Fredrick William Holiday
Encyclopedia
Fredrick William Holiday, also known as "Ted Holiday" (1920–1979) was a British journalist
, angler
, cryptozoologist, and wildlife specialist.
Motivated by the early 1930s media reports, Holiday would dedicate the rest of his life to investigating the Loch Ness monster
. In the 1960s, Holiday became a member of the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau. After several hundred hours of watching the Loch, Holiday claims that he reported four unidentified sightings. In his 1968 book, The Great Orm of Loch Ness, Holiday postulated that the creature in the Loch was an invertebrate
creature similar in form to the extinct Tullimonstrum gregarium, but vastly larger.
Holiday also claimed that he noticed several unusual coincidences, including camera malfunction during certain Nessie
sightings. For example, in August 1968, even though there were several witnesses along the shore, "Nessie" chose to appear in one of the very few places that were obscured from the various cameras. Holiday reported, "The observers were watchful and keen but they had seen nothing. The phenomenon had concealed itself so there was nothing for them to see."
By 1972, Holiday modified his initial hypothesis that the Loch Ness monster was a literal physical animal. In his second book, The Dragon and the Disc, Holiday postulates that there are certain commonalities between paranormal
phenomena and certain reported sightings on the Loch. Holiday also believed that there is a relationship between ancient dragon legends and contemporary UFO phenomena. Though he maintained in the book that he still believed that the monster was an invertebrate animal, there was a paranormal aspect to it reminiscent of ancient Water Horse
legends which he could not fully explain.
His final work, The Goblin Universe, was published posthumously and includes an introduction by Colin Wilson.
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, angler
Angling
Angling is a method of fishing by means of an "angle" . The hook is usually attached to a fishing line and the line is often attached to a fishing rod. Fishing rods are usually fitted with a fishing reel that functions as a mechanism for storing, retrieving and paying out the line. The hook itself...
, cryptozoologist, and wildlife specialist.
Motivated by the early 1930s media reports, Holiday would dedicate the rest of his life to investigating the Loch Ness monster
Loch Ness Monster
The Loch Ness Monster is a cryptid that is reputed to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is similar to other supposed lake monsters in Scotland and elsewhere, though its description varies from one account to the next....
. In the 1960s, Holiday became a member of the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau. After several hundred hours of watching the Loch, Holiday claims that he reported four unidentified sightings. In his 1968 book, The Great Orm of Loch Ness, Holiday postulated that the creature in the Loch was an invertebrate
Invertebrate
An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
creature similar in form to the extinct Tullimonstrum gregarium, but vastly larger.
Holiday also claimed that he noticed several unusual coincidences, including camera malfunction during certain Nessie
NESSIE
NESSIE was a European research project funded from 2000–2003 to identify secure cryptographic primitives. The project was comparable to the NIST AES process and the Japanese Government-sponsored CRYPTREC project, but with notable differences from both...
sightings. For example, in August 1968, even though there were several witnesses along the shore, "Nessie" chose to appear in one of the very few places that were obscured from the various cameras. Holiday reported, "The observers were watchful and keen but they had seen nothing. The phenomenon had concealed itself so there was nothing for them to see."
By 1972, Holiday modified his initial hypothesis that the Loch Ness monster was a literal physical animal. In his second book, The Dragon and the Disc, Holiday postulates that there are certain commonalities between paranormal
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
phenomena and certain reported sightings on the Loch. Holiday also believed that there is a relationship between ancient dragon legends and contemporary UFO phenomena. Though he maintained in the book that he still believed that the monster was an invertebrate animal, there was a paranormal aspect to it reminiscent of ancient Water Horse
Water Horse
A Water Horse is a Celtic mythical creature, such as the Ceffyl Dŵr and Kelpie, as well as other water dwelling cryptids.-Name origin:The term "water horse" was originally a name given to the kelpie, a horse like creature similar to the hippocamp that has the head, neck and mane of a normal horse,...
legends which he could not fully explain.
His final work, The Goblin Universe, was published posthumously and includes an introduction by Colin Wilson.
Books
- Sea Trout: How to Catch Them (1956)
- River-fishing for Sea Trout (1960)
- Angling in Wales (1960)
- Fishing in Wales (1964)
- Feathering for Seafish (1966)
- The Great Orm of Loch Ness: A Practical Inquiry into the Nature and Habits of Water-monsters (1968), ISBN 0-571-08473-7
- The Dragon and the Disc: An Investigation into the Totally Fantastic (1973), ISBN 0-283-97915-1
- also published as Creatures from the Inner Sphere (1973)
- republished as Serpents of the Sky, Dragons of the Earth (1993), ISBN 1-881852-07-5
- Estuary Fishing (1974), ISBN 0-214-20041-8
- The Dyfed Enigma: Unidentified Flying Objects in West Wales, co-authored with Randall Jones Pugh (1979), ISBN 0-571-11412-1
- The Goblin Universe, co-authored with Colin WilsonColin WilsonColin Henry Wilson is a prolific English writer who first came to prominence as a philosopher and novelist. Wilson has since written widely on true crime, mysticism and other topics. He prefers calling his philosophy new existentialism or phenomenological existentialism.- Early biography:Born and...
(1986), ISBN 0-87542-310-8- 2nd ed. by Holiday (1990), ISBN 1-85480-081-7