There are plenty of things you might expect to find while exploring the bottom of a lake. but a terrifying 20-foot shark staring back at you probably isn’t one of them.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Divers exploring Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland have been getting the fright of their lives thanks to an enormous shark statue lurking beneath the murky water.
The fibreglass model sits at the bottom of the lake in Romandy, complete with an enormous set of pointy teeth and a suitably menacing grin.
Footage showing divers encountering the underwater shark has circulated on social media, and it’s not difficult to understand why some initially do a double take.
Thankfully, there’s no need to start reconsidering your next Swiss swimming holiday.
The shark isn’t real.
According to online sleuths, the huge model is believed to have originally been created as a prop for Choc au Lac!, an unfinished film made by a group of 176 children from Neuchâtel.
The 1975 project appropriately centred around a giant shark terrorising the town.
Exactly how the prop eventually found itself sitting at the bottom of Lake Neuchâtel, however, isn’t clear.
One theory suggests somebody deliberately dumped it there as a prank, while others have suggested it may have been intended as an unofficial attraction or connected to promotion for the unfinished film.
Whatever the explanation, the shark – reportedly nicknamed Bruce by locals – has certainly found an audience.
It has reportedly been a destination for curious divers since 2002, although footage of the eerie underwater encounter has also convinced plenty of people they’d rather admire Bruce through a screen.
One social media user joked: “Good thing the water is so murky so nobody can see me s**t my pants.”
Another couldn’t help thinking about whoever stumbled across it without knowing what was waiting for them, writing: “Now imagine being the first dude that came across this.”
A third admitted the images alone were enough, saying: “This picture makes me feel sick to my stomach, like, visceral fear inside me is telling me to run as far as I can.”
And while some people questioned who would ever think of placing something quite so terrifying underwater, another summed up the strange appeal perfectly.
They wrote: “I can’t tell if I want to shake the hand of whoever made it or run away from them.”
Either way, anyone planning to dive Lake Neuchâtel now knows what might be waiting below… and knowing that it’s made of fibreglass probably won’t make that first glimpse through the murky water any less terrifying.
Featured image credit: Reddit/YouTube/Lurent Nedez
