Encounter Atlas
The Lagarfljót worm is a serpent said to live in Lagarfljót, a long, silty glacial lake in east Iceland. It is a 'many humps' monster, said to be longer than a bus, and in some tales it coils up on the shore.
Icelandic annals record a strange sight in the lake in 1345, and the worm appears on 16th-century maps. A folk tale says it began as a small worm a girl put on a gold ring to make the gold grow, and both grew enormous. In 1963 the head of Iceland's forestry service reported a sighting, and in 1983 contractors said a new phone cable laid across the lake bed was found torn in many places.
In February 2012 a farmer filmed a long shape moving in the icy river, and the video went viral around the world. A local committee later debated whether it showed the worm. Skeptics say it is ice or a fishing net.
What witnesses report
- Several humps moving in a line
- A body longer than a bus
- Something coiled on the shore
Famous cases
- 1345Annals record a marvel in the lake
Lagarfljót, Iceland - 1963Forestry chief sighting
Lagarfljót, Iceland - 2012Viral video
Egilsstaðir, Iceland
Seen the Lagarfljót Worm?
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