For several weeks in August 1817, the town of Gloucester, Massachusetts, was captivated by the appearance of a bizarre creature in its harbor. It began with a few sightings, but soon, hundreds of credible witnesses came forward with remarkably similar descriptions. They all saw a massive, dark-colored creature, perhaps 60 to 80 feet long, moving through the water with the vertical, undulating motion of a caterpillar. Its head was about the size of a horse's and was often held above the water. The creature was seen by people on shore, in boats, and even observed through a telescope by a group of respected local magistrates who submitted a formal report. The Linnaean Society of New England even launched a scientific investigation. The excitement reached a fever pitch when a small, strange snake was found on a nearby beach and was initially thought to be the serpent's offspring (it was later identified as a common black snake with a deformity). After a few weeks, the great serpent swam out to sea and was never seen in the harbor again. Was it a giant squid, a pod of dolphins swimming in a line, or something unknown? The Great Gloucester Sea Serpent remains one of the most well-documented and compelling mass monster sightings ever recorded. See less ...read more