Champ, sometimes known as “Champy,” is a legendary lake monster that may or may not exist. Its name comes from Lake Champlain, which straddles the international boundary between Vermont, New York, and Quebec, Canada. It was the French explorer Samuel de Champlain, for whom the lake was named, who first mentioned the existence of this monster. Champlain claimed to have seen gigantic animals in the lake in 1609. These creatures were called tatoskok or chaousarou by the local Abenaki people of Canada. But in the 1980s, his works were heavily reinterpreted.
Champ in History
Origin of the Story
1609
The Iroquois and the Abenakis, two Native American groups with a local presence around the lake, also have stories about supernatural beings who dwell there. The Abenaki people describe them as tatoskok or chaousarou (both of which mean “bony garfish“), although they don’t look anything like Champ the Lake Monster. The Iroquois spoke about a big-horned snake before the coming of Europeans.
During his conflict with the Iroquois to the south of the lake, Samuel de Champlain is supposed to have heard rumors of a monster. He recorded and gathered a number of eyewitness accounts of a mystery creature in the lake. A big, prehistoric predatory fish native to North America, the bony garfish is coated in thick silvery scales and has long jaws and keen, lethal teeth. He mentioned species like these in a chronicle written in 1609.
Champlain wrote in his journal about the lake, noting that it was full of various fish species. Among them was a type called Chaousarou, named by the locals. These fish were quite large, reaching up to eight to ten feet in length, although Champlain saw some that were about five feet long.
They had heads as big as a few fists, a beak around two and a half feet long, and sharp teeth. Their bodies resembled pikes, but they were covered in tough scales that couldn’t be pierced. The fish were silvery-gray in color and had snouts similar to a pig’s.
Popularization of the Animal
Champlain may have seen the Champ monster in the lake in July of 1609. However, this fictitious story was republished in 1960 by journalist Todd Frye, who made unfounded claims in his reporting. Popularizations of excerpts from Champlain’s journal have been met with criticism from scientific works.
In the 1980s, the press (most notably a story in Reader’s Digest Selection authored by Brian Vachon) significantly reinterpreted and reworked these sections to construct an “incredible” event around the creature and imply that the explorer personally saw it. Champlain’s journal is referenced by almost every online resource and news piece. Despite this, virtually little information about the animal can be discovered in Champlain’s writings.
Champ Sightings in the 19th Century
1819
The population of the lake region increased rapidly once the Champlain Canal was finished. In the summer of 1819, Champ was first seen by humans. According to “Cape Ann Serpent on Lake Champlain,” published in the Plattsburgh Republican that year, Capt. Crum testified that he had seen a massive serpent-like creature in the lake while using his scope. American skeptic Benjamin Radford suggests that this story might be satire or an elaborate fabrication.
1873
However, in the summer of 1873, there was a second sighting. The newspaper story included the accounts of railway employees: the witnesses saw the serpent’s head rise out of the water on the other bank and swim toward them on June 25. The Lake Champlain Monster Organization claims that the supposed snake did not try to attack the guys but instead turned away and dove back under the water. Similarly, a party of hunters in the 1880s reported seeing and killing a gigantic snake. There was a spike in reports between the 1870s (with 15 sightings) and the 1880s (with 23 reports), then a sharp decline until the 1960s.
1883
In 1883 (or July 1873), Sheriff Nathan H. Mooney reported seeing a massive sea snake from the beach, perhaps 50 yards distant. He estimated the creature’s length to be between 25 and 30 feet based on how close he was to it and his description of the white, circular patches within its mouth was noteworthy. Mooney heard conflicting stories from several witnesses.
Phineas Taylor Barnum, owner of the famous circus, offered a $50,000 prize in 1873 and again in 1887 for the capture of Champ, the subject of widespread urban legend at the time. Barnum considered incorporating it into his monumental world’s fair and circus events.
In the 20th Century: A Baby Champ
1945
A person from Vermont made the claim in 1945 that he had caught a young Champ (referred to as “a baby Champ creature“) that measured almost 40 inches. Those who didn’t believe the report said that the creature was really a salamander or a baby alligator. A little Champ, looking like a turtle without a shell, approximately 12 inches long, and with a forked tongue, was supposedly collected by Dennis Jay Hall’s father in a marshy location along the lake’s shore in 1976. The University of Vermont Science Department apparently lost the animal he delivered to them. Following this encounter, Dennis read in a prehistory book that the mysterious beast may have been a tanystropheus, a kind of extinct reptile.
