The legend of the Loch Ness Monster really began in 1933, when Londoner George Spicer described "a most extraordinary form of animal" that he and his wife claimed to have seen crossing the road in front of their car on 22 July of that year. They described the creature as having a large body (about 4 feet high and 25 feet long) and a long, wavy, narrow neck, slightly thicker than an elephant's trunk, and as long as the road was wide (about 10 or 12 feet). They saw no limbs. The creature lurched across the road towards the loch 20 yards away, leaving a trail of broken undergrowth in its wake.
The first person to claim to have photographed the monster was Hugh Gray, whose photo was published in the Daily Express on 6 December 1933. Some have suggested that it actually shows his labrador, or an otter, or a swan.
On 5 January 1934, a veterinary student named Arthur Grant claimed to have almost hit the creature while riding his motorcycle near the northern end of the loch. He described it as something between a plesiosaur and a seal. He drew a sketch, which has been said to show an otter.
The most famous photograph of the monster was claimed to have been taken by Robert Wilson, a London gynaecologist. It was published in the Daily Mail on 21 April 1934. Wilson refused to have his name associated with it, so it became known as "the surgeon's photograph". A book published in 1999 claimed to expose the elaborate hoax that produced this photograph, which allegedly showed a toy submarine (bought at Woolworth's) with a head and neck made from wood putty (plastic wood).
Following the media interest in the 1930s, local resident Mr. D. MacKenzie reported having seen an object resembling a log or an upturned boat, "wriggling and churning up the water" of Loch Ness in 1871 or 1872. Mr. MacKenzie told his story in a letter, written in 1934 to the author, radio personality, and former Navy officer Rupert Gould.
Other than this, the only previous report of a monster in or around Loch Ness seems to have been the story told about the Irish monk St. Columba, who lived in the 6th century and founded the monastic community on the Scottish island of Iona. He was said to have come across a burial beside the River Ness. He was told that the deceased had been attacked and killed by "a water beast". Columba sent a follower to swim across the river; sure enough, the swimmer was approached by the beast, but Columba made the sign of the Cross and instructed the beast to go back at once. The creature stopped as if it had been "pulled back with ropes" and fled, and Columba's men (and the local Picts) gave thanks for what they perceived as a miracle.
Sceptics point out that water–beast stories were extremely common in medieval hagiographies, and question the reliability of this tale (which appeared in The Life of St. Columba – written by Columba's cousin Adomnan, a later abbot of the Iona monastery).
On 29 May 1938, South African tourist G. E. Taylor filmed something in the loch for three minutes on 16 mm colour film. The film was obtained by the popular science writer Maurice Burton, who didn't show it to other researchers. A single frame was published in his 1961 book, The Elusive Monster. Burton concluded that the film showed something floating in the lake – something inanimate.
Various quasi–scientific investigations have been carried out since 1954, but none has produced any credible evidence of the monster's existence.
One of the most famous Nessie–hunters was the American lawyer Robert H. Rines. During a visit to Scotland in 1972, Rines reported seeing "a large, darkish hump, covered ... with rough, mottled skin, like the back of an elephant" in Loch Ness. Over the next 35 years he mounted numerous expeditions to the loch, searching its depths with sophisticated electronic and photographic equipment, mostly of his own design. His investigations produced multiple theories and several tantalising photographs, but he was unable to produce sufficient evidence to convince the scientific community of the existence of the fabled monster.
Rines showed one of his photographs to the renowned naturalist, Sir Peter Scott, who was known to have an interest in the Loch Ness Monster. (He was one of the founders of the Loch Ness Phenomena Investigation Bureau – founded in 1962 and disbanded in 1972, three years before Robert Rines took his famous photograph.) Scott was sufficiently convinced to propose a scientific name for the monster, so that it could be registered as an endangered species. The name he chose was Nessiteras rhombopteryx – meaning "something in Loch Ness with a diamond-shaped fin". This was later pointed out to be an anagram of "monster hoax by Sir Peter S". Rines responded with his own anagram: "Yes, both pix are monsters – R".
In 2008, Rines suggested that the creature may have become extinct, citing the lack of significant sonar readings and a decline in eyewitness accounts. He undertook a final expedition, using sonar and an underwater camera in an attempt to find a carcass. Rines believed that the animals may have failed to adapt to temperature changes resulting from global warming. He died in 2009, aged 87.
© Haydn Thompson 2018