The Loch Ness Monster (Photo) Anniversary

It’s approaching April Fool’s Day, so we thought we’d post one of the great April events from 75 years ago.

On April 21, 1934, the most famous photograph of the Loch Ness Monster was published in the UK Daily Mail. The so-called “Surgeon’s Photograph” was supposedly taken by London gynecologist Robert Wilson. Sixty years later, the photo was revealed as definitively being a hoax. The photo was of a toy submarine with a sculpted “head and neck” made from plastic-wood modeling material. Rather than revealing a monster, the image showed an object estimated to be no more than three feet long.

The Surgeon’s Photo of the Loch Ness Monster.

Yet the legend of the “monster” began long before the photograph. Where did those stories come from? Humanity needs its myths and legends – real or imagined. The waters of Loch Ness, and the mystery and drama of the Scottish Highlands, lend themselves perfectly to a legend of a monster. Who can say what’s real and imagined, especially in the mists of time.

Scotland in the mists – any legend is possible.