Supernatural Friday: A Great Day to Maybe See a Kaiju

"Below the thunders of the upper deep
Far, far beneath in the abysmal sea
His ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep
The Kraken sleepeth...
There hath he lain for ages and will lie...
Until the latter fire shall heat the deep;
Then once by man and angels to be seen,
In roaring he shall rise and on the surface die."
--Alfred, Lord Tennyson, British poet (1809-1892)

 

Sea monsters are sea-dwelling mythical or legendary creatures, often believed to be of immense size. Marine monsters take many forms--sea dragons, sea serpents, or multi-armed beasts. They can be slimy or scaly, and often pictured threatening ships or spouting jets of water. The definition of a "monster" is subjective, and some sea monsters may have been no doubt based on scientifically accepted creatures such as whales and types of giant and colossal squid. Sea monsters have been seen in the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Southern Oceans. 

HIC SUNT DRACONES.” The phrase translates from the Latin as “here are dragons.” Etched on the Lenox Globe is the eastern coast of Asia. It is one of the oldest terrestrial globe maps, dating to 1510. The same phrase is also on one other historical artifact—a 1504 globe crafted on an ostrich egg—depictions of monsters and mythological beasts are common on early maps.

Types of Sea Monsters

The Japanese Daikaiju are beasts named by the Japanese that literally translates to "strange creature," and is used to refer to a genre of tokusatsu entertainment. Kaiju films usually showcase monsters of any form, usually attacking a major Japanese city or engaging another and more monsters in battle. Godzilla is an example of a daikaiju; produced by Toho Films, as was other giant monsters Gamera, Mothra, Rodan, King Ghidorah (who I suspect was inspired by the Eastern dragons of Asian mythology and the Hydra of Greek mythology), Mechagodzilla and Daimajin. Some like Godzilla can be called a sea monster, others, not. You can find kaiju films listed here: Toho Kaiju  More besides the Toho monsters can be found here: Giant Monster Movies

 

Several pictures of sea serpents on old maps appear to be based on sightings of the oarfish, or ribbon-fish (Regalecus glesne). A long, eel-shaped fish that grows to 11 meters (36 feet), the oarfish has a crest of bright red spines on its head and a spiny dorsal fin running down its entire back.

 

The kraken of myth may be the largest sea monster ever imagined. Described in Scandinavian stories dating back to about AD 1180, the kraken was said to live near Norway and Iceland. Some stories described it as more than 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) around with arms as large as ship's masts. This may have been based from sightings of tentacles of sea monsters proven real; giant squid and giant octopus. This multi-armed monster rarely attacked humans, preferring to stay in deep water where it feasted on fish. The chief dangers came from being too close when it surfaced--or drawing close when it sank, as a boat could be sucked down in the whirlpool created when it submerged. Stories were told that when a kraken surfaced, a shimmering cascade of fish could be seen tumbling down its back.

 

Giant Squid (proven real): As far back as five hundred years ago, maybe even farther back, sailors in northern Europe told of an amazing creature: A monster bigger than a man with numerous long, snakelike arms covered with suckers for grabbing prey. Evidence for this so-called devil-fish included bits of giant tentacles found in whale stomachs and vicious battle scars left on the skin of whales by its suckers and claws. Eventually, in the 1850s, scientists recognized the devil-fish as an authentic animal--the giant squid.

The largest eyes of any living creature: Each eye can be as large as a human head. Sharp, parrot-like "beaks" provided the first hard proof of their existence. In 1853, a giant squid washed ashore in Denmark and was cut up for bait, but its beak was saved, leading to recognition of the genus Architeuthis in 1857. A deep-ocean creature rarely seen near the surface; most sightings involve dying animals or corpses that wash up on shore. Suckers can leave scars on whales. After the success of Jaws, American author Peter Benchley frightened readers all over again in 1991 with his bestselling novel Beast, about a giant squid. In the novel, the squid attacks several people--something yet to occur in reality. An adult specimen had been found in one piece until 2007, when fishermen hauled one up near New Zealand. Dubbed the "colossal squid," it is thought to be the largest living creature without a backbone. Classified in its own genus, Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni outweighs all of the eight giant squid species in the genus Architeuthis.

