FACT OR FICTION? The Norfolk Sea Creature

One evening, I remember Kyle Ball (Producer) talking to me about Hughie, a curious radio enthusiast set up in his shed, who had heard a strange noise one evening he re-called. I knew at once I had to speak to Hughie, and in one evening, FACT OR FICTION? was born. I brought my camera and pressed record. Hughie shared a story of a man he used to know. 'Sea Dog,' a sailor who he'd shared many a discussion with until the long hours of the morning. We talked for hours although it felt like minutes. As Hughie’s story took a darker turn, gone were the light-hearted jokes about his origins of becoming known as 'The Druid' - and more so gone was Sea Dog. Hughie described how Sea Dog had vanished one night whilst he was talking to him, and he feared the worst… He described the noise of Sea Dog’s haunting scream. Hughie never heard from the poor sailor again. Hughie then explained that the rumors were rife in his family of the existence of a sea creature out by the Caister ‘Snickems’. It was at this point, I knew that Hughie’s story had to be told.

I soon set about asking the question if there really could be the existence of a Sea Creature on the coast of Norfolk, my birthplace, my home. All my years of living here, I'd never heard of anything so crazy, but after just one evening, I found myself chasing this unknown entity.

I took my camera to the beaches of Happisburgh, Eccles, and my home Great Yarmouth, and filmed the sea and surrounding beaches — documenting life as it happened — in the hopes I may catch a glimpse of this creature. Was Huey just a mad man with a CB Radio? Were his warnings to keep away from the Snickems just a bedtime story? I had to know. After much research on the subject, I eventually discovered the memoirs of a local 'Trawler Boy', Jacob Fisher, a fisherman who lived in Great Yarmouth in the early 1900's.

Jacob's memoirs described how he felt the “most unearthly of shudders” when out in his boat,
out by the ‘Yarmouth Wash' with his faithful dog 'Dillas,' who, it is said, was the ship’s skipper.
In memory of the fisherman, and with permission from his relatives, Jacob Fisher was brought
to life, played by Adam Gammage and inspired by Jacob’s written memoirs.

Other willing locals soon came forward to share their stories. Before we knew it, we had footage
of a strange sighting, and even met Karl, a homeless man who had come into close contact with
the creature.

We added our own ‘staged’ interviews into the mix also, to leave the viewer
guessing as to whether the whole idea of the sea creatures existence was... FACT OR FICTION?