Death of the Loch Ness Monster.

I've been putting this off for a while. But its time. Its time for me to admit the Nessie is not real. My fascination began in 4th grade. My mom would take me to the library every Saturday morning. Small town library. I was always drawn to the small rack in back of the 40 or so books on u.f.o.s, bigfoot and ghosts. One day the library had a new book about Nessie. The title and author long forgotten, but it started a 30yr fascination. I devoured any book I could find. I was glued to the television when "In Search Of" focused on Nessie. I was obsessed.

Then came the internet. I could go through all the sightings, read witness testimony and even search for hard to find photos. A few documentaries were made. I even wanted to travel and see the loch itself.

Now....I'm 38. Two kids, a wife and dog. A mortgage. Bills. With the stress I put Nessie on the back burner hoping for someone to discover the beast.......to no avail. No new discoveries. Just fake CGI videos....hoaxes...etc...

Im giving up on Nessie. Its kinda sad. We had fun. But its time. Its long overdue. I still have hope for sasquatch. Not much. But some.

reply to post by catfishjoe


What do you mean Nessie isn't real?
Bah humbug!
Next you'll be telling me Santa and the Easter bunny are highly unlikely to exist too.



Ps: I know how you feel. When I was little I was obsessed with the Yeti for a while, after watching a movie when I was around 8 or 9.



"Don't stop believing..."

reply to post by catfishjoe


I dunno, lots of people that have lived in the area swear they've seen it. Just cause you can't see it doesn't mean its not there. The Coelacanth was thought to be extinct, until it was caught in 1938.

I understand skepticism in this age of ez photoshop, but I try to keep an open mind on everything. Even if we don't have proof yet, that's not to say we won't someday.

There are hoaxers out there, but to say they are all hoaxers is something I have a hard time swallowing. That applies to Nessie, Bigfoot, Aliens, or anything else a large number of "regular" people have claimed to witness. Am I a fool for having some faith left in humanity?

reply to post by catfishjoe


My imagination is much more resilient, as I refuse to give up. I actually hope for discoveries that lend MORE to the mystery! I am older, and my dog has left me, and my kids. . .well, they're far too grown for me to even think of slowing down. In fact, I am getting younger, I think.

This makes me think of peter pan, and my choice to refrain from growing up entirely. I don't know, but I think we may be obligated to believe in the magical stuff forever. That's what I choose.

Sadly, the food supply (fish) in the loch is inadequate for the support of a Nessie...

reply to post by catfishjoe


Not real? Then why does he owe me T'reeeeeeeeee fidddy? I want my damn t'ree fiddy!

iRoyalty
reply to post by catfishjoe

 

Not real? Then why does he owe me T'reeeeeeeeee fidddy? I want my damn t'ree fiddy!

Ahhh......south park.

catfishjoe
I've been putting this off for a while. But its time. Its time for me to admit the Nessie is not real. My fascination began in 4th grade. My mom would take me to the library every Saturday morning. Small town library. I was always drawn to the small rack in back of the 40 or so books on u.f.o.s, bigfoot and ghosts. One day the library had a new book about Nessie. The title and author long forgotten, but it started a 30yr fascination. I devoured any book I could find. I was glued to the television when "In Search Of" focused on Nessie. I was obsessed.

Then came the internet. I could go through all the sightings, read witness testimony and even search for hard to find photos. A few documentaries were made. I even wanted to travel and see the loch itself.

Now....I'm 38. Two kids, a wife and dog. A mortgage. Bills. With the stress I put Nessie on the back burner hoping for someone to discover the beast.......to no avail. No new discoveries. Just fake CGI videos....hoaxes...etc...

Im giving up on Nessie. Its kinda sad. We had fun. But its time. Its long overdue. I still have hope for sasquatch. Not much. But some.

Its kinda like realising santas not real when your a kid, truly disapointing but im afraid it has to be. Some myths are just too far feched to be real, and with all the searching gone on to date, something would have been proven by now.

Now big foot is a different ball game alltogether , even though i saw a program the other week where they geneticly tested alot of samples and found they were mostly bears, im still hopefull.

Sounds like what I said when I became an Atheist.

Lompyt

catfishjoe
I've been putting this off for a while. But its time. Its time for me to admit the Nessie is not real. My fascination began in 4th grade. My mom would take me to the library every Saturday morning. Small town library. I was always drawn to the small rack in back of the 40 or so books on u.f.o.s, bigfoot and ghosts. One day the library had a new book about Nessie. The title and author long forgotten, but it started a 30yr fascination. I devoured any book I could find. I was glued to the television when "In Search Of" focused on Nessie. I was obsessed.

Then came the internet. I could go through all the sightings, read witness testimony and even search for hard to find photos. A few documentaries were made. I even wanted to travel and see the loch itself.

Now....I'm 38. Two kids, a wife and dog. A mortgage. Bills. With the stress I put Nessie on the back burner hoping for someone to discover the beast.......to no avail. No new discoveries. Just fake CGI videos....hoaxes...etc...

Im giving up on Nessie. Its kinda sad. We had fun. But its time. Its long overdue. I still have hope for sasquatch. Not much. But some.

