The Loch Ness Monster: There Are More Supernatural Mysteries Than We Know

My previous article was on the subject of the weird side (the very weird side) of the Bigfoot creatures. I have decided to share with you something similar: namely, the absolute weirdness that surrounds the Loch Ness Monster(s). My reason: to demonstrate to you that most so-called "Cryptid" creatures are not just unknown animals. They aren't even creatures as we see them. There is a distinct paranormal issue to the whole mystery- as you'll see. With that said, let's begin. We'll start with the distinct probability that the Nessies are shapeshifting creatures. For centuries, Scottish folklore and legend have both been filled with tales of a wild and deadly beast known as the Kelpie. The terrible beast, which has the ability to transform itself into numerous forms – even that of people – was greatly feared throughout the 1600s and 1700s, when reports of the Kelpie were at their height. As for its curious name, “Kelpie” is an ancient Scottish term meaning “water-horse.” There is a very good reason as to why that particular name was applied to the beast, as will soon become very clear. As its name strongly suggests, the water-horse spent much of its time lurking in the waters of Scottish lochs – specifically in the shallower, marshy areas of such locales. It would coldly and callously wait for an unwary passer-by to appear on the scene and then strike, mercilessly and without any hint of a warning. The beast’s mode of attack was, admittedly, ingenious, even if the end result for the victim was not a good one. In fact, it was almost always downright fatal.  

Contrary to the popular assumption that the Nessies closely resemble plesiosaurs, more than a few eyewitnesses to the monsters have described them in an astonishing variety of different ways. Such as (take a deep breath) giant-sized frogs, as tusked, as camel-like, as crocodile-type entities, as beasts that completely lack the long neck that so many people have reported, as animals closely resembling salamanders, and as creatures with feet, rather than the so often reported flippers. In many of the cases, such descriptions were made by people who were able to see the monsters at very close quarters – strongly suggesting they were not mistaken in what it was they encountered. It is beyond absurd to try and assert that Loch Ness might harbor six or seven different types of amazing animals; never mind just one! There is only one reasonable conclusion available to us: the Nessies of today and the Kelpies of the past are one and the same. Constantly shifting their shapes, as they see fit, is the name of their ominous game. Their motivation: the stealing of the human soul. In other words, the Loch Ness Monsters are as weird as the Bigfoot creatures are.

How about the night when an exorcism was put into place at the loch? It certainly led to something bizarre and supernatural. On the night of June 2, 1973, Loch Ness played host to something truly extraordinary. It was nothing less than a full-blown exorcism, one that was designed to forever banish the malignant monsters from the deep and dark waters. It was all the work of Donald Omand, both a doctor and a reverend. He was a man who had substantial knowledge on, and experience of, the domain of all things supernatural. Of his thoughts on the Nessie phenomenon, Reverend Omand said: “Each year I drive along most of the long, somewhat tedious, shore of Loch Ness in traveling from the Kyle of Lochalsh to Inverness, and never yet have I observed the monster.” We should not, however, interpret this to mean that Omand was a skeptic when it came to the Loch Ness creatures. In fact, quite the opposite is the case. He believed that one had to be at the loch at the right time to encounter one of the monsters. His reasoning was simple: the Nessies are supernatural entities that can only be encountered when the circumstances are conducive to an encounter. For Omand, the monsters were projections of something large and terrifying from a bygone era – monsters that may have existed millions of years ago but which continue to manifest, albeit in paranormal form. That's right: yet another piece of weirdness at the creepy loch. Now, to the Aleister Crowley link to the loch.

Born in the English county of Warwickshire on October 12, 1875, Edward Alexander Crowley is far better known, today, by his much more infamous and near-legendary moniker, Aleister Crowley. He was a hedonist, drug-addict, and astrologer. He was also someone who amusingly provoked outrage amongst closed minds everywhere, and became known as the “Wickedest Man in the World.” Brought up in a strict, Christian household, one that allowed no room for questioning religious teachings, it was practically inevitable that Crowley would exhibit a significant amount of teenage rebellion. Although he entered the highly respectable Trinity College, Cambridge in 1895, it wasn’t long before young Aleister was on the look-out for new pursuits, adventures and wild times. It was also during this period he took on another name: The Great Beast, 666. Three years later, he was a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (which practiced occult rituals to achieve personal and spiritual development of the highest level, and contact with divine, supernatural entities), and by 1900 he was a fully-fledged 33rd degree Mason. 

Then, in 1904, Crowley established the school of Thelema, the ethics and teachings of which Crowley spelled out in the pages of The Book of the Law. “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law,” and “Love is the law, love under will,” were the two, prime directives adhered to by Thelemites everywhere. Such could only be achieved by adhering to the teachings of magickal ritual and rite. It’s notable that the writing of The Book of the Law took place while Crowley was honeymooning with his wife, Rose, in Cairo, Egypt. It was indeed a magickal time. Crowley did his best to summon up into our reality various elemental spirits. Rose, meanwhile, channeled messages concerning the falcon-headed Egyptian god, Horus. It was, then, quite the alternative way in which to celebrate one’s marriage! But not for Crowley: for him the extraordinary was the norm, as was living life to the full, giving his body and soul to what many might call the dark side, and provoking outrage and shock just about everywhere he went. And that just happened to include Loch Ness. It wasn't long before Crowley was living at Loch Ness. At the very notorious Boleskine House. It must have been great fun, though!