 

Gunakadeit (Goo-na'-ka-date) is a monster from a Tlingit legend who brought prosperity and good luck to a village in crisis, people starving in the home they made for themselves on the southeastern coast of Alaska.

 

Mythical Sea Monsters

The Aspidochelone, a giant turtle or whale that appeared to be an island, and lured sailors to their doom

Capricorn, Babylonian Water-Goat, in the Zodiac

Cetus

Charybdis of Homer, a monstrous whirlpool that sucked any ship nearby beneath the ocean

Cirein-cròin

Coinchenn, from whose bone the Gae Bulg is made in Celtic mythology

The Devil Whale, Extremely large demonic whale, the size of an island.

Hydra, Greece

Iku-Turso, reputedly a type of colossal octopus or walrus

Jörmungandr, the Norse Midgard Serpent.

Kraken, a gigantic octopus, squid or crab-like creature

Leviathan

Makara

Proteus

Scylla of Homer, a six-headed, twelve-legged serpentine that devoured six men from each ship that passed by

Sirens of Homer

Taniwha

The Rainbow Fish

Tiamat

Umibōzu

Yacumama, South America

Bakunawa, Philippines

Monsters reports in modern times include Ayia Napa Sea Monster, of Ayia Napa, Cyprus, Cadborosaurus of the Pacific Northwest, Champ of Lake Champlain, Chessie of the Chesapeake Bay and even seen in the Appomattox River near Hopewell, Virginia, Nessie of Loch Ness, Lusca,Morgawr, Shore Laddie Arnarfjörður, Westfjords, Iceland, Sea Horse Arnarfjörður, Westfjords, Iceland, The Shell monster Arnarfjörður, Westfjords, Iceland, and the Merman Arnarfjörður, Westfjords, Iceland.

Monsters that people claimed to have run-ins with maybe surviving specimens of giant marine reptiles, such as an ichthyosaur or plesiosaur, from the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods, or extinct whales like Basilosaurus. Again, who knows? For the prehistoric fish, coelacanth, first discovered still living in 1938, when a live specimen was caught in South Africa. Since then, more specimens have been seen and photographed, and a second coelacanth species was even found in Indonesia in 1999. Coelacanths are large predators, up to 2 meters (6′ 6″) long. They feed on smaller fish, including small sharks. Usually found in deep, dark waters, and rarely captured and consumed due to their horrible taste, coelacanths are still considered critically endangered nowadays.

 

Are there unknown creatures, dinosaurs, or else out there in the oceans of the world? Are are they just our imagination? It does not matter; they make great fodder for writers' stories and filmmakers' movies, but most of all, maybe, just maybe, some scientist will prove one of these myths to be really existing in the sea.  Just as long it doesn't decided to go on land to destroy New York City  or Tokyo--the cities need a rest from monster bashing! 

Supernatural Friday: Talking About Worms--the Monstrous Kind

I am not talking about the kind you put your fishing hook, or the kind that you might find in your cat or dog. No, these worms are terrifying and monstrous. The old English form of the word worm (or wyrm) refers to a humongous snake or dragon. Like the Lambton Worm from the northeastern part of England.

Lambton Wrym: This gigantic worm terrorized the above mentioned region in medieval times. The story goes, that John Lambton, heir of the Lambton estate in County Durham, decided to go fishing one Sunday morning. He had been warned by a mysterious old man that no good could come of skipping church. But the young man ignored the advice and went fishing anyway. He had no success in catching anything out of the Wear River, then he pulls in a strange fish. The eel-like creature had the head of a salamander and nine holes on each side of its skull. Lambton said he’d caught "the devil." On the advice of the old man, he decides not to return it to the river. Instead, he throws it down a well.

