Hey, yāall, itās Weird Wednesday! Where on some Wednesdays, I blog about weird stuff and give writing prompts.
Today: The Devil Whale: Island or Sea Monster?
The legend of a whale (or turtle) as big as an island can be found all over the world, fromĀ SinbadĀ toĀ Pliny the ElderĀ toĀ St. Brendan; itās known as Aspidochelone (Asp-Turtle) to the Greeks, the Devil Whale in Christian tradition, and Fastitocalon in the old English poem āThe Whale.ā
The story goes like this: a ship approaches what seems to be an island in the middle of the sea, complete with sand, hills, and grass. The sailors happily clamber onto solid ground and go about making lunch. But as soon as they light their cooking fires, the āislandā begins to shake and sink, revealing its true nature.Ā
The Devil Whale is a fantastic story. But could it be a real thing? Are there whales as big as islands that sink ships and doom sailors? Well, sort of.Ā
Check out the blog post for the whole story and someĀ monstrous writing prompts, such as:
What the blooming hell? Probably the weirdest thing about the story is that little detail which most convinces sailors that this is, in fact, an island and not a living creature: the grass. Some sources say the island-whaleās skin is like sand, and it has bumps that resemble rocks. Sure. But how could there be actual plants growing on the back of a whale? Well, writers, thatās up to you. Maybe the beast is still for so long that seeds can sprout in soil washed up by the waves. Maybe the plants grow by magic, and theyāre filled with a rare power sought by the bravest spellcasters. Maybe itās a glamour: the whale uses a spell to appear like an island, drawing in sailors to eat. Maybe there are even dangerous sirens who live on that āisland.ā
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