The Lunan monster was as black as a pirate’s beard and had a body like porridge with a thick skin on it.
It nearly claimed two Ferryden fishermen for the depths in August 1922.
The pair had bought a boat in Arbroath and were sailing home when they cast anchor off Lunan for a break.
The elder settled for a nap while the younger took a swim.
A little later the sleeper was aroused by the boat tipping and his friend scrambling in.
“He was as white as thon wall and fair I thocht his een were coming oot his heid,” the man told later.
As the younger man collapsed on deck, the older man caught his first glimpse of the monster as it shot a tentacle past his head.
It gripped his body and a second struck his shoulder. As the tentacles fastened round his neck the man claimed he “wisna flurried”.
He tried to remove the tentacles but they were too slippery. It was then he saw the beast rear up to climb into the boat. He came face to face with the monster, which had two determined-looking eyes.
The elder lashed out with his foot and later said the beast felt like porridge with a thick skin on it.
A kick with his heavy boot was enough to frighten off the beast and its tentacle “fell with a dirl against the thwarts”.
His friend was lying injured on deck and it took him nearly 15 minutes to bring him round.
The men then managed to bring the boat to Scurdyness, where they signalled for help.
Twelve years later another monster surfaced, this time off Arbroath.
It was spotted by men building the bulwark. John Cargill saw it first and alerted his colleagues.
It was humped like the Loch Ness Monster and they saw it rise high out of the water. As it swam it left quite a wake.
Its neck was like a thick black pipe and the men watched as it dived and surfaced twice before disappearing.