When Lambton became a man, he went off to fight in the Crusades. All this time though, the creature thrived underground and had grown to an immense size inside the well, poisoning the water and when it emerged, it started to terrorize the land by eating livestock, along with the occasional village child. It approached Lambton Manor, where John's father manages to placate it on a daily basis by filling a stone trough outside the building with fresh milk for it to drink. In between assaults on the surrounding countryside, the creature relaxes by wrapping itself around the base of a hill.

Various villagers and knights try to slay the monster, but discovered that slicing off sections of the worm is ineffective as the creature seems to be able to reattach lost parts without much permanent damage (or more likely grew the part back like a lizard?). The worm also would catch some of the foolhardy in its coils and slowly squeezed that person to death (like a boa constrictor or python?).

Young John came home from the Crusades to find his father's land in ruin from the worm. He vows to destroy the creature and seeks the aid of a local witch. The witch tells him that he is responsible for the worm's existence by his actions as a boy. The witch’s' advice is to go to the local blacksmith and have his armor covered with razor-sharp spear points. Then he must find the worm as it lay wrapped around a great rock down by the river to fight it. She warns Lambton that if he is successful in his quest, he will be required to kill the first living thing he sees after his victory, or the Lambton family will be cursed for nine generations with no heir dying peacefully in his bed.

Brave Sir John takes her suggestions to heart and they prove to be the keys he needs to defeat the beast. When the animal gets a hold of him in its coils, it cannot squeeze him to death as the spear points on his armor drive into the creature's body. Because he is fighting the worm at the edge of the Wear River, any parts cut off fall off into the water and are swept downstream, so the beast cannot heal itself by reattaching/ The monster is killed.  It has been arranged that at his bugle signal, one of his hunting hounds will be released. It will run to him and John will slay it to save his family from the curse. Unfortunately, John's father forgets about the signal and runs out himself to greet his son after the victory. John does not have the heart to kill his father and the family is cursed for nine generations.

Also, did nine generations of Lambtons die violent deaths? Some of them may have. Given that the Lambtons were involved in such actions as the English Civil War, however, a premature end to their lives doesn't seem all that unlikely. The curse may also have been self-fulfilling: It is said that by the ninth generation one Lambton slept with a horse whip by his bedside to defend himself in fear that his servants might take actions to make the curse come true.

There’s a song about the myth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEb8r_M6ln0 one might like to listen to.  

The Mongolian Death Worm: This cryptid has gained status in the past 90 years. It is alleged to exist in the Gobi Desert, Mongolia. The creature is believed to exist by traditional inhabitants of the area. An expedition in the 1920s was sent out to try and discover and capture one of these beasts. The expedition met with failure.

It is described as a red worm ranging from two to five feet in length, with a thick body. It can kill at a distance, spewing acid, poison, or causing an electric shock. Biologists who have studied the area cannot find an indigenous animal to equate the myth with this creature..

The Minhocão: This means "big earthworm" in Portuguese. This giant subterranean worm-like cryptid inhabits the earth beneath South American forests. Though enormous earth worms, there are reports of them also being aquatic. There is a type of tentacle like appendage that protrudes from the head and it has been reported to prey on large mammals, namely cattle, capturing them from below the water where the bovines came to drink. Its body length can vary in size, from seventy-five to a hundred and fifty feet, and it also is known for the enormous tunnels it leaves behind. These tunnels suggest a diameter of up to ten feet. Buildings collapsing into the earth have been blamed on the tunnels left by this creature. These tunnels can sometimes flood and created subterranean water bodies. The Minhocao is featured in the game "Final Fantasy" as a "sand worm."

Unlike their mythological cousins, there are giant earthworms that actually exist and are not dragon or snakes.  They live in Australia, Japan and South America. The giant Gippsland earth worm is found only in the Bass River valley of South Gippsland in Victoria, Australia. These huge worms regularly reach sizes of 10 feet. The longest specimen on record was measured at 14 feet long. These rare earthworms are so large that it is possible to hear the gurgling sound of their movement through the earth when they are disturbed.

