Mythical Beasts (2018–…): Season 1, Episode 2 - The Kraken Awakens - full transcript
New discoveries suggest that a sea beast like the Kraken could have existed, and experts examine a strange monster that could give shocking answers into this underwater mystery.
♪♪
Narrator: THE KRAKEN...
ONCE THE MOST FEARED
MYTHICAL MONSTER OF THE DEEP.
Regal: WAY BEFORE JAWS,
THE KRAKEN WAS THE SEA CREATURE
WHICH GAVE PEOPLE NIGHTMARES.
Narrator: FOR CENTURIES,
SAILORS LIVED IN TERROR OF IT.
I WOULD NOT WANT TO MEET
ONE OF THESE GUYS UNDERWATER.
FRIGHTENING.
Narrator: IT WAS THE
BIGGEST THING IN THE OCEAN,
THE SIZE OF AN ISLAND.
IT'S HUGE TENTACLES COULD
RIP BOATS TO PIECES IN MOMENTS.
YOU COULD BE OUT ON THE OCEAN ONE MOMENT,
AND THE NEXT, SUCKED
RIGHT DOWN INTO THE DEPTHS.
IT WOULD DEVOUR AN ENTIRE SHIP'S CREW.
YOU WOULD NOT SURVIVE AN
ENCOUNTER WITH A KRAKEN.
Narrator: IS THIS JUST A LEGEND,
OR COULD SOME KIND OF MONSTER
REALLY BE LURKING BENEATH THE SURFACE?
SEAFARERS HAD A REASON TO
BE SCARED OF THESE WATERS.
Narrator: NOW INVESTIGATORS USE
THE LATEST SCIENCE AND ARCHEOLOGY
TO DISCOVER THE REALITY BEHIND THE MYTH...
...EXPLORING THE HIDDEN DEPTHS
AND UNCOVERING FRESH EVIDENCE.
THIS IS NEW TO SCIENCE.
THIS IS NEW TO MANKIND.
Narrator: WE'LL REVEAL THE TRUTH
ABOUT THIS NIGHTMARE MONSTER OF THE DEEP.
BEHOLD, THE KRAKEN.
♪♪
Narrator: NORWAY...
LAND OF HIGH-SOARING MOUNTAINS
AND DEEP, DARK SEAS.
♪♪
THESE WATERS DIDN'T JUST
GIVE BIRTH TO THE KRAKEN MYTH,
BUT TO STORIES OF MANY OTHER
LEGENDARY MARINE MONSTERS.
THIS 16th-CENTURY MAP REVEALS
HOW MANY STRANGE SIGHTINGS
HAPPENED IN THESE NORDIC SEAS.
ANCIENT SEA BEASTS HERE CAME IN MANY FORMS.
ONE WAS THE SEA SERPENT.
200 FEET LONG,
IT COULD TOWER OVER
SHIPS WITH ITS SCALY BODY.
THE MYTHICAL PRESTERS WOULD
SPIT OUT HUGE TORRENTS OF WATER
TO SINK VESSELS, AND THE LEGENDARY ZIPHIUS
COULD CUT OPEN BOATS
WITH ITS SWORDLIKE FIN.
BUT THE MOST TERRIFYING
OF THEM ALL WAS THE KRAKEN.
IT WAS ARMED WITH FIERCE
TEETH AND TENTACLES
AND WAS COLOSSAL IN SIZE.
♪♪
IN THE OCEAN, YOU CAN BE INFINITELY BIG
BECAUSE THE OCEAN IS ACTUALLY
SUPPORTING YOUR WEIGHT,
SO ANIMALS COMING FROM THE
DARK, DEEP OCEAN HAD MASS,
AND THEREFORE, THEY HAD POWER.
HOW COULD YOU NOT FEAR SOMETHING LIKE THAT?
THAT'S THE KRAKEN.
Narrator: BIOLOGIST CHARLES PAXTON
IS ON THE HUNT TO DISCOVER
IF THERE WAS A REAL ANIMAL
BEHIND THE MYTH OF THE KRAKEN.
Paxton: THIS IS MORE THAN
JUST A MONSTER STORY.
FOR SOME PEOPLE, THE
KRAKEN IS VERY, VERY REAL.
♪♪
Narrator: HE BELIEVES THE ANSWER MAY LIE
IN THE RECORD OF A SIGHTING
HIDDEN DEEP IN THE ARCHIVES
OF THE NORWEGIAN UNIVERSITY
OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
IN TRONDHEIM.
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE 18th CENTURY,
WE START GETTING THE
FIRST EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS
OF GIANT KRAKEN-LIKE ANIMALS
BEING DESCRIBED IN THE
SCIENTIFIC TEXT OF THE DAY.
SO HERE WE HAVE A NATURALIST.
HE SPEAKS OF ANIMALS
WITH ARMS 54 FOOT IN LENGTH.
Narrator: IN THE REPORT, THE
CREW OF THE DANISH SCHOONER
HAS A TERRIFYING ENCOUNTER
WHILE STOPPING FOR REPAIRS.
[ BIRDS SQUAWKING ]
THREE MEN ARE BUSY SCRAPING BARNACLES
OFF THE SIDE OF THEIR SHIP
WHEN SUDDENLY, TWO OF THEM DISAPPEAR.
THEY'RE UNDER ATTACK FROM A SEA MONSTER.
TENTACLES AS THICK AS TREE TRUNKS
SHOOT FROM THE WATER
AND REACH FOR THE SHIP.
TERRIFIED THAT THIS BEAST WILL DRAG THEM
TO THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN,
THE CREW TAKES UP ARMS.
THEY ATTACK THE MONSTER
WITH THEIR CUTLASSES
AND SHEAR OFF ONE OF ITS TENTACLES.
WOUNDED, IT DISAPPEARS BACK
INTO THE DEEP WHERE IT CAME FROM.
THE FEAR OF THE KRAKEN BECAME SO BIG
THAT PEOPLE WANTED ANSWERS.
WHAT WAS IT, AND WHERE DID IT COME FROM?
REPORTS AMONGST US ARE STILL COMING IN,
BUT NOW, THEY'RE BEING CLASSIFIED
AND DISSECTED UNDER ZOOLOGY.
IN 1857, A NATURALIST, JAPETUS STEENSTRUP,
MADE A BOLD MOVE.
HE CLASSIFIED THE KRAKEN.
HE SAID IT WAS A GIANT SQUID,
WHICH HE GAVE THE BINOMIAL
NAME ARCHITEUTHIS DUX.
A KRAKEN HAD BEEN TURNED INTO AN ANIMAL.
Narrator: COULD THE GIANT SQUID REALLY BE
THE MAN-EATING CULPRIT?
IT'S A STRANGE CREATURE THAT'S RARELY SEEN.
WOULD ITS ALLUSIVE NATURE
EXPLAIN WHY THE KRAKEN
MYSTERY EXISTED FOR SO LONG?
FORTUNATELY, CHARLES HAS
GAINED EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
TO THE MASSIVE SPECIMEN THAT WASHED UP
ON THE NORWEGIAN COAST 60 YEARS AGO.
COULD THIS BE THE LEGENDARY MONSTER
BEHIND THE TERRIFYING ACCOUNTS?
♪♪
BEHOLD, THE KRAKEN.
♪♪
Paxton: SO THIS IS THE
SPECIMEN OF ARCHITEUTHIS,
THE GIANT SQUID, NAMED
BY STEENSTRUP IN 1857.
♪♪
HE THOUGHT IT COULD BE THE KRAKEN.
♪♪
Narrator: IT'S RARE TO FIND SUCH
A WELL-PRESERVED SPECIMEN.
SHARP COASTAL ROCKS AND SCAVENGING ANIMALS
MEAN FEW REMAIN INTACT.
LET ME SEE THE EYES.
ARE THEY... YEAH.
I'M FULFILLING ONE OF MY DREAMS HERE
TO ACTUALLY SEE A LARGE
SPECIMEN OF GIANT SQUID,
EVEN THOUGH IT'S PRESERVED.
I MEAN, ESPECIALLY LIKE
THIS, IT IS ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE.
TO THINK THAT AN ANIMAL
LIKE THIS IS ACTUALLY LIVING
IN THE SEA, VERY RARELY
SEEN AT THE SURFACE.
WE DON'T KNOW HOW LONG IT LIVES FOR.
WE DON'T KNOW HOW BIG IT GETS.
IT HAS EIGHT ARMS, TWO TENTACLES.
THIS WOULD BE A PRIME
SUSPECT FOR THE KRAKEN.
♪♪
Narrator: THE GIANT SQUID
HAS ENORMOUS ARMS,
EXACTLY AS DESCRIBED
IN SOME KRAKEN SIGHTINGS,
BUT ARE THEY STRONG ENOUGH TO
PULL A BOAT DOWN INTO THE DEPTHS
SO IT CAN DEVOUR ITS CREW?
COMPARATIVE ANATOMIST
JOY REIDENBERG INVESTIGATES.
Reidenberg: LET'S TAKE A CLOSER LOOK
AT THE BODY SHAPE OF A SQUID.
WHAT I HAVE HERE ARE TWO SMALLER SQUID,
BUT THEY ARE ESSENTIALLY
THE SAME BODY SHAPE.
TRAILING BEHIND IT HERE ARE THE ARMS.
THESE ARE THE ARMS OVER HERE,
AND THESE TWO VERY, VERY LONG ONES,
THESE ARE THE TENTACLES.
THE TENTACLES COME
ROCKETING OUT FROM THIS ANIMAL,
GRAB ITS PREY AND PULL IT BACK,
AND PULLS IT INTO THE MOUTH.
THE SQUID HAS A FEARSOME MOUTH.
IT HAS A BEAK IN IT THAT LOOKS
KIND OF LIKE A PARROT BEAK.
I WOULD NOT WANT TO MEET
ONE OF THESE GUYS UNDERWATER.
FRIGHTENING.
Narrator: GIANT SQUID ARE
CLEARLY FEROCIOUS HUNTERS,
BUT COULD THEY EVER TAKE ON A SHIP AND WIN?
THE IMAGES YOU OFTEN HEAR SAILORS
TALK ABOUT OF THE KRAKEN,
IT'S WRAPPED ITS ARMS
AROUND THE MAST OF A SQUARING WOODEN SHIP.
THAT JUST COULDN'T
HAPPEN WITH A GIANT SQUID.
THAT WOULD REQUIRE REALLY, REALLY BIG ARMS.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE ARMS
OF A SQUID, A GIANT SQUID,
THEY'RE BIG, BUT THEY AREN'T THAT BIG.
♪♪
Paxton: THE GIANT SQUID IS MONSTER.
I THINK IT EXPLAINS SOME OF THE STORIES,
BUT NOT ALL OF THEM.
Narrator: SO IF THE KRAKEN
CAN'T BE FULLY EXPLAINED
BY A GIANT SQUID,
WHAT ELSE COULD HAVE INSPIRED
THE TALES OF THIS MONSTER?
Regal: WE REALLY DON'T KNOW
THE COMPLETE BIOLOGICAL
DIVERSITY OF THE SEA.
THERE ARE CREATURES OUT THERE STILL
THAT INHABIT THE DARKEST,
DEEPEST PARTS OF THE OCEAN,
AND EVERY ONCE IN A
WHILE, ONE WILL SHOW UP,
AND IT JUST FREAKS PEOPLE OUT.
Schwab: EVERY FISHERMAN
WOULD HAVE HAD A DIFFERENT TAKE
ON WHAT THIS THING COULD BE.
SOME MIGHT SAY IT WAS
LIKE A CRAB WITH CLAWS,
SOME MIGHT SAY MORE LIKE AN OCTOPUS.
ITS FORM KEPT CHANGING,
DEPENDING ON WHO YOU ASKED.
♪♪
Narrator: CHARLES'
INVESTIGATION INTO THE IDENTITY
OF THE REAL KRAKEN REMAINS WIDE OPEN.
THERE ARE MANY POTENTIAL
SUSPECTS TO INVESTIGATE.
WILL TRACKING DOWN THE
FIRST-EVER KRAKEN STORY
REVEAL THE ANSWER?
WHAT WAS IT THAT WAS REALLY
MAKING THESE NORDIC WATERS
SO TERRIFYING AND DANGEROUS?
AROUND 50% OF ALL WOODEN SHIPS EVER BUILT
ENDED UP AS SHIPWRECKS. -WOW.
[ ROAR, THUNDER RUMBLING ]
[ ROAR, THUNDER RUMBLING ]
♪♪
Narrator: BIOLOGIST CHARLES PAXTON
REOPENS THE INVESTIGATION INTO THE KRAKEN.
THIS MYTHICAL SEA MONSTER STRUCK FEAR
INTO THE HEARTS OF SAILORS FOR CENTURIES.
THE GIANT SQUID IS NO
LONGER THE PRIME SUSPECT,
SO WHAT INSPIRED THESE TALES?
TO FIND OUT, CHARLES TRACKS THE MYTH BACK
TO ITS ANCIENT ROOTS IN SCANDINAVIA.
