The Black Dog of Lake Erie

A week from tomorrow will be 119 years since the sinking of the Thomas Hume. The schooner was returning to its home port in Muskegon, Michigan when it vanished on May 21, 1891. Many rumors were caused by the ship's disappearance and the lack of any witnessed wreckage washing ashore following its disappearance. Some even theorized that the schooner's captain had stolen the vessel for himself, disguising it with a new paint job. However, the wreck of the Thomas Hume was discovered at the Southern end of Lake Michigan in 2005.

The Thomas Hume is one of a number of vessels at the bottom of the Great Lakes that are said to have fallen victim to the supernatural beast known as the Black Dog of Lake Erie. Legend has it that the Black Dog was the result of an incident that occurred in the Welland Canal. The story goes that a Newfoundland dog that served as a ship's mascot fell overboard while travelling through the canal. In some versions of the tale the sailors mocked the dog as it swam, desperately trying to catch up with its ship. The poor animal was crushed to death when one of the canal lock gates came down. It had the effect of trapping the ship inside the lock as the gate could not completely close. Once the sailors were able to free the large furry corpse from the gate mechanism, they were able to continue on their way. However, the story goes, they found themselves haunted by the vengeful spirit of the dead Newfie. They had begun a curse that would result in the sinking of many ships in the Great Lakes. It is said that on occasion a large black dog will appear on one side of a ship, run across the deck and leap from the other side. Soon after, the ship will run into trouble. When the Issac G. Jenkins sank in Lake Ontario on November of 1875, a farmer claimed to have witnessed a large black dog swim to shore and drag itself onto land, vanishing into the darkness.

Click here to learn more about the Black Dog, the legend of Jenny Greenteeth and the monster of Lake Erie.


-Tom G

Montana's Nessie

The months of May through August in the United States see their share of folks hitting the water to escape the heat and/or for a little recreational activity. With so many eyes on the water, it is not surprising that the four months also see a spike of reported sightings of strange objects in the water - especially in places filled with local legends of monsters swimming the deep. Flathead Lake in Northwest Montana is no exception. Sightings of a monster living in the lake date back to 1889 and number around 79 separate reports for the next century - with still more reported in recent years. Tomorrow is the anniversary of one such sighting.

On August 18, 1998, an angler was startled to see something large just below the surface that was closely tailing a lake trout he had hooked and was reeling in. While the report is open to all sorts of speculation, other detailed reports of a monster with a snake-like head and the body of an eel (that some estimates put as large as 40-feet long) are a bit harder to explain. It is these reports of the so-called Flathead Lake Monster that have made the tranquil setting a spot of interest for curious travelers who hope to get a glimpse of the cryptid that has been dubbed Montana's Nessie.

Read the history of the Flathead Lake Monster at Dark Destinations.

-Casey H.

A Tribute to the Lake Erie Monster

On Father's Day 2005 (June 19th), Dale and Gerard Schofield debuted their own personal tribute to their recently deceased father, Thomas. In 1994, Thomas decided to pay tribute to an area's local legend by building a full-scale replica. Sightings of the Lake Erie Monster, also known as South Bay Bessie or just Bessie, date back to 1793 and have continued sporadically in recent years (see Lake Erie). A flurry of sightings in the late-1980s/early-1990s inspired one bordering town to capitalize on the marketing potential. In 1990, the town of Huron, Ohio passed a proclamation that declared the town was the “National Live Capture and Control Center for the Lake Erie Monster.” To further their cause, the local businesses joined efforts to raise $102,700 for the live capture of the creature, as well as built a containment pen where Bessie would be relocated if captured.

Schofield joined in on the fun in 1994 and released his 35-foot replica of Bessie in a marshy area near the Huron River and in full-view of passing motorists on SR-2. The sculpture was firmly embraced by the local community and remained in place until 2004 when it mysteriously disappeared following Schofield's death. The marsh area would remain empty for one more year until Schofield's sons stepped up. On Father's Day, the two men payed tribute to their father by building their own sculpture and even gave it its own “baby monster” to keep it company. At last word, the sculpture had been damaged, but no word on if it has been repaired or whether it has managed to stay around this time. As for Huron, Ohio – No lake monster (alive or dead) has ever been turned in for the reward, but the reward is still out there.

Read more tales of Bessie and Huron.

-Casey H.

