The Loch Ness Monster

The Loch Ness Monster

The Loch Ness Monster
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 5 to 7
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	5.97

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		analysis, ashtray, billed, credible, deathbed, filmmaker, fruitless, Mackay, voila, worldwide, frenzy, prank, sightings, stepfather, fiction, needless
	content words:		Inverness Courier, Robert K., Daily Mail, Christian Spurling, Natural History Museum, And Mr, Saint Columba

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The Loch Ness Monster
By Vickie Chao

¹     On May 2, 1933, a British newspaper, the Inverness Courier, printed a story that later created a worldwide sensation. The story was about an extraordinary experience of an ordinary couple in Scotland. According to the newspaper, Mr. and Mrs. Mackay, who were hotel owners, spotted a monster in Loch Ness on April 14. ("Loch" means "lake" in Scottish.) They reportedly saw "an enormous animal rolling and plunging on the surface." Right away, the sighting set off a media frenzy. All major British newspapers tried to get the inside story. The excitement was contagious. Soon, the foreign press picked up the story, too. Almost overnight, the Loch Ness monster, nicknamed Nessie, became an international star. It made Loch Ness a very popular vacation spot. As tourists flocked to Scotland, they had one goal in mind. They wanted to see Nessie. Many swore they did. But their so-called "evidence" turned out to be a hoax.

²     In the early morning of April 19, 1934, a surgeon by the name of Robert K. Wilson went on a hunting trip near Loch Ness. While he was driving, he noticed something moving in the water. He stopped his car to inspect. As he gazed toward the lake, he saw a slender neck of a serpent rising out of the water. By chance, he had a camera with him at the time. So he quickly snapped a picture to document what he saw. This very photograph, published by the Daily Mail, became the image of Nessie. It was living proof that the Loch Ness monster was not a mere legend. It was real!

³     Now fast forward sixty years to March 12, 1994. An ailing old man named Christian Spurling made a startling confession on his deathbed. He admitted that the Surgeon's Photo was a fake.

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