(ORDO NEWS) — Myths and legends still haunt our minds. But for a long time, Essex was the center of attraction for adventure seekers and explorers of unknown phenomena.
Today it seems silly to believe in mythical creatures dragging sheep. But what prompted people to invent huge kites in this particular area?
The film adaptation of the 2016 bestseller titled The Serpent in Essex, starring Tom Hiddleston as Loki, does not leave anyone indifferent.
The spirit of adventure and the debunking of folk legends is addictive. The most interesting thing is that the series, like the novel, have a real basis.
Snakes in Essex
Essex has a long history of water snake myths. The number of these stories may be due to the fact that it boasts the longest coastline in England (560 km), indented with hundreds of water bays and estuaries.
This region on the east coast of England is tidal, meaning that hundreds of hectares of salt marsh, swampy and unstable soil are filled with water twice a day and are constantly changing.
It is easy to get lost, to fall into the tide and see the outlines of mysterious creatures created by your own imagination in the low fog.
The local industry during the Victorian era was fishing, including snake eels, and it is possible that when fishermen and local pirates smuggled rum overland from Mersey Island, they encountered unknown objects in the water, which they mistook for mythical creatures.
One legend from that period says that a dragon appeared from an ancient lake near the village of Bures in Essex and began to terrorize the villagers and eat sheep. The nearby village of Wormingford was named after such a “serpent” or “dragon”.
A 1950s stained glass window in Wormingford Church shows a version of the myth where a crocodile given to King Richard I escapes the Tower of London. The escaped crocodile of the myth killed sheep and demanded to be fed virgins.
Wissington Village Church still has a medieval fresco depicting a water dragon. Be that as it may, the Essex serpent is just a mythological character created by the superstitions of local residents, which no one has ever met in reality.
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