Paxton: IT'S IN THESE WATERS
THE LEGEND BECAME FAMOUS,
AND I WANT TO EXPLORE THE ORIGINS
AND TRUTH BEHIND THE MYTH.
Narrator: WHAT WAS SO
SPECIAL ABOUT THESE SEAS
THAT THEY WERE CONSIDERED
THE KRAKEN'S LAIR?
CHARLES BELIEVES THE FIRST
DESCRIPTION OF THE BEAST
COMES FROM THE ANCIENT PEOPLE
WHO MADE THIS AREA THEIR HOME...
THE NORSE.
Paxton: THE IS THE ARROW-ODD SAGA,
A NORSE TALE OF REVENGE
FROM THE 13th CENTURY,
AND IT CONTAINS OUR EARLIEST
SCANDINAVIAN REFERENCE
TO THE MONSTER THAT
WOULD BECOME THE KRAKEN.
Narrator: THE STORY TELLS HOW A
VIKING HERO CALLED ARROW-ODD
HAS MAGICAL ARROWS
THAT MAKE HIM INVINCIBLE.
HE SAILS THE NORTHERN
SEAS, LOOKING FOR GLORY.
ONE DAY, HE PASSES
BETWEEN TWO ROCKY ISLANDS.
SUDDENLY, HE HEARS A DEEP RUMBLING ROAR.
THESE ARE NO ORDINARY ISLANDS.
THEY'RE THE JAWS OF THE KRAKEN.
AN ANCIENT SORCERER HAS SENT
THE BIGGEST BEAST OF THE SEA
TO KILL HIM,
AND EVEN HIS MAGICAL ARROWS
ARE POWERLESS AGAINST IT,
BUT ODD NARROWLY ESCAPES. [ ROARS ]
THIS ACCOUNT SUGGESTS THE
KRAKEN IS NOT A GIANT SQUID
BUT A VERY DIFFERENT PHENOMENON.
SO WHAT COULD REALLY BE
LURKING UNDERNEATH THE WATER
TO EXPLAIN SUCH A TALE?
MARINE ARCHAEOLOGIST PROFESSOR
OYVIND ODEGARD IS GOING TO USE
A SMALL, HULL-MOUNTED
SONAR SYSTEM TO FIND OUT.
♪♪
Odegard: THE SEABED IS USUALLY
INACCESSIBLE FOR US HUMANS,
SO AS A RESULT, 99% OF THE SEABED
IS STILL UNEXPLORED.
WE KNOW LESS ABOUT IT THAN,
FOR INSTANCE, MARS OR THE MOON.
WE NEED TO SCAN THE SEABED
USING ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY.
Narrator: THE SONAR SYSTEM WILL SHOW
A DEPTH MAP OF THE KRAKEN'S LAIR
AND COULD FINALLY PROVIDE SOME ANSWERS.
Paxton: THE SAGA SAID THESE
WATERS WERE DANGEROUS.
I WANT TO FIND OUT WHAT
THOSE DANGERS ACTUALLY WERE.
♪♪
Narrator: THE SONAR SYSTEM SENDS
A SONIC PULSE INTO THE DEPTHS
THAT BOUNCES BACK.
THIS IS THEN READ BY THE SCANNER.
THANK YOU.
WHAT WE CAN SEE HERE IS THE SOUNDINGS.
IT'S A LIVE VIEW.
AS YOU CAN SEE, IT
CHANGES AS THE BOAT MOVES,
SO YOU CAN SEE THE
DEPTHS OF THE DEEPER AREAS,
ABOUT 100 METERS,
AND IT GOES ALL THE WAY UP
TO 8 METERS IN THE SAME SCAN.
Paxton: WOW.
Narrator: THE SCAN DATA REVEALS
THAT THERE ARE DANGEROUS SHALLOWS HERE.
THE SEABED DRAMATICALLY CHANGES DEPTH
OVER A VERY SHORT DISTANCE.
THE EXTREME, SOARING,
NORWEGIAN PEAKS AND TROUGHS
ABOVE THE WATERLINE CONTINUE FAR DOWN
INTO THE WATERS, MAKING THEM A DEATHTRAP.
COULD THIS BE BEHIND THE KRAKEN MYTH?
SO A LITTLE FISHING VESSEL WITH A SAIL
COULD VERY RAPIDLY MOVE
BETWEEN DEEP WATER AND SHALLOW WATER?
YEAH, YEAH. ABSOLUTELY.
AT LOW TIDE AND AT A BOTTOM OF A WAVE,
YOU COULD PROBABLY HIT THE SEABED
IF YOU WERE EXACTLY WHERE WE ARE NOW,
SO IT COULD BE POTENTIALLY FATAL.
Narrator: THIS DANGEROUS MARINE LANDSCAPE
WAS CREATED DURING THE ICE AGE.
ONE MILLION YEARS AGO, A VAST
ICE SHEET COVERED NORWAY.
HUGE GLACIERS BULLDOZED
THROUGH THE LANDSCAPE,
PUSHING GIGANTIC PILES OF
ROCKS TOWARDS THE COAST
AND DROPPING THEM INTO THE OCEAN.
WHEN THE GLACIERS RETREATED,
THEY LEFT BEHIND AN UNPREDICTABLE
AND DANGEROUS SEABED ALL ALONG THE COAST.
AROUND 50% OF ALL WOODEN SHIPS EVER BUILT
ENDED UP AS SHIPWRECKS.
WOW. THAT'S AN INCREDIBLY HIGH FIGURE.
Paxton: I'VE SEEN THIS COASTLINE
CAN BE A DANGEROUS PLACE,
A PLACE OF SHIFTING DEPTHS
AND OF JAGGED ROCKED.
SEAFARERS HAD A REASON TO
BE SCARED OF THESE WATERS.
Narrator: WITHOUT MODERN TECHNOLOGY,
THE NORSE COULDN'T SEE THE SUBMERGED ROCKS
THAT WERE SINKING THEIR SHIPS,
SO FEAR OF AN ISLAND-SHAPED
KRAKEN TOOK HOLD.
SOME BELIEVE AN ANCIENT
TEXT PUBLISHED AROUND 1250
COULD BE INTERPRETED AS A WARNING
ABOUT THE DEADLY KRAKEN.
♪♪
WRITTEN BY A MEMBER OF THE KING'S COURT,
THE "KING'S MIRROR"
IS A HANDBOOK FOR THE RULERS OF NORWAY.
IT COVERS POLITICS AND STATESMANSHIP,
BUT ALSO THE DANGERS OF THE NORTHERN SEAS.
THE MOST FEARSOME PERIL IS THE KRAKEN,
A BEAST THE SIZE OF AN ISLAND.
IT CLAIMS ONLY TWO EXIST IN THE WORLD
BECAUSE THE SEAS DON'T HOLD
ENOUGH FISH TO FEED ANY MORE.
WHEN THE KRAKEN IS HUNGRY,
IT OPENS ITS GIGANTIC MOUTH,
TRAPPING VAST SCHOOLS OF FISH INSIDE.
AND WHEN THE MONSTER HAS HAD ITS FILL,
IT DISAPPEARS INTO THE DEPTHS.
BUT THE "KING'S MIRROR" ONLY
MAKES THE KRAKEN MYSTERY DEEPEN,
BECAUSE THIS DESCRIPTION
IS NOTHING LIKE THE BEAST
THAT PULLED DOWN THE DANISH SHIP.
WHY ARE ACCOUNTS SO VARIED?
DIFFERENT WITNESSES SEE DIFFERENT THINGS.
Narrator: WHAT MAKES THE
MYTH EVEN MORE PUZZLING
ARE THE REPORTS THAT SOME
SAILORS WOULD DELIBERATELY
SEARCH OUT THE TERRIFYING
MAN-EATING KRAKEN.
WHAT DID THEY WANT SO BADLY FROM THE BEAST
THAT THEY WOULD RISK THEIR LIVES?
THIS WILL BE A VERY STRESSFUL
AND SCARY EXPERIENCE.
[ ROAR, THUNDER RUMBLING ]
[ ROAR, THUNDER RUMBLING ]
♪♪
Narrator: BIOLOGIST CHARLES PAXTON
HUNTS FOR THE TRUTH BEHIND
THE MYTH OF THE MIGHTY KRAKEN,
A HUGE SEA MONSTER THAT
TERRIFIED SAILORS FOR CENTURIES.
♪♪
BUT DESCRIPTIONS OF
THE BEAST ARE SO VARIED,
THE MYSTERY OF WHAT
REALLY INSPIRED THE LEGEND
REMAINS UNSOLVED.
Paxton: DOES IT MEAN THAT PEOPLE
ARE SEEING DIFFERENT THINGS,
OR ARE THEY SEEING THE SAME THINGS,
AND THEY'RE JUST DESCRIBING
IT IN DIFFERENT WAYS,
PERHAPS INFLUENCED BY THEIR PRIOR BELIEFS?
Narrator: MUDDYING THE WATERS YET FURTHER,
CHARLES UNCOVERS ANOTHER
ACCOUNT THAT INTRODUCES
A BIZARRE NEW KRAKEN CHARACTERISTIC,
ONE THAT IS EVEN MORE DIFFICULT TO EXPLAIN.
[ ROARS ]
♪♪
Paxton: ERIK PONTOPPIDAN
WAS A DANISH BISHOP AT BERGEN
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE 18th CENTURY,
AND HE WAS ALSO A NATURALIST.
HIS "NATURAL HISTORY OF NORWAY"
WAS WRITTEN IN 1752, AND IN IT,
HE HAS ONE OF THE EARLIEST
COMPREHENSIVE ACCOUNTS
OF THE ANIMAL WE KNOW TODAY AS THE KRAKEN.
Narrator: PONTOPPIDAN'S SOURCES
WERE NORWEGIAN FISHERMAN
WHO PASSED KRAKEN TALES
FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION.
HE TELLS HOW SOME ANCIENT MARINERS
ACTIVELY SEEK THE KRAKEN
OUT TO CATCH MORE FISH.
FISH ARE ATTRACTED TO THE BEAST
BECAUSE OF THE PUNGENT WASTE IT SPEWS OUT.
♪♪
THE FIND IT SO IRRESISTIBLE THAT
HUGE SCHOOLS GATHER TO FEED,
BUT WHEN THE BEAST HAS EATEN ENOUGH,
IT DIVES DOWN INTO THE DEPTHS.
AS IT IS SO BIG, IT DISPLACES
HUGE AMOUNTS OF WATER,
CREATING SUCTION SO POWERFUL,
IT CAN PULL WHOLE VESSELS
DOWN TO A WATERY GRAVE.
Paxton: SO FISHERMAN
SEEKING AN ABUNDANCE OF FISH
MAY ACTUALLY LOOK FOR
AND PURSUE THE KRAKEN.
THE KRAKEN ISN'T SOLELY
AN ANIMAL OF TERROR.
IT IS ACTUALLY SOMETHING
THAT COULD BE POTENTIALLY USED
AS A TOOL IN ORDER TO FIND FISH.
Narrator: BUT WHAT WAS REALLY
GOING ON IN THESE WATERS?
WHAT WAS THIS HUGE KRAKEN
BELCH THAT PEOPLE WERE SEEING?
♪♪
CHARLES INVESTIGATES.
HELPING HIM IS HISTORIAN STURLA LETH-OLSEN.
HE'S AN EXPERT IN THE TECHNIQUES
USED BY EARLY NORDIC MARINERS.
♪♪
THEY WILL USE A BOAT SIMILAR IN DESIGN
TO THE ONES USED IN KRAKEN TIMES.
♪♪
STURLA HOPES TAKING CHARLES FISHING LIKE
THE EARLY NORDIC SAILORS DID
WILL ENABLE THEM TO SEARCH
FOR THIS MYTHICAL MONSTER
THROUGH THEIR EYES.
Paxton: COAST IS SLOWLY
DISAPPEARING INTO THE DISTANCE.
THAT FILLS ME WITH SOME ANXIETY.
♪♪
IF I WAS ACTIVELY TRYING TO CAST A NET OUT,
BRING A NET IN,
ESPECIALLY A HEAVY NET LADEN WITH FISH,
THIS WOULD BE A VERY
STRESSFUL AND SCARY EXPERIENCE.
Narrator: TO FIND THE FISH,
SAILORS FIRST HAD TO FIND THE KRAKEN.
THEY DID THIS BY SAILING INTO DEEP WATERS,
BUT LOOKING FOR AN AREA
OF SHALLOWS WITHIN IT.
[ GROWLS ]
WHEN THE DEPTHS GOT VERY, VERY SHALLOW,
THEN YOU KNEW THAT THE KRAKEN
WAS ARISING FROM THE DEPTHS.
♪♪
HOW WOULD TRADITIONAL FISHERMAN
HAVE GAUGED DEPTH, STURLA?
Narrator: CHARLES DROPS THE
LINE WITH A BELL-SHAPED LUMP
CALLED A SOUNDING WEIGHT.
