That Man Gasparini

I was recently sent a newspaper clipping from the Adelaide Advertiser dated 23rd March 1959 which tells a story which has been covered here before but adds a twist (thanks for the information, Katie). It concerns the Italian journalist, Francesco Gasparini, who claimed he invented the Loch Ness Monster back in 1933. The clipping is shown below and you can click on the image to read it more clearly.

We have mentioned this man before in relation to another man who claimed ownership of the Nessie story. That other person was Digby Geharty, whom you can read about here and here. Neither man should be taken seriously as the parents of Nessie. Indeed, even the most seasoned sceptics cast doubt upon their claims.

However, what caught my attention was Gasparini's claim that he saw a two line headline from the Glasgow Herald from 1933 stating that a strange fish had been caught in Loch Ness. Now, I do not recall seeing such an article, but I would not claim to have covered all of 1933. Alternatively, Gasparini may have made this up or simply misremembered after 26 years.

My favoured theory is that he put a nearby strange fish story into Loch Ness. I think particularly of the fish caught near Findhorn in July 1934, which I reprinted here five years ago and from which I reproduce the picture below. 

But such a thing should not be put aside, so an archive search should be done. I have not done such a search yet, so I invite anyone else to see if there is any truth to this strange fish story.

The author can be contacted at lochnesskelpie@gmail.com

Was Nessie invented by a publicist?

As part of the promotion for the upcoming book, A Monstrous Commotion, the Daily Mail runs an article on the author, Gareth Williams, and an interesting piece from his book. It concerns a Digby George Gerahty, who claimed to Henry Bauer before his death in 1981, that he was the inventor of the Loch Ness Monster via a series of planted monster stories back in 1933. You can read more in the Mail article.

The story is not unfamiliar to me, I just discounted it as one of the various competing theories promulgated as to what triggered the Loch Ness Monster story. The competing one is the influence of King Kong. The other is road works and blasting rousing the monster. One that also springs to mind is the Italian journalist, Francesco Gasparini, who in 1959 made similar claims:

Italian newsman Francesco Gasparini claimed in an article published in the Milan weekly magazine Visto that he had invented the Loch Ness Monster. His story was that in August 1933, while working in London as a UK correspondent for an Italian newspaper, he saw a two-line item in the Glasgow Herald about a "strange fish" caught in Loch Ness. Having nothing else to write about, he expanded on this, turning the fish into a monster, and soon "other papers began to print eyewitness accounts of the monster being sighted." Gasparini's claim was not taken very seriously. "The man is talking rot," one Scot was quoted as saying.

And then there is poor Alex Campbell, long time water bailiff of Loch Ness, who people such as arch sceptic, Ronald Binns, pins the blame on for inventing, embellishing and sustaining Nessie stories to catalyse the Kelpie legends into life.

Who's to blame? All, none or some? As Gareth says, he is not the one to judge, it is down to each of us to form our own opinion. I look forward with greater interest to the release of his book on November the 12th.

POSTSCRIPT: follow up article here

The author can be contacted at lochnesskelpie@gmail.com