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Lagarfljót Worm

Last reviewed Oct 25, 2026 Next review Nov 9, 2026

Painted illustration: long serpent coils in a gray glacial lake in eastern Iceland with snowy hills — AI rendition based on witness descriptions, not an actual photo.

Detail around Lagarflót showing the inscription — Detail around Lagarflót showing the inscription · Drafted by Gudbrandur Thorlaksson (Guðbrandur Þorláksson), engraving appearing in Atlas of Abraham O · CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons) · Image source · License

A serpent said to live in Lagarfljót lake in eastern Iceland.

Disputed Verdict: A medieval legend whose famous video probably shows debris.

Region: Europe · UK & Europe · Iceland
First reports: 1345 (Icelandic annals)

Key sightings

2012: a video published by the broadcaster RÚV went viral; an Icelandic panel voted 7–6 to authenticate it, though a frame-by-frame analysis suggested an inanimate object such as a frozen fish net moved by the current.

Best evidence

The 2012 video, which one analysis attributes to a flimsy object such as a frozen fish net.

Sources

Wikipedia: Lagarfljót Worm ↗