The Loch Ness Monster Myths

How can you seperate fact from fiction, and myth from reality? Are there any urban legends that we can explore or debunk? You bet!

This section will go into some of these point in-depth, and you're bound to learn a thing or two about the investigations about this cryptozoological creature.

Myth: People scan the loch all day for Nessie

One of the biggest misconceptions is that people are always examining the loch for signs of Nessie. In fact, the loch is fairly empty, and rarely are eyes fixed to the surface of this long, channel-like lake. There isn't a large population there and people don't spend a whole lot of time on the actual lake itself, and there aren't many "tourist attractions" in the immediate are, either. Nessie explorers rarely spend more than a few days there, and only an hour or so staring at the loch at any given time, and there are so few of them.

Myth: People see Nessie all the time

Well, that's not true either. Loch Ness Monster sightings are rare. Possibly because the loch isn't watched closely, possibly because the monster doesn't need to surface, or possibly because there IS no monster. Some people are afraid to come forward with their sightings as well, and it's estimated that there could be thousands of sightings that go unreported.

Myth: If there really was a Loch Ness Monster, science would have found it by now

Not necessarily. Science is discovering new species all the time, and several of the species are quite large. Do you remember the discovery of the giant squid, which happened only recently? Moreover, species that scientists have thought were extinct have occasionally turned up hundreds of years later. And a lot of the species that scientists discover are in remote locations, like the bottom of a 700-foot lake!

Myth: Nessie sightings are inconsistent

Actually, they can be surprisingly consistent, especially when you account for the fact that eyewitness testimony in and of itself is usually pretty inconsistent.

The word "Monster"

As a footnote to this section, I'd like to talk about the usage of the term "monster". Seriously Nessie hunters don't like the term, and I must agree with them. If there is a creature in loch ness, it's simply an animal. As one researcher put it, the animal itself is fairly tame and insignificant. We discover new species all the time. It's just that, an animal of some kind. Calling it a "monster" makes it seem like it's out there terrorizing people!