INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION CREATURES OF THE DEEP What’s beneath the waters of oceans and lakes In the Middle Ages about 500 1500 people reported seeing creatures in freshwater lakes Sailors told tales of the kraken a squid-like beast The kraken pulled ships below the waves Sea monster sightings are still reported People still try to learn if a monster is hiding in Scotland’s lake called Loch Ness And what about Champ of Lake Champlain or Chessie of the Chesapeake Bay Do they really exist Monsters like these have scared people and puzzled scientists for years Sea monsters are hits in modern pop culture too They are in films TV shows and video games It’s still a mystery whether monsters live in oceans lakes and rivers The search for creatures of the deep never ends 4
Throughout history sailors have feared what monsters may be hiding in the darkest depths of the oceans 5
CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER ONE SEA MONSTER BEGINNINGS An early illustration of a kappa 6
For centuries people around the world have been scared of creatures that may live in the water Some of these fears came out in stories warning people to beware of water Monster Tales from Ancient Days In ancient Mexico the Aztecs feared ahuizotl This creature lived at the bottom of deep pools of water It had hands and feet like a monkey and a hand at the end of its tail It drew people to the water at night by crying like a baby Ahuizotl pulled them into the water with the hand on its tail Kids in Japan were taught to be careful when swimming in rivers and ponds The kappa were said to live there They pulled kids underwater and drowned them Stories said that kappa were about the size of a child but were stronger than adults They looked kind of like monkeys but had beaks for mouths Their scaly skin was yellow green Kappa also had a shell like a turtle 7
