Creature Feature — A Monster Countdown to Halloween #98: The Kraken
If you missed the first article in our monster countdown, check it out here. Want to know what we’re up to and why any sane person would be talking about Halloween in July? Then clock your clicker right here.
Yo ho ho and a container of your preferred beverage, welcome back to our Halloween countdown! The great depths of the ocean hold mysteries that are potentially beyond human comprehension even in the modern day — though I’d be willing to bet any real monsters down there aren’t lacking in plastic bags to take their shopping home in. So, we’ve gone all seafaring for our second-ever monster countdown article to take a look at one of the ocean’s most famous myths — the Kraken, an enormous octopus-like creature that could break ships in half, swallow sailors whole and had a small recurring role in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise but never got around to getting its SAG-AFTRA union card.
But how does a creature like this enter the popular conscious? We haven’t exactly seen many of them knocking about turning over cruise liners, after all. To start with the basics, the word “Kraken” has been through several evolutions in multiple languages, but it’s believed that the name was originally taken from the Norwegian word Krake and then pluralised. Krake is Norwegian for “crooked tree”, so the prevailing theory is that “Kraken” is a pluralised form referring to the octopus-like creature resembling the base and roots of a giant tree thrashing around in the water. I’m guessing sailors didn’t get to see a lot of trees because they were on the ocean all the time. The Kraken is richly described in Norwegian folklore and culture as an octopus or squid grown to incredible size, which we can attribute to a Norwegian bishop named Erik Pontoppidan in 1754. He even gave it the fearsome reputation it has today for pulling entire ships down into the ocean, though he also argued for the existence of mermaids and sea-serpents so perhaps he was simply of a “Troy McClure” persuasion if you catch my Simpsons reference.
However, the year 1700 is our first known recording of a Kraken of any sort, after travelling Catholic priest Francesco Negri presumably made a quick note in between rounds of shitting himself with fear. Before then, there hadn’t been any recorded sightings — presumably, they’d all been found with tentacle-shaped holes in their ship journals and abdomens, but they couldn’t find a pen in time. Beyond this, the creature existed mostly in folklore and legend among seafarers, though there were investigations into its existence throughout the 19th century when the legend was at peak popularity.
The Kraken has plenty of spotlight in popular culture aside from the aforementioned theme park ride-turned-movie. Victor Hugo, known for his mostly Kraken-free works like Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, introduced a version of a Kraken in the 1860s that went on to inspire fellow French author Jules Verne to include one in his novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea. Verne had done his research, too, giving a proper citation to Erik Pontoppidan for his initial description of the beast, which meant 19th-century Wikipedia would have been forced to allow his article on it.
To this day, the idea of a giant Kraken terrorizing the oceans has split opinions on whether it is true or simply a myth told by those infatuated with the immense nature of the sea. Personally? You can call me Ronseal because I’m on the fence. Given how little of our ocean remains unexplored and the very real things that exist like the giant squid, I’m willing to put my neck on the line with a thrilling “maybe” when it comes to the idea of something like Kraken existing out in the frankly terrifying depths of the ocean we haven’t yet been to. As far as the “attacking ships and popping sailors into its beak like so much ironic calamari”, maybe there’s some attribution to be considered for the storytelling skills of said sailors. Well, and all those religious figures, too.
Ever been attacked by a Kraken? Come tell us about it over on our Twitter. We promise not to laugh at your sucker marks.