OKAY, SO I'LL TEST THE DEPTH HERE.
THERE WE GO.
♪♪
OKAY, THAT'S IT. THAT'S IT.
- [ SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY ]
YEAH, WE'VE HIT IT. WE'VE HIT IT, YEAH.
Narrator: NORDIC SAILORS
WOULD HAVE IDENTIFIED THIS
AS KRAKEN TERRITORY.
LARGE NUMBERS OF FISH NATURALLY CONGREGATE
IN SHALLOW WATERS IN THE MORNING
AND EVENING TO HUNT FOR PREY.
♪♪
BUT WOULD COULD EXPLAIN
THE MONSTER'S FOUL BELCH
AND THE CLOUD OF SEMI-DIGESTED FOOD
THAT WAS SAID TO ATTRACT EVEN MORE FISH?
TO START, THE FISHY BELCH OF THE KRAKEN,
DOES THAT REMIND YOU OF
ANYTHING YOU SEE AT SEA TODAY?
Narrator: PHYTOPLANKTON ARE
MICROSCOPIC PLANT-LIKE ORGANISMS
THAT FLOURISH IN THE SUNLIGHT
OF THE SUMMER MONTHS.
TINY SHRIMP-LIKE CREATURES
FEED ON THE PLANKTON.
SMALL FISH THEN FEED ON
THE SHRIMP-LIKE CREATURES,
AND BIGGER FISH ON THE SMALL ONES.
PLANKTON BLOOM CAN FORM
HUGE PATCHES IN THE OCEAN
AND ATTRACT AN INCREDIBLE
AMOUNT OF SEA LIFE.
SATELLITE IMAGES SHOW
JUST HOW IMPRESSIVE THIS PHENOMENON CAN BE,
BUT NORDIC SAILORS MAY HAVE INTERPRETED IT
AS EVIDENCE THAT THE GIANT KRAKEN
REALLY WAS IN THESE WATERS.
THE BEAST COULD EASILY KILL THEM,
BUT IT WAS ALSO THE
KEY TO THEIR LIVELIHOOD.
Hersch: ANCIENT PEOPLE HAD
A FRAUGHT RELATIONSHIP WITH THE SEA.
ON THE ONE HAND, IT PROVIDED LIVELIHOOD,
USED THE SEA TO TRADE, TO
GO TO WAR, TO GET MORE GOODS.
YOU GOT FOOD FROM THE SEA.
ON THE OTHER HAND, YOU COULD
DIE DOING THOSE VERY THINGS.
EVEN TODAY, THE FISHING INDUSTRY
IS ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS
INDUSTRIES IN THE WORLD.
IN THE DAYS WHEN YOU WERE
IN LITTLE BOATS LIKE THIS ONE,
IT WOULD BE VERY, VERY DANGEROUS, INDEED,
SO HAVING EXPERIENCED THIS,
I CAN WELL UNDERSTAND WHY
THERE WERE SO MANY ACCIDENTS
AND WHY THERE WERE SO MANY TRAGEDIES
AND WHY YOU NEEDED A
FOLKLORE TO TRY AND EXPLAIN THAT.
Narrator: BUT IF ROCKS AND
PLANKTON WERE REALLY TO BLAME,
WHY DID SIGHTINGS BECOME FAR MORE DETAILED
AND EVEN MORE CONFLICTING?
AND IF THE KRAKEN WAS BELIEVED
TO LIVE IN THE NORDIC WATERS,
WHY DID SIGHTINGS INCREASE
WHEN SHIPS TRAVELED
FAR BEYOND ITS TERRITORY?
WHEN YOU'RE OUT AT SEA,
THERE'S A LOT OF STRESSORS TO YOUR BRAIN.
[ ROAR, THUNDER RUMBLING ]
[ ROAR, THUNDER RUMBLING ]
♪♪
Narrator: BIOLOGIST CHARLES PAXTON
INVESTIGATES THE TRUTH
BEHIND THE MYTH OF THE KRAKEN.
HE'S UNCOVERED DOZENS OF
ACCOUNTS OF KRAKEN SIGHTINGS
AND HOW IT TERRORIZED
THESE WATERS FOR CENTURIES.
[ ROARS ]
Paxton: REPORTS ARE NOT ALWAYS CONSISTENT.
THE KRAKEN WOULDN'T ALWAYS
BE DESCRIBED IN THE SAME WAY,
BUT IT'D ALWAYS REPRESENT THE SAME THREAT.
[ ROARS ]
Narrator: CHARLES FINDS THAT
NO ONE NATURAL PHENOMENON
CAN EXPLAIN THE MANY CONFLICTING REPORTS.
AND THIS CASE BECOMES EVEN MORE INTRIGUING
AS MORE RECENT KRAKEN
ACCOUNTS COME TO LIGHT.
♪♪
Paxton: THESE NEW PRECISE
REPORTS ARE NOT JUST COMING
FROM THE NORWEGIAN COAST,
BUT FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD.
HERE, WE HAVE AN ACCOUNT RECORDED
BY THE APOSTLE OF
GREENLAND, HANS EGEDE, IN 1734.
THERE ARE NO LONGER VAGUE HEARSAYS
BUT PRECISE EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY.
Narrator: JULY 6, 1734.
A NORWEGIAN EXPLORER AND HIS CREW
ARE SAILING OFF THE WEST COAST OF GREENLAND
WHEN SUDDENLY, A TERRIBLE
CREATURE RISES FROM THE SEA.
IT SHOOTS OUT OF THE OCEAN 50 FEET HIGH
TO THE TOP OF THE SHIP'S MAST.
HERE, IT SPITS OUT TORRENTS OF WATER
BEFORE PLUNGING BACK
INTO THE WATERY DEPTHS.
AS THE TERRIFIED SAILORS CHECK
TO SEE IF THE COAST IS CLEAR,
THEY SPOT A GIANT SHAPE STILL
STICKING OUT OF THE WATER.
Li: THE INTERESTING THING ABOUT THE KRAKEN
IS THAT, AT A CERTAIN POINT,
ROUGHLY AROUND THE 18th CENTURY,
PEOPLE THAT WERE SAILING AROUND
STARTED TO MAKE NOTES IN THEIR LOGS,
SAYING THAT, "I SAW A
KRAKEN ON THIS SPECIFIC DATE,
AND IT LOOKED LIKE THIS."
Narrator: AS MARITIME TECHNOLOGY IMPROVED,
VAST UNEXPLORED AREAS OF THE OCEAN
COULD BE NAVIGATED FOR THE FIRST TIME.
-HELLO. NICE TO MEET YOU. -Madsen: WELCOME.
SO THIS IS THE SHIP I WANT TO SHOW YOU.
OKAY, GREAT.
Narrator: CRAFTSMAN GEIR
MADSEN IS RESTORING A LARGE SHIP,
SIMILAR TO THE ONES
USED BY NORDIC FISHERMEN
IN THE 19th CENTURY.
♪♪
Paxton: SO A VESSEL LIKE THIS
COULD RANGE A LOT FURTHER
THAN PREVIOUS VESSELS I'VE SEEN.
Narrator: WHAT SAILORS ON
LONG VOYAGES SOON REPORTED
WAS THAT THE KRAKEN
WASN'T A NORDIC BEAST AT ALL.
IT SEEMED TO BE A TERRIFYING
WORLDWIDE PHENOMENON.
♪♪
ONE CAPTAIN TELLS OF SEEING A CREATURE
THREE TIMES BIGGER THAN A
WHALE OFF THE COAST OF IRELAND.
IT HAS SCALY SKIN, JUST LIKE AN ALLIGATOR.
ANOTHER SPOTS A 200-FOOT-LONG FISH
ON THE JOURNEY TO NEW YORK.
IT'S COVERED IN A SHELL
AND HAS SEVERAL BIRDS RESTING ON ITS BACK.
AND ONE COMES ACROSS A
GIGANTIC BEAST IN THE INDIAN OCEAN
WITH FLAPS RESEMBLING WINGS,
AND ITS SKIN IS SPOTTED
WITH SOMETHING LIKE EYES,
BUT WHY WOULD REPORTS OF THE KRAKEN
BECOME SO DIVERSE AND CONFLICTING?
THE SEA CAN PLAY TRICKS
WITH OUR PERCEPTION.
WHAT WE SEE ISN'T A DIRECT
REFLECTION OF REALITY.
IT'S IMPACTED BY LIGHT,
BY DISTANCE, BY BALANCE,
SO ON THE SEE, ALL OF THESE
ELEMENTS COME TOGETHER
AND CAN RESULT IN SOME
PRETTY DISTORTED PERCEPTIONS.
Narrator: NEUROLOGIST PROFESSOR ALEX OLSEN
BELIEVES THAT THE LONGER
PERIODS SPENT AT SEA
COULD ALSO HAVE PLAYED A ROLE.
HE'S CONVINCED THEY RESULTED
IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS
THAT DIRECTLY AFFECTED
WHAT SAILORS WERE SEEING.
Olsen: WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW
IS THAT WHAT WE PERCEIVE,
WHAT WE ARE EXPERIENCING IN THIS WORLD,
IS NOT A PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGE OF
WHAT IS COMING THROUGH OUR EYES.
IT'S INTERPRETED BY THE BRAIN,
AND THAT INTERPRETATION IS BASED
ON YOUR PRIOR KNOWLEDGE, YOUR MEMORY.
IT'S BASED ON THE CULTURE
THAT YOU'RE BROUGHT UP IN.
WHAT KIND OF STORIES HAVE YOU HEARD BEFORE?
SO A COLD, STRESSED,
TIRED NORWEGIAN FISHERMAN
BROUGHT UP WITH FOLKTALES
ABOUT SEA MONSTERS
COULD ACTUALCEIVE AND REPORT SEA MONSTERS?
YES. WHEN YOU'RE OUT AT
SEA FOR WEEKS, EVEN MONTH,
THEN THERE'S A LOT OF
STRESSORS TO YOUR BRAIN.
YOU HAVE HYPOTHERMIA. YOU
HAVE THE VITAMIN DEFICIENCY.
YOU HAVE SLEEP DEPRIVATION.
ALL OF THESE MIGHT CAUSE
CHANGES IN OUR PERCEPTION.
- SO YOU CAN MISPERCEIVE THINGS?
- YEAH, BASICALLY.
Narrator: THE EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT
THE KRAKEN CAN NEVER BE EXPLAINED
BY PHYSICAL PHENOMENA ALONE
BECAUSE THE HUMAN MIND
PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN ITS BIRTH.
IT WOULD NOT BE UNREASONABLE TO THINK THAT
IN A KIND OF AGITATED MENTAL STATE
FROM JUST THE RIGORS OF SAILING,
WOULD CAUSE SAILORS TO SEE THINGS
AND SEE THEM DIFFERENTLY FROM
WHAT THEY'RE ACTUALLY SEEING.
♪♪
Narrator: BUT IF REPORTS OF THE KRAKEN
BECAME INCREASINGLY CONTRADICTORY,
WHY DIDN'T THE BELIEF IN
THIS BEAST SIMPLY DIE OFF?
COULD THE ANSWER LIE IN
AN ANCIENT SUPERSTITION
THAT SOME CREATURES CAN
PHYSICALLY CHANGE FORM?
AND WAS A SCOTTISH WATER MONSTER
THE ORIGIN OF THIS BIZARRE BELIEF?
THE CREATURE WILL ALWAYS
CHANGE TO SUIT THE SITUATION
AND ITS PREY.
[ GROWLS ]
[ ROAR, THUNDER RUMBLING ]
[ ROAR, THUNDER RUMBLING ]
♪♪
Narrator: CHARLES PAXTON
INVESTIGATES THE TRUTH
BEHIND THE MYTHICAL SEA MONSTER THE KRAKEN,
BUT THE MANY EYEWITNESS
ACCOUNTS HE'S UNEARTHED
ARE RIDDLED WITH CONTRADICTIONS.
DID SAILORS BELIEVE THIS
BEAST COULD CHANGE FORM?
AND WHERE DID SUCH AN IDEA FIRST COME FROM?
ARE THERE ANY OTHER WATER
MONSTERS THAT CAN HELP US
UNDERSTAND THE CHANGING
NATURE OF THE KRAKEN?
♪♪
Narrator: CHARLES WORKS WITH
SCOTTISH FOLKLORE EXPERT TONY BONNING.
FOR DECADES, HE'S
INVESTIGATED THE ANCIENT ORIGINS
OF LEGENDARY SHAPE-SHIFTING MONSTERS.
SCOTLAND HAS A LONG HISTORY
OF MYTHICAL WATER CREATURES.
THE MOST FAMOUS OF THEM, OF COURSE,
IS THE LOCH NESS MONSTER.
Narrator: GRAINY
BLACK-AND-WHITE PHOTOGRAPHS
HAVE MADE THIS CREATURE WORLD-FAMOUS.
