Sea Serpent
The sea serpent is a fantastic creature mentioned many times in antiquity across various cultures.
The legends of seafarers tell of unfortunate sailors who are shipwrecked by these enormous monsters of extraordinary size. Sea serpents would leave their lairs at night to come ashore and devour rams and pigs.
The Legend of Captain Harrington (1857)
In command of the vessel Castilian, Captain Harrington witnessed a fantastic sighting some ten miles from Saint Helena. An animal of astonishing length—approximately sixty metres—had a barrel-shaped head crowned with a wrinkled crest and was swimming toward the coast.
Convinced that it was a serpent, he described its dark-coloured head and a body covered in white patches. The fabulous beast had passed within some eighteen metres of his vessel, which had allowed him to observe it very closely. Moreover, the officers who were with him were able to corroborate his account.