He makes the depths churn like a boiling cauldron and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment.Behind him he leaves a glistening wake; one would think the deep had white hair.Nothing on earth is his equal—a creature without fear.He looks down on all that are haughty; he is king over all that are proud. (Job 41:31-34)
Those who sail up along the coast of Norway to trade or to fish, all tell the remarkable story of how a serpent of fearsome size, 200 feet long and 20 feet wide, resides in rifts and caves outside Bergen. On bright summer nights this serpent leaves the caves to eat calves, lambs and pigs, or it fares out to the sea and feeds on sea nettles, crabs and similar marine animals. It has ell-long hair hanging from its neck, sharp black scales and flaming red eyes. It attacks vessels, grabs and swallows people, as it lifts itself up like a column from the water.