THE GLOBAL PHENOMENON
THAT IS THE LOCH NESS MONSTER
STARTED IN 1933, BUT THERE'S EVIDENCE HERE
TO SHOW THE STORIES GO
BACK MORE THEN 1,000 YEARS.
Narrator: CAN TRACING THE ORIGINS
OF THE LOCH NESS MONSTER
LEAD TO THE MYTHICAL SHAPE-SHIFTING BEASTS
THAT WERE THOUGHT TO
INHABIT SCOTTISH LOCHS?
AND WHAT WOULD THEY REVEAL ABOUT WHY PEOPLE
THOUGHT THE KRAKEN COULD CHANGE FORM?
THE ANCIENT PEOPLE OF SCOTLAND BELIEVE
THAT CREATURES CALLED
KELPIES LIVED IN THESE PARTS.
THESE BEASTS TRANSFORM TO
BECOME ANYTHING THEY WANT.
WHEN THEY TAKE THE
SHAPE OF BEAUTIFUL HORSES,
THEY WEAR SILVER BRIDLES
AND ENTICE SMALL CHILDREN
INTO THE WATERY DEPTHS.
AS SOON AS THE UNSUSPECTING
VICTIMS TOUCH THEM...
[ SCREECHES ]
...THE KELPIE HAS THEM TRAPPED.
THEY DRAG THEIR PREY UNDERWATER,
WHERE THEY DEVOUR THEM.
THEN THE KELPIE HIDES AGAIN
IN THE DARKNESS OF THE LOCH
UNTIL IT'S TIME FOR THEIR NEXT VICTIM.
♪♪
WHAT COULD MAKE PEOPLE HERE
BELIEVE SUCH A BIZARRE SHAPE-SHIFTING TALE?
IN THE SMALL VILLAGE OF ABERLEMNO,
TONY TRACKS DOWN ONE
OF THE OLDEST DEPICTIONS
OF THE KELPIE MYTH...
A STANDING STONE MORE THAN 1,000 YEARS OLD.
THIS IS MORE THAN JUST A
PIECE OF ROCK. IT'S A BOOK.
IT'S A STORY FOR PEOPLE
WHO COULDN'T READ NOR WRITE.
IT TELLS THEIR HISTORY,
THE GREAT BATTLE OF DUN
NECHTAIN ON THE BACK THERE.
YOU'VE GOT RELIGION.
YOU'VE GOT THEIR ART,
ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE CELTIC DESIGNS
THAT YOU'VE GOT AROUND HERE.
Narrator: JUST AS THE BIBLE PROMOTED BELIEF
IN FANTASTICAL CREATURES,
FROM ANGELS TO DEVILS,
STONES LIKE THIS PRESENTED
DANGEROUS SHAPE-SHIFTING BEASTS,
LIKE KELPIES, AS TERRIFYING FACT.
Bonning: THIS IS EXACTLY
WHAT I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR.
YOU'VE GOT, FIRST OF
ALL, THE SERPENT'S TAIL,
THE FISH'S TAIL,
WINDING AROUND HERE, THE DORSAL FIN.
AND THEN WHAT HAVE YOU GOT?
HORSE'S HEAD, HORSE'S HOOVES.
THIS IS MORE THAN JUST A DESIGN HERE.
THESE WERE LIVING CREATURES
AS FAR AS THE PEOPLE OF
ANCIENT TIMES WERE CONCERNED.
♪♪
Narrator: BUT WHAT INSPIRED SUCH CARVINGS?
TONY HEADS 60 MILES WEST OF ABERLEMNO
TO A TYPICAL LOCH TO FIND ANSWERS.
Bonning: IT WAS SAID THAT EVERY
SINGLE RIVER, LOCHAN, LOCH
HAD ITS OWN PARTICULAR KELPIE.
THE KELPIE WAS A SHAPE-SHIFTER.
THE KELPIE WILL ALWAYS CHANGE
TO SUIT THE SITUATION AND ITS PREY.
Narrator: THOUSANDS OF YEARS
AGO, HOMES LIKE THIS ONE
WERE BUILT OUT OVER THE LOCH
FOR THE LEADERS OF THE VILLAGE.
Bonning: THIS BUILDING HERE TELLS ME
THAT THE PEOPLE OF THE
TIME VENERATED THE WATER,
BUT THE TALES OF THE KELPIE TELL ME, ALSO,
THAT THEY HAD SOMETHING TO FEAR.
[ GROWLS ]
Narrator: TONY BELIEVES THAT
THE MYTH OF THE KELPIE BEGAN
NOT TO WARN OF A DEADLY
CREATURE BENEATH THE SURFACE,
BUT TO WARN OF THE
DANGEROUS WATERS THEMSELVES.
♪♪
THE KELPIE WAS A CODED MESSAGE.
♪♪
Bonning: SCOTTISH WEATHER
IS INFAMOUSLY BAD AT TIMES,
I MEAN, HORRENDOUS.
WHAT KIND OF CLOTHING ARE YOU
WEARING BACK 2,500 YEARS AGO?
WOOL. DEFINITELY WOOL.
IN FACT, WHAT I'M JUST SITTING ON,
THIS WOOL AND CLOTH,
THAT WOULD BE, CERTAINLY,
SOMETHING WORN AT THE TIME.
ALL RIGHT. WELL, PEOPLE WERE WEARING THIS.
YOU WERE IN A ROCKY BOAT, BAD CONDITIONS.
NEXT THING, THE BOAT'S CAPSIZED,
AND THIS IS UNDERWATER,
AND YOU ARE WEARING IT.
DRAGGED DOWN BY THEIR VERY GARMENTS,
AND THEY'RE TRYING TO
PULL THAT OUT OF THE WATER,
AND THAT IS HEAVY.
Narrator: TONY BELIEVES
THAT THE KELPIE WAS CREATED
AS A WARNING TO ENSURE FEWER
PEOPLE LOST THEIR LIVES HERE.
♪♪
[ GROWLS ]
Bonning: IF YOU SAY TO A CHILD,
"DON'T GO NEAR THE WATER,"
THE FIRST THING THEY'LL
DO IS GO NEAR THE WATER.
IF YOU SAY TO A CHILD,
"YOU GO NEAR THAT WATER,
THERE'S SOMETHING IN
THERE CALLED THE KELPIE.
IT WILL DRAG YOU DOWN AND EAT YOU,"
YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GET IN THE WATER.
Narrator: BUT IF THE
KELPIE MYTH WAS CREATED
JUST TO WARN AGAINST DROWNING,
WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE
OF ITS ABILITY TO SHAPE-SHIFT?
TONY THINKS IT COULD COVER
FAR MORE EVENTUALITIES.
Bonning: THE KELPIE TALE'S
A VERY USEFUL MEANS
OF WARNING THE PEOPLE
AGAINST MANY DIFFERENT DANGERS
THAT ARE OUT THERE.
Narrator: OFF THE WEST COAST OF SCOTLAND,
VICIOUS KELPIES RESEMBLING
MERMAN ATTACK SAILORS
WHO STRAYED TOO FAR OFF COURSE.
ON LAND, A KELPIE DISGUISED
AS A WOMAN AMBUSHES MEN
FOOLISH ENOUGH TO WALK
THE HIGHLANDS AT NIGHT,
AND IN THE OUTER HEBRIDES,
A STORY OF A KELPIE
DISGUISED AS A HANDSOME MAN
IS TOLD TO GIRLS TO
KEEP THEM CLOSE TO HOME.
MYTHICAL STORIES,
ESPECIALLY OF SEA MONSTERS,
WERE USED AS A FORM OF SOCIAL CONTROL.
[ ROARS ]
ONE OF THE BEAUTIES OF MONSTER LEGENDS IS,
A LOT OF TIMES, THE DETAILS DON'T MATTER.
IT'S THE OVERALL IDEA, THE WARNING,
THE ETHICAL CHALLENGE TO
THE READER OR THE VIEWER.
Bonning: KELPIE UNIFIES
ALL THE DANGERS TO PEOPLE
IN ONE BEAST,
ONE TREMENDOUSLY DEMONIC,
HORRIBLE, NASTY BEAST.
YOU DON'T EVER WANT TO MEET ONE.
[ GROWLS ]
Narrator: THE KELPIE MYTH SERVED TO WARN
OF MANY DIFFERENT PERILS.
DID THE KRAKEN LEGEND
SERVE AS A SIMILAR PURPOSE?
AS SAILORS TRAVELED FURTHER,
THEY ENCOUNTERED MORE DANGERS,
FROM TYPHOONS TO WHIRLPOOLS
AND LARGE MAN-EATING SHARKS.
DID THE KRAKEN CHANGE
SHAPE TO FIT THE CULPRIT?
BUT THIS IS NOT THE END OF THE MYSTERY.
COULD A NEW MARINE
DISCOVERY SHED FRESH LIGHT
ON ANOTHER VERY DIFFERENT
REASON THE KRAKEN MYTH FIRST BEGAN
AND WHY IT ENDURED FOR SO LONG?
[ ROAR, THUNDER RUMBLING ]
[ ROAR, THUNDER RUMBLING ]
♪♪
Narrator: EXPERTS INVESTIGATE
THE TRUTH BEHIND THE MYTH
OF THE MIGHTY MARINE MONSTER THE KRAKEN.
♪♪
THIS WAS JUST ONE OF THE
MANY FANTASTICAL SEA BEASTS
THAT TERRORIZED SAILORS FOR CENTURIES.
MARINE BIOLOGIST GRO
VAN DER MEEREN REALIZES
HOW SCARY THESE WATERS
WERE FOR OUR ANCESTORS.
Van Der Meeren: THIS IS ONE OF
THE MOST MAGNIFICENT MAPS
OF THE SCANDINAVIAN COUNTRIES EVER MADE.
THIS IS THE CARTA MARINA.
WHAT'S REALLY MAGNIFICENT
IS ALL THESE SEA MONSTERS.
Narrator: BUT WHILE THE ORIGINS
OF MANY HAVE COME TO LIGHT,
THE INSPIRATION BEHIND
THE KRAKEN REMAINS ELUSIVE.
♪♪
THE DEADLY SEA SERPENT MAY HAVE BEEN BASED
ON THE RARE OARFISH... ♪♪
...A STRANGE CREATURE
WITH A STRIKING RED CREST
THAT GROWS NEARLY 30 FEET LONG.
♪♪
THE MYTHICAL PRESTERS
COULD SHOOT POWERFUL TORRENTS OF WATER.
WAS THIS BASED ON SPOUTING SPERM WHALES?
♪♪
AND THE LEGENDARY ZIPHIUS,
WITH ITS DEADLY SWORDLIKE FIN,
MAY HAVE BEEN INSPIRED BY THE ORCA
WITH ITS TRIANGULAR
DORSAL FIN UP TO 6 FEET TALL.
♪♪
BUT A NEW DISCOVERY COULD
POTENTIALLY THROW FRESH LIGHT
ON THE ORIGIN OF THE KRAKEN MYTH.
♪♪
Narrator: IN THE MURKY,
PLANKTON-FILLED WATER,
SOMETHING UNBELIEVABLE EMERGES...
3-FOOT WIDE GELATINOUS SPHERES.
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator: GRO WORKS WITH SPECIALIST DIVERS
TO HUNT DOWN MORE OF
THESE MYSTERIOUS SPHERES.
[ BREATHING DEEPLY ]
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator: THE TEAM IS IN POSITION.
THEY ENTER THE WATER AT A SPOT
KNOWN TO BE PARTICULARLY RICH IN LIFE.
THEY DESCEND...
...AND THE LAIR OF THE KRAKEN IS REVEALED.
♪♪
Narrator: GRO SUSPECTS THE JELLY BALLS
MAY BE RELATED TO THE SQUID FAMILY,
BUT FURTHER INVESTIGATION WILL BE REQUIRED
BEFORE IT CAN OFFICIALLY BE IDENTIFIED.
♪♪
[ ROARS ]
THE UNCERTAINTY, THE UNKNOWING OF THE SEA,
IS REALLY WHAT LENDS ITSELF
TO CREATING THESE MYTHICAL
BEASTS AND CREATURES.
A SHIP GOES DOWN, AND YOU
NEVER KNOW WHAT HAPPENED.
IN THE SEA, THERE ARE NO ANSWERS.
THERE IS NO CLOSURE.
CONSIDERING THAT 90% OF THE
OCEANS ARE STILL UNEXPLORED,
IT MAKES SENSE THAT STORIES LIKE THE KRAKEN
WILL ENDURE WITH US FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
Paxton: IN MANY WAYS,
THE MYTH OF THE KRAKEN
REFLECTS THE HUMAN RELATIONSHIP TO THE SEA.
IT IS A PLACE OF MYSTERY,
DANGER, AND ULTIMATELY, REWARD.
ABOVE ALL, THE KRAKEN IS ABOUT THE UNKNOWN
AND REFLECTS OUR LACK
OF KNOWLEDGE OF THE SEA.
Narrator: WITH SO MUCH
OF OUR PLANET'S OCEANS
STILL TO EXPLORE,
STORIES LIKE THE KRAKEN WILL
ENDURE FOR MANY YEARS TO COME.
