Mythical Beasts Gallery

Loch Ness

circa 1930: Loch Ness in Scotland, which is famed for its mythical monster. References to a monster in Loch Ness date back to St Columba's biography of AD 565, where Adamnan describes St Columba preventing a creature in the Loch eating a Pict. More than 1, 000 people claim to have seen Nessie and the area is a popular tourist attraction. (Photo by General Photographic Agency/Getty Images)

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Loch Ness Monster

Loch Ness monster. Computer artwork of the Loch Ness Monster swimming in Loch Ness, Scotland. Sightings of the monster have occurred at least since the 15th century, with earlier stories dating to the 6th century, but scientific evidence for its existence is lacking. Often the creature is said to resemble a plesiosaur (a prehistoric marine reptile), with a long, elegant neck, small head, and flippers. Sceptics have suggested that the sightings are of nothing more than unstable masses of drifting peat. However, the monster's alleged existence continues to attract tourists, and the myth endures

© VICTOR HABBICK VISIONS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

In Fairyland: A Series of Pictures from the Elf-World, 1870. Creator: Edmund Evans

In Fairyland: A Series of Pictures from the Elf-World, 1870. [The Fairy Queen takes an airy drive in a light carriage, a twelve-in-hand, drawn by thoroughbred butterflies]

© Heritage Art/Heritage Images

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