The Water Horse — What's in the Loch?

Stories that tell about a creature in the deep waters of Loch Ness have been around for a long time. Read some of the stories aboutthe Water Horse and Loch Ness

It is said that long ago, people living around Loch Ness told their children stories of the kelpie to scare the children away from the dark, deep, dangerous waters of the loch. The kelpie, so people said, was a beast who lived in the loch. When it got hungry, the kelpie would leave its watery home and turn itself into a beautiful horse. The horse would wait for someone to climb onto its back. Then it would gallop straight into Loch Ness -- and eat its victim!

The first recorded sighting of the kelpie dates back to 565 by Saint Columba. Saint Columba was an Irish missionary. He was preaching in the Scottish Highlands and one day, needed to cross the River Ness. Here, he came upon a group of local people burying one of their friends. The person being buried "had been most savagely bitten by a water beast" while he was swimming. But Saint Columba was still determined to cross the river and asked one of his followers to swim across and bring back a boat moored to the other side. The man did what he was asked. The beast rose from the water with a mighty roar and went to attack the man. But Saint Columba "raised his holy hand and drew the saving sign of the cross in the empty air; and then, invoking the name of God, he commanded the savage beast, and said: "You will go no further. Do not touch the man." When the beast heard this, it dove down to the depths and was not seen again.

Other reports of strange things seen in the loch can be found, some more believable than others: in 1650, (a questionable account) and then in the 18th (also questionable) and 19th centuries. But it was a sighting in 1933, that was the start of the Loch Ness monster as it is known today. In April 1933 a Mr. and Mrs. Mackay were driving along the side of Loch Ness. A new road around the loch had just been improved. Mrs. Mackay noticed something in the loch. At first she thought it was ducks splashing and fighting. But as she watched she saw a large beast in the middle of the loch, rolling and diving in the water, making a great commotion. The sighting was reported to Alex Campbell, a local water bailiff and a newspaper reporter. (Campbell claimed to have seen the monster at least 18 times.) The story appeared in the newspaper on May 2, 1933, and the Loch Ness monster as we know it today was born.

This page is excerpted from Walden Media’s Activity Poster for The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep. Click here for a complete copy of the poster in PDF format.

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