♪♪
[ ROARS ]
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator: THE KRAKEN...
ONCE THE MOST FEARED
MYTHICAL MONSTER OF THE DEEP.
Regal: WAY BEFORE JAWS,
THE KRAKEN WAS THE SEA CREATURE
WHICH GAVE PEOPLE NIGHTMARES.
Narrator: FOR CENTURIES,
SAILORS LIVED IN TERROR OF IT.
I WOULD NOT WANT TO MEET
ONE OF THESE GUYS UNDERWATER.
FRIGHTENING.
Narrator: IT WAS THE
BIGGEST THING IN THE OCEAN,
THE SIZE OF AN ISLAND.
IT'S HUGE TENTACLES COULD
RIP BOATS TO PIECES IN MOMENTS.
YOU COULD BE OUT ON THE OCEAN ONE MOMENT,
AND THE NEXT, SUCKED
RIGHT DOWN INTO THE DEPTHS.
IT WOULD DEVOUR AN ENTIRE SHIP'S CREW.
YOU WOULD NOT SURVIVE AN
ENCOUNTER WITH A KRAKEN.
Narrator: IS THIS JUST A LEGEND,
OR COULD SOME KIND OF MONSTER
REALLY BE LURKING BENEATH THE SURFACE?
SEAFARERS HAD A REASON TO
BE SCARED OF THESE WATERS.
Narrator: NOW INVESTIGATORS USE
THE LATEST SCIENCE AND ARCHEOLOGY
TO DISCOVER THE REALITY BEHIND THE MYTH...
...EXPLORING THE HIDDEN DEPTHS
AND UNCOVERING FRESH EVIDENCE.
THIS IS NEW TO SCIENCE.
THIS IS NEW TO MANKIND.
Narrator: WE'LL REVEAL THE TRUTH
ABOUT THIS NIGHTMARE MONSTER OF THE DEEP.
BEHOLD, THE KRAKEN.
♪♪
Narrator: NORWAY...
LAND OF HIGH-SOARING MOUNTAINS
AND DEEP, DARK SEAS.
♪♪
THESE WATERS DIDN'T JUST
GIVE BIRTH TO THE KRAKEN MYTH,
BUT TO STORIES OF MANY OTHER
LEGENDARY MARINE MONSTERS.
THIS 16th-CENTURY MAP REVEALS
HOW MANY STRANGE SIGHTINGS
HAPPENED IN THESE NORDIC SEAS.
ANCIENT SEA BEASTS HERE CAME IN MANY FORMS.
ONE WAS THE SEA SERPENT.
200 FEET LONG,
IT COULD TOWER OVER
SHIPS WITH ITS SCALY BODY.
THE MYTHICAL PRESTERS WOULD
SPIT OUT HUGE TORRENTS OF WATER
TO SINK VESSELS, AND THE LEGENDARY ZIPHIUS
COULD CUT OPEN BOATS
WITH ITS SWORDLIKE FIN.
BUT THE MOST TERRIFYING
OF THEM ALL WAS THE KRAKEN.
IT WAS ARMED WITH FIERCE
TEETH AND TENTACLES
AND WAS COLOSSAL IN SIZE.
♪♪
IN THE OCEAN, YOU CAN BE INFINITELY BIG
BECAUSE THE OCEAN IS ACTUALLY
SUPPORTING YOUR WEIGHT,
SO ANIMALS COMING FROM THE
DARK, DEEP OCEAN HAD MASS,
AND THEREFORE, THEY HAD POWER.
HOW COULD YOU NOT FEAR SOMETHING LIKE THAT?
THAT'S THE KRAKEN.
Narrator: BIOLOGIST CHARLES PAXTON
IS ON THE HUNT TO DISCOVER
IF THERE WAS A REAL ANIMAL
BEHIND THE MYTH OF THE KRAKEN.
Paxton: THIS IS MORE THAN
JUST A MONSTER STORY.
FOR SOME PEOPLE, THE
KRAKEN IS VERY, VERY REAL.
♪♪
Narrator: HE BELIEVES THE ANSWER MAY LIE
IN THE RECORD OF A SIGHTING
HIDDEN DEEP IN THE ARCHIVES
OF THE NORWEGIAN UNIVERSITY
OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
IN TRONDHEIM.
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE 18th CENTURY,
WE START GETTING THE
FIRST EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS
OF GIANT KRAKEN-LIKE ANIMALS
BEING DESCRIBED IN THE
SCIENTIFIC TEXT OF THE DAY.
SO HERE WE HAVE A NATURALIST.
HE SPEAKS OF ANIMALS
WITH ARMS 54 FOOT IN LENGTH.
Narrator: IN THE REPORT, THE
CREW OF THE DANISH SCHOONER
HAS A TERRIFYING ENCOUNTER
WHILE STOPPING FOR REPAIRS.
[ BIRDS SQUAWKING ]
THREE MEN ARE BUSY SCRAPING BARNACLES
OFF THE SIDE OF THEIR SHIP
WHEN SUDDENLY, TWO OF THEM DISAPPEAR.
THEY'RE UNDER ATTACK FROM A SEA MONSTER.
TENTACLES AS THICK AS TREE TRUNKS
SHOOT FROM THE WATER
AND REACH FOR THE SHIP.
TERRIFIED THAT THIS BEAST WILL DRAG THEM
TO THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN,
THE CREW TAKES UP ARMS.
THEY ATTACK THE MONSTER
WITH THEIR CUTLASSES
AND SHEAR OFF ONE OF ITS TENTACLES.
WOUNDED, IT DISAPPEARS BACK
INTO THE DEEP WHERE IT CAME FROM.
THE FEAR OF THE KRAKEN BECAME SO BIG
THAT PEOPLE WANTED ANSWERS.
WHAT WAS IT, AND WHERE DID IT COME FROM?
REPORTS AMONGST US ARE STILL COMING IN,
BUT NOW, THEY'RE BEING CLASSIFIED
AND DISSECTED UNDER ZOOLOGY.
IN 1857, A NATURALIST, JAPETUS STEENSTRUP,
MADE A BOLD MOVE.
HE CLASSIFIED THE KRAKEN.
HE SAID IT WAS A GIANT SQUID,
WHICH HE GAVE THE BINOMIAL
NAME ARCHITEUTHIS DUX.
A KRAKEN HAD BEEN TURNED INTO AN ANIMAL.
Narrator: COULD THE GIANT SQUID REALLY BE
THE MAN-EATING CULPRIT?
IT'S A STRANGE CREATURE THAT'S RARELY SEEN.
WOULD ITS ALLUSIVE NATURE
EXPLAIN WHY THE KRAKEN
MYSTERY EXISTED FOR SO LONG?
FORTUNATELY, CHARLES HAS
GAINED EXCLUSIVE ACCESS
TO THE MASSIVE SPECIMEN THAT WASHED UP
ON THE NORWEGIAN COAST 60 YEARS AGO.
COULD THIS BE THE LEGENDARY MONSTER
BEHIND THE TERRIFYING ACCOUNTS?
♪♪
BEHOLD, THE KRAKEN.
♪♪
Paxton: SO THIS IS THE
SPECIMEN OF ARCHITEUTHIS,
THE GIANT SQUID, NAMED
BY STEENSTRUP IN 1857.
♪♪
HE THOUGHT IT COULD BE THE KRAKEN.
♪♪
Narrator: IT'S RARE TO FIND SUCH
A WELL-PRESERVED SPECIMEN.
SHARP COASTAL ROCKS AND SCAVENGING ANIMALS
MEAN FEW REMAIN INTACT.
LET ME SEE THE EYES.
ARE THEY... YEAH.
I'M FULFILLING ONE OF MY DREAMS HERE
TO ACTUALLY SEE A LARGE
SPECIMEN OF GIANT SQUID,
EVEN THOUGH IT'S PRESERVED.
I MEAN, ESPECIALLY LIKE
THIS, IT IS ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE.
TO THINK THAT AN ANIMAL
LIKE THIS IS ACTUALLY LIVING
IN THE SEA, VERY RARELY
SEEN AT THE SURFACE.
WE DON'T KNOW HOW LONG IT LIVES FOR.
WE DON'T KNOW HOW BIG IT GETS.
IT HAS EIGHT ARMS, TWO TENTACLES.
THIS WOULD BE A PRIME
SUSPECT FOR THE KRAKEN.
♪♪
Narrator: THE GIANT SQUID
HAS ENORMOUS ARMS,
EXACTLY AS DESCRIBED
IN SOME KRAKEN SIGHTINGS,
BUT ARE THEY STRONG ENOUGH TO
PULL A BOAT DOWN INTO THE DEPTHS
SO IT CAN DEVOUR ITS CREW?
COMPARATIVE ANATOMIST
JOY REIDENBERG INVESTIGATES.
Reidenberg: LET'S TAKE A CLOSER LOOK
AT THE BODY SHAPE OF A SQUID.
WHAT I HAVE HERE ARE TWO SMALLER SQUID,
BUT THEY ARE ESSENTIALLY
THE SAME BODY SHAPE.
TRAILING BEHIND IT HERE ARE THE ARMS.
THESE ARE THE ARMS OVER HERE,
AND THESE TWO VERY, VERY LONG ONES,
THESE ARE THE TENTACLES.
THE TENTACLES COME
ROCKETING OUT FROM THIS ANIMAL,
GRAB ITS PREY AND PULL IT BACK,
AND PULLS IT INTO THE MOUTH.
THE SQUID HAS A FEARSOME MOUTH.
IT HAS A BEAK IN IT THAT LOOKS
KIND OF LIKE A PARROT BEAK.
I WOULD NOT WANT TO MEET
ONE OF THESE GUYS UNDERWATER.
FRIGHTENING.
Narrator: GIANT SQUID ARE
CLEARLY FEROCIOUS HUNTERS,
BUT COULD THEY EVER TAKE ON A SHIP AND WIN?
THE IMAGES YOU OFTEN HEAR SAILORS
TALK ABOUT OF THE KRAKEN,
IT'S WRAPPED ITS ARMS
AROUND THE MAST OF A SQUARING WOODEN SHIP.
THAT JUST COULDN'T
HAPPEN WITH A GIANT SQUID.
THAT WOULD REQUIRE REALLY, REALLY BIG ARMS.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE ARMS
OF A SQUID, A GIANT SQUID,
THEY'RE BIG, BUT THEY AREN'T THAT BIG.
♪♪
Paxton: THE GIANT SQUID IS MONSTER.
I THINK IT EXPLAINS SOME OF THE STORIES,
BUT NOT ALL OF THEM.
Narrator: SO IF THE KRAKEN
CAN'T BE FULLY EXPLAINED
BY A GIANT SQUID,
WHAT ELSE COULD HAVE INSPIRED
THE TALES OF THIS MONSTER?
Regal: WE REALLY DON'T KNOW
THE COMPLETE BIOLOGICAL
DIVERSITY OF THE SEA.
THERE ARE CREATURES OUT THERE STILL
THAT INHABIT THE DARKEST,
DEEPEST PARTS OF THE OCEAN,
AND EVERY ONCE IN A
WHILE, ONE WILL SHOW UP,
AND IT JUST FREAKS PEOPLE OUT.
Schwab: EVERY FISHERMAN
WOULD HAVE HAD A DIFFERENT TAKE
ON WHAT THIS THING COULD BE.
SOME MIGHT SAY IT WAS
LIKE A CRAB WITH CLAWS,
SOME MIGHT SAY MORE LIKE AN OCTOPUS.
ITS FORM KEPT CHANGING,
DEPENDING ON WHO YOU ASKED.
♪♪
Narrator: CHARLES'
INVESTIGATION INTO THE IDENTITY
OF THE REAL KRAKEN REMAINS WIDE OPEN.
THERE ARE MANY POTENTIAL
SUSPECTS TO INVESTIGATE.
WILL TRACKING DOWN THE
FIRST-EVER KRAKEN STORY
REVEAL THE ANSWER?
WHAT WAS IT THAT WAS REALLY
MAKING THESE NORDIC WATERS
SO TERRIFYING AND DANGEROUS?
AROUND 50% OF ALL WOODEN SHIPS EVER BUILT
ENDED UP AS SHIPWRECKS. -WOW.
[ ROAR, THUNDER RUMBLING ]
[ ROAR, THUNDER RUMBLING ]
♪♪
Narrator: BIOLOGIST CHARLES PAXTON
REOPENS THE INVESTIGATION INTO THE KRAKEN.
THIS MYTHICAL SEA MONSTER STRUCK FEAR
INTO THE HEARTS OF SAILORS FOR CENTURIES.
THE GIANT SQUID IS NO
LONGER THE PRIME SUSPECT,
SO WHAT INSPIRED THESE TALES?
TO FIND OUT, CHARLES TRACKS THE MYTH BACK
TO ITS ANCIENT ROOTS IN SCANDINAVIA.
