The Loch Ness Monster | Scottish Legend
The Loch Ness Monster (also “Nessie”, or Niseag in Scottish Gaelic) is a popular legend that describes a cryptozoological creature inhabiting Loch Ness, a loch in the Scottish highlands, not far from Inverness, Scotland. The legend of the Loch Ness Monster is particularly recent, becoming popular in the 1930s — though reports of a creature inhabiting the Loch Ness area date back to the seventh century CE.
Medieval Story of a River Ness Monster
In the seventh century, Adomnán, the ninth abbot of Iona, wrote Vita Columbae chronicling the life of Saint Columba. The text describes the story of a man who was swimming in the River Ness, which flows from Loch Ness towards Inverness, when he was attacked and killed by a “water beast”. Hearing of this, Columba is said to have sent one of his own followers into the river, again bringing forth of the beast. Making the sign of the cross, Columba commanded the creature to stop, and it fled.
The tradition of a Ness monster does not seem to continue past this story. A few claimed sightings of a creature in the area occur between this story and modern times, though none are part of a common Scottish mythology. The modern story of the Loch Ness Monster is much more recent.
1933 Claimed Sightings
On July 22, 1933, a man and his wife by the name of Spicer claimed they saw a strange animal cross the road in front of their car by the loch. They claimed that they saw a large animal with a long neck and no visible limbs which crossed the road heading for the loch. The next month, a man called Arthur Grant claimed he nearly collided with the animal while riding his motorcycle.
Since 1933, there have been mainy alleged sightings of the creature and the story of the Loch Ness Monster has exploded into a part of Scottish identity, especially around the Loch, and into a worldwide element of popular culture. The monster also acquired the popular name “Nessie”.