In New Zealand, there is another large worm known as the North Auckland worm that reaches a length of 4.5 feet. These worms have the added surprising, some might even say creepy, feature of glowing in the dark. By some accounts, the light the worms emit is said to be bright enough to read by.

Tales of enormous earthworms surface from time to time in various areas of Japan. One such account is Hyogo prefecture, on Honshu Island, which has many historical accounts of worms at five feet long. One tale comes from the year 1712, in what was then known as Tamba province (now part of Hyogo). A huge landslide occurred in a village, after which two giant earthworms were found in the debris. One of these worms measured five feet in length. The other was larger, at ten feet long. Another landslide that occurred in the same general vicinity allegedly unearthed a long worm around fifteen feet. A more modern report from Mikata-gun, which is located in the mountains of Hyogo prefecture, dates from 1996 when a farmer uncovered an earthworm 3.3 feet long and 0.8 inches thick while planting a tree on his rural property. It was the first time the surprised farmer had ever encountered such a large worm in all his years in the area. 

Giant worms have been reported from other parts of Japan as well. In Okayama, one woman said she had seen a worm ten feet long in a field that was being tilled. The worm had apparently been disturbed by the farming activity. Another farmer in the same area brought up a still thrashing piece of a worm that had been hacked off during farm work. The piece is estimated to have come from a worm up to 13 feet long. The rest of the worm could not be located.
Another of the largest known species is the South African giant worm that normally grow to around six feet long, but there is evidence that they maybe larger. In 1967, a South African worm was found by the side of a road in William’s Town, measuring at an incredible twenty-two feet in length, though its diameter was still only around 2 cm. This remains the longest earthworm ever confirmed.

So, the next time you start digging in your garden, take care. That earthworm you unearthed, may not be as small as you think. And it just might be hungry for human flesh!

Supernatural Friday: Forget Those Chopsticks and Learn the Myths Behind the Chinese New Year

The Chinese New Year 2014 began January 31^st. This year it is the year of the horse. Which happens to be my son's and my Chinese Zodiac animal. 

The Chinese Zodiac has the horse, tiger, rat, rooster, dragon, snake, goat, monkey, ox, dog, cat, rabbit and the boar.

The new year celebrations were born out of fear and myth. There is an ancient Chinese legend that told of a man-eating predatory beast called Nian. This creature was fierce, and had a long head and sharp horn. Nian dwelled deep in the sea most of the year, but on every Chinese New Year Eve it climbed onto the shore, and devour livestock and harm humans in a near-by village. Every Chinese New Year's Eve, the villagers would take their old and young and head for the mountains to hide from the monster.

One Chinese New Year's Eve, a grey haired man appeared in the village. He asked permission to stay for the night and assured everyone that he would chase away the beast. No one believed him. When it was time to go hide in the mountains, the old man steadfastly refused to do that. The villagers departed without him.

The beast arrived at the village to wreck havoc as usual, but it was met with a sudden burst of exploding firecrackers. Startled by the noise, the flashes of light and red banners flying about, it turned about and fled back into the sea.

The next day, when the villagers returned from the mountains, they found everything intact and safe. The old man had left, but they found the remains of the three precious items he had used to chase the beast Nian away. They all agreed that the old man must be a deity who had come to help free them of the beast.

From then on, every Chinese New Year's Eve, families hung red banners, set off fire crackers, and light their lamps the whole night through, awaiting the Chinese New Year. The custom spread far and wide and became a grand traditional celebration of the "Passing of Nian" ("Nian" in Chinese means "year"). So celebrating the Chinese New Year is "passing of Nian" or "Guo Nian" in Chinese. 