1977
Before Sandra Mansi presented a picture on July 5, 1977, no formal record of the event existed. She was strolling along the north coast of Lake Champlain in the vicinity of Saint Albans, Vermont, with her two children from a previous marriage and her fiance, Anthony Mansi. At around midday, they pulled off on a rocky outcrop overlooking the water. A commotion in the water that Mansi at first mistaken for a school of fish or a scuba diver caught her eye as the kids were splashing along the beach.
At first, just the creature’s head and neck were visible above the water. She beckoned the kids back to the water’s edge. A snapshot was taken by Mansi using her Kodak Instamatic camera. The purported Champ did not seem to be worried or scared by the youngsters who were playing along the water’s edge. After sitting still for a while, the monster dove under the waves. The Mansis claimed the duration of the observation to be between four and seven minutes.
A huge gray-brown reptile’s neck and dorsal fin are seen in the shot. Mansi kept quiet about it for a long time, but ultimately specialists verified that the picture was genuine after analyzing it. The New York Times gave it a first-page treatment on July 6, 1977. Not long after, Port Henry put up a sign cataloging monster sightings, and a huge conference was held to discuss Champ’s existence. Several cryptozoologists and experts on the issue have argued that Mansi’s picture is the most plausible material proof of a Champ sighting since it shows no signs of having been manipulated.
1980s
An examination undertaken in 1982 by a member of the University of British Columbia’s Department of Oceanography determined that the item or creature shot by Mansi was huge, measuring at least 16–17 feet. However, scientist Benjamin Radford disagreed with this interpretation, suggesting in his book “Lake Monster Mysteries: Investigating the World’s Most Elusive Creatures” that the serpentine form may just be a piece of wood floating on the lake or the trunk of a fallen tree.
Since woods surround the lake, it’s possible that trees regularly wash up on the shore. There is a strong connection between silhouette images of floating tree trunks and visual accounts of a long-necked creature. There is reason to mistrust this entire affair since Mansi was never able to supply the negative of the shot, he does not know the spot where it was taken, and there is no way to compare the size of the item in the photo. While the picture has been widely discredited, Sandra Mansi’s attorney compared it to the impossibility of her launching a satellite into orbit to defend her claim.
Prior to the 1980s, Champ earned notoriety and was the subject of hunting expeditions. In 1981, soon after the picture of the lake monster Champ was released, it was referenced in hundreds of testimonies. Four further photographs were taken and seemed legitimate. The skeptic William Tromblee said he saw a giant creature beneath the lake’s surface in 1981, when he was entirely sober, while the list of witnesses was more of a roster of neighborhood boozers. On the other hand, he speculated that it could be a large sturgeon.
In 1983, Joseph W. Zarzynski, better known as Champ Hunter, took the previously mocked claims of monster observers seriously. A total of 224 accounts were recorded by the end of 1984; the decade of the 1960s saw the most reports (15), the decade of the 1970s had 19 Champ reports, and the decade of the 1980s saw the most reports (60 by mid-1984).
Champ Monster in the 21st Century
Two fishermen, Dick Affolter, a retired lawyer with a degree from Cornell University Law School in Essex, and Pete Bodette, a sales director of a fuel company who had lived near the lake for a long time, went salmon fishing at the mouth of the Ausable River on July 11, 2005. Neither of them believed in the Champ the Lake Monster stories before this. Using their digital camera, they captured something emerging from the water roughly 330 feet from them during their expedition. ABC News aired the footage in 2006.
Pete Bodette, who is 34 years old, said, “It was as big as my thigh.” I have no doubts whatsoever about what we saw. I can’t say for sure what it was. Dick Affolter, his more seasoned traveling partner, said that they never caught sight of the whole body: “What we saw was always at the surface, and parts of it were sticking out above the water, like the back, the nose, or the head.” Upon closer inspection, cryptozoologists were able to make out what seemed to be the head and neck of an animal like a plesiosaur, complete with an open mouth at times and a closed mouth at others (like a fish or a crocodile).
This sea serpent-like monster was quite lengthy. It was said to have a massive club-shaped head and lacked the typical dorsal fins of fish, leading some to believe it was air-dependent. As it swam, its wake split in two. The fishermen were quick to rule out more mundane explanations, such as an otter, sea snake, or large sturgeon.
Two former FBI picture analysts found no evidence of manipulation. For example, Gerald Richards, one of them, said, “I can’t find anything in it that would suggest or indicate to me that it was contrived or manipulated in any way.”
Summary of the Myth of Champ
The existence of Champ has been the topic of controversy between cryptozoologists, who believe an ancient plesiosaur might still be alive today, and various scientists, who point to the potential for confusion with recognized species or floating objects with misleading outlines.
