Lake Monster Mysteries (12 page)

Lake Champlain hydrographic contour map. N.d. North, central, and south sections. N.p.: Fishing Hot Spots.

Lake's Champ reported seen. 1981.
Plattsburgh Press-Republican,
ca. April 18.

LeBlond, Paul H. 1982. An estimate of the dimensions of the Lake Champlain monster from the length of adjacent wind waves in the Mansi photograph.
Cryptozoology
1:54–61.

LeBlond, Paul H., and Michael J. Collins. 1987. The Wilson Nessie photo: A size
determination based on physical principles.
Cryptozoology
6:55–64.

Mansi, Sandra. 2002. Interview by Benjamin Radford, August 24.

Meurger, Michel, and Claude Gagnon. 1988.
Lake monster traditions: A cross-cultural analysis.
London: Fortean Tomes.

Monk, Jerry. 2004. Letter to the editor.
Fortean Times
185 (July): 76.

Myth or monster. 1972.
Time 20:66
.

Nickell, Joe. 1994.
Camera clues: A handbook for photographic investigation.
Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 169–72.

_______. 1996. Nessie hoax redux.
Skeptical Briefs
6, no. 1 (March): 1–2.

_______. 2001.
Real-life X-files: Investigating the paranormal.
Lexington: University Press of Kentucky.

Owen, Elizabeth. 1982. In search of a monster.
Life
(August): 32–36.

Porter, Marjorie L. 1970. The Champlain monster.
Vermont Life
24, no. 4 (summer): 47–50.

Sandra Mansi photograph. 2002. True authority: The site of scientific authority.
www.trueauthority.com/cryptozoology/sandra.htm
.

Smith, Richard D. 1984. Testing an underwater video system at Lake Champlain.
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St. Pierre, Norm. 2002. Interview by Benjamin Radford, August 25.

Teresi, Dick. 1998. Monster of the tub.
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19, no. 4 (April): 87–92.

Vachon, Brian. 1977. In search of the Champlain monster.
Yankee Magazine
(November): 136–39, 211–16.

von Muggenthaler, E. 2004a. E-mail to Benjamin Radford, November 16.

_______. 2004b. Lake Champlain research.
www.animalvoice.com/lakechamplain.htm
.

Whitaker, John O. Jr. 1996.
National Audubon Society field guide to North American mammals.
New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Williams, H., E. Loftus, and K. Deffenbacher. 1992. Eyewitness evidence and testimony. In
Handbook of psychology and law.
Edited by D. Kagehiro and W. Laufer. New York: Springer-Verlag.

Wooldridge, A. B. 1987. The Yeti: A rock after all?
Cryptozoology
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Zarzynski, Joseph. 1982. LCPI work at Lake Champlain, 1982.
Cryptozoology
1:73–77.

_______. 1983. LCPI work at Lake Champlain, 1983.
Cryptozoology
2:126–31.

_______. 1984a.
Champ: Beyond the legend.
Port Henry, N.Y.: Bannister Publications.

_______. 1984b. LCPI work at Lake Champlain, 1984.
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_______. 1985. LCPI work at Lake Champlain, 1985.
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_______. 1988a.
Champ: Beyond the legend.
2nd ed. Port Henry, N.Y.: Bannister Publications.

_______. 1988b. LCPI work at Lake Champlain, 1988.
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.

_______. 1989. LCPI work at Lake Champlain, 1989.
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_______. 1992. LCPI work at Lake Champlain, 1991–1992.
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Zug, George. 1981. Does Champ exist? Seminar in Shelburne, Vt., August 29, cited in Zarzynski 1984a, 80.

Located in north-central Vermont and extending into Quebec, Lake Memphremagog is the second largest lake in the state (
figure 3.1
). According to Malloy (2003b), the name is from the Western Abenaki
Mamlabegwok,
which means “at the Big Lake Water”; another source (Lake Memphremagog n.d.) gives the meaning as “Beautiful Waters.” Like Vermont's largest lake, Lake Champlain, Lake Memphremagog hosts its own aquatic monster, “Memphre” (Lake Memphremagog n.d.; Malloy 2003b). In fact, there are purportedly five Vermont lake monsters—or “Vermonsters”—all with cute nicknames. Besides “Champ” and “Memphre,” there are “Seymour” or “Semoe” (Seymour Lake), “Willy” (Willoughby Lake), and “Ms. Crystal” (Crystal Lake). Obviously, every large lake should have one.

Reports of the creature date to 1816 (Citro 1994; Histoire n.d.), and some claim that, long before, “North American Indians in the region warned early settlers not to bathe in Lake Memphremagog because of the mysterious monster” (Lake monster 2003). The first Lake Memphremagog monster hunter—who today might call himself a cryptozoologist—was Uriah Jewett (1795–1868). Known as “Uncle Riah,” he was a local fisherman and raconteur who believed that an Atlantic “sea serpent” had entered the lake by means of a subterranean channel and become trapped, being too stupid to retrace its route (Citro 1994). Jewett attempted to catch the serpent—which the townspeople dubbed “Uriah's Alligator”—baiting traps with lambs' heads. His attempts failed, but in the 1850s he often regaled passengers on the lake steamer
The Mountain Maid
by telling them that the bait had always been gone by morning (Citro 1994; Malloy 2003b, 2004).

