When I learned that Netflix planned to film the miniseries Below, about a sea monster terrorizing a Newfoundland outport, I thought to myself: “THIS I’ve gotta see!”

First, the series showcases coastal Newfoundland, where I was raised and live. Second, I have studied ocean life in the island’s waters for most of my career. Third, it features the marine lab where I work, the Oceans Sciences Centre. And fourth, it stars a giant squid(-ish) animal (sorry Josh Hartnett).

Giant squid have a special place in Newfoundland folklore and science, from early encounters with fishermen to some of the first scientific evidence of their existence.

Unveiling the giant squid

One key player in this history was the Irish clergyman Moses Harvey, who moved to Newfoundland in 1852 and undertook natural history research in what was then a British colony.

Harvey’s research included revealing the existence of giant squid to the world based on a specimen that washed ashore. Fishermen had brought it to him to photograph and communicate to the science community in London.

Fast forward to the 1960s, when the founding director of the Ocean Sciences Centre, Fred Aldrich, joined the faculty at Memorial University and soon focused his career on pursuing giant squid.

Although Aldrich tried to catch a living specimen, he only obtained squid that washed up on beaches.

Newfoundland is one of the global hotspots where giant squid appear more frequently, every 30 years or so (New Zealand is another, attesting to giant squid affinity for cooler waters). Below‘s........

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