Supposedly, he drove the creature away when he made the sign of the Christian cross. Columba, encountered a beast in the river that flows into Loch Ness. Legends about the lake date back nearly 1,500 years, when an Irish monk, St. Loch Ness is quite large – roughly 23 miles long (37 kilometers), a mile wide (1,600 meters) and very deep (788 feet, or 240 meters, at its deepest). “Loch” is pronounced as “lock.” The word means “lake” in the Scottish language. One legend is from northern Scotland in the United Kingdom, where a cold, murky and mysterious freshwater lake called Loch Ness is located. Khadi Ganiev/iStock via Getty Images Plus The Loch Ness legend People wish for them to exist.Īn artist’s concept of the Loch Ness monster at sunset. Yet I understand why these creatures fascinate us they are intriguing, magical and sometimes frightening. And I have studied the evolution of animals and humans. In modern times, movies, television and books have spread these stories to millions or even billions of people.Īs an anthropology professor, I have spent my life studying human behavior, biology and cultures. Through stories passed down from generation to generation for hundreds or even thousands of years, these mythological creatures have become legends. This also includes imaginary animals, like dragons, unicorns, werewolves, sea serpents and centaurs. This is Loch Ness, a body of fresh water in Scotland no monster in sight.Īt the same time, the human mind imagines all sorts of things that are not real: gremlins, leprechauns, fairies, trolls, mermaids, zombies and vampires. Indeed, it’s one of the qualities that makes us human.Įvery invention that led to our advanced civilization – cars, planes, TV, computers and millions of other things – came from someone’s imagination. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to the Loch Ness monster real? – Landon, age 10Īn amazing and wonderful thing about people is our imagination. Keystone/Hulton Archive via Getty ImagesĬurious Kids is a series for children of all ages. The photograph was later revealed to be a hoax. This is the famous – and fake – photograph of the Loch Ness monster, taken near Inverness, Scotland, on April 19, 1934.

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