Sea Monsters And Other Beasts Of The Oceans A Fine Selection Of Short Stories About Fantastical Creatures Of The Deep Cryptofiction Classics

These early works by various authors were originally published in the late 19th century and early 20th century and we are now republishing them with a brand new introduction as part of our Cryptofiction Classics series. 'Sea Monsters and Other Beasts of the Oceans' contains a collection of short stories that include 'A Matter of Fact' by Rudyard Kipling, 'The Monster of Lake LaMetrie' by Wardon Allan Curtis, 'A Tropical Horror' by William Hope Hodgson, and many other classic tales in the genre. Sea monsters hold a special place in the human imagination. Virtually every culture has at some point feared a creature of the deep, and to this day such tales have an enduring affect. True or not, these and other tales of creatures of the deep carry an almost irresistible allure. Short of taking a search party to Loch Ness, the stories which follow may well be the best method we have for getting to grips with how the symbol of the sea monster intersects with the human imagination, and even for envisioning oneself at the moment of encounter.

Beasts of the Deep: Sea Creatures and Popular Culture offers its readers an in-depth and interdisciplinary engagement with the sea and its monstrous inhabitants; through critical readings of folklore, weird fiction, film, music, radio and digital games. Within the text there are a multitude of convergent critical perspectives used to engage and explore fictional and real monsters of the sea in media and folklore. The collection features chapters from a variety of academic perspectives; post- modernism, psychoanalysis, industrial-organisational analysis, fandom studies, sociology and philosophy are featured. Under examination are a wide range of narratives and media forms that represent, reimagine and create the Kraken, mermaids, giant sharks, sea draugrs and even the weird creatures of H.P. Lovecraft. Beasts of the Deep offers an expansive study of our sea-born fears and anxieties, that are crystallised in a variety of monstrous forms. Repeatedly the chapters in the collection encounter the contemporary relevance of our fears of the sea and its inhabitants – through the dehumanising media depictions of refugees in the Mediterranean to the encroaching ecological disasters of global warming, pollution and the threat of mass marine extinction.

Since ancient times people have told stories about otherworldly beings that roamed the depths of oceans, lakes, and rivers. Some were beautiful and dangerous, like the mermaids and sirens that tried to lure sailors to their deaths. But most were hideously terrifying, with teeth, claws, or tentacles that could kill and devour even the largest ships. Even in the twenty-first century, many people (including some scientists) believe that some of these water monsters still exist, and swear that they have had closeÃ'and sometimes very dangerous--encounters with them.

The author reveals the truth about real sea creatures that may have inspired many sailors' tales of terrible monsters.

Following on from the award-winning 'Real-life Dragons and their Stories of Survival', read on to find out the fascinating stories of ten real-life sea monsters! Around the world, sailors from ancient times onwards have told stories of colossal deep-sea creatures that capsized ships and terrorised crews. Far from home, and often venturing into the unknown, however, it's no wonder sailors put the dangers they faced down to the threat from sinister sea beasts. The oceans are mysterious places, and the deep-sea is one of the last places on Earth to be explored. So, while there may be no such thing as a sea serpent or mermaid, there are plenty of other weird and wonderful creatures lurking down there. Some of these real-life animals are the inspiration behind the sea monsters of myth. Others are so fantastical in their own right, it's difficult to believe that they actually exist. This book brings together 10 real-life sea monsters, with fascinating facts, figures and folklore. There are also tales of how these extraordinary creatures were discovered, and about their adaptations for surviving in the wild. This high-interest approach to the natural world shows the diversity of nature, evolution and adaptation and can be used to support the science curriculum study of living things at key stage two. Full-colour photographs combined with illustrations make this a beautiful and fascinating introduction to real-life sea monsters around the world.

Praise for the first edition: ""More than a picture book ... Hoyt's elegant writing provides both the historical background for deep-sea exploration and an ecological perspective on life in the ocean's depths.""--American Scientist ""A magnificent bestiary ... and a reminder of how little we actually know about the seas surrounding us."" -- Popular Science Winner, Outstanding Nonfiction Book of the Year -- American Society of Journalists and Authors, Inc., New York In this updated and expanded edition of Creatures of the Deep, award-winning nature and science wri.

