Champ, the Famed Monster
of Lake Champlain
 Do
you believe in Champ, the Lake Champlain Monster? Some
say Champ is a Plesiosaur, a dinosaur type creature, which
lurks in the cool deep waters of Lake Champlain. Others
account for the over 300 unexplained sightings, some by
large groups of people, by reminding themselves, and others,
that large fish like sturgeon inhabit the lake and might
be mistaken for the monster. Described as being dark in
color and between 10 and 30 feet in length, this reptilian
being known commonly as Champ, appears to many to have
a long neck and horse shaped head. P. T. Barnum once offered
$50,000 for the "hide of the beast", but laws
now exist to protect any such creature. I thought I saw
it once too...
Champ Sightings
Indeed, there have been
over 300 reported sightings in the last 100 years. Here
are a few of the highlights:
1819: Bulwagga Bay, Port Henry, NY
1871: Horseshoe Bay, riders of the steamship Curlew
claimed to see a head and long neck that created quite
a wake.
1870: Charlotte, Vermont, a full steamboat spotted Champ
1873: Dresden, New York, another steamboat full spotted
Champ
1945: In the middle of the lake the creature was spotted
by the famous S.S. Ticonderoga
1954: A 14 inch reptile was trapped in Shelburne Bay,
possibly a baby…
1977: The Mansi photograph was taken by Sandra Mansi,
a tourist from Connecticut, with her Kodak Instamatic,
of what she called a dinosaur. This has become the most
famous piece of evidence—featured nationally in
Time Magazine and the New York Times among others.
1984:
Off Appletree Point, Vermont. 86 passengers aboard the
Ethan Allen spotted 3 to 5 “humps” which
disappeared after about 3 minutes due to the approach
of a speed boat.
1993:
Button Bay State Park, Ferrisburgh, Vermont. A baby
Champ reportedly swam between two women bathers.
1995:
Dennis Hall of Champ Quest recorded Champ on video.
See
Video
Please note that 7 of these
locations are within 10 miles of the Vermont Lake House.
What Does Champ Look Like?
From existing reports, Champ
may be endowed with all or some of the following features:
Length:
Between
10 and 187 feet long.
Head shape:
Flat
headed or round headed.
Horned
or having "moose-like antlers".
Elephant
ears
A
mane (either tan or red).
Jaws
like an alligator.
Body Shape:
One
to four humps.
Up
to five arching coils.
Fins
A
snake-like body.
Skin-type:
Scaly
Smooth
Color:
Either
drab or shiny
Black
Dark
head with white body
Gray
Black
and Gray
Brown
Moss
green
Reddish
bronze
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