Bilk - no 003 - 1985 07

Magazine Overview

Bilk-Magazine No. 3 is a bi-monthly newsletter dedicated to water monster sightings, edited by Ulrich Magin. This issue, dated July 1985, is priced at €3 for Europe and $5 for the USA. The cover features illustrations of serpentine and winged creatures, with the main headline announcing 'A NEWSLETTER FOR WATERMONSTER SIGHTINGS'.

Behemoth

The 'Behemoth' section reports on a monster sighted in June 1984 in Baiguo Lake, Tibet, by Chinese soldiers. The creature was described as brown, huge, and possessing a head with horns. It also references five monsters seen in Lake Tiangi in August 1980, citing Agence France-Presse. The report includes a credit to J.-J. Barloy.

Loch Ness and Loch Morar Sightings

This section delves into sightings at Loch Ness and Loch Morar. Henry Bauer reported seeing a seal in Loch Ness in May. The Inverness Courier is cited for reports of seals in the River Ness and at Fort Augustus in January 1934. The article critiques Binns' book, suggesting he was incorrect in stating there was no real monster tradition at Loch Ness. It highlights that Binns omitted a sentence from a letter by Captain Macdonald, which implied that unusual occurrences on the loch were being attributed to a big fish. The author also claims to have located two pre-1930 references to a monster in Loch Ness: a story of a traveller killed by a kelpie, mentioned in W. Grant-Steward's 'The Popular Superstitions and Festive Amusements of the Highlanders of Scotland', and a similar mention in W. Gregor's 'Notes on the Folklore of the North East of Scotland'. Furthermore, two pre-1930 reports of 'Morag', the Loch Morar monster, are presented, citing W. T. Kilgour's 'Lochaber in War and Peace' and the 'Highland News' from April 1917. The author notes that while the exact content of these sources is unknown, they are found in bibliographies.

Isis (Mermaids)

The 'Isis' section discusses mermaid sightings. It mentions the carcass of a siren found in ancient times in Campania, Italy, with her tomb seen by the geographer Strabon in the first century BC, referencing Jorge Luis Borges' 'El libro de los Seres Imaginarios'. More recently, in the summer of 1929, several mermaid sightings were reported at Ardsheal, Argyll, Scotland. These creatures were described as half human, half fish, with white skin, long dark hair, pointed arms, and small hands. One sighting lasted for two hours, after which the creature laid on the water's surface and swam away. These sightings were reportedly made by local witnesses when the sea was calm and occurred in the morning, as noted in 'Folk-Lore' (1929).

Leviathan (Many-Legged Sea Serpent)

This section focuses on reports of a many-legged sea serpent. It presents three reports from the English North Sea coast within the last 50 years. The first, found on May 22, 1934, near Bridlington, Humberside, was described as having a shark-like tail, a dogfish-like body, no fins, an octopus head, and 10 tentacles, measuring 2 ft. 7 in. long. It was bright red with inch-wide eyes and had been dead for about a day, intended for the Natural History Museum. A similar animal appeared in November 1953 at Canvey Island, found dead by fishermen, measuring 80 cm long, with brown skin, red points, large eyes, legs, and feet. Another creature was found on August 11, 1954, also at Canvey Island, measuring 1 m long and weighing 15 kilos, with gills, sharp teeth, pink skin without scales, and small legs. The author personally believes these carcasses were of ordinary big squids but notes that since they were analyzed by scientists, there should be a report detailing the exact species of cephalopod involved.

Giant Ray Sighting

A second report of a giant ray is presented, occurring in July 1502 near Azua, Santo Domingo. Vizcaína's boat encountered a giant ray, described as 'as big as a medium sized bed', lying asleep on the surface. When struck by a harping iron, the fish towed the boat rapidly through the water, astonishing the crew. The fish eventually sounded and died, and was hauled aboard. This account is sourced from S. E. Morison's 'Christopher Columbus'.

Kraken (Giant Cephalopod)

The 'Kraken' section references 'Fabelwesen des Meeres' by Sonnfried Streicher, which reproduces pages from Olaus Magnus' first German edition. On page 54, Olaus quotes Petrus Martyr, a 16th-century Italian, who wrote about Columbus's discoveries. Martyr described a sea monster that 'picked a sleeping man out of a ship and carried him away.' As Martyr wrote about the Caribbean, this is suggested as a possible early report of a giant cephalopod in the area. The author's attempt to find Martyr's book for more details was unsuccessful.

Marine Life

This section covers miscellaneous marine phenomena. The source for a shark attack mentioned in a previous issue (issue 2) was 'Die Rheinpfalz' (5.3.1985). The latest issue of 'Fortean Times' (no.43) reported a jellyfish attack on a nuclear reactor. The article also cites a report from 'Süddeutsche Zeitung' (20.7.1972) about Japanese jellyfish attacking a power plant near Tokyo, and three more reports of jellyfish invasions: in the Baltic Sea (Summer 1972), Sardinia (1981), and the Cote Azur, France (1982). Finally, it reports that 50 whales stranded on the east coast of Australia at the end of June 1985. The whales were up to 5 meters long, and some were towed back into the water but later died ashore, as reported by 'Die Rheinpfalz' (26.6.85).

Editorial and Contact Information

The editor, Ulrich Magin, concludes the issue by inviting comments and new sightings from readers. His address is provided as Stuhlbruderhofstraße 4, 6704 Mutterstadt, West Germany. The next issue of Bilk is expected in September, possibly later, as Magin will be in Britain from mid-August to mid-September.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

This issue of Bilk-Magazine strongly focuses on unexplained phenomena, particularly large and unusual aquatic creatures. The editorial stance appears to be one of serious investigation and documentation of reported sightings, even when they are unusual or historically distant. The editor actively seeks reader input and references a variety of sources, including newspapers, historical texts, and other specialized publications, suggesting a commitment to compiling a comprehensive record of such events. There is an underlying theme of skepticism regarding conventional explanations, as seen in the critique of Binns' work and the personal belief that the 'Leviathan' carcasses might be misidentified squids, while still acknowledging the scientific analysis.