Although fictional and the subject of myth, the legend of the Kraken continues to present day,[1] with numerous references existing in popular culture, including film, literature, television, video games and other miscellaneous examples (e.g. postage stamps, a rollercoaster ride and a rum product).
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A version of the Kraken (a giant, four-armed scaled humanoid with scales and a fishtail) appears in the 1981 film Clash of the Titans[2] and the 2010 version of the film[3] as a servant of the Olympian Gods. In 2006 a telemovie called Kraken: Tentacles of the Deep[4] featured a different variation, while the film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest[5] featured a more cephalopod-like version of the creature that followed the commands of the equally mythical Davy Jones.
In 1830 Alfred Tennyson published the irregular sonnet The Kraken,[6] which described a massive creature that dwelled at the bottom of the sea.
Jules Verne's 1870 novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea featured a group of giant squid that attack the submarine Nautilus.[7]
John Wyndham's 1953 novel The Kraken Wakes features the sonnet written by Alfred Tennyson called The Kraken (1830), which described a massive creature that dwelled at the bottom of the sea. The story itself referring to an invasion by sea-dwelling aliens.[8]
Terry Brooks' 1985 novel The Wishsong of Shannara features a Kraken as a giant sea creature summoned by "dark magic" to join an assault on a Dwarf fortress.[9]
China Miéville's 2010 novel Kraken features a cult devoted to the worship of the creature.[10]
Versions of the Kraken appear in the video games Age of Mythology (2002),[11] Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (2006),[12] God of War II (2007)[13] and Heroes of Newerth (2010).[14]
In 1990 a set of four postage stamps featuring legendary Canadian animals were released. One stamp in the set featured the Kraken.[15][16]
The Kraken is a steel floorless roller coaster manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard. It opened in 2000 and is located at SeaWorld Orlando, in the United States.[17]
The Kraken Rum is a 94 proof rum manufactured in Trinidad and Tobago and released in the United States in 2009.[18]
