Mystical Creatures through the Ages

The Kracken 

The Kraken is a large mystical sea creature which is said to hide deep in the sea around Norway and Iceland dragging helpless ships to the depths. It is generally described as a squid like creature with long tentacles slimy tentacles.

 

One description says that the beast is so large that on the rare occasion's that it surfaced sailors would mistake it for an island and go ashore in search of food. However once these sailors had lit a fire to cook their findings, the Kraken would awake and dive into the depths creating a whirlwind which would suck the sailors and their ships into the depths.

Another description is of a beast which attacks ships by enveloping them with its tentacles, crushing the ship and dragging it to the depths and devouring the crew along the way. This beast is reminiscent of the Kraken which makes an appearance in "the pirates of the Caribbean" trilogy. This creature could be based on the giant squid which grow to 40 or 50 feet long and is know to have attacked ships. It is believable that these creatures may have attacked early sailing ships as these ships could have been smaller than a giant squid itself. The pinta, one of the ships Columbus used to find America, was only 60 feet long.




The Kraken
by Lord Alfred Lord Tennyson

Below the thunders of the upper deep;
Far, far beneath in the abysmal sea,
His ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep
The Kraken sleepeth: faintest sunlights flee
About his shadowy sides: above him swell
Huge sponges of millennial growth and height;
And far away into the sickly light,
From many a wondrous grot and secret cell
Unnumbered and enormous polypi
Winnow with giant arms the slumbering green.
There hath he lain for ages and will lie
Battening open huge sea worms in his sleep,
Until the latter fire shall heat the deep;
Then once by man and angels to be seen,
In roaring he shall rise and on the surface die.