The Beast of Lake Champlain

On a still morning on July 22, 1819, a man named Captain Crum climbed into his wooden boat. It seemed like any other day on Lake Champlain, the long, thin lake nestled between Vermont and New York. Blue-green waves rippled gently in the breeze. Thick trees lined the edges of the water. In the distance, towering hills rose toward the bright sky.

Then Captain Crum saw something he would never forget: A mysterious head rose out of the water, followed by a large body and a tail. The captain was stunned.

The beast looked more than 180 feet long—much longer than his boat, and definitely longer than any animal he had ever seen. It had big, yellow eyes and a red streak around its neck. The creature swam quickly across the lake, lashing its huge tail. Then, suddenly, the giant monster dove under the water’s surface. It was gone in about a minute. 

Terrified, Captain Crum rushed to tell people what had happened. His experience was written about in a local newspaper. As the news spread, some people didn’t know what to think. But others believed they knew exactly what Captain Crum had seen: a lake monster now known as Champ.

It was a still morning on July 22, 1819. A man named Captain Crum climbed into his boat. It seemed like any other day on Lake Champlain, a long lake between Vermont and New York. Waves moved gently. Trees lined the water. In the distance, large hills rose toward the sky.

Then Crum saw something he would never forget. A mysterious head rose out of the water. The head was followed by a large body and a tail. The captain was stunned. The beast looked more than 180 feet long. It was longer than his boat and longer than any animal he had ever seen. It had big yellow eyes and a red streak around its neck. The creature swam quickly across the lake, its huge tail moving back and forth. Suddenly, the giant monster dove under the water’s surface. It was gone in a minute.

Captain Crum was terrified. He told people what had happened. And his experience was written about in a local newspaper. As the news spread, some people didn’t know what to think. But others believed they knew exactly what Crum had seen: a lake monster now known as Champ.

People had been whispering stories about a strange creature in Lake Champlain for thousands of years. Local Native American tribes shared legends about a beast that made its home in the water. The Abenaki, for example, told tales of a horned serpent. In the early 1700s, when settlers from Europe arrived in the area, the Abenaki warned them not to make too much noise near the lake. Doing so might upset the creature.

So when Captain Crum told his story in 1819, a number of people in the area weren’t surprised. Years passed. Rumors continued
to spread. In 1873, a group of railroad workers claimed to spot the head of a snaking beast covered in gleaming silver scales in Lake Champlain. That same year, a sheriff reported seeing an “enormous snake or
water serpent” up to 35 feet long. 

The stories soon reached P.T. Barnum, the owner of a popular circus in the U.S. He offered a $50,000 prize for anyone who captured the monster. (That’d be worth more than $1 million today!) People from near and far flocked to the lake, hoping to strike it rich. Many swore they got a glimpse of the beast, which people later began calling Champ or Champy, after the lake where it was rumored to live. Yet nobody could get their hands on the mysterious creature.

People had been telling stories about a strange creature in Lake Champlain for thousands of years. Local Native American tribes shared legends about a beast that lived in the lake. The Abenaki, for example, told of a serpent with horns. In the early 1700s, settlers from Europe arrived in the area. The Abenaki warned the newcomers not to make too much noise near the lake. Doing so might upset the creature. So when Crum told his story in 1819, a number of people weren’t surprised. Years passed. Rumors continued to spread. In 1873, a group of railroad workers said they saw the head of a snaking beast covered in silver scales. That same year, a sheriff reported seeing an “enormous snake or water serpent” up to 35 feet long.

The stories soon reached P.T. Barnum, the owner of a popular circus in the U.S. He offered a $50,000 prize for anyone who captured the monster. (That’d be worth more than $1 million today!) People from near and far came to the lake, hoping to get rich. Many swore they saw the beast. People later began calling the creature Champ or Champy, after the lake. Yet nobody could get their hands on the mysterious creature.

People had been whispering stories about a strange creature in Lake Champlain for thousands of years. Local Native American tribes shareThen, in 1977, a woman named Sandra Mansi said she had evidence proving Champ was real: a photograph! 

Mansi was on vacation, visiting the area from Connecticut. She, her partner, and their two children were hiking around the edge of the lake. The family stopped by the shore to swim. That’s when Mansi noticed something moving on the surface of the water. Suddenly, she saw a strange head and long neck poke out. Mansi rushed to grab her camera and snapped the picture.

“I was scared to death,” Mansi later said.

Today people can use computers to quickly and easily create fake images that look real. But this technology did not exist in 1977. When Mansi’s photo was published in newspapers, it kicked off a nationwide frenzy. 

Was the image really proof that a beast inhabited Lake Champlain?

Over the years, experts have studied Mansi’s photo. They all agree it’s authentic. But just because the picture is real, it doesn’t mean that Champ is. 

The object in the photo could be anything. Perhaps Mansi took a picture of a bird in an odd position or a twisted log bobbing on the water. Or maybe the photo just shows a floating piece of trash.

Then, in 1977, a woman named Sandra Mansi said she had evidence proving Champ was real. Her evidence? A photograph! Mansi was on vacation, visiting the area. Her family was hiking around the lake and stopped by the shore to swim. That’s when Mansi noticed something moving on the surface of the water. Suddenly, she saw a strange head and long neck poke out. Mansi rushed to grab her camera and snapped the picture.

“I was scared to death,” Mansi later said.

Today people can use computers to easily create fake images that look real. But this technology did not exist in 1977. Mansi’s photo was published in newspapers. And it started a nationwide frenzy.

Was the image really proof that a beast lived in Lake Champlain?

Over the years, experts have studied Mansi’s photo. They all agree it’s authentic. But just because the picture is real, it doesn’t mean that Champ is.

