SOURCE: "The Thing in the Weeds" (The Storyteller, January 1913) by William Hope Hodgson

DESCRIPTION: "At first I could see nothing except the submerged spread of the weed, into which we had evidently run after dark. Then, as I stared intently, my gaze began to separate from the surrounding weed a leathery-looking something that was somewhat darker in hue than the weed itself...I saw it plainly now; three of the massive feelers lay twined in and out among the clumpings of the weed; and then, abruptly, I realised that the two extraordinary round disks, motionless and inscrutable, were the creature's eyes, just below the surface of the water. It appeared to be staring, expressionless, up at the steel side of the vessel. I traced, vaguely, the shapeless monstrosity of what must be termed its head. "My God!" I muttered. "It's an enormous squid of some kind! What an awful brute! What—" ("The Thing in the Weeds" by William Hope Hodgson)

NOTES: The Thing in the Weeds is a giant squid that dwells in a bed of seaweed. When ships get stuck in the weed, perhaps during one of the frequent fogs, the squid pulls itself on deck to find food. The ship's officers attack it with revolvers, but only enrage it. A blasting cap is used to knock it off the ship but even this fails to destroy it. The ship escapes when the fog lifts and fresh winds carry them away.

HISTORY: Hodgson is famous for his giant squids. See also Devilfish. The plot of this story is almost identical to "Demons of the Sea" except for the monster. I suspect one version may have been rewritten to produce the other but this story was actually revised as "An Adventure of the Deep Waters" (Short Stories, February 1916).