Saltie

In 1909, a series of intriguing sightings of a mysterious creature dubbed "Saltie" occurred near Saltsjobaden, near Stockholm. Commander Emil Smith and his wife were among the first witnesses to this small creature, which appeared in the Baltic Sea, sparking curiosity and concern among local residents. In the following years, numerous accounts from fishermen and sailors documented sightings of the enormous, snake-like creatures, which disappeared from view in the 1920s, leaving behind only legends and speculation.

In May 1909, Commander Emil Smith and his wife were walking in front of a large resort hotel in Saltsjobaden, near Stockholm, when they suddenly noticed a strange creature in the Baltic Sea.

"What we saw was a large, dark gray mass floating in the water," Smith later said. "It was 10 to 12 meters long and motionless." Suddenly, the animal began to move, "rolling in the water." Witnesses were convinced it was a living creature. "This leviathan was spinning around on its axis, causing high waves to break against the shore. We couldn't see any tail, fins, or head."

A month later, the monster, dubbed "Saltsjobadsodjuret" or Saltie for short by Swedish newspapers, reappeared. On June 25th, six people were traveling by boat from one Swedish island, Husaro, to another, Angodomen.

"When we arrived, we were caught in the fog because it was only 7 p.m. We spotted a large, black object, which we initially mistook for a small boat," Anton Rundkvist, one of the witnesses, later said. Two hours later, as they were returning, they saw three humps emerging from the water just 25 meters away. The largest hump was about 1 meter wide.

"I've lived here for seven years and seen seals and porpoises, but never anything like this," Rundkvist assured. "However, fishermen from Svartlogafjarden and Moji told me they'd seen something similar."

In September 1913, Nils Osterman and his wife, while sailing, collided with a monster near Vaxholm. "I was on our motorboat with my wife, traveling at nine knots near Rindobaden, when suddenly the boat hit something so violently that it almost capsized!" he recalled. "It wasn't anything serious, though; I just turned off the engine. Suddenly we heard a hissing sound coming from the stern, and when we decided to investigate, we saw a terrifying monster with three humps on its back and a thick head, resembling a hippopotamus with its mouth wide open!" Moments later, the monster disappeared beneath the surface.

Three years later, in the summer of 1916, Major Oskar W. Smith spotted a strange creature near the populated island of Lidingo. "The water was as smooth as a mirror, and no boat that could have caused waves was visible. But suddenly there was a movement, and we saw the monster and its extraordinary, snake-like head!" The animal was at least 25 meters long, because its back (covered with numerous humps) disappeared beneath the surface. The creature moved at a speed of two knots and was visible for over a minute from a distance of 100 meters.

In July 1920, one of the best-documented sightings of Saltie occurred, made by a young fisherman, Einar Oberg, who was heading to Svinskar to hunt seabirds. "Not far from me, in shallow water, I saw what I initially thought were a pair of unusually large porpoises. However, I soon realized they were something resembling two terrifying snakes, at least three meters long and 50 cm in diameter. They swam with their heads above the water's surface, and when they were close, about 15 meters away, one of them turned his head and stared at me. I was terrified, ran from the beach, and ran for a long time before I regained my composure."

The saltie stopped appearing in the 1920s, and there is no indication that it has started appearing again in the Baltic Sea.