Now, let's focus on the 1960s and the then-owner of Boleskine House – a retired British Army Major, named Edward Grant. He shot himself in the very bedroom in which Aleister Crowley engaged in occult rites, wild orgies, and supernatural summoning. Grant’s housekeeper, Anna MacLaren, was the unfortunate soul who stumbled on the body of the major – after she had a sudden and curious premonition that he was not long for this world. When she ran to the room, after hearing a single, loud shot while gardening at the back of the house, she was to be confronted by a nightmarish scene. Upon reaching the house, MacLaren could see standing by the door the Major’s little dog, Pickiwig. He was playing with a small piece of bone. She asked him where he got it. Pickiwig’s only reply was a friendly wag of his tail. MacLaren grabbed the bone and then headed to the bedroom. The sight before her was shocking in the extreme. Edward Grant was sitting in front of a large mirror, his head almost completely blown off his shoulders. Blood was splattered everywhere. Although in a state of hysteria, MacLaren had the presence of mind to call the police, before fleeing the house. It turned out that Pickiwig’s little treat was actually a portion of the major’s skull and a fair amount ofbrain-matter. Major Edward Grant’s distraught wife, Mary, was left to pick up the pieces. Maybe even literally.

In a curious fashion, this is not the only occasion upon which suicide and Boleskine House have gone together, hand in glove. Only a few years before Grant’s suicide, the house was owned by a famous British actor, George Sanders. His attempts to establish a pig farm on the grounds of the house failed miserably, and his partner – a Scottish Member of Parliament named Dennis Lorraine – was jailed on fraud charges. Sanders died of a self-induced drug overdose in April 1972, just after completing his final movie, a supernatural tale of ancient stone circles, and the dead returning to life, called Psychomania. 

Nineteen-seventy-four was a year in which Tim Dinsdale made a notable, but carefully and tactfully worded, statement to Nessie seeker Ted Holiday on the paranormal connections to the mystery of the Loch Ness beasts. As far as the monster-hunting community of the day was concerned, Dinsdale was firmly and forever in the flesh and blood category, when it came to the nature of the creatures of the loch. Many within that community are still of that opinion today; chiefly because they are unaware of what was going on behind the scenes. Firmly and forever however, are far too rigid and incorrect words to use. Privately, Disndale had a sneaking suspicion that something else was very possibly afoot, even if he preferred to not overly broadcast his views publicly. While Dinsdale’s stance of large-scale silence on the matter of the supernatural aspects of the Nessie controversy may be understandable to some, it also smacks of a man unsure of himself and lacking in strength of character to say, publicly, what he really thought. Or, at the very least, what he suspected. In April 1974 - and in a private reply to a letter that Holiday had sent to him, describing the most recent weirdness at the loch, including the exorcism and the creepy Man in Black affair - Dinsdale had some notable things to say. He admitted to Holiday that he had crossed paths with what appeared to be a paranormal component to the mystery of the monsters of Loch Ness, but he remained baffled regarding how something of a supernatural nature could provoke such things as wakes in the water, photos, and sonar-recordings.  

Some people have photographed and filmed the monster. Nessie, as the beast is affectionately known, has been a staple part of the world of the unexplained since 1933, when the phenomenon of the monster exploded in spectacular, planet-wide fashion. Since then, millions of people have flocked to the shores of the 22.5 miles long and 744 feet deep loch, all in the hopes of seeing the elusive creature. Attempts have been made to seek out Nessie with sonar-equipment, aircraft, balloons, and even submarines.Theories abound as to what Nessie is – or, far more likely and correctly, what the Nessies are. Certainly, the most captivating theory, and the one that the Scottish Tourist Board, moviemakers, and the general public find most appealing, is that which suggests the monsters are surviving pockets of plesiosaurs. They were marine reptiles that the domain of zoology assures us became extinct tens of millions of years ago. The possibility that the monsters are actually giant-sized salamanders holds sway in more than a few quarters. As does the idea that perhaps massive eels are the culprits. Then there are scenarios involving sturgeon, oversized turtles, catfish, and even crocodiles, giant frogs, and hippopotami.

Although the story of the Loch Ness Monster(s) seems to be a story of just unknown animals, the fact is that - when we dig deep - we find all of these bizarre and sinister situations that smack of the paranormal, the supernatural and the occult. And, of course, let's not forget about Alistair Crowley - another great beast who hung out at the same loch. Just like my previous article - about the paranormal side of the Bigfoot phenomenon - the fact is that none of these legendary creatures are what we could call "normal" animals. They are far, far away from normal animals. In fact, the word "normal" has no place, at all, when it comes to that huge, creepy body of water in Scotland: Loch Ness.