Frank Searle (photographer)

Last updated

Frank Searle (born Eric Frank Searle; 18 March 1921 – 26 March 2005) was an English photographer who studied the disputed existence of the Loch Ness Monster. He took up residence at Loch Ness in 1969 living a frugal existence in a tent looking for definitive proof of the monster's existence. Eventually photographs began to appear from 1972 onwards and earned Frank a degree of fame as a monster hunter.

However, as the detail of the pictures increasingly improved with time, people began to suspect they were fakes. The matter was finally exposed in 1976 when the Scottish Sunday Mail carried a centre-page article proving that one of his photographs was taken from a postcard showing an Apatosaurus . Another picture was also proven to be a wooden post at a pier that was covered with cloth to make it monster-like.

As his reputation declined, he was involved with some skirmishes with other monster researchers which eventually led to a failed molotov cocktail attack on one of their boats. Searle denied any involvement in the matter and was never charged over it. Eventually he left the loch for good in the early 1980s to allegedly embark on a treasure hunting expedition.

Some years later he was eventually tracked down by Andrew Tullis for his documentary The Man who Captured Nessie. Searle had been living in a bedsit in Fleetwood, Lancashire, but had died only a few weeks before.



Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loch Ness Monster</span> Alleged creature in Scotland

The Loch Ness Monster, affectionately known as Nessie, is a mythical creature in Scottish folklore that is said to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is often described as large, long-necked, and with one or more humps protruding from the water. Popular interest and belief in the creature has varied since it was brought to worldwide attention in 1933. Evidence of its existence is anecdotal with a number of disputed photographs and sonar readings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake monster</span> Lake-dwelling entity in folklore

A lake monster is a lake-dwelling entity in folklore. The most famous example is the Loch Ness Monster. Depictions of lake monsters are often similar to those of sea monsters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ogopogo</span> Mythical creature in British Columbia

In Canadian folklore, the Ogopogo is a lake monster said to inhabit Okanagan Lake in British Columbia, Canada. Some scholars have charted the entity's development from First Nations folklore and widespread water monster folklore motifs. The Ogopogo now plays a role in the commercial symbolism and media representation of the region.

Karl Shuker is a British zoologist, cryptozoologist and author. He lives in the Midlands, England, where he works as a zoological consultant and writer. A columnist in Fortean Times and contributor to various magazines, Shuker is also the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Cryptozoology, which began in November 2012.

Frederick "Ted" William Holiday (1921–1979) was an English journalist, who wrote books about angling and also the Loch Ness monster, developing a hypothesis about its nature.

The Family-Ness is a cartoon series from Scotland first produced in 1983. It was originally broadcast on BBC One from 5 October 1984 to 5 April 1985, with repeats airing throughout most of the 1990s and early 2000s, eventually ending with a short run on CBeebies on BBC Two between 11 and 22 February 2002. It was created by Peter Maddocks of Maddocks Cartoon Productions. Maddocks later went on to produce Penny Crayon and Jimbo and the Jet Set in a similar style. Family-Ness was about the adventures of a family of Loch Ness Monsters and the MacTout family, particularly siblings Elspeth and Angus. The 'Nessies' could be called from the loch by the two children by means of their "thistle whistles".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon-Erik Beckjord</span> American paranormal investigator (1939–2008)

Jon-Erik Beckjord was an American paranormal investigator, photographer, and cryptozoologist interested in UFOs, crop circles, the Loch Ness Monster, and Bigfoot. Throughout his life, he owned three separate, small-scale museums that featured displays, mostly photographs, of alleged UFO, Nessie, and Bigfoot sightings. He made guest appearances on national radio and television shows, but was criticized by skeptics and fellow cryptozoologists alike for not providing substantive evidence to back up his claims of the existence of paranormal beings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mussie</span> Monster rumored to live in Muskrat Lake in Ontario, Canada

In Canadian folklore, Mussie is a creature said to live in Muskrat Lake in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is variously described, for example, as a walrus or as a three-eyed Loch Ness Monster-like creature.The legend of Mussie likely began around 1916, though legend claims that Canadian pioneer Samuel de Champlain wrote about it in the early seventeenth century. Mussie has become a part of the local culture and a fixture in the local tourism industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loch Ness Monster in popular culture</span>

The Loch Ness Monster is a creature from folklore that has appeared in popular culture in various genres since at least 1934. It is most often depicted as a relict dinosaur or similar, but other explanations for its existence such as being a shapeshifter or from outer space also appear. It is only occasionally portrayed as threatening, despite its name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roy Mackal</span> American biologist (1925–2013)

Roy P. Mackal was a University of Chicago biologist best known to the general public for his interest in cryptozoology.

