My most terrifying experience? Well, let us begin in Scotland.

Scotland is the land of monsters. There have been many accounts of false reports to the press about the existence of these creatures. None of them are true.

You may think me mad, but I am not! I am a man that has seen things. Things other people have spent their entire lives searching for. I have seen them, yes, but I have not told yet. I am trusting you, reader, to keep these things to yourself. Or else.

I was a young man then. Handsome, tall, and very adventurous. I dared go places that other people wouldn’t step foot in. I loved mystery and drama. I hoped to become a detective someday. I was traveling to Scotland on a business trip, to further up my experience as a doctor.
It was a cloudy day, and the fog was as thick as pea soup. I could barely see. Under all my layers, the cold nipped at my skin. All around me, I could see people crowding around the famous loch, where Nessie sightings had been falsely reported a few days ago. These days, a picture of Nessie, the infamous sea monster, would earn the photographer a cool million in cash. I did not see the point in all this riff raff. There were no such things as sea monsters!

Despite my intentions of taking a quick morning walk, I pushed past all the crowds and stared into the brown, murky water. There were a few fish swimming around, but there was nothing that resembled a large shape. I looked around, and saw the people around me training their cameras into the water, a few extra batteries in hand, hoping to get a shot of something that was big and moved.

Snorting, I moved on. There was nothing here. As I walked back to the flat where I was staying, I noticed that the sky was getting darker, and thick, black clouds were beginning to gather through the fog. Shoot. That meant that it was going to rain, and possibly pour. Double shoot. I had my information seminar that day, and I did not have enough money in my pocket for a taxi. That meant that I was likely forced to walk through the soaking rain, with nothing but a raincoat and an umbrella. I sighed dejectedly, and headed back to the flat.

That night came as expected. The rain soaked the streets, thunder roared, and lightning flashed and cracked against the deep black sky. I shuddered at the thought of having to travel by foot along Scotland’s dirt roads. Well, there was no putting it off. I had to go to that seminar so I could support myself and my family. I had no choice. Grabbing my enormously thick raincoat, rubber boots, and a worn black umbrella, I opened the door and stepped out.

A thick sheet of rain hit me like a demolition ball. Cold wind blasted my face, and I felt little bits of ice and hail pound my umbrella mercilessly. Gathering my bearings, I moved along the street.

The streets were deserted. The brownstone houses lined up neatly on each side of the road looked ghostly and forbidding against the stormy sky, and trees swayed dangerously as the wind hit them. Freezing water sloshed at my feet. Yet, I still moved on. I had to get to that seminar.
The most dangerous part of my trip was next. I would have to cross a footbridge that led to the seminar building. I would have to cross the loch.

When I got to the edge of the swirling water, I heard a noise behind me. it sounded like the sound of a chainsaw cutting down trees, crunch crunch crunch crunch! I furrowed my brows and walked on, thinking that it was just some branch snapping from the wind. I thought it would stop, but it persisted. It grew louder, louder, and louder! I turned, frightened. The sight that met my eyes would haunt me for the rest of my life.

It was a monster, a cross between a seal and a shark, with bulging, glowing eyes and rows of sharp, yellowed teeth. Its body was most peculiar, with 4 sets of flippers and flaps of skin for gills. Through the darkness, I could see that it was purplish black, and it had various markings on its back. It looked like some sort of half monster, half dinosaur come to life! I knew then, that I was seeing Nessie. The gem of the Loch Ness, the mysterious queen of the deep brown Scottish waters.

It turned and looked at me, and I realized what it had in its mouth. It was a deer, the bloody carcass of a deer, mutilated beyond belief. So that was what the crunching noises had been. Nessie eating the deer!

The monster and I stared at each other for a few moments. Its face was dark, disfigured, and thin streams of blood ran down its body. It looked at me, and I looked at it, and I opened my mouth to scream! My piercing shriek sliced the air like a knife, and Nessie, clearly frightened, dove back into the water with a loud splash. I ran to the edge of the loch, looked down, and saw nothing. Nessie had vanished.
I made it to the seminar building that evening, but I was too traumatized to listen to anything. People thought I had been hypnotized by something. From my inconsistent mumblings, they made out that I had encountered Nessie. They didn’t believe it. After all, I had no pictures or evidence. Severely shaken, I left Scotland the next day, in order to find my luck elsewhere. Before I left, however, I went down to visit the loch one last time. As I peered into the calm, dirty water, I swear I saw movement. Just like the flapping of a fin.