Today, the 15-day New Year festivities are celebrated with a week of vacation in metropolitan areas of China. Much like the Western New Year (January 1st), the biggest celebration is on the eve of the holiday. But aside from New Year's Eve, there are other important days of the 15-day New Year Festival, including:

JIE CAI CENG: Welcoming the Gods of Wealth and Prosperity
On the 5th day of New Year's, it is believed that the gods of prosperity come down from the heavens. Businesses will often participate in setting off firecrackers as they believe it will bring them prosperity and good fortune for their business.

YUAN XIAO JIE: Festival of Lanterns
The 15th day of the New Year is known as The Festival of Lanterns and marks the end of the Chinese New Year celebrations. All types of lanterns are lit throughout the streets and often poems and riddles are often written for entertainment. There are also paper lanterns on wheels created in the form of either a rabbit or the animal of the year (Pig for 2007). The rabbit lantern stems from a Chinese myth or fairytale about a female goddess named "Chang E" who jumped onto the moon. So she wouldn't travel alone, she brought a rabbit with her to keep her company. It is said that if your heart is pure enough, you can see the goddess Chang E and her rabbit on the moon on this day.

Called "hong bao" in Mandarin, the red envelopes filled with money are typically only given to children or unmarried adults with no job. If you're single and working and making money, you still have to give the younger ones the hong bao money. The color red denotes good luck/fortune and happiness/abundance in the Chinese Culture and is often worn or used for decoration in other celebrations.

The Dragon is present in many Chinese cultural celebrations as the Chinese people often think of themselves as descendants of the mythical creature. On the fifth day of the New Year when many people have to start going back to work, they will also have the Dancing Dragons perform in the front of the office building. On the 15th day of the New Year (Yuan Xiao Jie), they will also have a lot of dancing dragon performances. The dragon represents prosperity, good luck and good fortune.

Traditional Foods

The Chinese New Year's Eve meal is the most important dinner of the year. Typically, families gather at a designated relative's house for dinner, but these days, many families often celebrate New Year's Eve dinner at a restaurant. Many restaurants require reservations months in advance. There are also some families that hire a professional chef to come cook at their house. Chefs are often busy running from one home to another cooking dinners for different families on New Year's Eve.

Chinese New Year is a 15-day celebration and each day, many families rotate celebrations between homes of their relatives. The festivies are day-long and sometimes, a family ends up cooking two meals for their relatives, once at lunch and once at dinner. These dishes used to be all made from scratch, but now people can easily buy them prepackaged at the supermarkets.

Eight Treasures Rice (contains glutinous rice, walnuts, different colored dry fruit, raisins, sweet red bean paste, jujube dates, and almonds). 

"Tang Yuan" - black sesame rice ball soup; or a Won Ton soup.

Chicken, duck, fish and pork dishes.

"Song Gao", literally translates to "loose cake"- which is made of rice which has been coarsely ground and then formed into a small, sweet round cake.

"Jiu Niang Tang" - sweet wine-rice soup which contains small glutinous rice balls

a sweet soup made of cut-up fruit: Cut fruit is added into hot/warm water which has had a thickening agent (like cornstarch).

Based on the Lunar Calendar

The date of Chinese New Year changes each year as it is based on the lunar calendar. While the western Gregorian calendar is based on the earth’s orbit around the sun, China and most Asian countries use the lunar calendar that is based on the moon’s orbit around the earth. Chinese New Year always falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice. Other Asian countries such as Korea, Japan and Vietnam also celebrate new year using the lunar calendar.
Though Buddhism and Daoism have unique customs during the New Year, the Chinese New Year is far older than both religions. Chinese New Year is rooted in much a celebration of spring just like Easter or Passover. 

Depending on where rice is grown in China, the rice season lasts from roughly May to September (north China), April to October (Yangtze River Valley), or March to November (Southeast China). The New Year was likely the start of preparations for a new growing season.
Spring cleaning is a common theme during this time. Chinese people clean out their homes during the holiday. There is another possible reason for the New Year celebration just a way to break up the boredom of the long winter months. 

Another interesting Chinese festival concerns hungry ghost. I blogged about that at Supernatural Friday: Ghosts Are Hungry.