tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post7843651897281076558..comments2024-03-22T21:58:18.933+00:00Comments on ShukerNature: LOCH WATTEN'S MISSING MONSTER - WHATEVER HAPPENED TO WATTIE?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15628598508836601012noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-8574782149174170342020-04-04T11:41:38.001+01:002020-04-04T11:41:38.001+01:00Used to fish Loch Watten years ago, there are larg...Used to fish Loch Watten years ago, there are large Loch Leven type trout & that's about it! The permits were obtained from a Mr Barnetson? Lynegar, the nearest thing to a laird thereabouts!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-64402800062146179452019-09-09T22:13:39.375+01:002019-09-09T22:13:39.375+01:00Glad to hear you wife was never eaten by a monster...Glad to hear you wife was never eaten by a monster!<br />"What, never?"<br />"No, never!"Seeing_Ihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07678537250333277334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-83962105799971489822019-09-01T22:18:37.467+01:002019-09-01T22:18:37.467+01:00Thinking further, I recall checking microfiche bac...Thinking further, I recall checking microfiche back copies of the local paper for anything relevant. However I found nothing. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16147085171607422534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-18321432135269824702019-08-17T00:36:09.682+01:002019-08-17T00:36:09.682+01:00Thanks very much for the extremely interesting add...Thanks very much for the extremely interesting additional information and first-hand local knowledge re Loch Watten, which I am delighted to see posted here and further reinforce the fictitious nature of the entire case. My only comment is that as revealed above by me in the various Updates, it now appears that although the Wattie story is unquestionably fiction rather than to any degree fact, it was not Peter Haining who originated it but rather another writer, Tony James, at least as far back as the 1960s, using the pseudonym John Macklin, with Haining subsequently appropriating it in his 1970s book The Monster Trap. All the best, and thanks again, KarlDr Karl Shukerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06222845702628862829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-41954986095581131072019-08-16T23:51:50.284+01:002019-08-16T23:51:50.284+01:00I'd been wondering about the Loch Watten monst...I'd been wondering about the Loch Watten monster, as I had a copy of "The Monster Trap." as a child. However, since then I've married, and my wife grew up in Watten. Peter Haining's description of the place is rubbish. There are no mountains, for a part of the Scottish highlands, Caithness is famously flat. As you say, the Loch is only about 12 feet deep. There isn't room for a monster. There is no house or estate near to the loch that fits the books description. Further, Watten is a small rural community. If a Colonel had died in such circumstances, they would still be talking about it. As a child, my wife swam in the Loch. She was never eaten, neither were any of the fly fishermen, or any dogs. If there was talk of a monster, the Loch would be a place to avoid, not let young children swim in! The locals have never heard of it. In short, Haining made it up.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16147085171607422534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-41708833341447325892017-02-04T02:01:42.391+00:002017-02-04T02:01:42.391+00:00Thank you so much, Tara, for your lovely comments,...Thank you so much, Tara, for your lovely comments, and I'm delighted that you enjoyed my two new books so much, and hope that you will do the same with any additional ones that you may obtain. Re the Nessie photo: I'm afraid that I can't actually see the features that you mention, but it is one of those ambiguous photos in which not everyone sees the same thing. There is another, much more famous Nessie photo in which a fair few people vehemently affirm that it is a dog swimming towards the camera, but try as I might, I can't discern this when looking at it. Clearly a case of Nessie, or rather a dog, being in the eye of the beholder?! lol. All the best, and thanks again for your very kind comments, which I greatly appreciate!Dr Karl Shukerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06222845702628862829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-3968337183492394352017-02-04T01:53:54.443+00:002017-02-04T01:53:54.443+00:00Thank you very much!!Thank you very much!!Dr Karl Shukerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06222845702628862829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-11600215669084937072017-02-03T02:41:53.022+00:002017-02-03T02:41:53.022+00:00Hi Dr.Shuker! At the risk of sounding terribly sta...Hi Dr.Shuker! At the risk of sounding terribly starstruck I will merely say that I just finished your two newest books. Not only are they a must have for Nessie and other cryptocritter fans, but as a former English teacher with a Master's degree in English Literature I am extremely impressed with your writing style and attention to detail. Needless to say I'll be purchasing all of your works!<br /><br />The only insight I can offer on this already insightful article is what I ascertain to be the head, right eye, and mouthful of teeth visible in the supposed Nessie photo you included at the bottom. Do you see it or am I "filling in the gaps" with my brain instead of my eyes? Thank you for allowing my ramblings as I've been too shy to comment for a long time! May you enjoy forever success and keep your mother alive in your beautiful tributes to her through your work!T. Stitlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12390912275707822461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-60649221106809576162012-08-24T01:35:41.563+01:002012-08-24T01:35:41.563+01:00Mr.Shuker u r very good man .Iam happy to knowing ...Mr.Shuker u r very good man .Iam happy to knowing u for your interesting sabjects and puctures .Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01316355203767609656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-28778921905115029722012-06-16T19:45:01.849+01:002012-06-16T19:45:01.849+01:00Hi SJ,
This is very interesting, and telling! It ...Hi SJ,<br /><br />This is very interesting, and telling! It shows ever more clearly that Haining was in the habit of using Macklin's writings as primary sources for his own - not only Wattie but also the Spanish green children, two cases that are conspicuous only by their absence in other non-fiction works. Thanks very much for bringing this new piece of the jigsaw to my attention.<br /><br />All the best, KarlDr Karl Shukerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06222845702628862829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-87182055221007819362012-06-16T19:42:44.093+01:002012-06-16T19:42:44.093+01:00Hi Roland,
Glad you enjoyed my article - it was a...Hi Roland,<br /><br />Glad you enjoyed my article - it was a prolonged but very interesting investigation for me, as I had been curious for such a long time about this case, and why it had never attracted any coverage in other cryptozoological publications. As you say, the death of the colonel and the very dramatic nature of the incident itself would have surely guaranteed its becoming a world-famous, extensively-documented case had it been genuine.<br /><br />All the best, KarlDr Karl Shukerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06222845702628862829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-19252806011223987902012-06-16T15:10:01.134+01:002012-06-16T15:10:01.134+01:00Wikipedia attributes the Spanish green children st...Wikipedia attributes the Spanish green children story to... a 1965 book 'Strange Destinies' by none other than John Macklin, recounting a supposed 1887 tale; and published 1 year before 'The Monster Trap'.SJnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3739684561063978507.post-65787208099391709962012-06-14T08:39:58.590+01:002012-06-14T08:39:58.590+01:00Thanks for that interesting article. When I was re...Thanks for that interesting article. When I was researching my book "The Water Horses of Loch Ness" I found pre-Nessie references to 50 lochs with monster traditions. Loch Watten was not one of them although nearby Loch Na Cloiche had one (it is about 20 miles west of Watten and is a virtual puddle).<br /><br />Sounds like he fabricated the story (or passed it on unwittingly). One would have expected the death of a colonel to not go unnoticed. <br /><br /><br />Regards,<br /><br />Roland WatsonGlasgow Boyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03597014995112568086noreply@blogger.com