In Cornish

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

, the Morgawr (, meaning ''sea giant'') is a

sea serpent A sea serpent is a type of sea monster described in various mythologies, most notably in Mesopotamian cosmology (Tiamat), Ugaritic cosmology ( Yam, Tannin), biblical cosmology (Leviathan, Rahab), Greek cosmology (Cetus, Echidna, Hydra, Scy ...

that purportedly inhabits the sea near Falmouth Bay,

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, but an academic article in 2022 describes how the story began as a

hoax A hoax (plural: hoaxes) is a widely publicised falsehood created to deceive its audience with false and often astonishing information, with the either malicious or humorous intent of causing shock and interest in as many people as possible. S ...

History

According to legend, the creature first appeared near Pendennis Point in 1975, described as having a trunk with a very long neck and black or brown skin "like a

sea lion Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. ...

's". Local mackerel fishermen blamed bad weather and poor fishing on supposed sightings of the monster. Some versions of the story say the monster appeared after German submarine U28 torpedoed a British merchant ship during World War I, and describe it as 60 feet long, shaped like a crocodile with four webbed feet and a powerful tail. Folklorists speculate that Cornish author Tony 'Doc' Shiels "invented" the creature as a hoax, having coined the name "Morgawr" after claiming to sight it in 1976. According to the story, Shiels sent the ''Falmouth Packet'' newspaper photographs of the monster attributed to an anonymous individual called "Mary F". The same year in July, fishermen John Cock and George Vinnicombe claimed to have sighted the creature in the waters off Lizard Point. Also in 1976, Shiels claimed to have photographed the creature lying low in the water near

Mawnan Mawnan (, meaning ''St Maunan'') is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is in the former administrative district of Kerrier and is bounded to the south by the Helford River, to th ...

. According to some anecdotes, British writer Sheila Bird claimed to have seen the monster while walking the cliffs of Gerrans Bay in 1985. The legend continues to the present day with sporadic claims of Morgawr sightings on the stretch of coastline between Rosemullion Head and Toll Point popularly known as "Morgawr's Mile".

In popular culture

* ''The Morgow Rises!'' is a horror novel by Cornish author

Peter Tremayne Peter Berresford Ellis (born 10 March 1943) is a British historian, literary biographer, and novelist who has published over 98 books to date either under his own name or his pseudonyms Peter Tremayne and Peter MacAlan. He has also published 10 ...

featuring a sea serpent named "The Morgow". * A serpent named "Morgawrus" appearing in '' A Warlock in Whitby'' by

Robin Jarvis Robin Jarvis (born 8 May 1963) is a British young adult fiction (YA) and children's novelist, who writes dark fantasy, suspense and supernatural thrillers. His books for young adults have featured the inhabitants of a coastal town battling a mo ...

was reportedly inspired by the legend. * A race of cancerous and mutated sea-serpent men called the Morgawr are a playable faction in the 4X strategy game ''

Endless Legend ''Endless Legend'' is a turn-based 4X fantasy-strategy game developed by Amplitude Studios and published by Iceberg Interactive for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X in September 2014. The purpose of the game is to dominate the world of Auriga with ...

''. * A three part reel in D Mixolydian called ''Morgawr'' written by Simon Owen of Llanelli and Oxford, played by the band'' Pencerdd ''. Morgawr on The Session https://thesession.org/tunes/14439

Boat name

The Falmouth-made reproduction of the

Ferriby Boats The Ferriby Boats are three Bronze Age Britain, Bronze-Age British sewn boat, sewn plank-built boats, parts of which were discovered at North Ferriby in the East Riding of Yorkshire, East Riding of the England, English county of Yorkshire. Onl ...

was named ''Morgawr'' after the legendary beast.

References

{{reflist Paranormal hoaxes Cornish folklore Cornish legendary creatures Hoaxes in the United Kingdom 1976 hoaxes Sea serpents 1975 in England 1970s in Cornwall

History

In popular culture

Boat name

See also

References