The Montauk Monster: Creature from the Deep or Something Else?
I had a different post planned today but when I saw this photo I couldn’t let it go. For the last few days I’ve had hundreds of strange searches leading to an old post and they all seem to be looking for a picture of a turtle without its shell. It made me wonder if there was a news story that might be creating interest… and surely enough I found this. I’m guessing it’s what they’re looking for.
Apparently it’s the remains of some kind of animal that washed up on Long Island. It’s been dubbed the Montauk Monster and there’s all kinds of speculation about what it is. Some think it’s the decomposing body of a raccoon or the remains of a turtle without its shell; others think it might be a marketing ploy or even a mutant which had escaped from a nearby government animal-disease research facility.
What strikes me about it, though, is how sad the image is. A poor animal dies and instead of feeling sorry for it there’s this kind of morbid fascination. But I guess that’s to be expected; we’re attracted to the strange and unknown and I’ll admit, I’m as interested as everyone else. Still, I’d like to think we could give it a little more respect.
Personally I don’t think there’s much to most of the theories. If it were a viral marketing ploy, it would have been claimed by now. And I’m sure it’s not a turtle; if a turtle lost its shell you’d be seeing muscle, not skin, and there are scruffs of hair around its neck, which means it’s a mammal, not a reptile. I’d guess it’s probably the remains of a dog, perhaps a bull terrier. The face looks similar and if you take decomposition and bloating into account, most of its body parts are in the right places.
It could be a shaved raccoon except the size makes me doubt it, but I could be wrong. It could also be a fake but either way it’s definitely not a turtle without its shell, as my searchers seem to think! For a while those searches were driving me crazy. I mean, it’s nice when an old post gets discovered, but it takes hours to write my other posts; that one took 5 minutes. Ain’t blogging grand?
Anyway, I thought I’d include a fun quiz to go with the mood. Apparently I’d be a zombie if I were a monster in real life… I can see that. I’m often sleepwalking through life, mainly because I don’t get much sleep! And I love Thriller.
I wonder what kind of monster you are? And any ideas on what this thing is? It’s starting to creep me out.:?
Update: Okay, I have now had 470 searches for “turtle without a shell” in three days! Seriously, guys, take a look at some of my other posts. This one’s a good one… and this one… and this one. 😉
Update: Newsday posted a new photo of it on August 1. Looks even more like a dog to me now. Poor thing.
What Kind of Monster Are You?
You Are a Werewolf
You’re unpredictable, moody, and downright freaky.
You seem sweet and harmless, until you snap. Then you’re a total monster.
Very few people can predict if you’re going to be Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde.
But for you, all your transformations seem perfectly natural.
Your greatest power: Your ability to tap into nature
Your greatest weakness: Lack of self control
You play well with: Vampires
i’d have said the heartless kind, but apparently blogthings know better. 🙂
that thing makes me feel sad.
CJ: So you’re a werewolf, Sulz. I’ve always liked werewolves.
It is sad, isn’t it? I actually wasn’t sure whether I should post the photo or not as I felt I might be demeaning it the way some others are… but I didn’t think people would understand unless they could see it.
I wonder what’s happened to the body now? I hope it hasn’t just been disposed of… that would be really sad.
You Are a Ghost
Mysterious, independent, and often unseen – you always do things your own way.
You are introverted, shy, and even a little secretive.
People are dying to know you better, but you’re a difficult person to know.
A lot of your contributions to the world are left invisible and unfelt.
Your greatest power: Blending in really well
Your greatest weakness: Being too passive
You play well with: Witches
What Kind of Monster Are You?
Not sure about some of that but it sounds great!
How X Filesish is it that the people are googling this weird and sad curiosity and they should find CJ writer of speculative fiction….maybe you could get a story out of it, oh Lionheart.
CJ: I don’t know what to make of it either, MQ. It doesn’t sound like you much, does it? Sounds more like me, actually! Although you do have a habit of surprising people. 😉
I didn’t think of that, although it is strange they keep finding my blog… I wonder what Mulder and Scully would make of all this? Maybe they should investigate. After they’re done with Muse’s magnetic rock, of course. 🙂
I wonder what that is, the poor thing. I do hope we find out. I have to admit, I want to know more.
