Lake Monsters

Find a dark, over grown lake and you'll find a story of a lake monster. Here are some of the more well known creatures.

Champie
Champie is the name of the lake monster that inhabits Lake Champlain on the Vermont/Quebec/New York boarder. Champie is usually described as having a long neck and a flat head. Some descriptions have Champie with a thin body, others say it is more rounded. It is described as being anywhere from 10 to 30 feet long. It has been sighted since the 1600s. Photographs of Champie do exist, which may or may not be hoaxes. Some feel that Champie is a surviving prehistoric plesiosaur.

The Loch Ness Monster
The Loch Ness Monster or "Nessie" is the name of the lake monster that inhabits Loch Ness in Scotland. Loch Ness is about 24 miles long, fairly narrow, and about 800 feet deep. Loch Ness connects to the North Sea by the Caledonian Canal. The water is very murky because of a high concentration of peat.

Nessie is usually described as having a long neck, with a wide body. It is about 40 feet in length. This description seems to suggest a prehistoric plesiosaur reptile type creature. Sonar used in 1972 and 1975 by Dr. Robert H. Rines of the Academy of applied science in Boston came up with what looked like the fin of a plesiosaur.

Nessie sightings have been reported as early as the 6th century with more recent sightings beginning in the 1930's. In 1933 Mr. and Mrs. John MacKay saw "an enormous animal rolling and plunging in the waters". Also in 1933 Mr. and Mrs. George Spicer reported seeing a creature out of the water which resembled a "prehistoric animal".

Many of the sightings have been recorded in the deep waters of Urquart Bay. The most famous picture of Nessie is the 13th century Urquart Castle in the foreground. Well over 3,000 people have reported seeing the monster since 1933, including police officers, scientists, local residents and tourists.

Despite all the sightings and the few photos, no hard evidence to totally prove Nessie's existence have been found.

Ogopogo
Ogopogo is the name of the lake monster that inhabits Lake Okanagan in British Columbia, Canada. The monster is somewhat eel-like in appearance with a flatter head. It is from 15 to 20 feet in length. It has been reported since at least the early 1900s. It may have been sighted by pre-colonial Indians who described "the N'haaitk" in the lake. There are inconclusive photos of the creature. The creature has been reported by a great many people. Some hypothesize the Ogopogo may be a surviving prehistoric plesiosaur.

Slimy Slim
The Slimy Slim is the name of the lake monster that inhabited Payette Lake in Idaho. The monster is usually described as having a long neck with a flatter head. Slimy Slim was sighted mostly in the 1930s, and has not been reported in the past 50 years. A very large crocodile was also reported in Payette Lake in the 1930s, which may have been the real Slimy Slim.