Flap: Nahant, Massachusetts, Jul–Aug 1833
4 reports · 3 separate documents
Water Monster (3), Other Aquatic (1).
In the 10 years either side we have 6 other reports within 37 miles of here.
The reports, in order
- Jul 5, 1833 Passengers on the steamer Connecticut reported seeing three or four sea serpents near Nahant, with one estimated at 100 feet long.
Water Monster · Nahant, Massachusetts - Jul 6, 1833 A passenger on the Steamer Connecticut provided a detailed account of sea serpents lying on the water with heads resembling pickerels.
Water Monster · Nahant, Massachusetts - Aug 13, 1833 Passengers in a small boat testify to approaching within ten feet of the Sea Monster which passed under their bow at a rapid rate.
Other Aquatic · Nahant, Massachusetts - Aug 13, 1833 Witnesses on the steamer Connecticut report seeing a large serpent-like creature in the harbor that passed under the boat's stern.
Water Monster · Nahant, Massachusetts
Sources: Newspaper (4).
How we find flaps
- Plain rules, no model: reports within 37 miles and about four months of each other are grouped, and a group counts only when it is at least 5 times what that place usually sees over the 10 years either side.
- A flap needs at least 3 reports from at least 3 separate documents: one article listing six sightings is one telling.
- Copies are not confirmations: a story reprinted in thirty papers counts once.
- Investigator logs (BFRO, NAWAC, the Loch Ness Register) are left out, because a busy field season looks just like a flap.
- Only reports placed to a town or county and dated to the month are used. A flap is a burst of reports, not proof of a creature: panics, hoaxes and newspaper fashions make flaps too.