A Brilliant Animated First-Hand Telling of the Day a Giant Octopus Took Down the Staten Island Ferry

While studying abroad at the University of Salford, filmmaker Verena Straub created an absolutely brilliant animation that tells a first-hand story about the horrific Staten Island Ferry Disaster, a terrifying occurrence in which a giant octopus reached up its tentacles and pulled the Cornelius G. Kolff ferry with all its riders down into a watery grave on November 22, 1963. Because this was the very same day that President John F. Kennedy was killed, this horrifying incident didn’t get the attention it deserved.

This oversight would be absolutely tragic, if it were only true. The story is actually part of an elaborate prank by Staten Island resident Joe Reginella of Toxic Teddies, who built a mysterious memorial to the memory of the poor ferrying souls lost that day.

This is an animation which I created as part of my semester abroad at the University of Salford. Thanks for the inspiration Joe Reginella!

The video Straub used as her source.

via This Way on Bay