Paxton: IT'S IN THESE WATERS
THE LEGEND BECAME FAMOUS,
AND I WANT TO EXPLORE THE ORIGINS
AND TRUTH BEHIND THE MYTH.
Narrator: WHAT WAS SO
SPECIAL ABOUT THESE SEAS
THAT THEY WERE CONSIDERED
THE KRAKEN'S LAIR?
CHARLES BELIEVES THE FIRST
DESCRIPTION OF THE BEAST
COMES FROM THE ANCIENT PEOPLE
WHO MADE THIS AREA THEIR HOME...
THE NORSE.
Paxton: THE IS THE ARROW-ODD SAGA,
A NORSE TALE OF REVENGE
FROM THE 13th CENTURY,
AND IT CONTAINS OUR EARLIEST
SCANDINAVIAN REFERENCE
TO THE MONSTER THAT
WOULD BECOME THE KRAKEN.
Narrator: THE STORY TELLS HOW A
VIKING HERO CALLED ARROW-ODD
HAS MAGICAL ARROWS
THAT MAKE HIM INVINCIBLE.
HE SAILS THE NORTHERN
SEAS, LOOKING FOR GLORY.
ONE DAY, HE PASSES
BETWEEN TWO ROCKY ISLANDS.
SUDDENLY, HE HEARS A DEEP RUMBLING ROAR.
THESE ARE NO ORDINARY ISLANDS.
THEY'RE THE JAWS OF THE KRAKEN.
AN ANCIENT SORCERER HAS SENT
THE BIGGEST BEAST OF THE SEA
TO KILL HIM,
AND EVEN HIS MAGICAL ARROWS
ARE POWERLESS AGAINST IT,
BUT ODD NARROWLY ESCAPES. [ ROARS ]
THIS ACCOUNT SUGGESTS THE
KRAKEN IS NOT A GIANT SQUID
BUT A VERY DIFFERENT PHENOMENON.
SO WHAT COULD REALLY BE
LURKING UNDERNEATH THE WATER
TO EXPLAIN SUCH A TALE?
MARINE ARCHAEOLOGIST PROFESSOR
OYVIND ODEGARD IS GOING TO USE
A SMALL, HULL-MOUNTED
SONAR SYSTEM TO FIND OUT.
♪♪
Odegard: THE SEABED IS USUALLY
INACCESSIBLE FOR US HUMANS,
SO AS A RESULT, 99% OF THE SEABED
IS STILL UNEXPLORED.
WE KNOW LESS ABOUT IT THAN,
FOR INSTANCE, MARS OR THE MOON.
WE NEED TO SCAN THE SEABED
USING ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY.
Narrator: THE SONAR SYSTEM WILL SHOW
A DEPTH MAP OF THE KRAKEN'S LAIR
AND COULD FINALLY PROVIDE SOME ANSWERS.
Paxton: THE SAGA SAID THESE
WATERS WERE DANGEROUS.
I WANT TO FIND OUT WHAT
THOSE DANGERS ACTUALLY WERE.
♪♪
Narrator: THE SONAR SYSTEM SENDS
A SONIC PULSE INTO THE DEPTHS
THAT BOUNCES BACK.
THIS IS THEN READ BY THE SCANNER.
THANK YOU.
WHAT WE CAN SEE HERE IS THE SOUNDINGS.
IT'S A LIVE VIEW.
AS YOU CAN SEE, IT
CHANGES AS THE BOAT MOVES,
SO YOU CAN SEE THE
DEPTHS OF THE DEEPER AREAS,
ABOUT 100 METERS,
AND IT GOES ALL THE WAY UP
TO 8 METERS IN THE SAME SCAN.
Paxton: WOW.
Narrator: THE SCAN DATA REVEALS
THAT THERE ARE DANGEROUS SHALLOWS HERE.
THE SEABED DRAMATICALLY CHANGES DEPTH
OVER A VERY SHORT DISTANCE.
THE EXTREME, SOARING,
NORWEGIAN PEAKS AND TROUGHS
ABOVE THE WATERLINE CONTINUE FAR DOWN
INTO THE WATERS, MAKING THEM A DEATHTRAP.
COULD THIS BE BEHIND THE KRAKEN MYTH?
SO A LITTLE FISHING VESSEL WITH A SAIL
COULD VERY RAPIDLY MOVE
BETWEEN DEEP WATER AND SHALLOW WATER?
YEAH, YEAH. ABSOLUTELY.
AT LOW TIDE AND AT A BOTTOM OF A WAVE,
YOU COULD PROBABLY HIT THE SEABED
IF YOU WERE EXACTLY WHERE WE ARE NOW,
SO IT COULD BE POTENTIALLY FATAL.
Narrator: THIS DANGEROUS MARINE LANDSCAPE
WAS CREATED DURING THE ICE AGE.
ONE MILLION YEARS AGO, A VAST
ICE SHEET COVERED NORWAY.
HUGE GLACIERS BULLDOZED
THROUGH THE LANDSCAPE,
PUSHING GIGANTIC PILES OF
ROCKS TOWARDS THE COAST
AND DROPPING THEM INTO THE OCEAN.
WHEN THE GLACIERS RETREATED,
THEY LEFT BEHIND AN UNPREDICTABLE
AND DANGEROUS SEABED ALL ALONG THE COAST.
AROUND 50% OF ALL WOODEN SHIPS EVER BUILT
ENDED UP AS SHIPWRECKS.
WOW. THAT'S AN INCREDIBLY HIGH FIGURE.
Paxton: I'VE SEEN THIS COASTLINE
CAN BE A DANGEROUS PLACE,
A PLACE OF SHIFTING DEPTHS
AND OF JAGGED ROCKED.
SEAFARERS HAD A REASON TO
BE SCARED OF THESE WATERS.
Narrator: WITHOUT MODERN TECHNOLOGY,
THE NORSE COULDN'T SEE THE SUBMERGED ROCKS
THAT WERE SINKING THEIR SHIPS,
SO FEAR OF AN ISLAND-SHAPED
KRAKEN TOOK HOLD.
SOME BELIEVE AN ANCIENT
TEXT PUBLISHED AROUND 1250
COULD BE INTERPRETED AS A WARNING
ABOUT THE DEADLY KRAKEN.
♪♪
WRITTEN BY A MEMBER OF THE KING'S COURT,
THE "KING'S MIRROR"
IS A HANDBOOK FOR THE RULERS OF NORWAY.
IT COVERS POLITICS AND STATESMANSHIP,
BUT ALSO THE DANGERS OF THE NORTHERN SEAS.
THE MOST FEARSOME PERIL IS THE KRAKEN,
A BEAST THE SIZE OF AN ISLAND.
IT CLAIMS ONLY TWO EXIST IN THE WORLD
BECAUSE THE SEAS DON'T HOLD
ENOUGH FISH TO FEED ANY MORE.
WHEN THE KRAKEN IS HUNGRY,
IT OPENS ITS GIGANTIC MOUTH,
TRAPPING VAST SCHOOLS OF FISH INSIDE.
AND WHEN THE MONSTER HAS HAD ITS FILL,
IT DISAPPEARS INTO THE DEPTHS.
BUT THE "KING'S MIRROR" ONLY
MAKES THE KRAKEN MYSTERY DEEPEN,
BECAUSE THIS DESCRIPTION
IS NOTHING LIKE THE BEAST
THAT PULLED DOWN THE DANISH SHIP.
WHY ARE ACCOUNTS SO VARIED?
DIFFERENT WITNESSES SEE DIFFERENT THINGS.
Narrator: WHAT MAKES THE
MYTH EVEN MORE PUZZLING
ARE THE REPORTS THAT SOME
SAILORS WOULD DELIBERATELY
SEARCH OUT THE TERRIFYING
MAN-EATING KRAKEN.
WHAT DID THEY WANT SO BADLY FROM THE BEAST
THAT THEY WOULD RISK THEIR LIVES?
THIS WILL BE A VERY STRESSFUL
AND SCARY EXPERIENCE.
[ ROAR, THUNDER RUMBLING ]
[ ROAR, THUNDER RUMBLING ]
♪♪
Narrator: BIOLOGIST CHARLES PAXTON
HUNTS FOR THE TRUTH BEHIND
THE MYTH OF THE MIGHTY KRAKEN,
A HUGE SEA MONSTER THAT
TERRIFIED SAILORS FOR CENTURIES.
♪♪
BUT DESCRIPTIONS OF
THE BEAST ARE SO VARIED,
THE MYSTERY OF WHAT
REALLY INSPIRED THE LEGEND
REMAINS UNSOLVED.
Paxton: DOES IT MEAN THAT PEOPLE
ARE SEEING DIFFERENT THINGS,
OR ARE THEY SEEING THE SAME THINGS,
AND THEY'RE JUST DESCRIBING
IT IN DIFFERENT WAYS,
PERHAPS INFLUENCED BY THEIR PRIOR BELIEFS?
Narrator: MUDDYING THE WATERS YET FURTHER,
CHARLES UNCOVERS ANOTHER
ACCOUNT THAT INTRODUCES
A BIZARRE NEW KRAKEN CHARACTERISTIC,
ONE THAT IS EVEN MORE DIFFICULT TO EXPLAIN.
[ ROARS ]
♪♪
Paxton: ERIK PONTOPPIDAN
WAS A DANISH BISHOP AT BERGEN
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE 18th CENTURY,
AND HE WAS ALSO A NATURALIST.
HIS "NATURAL HISTORY OF NORWAY"
WAS WRITTEN IN 1752, AND IN IT,
HE HAS ONE OF THE EARLIEST
COMPREHENSIVE ACCOUNTS
OF THE ANIMAL WE KNOW TODAY AS THE KRAKEN.
Narrator: PONTOPPIDAN'S SOURCES
WERE NORWEGIAN FISHERMAN
WHO PASSED KRAKEN TALES
FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION.
HE TELLS HOW SOME ANCIENT MARINERS
ACTIVELY SEEK THE KRAKEN
OUT TO CATCH MORE FISH.
FISH ARE ATTRACTED TO THE BEAST
BECAUSE OF THE PUNGENT WASTE IT SPEWS OUT.
♪♪
THE FIND IT SO IRRESISTIBLE THAT
HUGE SCHOOLS GATHER TO FEED,
BUT WHEN THE BEAST HAS EATEN ENOUGH,
IT DIVES DOWN INTO THE DEPTHS.
AS IT IS SO BIG, IT DISPLACES
HUGE AMOUNTS OF WATER,
CREATING SUCTION SO POWERFUL,
IT CAN PULL WHOLE VESSELS
DOWN TO A WATERY GRAVE.
Paxton: SO FISHERMAN
SEEKING AN ABUNDANCE OF FISH
MAY ACTUALLY LOOK FOR
AND PURSUE THE KRAKEN.
THE KRAKEN ISN'T SOLELY
AN ANIMAL OF TERROR.
IT IS ACTUALLY SOMETHING
THAT COULD BE POTENTIALLY USED
AS A TOOL IN ORDER TO FIND FISH.
Narrator: BUT WHAT WAS REALLY
GOING ON IN THESE WATERS?
WHAT WAS THIS HUGE KRAKEN
BELCH THAT PEOPLE WERE SEEING?
♪♪
CHARLES INVESTIGATES.
HELPING HIM IS HISTORIAN STURLA LETH-OLSEN.
HE'S AN EXPERT IN THE TECHNIQUES
USED BY EARLY NORDIC MARINERS.
♪♪
THEY WILL USE A BOAT SIMILAR IN DESIGN
TO THE ONES USED IN KRAKEN TIMES.
♪♪
STURLA HOPES TAKING CHARLES FISHING LIKE
THE EARLY NORDIC SAILORS DID
WILL ENABLE THEM TO SEARCH
FOR THIS MYTHICAL MONSTER
THROUGH THEIR EYES.
Paxton: COAST IS SLOWLY
DISAPPEARING INTO THE DISTANCE.
THAT FILLS ME WITH SOME ANXIETY.
♪♪
IF I WAS ACTIVELY TRYING TO CAST A NET OUT,
BRING A NET IN,
ESPECIALLY A HEAVY NET LADEN WITH FISH,
THIS WOULD BE A VERY
STRESSFUL AND SCARY EXPERIENCE.
Narrator: TO FIND THE FISH,
SAILORS FIRST HAD TO FIND THE KRAKEN.
THEY DID THIS BY SAILING INTO DEEP WATERS,
BUT LOOKING FOR AN AREA
OF SHALLOWS WITHIN IT.
[ GROWLS ]
WHEN THE DEPTHS GOT VERY, VERY SHALLOW,
THEN YOU KNEW THAT THE KRAKEN
WAS ARISING FROM THE DEPTHS.
♪♪
HOW WOULD TRADITIONAL FISHERMAN
HAVE GAUGED DEPTH, STURLA?
Narrator: CHARLES DROPS THE
LINE WITH A BELL-SHAPED LUMP
CALLED A SOUNDING WEIGHT.
OKAY, SO I'LL TEST THE DEPTH HERE.
THERE WE GO.
