Was Nessie just an invention?

[Urisk]

My mind tends towards the same train of thought that Podo's going by. Scotland's rife with tales of kelpies and each uisges and, let's face it; a whole host of water monsters. Loch Ness just seemed to be the one that got lucky; tourism-wise.

[CJ1983]

If it was, it worked out great.

[docyabut2]

Was Nessie just the invention of a boozy London pub lunch by hoteliers keen to drum up custom for Scottish hotels?

yes by two silly guys

[GlitterRose]

Well, we know the most famous photos were all hoaxes, so yeah. But people love a sea monster. And we're really great at seeing things we believe in. Who's to say I wouldn't see her if I visited the Loch?

[Codenwarra]

I would not be surprised if this was so, but the suggestion might have been based on occasional reports going back into the early Christian era that the blokes in the pub might have been aware of.

That said, my great grandfather Alexander McMillan (1858 - 1920) on my mother's mother's side came from Drumnadrochit, which overlooks the Loch and is now a tourist centre. There was no hint of the monster story from my grandmother to whom I was close.

[tyrant lizard]

It is a bit like a self fulfilling prophecy. If someone sees a splash down their local pond they wouldn't think twice about it. Someone sees a splash in Loch Ness maybe they do that weird memory trick where they remember it different than it was or embelish a little bit or whatever. That Loch has a history! it could have been a fish, but it could have been Nessie.

Take that recent footage in the Thames. By looking at it over and over you can make a realistic judgement on what it was. Without a camera and with just that one split second glimpse, who knows what would go through your head standing on a foggy jetty on the banks of Loch Ness...

[PersonFromPorlock]

Regarding the '1500 years of sightings' business: the past only exists as part of the present, so it's as vulnerable to being fiddled with as anything else.

[Farmer77]

The waterhorse stories in the region go back centuries so it wouldnt be much of a reach to imagine someone capitalizing on that I suppose.

[Podo]

Well, once a legend starts, it can become rather wild. It could have been invented by someone thousands of years ago, with modern PR spins and hoaxers running the show in the interim. Hoaxing and crying for attention are not new human traits. I think there are likely many people who truly believe that they have seen the Loch Ness Monster, but that doesn't mean that they did.