Chester Moore Files #03
October is the month for mysteries, monsters and things lurking beneath the surface.
Few real animals fit that atmosphere quite like the great white shark.
I grew up fascinated with sharks. Jaws and the work of Jacques Cousteau were major influences on that fascination and ultimately on my interest in shark conservation. But another piece of shark media from my childhood occupies a much stranger corner of my memory.
The 1981 documentary Great White Death.
Narrated by legendary Hollywood actor Glenn Ford, the film combines real sharks, horrific attack accounts, dramatic narration and imagery that sometimes feels closer to a horror movie than a traditional wildlife documentary.
And then there’s the human skull.
During a shark-control sequence in South Africa, the film shows what the narration claims is the skull of a person who had died only days earlier and had been recovered from a large shark. The animal visually associated with the sequence appears to be a tiger shark, although the narration doesn’t specifically identify the species.
That’s the kind of thing you don’t forget when you see it as a kid.
The bizarre history of Great White Death goes beyond the film itself. In a special episode of Dark Outdoors, Chester Moore takes a deeper look at this unusual production, where the blockbuster influence of Jaws collided with the disturbing world of Faces of Death.
Great White Death: When Jaws Met Faces of Death is available now on Dark Outdoors.
Listen on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/7AyxLDU2pLPmaBvccpENns
Listen on Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/great-white-death-when-jaws-met-faces-of-death/id1630809603?i=1000797359935The Great White as Real-Life Horror
Sharks, Horror and Reality
Watching Great White Death more than four decades later raises questions I never thought to ask when I was young.
What exactly were we watching? What was legitimate documentary footage? What was reconstructed? Was that skull actually recovered from the shark shown on screen? Where did documentary end and entertainment begin?
Those questions make it a perfect Halloween subject.
Sharks have always occupied a strange place between reality and horror. They are real predators capable of inflicting terrible injuries and, in rare cases, killing people. That reality gave filmmakers everything they needed to build something much larger.
The shark became a monster.
But the real animal is far more interesting.
The Great Whites of the Forgotten Sea
That’s especially true in the Gulf of Mexico.
For much of my career, the idea of great white sharks regularly entering the Gulf existed somewhere between fishing lore, scattered historical records and encounters that were difficult to verify. I became fascinated with the subject more than three decades ago and kept digging.
Modern tracking technology has given us a picture previous generations simply couldn’t see.
Great whites didn’t suddenly discover the Gulf.
They were out there all along.
That mystery became the foundation of my book, Gulf Great White Sharks: Unveiling the Mystery of Apex Predators in the Forgotten Sea.
The book combines my decades-long investigation with interviews with leading shark scientists, firsthand encounters, accounts from Gulf fishermen, historical records and modern tracking data to explore one of the region’s most fascinating wildlife mysteries.
And great whites are only part of the story.
The Gulf is home to an extraordinary diversity of large sharks, including tiger sharks, bull sharks, whale sharks and shortfin makos. Historical records reveal encounters with still other giants, including basking sharks.
That’s one reason I’ve come to call the Gulf the Forgotten Sea.
Millions of people fish it, swim in it, cross it and live along its shores. We think we know it. But beneath that familiar surface is an enormous marine wilderness that can still surprise us.
Monsters Are Fun. Reality Is Better.
That’s part of the fun of revisiting something like Great White Death around Halloween.
Enjoy the scary movies. Enjoy the ominous music, giant fins and things lurking beneath the surface. I certainly do.
But then look at the real sharks.
Outdoor writer Kelly Barrera recently summed up one of the central ideas behind my book perfectly:
“The truth is they were out there all along, and what changed was not their presence but our ability to see and understand it.”
She went on to call Gulf Great White Sharks a “fascinating must read,” pointing to the interviews with scientists, firsthand encounters and stories from Gulf Coast fishermen.
That first observation gets right to the heart of the project.
The truth doesn’t need a horror soundtrack.
My October 3 Great White Shark Special
October also happens to be my birthday month, so I’m bringing back the Shark Week price on Gulf Great White Sharks: Unveiling the Mystery of Apex Predators in the Forgotten Sea.
For a limited time, you can get a personally signed copy for $17.95, shipping included anywhere in the United States, plus an exclusive Gulf Great White Shark Society logo decal.
This is the same special price offered during Shark Week.
Purchases also help support our work through the Gulf Great White Shark Society, a grassroots, self-funded effort focused on research-based shark education, conservation and telling the largely overlooked story of great whites and other large sharks in the Gulf of Mexico.
Book and shirt purchases help us continue interviewing scientists and fishermen, researching Gulf shark history, producing original content and conducting educational outreach.
How to Order
The spooky-season special begins October 3.
Send $17.95 through PayPal, Venmo or Cash App and be sure to include your mailing address in the payment notes.
PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/chestermoore
Venmo: https://account.venmo.com/u/lmoore526
Cash App: $Moorefamily2310
I’ll personally sign your copy, include the exclusive Gulf Great White Shark Society decal and get it headed your way.
You can learn more about our shark conservation and education work at GulfGreatWhites.com.
Halloween is supposed to be the season of mysteries and monsters, and sharks have supplied both to our imaginations for generations.
But look beyond the movies and there is an even better story swimming beneath the surface.
The great whites were out there all along.
Chester Moore
Follow Chester Moore and Higher Calling Wildlife® on the following social media platforms
@gulfgreatwhitesharksociety on Instagram
To support the efforts of Higher Calling Wildlife® click here.
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