5 Big Facts about Newfoundland’s Giant Squid

Giant squid in Holyrood, Newfoundland (1935). Public Domain

You don’t have to believe in sea monsters.
But if you live in Newfoundland, you probably should.

When I was a kid, my father took me to see a preserved giant squid at Memorial University — I remember it being in a dark room in the Earth Sciences building, I think. It was stretched out behind glass, pale and ghostly, with eyes the size of saucers and tentacles that looked like they might still move if you waited long enough.

I remember peering into the case, trying to imagine something like that moving through the ocean — something alive. From that point on, I was hooked.

For most of history, the giant squid — Architeuthis dux, if you're feeling scientific — was thought of as a legend. A kraken. A sea monster. But it was Newfoundlanders, who helped prove it was more than just a tall tale.

So let’s dive in — to the sightings, the strandings, and our strange, enduring connection with one of the ocean’s most elusive giants.

1: The Myth Ended In Newfoundland

A giant squid in Harvey’s bathtub. Public Domain

For most of history, the giant squid was a ‘sailor’s story’. But in 1873, that changed right here in Newfoundland.

It started in Conception Bay, when a 12-year-old Tom Piccot and his father were ‘attacked’ by what they described as a monstrous squid. They managed to fight it off, and Tom severed a tentacle in the process. That tentacle — all eight feet of it — made its way to Rev. Moses Harvey in St. John’s, a man with a passion for natural history and a bathtub big enough to study it in.

You can learn all about that in my post/podcast episode, The Kid and The Squid.

A month later, a full carcass washed ashore in Logy Bay. Harvey documented everything, even photographing it — and in doing so, helped drag the giant squid out of folklore and into science. From that point on, no one could say it was just a sailor’s tall tale.

2: The Biggest of the Big

Giant Squid Model in Glover’s Harbour, Newfoundland

Five years later, Newfoundland one-upped itself.

On November 2, 1878, fishermen near Thimble Tickle (Sidebar: doesn’t Newfoundland have the best place names?) encountered a live giant squid thrashing in shallow water. The creature measured an astonishing 55 feet long — that’s longer than a humpback whale.

The Guinness Book of Records later confirmed it as the largest squid ever recorded. Today, it’s immortalized by a life-sized replica in Glover’s Harbour — a quiet fishing community that just happens to be home to the world’s biggest monster.

You can read more about its discovery and whaat became of the animal in my post: Giant Feast from a Giant Beast.

3: Giants Everywhere

A non-giant squid on the shore.

If you think these encounters were rare, think again.

More than 60 giant squid specimens have been found in Newfoundland waters. That’s about a fifth of all confirmed specimens on Earth. Our cold, deep waters seem to be the perfect hiding spot — or final resting place — for these elusive creatures.

So if you're on the shoreline and spot something long and rubbery drifting in the tide... maybe take a second look.

4: The Golden Age of Squid

Giant Squid near Dildo, NL (1933). Maunder/Public Domain.

Most of Newfoundland’s famous squid stories come from a single decade: the 1870s. Between 1871 and 1881, dozens of these giants were spotted, washed ashore, or caught in fishermen’s nets.

Why the sudden surge? No one knows for sure — but some scientists think the strandings come in cycles. Frederick Aldrich , a biologist at Memorial University and lifelong squid researcher, believed there was a 90-year rhythm to it. Sure enough, the 1960s brought another spike in sightings.

If Aldrich was right, we might be due again in the 2050s. Set your calendars. Start your squid watch parties.

• Squid Jigging Ground

  When 16 year-old A.R. Scammell sat down in Change Islands and penned Squid Jigging Ground he may not have been thinking of giant squid but he did create a monster of a song. It is one of the most recognizable tunes in the Newfoundland folk canon. It has been inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of fame and was even played on the bells of the Peace Tower in Ottawa to recognize the Newfoundland’s union with Canada in 1949.

  Scammell’s 1943 release of the track is recognized as the first commercial recording of a Newfoundland folk song. (Listen Here)

  Squid Jigging Ground

  Oh, this is the place where the fishermen gather,

  With oilskins and boots and Cape Anns battened down;

  All sizes of figures with squid lines and jiggers,

  They congregate here on the squid-jigging ground.

  Some are workin' their jiggers while others are yarnin',

  There's some standin' up and there's more lyin' down;

  While all kinds of fun, jokes and tricks are begun

  As they wait for the squid on the squid-jiggin' ground.

  There's men of all ages and boys in the bargain;

  There's old Billy Cave and there's young Raymond Brown,

  There's a red rantin' Tory out here in a dory,

  A-runnin' down Squires on the squid-jiggin' ground.

  There's men from the Harbour and men from the Tickle,

  In all kinds of motorboats, green, grey and brown;

  Right yonder is Bobby and with him is Nobby,

  He's chawin' hard tack on the squid-jiggin' ground.

  God bless my sou'wester, there's Skipper John Chaffey,

  He's the best hand at squid-jiggin' here, I'll be bound.

  Hello! What's the row? Why he's jiggin' one now,

  The very first squid on the squid-jiggin' ground.

  The man with the whiskers is old Jacob Steele;

  He's gettin well up but he's still pretty sound.

  While Uncle Bob Hawkins wears six pair o' stockin's

  Whenever he's out on the squid-jiggin' ground.

  Holy smoke! What a scuffle! All hands are excited.

  'Tis a wonder to me that there's nobody drowned.

  There's confusion, a bustle, a wonderful hustle,

  They're all jiggin' squids on the squid-jiggin' ground.

  Says Bobby, "The squids are on top of the water,

  I just got me jigger 'bout one fathom down" ---

  When a squid in the boat squirted right down his throat,

  And he's swearin' like mad on the squid-jiggin' ground.

  There's poor Uncle Billy, his whiskers are spattered

  With spots of the squid juice that's flying around;

  One poor little b'y got it right in the eye,

  But they don't give a damn on the squid-jiggin' ground.

  Now if ever you feel inclined to go squiddin',

  Leave your white shirts and collars behind in the town.

  And if you get cranky without your silk hanky

  You'd better steer clear of the squid-jiggin' ground.

5: They're Still Out There

The sightings haven’t stopped.

On November 10, 1981, a 29-foot giant squid was found by a fisherman in Hare Bay. It’s now on display at The Rooms in St. John’s — its long tentacles preserved in glass, looking like something from another planet.

In 2004, another giant squid washed up in Triton — proof that even if there’s a 90-year cycle, the ocean doesn’t always stick to a schedule. These deep-sea giants still rise from the depths now and then, without warning or reason. So keep your eyes on the shoreline… the next encounter could happen today.

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Newfoundland has no shortage of strange sea tales — some tall, some true, and some, like the giant squid, that blur the line between the two.

So if you ever find yourself walking a foggy beach, eyes scanning the wrack line, and you catch a flicker of something long and pale beneath the surf… don’t be so quick to dismiss it. The ocean still keeps secrets. And here in Newfoundland, every so often, one of them washes ashore.