The Paranormal Guide Presents: Paranormal Photo - Fact or Fiction - Hook Island Sea Monster

Hook Island Sea Monster

Paranormal Photos – Fact or Fiction 

In March 1965, a French photographer by the name of Robert Le Serrec, made an astounding claim in an Australian magazine that in December of the previous year he had taken pictures of a real-life sea monster while he and his family were holidaying in the Whitsunday Islands, situated off the coast of Queensland, Australia. While crossing a lagoon/bay off the coast of Hook Island, via motorboat on 12th December, 1964, with his family and a friend from the mainland, a strange dark shape was seen on the floor of the bay, and the crew all observed a large tadpole-shaped creature, apparently partially buried in the sand. Estimating it to be at least 30ft long, a quick succession of photographs were taken, while gradually getting closer to the leviathan.

Le Serrec then, apparently, summoned the courage to get underwater in order to film the creature, and upon doing so found it was substantially larger than first suspected, it now being thought to be at least 70-80ft long. Thinking it might be dead, he approached closer and it is then that the creature opened its huge mouth and started moving towards him. He returned to the boat quickly, and the crew observed the monster departing the bay.

This is one of a number of famous photographs taken by people all over the world within the last 50-60 years,and is one of the more controversial and speculative that have done the rounds on the Internet. Many believe these days that the picture is a modern picture made with the use of Photoshop, however it is in fact a very much circulated and well known photo that has been discussed and debated for decades by biologists and cryptozoologists the world over. In fact, Bernard Heuvelmans and Ivan T. Sanderson are among the many researchers who investigated and researched the story, and both have concluded, among others, that the story and the actual creature are, quite possibly, hoaxes. 

Le Serrec has been alleged to have been a known conman who, some say, was wanted by Interpol. The other pictures taken by Le Serrec seem to many to indicate that the "monster" is nothing more than a custom-shaped expanse of plastic sheeting that was weighted down with sand, however many believe the creature is in fact a large kind of swamp eel, however these creatures are only known to grow as long as 60cm and inhabit freshwater locales.

While this picture, and the others in the series taken by Robert Le Serrec in 1964 may be easily explained as an elaborate hoax, there are some who wonder

Was a sea monster captured in these photos?

Maybe its an outright hoax, something placed to look like a monster?

Or maybe something else entirely?

Fact or Fiction, you decide! 

@marvels and the macabre with matty 2014

Put together by Ashley Hall - The Paranormal Guide 2014

Photo: Modified (rescaled) and colored version of the original.

Inset: Different views of the beast.

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