Here Be Monsters: Tack’s Beach
The sea is cold and dark, and its depths hold many mysteries. Every so often, some strange animal rises from below, brushes past a small boat, and disappears again. That’s unsettling enough. But when the creature doesn’t just pass by —when it stops, takes notice, and strikes— that’s the stuff of nightmares.
That’s what happened off Tack’s Beach, Placentia Bay, in the summer of 1937.
It Came From Beneath
Fishermen Joseph Warren and his fishing partner were hauling their cod net on a calm August morning when the sea beneath them erupted. A massive, brown-backed creature —bigger than anything they’d seen— came from underneath them and bit into the wooden stem of their boat. Then, with terrifying force, it moved midship, and finally to the stern, gripping the keel each time and rising the boat clear out of the water.
The men could only hang on as the bow plunged beneath the waves and water flooded in. When the creature finally let go, they made a run for shore, dragging their leaking craft up onto the beach. The damage was severe—timbers splintered, the keel nearly torn free — and embedded in the wood were three monstrous teeth, described in the police report as being sharp as arrowheads.
One was sent to Dr. McPherson of Fisheries Research for identification. But if he ever conclusively named the beast, I can find no record of it.
Whatever it was —known creature or some heretofore undiscovered animal—hardly matters. It’s a terrifying account either way.
Here be monsters, indeed.
Strangely enough, this wasn’t the first time something in Placentia Bay tried to destroy a boat. Nearly 40 years earlier, a vessel was reportedly attacked by what some believed to be a giant thrasher. If the Tack’s Beach beast intrigued you, that earlier account might just send a chill down your spine. You can read it at Swallowed By The Deep.
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Monster Fish Makes Bold Attack On Boat, Evening Telegram, August 14, 1937
Teeth, Observer’s Weekly, August 17, 1937
Fishing Craft Attacked By Sea Monster, Western Star, August 25, 1937
Here Be Monsters
On Newfoundland’s foggy coast, not everything strange is imagined—and not everything real can be explained.
The Here Be Monsters series dives into historical sea monster sightings reported in Newfoundland’s headlines — real accounts from people who lived and worked on the water. These stories may not all point to undiscovered creatures, but they remind us that even in well-known harbours and fishing grounds, the sea still has its secrets. And those secrets can surprise, unsettle, and leave even the most seasoned mariners with more questions than answers.
