The Strange Tale of the Man Eating Algae!

[Undeadskeptic]

I know that this story is incredibly fanciful and very ridiculous, but please don't accuse ME of lying. I simply collect these stories when I travel, I do not claim any of them to be true.

I have collected many strange stories over the years, as I search anywhere I can for tales of intrigue, things that excite the imagination, and I thought I'd share one of the more bizzare yarns that comes from a man I met at a small sea side motel me and my father spent 3 nights in when we went whale watching in Kaikoura, New Zealand. The man was really very old and seemed to live at the bar across the road, only coming to the motel to sleep. I dont believe a word of the yarn he told me, due to the fact he spent most his time at a pub and how old he was had probably strained his memory of the events, morphing them into an incredible but fanciful story.

Nevertheless, he seemed to be an honest man and did swear many, many, many, many, times that the story was true, and just because it is an awesome story, I shall retell it here.

When he was a teen him and his mates would go fishing on the bay. One day a feirce wind blew up, and they were pushed quite far from the land, but they could still easily see it on the horizon after the weather cleared up. Deciding that the change into warm weather deserved a celebration, they jumped into the water and began to swim around the boat, splashing each other until one of the friends yelled "Yuck!". He had become stuck at the ankle by somthing underwater. Upon being helped out by his friends, they discovered it was a type of green slime, algae. Because of its disgusting appeal, the boys began grabbing clumps of it and threw it at each other. This happiness was shortlived, however, as when one of them reached to grab some, the clump pulled out was in the shape of a small seal skeleton, and indeed had seal bones in it. After this two of the boys dived underwater and found at least two seal bodies, and several fish trapped in the sludge, being steadily swallowed by it. In horror they leapt back into the boat, and discovered with terror that they were all covered in bleeding puncture marks, most of which had green slime hanging out. Ripping it out they sailed quickly back to shore, and never went fishing in the bay again.

[evancj]

Very cool story,

Apparently we know more about the moon than the oceans. So who knows what’s in our oceans? It could be true!

[Finsup22]

Wasen't spmething like thaty that in the movie CreepShow?

[evancj]

Wasen't spmething like thaty that in the movie CreepShow?

I think so?

But wasn’t the algae in the movie from a meteorite? All it did was just grow on him until it completely covered him? I believe in the end he shot himself with a shot gun.

[trickyhomunculi]

Lamprey attach themselves to the sides of fish such as salmon, sucking on their blood and body fluids for nourishment. You could say that the lamprey is the "Vampire" of the sea. Most prey survive lamprey attacks, but they retain scars on their body.

How do lamprey attach to their prey?

These unusual creatures have an oral disc that has tooth-like structures on it. There are also similar structures on the tongue. These hard plate-like teeth are used for attaching to prey by scraping a hole in their tissues.

Did You Know?... An interesting fact about the larvae of lamprey is that they are not carnivorous like the adults. They are algae and Detritus eaters.

There are approximately 40 species of lamprey worldwide. Most species are found in the northern hemisphere in Coastal Drainages.

Possibly? Interesting story.

[Undeadskeptic]

Clover, thank you so much! I was trying to remember what "That latchy onto stuff fish" was called, Lamprey, thank you. Are you saying that maybe the algae wasn't biting, it was lampreys in the Algae, well concealed, or *Gasps* the fish that were 'caught' could have been lampreys swimming around in the slime! I wish I could meet the man again, but I dont even know his name. The lamprey idea seems like a very good one.

Finsup, I've seen the DVD for that at the video store, I was going to get it out but decided to get good ol' STARSHIP TROOPERS instead. What happens in Creepshow?

Evanci, I'v heard that too, but if you exclude the lamprey idea a man eating algae seems truly bizarre ecespeciaclly seeing as algae is (According to Wikipedia): Algae have conventionally been regarded as simple plants within the study of botany, the "plant-like" character from their photosynthetic quality, their "simple" character being their lack of vascular tissue.

But then again the same page also says: Algae range from single-cell organisms to multicellular organisms, some with fairly complex differentiated forms.

So MAYBE this means that a rare or just freak offshoot species was in fact floating outside Kaikoura for some time.

I have to wonder, could it still be there now?

[trickyhomunculi]

The lamprey thing doesn't seem to likely but it's the best I could come up with. The idea of carnivorous algae may not be to far fetched there are several carnivorous plants.

[Undeadskeptic]

Im liking the lamprey idea for two reasons:

1. It was the right place and relatively good weather for lampreys

2. In the slime they wouldn't be able to see what was actually biting them and would come up with this incredible yarn over time to explain what happened.

Also, yes there are some carnivore plants, but they only eat insects and the only underwater one of these catches microrganisms, so thats why I think that a huge floating blob of algae which devours seals and leaves humans with bloody marks all over their bodys to which it firmly atttaches itself is little more than an exaggeration of somthing slightly out of the ordinary that happened, such as lampreys.

