The Kraken was the most feared sea monster of Norse and Scandinavian sailors. According to the old legends, it was an enormous creature with many writhing tentacles that lived deep in the North Atlantic. When it surfaced near a ship, it would wrap its arms around the masts and drag the whole vessel down into the sea.
For centuries scientists dismissed the Kraken as a tall tale. Then dead giant squids started washing up on beaches. They had massive tentacles, eyes the size of dinner plates, and bodies that could grow over 40 feet long. Sperm whales were found covered in giant round scars that matched the suckers of these squids.
Until very recently, no one had ever seen a giant squid alive in its natural habitat. Then in 2012, a Japanese team finally filmed one swimming deep in the Pacific Ocean. They are still mysterious and incredibly hard to find. The “monster” that terrified sailors for centuries was hiding in plain sight - it was just shy and lived very deep down.
