Several large lakes are said to harbor large creatures…that are rarely seen. Loch Ness (Scotland) and Lake Champlain (USA) are two such lakes. What about the other large lakes (Like Nipigon, Lake of the Woods, etc.)Are there any such creatures in lake Superior?
And, since no evidenc of these creatures has ever been found, are these creatures legens only?
Sometimes I, too, like to get a little ripped and post something. Yes, they’re legends.
If they were real, our ancestors would have hunted them commercially, as they did the much larger whales.
So, no.
Such lakes are large, murky, and impossible to completely search, so they provide enough justification for it juuuuuuuuuuuust being possible that there might be something unknown living in it. But it’s extremely unlikely Like the dark rooms that mediums used to work in, and the statistics Dr. Rhine used as support for telekinesis in dice experiments, the murky waters of the lake provide “cover” for any uncertainty about the existence of this stuff.
Folklorist chiming in:
You have a folk belief here (“there is a monster in Lake X”). There are number of possible reasons for the existence of the folk belief.
- There really is a monster in Lake X [biology]
- There is something deep, dark, scary, or dangerous about Lake X, represented symbolically by a monster [psychology]
- There is money to be made from tourists who think there is or might be a monster in Lake X [economy]
- Untrained / amateur scientific observation has identified phenomena not explicable naturally, so a supernatural explanation is offered [folk biology]
- Stories about the monster are maintained to scare kids and the gullible away from the lake, which is dangerous at night / when you’re alone [practical psychology]
- Analogy: there are whales in the sea, which are big critters in a big body of water, so there must be lake whales, too [logical fallacy]
- A monster is mentioned in the river Ness in the Life of St. Columba, and the sixth-century Irish didn’t seem too skeptical [Hagiography]
- Any number of other reasons.
So far, scientific investigation has come up with “no” or “maybe, but probably not” in every case of biological monster. The other explanations are more or less likely.
Explanation? Sure. Here on Lake Michigan, the explanation is Lake Sturgeon. Back in the day, they basked on sandbars to spawn, grew to nearly 8 feet in length, and weighed over 300 lbs. An ancient fish, they look monstrous as hell to me.
A pity they got fished out. Fortunately they live on in Lake Winnebago and surrounding waters.
Yummy roe, tho. That’s for sure!
Just north of Lake Superior, and a ways east of Lake Nipigon, at 48° 45’ 36.62" N, 85° 51’ 22.54" W, there is a small lake inhabited by of sea monsters. I can vouch for this, for I took the photo myself.
Link to the map at 48° 45’ 36.62" N, 85° 51’ 22.54" W (a.k.a. “the middle of nowhere.”) Sorry about the finger over part of the lens of the cell phone – sort of goes hand in hand with photos of sea monsters, UFOs and the like.
There’s Ogopogo in Lake Okanagan, British Columbia? And Chessie in Chesapeake Bay (OK, the bay isn’t a lake, but it’s a monster).
Hmm, it seems there’s quite a few lakes with monsters, based on this list: Lake monster
I’ve seen several television programs that assert that lake monsters are a result of persistent optical illusions created by long, deep lakes with steep sides. Some of the footage they showed was incredible: There were close ups of a wave interference pattern caused by boat wakes deflecting off the lake sides, and it looked for all the world like some giant thing thrashing about just below the water.
If you actually look at the list of sightings of the ‘Loch Ness Monster’, you will be baffled why anyone thinks there’s anything there.
Unless you allow for the fact that the legend of the Monsters still attracts tourists to this desolate part of Scotland… :rolleyes:
Some choice extracts:
Sightings
- Impression of 2 flippers
- Single object
- Pole-like object
- Black object
Film evidence
- As of the whereabouts of this film, no one knows
- The film is now missing
- The film is now said to be hidden somewhere in a London bank vault. Also, with instructions stating that the film could not be shown ‘until such time as the public takes such matters seriously’
- Again the film that Irvine exposed has been lost
- It was shown also to the National Institute of Oceanography, now known as the Southampton Oceanographic Centre. It was agreed by the experts that the film clearly showed an ordinary inanimate object floating in the Loch
- The films whereabouts is not certain but it is said to be also locked away safely in a London bank vault
Lough Ree is one of several Irish lakes on the list. This snippet caught my eye:
(I suspect the Eel Fishermen want to keep down competition.)
Lake monsters were fashionable around 1900 and resorts seemed to have a rash of them at that time. In fact all the neighboring lakes seemed to become inhabited after a short while. There were a lot of whoopers being told out there, and they weren’t always fish stories. You could buy your vacation post cards with giant produce, fantasy monsters like the Hodag, and the local lake serpent. You’re also looking at the time when freak shows toured the United States with the circus. Traveling shows sold post cards to people that came to see the display. Sometimes exotic animals got lose.
Around Madison Wisconsin the Monona Lake Monster migrated down the Yahara river and into the lower lakes spreading out from there.
Here is a page with a whale shark that toured the USA. Near the bottom is a better picture and the page has some of the giant produce postcards too.
[COLOR=Blue]Here is a video of an Oarfish, which often freaks out the person that see’s one.[/COLOR]
This is a video collection of freakier fish found after a tsunami.
Sometimes an animal was seen that wasn’t identified, and those need to be kept separate from the locals pulling someones leg. This is of coarse hard to do. The Lake Snåsa Monster in Norway is one that seems to be a unidentified creature. There is a good chance Selma will eventually be found out to be a giant eel. It’s what I think will be determined due to what I’ve read on it over the last decade.
Superior has many tales of lake monsters. Here is a page with brief descriptions of Great Lakes and some other lake sightings. Here are Wisconsin stories of lake serpents for perusal. Here is video of Randy Braun describing an encounter with Pressie. Here is his picture and written encounter. This is just some of the stories you can find. With digging you can find more. I hope everyone enjoyed the links.
Viking cartoon legends - Hagarography
The Lake Erie Monsters have a great minor league hockey tradition dating all the way back to last October. 
AHA! Narrowed your location down to Chicago area! 
When can I make an appt.? 
(Check the ad below)
You’ll have to commit at least one felony a bit north of Chicago. Then eventually maybe you’ll get to see me. Our waiting room features folding chairs, a tv monitor showing uplifting videos, and a guard who’ll yell at you and threaten to give you a ticket if your shirt’s not tucked in. :eek:
You’ll be in jail if you collect any of the roe from the Wisconsin waters. Citizens even volunteer to watch the sturgeon spawning grounds for interference.
Not if you have your sturgeon permit and spear a female of adequate length during the spearing season! That’s how I got my big jar of caviar last year, from someone who did just that!
Sadly, I don’t think I know anyone who got a female sturgeon this year. 
I figured you were talking about spearing one. I used collecting to refer to somebody collecting it from spawning fish, not catching a fish. It was a warning to people that go for the illegal collecting of the roe.
They caught the third largest fish this year since keeping records.