♪♪
OKAY, THAT'S IT. THAT'S IT.
- [ SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY ]
YEAH, WE'VE HIT IT. WE'VE HIT IT, YEAH.
Narrator: NORDIC SAILORS
WOULD HAVE IDENTIFIED THIS
AS KRAKEN TERRITORY.
LARGE NUMBERS OF FISH NATURALLY CONGREGATE
IN SHALLOW WATERS IN THE MORNING
AND EVENING TO HUNT FOR PREY.
♪♪
BUT WOULD COULD EXPLAIN
THE MONSTER'S FOUL BELCH
AND THE CLOUD OF SEMI-DIGESTED FOOD
THAT WAS SAID TO ATTRACT EVEN MORE FISH?
TO START, THE FISHY BELCH OF THE KRAKEN,
DOES THAT REMIND YOU OF
ANYTHING YOU SEE AT SEA TODAY?
Narrator: PHYTOPLANKTON ARE
MICROSCOPIC PLANT-LIKE ORGANISMS
THAT FLOURISH IN THE SUNLIGHT
OF THE SUMMER MONTHS.
TINY SHRIMP-LIKE CREATURES
FEED ON THE PLANKTON.
SMALL FISH THEN FEED ON
THE SHRIMP-LIKE CREATURES,
AND BIGGER FISH ON THE SMALL ONES.
PLANKTON BLOOM CAN FORM
HUGE PATCHES IN THE OCEAN
AND ATTRACT AN INCREDIBLE
AMOUNT OF SEA LIFE.
SATELLITE IMAGES SHOW
JUST HOW IMPRESSIVE THIS PHENOMENON CAN BE,
BUT NORDIC SAILORS MAY HAVE INTERPRETED IT
AS EVIDENCE THAT THE GIANT KRAKEN
REALLY WAS IN THESE WATERS.
THE BEAST COULD EASILY KILL THEM,
BUT IT WAS ALSO THE
KEY TO THEIR LIVELIHOOD.
Hersch: ANCIENT PEOPLE HAD
A FRAUGHT RELATIONSHIP WITH THE SEA.
ON THE ONE HAND, IT PROVIDED LIVELIHOOD,
USED THE SEA TO TRADE, TO
GO TO WAR, TO GET MORE GOODS.
YOU GOT FOOD FROM THE SEA.
ON THE OTHER HAND, YOU COULD
DIE DOING THOSE VERY THINGS.
EVEN TODAY, THE FISHING INDUSTRY
IS ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS
INDUSTRIES IN THE WORLD.
IN THE DAYS WHEN YOU WERE
IN LITTLE BOATS LIKE THIS ONE,
IT WOULD BE VERY, VERY DANGEROUS, INDEED,
SO HAVING EXPERIENCED THIS,
I CAN WELL UNDERSTAND WHY
THERE WERE SO MANY ACCIDENTS
AND WHY THERE WERE SO MANY TRAGEDIES
AND WHY YOU NEEDED A
FOLKLORE TO TRY AND EXPLAIN THAT.
Narrator: BUT IF ROCKS AND
PLANKTON WERE REALLY TO BLAME,
WHY DID SIGHTINGS BECOME FAR MORE DETAILED
AND EVEN MORE CONFLICTING?
AND IF THE KRAKEN WAS BELIEVED
TO LIVE IN THE NORDIC WATERS,
WHY DID SIGHTINGS INCREASE
WHEN SHIPS TRAVELED
FAR BEYOND ITS TERRITORY?
WHEN YOU'RE OUT AT SEA,
THERE'S A LOT OF STRESSORS TO YOUR BRAIN.
[ ROAR, THUNDER RUMBLING ]
[ ROAR, THUNDER RUMBLING ]
♪♪
Narrator: BIOLOGIST CHARLES PAXTON
INVESTIGATES THE TRUTH
BEHIND THE MYTH OF THE KRAKEN.
HE'S UNCOVERED DOZENS OF
ACCOUNTS OF KRAKEN SIGHTINGS
AND HOW IT TERRORIZED
THESE WATERS FOR CENTURIES.
[ ROARS ]
Paxton: REPORTS ARE NOT ALWAYS CONSISTENT.
THE KRAKEN WOULDN'T ALWAYS
BE DESCRIBED IN THE SAME WAY,
BUT IT'D ALWAYS REPRESENT THE SAME THREAT.
[ ROARS ]
Narrator: CHARLES FINDS THAT
NO ONE NATURAL PHENOMENON
CAN EXPLAIN THE MANY CONFLICTING REPORTS.
AND THIS CASE BECOMES EVEN MORE INTRIGUING
AS MORE RECENT KRAKEN
ACCOUNTS COME TO LIGHT.
♪♪
Paxton: THESE NEW PRECISE
REPORTS ARE NOT JUST COMING
FROM THE NORWEGIAN COAST,
BUT FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD.
HERE, WE HAVE AN ACCOUNT RECORDED
BY THE APOSTLE OF
GREENLAND, HANS EGEDE, IN 1734.
THERE ARE NO LONGER VAGUE HEARSAYS
BUT PRECISE EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY.
Narrator: JULY 6, 1734.
A NORWEGIAN EXPLORER AND HIS CREW
ARE SAILING OFF THE WEST COAST OF GREENLAND
WHEN SUDDENLY, A TERRIBLE
CREATURE RISES FROM THE SEA.
IT SHOOTS OUT OF THE OCEAN 50 FEET HIGH
TO THE TOP OF THE SHIP'S MAST.
HERE, IT SPITS OUT TORRENTS OF WATER
BEFORE PLUNGING BACK
INTO THE WATERY DEPTHS.
AS THE TERRIFIED SAILORS CHECK
TO SEE IF THE COAST IS CLEAR,
THEY SPOT A GIANT SHAPE STILL
STICKING OUT OF THE WATER.
Li: THE INTERESTING THING ABOUT THE KRAKEN
IS THAT, AT A CERTAIN POINT,
ROUGHLY AROUND THE 18th CENTURY,
PEOPLE THAT WERE SAILING AROUND
STARTED TO MAKE NOTES IN THEIR LOGS,
SAYING THAT, "I SAW A
KRAKEN ON THIS SPECIFIC DATE,
AND IT LOOKED LIKE THIS."
Narrator: AS MARITIME TECHNOLOGY IMPROVED,
VAST UNEXPLORED AREAS OF THE OCEAN
COULD BE NAVIGATED FOR THE FIRST TIME.
-HELLO. NICE TO MEET YOU. -Madsen: WELCOME.
SO THIS IS THE SHIP I WANT TO SHOW YOU.
OKAY, GREAT.
Narrator: CRAFTSMAN GEIR
MADSEN IS RESTORING A LARGE SHIP,
SIMILAR TO THE ONES
USED BY NORDIC FISHERMEN
IN THE 19th CENTURY.
♪♪
Paxton: SO A VESSEL LIKE THIS
COULD RANGE A LOT FURTHER
THAN PREVIOUS VESSELS I'VE SEEN.
Narrator: WHAT SAILORS ON
LONG VOYAGES SOON REPORTED
WAS THAT THE KRAKEN
WASN'T A NORDIC BEAST AT ALL.
IT SEEMED TO BE A TERRIFYING
WORLDWIDE PHENOMENON.
♪♪
ONE CAPTAIN TELLS OF SEEING A CREATURE
THREE TIMES BIGGER THAN A
WHALE OFF THE COAST OF IRELAND.
IT HAS SCALY SKIN, JUST LIKE AN ALLIGATOR.
ANOTHER SPOTS A 200-FOOT-LONG FISH
ON THE JOURNEY TO NEW YORK.
IT'S COVERED IN A SHELL
AND HAS SEVERAL BIRDS RESTING ON ITS BACK.
AND ONE COMES ACROSS A
GIGANTIC BEAST IN THE INDIAN OCEAN
WITH FLAPS RESEMBLING WINGS,
AND ITS SKIN IS SPOTTED
WITH SOMETHING LIKE EYES,
BUT WHY WOULD REPORTS OF THE KRAKEN
BECOME SO DIVERSE AND CONFLICTING?
THE SEA CAN PLAY TRICKS
WITH OUR PERCEPTION.
WHAT WE SEE ISN'T A DIRECT
REFLECTION OF REALITY.
IT'S IMPACTED BY LIGHT,
BY DISTANCE, BY BALANCE,
SO ON THE SEE, ALL OF THESE
ELEMENTS COME TOGETHER
AND CAN RESULT IN SOME
PRETTY DISTORTED PERCEPTIONS.
Narrator: NEUROLOGIST PROFESSOR ALEX OLSEN
BELIEVES THAT THE LONGER
PERIODS SPENT AT SEA
COULD ALSO HAVE PLAYED A ROLE.
HE'S CONVINCED THEY RESULTED
IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS
THAT DIRECTLY AFFECTED
WHAT SAILORS WERE SEEING.
Olsen: WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW
IS THAT WHAT WE PERCEIVE,
WHAT WE ARE EXPERIENCING IN THIS WORLD,
IS NOT A PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGE OF
WHAT IS COMING THROUGH OUR EYES.
IT'S INTERPRETED BY THE BRAIN,
AND THAT INTERPRETATION IS BASED
ON YOUR PRIOR KNOWLEDGE, YOUR MEMORY.
IT'S BASED ON THE CULTURE
THAT YOU'RE BROUGHT UP IN.
WHAT KIND OF STORIES HAVE YOU HEARD BEFORE?
SO A COLD, STRESSED,
TIRED NORWEGIAN FISHERMAN
BROUGHT UP WITH FOLKTALES
ABOUT SEA MONSTERS
COULD ACTUALCEIVE AND REPORT SEA MONSTERS?
YES. WHEN YOU'RE OUT AT
SEA FOR WEEKS, EVEN MONTH,
THEN THERE'S A LOT OF
STRESSORS TO YOUR BRAIN.
YOU HAVE HYPOTHERMIA. YOU
HAVE THE VITAMIN DEFICIENCY.
YOU HAVE SLEEP DEPRIVATION.
ALL OF THESE MIGHT CAUSE
CHANGES IN OUR PERCEPTION.
- SO YOU CAN MISPERCEIVE THINGS?
- YEAH, BASICALLY.
Narrator: THE EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT
THE KRAKEN CAN NEVER BE EXPLAINED
BY PHYSICAL PHENOMENA ALONE
BECAUSE THE HUMAN MIND
PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN ITS BIRTH.
IT WOULD NOT BE UNREASONABLE TO THINK THAT
IN A KIND OF AGITATED MENTAL STATE
FROM JUST THE RIGORS OF SAILING,
WOULD CAUSE SAILORS TO SEE THINGS
AND SEE THEM DIFFERENTLY FROM
WHAT THEY'RE ACTUALLY SEEING.
♪♪
Narrator: BUT IF REPORTS OF THE KRAKEN
BECAME INCREASINGLY CONTRADICTORY,
WHY DIDN'T THE BELIEF IN
THIS BEAST SIMPLY DIE OFF?
COULD THE ANSWER LIE IN
AN ANCIENT SUPERSTITION
THAT SOME CREATURES CAN
PHYSICALLY CHANGE FORM?
AND WAS A SCOTTISH WATER MONSTER
THE ORIGIN OF THIS BIZARRE BELIEF?
THE CREATURE WILL ALWAYS
CHANGE TO SUIT THE SITUATION
AND ITS PREY.
[ GROWLS ]
[ ROAR, THUNDER RUMBLING ]
[ ROAR, THUNDER RUMBLING ]
♪♪
Narrator: CHARLES PAXTON
INVESTIGATES THE TRUTH
BEHIND THE MYTHICAL SEA MONSTER THE KRAKEN,
BUT THE MANY EYEWITNESS
ACCOUNTS HE'S UNEARTHED
ARE RIDDLED WITH CONTRADICTIONS.
DID SAILORS BELIEVE THIS
BEAST COULD CHANGE FORM?
AND WHERE DID SUCH AN IDEA FIRST COME FROM?
ARE THERE ANY OTHER WATER
MONSTERS THAT CAN HELP US
UNDERSTAND THE CHANGING
NATURE OF THE KRAKEN?
♪♪
Narrator: CHARLES WORKS WITH
SCOTTISH FOLKLORE EXPERT TONY BONNING.
FOR DECADES, HE'S
INVESTIGATED THE ANCIENT ORIGINS
OF LEGENDARY SHAPE-SHIFTING MONSTERS.
SCOTLAND HAS A LONG HISTORY
OF MYTHICAL WATER CREATURES.
THE MOST FAMOUS OF THEM, OF COURSE,
IS THE LOCH NESS MONSTER.
Narrator: GRAINY
BLACK-AND-WHITE PHOTOGRAPHS
HAVE MADE THIS CREATURE WORLD-FAMOUS.
THE GLOBAL PHENOMENON
THAT IS THE LOCH NESS MONSTER
STARTED IN 1933, BUT THERE'S EVIDENCE HERE
TO SHOW THE STORIES GO
BACK MORE THEN 1,000 YEARS.
