The Loch Ness Monster, also known as Nessie, is a mythical creature in Scottish folklore that is said to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is often described as large, long-necked, and with one or more humps protruding from the water. Popular interest and belief in the creature has varied since it was brought to worldwide attention in 1933. Evidence of its existence is anecdotal, with a number of disputed photographs and sonar readings.
A kelpie, or water kelpie, is a mythical shape-shifting spirit inhabiting lochs in Scottish folklore. It is usually described as a grey or white horse-like creature, able to adopt human form. Some accounts state that the kelpie retains its hooves when appearing as a human, leading to its association with the Christian idea of Satan as alluded to by Robert Burns in his 1786 poem "Address to the Devil".
Sea monsters are beings from folklore believed to dwell in the sea and are often imagined to be of immense size. Marine monsters can take many forms, including sea dragons, sea serpents, or tentacled beasts. They can be slimy and scaly and are often pictured threatening ships or spouting jets of water. The definition of a "monster" is subjective; further, some sea monsters may have been based on scientifically accepted creatures, such as whales and types of giant and colossal squid.
A lake monster is a lake-dwelling creature in myth and folklore. The most famous example is the Loch Ness Monster. Depictions of lake monsters are often similar to those of sea monsters.
Lake Tianchi Monster is the name given to what is said to be a lake monster that lives in Heaven Lake located in the peak of Baekdu Mountain within the Baekdu-daegan and Changbai mountain ranges encompassing Jilin Province of China and Ryanggang Province of North Korea. According to Beijing Youth Daily, an estimated 20 monsters were reported; however, "scientists are skeptical that any large creature would be able to survive in the lake given its recent history of volcanic activity", and skeptics say "it's all in the imagination, or just a floating volcanic rock".
In Canadian folklore, the Ogopogo is a lake monster said to inhabit Okanagan Lake in British Columbia, Canada. Some scholars have charted the entity's development from First Nations folklore and widespread water monster folklore motifs. The Ogopogo now plays a role in the commercial symbolism and media representation of the region.
Heaven Lake is a volcanic crater lake atop Paektu Mountain. It lies on the border between China and North Korea, and is roughly evenly divided between the two countries.
In Swedish folklore, the Storsjöodjuret is a lake monster said to live in the 90-metre-deep (300 ft) lake Storsjön in Jämtland in the middle of Sweden.
Frederick "Ted" William Holiday (1921–1979) was an English journalist, who wrote books about angling and also the Loch Ness monster, developing a hypothesis about its nature.
Jon-Erik Beckjord was an American paranormal investigator, photographer, and cryptozoologist interested in UFOs, crop circles, the Loch Ness Monster, and Bigfoot. Throughout his life, he owned three separate, small-scale museums that featured displays, mostly photographs, of alleged UFO, Nessie, and Bigfoot sightings. He made guest appearances on national radio and television shows, but was criticized by skeptics and fellow cryptozoologists alike for not providing substantive evidence to back up his claims of the existence of paranormal beings.
In American folklore, Champ or Champy is the name of a lake monster said to live in Lake Champlain, a 125-mile (201 km)-long body of fresh water shared by New York and Vermont, with a portion extending into Quebec, Canada. The legend of the monster is considered a draw for tourism in the Burlington, Vermont and Plattsburgh, New York areas.
In Pahang Malay folklore, the Seri Gumum Dragon is a legendary giant serpent locally called Nāga and commonly described as taking the form of an Asian dragon, that inhabit the Chini Lake in Pahang, Malaysia. There have been a variety of legends associated with the creature in the oral literature. The notable one is related to the origin myth of the lake itself, while another legend narrates about a love story between female Seri Gumum and a male Nāga called Seri Kemboja that leads to the origin myth of Tioman and Lingga Islands.
In Canadian folklore, Mussie is a creature said to live in Muskrat Lake in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is variously described, for example, as a walrus or as a three-eyed Loch Ness Monster-like creature.The legend of Mussie likely began around 1916, though legend claims that Canadian pioneer Samuel de Champlain wrote about it in the early seventeenth century. Mussie has become a part of the local culture and a fixture in the local tourism industry.
Nahuelito is a lake monster purported to live in Nahuel Huapi Lake, Patagonia, Argentina. Like Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster, the Argentine creature is named after the lake it supposedly resides in and has been described as a giant serpent or a huge hump, as well as a plesiosaur. Nahuelito has been allegedly shown through photos showing a hump, or a serpentine body.
Tahoe Tessie is a cryptid said to inhabit the depths of Lake Tahoe, a lake that straddles the border between California and Nevada. Reports of Tessie date back to the mid-19th century, and over time, the creature has become a well-known part of local folklore.
A water horse is a mythical creature, such as the Ceffyl Dŵr, Capaill Uisce, the bäckahäst, each-uisge, and kelpie.
In Canadian folklore, Cressie is the nickname given to an eel-like lake monster said to reside in Crescent Lake, Robert's Arm, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The name is a portmanteau of Crescent Lake and Nessie, the nickname given to the Loch Ness Monster. The monster has been described as resembling a large dark brown eel around 15 feet in length with a long, sleek body and as "looking long and shiny, and having a fish-like head." Claims of Cressie being sighted began in the 1950s, and continue to the present day.
The dingonek is a creature said to have been seen near Lake Victoria in 1907 by big game hunter John Alfred Jordan and members of his hunting party, as recounted by fellow big-game hunter Edgar Beecher Bronson in his 1910 memoir In Closed Territory. This account was followed by an article published in 1913 in the East Africa Natural History Society by Charles William Hobley, in which he claims to have encountered further accounts of similarly described creatures. In 1918, an article published by MacLean's declared that the beast was a newly discovered animal species.
Moon Lake is a high mountain reservoir on the south slope of the High Uintas in Duchesne County, Utah. Recreation management is under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Forest Service, as the lake is part of the Ashley National Forest.
