Have you seen this video ( Iceland\’s very own Loch Ness Monster) doing the rounds recently. It claims to show a rather large snake like creature winding its way up the glacial river Jökulsá í Fljótsdal, in east Iceland.
Like many countries, Iceland has its fair share of mythical beasts and this most recent sighting has left many Icelanders speculating whether this is the notorious snake-like monster Lagarfljótsormurinn, literally translated as Iceland Worm Monster, which is said to reside in the lake Lagarfljót.
Lagarfljótsormurinn is Iceland’s equivalent to Scotland’s Loch Ness monster. It was first mentioned in sources dating back to 1345 and according to legend began life as a tiny worm which was placed on a ring of gold to make the gold grow. When the owner of the ring returned she noticed that the worm had grown immensely but not the gold. She tossed the ring and worm into Lagarfljót where the worm continued to grow.
Already ‘experts are queuing up to debunk the sighting as a hoax – skeptics believe it shows a torn fishing net which blew into the river where it froze. When the river cleared itself of ice the net came loose and the “worm” wriggled its way through the water.
I’ll leave it up to you to decide. Whether it is or not, it just goes to show that we all love a good ‘monster’ legend.
Image and Video Credit: Telegraph.co.uk/video
British thriller writer O.C. Heaton, author of The Human Race, is fascinated by the past, present and future of human evolution. (Image credit: Ross Parry Agency)