As for the quiz:
I am also a Ghost.
CJ: I hope we do as well, BD. It deserves our pity, not this morbid interest, and I don’t think it will go away until we know… Newsday posted a new photo which looks more like a dog. I think that’s still the most likely theory.
So you’re a ghost too. Interesting! You must be a friendly ghost like Casper. 😉
It does look like a dog to me. All speculations can be put to rest if some vet inspects the remains. As an animal lover, it makes me very sad. How did this dog die?
CJ: There’s a new photo on Newsday which appears more like a dog as well. It’s more distressing, though, and I’m starting to get the feeling it might have been tied up and thrown into the ocean… if that’s true, that would be just abominable. I hope I’m wrong.
Apparently CNN covered it last night and they talked to the man who says he has the remains. He plans to get them examined, so hopefully we’ll know for sure before too long.
Oh, eeeeee. That may keep me up nights. I feel sad and repulsed all at the same time. It’s good you posted it, though. Perhaps someone can identify the creature. You’ve gotten HUNDREDS of searches like that? I never get hundreds of searches for anything. So, you are recommending that I write a post called “Weird Turtle Without Shell”? THAT’s your method? Do you plan to teach this?
WhadI miss? WhatI miss? Why are you the Lionheart?
I am a zombie, like you. (Here I am commenting on your blog at THIS hour), however, one or two of the multiple choice questions didn’t apply and I was unable to choose “N/A”. I mean, I’m not going to take revenge upon someone; what kind of person do they think I am over at Blogthings?
CJ: Whoops, sorry about that, Muse; I should have posted a warning with it! The new photo on Newsday makes it look more like a dog but there is still some doubt, mainly because of the size… it’s hard to get a sense of scale in the photo but hopefully someone will look at the remains… maybe then the poor thing can rest.
So far I’ve had 796 searches for “turtle without a shell” in four days! It’s bizarre and I can’t work out how they keep finding my blog as I can’t find it in Google. I wish I knew why it was working; generally a good title and anything tagged with “sex” and “weird animals” does well for me. 🙂
Ah, so you’re another zombie! That’s two; now we just need a few more and we can start causing panic and mayhem. 😛 The quizzes on BlogThings are a little odd sometimes, aren’t they? They’re fun but the options can be unusual. I even looked to submit a quiz of my own once but I can’t work out how to do it! Guess I must be missing something.
I’ll let MQ explain about the Lionheart thing but basically it’s a joke; I always wanted to be a King of Narnia. I guess I never outgrew it! 😉
Muse its from my bloggiversary post….. I named you Muse the Inspirational…and Kaylee the Indomitable and then Christopher insisted on not being Christopher the Special but Christopher the Lionheart…Narnia and all that always….he always wanted to be a king of Narnia. Hope you get this when you wake up.
PS those questions were hard… you had to pretend you liked hurting or scaring people!
CJ: Wait a minute – insisted? I did not insist, I objected! You were going to call me “special”. I am not “special”. That makes me sound like Spider-Man; I am not a wimp like Peter Parker! CJ the Lionheart’s much better. 🙂
🙂
You Are a Witch (or Warlock)
You are deviously brilliant and a perfect manipulator.
You somehow always end up getting what you want – without anyone knowing you’re working behind the scenes.
Crafty and cunning, you can work your way out of any jam.
And it’s easy for you to get people to do what you want, whether you’re working for good or evil.
Your greatest power: Mind control
Your greatest weakness: Making people your puppets
You play well with: Ghosts
What Kind of Monster Are You?
CJ: Wow, you might have got the best result of all, Amanda! Don’t think it sounds like you much but it’s fun! I love the “making people your puppets” bit – sounds like they’ve been listening to Lord Voldemort too much. 🙂
I think it looks like some sort of wild pig, A turtle wouldn’t look like this because their ribs are built into their shell, so it would have to be cut open, I think it may have hoofs but it’s hard to tell, I wish it could have some more dignity.:/
CJ: It could be a wild pig; it’s about the right size and the face is similar. The overall shape still looks more doglike to me, though… perhaps after it’s identified we can let the poor thing have some peace.