Figure 3.1
Lake Memphremagog on the Quebec-Vermont border. (Map by Joe Nickell)

A typical nineteenth-century sighting was related in the August 3, 1850,
Caledonian,
published at St. Johnsbury: “About two weeks ago [the serpent] was seen distinctly by Uncle David Beebe while fishing off Magoon Point. … A sudden splash attracted his attention, and turning, he was astonished to behold the head and six feet of body of a huge monster, perfectly erect and graceful, apparently motionless. He was soon relieved, however, by the sudden and almost silent disappearance below the surface.” The article concluded, “That a critter of the snake species does there exist, seems hardly to admit a doubt” (quoted in Citro 1994).

Swimming deer, beavers, or especially otters may be responsible for a 1939 sighting (reported many years later) by a man who saw “something swimming” off the eastern shore of Newport Bay. As mentioned in
chapter 2
, otters swimming in a line can create the appearance of a giant undulating serpent. Perhaps they are the explanation for an incident in the 1940s in which two men encountered a huge snake, described as a foot in diameter and 150 feet long. A 1976 sighting by a man fishing on the lake is also highly suggestive of an otter: the man spied “a seal with a long neck. … It was black and well above the water” (Citro 1994).

As at Lake Champlain, there has been a tendency, over time, for descriptions of the purported monster to evolve, conforming to the concept of the day. The early characterization of “sea serpent” largely gave way to “snake,” and more recently, the creature has been likened to a prehistoric aquatic animal called a plesiosaur (Malloy 2004)—a popular notion seemingly influenced by the 1934 hoaxed photo of “Nessie,” the Loch Ness monster (see
chapter 1
).

Only recently has Memphre achieved widespread fame, benefiting from the attention given to Champ. Indeed, on our first trip to the area, Ben Radford dubbed the reputed monster “Champ Lite.” The
very name of the creature has sparked controversy. Newport resident Barbara Malloy, who heads the International Dracontology Society of Lake Memphremagog
(dracontology
derives from the Latin and Greek words for “dragon”), claims exclusive rights to the appellation
Memphre.
She has threatened to sue reporters and historians who write about the purported creature or use its name without obtaining permission from her. Indeed, her threat to sue the local chamber of commerce delayed its merger with another regional chamber. The problem stems from Malloy's one-time collaboration with her Canadian counterpart, diver Jacques Boisvert of Magog, Quebec. They had a falling out during the 1990s, and Malloy objected to Newport officials placing Memphre literature from the rival Quebec society in their information booth (Perron 2003; Smith 2003a, 2003b; Travers 2003).

Boisvert also claims to have given the legendary creature its name (Smith 2003c). Apparently, however, it actually derives from a 1985 song, “Gentle Memphrie,” by Helen Brown Burton. Malloy insists that in June 1986 Boisvert asked her permission to change the spelling to Memphre (a short form of the French
Lac Memphremagog)
, and that she agreed. She was disappointed and hurt when Boisvert failed to credit her with coining the name (Burton 1988).

In contrast to Boisvert—who has never encountered the creature but claims to have an open mind about the possibility of its existence—Malloy has had several sightings. The first was in 1983 and was shared by her two daughters. In 1989 she took two photographs of what she believes was Memphre (the better photo is reproduced as
figure 3.2
, with an enlargement in
figure 3.3
). Although they depict a dark object apparently leaving a wake, skeptics insist that there are other possibilities besides a lake monster. According to local reporter Robin Smith (2003c), “One recent photograph turned out to be a moose swimming across the lake.”

Malloy's 1989 sighting may have a similarly prosaic explanation. When she graciously hosted Ben and me at her home, Malloy (2003a) explained that on that occasion she had seen two of the creatures—one approaching from the left, and one from the right. When they were close to each other, they submerged. Malloy stated that the fisherman whose boat she was using told her that he had seen a beaver in the vicinity earlier. And although she reported hearing a slapping sound (such as when you slap the water with your hand, she indicated), she seemed not to make the connection: beavers are well known to produce such sounds with their tails to signal danger
{New Encyclopaedia Britannica
1978).

Figure 3.2
Photograph taken by Barbara Malloy of Newport, Vermont, showing a “small Memphre trapped between boat and shoreline.” (Photo courtesy of Barbara Malloy)

Figure 3.3
Detail of
figure 3.2
enlarged. Is this an unidentified lake monster or—as some evidence indicates—a beaver? (Photo courtesy of Barbara Malloy)

Malloy has had other sightings—seven in all. She has collected more than sixty sighting reports, whereas Boisvert claims “well over 200” (Wickstrom n.d.). Nevertheless, she concludes, “Memphre is such a mysterious thing—so much mystery to it.” And even she finds it curious that the monster shows itself to some people but not to others (Malloy 2003a).

I was able to spend some time looking for Memphre. When Ben and I visited Newport in June 2003, we explored along the waterfront. Subsequently, we drove to Magog, Quebec, at the lake's northern tip. There, we dined at La Legende Restaurant (its sign depicts Memphre, and the placemats list sightings). We then continued to a scenic overlook with a marker reading “Belvédère Memphré” (Memphre vista) and advising, “Site d'observation de créatures lacustres non-identifiées” (observation site for unidentified lake creatures). Unfortunately, no creature of any kind put in an appearance. On August 28, I returned to Magog to be interviewed for a Canadian television documentary on the legendary monster. The Montreal crew lent me their rented lakeside cottage (along with some leftovers and beer). Until dark, and again after daybreak the next morning, I maintained a vigil for the fabled lake monster. Alas, once again, it was a no-show. Skeptics often say, “Seeing is believing.” In the case of lake monsters, it may be that believing actually helps with the seeing.