[Undeadskeptic]

lol!

[Loonboy]

I thought in Creepshow that it was an oily black circular mass in a distant lake that some swimmers were attacked by.

It picked them off one by one.

Very disturbing, though. Lol.

[Undeadskeptic]

Son was it like a plant? Sounds like an alien to me.

[dani10]

Oh god that's disgustinggggg! i would FREAK OUT if that happened to me!

I remember that some years ago I committed the mistake of watching a movie one night before I went to Cancun, about a giant octopus or something that would attack boats and stuff and then dissapear into the dark waters. Needless to say, I didn't put a foot in the water for the first 2 days I was there! especially since there seemed to be this part full of algae in the sea in front of our hotel. it was bad, sooo scary. When i finally got in the water, I could feel like something was going to come out of the algae to come and grab me.

[Undeadskeptic]

Yeah, I agree, algae is scary! Lol, wtf, Algaphobia? I was in a lake with my mate once and I felt a hand grab me in the algae and I screamed so freakin loud! Turned out some had just wrapped around my foot...

[Wookietim]

Wasn't this a segment from the second "Creepshow" movie?

[dani10]

Yeah, I agree, algae is scary! Lol, wtf, Algaphobia? I was in a lake with my mate once and I felt a hand grab me in the algae and I screamed so freakin loud! Turned out some had just wrapped around my foot...

I was swimming in the ocean one day (this happened at least 9 years ago) and I felt something wrapping around my leg! so I too screamed and yanked my leg and practically FLEW out of the water. When I got out I looked at my leg and it had like a red stain all over. Seems like a friggin' jellyfish caught me!

[Charlie Donuts]

he cant be lyin i went to the same town in New Zealand and drank with a guy who told me the same damn story. cant remember his name for the life of me though... mr Undeadskeptic i remember it starting with m or n maybe?

[Undeadskeptic]

You went to Kaikoura too? I don't care for the town, although its quite vintage and nice, the ocean and the beach is the place to be. Whales, giant squid, sharks, dolphins, seals I heard of the occasional walrus as well as all of the local sea birds, its truly incredible. I went whale watching, it rocked.

The mans told me his name was Rod, short for Rodney. I got no last name, and he didn't actually tell me it was short for Rodney, but I think its safe to assume that Rod is short for that.

[ImaLoner]

I think so?

But wasn’t the algae in the movie from a meteorite? All it did was just grow on him until it completely covered him? I believe in the end he shot himself with a shot gun.

That segment of Creepshow wasn't the same thing as the one which was referred to. The story you are speaking of was about a bumpkin who found the meteorite, and it glowed inside, and he tried to gather up the "rocks" to sell. Where he touched it, plant-life grew, then covered him as you said. The part of the bumpkin was played by none other than Mr. Stephen King, himself!

The other segment which was referred to was about this black blob that was in a lake, and 4 teens went to swim out and it got each teen one by one. And at the end, it showed the sign which read, "NO SWIMMING".

[Undeadskeptic]

That segment of Creepshow wasn't the same thing as the one which was referred to. The story you are speaking of was about a bumpkin who found the meteorite, and it glowed inside, and he tried to gather up the "rocks" to sell. Where he touched it, plant-life grew, then covered him as you said. The part of the bumpkin was played by none other than Mr. Stephen King, himself!

The other segment which was referred to was about this black blob that was in a lake, and 4 teens went to swim out and it got each teen one by one. And at the end, it showed the sign which read, "NO SWIMMING".

LOL, cool. I've gotta see that movie.

[Lilix_Vixen]

This was an interesting story...true or not. Interesting.

[Walter Sullivan]

This reminds of that oily black mass from Creepshow 2.

[Undeadskeptic]

I have got to see that movie now

[Charlie Donuts]

You went to Kaikoura too? I don't care for the town, although its quite vintage and nice, the ocean and the beach is the place to be. Whales, giant squid, sharks, dolphins, seals I heard of the occasional walrus as well as all of the local sea birds, its truly incredible. I went whale watching, it rocked.

The mans told me his name was Rod, short for Rodney. I got no last name, and he didn't actually tell me it was short for Rodney, but I think its safe to assume that Rod is short for that.

I went everywhere in New Zealand man. Rodney huh? I dont nowhere the hell i got m or n from. Your lucky to go whale watching man i never had the chance. I got my divers license in Mexico and went diving in Kaikoura, it was BEAUTIFUL there. But this guy outdrank me in 5 minutes flat so i didnt know to believe him or not. I preferred this lil town to Auckland though. yeah beautiful country eh?

[Undeadskeptic]

Definately, it is very beautiful. I am very interested that you heard the story too, was it honestly exactly the same? That could give the story some credit, and actually make it count as a real phenomena, so I hope so.

[mdhmdh]

u know i reckon your all wwrong y couldn't it of been small bones from the dead seals in the green algae that cause it u guys over exaggerate everything