Its kinda like realising santas not real when your a kid, truly disapointing but im afraid it has to be. Some myths are just too far feched to be real, and with all the searching gone on to date, something would have been proven by now.

Now big foot is a different ball game alltogether , even though i saw a program the other week where they geneticly tested alot of samples and found they were mostly bears, im still hopefull.

I'm with you on bigfoot. The only reason why is the witnesses. Even if 95% of all reports are misidentification or hoaxes...what about the other 5%? Obviously these people are seeing something.

Lazarus Short
Sadly, the food supply (fish) in the loch is inadequate for the support of a Nessie...

Not quite sure where you got that one from Laz?

Loch Ness has abundant supplies of Atlantic Salmon, Charr, Eels, Pike, & Trout and some smaller numbers of Perch, Roach, Dace, Rudd, Carp etc too.

Not to mention many bird species including ducks, herons, gulls & cormorants.
There are otters and deer there too. (Yes, deer swim in the Loch)

And... what if nessie was omnivorous? There are loads of water based plants in there to eat.

Heres a Link to the Loch Ness Info Site

To the OP:
The way I see it, there never was much of a chance of there being large creatures under the waters of Loch Ness, (I say creatures because how could there just be one??) but the fact remains that there have been many credible sightings stretching back hundreds of years. Are they all wrong?

I have personally seen strange waves/wake on the surface of the Loch, when no boat or anything else was nearby.
I've also seen some very convincing video footage of similar wakes, but nothing conclusive I'm afraid.

The Loch itself is VERY deep, and the organised searches (that haven't found much) usually use a string of motorised boats equipped with sonar, travelling along the length of the Loch. I imagine that any large creature would stay well away from a large formation of motor boats if it could?

The lack of recent sightings could also be as a result of the increase in modern "noise" from traffic, engines etc keeping the creatures deep and away from shore during daylight?

I certainly wouldn't give up on her just yet...

Why not try watching the LochNess Webcam? Webcam Link HERE

Ah, why such despondence and black and white thinking, ATSers?

What the Nessie story did for me was to open the possibility that lake bottoms could be connected to underground caverns and aquatic systems we were unaware of. It was an opening to a world unknown and to the certitude that there was so much we have yet to learn. It still holds true today for me. I don't care any more if Nessie is real. It opened my mind to think a little beyond accepted boundaries of black and white. I opened a mental tab where I now put all 'awaiting proof' items, and I quite enjoy watching the quest for solutions to all those things, and really am awestruck at the discoveries made along the way, despite the sometimes annoyingly amateurish and deceitful drivel that permeates such topics. So you see, there is still enchantment and magic in the Nessie story for me. Bring it on, Santa!

TwoTonTommy
reply to post by catfishjoe

 

I dunno, lots of people that have lived in the area swear they've seen it. Just cause you can't see it doesn't mean its not there.

Uh huh.... and I'm sure they and the area benefit from the money the tourists bring in too.
Why would they ruin it?

No, CatfishJoe, there is a Nessie. Nessie lives for everyone who firmly believes that there are still animals out there still to be discovered.

(OK, maybe not a giant pleisiosaur in the loch ... but there are still animals waiting to be discovered, and some of them could be quite monstrous.)

ketsuko
No, CatfishJoe, there is a Nessie. Nessie lives for everyone who firmly believes that there are still animals out there still to be discovered.

(OK, maybe not a giant pleisiosaur in the loch ... but there are still animals waiting to be discovered, and some of them could be quite monstrous.)

Especially in the oceans of earth. I bet there is some real doozies down deep!!

Gordi The Drummer

Why not try watching the LochNess Webcam? Webcam Link HERE

edit on 16-12-2013 by Gordi The Drummer because: to add link

There is a web cam?!?! Hot diggidy dog!!!! I wasn't aware ( but not much of a Nessie groupie, but I still believe!)...

Apart from the lack of credible evidence, I would say that the biggest flaw in the Nessie theory is that in order for a creature to live in the lake, it has to be immortal and thus a unicorn, or it needs access to a population of Nessies in order to maintain a viable population. And well, given the proposed size of the creature and the fact that it supposedly lives in fresh water, I don't expect Nessies roaming the puddles around Loch Ness.

What's really heartbreaking is the thought that Nessie did exist until a hundred or so years ago, so we just missed him.

other theory; some creatures are pan-dimensional and can 'jump' from one 'plane' to another. other lakes in the area have had similar monster reports over the years (as well as Ogopogo and others in Canada), some in surprisingly tiny lakes.
Bigfoot is supposedly such a creature, as well as thunderbirds and/or pterodactyls and possibly wild cats. Things like Mothman seem to pop up, make an impact, and disappear suddenly.

What about hook island?

reply to post by catfishjoe


I'm sorry you've given up on wonder, particularly when it seems it is very important to you. Perhaps a smaller mortgage...? That was not intended as a comment on your financial skills, just internal prioritization.

I know that I will fight to my death to hold onto my "childish things". They keep me captivated with the world.

I think Nessie could be real. There is no telling what shifts in the deep dark; only stirring stray ripples on the surface for us to see.