If there is a Loch Ness monster, she’s feeling pretty good about herself right now. Robert H. Rines, the man who came closer than anyone to proving the existence of the fabled serpent, died last week at the age of 87.

The Pictish Beast is an animal like design that is was often used on the decoration of Pictish artifacts.

The design of the Pictish beast, while obviously an animal of some kind, defies any more attempts at stringent definition. If depicted in a vertical manner, the Pictish beast most resembles a seahorse, although orientations evoke allusions to Scottish mythical creatures such as kelpies, the Loch Ness Monster or in terms of the real world, a dolphin. The Pictish beast is sometimes also referred to as the Pictish Elephant or the Pictish Dragon, due to the fact that it shares some similarities with those animals also.

On a less imaginative strain, some believe that the design of the Pictish beast was nothing short of a utilitarian piece, drawing its inspiration from the shape of brooches needed for clasping clothing in the 2nd century.

No matter where the idea for a Pictish beast originates from, it is seen in roughly 40% of instances where typical Pictish animal designs are used in any decorations. As such the propagation of the design in people’s minds would have been widespread. This fact leads many researchers to believe that it could have been used as a political or personal symbol by some unrecorded figure in history.

Loch Maree is the fourth largest freshwater loch in Scotland and the legendary home of Muc-sheilch.

Loch Maree is the largest freshwater loch north of Loch Ness. At its widest it reaches four kilometers in length and its maximum length is 20 kilometers. This combines to a total surface area of 28.6 kilometers, and with an average depth of 38 meters, Loch Maree holds 1.09 cubed kilometers in volume.

Amongst the expanse of Loch Maree lie thirty islands, five of these being considered large and covered in forestation. In fact one island is the only one in the United Kingdom which has an loch within it, with an island on that. In 1994, Loch Maree and its islands were classified as a Ramsar site, effectively making it a wetlands conservation area.

The islands of Loch Maree also hold significance in the fact that they are littered with items of historical significance. Inspection of the various islands will yield a chapel, a holy well and other pieces which are said to be part of the ancient residence of Saint Maol Rubha. Some areas still hold ancient trees which were said to be used in druid rituals, and even waters which are said to cure lunacy.
Loch Maree is also the legendary home to its own version of the Loch Ness Monster, Muc-sheilch. In the 1850s Loch Maree was under attempted attack of a local man, Mr. Banks of Letterewe, who tried to poison and drain the loch in an attempt to find and eradicate Muc-sheilch.

Morag is said to be a Scottish lake dwelling monster, similar to the world famous Loch Ness monster.

Morag is said to inhabit Loch Morar, in Morar, Lochaber, in the Highlands of Scotland. The body of water which Morag is said to inhabit measures roughly twenty eight square miles, in surface area. It is also the deepest freshwater body in the British Isles, with some areas reaching an average depth of 310 meters. Some have used this as light evidence of the existence of Morag.

Morag, unlike the Loch Ness monster is reported to have attacked people in the past, which to some adds to its believability. It is claimed that in the August of 1969, Duncan McDonnell, and Bill Simpson accidentally hit Morag with their speed boat. It is claimed that Morag then deliberately hit the boat. In response the creature was shot at and hit with an oar. It was said to sink after the gunshot. The description the two men gave of the creature bore a striking resemblance to the common conception of the Loch Ness Monster, three humps, a serpent like head, brown skin and a length of 25 to 30 feet.

Previous to this, Morag is said to have been sighted as early as 1887. Since 1891, when records of sighting began being kept, there have been 34 reported witnessing with a number of these being from multiple individuals at a time.

A Yorkshire man claims to have shot a video capturing the mythical Loch Ness monster...