The cryptozoologists’ idea is based on research revealing varying population numbers of particular fish species in the lake, in addition to eyewitness testimonies, several pictures, and a video shot in 2005. However, this does not provide solid evidence for the presence of lake monsters.
Since 1983, the city of Port Henry, New York, has been protecting Champ from hunters thanks to a statute to honor the animal. It is also considered a species in danger and is on the endangered list. Literature has been influenced by its mythology.
The length of the narrow, deep Lake Champlain is almost 125 miles. It lies mostly in the United States but also partly in Vermont, New York, and the Canadian province of Quebec. Lake Ontario, reachable from the Atlantic through the lengthy maritime route of the Saint Lawrence River, is home to nearly three hundred accounts of monster sightings.
According to these accounts, the majority of observations are made between the hours of 7:30 and 8:30 p.m. In contrast to Loch Ness in Scotland, where the legendary monster is said to dwell, the waters of Lake Champlain are home to a thriving fish population. Significant water oscillations occur in the lake, which is encircled by its valley.
Seiches are a natural occurrence that may cause waves in Lake Champlain’s currents to reach heights of 30 to 330 feet. They are “standing waves” in an enclosed body of water. Due to the fact that everything is happening below the surface, nobody seems to notice it. Because the warm and cold water layers don’t mix, this large oscillation follows the border between them.
It is possible for the lake’s water level to rise at one end while falling at the other due to the direction of the prevailing winds. When the wind dies down, the water level in the reservoir starts to rise again. It may take four days for this gigantic wave to span 60 miles across the widest area of the lake as it bounces off the coastline before it stabilizes.
Explanations for Champ the Lake Monster
Seiches
Champ is a subject of cryptozoology since its presence has never been verified. Most cryptozoologists, according to American cartoonist Haden Blackman, think it exists. In terms of general looks, Champ would resemble the Loch Ness Monster. Lake Champlain, like the Loch Ness water, is deeper than 390 feet, and the glacial meltwater generated both lakes. There are two fish populations in the lakes, and proponents of this idea argue that both are big enough to support a lake monster. For this theory to work, we need either one very enormous creature or a fish population big enough to sustain multiple smaller ones.
The tremendous seiche, albeit unseen, drags all kinds of detritus to the surface, including a fallen tree trunk that may resemble the sea monster from a certain distance, according to those who disbelieve in Champ and the Loch Ness Monster. Experts who don’t believe in the Lake Champlain monster point out that the summer is when seiches are most common and when the monster is most likely to be seen.
Prehistoric Creatures
Cryptozoologist Roy Mackal, who visited the lake in 1981, speculated that Champ may be a living plesiosaur, basilosaurus, or zeuglodon from ancient times.
Belua Aquatica Champlainiensis, coined by the infamous “Champ Hunter,” Joseph W. Zarzynski, translates to “huge aquatic creature of Lake Champlain.” Middlebury College geologist Dr. Patricia Manley disputes the existence of Champ. She claims that plesiosaurs couldn’t have been in Lake Champlain since the lake’s age (10,000 years) doesn’t match the time period when they did live (approximately 65 million years ago).
Modern Findings
A serpentine shape, a large body with a long neck of around 12 inches in circumference, and black lustrous skin, but without scales, are all characteristics of Champ that have been seen in over three hundred reports. The length is described as being anything from 13 feet to 130 feet in length. Champ is believed to resemble an eel, sea snake, or catfish because of the way it moves, with its neck held rigidly straight. It has been likened to a lizard, a horse, a manatee, a boat, a periscope, a monster with lizard-like legs, and ultimately a whale, depending on who you ask.
In July of 2002, bioacoustician Elizabeth von Muggenthaler detected an echo signal in the lake that was very similar to that of an orca. She taped it and saved it for later use. In 2003, the Fauna Communications Research Institute recorded echolocation from inside the lake for a television broadcast, providing concrete proof of the phenomenon. The institution found that the noises were comparable to those of a beluga or an orca but distinct from those of a dolphin or other whale species. The analysis of Mansi’s shot in this light led to the hypothesis that what seems to be a neck and head is, in fact, the fin of a gigantic animal surfing the lake’s waves.
The Lake Champlain Fish and Wildlife Management Cooperative (consisting of the New York Department of Environmental Conservation and the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife) announced in a report published in July 2008 that the population of some fish species had fluctuated for reasons that were not clear. Population growth and decline were shown to occur in cycles in the research. However, they discovered that these differences quickly shifted. According to the results of the research, the origin of this occurrence remains mysterious. The Lake Champlain Fish and Wildlife Management Cooperative did not make the connection between this factor and the local Lake Monster Champ, despite widespread belief to the contrary.