Thanks for clearing that up, CJ & MQ. Well, you can still be “special”, ceej, without being wimpy, but I like you as the King of Narnia; it fits! So, Lionheart, don’t worry about the pic. MQ calls me a big softie, and she’s right…it’s just that…I’m very…sensitive…sniff, sniff,{cue violin music, and chorus chanting “awwww”}. 😉 And I can get a bit giddy, late at night. That poor ol’ animal is all over the news again today, anyway.
Your plan is excellent. It’s been one of my goals in life to cause panic and mayhem! OK, I’ll take North America; you can probably cover the southern hemisphere, and we’ll recruit a few more zombies for the rest of the world. 😉 And, re: first update??? An obvious, not-at-all subtle attempt to drive traffic to older wonderful posts! You’ve pinged yourself so they’re showing up in my comment queue again. Hah! 😉
CJ: Well, I guess I’ve always thought I’m more… unique than special, Muse. But I do like being a King of Narnia. The beard makes me fit right in! 🙂
It’s strange how the story has spread so quickly… I would never have thought somewhere like CNN would be reporting it, let alone so quickly. I just wish the poor thing could be left some dignity; it’s distressing seeing the photo on every website, and then the “demon spawn” comments…
OK, sounds like a plan. I’ll start our quest for zombie domination at the Opera House; before long the world will be ours! Hm, now I’m starting to sound like Raincoaster.
And I know, the pings are really annoying! I’ve had to update the post several times and I delete them but they keep pushing the comments back up. Oh well, at least some of the searchers are clicking them. I’ll have to try it more often. 😉
Yeah, you’re right. It’s most like a dog … poor ugly dog 🙁
CJ: A dog’s what most people seem to think now; hopefully it will be identified before too long. I feel really sorry for it now… poor thing.
The Monster of Montauk mystery SOLVED!
I found another archived photo and solved this mystery
http://craigrant.com/2008/08/02/montauk-monster-mystery-solved-by-craig-grant/
CJ: So you think it’s one of the Anunnaki, Craig? Last time I checked it still looked like a dog to me rather than an ancient Babylon God! But I’d happily be proved wrong. 🙂
I came for the turtle-without-a-shell. I stayed for the great writing and interesting topics. I’ve been back several times since and I’ve bookmarked you. Cheers.
CJ: Hi Edith, thank you for the lovely comment. I’m glad you enjoyed the posts and my writing; it’s still evolving and I appreciate your feedback. It’s just what I needed to hear at the moment, so thank you so much.
Poor thing. I’m sure that’s a dog. It doesn’t really look like anything else.
I’m a ghost, apparently. I didn’t think much of question 4 though, because I couldn’t imagine doing any of those things to someone. I’m much more forgiving than that!
CJ: I’ve seen a few more pictures now; if it’s real I think it has to be a dog. The shape and size seem like the closest match and who knows how long its body was in the water? Apparently they still can’t find it, though… the longer it goes on the more likely it’s a hoax, I would think.
Hm, three ghosts… I’m starting to think my blog might be haunted! I agree with you about question 4, though, it’s pretty hard to imagine yourself in that situation, isn’t it? BlogThings asks the weirdest questions sometimes.
If you’re still interested in the beastie, this story was all over the US news today:
“The saga of the so-called Montauk Monster appears to have taken another bizarre turn, this time toward Hollywood, with the Web site of a movie production crew claiming to have the “kidnapped” carcas.”
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,399803,00.html
I don’t think I want to see this film…
CJ: Interesting! That would go with what people are thinking; either a dog or a hoax, and certainly this Splinterheads director sounds like he’s all but claimed it’s his creation.
There are still a few unanswered questions, though. Why would a film which is basically a comedy set in a carnival have monsters in it? And why has this only just been reported? It was up on the website days ago; if Darren and Rachel Goldberg are related, why has it taken so long to work out?
Hoax sounds like the most likely answer but I’m still not sure how it fits in with this particularly movie. Maybe we won’t know until it opens next year.