Lake Monster Mysteries

Investigating the World's Most Elusive Creatures

Benjamin Radford and Joe Nickell

Narrated by William Dupuy

Available from Audible

Book published by The University Press of Kentucky

For centuries, eyewitnesses around the world—from America to Africa, Argentina to Scotland—have reported sightings of dark, mysterious creatures in area lakes that surface briefly, only to quickly disappear. While the most famous lake monsters, those living in Loch Ness and Lake Champlain, have gained international notoriety, hundreds of lakes around the world are said to shelter these shadowy creatures. Lake Monster Mysteries is the first book to collectively approach these widespread mysteries from a scientific perspective. By using exhaustive research and results from firsthand investigations to help separate truth from myth, the authors foster our understanding of what really lurks in the cold, murky depths. Benjamin Radford and Joe Nickell are considered to be among the top lake monster authorities in the world. Here they share unique insights into many of the world’s best-known lake monsters. They interview dozens of people and discuss the different types of lake monster sightings, delve into possible explanations for those sightings, and examine hoaxes, evidence claims, and legends surrounding the monsters. The authors have conducted groundbreaking fieldwork and experiments at lakes, examined photographic evidence, and analyzed the most current sonar readings. Incorporating newly-revealed information and up-to-date developments, the cases in Lake Monster Mysteries are in-depth, firsthand investigations that will inform and entertain both avid lake monster researchers and lovers of unexplained mysteries.

Benjamin Radford is deputy editor of Skeptical Inquirer science magazine and a Research Fellow with the non-profit educational organization the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. He has written thousands of articles on a wide variety of topics, including urban legends, the paranormal, critical thinking, and media literacy.

Joe Nickell Ph.D. is Senior Research Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) - an international scientific organization - and investigative columnist for Skeptical Inquirer magazine.

REVIEWS:

“The authors poke some holes in previous lake monster studies, but perhaps the most damaging part is their deconstruction of the films taken of the Champlain and Okanagan monsters.”

—College and Research Library News

“Radford and Nickell have done more fieldwork than many cryptozoological enthusiasts and ... have exhaustively carried out their own experiments and data collection that is of the highest scientific order. I wish all cryptozoologically inclined researchers would be as thorough and objective about their work.... I would recommend this tome to those who wish to learn to apply critical thinking to the mysteries surrounding these aquatic cryptids. Lake Monster Mysteries is a most enjoyable read and I guarantee you will learn much from these intelligent researchers.”

— John Kirk, author of In the Domain of the Lake Monster

“Investigating some of the most complex lake monster mysteries in the world, Radford and Nickell closely examine these enigmatic creatures and come up with some surprises. Their approach is respectful of the believers, [and] attention to detail is evident throughout.”

—Michael R. Dennett, paranormal expert

“The most up-to-date, definitive, scientific assessment of the evidence for and against the existence of lake monsters.”

—Robert E. Bartholomew, coauthor of Panic Attacks: Media Manipulation and Mass Deception

“For those who are interested in these mysteries, it makes good reading.”

—WTBF Radio

“It delights in the better known resident of Loch Ness as well as Canada’s “Champ” in Lake Champlain...It does, of course, verge on the tongue-in-cheek but not completely – which is doubtless why I enjoyed it.”

—Lincoln County News, Maine