Beaches are places that give and take, bringing unexpected surprises to society, and pulling essentials away from it. Through monsters, we confront our tiny time between catastrophes and develop a recognition of Otherness by which an ethical understanding of difference becomes possible. Learning to read the monster's environmental signs often helps humans determine the scope of the monster's place in the eco/cosmic timeline and defeat it-until the epic cycle inevitably repeats; monsters live and live and live. Even so; when humans identify and confront monsters we do so at the risk of exposing our own monstrosity. When a massive creature is pushed into human proximity by the ocean's wide shoulders, the waves deposit and erode human assumptions about itself and its environment; words, sounds, breath, water, wind, flesh, blood, and bones wash in and out. Chance encounters reveal us to ourselves anew. When we look into the inky backs of whales, or deep into vortices, what do we see?In October 2014, the BABEL Working Group headed to the beach. The 3rd Biennial Meeting of the BABEL Working Group was held at The University of California, Santa Barbara, where the Pacific Ocean laid her face against the sand and experienced the conference panels exploring, examining, and exalting the margins of sea and shore, of earth and water. This volume of essays represents MEARCSTAPA's panel, entitled, "The Nature of the Beast/Beasts of Nature: Monstrous Environments." These essays explore what the environment reveals via monster theory, what monsters-here, whales and whirlpools-make visible or accessible to humanity and what they draw away from it.

*Includes pictures *Includes accounts of legendary sea monsters *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading The oceans of the world have always had an air of mystery. About 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by water, and until the 20th century no one had plumbed its depths. Even today the bigger seas and oceans remain a largely unexplored frontier, with new species being discovered every year. Thus it comes as no surprise that countless legends have arisen of strange creatures lurking in the depths. What follows is just a sampling of these stories, including sightings of unusual sea creatures by experienced witnesses in the 19th, 20th, and even 21st centuries. The idea that there might be large species still swimming in the oceans that haven't been classified by marine biologists isn't as far-fetched as it might sound. For example, the megamouth shark (Megachasma pelagios) was entirely unknown to science until a U.S. Naval vessel off the coast of Hawaii accidentally skewered one on its anchor. The megamouth shark is a deepwater shark that can reach up to 18 feet in length, making it quite a large creature to go unnoticed for so long. In fact, since its accidental discovery, fewer than a hundred specimens have been spotted and the species had only been filmed three times. The Peruvian beaked whale (Mesoplodon peruvians) was discovered the same year and not formally described until 1991. Very little is known about this small species of whale that has only been seen off the west coast of Central and South America. Even more poorly known is the Spade-toothed whale (Mesoplodon traversii), which was first documented in 1872 thanks to the discovery of a partial jaw in New Zealand. It wasn't recognized as a distinct species until a partial skull was found in 1986, and no complete body was found until two specimens washed ashore in New Zealand in 2010. The fact that an entire species of whale is known to exist and yet no one has ever seen one alive adds fuel to the imagination of any monster hunter, who insists that there may be even more intriguing unknown species waiting to be discovered. Cryptozoology is the science that investigates these creatures, which investigators generally call "cryptids". The word is made up of the Greek stem "kryptos" (hidden) and suffix "zoology" (study of animals), thus cryptozoology is the study of hidden, as-yet-undiscovered animals. Cryptozoologists are quick to point out that they are not searching for alien beings or occult creatures; they do not hunt UFOs or ghosts. They are serious scientists, some amateur and some with professional degrees, who want to find, study, and protect these rare species. Sea Monsters: A History of Creatures from the Haunted Deep in Legend and Lore profiles the various sea creatures that people have told tales about for centuries, from ancient sources and doubtful legends to sightings by more reliable witnesses, such as ship's captains and naturalists. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about legendary sea monsters like never before.