The 10 Most Famous Loch Ness Monster “Sightings”

Everyone from history buffs to cryptid enthusiasts knows the legend of the Loch Ness Monster. “Nessie,” as she’s affectionately called, has transcended to international fame since the first modern sighting of her was recorded in 1933. However, stories of Nessie actually date back a whole lot further. The Irish monk Saint Columba was recorded besting a “water beast” in 565 AD. He performed this feat on the banks of the River Ness, which feeds into Loch Ness. His biographer included the story in his seventh-century work, The Life of Saint Columba.

The Loch Ness Monster quickly became an international phenomenon once modern reports started circulating. Who knew what secrets the deep waters of Loch Ness held? That curiosity led people from around the world to visit Scotland and watch the loch’s surface, hopeful for a glimpse of the famous monster. The legend of Nessie brings in as much as $52 million every year from tourism and other commercial endeavors. So many eyes on the loch have resulted in over a thousand sightings on record, most of which are remarkably consistent. Today, we’ll take a look at the 10 most famous sightings of the Loch Ness Monster.

1933

Several sightings came to light in 1933 and sparked the Loch Ness Monster’s phenomenal popularity. Area newspapers published the stories. Thanks to news radio and faster travel, soon the whole world knew about the monster in Scotland. The Inverness Courier printed the story of a couple who saw a creature in the waters of Loch Ness in May. This report was the first to use the term “monster” and kicked off an outpouring of interest and expeditions.

“There, the creature disported itself, rolling and plunging for fully a minute, its body resembling that of a whale, and the water cascading and churning like a simmering cauldron.”

1934

In the wake of the 1933 sightings and later expeditions, Nessie remained a hot topic. Scientists debated the different explanations, which ranged from seals and giant squids to supernatural creatures and still-living dinosaurs. Studies and exploration continued.

“The Surgeon’s Photograph” was then published in April 1934. Probably the most well-known photo of the Loch Ness Monster, the black-and-white image seemed to clearly show a long, serpentine neck lifting a head out of the water. Dr. Robert Kenneth Wilson took the photograph, which went unquestioned due to his reputation as a man of science. This image truly cemented Nessie in the world’s imagination.

Unfortunately, the photo was revealed as a hoax in 1994. Dr. Wilson’s “accomplice” confessed that the figure in the photo was nothing more than a miniature model. Turns out that wood, plastic, and a miniature submarine looked very convincing at the time.

Later in 1934, a two-week search party led to no less than 21 sightings of the creature.

1976

Sightings of Nessie continued fairly regularly. In 1961, the Loch Ness Phenomena Investigation Bureau (LNIB) formed and carried out several expeditions that utilized the latest technology. Underwater photography and sonar came in handy, especially on their night searches.

The LNIB partnered with Dr. Robert Rines of Boston, MA, to conduct a months-long search of the loch. The search ended with over 108,000 photos and sonar readings. Three of these photos seemed to show flipper-like appendages, while multiple sonar readings picked up large, moving shapes in the depths.

1996

The Official Loch Ness Monster Register was launched in 1996, following its creator’s own sighting. Gary Campbell saw what he described as a mini whale, “about 10 feet to 12 feet long,” while he was sitting in his car.

Campbell then launched the Official Loch Ness Monster Register, a website that collects and records all Nessie sightings. Since 2021, the Register has also included images from the Loch Ness Webcam. In total, the Register includes 1,153 sightings.

1997

Many Nessie sightings occur from the road that circles the loch. Richard White saw a number of black humps moving through the water while traveling. He quickly pulled over and managed to capture 10 pictures of the humps. The Register includes some of White’s photos in the sighting listing, which Campbell and other enthusiasts call “the most intriguing ever.”

2016

Despite the jump in time, there was no gap in sightings. 75 sightings were reported between 1997 and 2016, with many of the later sightings accompanied by photos. However, in 2016, an amateur photographer captured a remarkably clear photo of something in the waters of Loch Ness. It appears to be the head and serpentine neck of a creature moving quickly.

2018

Two notable Loch Ness monster sightings took place in 2018:

• Author Ricky Phillips was moonlighting as a tour guide when he snapped a photo that seemingly captures the head of a mysterious creature with a four-foot neck and a head “the size of a rugby ball.” After realizing what he captured, he reportedly said, “It actually looks like a giant bird or a peacock in the face, with high ridges above its eyes and what almost looks like a beak.”
• Dipak Ram saw a dark shadow in the water and initially assumed it was a wave. However, after zooming in, he found a “stationary object” with water moving around it. The shadow remained for 30 to 35 seconds before disappearing downwards.

2019

A whopping 18 sightings were reported in 2019. None seem particularly noteworthy alone, but together, they make up the most sightings since 1983 and set the record for the 21st century.

2023

In late August of 2023, the “largest organized Nessie hunt for 50 years” took place at Loch Ness, bringing hundreds of volunteers and even more via live streams to watch the water. The hopeful hunters came equipped with sonar to scan the loch’s floor, thermal imaging drones for scanning the surface, and hydrophones to listen in on the depths. Though the hunt didn’t turn up any meaningful sightings, organizers claimed the hunt was as much about inspiring the next generation of Nessie believers as it was for scientific inquiry.

The two-day event did include some potential sightings, though. A remarkably clear reading on some sonar equipment caused a great stir — showing a perfect outline of a huge Nessie-shaped figure — but ultimately, it was revealed to be a sunken Nessie model abandoned by a movie crew.

Skeptics & Believers

Skeptics are quick to point out the many holes in the Loch Ness legend. One of the first photos recorded has been confirmed as a hoax. Water samples from the loch reveal a great deal of eel DNA, supporting the theory that the water disturbances seen by so many may be eels and not Nessie. The chances of a giant water beast surviving for so long are slim, especially when the food supply in the loch seemingly can’t support an animal of Nessie’s purported size. And above all, there is no conclusive proof besides the grainy photos of amateurs and tourists who want to believe.

For believers, Loch Ness itself helps keep the hope alive. The loch is one of the largest and deepest freshwater lakes in Scotland. It measures 23 miles long and more than 750 feet deep and is filled to the brim with dark water made even cloudier with peat and other plant life. Though Loch Ness is just about one-tenth the size of the Great Lakes in the United States, it contains more freshwater than all the lakes in England and Wales combined and is huge in relation to the size of Scotland. A creature as elusive as Nessie could easily evade the many searches in so much water, especially with dark peat and craggy caverns to hide in.

Short of draining the loch, we may never be able to know for sure.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © iStock.com/Yulia Bogomolova