Back in 2001, the mystery of the Loch Ness Monster took an even stranger turn after a coven of White Witches got involved. The High Priest of the British Coven at the time, Kevin Carlyon, travelled to the famous loch in hopes of helping to solve the mystery which has endured for over a millennia and a half.
Hastings-based Kevin believed he had incredible powers and hoped he could use this power for good, protecting Nessie from the attentions of the scientific world, including Swedish cryptozoologist called Jan Sundberg who arrived at the loch around the same time in the hope of being able to catch whatever creature was causing the monster myth.
Deciding to cast his spell, the White Witch took to the waters to use the natural elements to protect the monster from prying eyes. Angering Sundberg with his theatrics, it was quickly played out as a battle between science and mysticism in the media.
“I’m trying to be as scientific as possible while he casts his mumbo-jumbo spells,” Sundberg was quoted as saying at the time, adding that he would throw the witch into the loch if he disrupted their research anymore.
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The deflated Swede was forced to admit defeat, leaving with no evidence of the 'giant eel' he speculated was responsible for the sightings.
However, Carlyon would return a short time later in 2003, with the former wrestler telling the BBC that his protection spell a few years earlier may have been "too effective" and was stopping Nessie from returning to be seen by the public.
He told the BBC : "I left the protection spell running and now I want to undo it slightly so Nessie can make an appearance.
"The protection will still be there for Nessie so no one can cause her any harm but she will be able to come back again and thrill the public."
Stating that he hoped to coax the monster out into the open once more, the media and Gary Campbell, the current keeper of the Official Sightings Register, watched on.
Dressed in his signature robes, he appeared on the banks at the front of the Loch Ness Clansman Hotel, about four miles from Drumnadrochit to cast his spell.
Though Nessie didn't appear, Carlyon would return in 2013 – the first year since 1925 when there were considered to be no official sightings – to help try to coax the creature back, or at least its spirit.
Speaking at the time, he confirmed that he believed that Nessie was the "ghost of a dinosaur", and that his spell had exorcised it from the loch.
However, it appears that Nessie – or at least her spirit – has indeed since returned to the loch with plenty of sightings annually recorded by Gary Campbell.
The self-described Witch, Paranormal Researcher and Tarot Consultant is still practising his spells, and can be found via his website KevtheWitch.co.uk.
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