Weird A-Z. L is for Lusca (The Bahamas Sea-Monster)

Weird A-Z. L is for Lusca (The Bahamas Sea-Monster)

Lusca is variously described as half-shark, half-octopus or half-dragon, half-octopus, and lurks deep among the waters of the blue holes and inland caverns that are found around Andros, the largest island in the Bahamas.

Along with mermaids and other legendary creatures, Lusca feeds on marine debris containing plankton and other small creatures that are brought in with the tidal currents. Local legend holds that the tidal currents of the inland blue holes are none other than the 'breathe of Lusca'. As it breathes in, water pours in strongly enough in some caverns to form a whirlpool, and when it exhales, cold, clear water boils to the surface.

It is said that any encounter with Lusca almost always results in the death of whoever was unfortunate enough to stray too close to its hiding places. This extends not only to intrepid divers who have dared to brave the labyrinthine depths of the blue holes, but also to those unwary enough to stand too close to the shoreline, as the Lusca has been known to use its tentacles to drag victims from the land itself to their watery graves.

Onlookers have even described seeing fishermen's boats suddenly being yanked below the surface of the blue holes, only to watch in horror as the indigestible flotsam of these broken vessels slowly rises to the surface later on, the fishermen having vanished forever.