Anniversary of Two Monster Sightings

This day in history is marked by two different alleged lake/river monster sightings that were separated by only six years, though thousands of miles apart. On April 13, 1933, the owners of the famous Drumnadrochit Hotel on the banks of Loch Ness, Scotland reported seeing an animal as large as 15-feet in length surface in the murky waters of the Loch, roll, and then plunge back into the depths. The husband and wife initially kept silent about the sighting out of concern of being accused of attempting to drum up business. Instead, the couple went to the local water bailiff to report what they saw. Much to their surprise, the bailiff told their story to a reporter who published their account in the local paper on May 2. That report is often credited as sparking the worldwide interest in the so-called "Loch Ness Monster" (or "Nessie" for short). Today, the Drumnadrochit Hotel is home to the Loch Ness Exhibition Centre (see The Loch Ness Exhibition Centre) - one of many such exhibits dedicated to the possibility of an unknown cryptid in the water of Loch Ness.

Six years later on April 13, 1939, a halibut fishing ship near the mouth of the Columbia River (see photo above) between Oregon and Washington (see Mouth of the Columbia River) in the United States encountered a similarly strange beast. According to the accounts from the crew of the Argo, a large animal reared up over ten-feet into the air at almost equal distance from the boat and looked at the crew as it stole a 20-pound halibut from one of their lines. Captain Chris Anderson later told an Oregon reporter that the head was similar to that of a camel with coarse and gray fur. The sighting was one of many such sightings in the area of the creature that locals dubbed, "Colossal Claude." While given the nickname by residents of Oregon (and reportedly connected to later sightings of "Marvin the Monster"), similar sightings had been reported up and down the coastline from as far south as San Francisco Bay in California to British Columbia. Some suggest that "Colossal Claude" might be better known as "Caddy" (or "Cadborosaurus") from Cadboro Bay in Victoria, B.C. On a side note, Argo Captain Chris Anderson is one of many local mariners remembered by a plaque at the nearby Maritime Memorial Park in Astoria, Oregon (see Maritime Memorial Park).

-Casey H.

A "Monster" Protected by the Government

In Northeast Arkansas, portions of the White River near Jacksonport and Newport have been designated as a refuge for something that even science has yet to identify. Following a flurry of sightings of the creature known as "Whitey" (short for the more menacing title of "The White River Monster"), interested onlookers flocked to the White River and some had less than noble intentions. Fearing that someone would get hurt, or local wildlife might be mistaken for the creature, the Arkansas State Legislature designated the area as the "White River Monster Refuge" in February of 1973. With the designation came the protection. The new law states that it is, "unlawful to kill, molest, trample or harm the White River Monster while in its native refuge."

The state protection of an animal that might or might not exist is not as uncommon as one might think. The state of Vermont has placed "Champ" of Lake Champlain on the Endangered Species List. Skamania County of Washington passed an ordinance to protect any "Bigfoot" creatures within the county lines, which was further revised to declare the entire county as a "Sasquatch Refuge." In 2005, Swedish officials around Lake Storsjön had to lift their protection of their resident lake monster, the famed "Storsjöodjuret," after it was found out that the current law could not enforce the designated protection, as there was no proof of the animal's existence.

The sightings of Whitey reportedly date back to the 1800s, with flurries of reports coming in during the late-1930s and again in the 1970s. Reports have waned since, but some believe it is only a matter of time before it is seen again as it appears to follow a pattern where it emerges every 30 to 40 years. If so, the White River Monster could be reemerging any day now.

Read more on the White River Monster of Arkansas.

-Casey H.

Strange Goings-On at Crater Lake

On February 4, 1997, a pilot flying a small plane en route from Bend to Medford observed three strange lights flying over Crater Lake in Oregon. According to an account published in Southern Oregon's Mail Tribune, the pilot reported also seeing military jets pursuing the strange objects. That evening, sonic booms were reported up-and-down the Oregon coastline. Several years earlier in 1978, several witnesses had reported seeing a very large and very bright light fly over the area.

The deep blue waters of Crater Lake have always been the source of mystery and fascination. There are countless Native American legends about the area, as well as its formation following its explosion from its former days as Mount Mazama. It even features somewhat cryptic names for several of its natural formations. Points of interest include the Devil's Backbone, the Phantom Ship, Skell Head, and the ever-popular Wizard Island (see photo above) - where phantom campfires spark up when unoccupied that mysteriously disappear by the time the park rangers arrive to investigate. Aside from UFOs and ghosts, there are stories of murder, suicide, a lake monster (or dragon), and even some sightings of a creature commonly known as Bigfoot. Naturally, we have recorded them all on Dark Destinations.

Plunge into the mysteries of Crater Lake.

-Casey H.