Two years ago we posted about a video of what was purported to be the Lagarfljót Worm.  An Icelandic commission has now narrowly voted that the video is “authentic.” The video, which shows undulating movements of  something long and very slender, has been viewed 8 million times on the internet.  Lagarfljótsormurinn, the Lagarfljót worm monster, is said to live in the Lake Lagarfljót near Egilsstaðir in East Iceland.  There have been “serpent” sightings in the lake as recently as 1998, as well as dating back to a reference in the Icelandic Annals of 1345.

An analysis of the video in 2012 by Finnish researcher, Miisa McKeown, showed that the object in the video is not actually moving forward in the water but is stationary and undulating back and forth in the swift current. The movement of the ice and muddy water flowing around the object gives it the appearance of forward motion. This motion is consistent with an ice-caked fishing net caught on an underwater branch or rock — and completely inconsistent with a living animal.  There is no indication that the video was faked or an attempt at a hoax. It seems to be merely not what it may appear at first glance.

Nevertheless, an Icelandic commission of 13 en-paneled to review the video determined by a 7-6 vote that the footage was an authentic image of the lake monster. Back in 1997, former mayor of Austur-Hérað promised a prize of ISK 500,000 (USD 4,300, EUR 3,300) to the person presenting evidence of Lagarfljótsormurinn’s existence. A local tourism cooperative is also pitching in an additional ISK 50,000 prize. So now, Hjörtur E. Kjerúlf, the farmer who shot the video, will receive the prize.

Many suspect that the real motive behind the panel’s vote of “authenticity” is a hope that the Lagarfljót Worm will attract even a fraction of the tourist króna that the stories of a monster in Loch Ness in Scotland draw, where tourists are estimated to spend around £25 million, yearly, looking for “Nessie”.