Summary
Sporting fins, scales, and sometimes horns or fur, a riot of unidentifiable water creatures have poked their dripping heads above the waves throughout recorded history to shock grizzled sailors and hardy fisherfolk alike. But survivors of water monster encounters are usually left as puzzled as they are terrified, questioning the origins and elusiveness of the creatures. Most people can describe what a typical sea monster looks like, yet no museum boasts a skeleton—or even an irrefutable photograph—of a sea serpent or the legendary Loch Ness Monster. Lake and Sea Monsters thoroughly explores humanity’s fascination with Nessie, sea serpents, and all the other wet wonders of the world, separating fact from fiction by examining ancient legends and myths, contemporary eyewitness stories, and the latest scientific discoveries.
Chapters include:
- Swimming Through Time: Birth of the Sea Monster
- Merfolk and Other Scaly Humanoids
- Kraken, Giant Squids, and Octopuses
- Nessie: Scotland’s Sea Monster Superstar
- Mistake or Fake: Natural Creatures and Hoaxes.
Specifications
Full-color and black-and-white photographs and illustrations. Sidebars. Timeline. Endnotes. Further resources. Glossary. Index.
About the Author(s)
Linda S. Godfrey worked as a newspaper reporter and columnist for The Week, a county newspaper published in Delavan, Wisconsin, for 10 years. She won National Newspaper Association first-place awards for feature stories in 1996, 1998, and 2000. She is the author of The Beast of Bray Road and Hunting the American Werewolf, as well as two volumes in the Barnes & Noble "Weird" series: Weird Wisconsin (coauthored with Richard D. Hendricks) and Weird Michigan. She also wrote Mythical Creatures and Werewolves in Chelsea House's Mysteries, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena series. Godfrey has appeared on many national television and radio programs as an expert on anomalous creatures. She is also an illustrator and artist, and maintains a Web site on werewolf sightings and news. Godfrey lives in rural southeastern Wisconsin.