Narrator: CAN TRACING THE ORIGINS
OF THE LOCH NESS MONSTER
LEAD TO THE MYTHICAL SHAPE-SHIFTING BEASTS
THAT WERE THOUGHT TO
INHABIT SCOTTISH LOCHS?
AND WHAT WOULD THEY REVEAL ABOUT WHY PEOPLE
THOUGHT THE KRAKEN COULD CHANGE FORM?
THE ANCIENT PEOPLE OF SCOTLAND BELIEVE
THAT CREATURES CALLED
KELPIES LIVED IN THESE PARTS.
THESE BEASTS TRANSFORM TO
BECOME ANYTHING THEY WANT.
WHEN THEY TAKE THE
SHAPE OF BEAUTIFUL HORSES,
THEY WEAR SILVER BRIDLES
AND ENTICE SMALL CHILDREN
INTO THE WATERY DEPTHS.
AS SOON AS THE UNSUSPECTING
VICTIMS TOUCH THEM...
[ SCREECHES ]
...THE KELPIE HAS THEM TRAPPED.
THEY DRAG THEIR PREY UNDERWATER,
WHERE THEY DEVOUR THEM.
THEN THE KELPIE HIDES AGAIN
IN THE DARKNESS OF THE LOCH
UNTIL IT'S TIME FOR THEIR NEXT VICTIM.
♪♪
WHAT COULD MAKE PEOPLE HERE
BELIEVE SUCH A BIZARRE SHAPE-SHIFTING TALE?
IN THE SMALL VILLAGE OF ABERLEMNO,
TONY TRACKS DOWN ONE
OF THE OLDEST DEPICTIONS
OF THE KELPIE MYTH...
A STANDING STONE MORE THAN 1,000 YEARS OLD.
THIS IS MORE THAN JUST A
PIECE OF ROCK. IT'S A BOOK.
IT'S A STORY FOR PEOPLE
WHO COULDN'T READ NOR WRITE.
IT TELLS THEIR HISTORY,
THE GREAT BATTLE OF DUN
NECHTAIN ON THE BACK THERE.
YOU'VE GOT RELIGION.
YOU'VE GOT THEIR ART,
ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE CELTIC DESIGNS
THAT YOU'VE GOT AROUND HERE.
Narrator: JUST AS THE BIBLE PROMOTED BELIEF
IN FANTASTICAL CREATURES,
FROM ANGELS TO DEVILS,
STONES LIKE THIS PRESENTED
DANGEROUS SHAPE-SHIFTING BEASTS,
LIKE KELPIES, AS TERRIFYING FACT.
Bonning: THIS IS EXACTLY
WHAT I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR.
YOU'VE GOT, FIRST OF
ALL, THE SERPENT'S TAIL,
THE FISH'S TAIL,
WINDING AROUND HERE, THE DORSAL FIN.
AND THEN WHAT HAVE YOU GOT?
HORSE'S HEAD, HORSE'S HOOVES.
THIS IS MORE THAN JUST A DESIGN HERE.
THESE WERE LIVING CREATURES
AS FAR AS THE PEOPLE OF
ANCIENT TIMES WERE CONCERNED.
♪♪
Narrator: BUT WHAT INSPIRED SUCH CARVINGS?
TONY HEADS 60 MILES WEST OF ABERLEMNO
TO A TYPICAL LOCH TO FIND ANSWERS.
Bonning: IT WAS SAID THAT EVERY
SINGLE RIVER, LOCHAN, LOCH
HAD ITS OWN PARTICULAR KELPIE.
THE KELPIE WAS A SHAPE-SHIFTER.
THE KELPIE WILL ALWAYS CHANGE
TO SUIT THE SITUATION AND ITS PREY.
Narrator: THOUSANDS OF YEARS
AGO, HOMES LIKE THIS ONE
WERE BUILT OUT OVER THE LOCH
FOR THE LEADERS OF THE VILLAGE.
Bonning: THIS BUILDING HERE TELLS ME
THAT THE PEOPLE OF THE
TIME VENERATED THE WATER,
BUT THE TALES OF THE KELPIE TELL ME, ALSO,
THAT THEY HAD SOMETHING TO FEAR.
[ GROWLS ]
Narrator: TONY BELIEVES THAT
THE MYTH OF THE KELPIE BEGAN
NOT TO WARN OF A DEADLY
CREATURE BENEATH THE SURFACE,
BUT TO WARN OF THE
DANGEROUS WATERS THEMSELVES.
♪♪
THE KELPIE WAS A CODED MESSAGE.
♪♪
Bonning: SCOTTISH WEATHER
IS INFAMOUSLY BAD AT TIMES,
I MEAN, HORRENDOUS.
WHAT KIND OF CLOTHING ARE YOU
WEARING BACK 2,500 YEARS AGO?
WOOL. DEFINITELY WOOL.
IN FACT, WHAT I'M JUST SITTING ON,
THIS WOOL AND CLOTH,
THAT WOULD BE, CERTAINLY,
SOMETHING WORN AT THE TIME.
ALL RIGHT. WELL, PEOPLE WERE WEARING THIS.
YOU WERE IN A ROCKY BOAT, BAD CONDITIONS.
NEXT THING, THE BOAT'S CAPSIZED,
AND THIS IS UNDERWATER,
AND YOU ARE WEARING IT.
DRAGGED DOWN BY THEIR VERY GARMENTS,
AND THEY'RE TRYING TO
PULL THAT OUT OF THE WATER,
AND THAT IS HEAVY.
Narrator: TONY BELIEVES
THAT THE KELPIE WAS CREATED
AS A WARNING TO ENSURE FEWER
PEOPLE LOST THEIR LIVES HERE.
♪♪
[ GROWLS ]
Bonning: IF YOU SAY TO A CHILD,
"DON'T GO NEAR THE WATER,"
THE FIRST THING THEY'LL
DO IS GO NEAR THE WATER.
IF YOU SAY TO A CHILD,
"YOU GO NEAR THAT WATER,
THERE'S SOMETHING IN
THERE CALLED THE KELPIE.
IT WILL DRAG YOU DOWN AND EAT YOU,"
YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GET IN THE WATER.
Narrator: BUT IF THE
KELPIE MYTH WAS CREATED
JUST TO WARN AGAINST DROWNING,
WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE
OF ITS ABILITY TO SHAPE-SHIFT?
TONY THINKS IT COULD COVER
FAR MORE EVENTUALITIES.
Bonning: THE KELPIE TALE'S
A VERY USEFUL MEANS
OF WARNING THE PEOPLE
AGAINST MANY DIFFERENT DANGERS
THAT ARE OUT THERE.
Narrator: OFF THE WEST COAST OF SCOTLAND,
VICIOUS KELPIES RESEMBLING
MERMAN ATTACK SAILORS
WHO STRAYED TOO FAR OFF COURSE.
ON LAND, A KELPIE DISGUISED
AS A WOMAN AMBUSHES MEN
FOOLISH ENOUGH TO WALK
THE HIGHLANDS AT NIGHT,
AND IN THE OUTER HEBRIDES,
A STORY OF A KELPIE
DISGUISED AS A HANDSOME MAN
IS TOLD TO GIRLS TO
KEEP THEM CLOSE TO HOME.
MYTHICAL STORIES,
ESPECIALLY OF SEA MONSTERS,
WERE USED AS A FORM OF SOCIAL CONTROL.
[ ROARS ]
ONE OF THE BEAUTIES OF MONSTER LEGENDS IS,
A LOT OF TIMES, THE DETAILS DON'T MATTER.
IT'S THE OVERALL IDEA, THE WARNING,
THE ETHICAL CHALLENGE TO
THE READER OR THE VIEWER.
Bonning: KELPIE UNIFIES
ALL THE DANGERS TO PEOPLE
IN ONE BEAST,
ONE TREMENDOUSLY DEMONIC,
HORRIBLE, NASTY BEAST.
YOU DON'T EVER WANT TO MEET ONE.
[ GROWLS ]
Narrator: THE KELPIE MYTH SERVED TO WARN
OF MANY DIFFERENT PERILS.
DID THE KRAKEN LEGEND
SERVE AS A SIMILAR PURPOSE?
AS SAILORS TRAVELED FURTHER,
THEY ENCOUNTERED MORE DANGERS,
FROM TYPHOONS TO WHIRLPOOLS
AND LARGE MAN-EATING SHARKS.
DID THE KRAKEN CHANGE
SHAPE TO FIT THE CULPRIT?
BUT THIS IS NOT THE END OF THE MYSTERY.
COULD A NEW MARINE
DISCOVERY SHED FRESH LIGHT
ON ANOTHER VERY DIFFERENT
REASON THE KRAKEN MYTH FIRST BEGAN
AND WHY IT ENDURED FOR SO LONG?
[ ROAR, THUNDER RUMBLING ]
[ ROAR, THUNDER RUMBLING ]
♪♪
Narrator: EXPERTS INVESTIGATE
THE TRUTH BEHIND THE MYTH
OF THE MIGHTY MARINE MONSTER THE KRAKEN.
♪♪
THIS WAS JUST ONE OF THE
MANY FANTASTICAL SEA BEASTS
THAT TERRORIZED SAILORS FOR CENTURIES.
MARINE BIOLOGIST GRO
VAN DER MEEREN REALIZES
HOW SCARY THESE WATERS
WERE FOR OUR ANCESTORS.
Van Der Meeren: THIS IS ONE OF
THE MOST MAGNIFICENT MAPS
OF THE SCANDINAVIAN COUNTRIES EVER MADE.
THIS IS THE CARTA MARINA.
WHAT'S REALLY MAGNIFICENT
IS ALL THESE SEA MONSTERS.
Narrator: BUT WHILE THE ORIGINS
OF MANY HAVE COME TO LIGHT,
THE INSPIRATION BEHIND
THE KRAKEN REMAINS ELUSIVE.
♪♪
THE DEADLY SEA SERPENT MAY HAVE BEEN BASED
ON THE RARE OARFISH... ♪♪
...A STRANGE CREATURE
WITH A STRIKING RED CREST
THAT GROWS NEARLY 30 FEET LONG.
♪♪
THE MYTHICAL PRESTERS
COULD SHOOT POWERFUL TORRENTS OF WATER.
WAS THIS BASED ON SPOUTING SPERM WHALES?
♪♪
AND THE LEGENDARY ZIPHIUS,
WITH ITS DEADLY SWORDLIKE FIN,
MAY HAVE BEEN INSPIRED BY THE ORCA
WITH ITS TRIANGULAR
DORSAL FIN UP TO 6 FEET TALL.
♪♪
BUT A NEW DISCOVERY COULD
POTENTIALLY THROW FRESH LIGHT
ON THE ORIGIN OF THE KRAKEN MYTH.
♪♪
Narrator: IN THE MURKY,
PLANKTON-FILLED WATER,
SOMETHING UNBELIEVABLE EMERGES...
3-FOOT WIDE GELATINOUS SPHERES.
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator: GRO WORKS WITH SPECIALIST DIVERS
TO HUNT DOWN MORE OF
THESE MYSTERIOUS SPHERES.
[ BREATHING DEEPLY ]
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator: THE TEAM IS IN POSITION.
THEY ENTER THE WATER AT A SPOT
KNOWN TO BE PARTICULARLY RICH IN LIFE.
THEY DESCEND...
...AND THE LAIR OF THE KRAKEN IS REVEALED.
♪♪
Narrator: GRO SUSPECTS THE JELLY BALLS
MAY BE RELATED TO THE SQUID FAMILY,
BUT FURTHER INVESTIGATION WILL BE REQUIRED
BEFORE IT CAN OFFICIALLY BE IDENTIFIED.
♪♪
[ ROARS ]
THE UNCERTAINTY, THE UNKNOWING OF THE SEA,
IS REALLY WHAT LENDS ITSELF
TO CREATING THESE MYTHICAL
BEASTS AND CREATURES.
A SHIP GOES DOWN, AND YOU
NEVER KNOW WHAT HAPPENED.
IN THE SEA, THERE ARE NO ANSWERS.
THERE IS NO CLOSURE.
CONSIDERING THAT 90% OF THE
OCEANS ARE STILL UNEXPLORED,
IT MAKES SENSE THAT STORIES LIKE THE KRAKEN
WILL ENDURE WITH US FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
Paxton: IN MANY WAYS,
THE MYTH OF THE KRAKEN
REFLECTS THE HUMAN RELATIONSHIP TO THE SEA.
IT IS A PLACE OF MYSTERY,
DANGER, AND ULTIMATELY, REWARD.
ABOVE ALL, THE KRAKEN IS ABOUT THE UNKNOWN
AND REFLECTS OUR LACK
OF KNOWLEDGE OF THE SEA.
Narrator: WITH SO MUCH
OF OUR PLANET'S OCEANS
STILL TO EXPLORE,
STORIES LIKE THE KRAKEN WILL
ENDURE FOR MANY YEARS TO COME.
♪♪
[ ROARS ]
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