Otters Swimming Together
Scientists who doubt the existence of ancient lake monsters in Lake Champlain point out that every piece of evidence and witness account may be explained by anything other than what cryptozoologists and believers propose. They believe that most sightings are the result of simple misidentifications, such as floating tree trunks in pictures, or more complicated misidentifications involving well-known creatures.
Retired New York State DEC employee Jon Kopp once saw a group of river otters swimming together in a line at night, generating a ripple effect on the water, and at first mistook them for a big snake. He came to the conclusion that someone uneducated in zoology may mistake the creature for real. River otters are found all throughout North America and may grow to be as long as 4,5 feet; they have dark brown fur and a gray throat; and they can raise their heads out of the water, furthering their resemblance to plesiosaurs. Furthermore, naturalist Laura Hollowell recorded people claiming to have seen a “baby Champ,” when in reality it was either a mink or an otter.
Deer in the water is another option in connection with reports that Champ had horns. Misidentification is also often brought on by long-necked birds and rocks.
Altered Photos
The mythology is further bolstered by photos that have been digitally altered or photoshopped, as well as by planned hoaxes involving miniature replicas of monsters. Since the number of claimed sightings of the Champ legend always falls once barge activity is discontinued on the lake, this might be an explanation for it.
In addition, as Benjamin Radford pointed out, the media’s portrayal of Champ has changed over time. During the nineteenth century, it was often referred to as a sea snake. Since Mansi’s photos popularized the plesiosaur theory in 1978, the media has consistently called Champ a dinosaur. According to Michel Meurger’s 1988 book “Lake monster traditions: A cross-cultural analysis,” Champ is the result of local interest in creating a monster similar to the Loch Ness Monster’s folklore.
According to Benjamin Radford’s 2004 inquiry, not only was there no concrete proof of Champ’s existence, but it was also impossible for a rare ancient species to survive in the lake for hundreds of years without any other like specimens. He also noted that if there were a plesiosaur or other extinct marine animal community, at least one corpse would have washed up on shore or been seen floating. No giant lake creature’s bones or teeth have ever been discovered.
The Legacy of Champ
Champ, along with Ogopogo, is the most well-known lake monster in the Americas. This fame, which attracts visitors from all over the world, is particularly lucrative at Port Henry, where a life-size replica of Champ is on display. Also, there’s a sign at the lake that details everyone who claims to have seen the monster. The locals are split on this issue. There are many who think there really was an ancient whale, while others think it’s all a media gimmick. Every year on the first Saturday of August, people all across the world celebrate “Champ Day,” an annual festival in honor of Champ.
When the Vermont Expos baseball club changed its name to the Vermont Lake Monsters and started employing Champ as their mascot, he quickly became a local celebrity. This lake has been associated with the New York-Penn League club known as “Champ” since the league’s establishment. There are a number of local businesses, including a car wash, that utilize the word “Champ” in their branding. Greeting cards, t-shirts, and other mementos may be purchased at several locations surrounding Lake Champlain. Even a sweet, big maple sugar disc that can be dipped in melted chocolate has been made in honor of the beast. The candy is labeled as “Pure Vermont Maple Candy,” and the story of Champ is written right there on the wrapper.
Champ is such a popular monster that it has earned the moniker “Champy.” The mayor of Port Henry, Robert Brown, is happy with the recent uptick in tourism. The city of Port Henry passed legislation in October 1983 to protect Champ and the surrounding area from the impact of increased tourists. The Vermont House of Representatives and the New York State Senate put Champ on the endangered species list in 1983, giving him the same protection as other species and making it illegal to injure the animal or destroy its habitat.
A statue was dedicated to Champ in 1984 by the state of Vermont. It’s a solid granite stone tucked away at the base of the Perkins Pillar, a distant volcanic plug. The majority of locals are familiar with the landmark’s existence but have trouble locating it. Rock has an inscription reading, “Dedicated to Champ, Belua Aquatica Champlainiensis, and to the people of Vermont who have seen Champ.” The image of the monster and a logo are also included.
Champ in Popular Culture
- Champ is a monster in Rapala Pro Bass Fishing (video game) that looks a lot like American eels, another creature found in the lake.
- Jeff Danziger, author of Champlain Monster, has been inspired by the monster’s mythology.
- Canadian rock band Groovy Aardvark has a reference to the creature in one of their songs.
