Photo by Michael Herren on Unsplash
I love ‘on this day in history’ stuff, so here is a roundup of weird events that have occurred in history during April.
17th April 2006 - Nahuelito Monster Photos Left at Newsroom.
An unknown man walked into a newsroom in South America with an envelope containing 3 photographs which he simply left with the receptionist saying:
“This is not a tree trunk with a capricious shape. This is not a wave. Nahuelito showed his face. Lake Nahuel Huapi, Saturday, April 15, 9 a.m. I’m not giving my personal information to avoid future headaches.”
This is one of many lake monsters reported to exist around the world. The Nahuelito Monster is said to live in Nahuel Huapi Lake in Argentina and Patagonia, resembling a pliosaur, and was first documented by the press in the 1920s, although sightings had been reported for decades before. I have been to Patagonia, it is vast, wild and primeval so who knows what is lurking there!
19th April 1972 - Gorleston-on-Sea Black Shuck Sighting.
Black dogs, hell-hounds and ghostly dog apparitions have been reported many times in history and the modern day, especially in the UK. In 1972, the Eastern Daily Press reported a sighting by on-duty coastguard, Graham Grant. Looking up the beach very early one morning as it was getting light, Grant spotted a large black dog, it was running then stopping as if looking for someone but no owner was in sight. He watched it for a few minutes then it vanished before his eyes, the beach had been recently flattened by bulldozers and there was nowhere the dog could have hidden from view.
18th April 1857 - The Spirits Book first published.
The Spirits Book by Allan Kardec is regarded as one of the most important books in the spiritist movement, it is composed mostly of a series of questions about the origin of spirits, what the afterlife is, the concept of good and evil and ultimately the purpose of life. The answers were apparently given by a group of spirits calling themselves ‘The Spirit of Truth’ with whom he communicated with in many sessions during the 1850s. The book is still available today (on Amazon would you believe?!) and it addresses many issues still grappled with today such as do spirits pre-exist? Are there good and bad spirits? What are guardian angels? Fascinating stuff.
21st April 1934 - The Surgeon’s Photograph of Nessie.
There have been countless sightings of the Loch Ness Monster in Scotland, however this one is reported to be the first visual of the creature’s head and neck. The photograph was supposedly taken by Robert Kenneth Wilson, who at the time refused to give his name, thus it was known as the surgeon’s photograph due to his profession. He stated that he was looking across the loch when he saw something strange, grabbed his camera and managed to take four photographs, two of which came out quite well, but one was much clearer apparently showing the head, neck and upper body of Nessie. For 60 years the photos were thought of as documented proof of the lake monster’s existence even in the face of scepticism saying it was driftwood, an otter or bird due to the scale and cropped nature of the image giving no scale. Since the early 1990s most agree that the photo was a hoax, it has been analyzed heavily over the years using modern techniques … but there are many other accounts that are yet to be dismissed.
23rd April 2007 - Alderney UFO Sighting.
The Spirits Book by Allan Kardec is regarded as one of the most important books in the spiritist movement, it is composed mostly of a series of questions about the origin of spirits, what the afterlife is, the concept of good and evil and ultimately the purpose of life. The answers were apparently given by a group of spirits calling themselves ‘The Spirit of Truth’ with whom he communicated with in many sessions during the 1850s. The book is still available today (on Amazon would you believe?!) and it addresses many issues still grappled with today such as do spirits pre-exist? Are there good and bad spirits? What are guardian angels? Fascinating stuff.
21st April 1934 - The Surgeon’s Photograph of Nessie.
There have been countless sightings of the Loch Ness Monster in Scotland, however this one is reported to be the first visual of the creature’s head and neck. The photograph was supposedly taken by Robert Kenneth Wilson, who at the time refused to give his name, thus it was known as the surgeon’s photograph due to his profession. He stated that he was looking across the loch when he saw something strange, grabbed his camera and managed to take four photographs, two of which came out quite well, but one was much clearer apparently showing the head, neck and upper body of Nessie. For 60 years the photos were thought of as documented proof of the lake monster’s existence even in the face of scepticism saying it was driftwood, an otter or bird due to the scale and cropped nature of the image giving no scale. Since the early 1990s most agree that the photo was a hoax, it has been analyzed heavily over the years using modern techniques … but there are many other accounts that are yet to be dismissed.
23rd April 2007 - Alderney UFO Sighting.
Ray Bowyer, a seasoned pilot with 18 years experience was flying over the Channel Islands, UK on the afternoon of the 23rd April when he reported a cigar-shaped, brilliant orange / white light in the sky. Initially he thought it may have been light reflecting from the many greenhouses on the island of Guernsey, but the object appeared stationary, the size of a Boeing 737 and about 2000 feet in the air. A discussion between Bowyer and the air traffic control operator on the nearby island of Jersey revealed that there was no radar contact ahead of Bowyer’s aircraft, but there was a very faint ‘primary contact’ which the controller thought was weather-related. Bowyer later said that he had looked at the object through binoculars, that he felt no discomfort from the incredibly bright light and that he saw a second object in formation with the first but it was further away. The UFO was visible for 9 minutes.
After Bowyer’s report the Ministry of Defence said they would not investigate the incident as the craft appeared in French airspace, however a couple of weeks after that the MoD released a statement from a second pilot which reads;
“First object was bright orange/yellow. There was a gap in light or darker area. Second object was identical.”
Several passengers on Bowyer’s airplane were also said to have seen the object and two of them reported it to the Evening Standard newspaper. Patrick Patterson, another pilot from the Channel Islands reported he had seen a similarly described object in about the same position. So was it atmospheric conditions, a meteorological event or something far more strange?
