Was an unknown monster found hiding in old Victorian sewers?
Take a look at the Victorian Sewer Creature Video, supposedly shot in the sewers underneath Merseyside by the staff at the North West water company United Utilities.
So what do you think? A new cryptid? A mysterious monster hiding in the sewers?
The press in Merseyside even ran an article on the creature urging residents to chime in with information.
The public were today urged to sniff out the pipe prowler dubbed “the most unusual sighting ever”.
The creature, which can clearly be seen standing upright on strong back legs, was filmed by engineers.
It is believed the animal is surviving by tucking into fat deposits within Merseyside sewer pipes.
Mike Wood, United Utilities regional wastewater network manager, said: “The animal could possibly be a domestic pet or feasibly, an animal which has escaped from the zoo.”
Sewer workers have jokingly dubbed the creature “Messie” likening it to a dirty version of the Loch Ness Monster.
Ian Appleton, operating the CCTV unit, said: “I physically jumped when I saw the thing.”
Read more: Liverpool Echo
But the video was suspicious and I smelled a rat
The answer came immediately clear as I read the article from the Liverpool Echo. A link on the page titled “We come clean after you fall for our sewer monster April Fool story. Apparently the whole Victorian Sewer Creature Video story was part of an April Fools Day stunt done in conjunction with the local utility company with the goal of alerting people to the issue that there are some thing that you just shouldn’t flush down the toilet!
THE ECHO today came clean after floods of calls were received about our April Fool’s day story – about a sewer monster.
The story and clever camera and video trickery featured a fictitious character called Messie said to be lurking in Merseyside’s sewers.
United Utilities, which was behind the stunt, received more than 60 calls from customers falling for the gag.
The websites of both the ECHO and United Utilities also received thousands of hits with people wishing to view grainy footage of the so-called ‘monster’.
The hoax was all part of the water company’s What Not To Flush marketing campaign which uses school visits, advertising and PR stunts to encourage customers to think before they flush.
Read more: Liverpool Echo
There you have it, the truth about the Victorian Sewer Creature video!
I have to admit that it would be fun to have a utility company find a monster in their sewers, but it is incredibly unlikely. What does amaze me though is people’s willingness to believe anything they see, no matter how irrational without doing some research and critical thinking!
One Response
Aw man, Messie seemed chill af. Well, I guess one can still hope to hang out with him some day.