On the wild side...under the sea

This post originally appeared on Reading on the Wild Side.

by Becca Simone

Because my erotic novella, DEEP BLUE, is about a cursed sea monster, I thought it might be fun to explore famous sea monsters and myths throughout history.

Kraken—First on my list is the Kraken, a giant squid of mythical proportions, said to live off the coast of Norway and Greenland. These beasts are big enough to take down ships. Or so “they” say.  Its arms were/are long enough to reach the top mast of a sailing ship. It could capsize a ship by wrapping its arms around the hull. This legendary creature is probably what we know today as the giant squid. “On at least three occasions in the 1930's giant squids reportedly attacked a ship. While the squids got the worst of these encounters when they slid into the ship's propellers, the fact that they attacked at all shows that it is possible for these creatures to mistake a vessel for a whale.”  (http://www.unmuseum.org/kraken.htm) In movies, the Kraken has been shown in Clash of the Titans (1981) and more recently in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.

Loch Ness monster—Of course, most of us have heard of the Loch Ness Monster, that supposedly inhabits the waters of the Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. There have been many sightings of the giant beast, but no definitive proof that it exists. The first reported sighting was in 565 AD by St. Columba. The scientific name for the Loch Ness Monster is a plesiosaur, which is a type of marine reptile. A fairly recent movies that dealt with this legend is 2007’s The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep.

Mermaids—I think everyone is familiar with what a mermaid is, an aquatic creature with the upper body of a human female (a man is called a merman) and the lower body of a giant fish. According to Wikepedia, “In stories of mermaids, some would use their beauty and charm to lure sailor men to their deaths; sirens would use their singing to lure sailors toward rocks, causing their ships to sink.”  A popular movie portraying a mermaid is Splash, with Daryl Hannah and Tom Hanks.

Leviathan—It was quoted as a “great sea monster” in the first chapter of Genesis in the Bible. According to legend (http://mythicalrealm.com) , the Leviathan was a fire-breathing, dragon-like creature of such massive proportions that the sea “boils”  when it swims on the surface. Legend is that it is to blame for massive tsunamis. Leviathan was a sci-fi horror film made in 1989.

What is your favorite monster movie, sea monster or otherwise? Mine is probably Aliens, with Sigourney Weaver. Still creeps me out a bit when I watch it.

Becca Simone writes contemporary erotic romance from her home in the Pacific Northwest. You can learn more about Becca and her writing at http://BeccaSimone.com.