In Pure Spirit

For open minds

Steve Alten interview: Where is Megalodon hiding?

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Steve Alten is the author of the hugely popular Meg series. The fictional series starts when Navy deep-sea submersible pilot Jonas Taylor encounters a Carcharodon megalodon while exploring the infamous Mariana trench. He barely survives the encounter but then has to warn a sceptical world that the 70-foot shark is real.

The latest book in the series, Meg: Nightstalkers, deals with the nightmare scenario of escaped megalodons and other ancient monsters making their way free.

In Pure Spirit is really lucky. Steve’s made time to answer some of our Carcharodon megalodon questions. Buckle up and read on!

Q. Some folk like to hope that Carcharodon megalodon survives as a species. Why do you think that is? Isn’t a strange thing to hope for?

Not at all. Just as visitors would come to a Jurassic World, they’d love to witness the most vicious predator ever to have lived … albeit from a safe distance.

Q. Do you think the Mariana trench has any real surprises left for us?

It’s all new. This is a 40 mile wide, 1550 mile long unexplored realm. The latest exploration found hydrothermal vents (as I predicted 20 years ago) and an albino “ghost shark!”

Q. You must have been subjected to dozens of survival theories from fans since you started writing Meg. Which have been the most memorable ones?

I favor the rise of Orca as the most likely theory which resulted in the Megs disappearance. An orca is no match for a Meg, but killer whales hunt in pods, and a pack could easily kill a lone Meg. Orca hunt along shorelines and would have decimated Megalodon nurseries. The only escape for adults would have been to inhabit deeper waters where the whales could not access. Could Megalodon still be alive without us knowing it? Absolutely. We’ve only explored 5% of the oceans and less than 1% of the deep…

Q. How do you keep up with science and the real world mysteries of the deep oceans?

I research every novel thoroughly to flesh out the story. Plus I answer every email personally, which introduces me to experts far smarter than myself.

Q. Which other deep water stories are you tempted to explore?

The LOCH takes on Loch Ness, VOSTOK explores the subglacial lakes in Antarctica, and The OMEGA PROJECT takes us to our planet 12 million years in the future…so I’ve  been tempted and went there! Check it out at www.SteveAlten.com.

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Is this video evidence of a weird monster in the Mekong River?

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Is this the Mekong Monster?

The Mekong is a large river; the 7th-longest in Asia that crawls into Thailand where this video was filmed. The name comes from “Mae Man Khong, a term similar in Thai and Lao, which means mother river or mother water. Only the Amazon has more animals per cubic foot and the river is home to a hugely diverse range of life.

Is this a monster though?

In Pure Spirit

What do you make of the video? Odd? Monster? Or just some local animals and some trash?

Now you’ve seen this video are you tempted to back your bags, grab a flight to Bangkok, forget about the political violence in the news today and enjoy a holiday in Thailand?

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cryptozoology

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Created by Vladimir Stankovic this book charts a range of mysterious animals; these creatures are part of myth and legend but there is no strong evidence for their existence.

The word “cryptozoology” means the “study of hidden animals”, combining zoology with the Greek root “kryptos” or “hidden”. The book was created as part of a master thesis project at the University of Lapland. Sadly, it’s not something you can pick up at Amazon.

I think there’s some traditional European monsters in here along with new world horrors too.

Loch Ness Monster

Mothman

Sea Serpents

Storsjoodjuret

Thunderbird

Yeti

Buru

Chupacabra 2

Dover Demon

Gigantic Octopus

Gloucester Sea Serpent

Jersey Devil

Kongamato

In Pure Spirit

Which is your favourite illustrated cryptid from the collection above?

Help make a movie about cryptozoology and the Ningyo

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This is a chance to have an image drawn yourself to be transformed into a creature by professional, cinema trained, monster makers. That wish will require a generous pledge to the Ningyo project and if it’s too much then it’s possible to help make this movie come to life with much smaller amounts.

The Ningyo is a new cryptid to me, which shows that I need to read more, but I’ve seen The Green Ruby Pumpkin and it’s a first class short.

Ningyo

Have you helped Kickstart a project before?

The way it works is simple. The project runners set a goal and try and raise money. If you like the project you promise some money – but you don’t give them anything. Not yet. Only if the project hits its goal does any money come out of your account and to them. If the project flops then you don’t spend any money on it.

In order to raise as much money as possible the project owners offer different pledge levels, each one full of promises of treats that you’ll get if you pledge a little more.

Of course, it’s best to read around Kickstarter’s terms and conditions if before you do anything.

Me? I’m backing this project.

In Pure Spirit

Have you also seen The Green Ruby Pumpkin? For a free film; what did you make of it?

Are you going to be supporting this new project?

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