Case file · Cryptid
The hafgufa of the King's Mirror
The Norwegian 'King's Mirror' (Konungs skuggsjá, c. 1250) describes the hafgufa, a sea beast in the Greenland seas so huge that sailors mistook it for islands.
1250 CE · 66.00, -25.00 · status: legend
The account
It was said to belch up food to lure fish into its mouth. The hafgufa is a forerunner of the later kraken.
The sceptical view
Zoologists link such tales to whales feeding at the surface and to sightings of giant squid.