The object in the photo could be anything. Perhaps Mansi took a picture of a bird in an odd position or a log bobbing on the water. Or maybe the photo just shows a floating piece of trash.

To this day, plenty of people believe the photo is proof that Champ lives. One of them is Nick Valenzuela, a cryptozoologist from California. (Kryptos is the Greek word for “hidden” or “secret”; a zoologist is someone who studies animal life. Cryptozoologists, however, are not actual scientists.) 

“Lake Champlain is an incredibly large lake,” Valenzuela says. “It’s definitely possible that it could support a creature of Champ’s size.”

In 2020, Valenzuela traveled to Lake Champlain to interview people who say they’ve seen Champ. He noted similarities in their accounts. For example, most stories don’t describe Champ as a monster but as a sweet and shy creature that wants to be left alone. 

Valenzuela also teamed up with a woman named Katy Elizabeth who has spent years looking for Champ. Together they took a trip out to the center of the lake and used special equipment to record underwater noises. The recordings contained some strange sounds that Elizabeth says don’t match noises from any animal she knows of. 

Some people point out that hundreds of new animals are discovered by scientists each year. Why couldn’t one of them be living in Lake Champlain?

To this day, plenty of people believe the photo is proof that Champ lives. One of them is Nick Valenzuela, a cryptozoologist. (Kryptos is the Greek word for “hidden” or “secret.” A zoologist is someone who studies animal life. Cryptozoologists, however, are not actual scientists.)

“Lake Champlain is an incredibly large lake,” Valenzuela says. “It’s definitely possible that it could support a creature of Champ’s size.”

In 2020, Valenzuela went to Lake Champlain to interview people who say they’ve seen Champ. There were similarities in their accounts. For example, most stories don’t describe Champ as a monster. People say the creature is sweet and shy and wants to be left alone.

Valenzuela also teamed up with a woman named Katy Elizabeth. Elizabeth has spent years looking for Champ. They went to the center of the lake and used special equipment to record underwater noises. The recordings contained some strange sounds. Elizabeth says these sounds don’t match noises from any animal she knows of.

Some people point out that hundreds of new animals are discovered by scientists each year. Why couldn’t one of them be living in Lake Champlain?

But not everyone is as sure that Champ is real. Nina Ridhibhinyo works at the ECHO Center, a museum focusing on Lake Champlain that has an entire exhibit about Champ. She believes that the stories about the beast have many possible explanations. One idea for what the monster could be? Champ is simply a fish, Ridhibhinyo says.

“The largest animal that we know lives in the lake is the sturgeon. It can grow to be 8 feet long and can jump out of the lake,” she explains. At a distance, people could easily mistake a jumping sturgeon for a snaking creature breaking out of the lake’s surface. “People could also be seeing logs moving on the water,” she adds. 

Ridhibhinyo notes that all kinds of researchers have visited Lake Champlain, looking for clues that a beast lives there. Scientists and documentary filmmakers have used sonar technology, which uses sound waves to create images of underwater objects. The images of what’s in the lake’s waters didn’t show anything. Others have studied the plants and animals that live in the lake, looking for signs that a huge creature is feasting on them. But through the years, no such signs have been found.

And as for those strange sounds that Elizabeth and her team picked up? According to Ridhibhinyo, Elizabeth’s research has not been reviewed by scientists. The sounds are likely coming from other animals that live in the lake, or the countless people who swim and sail their boats there. On their own, Ridhibhinyo says, the noises don’t prove that Champ is out there.

But not everyone is as sure that Champ is real. Nina Ridhibhinyo works at the ECHO Center, a museum focusing on Lake Champlain. The ECHO Center has an exhibit about Champ. Ridhibhinyo believes that the stories about the beast have many possible explanations. One idea for what the monster could be? Champ is simply a fish, she says.

“The largest animal that we know lives in the lake is the sturgeon. It can grow to be 8 feet long and can jump out of the lake,” she explains. At a distance, people could easily mistake a jumping sturgeon for a snaking creature in the lake. “People could also be seeing logs moving on the water,” she adds.

Ridhibhinyo says that all kinds of researchers have visited Lake Champlain. They came looking for clues that a beast lives there. Scientists and filmmakers have used sonar technology. Sonar uses sound waves to create images of underwater objects. But the images didn’t show anything. Others have studied the plants and animals that live in the lake, looking for signs that a huge creature is eating them. No such signs have been found.

And as for those strange sounds that Elizabeth and her team picked up? According to Ridhibhinyo, Elizabeth’s research has not been reviewed by scientists. The sounds are likely coming from other animals that live in the lake. Or they’re from the many people who swim and sail their boats there. On their own, Ridhibhinyo says, the noises don’t prove that Champ is out there.

Since Sandra Mansi’s photo shocked the nation, hundreds more people have claimed they’ve seen the creature with their own eyes. And every year, there are more sightings. 

Real or fake, Champ is loved by many. You can buy Champ toys, books, and clothes. Champ is even the mascot of a local baseball team, the Vermont Lake Monsters.

We may never know what Captain Crum or Sandra Mansi saw on the lake. Maybe it was a sturgeon after all. Maybe it was just a log. Or perhaps there really is a mysterious monster swimming in Lake Champlain. 

What do you believe?

Since Sandra Mansi’s photo shocked the nation, hundreds more people have claimed they’ve seen the creature. And every year, there are more
sightings.

Real or fake, Champ is loved by many. You can buy Champ toys, books, and clothes. Champ is even the mascot of a local baseball team, the Vermont Lake Monsters.

We may never know what Captain Crum or Sandra Mansi saw on the lake. Maybe it was a sturgeon after all. Maybe it was just a log. Or perhaps there really is a mysterious monster swimming in Lake Champlain. 

What do you believe?