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Morgawr (meaning sea giant in Cornish), is
a serpent-like cryptid
purported to live in the sea near Falmouth Bay, Cornwall.
First sighted in 1906,[1] various
theories have been proposed for as to the identity of this sea serpent, ranging
from a hoax or mistaken identity, to the suggestion that the
creature is a surviving species of Plesiosaur or that it is a previously
undiscovered species of long necked seal. In the absence of a carcass or a living
specimen, identity explanations depend only on eyewitness accounts
and low-quality photographs.
Chronology
- 1876: A sea serpent is allegedly captured by fishers at
Gerran's Bay.[2]
- Pendennis Point, September 1975. Two witnesses claim to have
seen a humped figure with 'stumpy horns' and bristles on its long
neck, catching a conger
eel in its mouth.[3]
- Rosemullion Head, Falmouth, February 1976. 'Mary F'
sent two photographs, apparently of Morgawr, to the Falmouth
Packet, along with a covering letter. She said "it looked like
an elephant waving its trunk, but the trunk was a long neck with a
small head at the end, like a snake's head. It had humps on its
back which moved in a funny way... the animal frightened me. I
would not like to see it any closer. I do not like the way it moved
when swimming." Neither Mary F or the negatives have ever been
traced. Noted mystery writers and photographers Janet and Colin
Bord[4] have
examined first-generation copy prints, and "feel that these
photographs could well be genuine."[5]
- 25 miles south of Lizard Point, July 1976. Fishers
John Cock and George Vinnicombe claim to sight a creature whose
neck "reared 4 feet up in the water". They estimated the animal's
length at 22 feet.[5]
- Parson's Beach, Mawnan, November 1976. Tony 'Doc' Shiels claims
to photograph the creature lying low in the water. He mentions
"little stumpy horns" on its head, and he describes the body of the
animal as 15 feet long.[6] (For
more mysterious happenings at Mawnan in 1976, see Owlman).
- Gerran's Bay, August 1985. Christopher and Susan Waldron of
King's Stanley, Gloucestershire report on having seen the creature
whilst on holiday. It was noted that Mrs Waldron was watching her
husband swimming in the sea, when she noticed a large silhouette
under the surface behind him. The shape was described to be that of
a large, long necked creature.
- Devil's Point, off Plymouth, 1987. An experienced diver sees a
dog-like head on a neck rising 1 metre out of the sea. He notes
that it is in a spot favoured by conger eels.[7]
- Gerran's Bay, 1999. John Holmes videotapes what is claimed to
be an unidentified creature in the sea.[8]
Hoax tape
In 1991 Strange magazine published transcripts from a
series of tapes made by Shiels, in which he discusses the
possibility of hoaxing the people of Falmouth with a sea-serpent
story.[9] The
article reports him saying:
- "I am a born hoaxer" (30 January 1976)
- "I think that I mentioned that I am hoping to hoax the people
of Falmouth, and thereabouts, here in Cornwall, into thinking that
there is a Cornish sea monster on the loose." (30 January
1976)
- "They have to be bad photographs in order to seem authentic."
(4 February 1976)
- "Of course we are going to have our hoaxing session here with
the Cornish sea monster..." (19 February 1976)
- "[There is] a great revival in public interest in things that
are strange and mysterious, and we may as well ride the crest of
this wave as long as we possibly can..." (19 February 1976)
- "A fisherman friend of mine... he is a good man to start a
little bit of a rumor going down here concerning the famous Cornish
sea monster as will be, heh-heh. We hope to build the thing up
during the next three or four weeks. Paul has agreed to see
something strange within the next few days when he is fishing." (19
February 1976) (note, however, that this fisher is not one of the
two fishers listed as witness above).
Mentions in other
Literature
The Morgawr is the name
of a powerful demon in the Shannara Series by Terry Brooks. Other
than the name, there is no connection between the two.
Brooks has been known to take words and creatures from myths and
use them as the basis for his writing. Other examples are the Four Horsemen and
the Dagda
Mor. Both are demons or groups of demons.
The Morgow Rises! is the title of a horror novel by Peter Tremayne, set in the fictional
Cornish village of Bosbradoe.
See also
References
- ^
Heuvelmans, B. In the Wakes of the Sea Serpents (Rupert
Hart-Davis 1968), p.358. cited by Bord, J. & C. "Modern
Mysteries of Britain" (Guild Publishing 1987), p 123
- ^
Morgawr - sea serpent
- ^
Bord, J. & C. "Alien Animals" (Granada 1980), p 27
- ^
as stated in their A Guide to Ancient Sites in Britain
(Paladin 1979), p.1
- ^ a
b
Bord, J. & C. "Alien Animals" (Granada 1980), p 28
- ^
Bord, J. & C. "Alien Animals" (Granada 1980), p 31
- ^
[1]
- ^
Ooparts & Ancient High Technology-Evidence of
Noah's Flood? 20th Century Dinosaurs
- ^
Shiels Tapes
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