrid’s pet dragon from the
Harry Potter books, or the fauns from the
Chronicles of Narnia.
But some creatures of myth and legend
have turned out to be real.
For hundreds of years, sailors told stories
of a beast with a large round head, a jaggededged beak, and huge, strong tentacles. They
called it the kraken. Hundreds
of people said they’d
seen the
Tim Dinsdale, right,
led 56 expeditions
to the loch. In 1960,
he saw a “long oval
shape” in the water
and took a picture
of it. Skeptics were
not convinced by
the blurry image, on
display next to him.
STEPHEN BELCHER/MINDEN PICTURES/CORBIS (KOMODO DRAGON)
Fantastic Creatures
PAGES 6-7 TOP TO BOTTOM: ISTOCKPHOTO.COM (TOY SUB); BETTMANN/CORBIS (DINSDALE);
But before long, they did share their
kraken. Still, most people thought it was just
strange story. The news soon spread. Some
a tall tale. Then, in 1873, a fisherman and his
people rolled their eyes and laughed. But
son saw one in the waters off Newfoundland,
others listened with interest. There had
Canada. They managed to cut off a 19always been something odd and spooky about
foot piece of tentacle. This slimy specimen
Loch Ness. For centuries, local people had
convinced skeptics that the old sailors’ stories
whispered stories of a huge, strange creature
were true. Experts gave the kraken a new
in the loch. Many avoided the surrounding
name: the giant squid.
woods because of it.
Years later, in 1912, a group of pearl
To some local people, the Mackays’ story
fishermen landed on a small island in what
made sense.
This photograph, taken in 1934, supposedly proved that there was a
Over the next few weeks,
creature in the loch. But it turned out to be a trick. It was a creature made
more people claimed to have
from a toy submarine and clay.
seen the creature.
“It was horrible,” said a
schoolteacher. “It had a head
like a cobra.”
“It was big as an
elephant,” said a local farmer.
“My heart stopped,” said a
businessman. “It looked right
at me.”
But what was it?
is now known as Indonesia. The men were
resting on the shore when one of them heard
a noise. He turned and screamed. It was an
immense lizard, maybe 10 feet long. It was
rushing toward them. Its beady eyes glistened
with menace. The men escaped. Back home,
few believed their story.
Later, a scientist named W. Douglas
Burden heard the story. In 1926, he went on
an expedition with the American Museum of
Natural History. He found a group of fierce,
meat-eating lizards where the fishermen
said he would, on the island of Komodo. He
named the creatures Komodo dragons.
Stories like these have led some people to
devote their lives to the search for mythical
and legendary creatures. These people call
themselves cryptozoologists (krip-tuh-zohAH-luh-jists). (Kryptos is the Greek word for
“hidden” or “secret.” A zoologist is a scientist
who studies animal life.) To many people,
cryptozoology seems more like fantasy than
real science. But some cryptozoologists are
respected scientists. They’re sure there are
still undiscovered animal species on Earth.
And one of those creatures, they say,
could be lurking in Loch Ness.
Finding the Proof
Cryptozoologists have several theories
about what the beast of Loch Ness could be.
Some say it’s an unknown water mammal.
Others think it’s a huge fish. Some even say
it’s a prehistoric creature, such as a plesiosaur.
These long-necked marine reptiles lived
alongside the dinosaurs. They died out 66
million years ago. Perhaps a few survived,
some say, and one of their descendants now
lives in the loch.
But these are just the theories of a few
intense believers. Most experts laugh at these
ideas. The water of the loch is freezing cold.
It’s so dark that few plants survive, let alone
fish. What would the creature eat? And how
could there be just one creature? There would
have to be a family that breeds and raises its
young. Could a clan of giant animals really be
living in the loch, seen only by a few people?
Tim Dinsdale tried hard to answer these
questions. He led 56 Loch Ness searches
between 1960 and 1987. In 1960, Dinsdale
and his team saw a “long oval shape” in
the water. They caught it on film for two
minutes. The image was blurry. But Dinsdale
felt sure it was the creature.
He gave the film to experts from
the British government. They
studied it with care. They said
that the object was probably
alive and that it was between 12
and 16 feet long. Cryptozoologists
cheered. But skeptics were not
impressed.
American scientist Robert Rines was
also a respected Loch Ness researcher. In the
1970s, Rines used sonar (sound) equipment
to capture an image that seemed to show the
head and body of a large underwater creature.
But, once again, the image was too blurry to
The Komodo dragon (left) and the giant squid are two
creatures that existed in legend before scientists proved
they truly exist.
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offer clear answers.
In 2003, British
scientists studied
the loch using
sonar and satellites.
They hoped to
find a plesiosaur.
They examined
the loch “shoreline
to shoreline,
top to bottom,”
said scientist Ian
Florence. They
found logs and old
buoys. ‘We have
covered everything
in this loch, and we
saw no signs of any
Scientists have studied Loch Ness from “shoreline to shoreline” using advanced
large living animal,”
technology, including this submarine. It was lowered into the loch in 1969.
Though nobody has found solid evidence that a monster lives in the lake, many
Florence said, his
scientists continue trying to solve the mystery.
voice tinged with
disappointment. “I
think this might settle the question. There is
waves. Maybe an overturned boat was bobbing
nothing there.”
up and down. Perhaps the glittering sunlight
But what about the people who say there
on the loch turned a normal object into a
is?
strange monster. The human imagination is
powerful. And so is our power of belief.
Imagination and Belief
After all, isn’t it imagination and belief
In the years since the Mackays took their
that have led to our greatest scientific
afternoon drive, more than 1,000 people have
triumphs?
claimed to have seen some kind of creature in
“If you don’t have an open mind, in my
the loch. Sure, some just want attention. Some
judgment, you’re not a scientist,” said Rines.
are pranksters. But can they all be making it
“If you don’t have ideas, if you don’t have
up?
adventure, you’ll never make a discovery.”
Even skeptics say it’s likely that the
Rines believed that a major discovery is
Mackays really did see something on the loch
waiting in the waters of Loch Ness. One day,
that April day. Perhaps a log was caught in the
he might be proved right.
Why do people continue to look for a monster in Loch Ness? Answer in two
paragraphs, providing two reasons supported by the text. Send your entry
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