<i>Loch Ness</i> (film) 1996 British film by John Henderson

Loch Ness is a 1996 family drama film starring Ted Danson and Joely Richardson. It was written by John Fusco and directed by John Henderson.

Henry Hermann Bauer is an emeritus professor of chemistry and science studies at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He is the author of several books and articles on fringe science, arguing in favor of the existence of the Loch Ness Monster and against Immanuel Velikovsky, and is an AIDS denialist. Following his retirement in 1999, he was editor-in-chief of the Journal of Scientific Exploration, a fringe science publication. Bauer also served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Virginia Tech, generating controversy by criticising affirmative action.

<i>Scooby-Doo! and the Loch Ness Monster</i> 2004 American film

Scooby-Doo! and the Loch Ness Monster is a 2004 direct-to-video animated comedy mystery film, and the seventh direct-to-video film based upon the Scooby-Doo Saturday morning cartoons. It was released on June 22, 2004, and it was produced by Warner Bros. Animation. Unlike the previous two films, it is not in the "classic format", and does not have the 1969 voice cast, and instead has Mystery Inc. voiced by their regular voice actors, and has them wearing their outfits from What's New, Scooby Doo?. It is also the first film to have Mindy Cohn voice Velma Dinkley, the What's New, Scooby Doo? theme song, and the film has Grey DeLisle returning to voice Daphne Blake since Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Dinsdale</span> Welsh cryptozoologist and writer

Timothy Kay Dinsdale was a British cryptozoologist who attempted to prove the existence of the Loch Ness Monster.

<i>The Loch</i> (novel) Book by Steve Alten

The Loch is a science fiction novel and legal thriller by Steve Alten, and was first published in 2005. The novel is the story of marine biologist Zachary Wallace. A crossover sequel with Alten's Meg series, Vostok, was released in 2015, with a further crossover occurring in Meg: Nightstalkers in 2016. A third book, The Loch: Heaven's Lake is currently unreleased.

<i>What a Whopper</i> 1961 British film by Gilbert Gunn

What a Whopper is a 1961 British comedy film directed by Gilbert Gunn and starring Adam Faith, Sid James and Carole Lesley. It was written by Terry Nation from an original script by Jeremy Lloyd.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loch Ness</span> Lake in Scotland, United Kingdom

Loch Ness is a large freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately 37 kilometres southwest of Inverness. It takes its name from the River Ness, which flows from the northern end. Loch Ness is best known for claimed sightings of the cryptozoological Loch Ness Monster, also known affectionately as "Nessie". It is one of a series of interconnected, murky bodies of water in Scotland; its water visibility is exceptionally low due to the high peat content of the surrounding soil. The southern end connects to Loch Oich by the River Oich and a section of the Caledonian Canal. The northern end connects to Loch Dochfour via the River Ness, which then ultimately leads to the North Sea via the Moray Firth.

Maurice Burton was a British zoologist and popular science author, who produced many natural history encyclopedias and books including a skeptical treatment of the Loch Ness Monster.

Marmaduke Arundel "Duke" Wetherell was a British–South African actor, screenwriter, producer, film director and big-game hunter. He was responsible for the hoax "surgeon's photograph" of the Loch Ness Monster.

<i>The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep</i> 2007 American film

The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep is a 2007 fantasy drama film directed by Jay Russell and written by Robert Nelson Jacobs, based on Dick King-Smith's children's novel The Water Horse. It stars Alex Etel as a young boy who discovers a mysterious egg and cares for what hatches out of it: a "water horse" which later becomes the fabled Loch Ness Monster. The film also stars Emily Watson, Ben Chaplin and David Morrissey.