There’s something completely bizarre about those tentacles with their quivering suction cups waving around in the ocean currents so horrifying alien land dwelling humans are instantly repulsed. It’s no wonder they’re found in awe inspiring written adventures tales and glorified in cinematic moments. Is there any possibility the Kraken a monster version of an octopus is more than a mythical beast?

The word Kraken is Scandinavian. The people of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark were some of the earliest seafarers so it stands to reason they would be the first to spot the monsters of the deep. These Nordic people’s traditional stories are full of warnings about the terrifying colossuses of the deep preying on the unwary. According to myth the Kraken might have ruled the depths, but the beast was hardly alone.

Monsters with giant bodies and long serpentine necks swam long side mermaids and whale-like creatures so mammoth they could swallow a ship whole. The Kraken itself was a multi-tentacle menace with misshapen balloon-like head, large eyes that seemed eerily intelligent, and a diet that included the occasional unlucky sailor. These creatures were reportedly large enough to attach themselves to ships, topple masts and drag off their unfortunate dinner choice.

These tales told by men of the sea were faithful captured by the French novelist Jules Verne in his novel “2000 leagues under the Sea” which was published in 1870. In chapter 18 of the novel several crewmen aboard the mysterious submarine the Natilus discuss the legend of the creature describing it as a giant 40 to 60 feet octopus. The attack by the creature some pages later sounds much like the description of the monster’s tactics which were passed down through history.

Perhaps director Gore Verbinski and writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio and others behind the successful high adventure film Pirates of the Caribbean were inspired by the novelist’s version of the Kraken or perhaps they too fell under the spell of the legend. Seeing the water drenched gigantic Kraken emerge from the ocean in full CGI effect was a thrill for all movie fans, but no doubt, especially for those who’d loved the classic novel as young readers or those who grew up hearing the legends.

Of course that circles back to question of whether the stories are myths or legends at all.

There are of course the skeptics who say all the stories of sea monsters and giant sea creatures were simply misidentifications of perfectly ordinary beasties and there’s certainly such a possibility. For example, from extreme distances without the aid of binoculars groups otters, seals and sea lions can look like a gathering of humans. Several sea snakes or eels traveling close together can appear to be one extremely long animal.

It won’t seem too big a stretch of the imagination to think that during a shipboard emergency no one would actually measure a whale intent on ramming the craft into wood chips, or determining if the creature clinging to bottom was squid or octopi. It’s also possible that the stories are just that. Perhaps it was all tall tales told by men returning from a voyage and looking for an audience willing to keep them in liquor long enough to hear the fantasy.

However, there a few things for the skeptical to consider such as the fact that early drawings of certain sea monsters especial those with the long graceful necks like the more recent reports of the Loch Ness Monster sound so much like very real sea creatures who swam the seas before humans existed. It seems a stretch as a coincidence. Then there are of course interesting findings in just the last few years.

The coelacanth a large fish related to the lungfish was discovered off the coast of South Africa in 1938. Long thought extinct these odd looking fish are still spotted only rarely, and it’s their survival and lack of change from the oldest lineage of Gnathostomata which swam the sea during the Cretaceous period that’s awe-inspiring.

Even more recently the discovery of a brightly colored fish so strange and bright in appearance it’s been dubbed “psychedelic” was published in the US scientific journal Copeia. Such finds beg the question of what else might be lingering in the depths we haven’t found yet.

As far as octopi fitting the description of a Kraken a few findings support a possible connection.

First is the reported near supernatural intelligence of the Kraken. Posted on Cyber Diver News is a story about workmen arriving at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium in California to find 200 gallons had soaked their very expensive and very new ecologically sensitive flooring. It was found a curious two-spotted octopus had happened on the water recycling value and played with the tube until it was directed at an angle which spewed water out of the tank for 10 hours before the workmen arrived.

While smart isn’t a word most scientist would use when discussing octopi, they are considered more intelligent than might initially be expected of an invertebrate. Octopuses have been observed navigating through mazes and solving problems quickly. They also demonstrate the ability to remember their past solutions for quite some time afterwards.

Secondly is the unrealistic size of the legendary Kraken. No squid or octopus could possibly be large enough to take down even an older wooden sailing vessel of the past or could there be? The Giant Octopus is the record setter with some accounts measuring them at over 150 pounds with a length of over 20 feet. Other unsubstantiated reports have some of the species washing dead ashore at over 50 feet in length. Who’s to say there aren’t even larger specimens or even new species exist somewhere out in the ocean not seen by mankind for centuries just waiting to be rediscovered?