The Mystery Animals of the Western Isles

The Western Isles provide the setting for accounts of sea serpents, dragons, monsters, ghostly animals and other creatures preserved in local tradition or reported by witnesses. Glen Vaudrey considers what lies behind these stories, including a supposed sea serpent near Harris and a faery dog associated with Luskentyre beach.

The book also examines reports that invite more ordinary explanations. A globster found on Benbecula is considered alongside sightings that may have involved a seal or even a submarine rather than an unknown animal. By placing folklore, eyewitness testimony and possible misidentification together, Vaudrey presents the islands’ mystery-animal lore as a record of competing interpretations rather than settled fact.