In
American folklore
American folklore encompasses the folklores that have evolved in the present-day United States since Europeans arrived in the 16th century. While it contains much in the way of Native American tradition, it is not wholly identical to the tribal ...
, Champ or Champy
is the name of a
lake monster
A lake monster is a lake-dwelling entity in folklore. The most famous example is the Loch Ness Monster. Depictions of lake monsters are often similar to those of sea monsters.
In the ''Motif-Index of Folk-Literature'', entities classified as "lak ...
said to live in
Lake Champlain
, native_name_lang =
, image = Champlainmap.svg
, caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed
, image_bathymetry =
, caption_bathymetry =
, location = New York/Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada
, coords =
, type =
, ...
, a -long body of fresh water shared by
New York and
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
, with a portion extending into
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, Canada.
The legend of the monster is considered a draw for tourism in the
Burlington, Vermont
Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It ...
and
Plattsburgh, New York
Plattsburgh ( moh, Tsi ietsénhtha) is a city in, and the seat of, Clinton County, New York, United States, situated on the north-western shore of Lake Champlain. The population was 19,841 at the 2020 census. The population of the surrounding ...
areas.
History of the legend
Over the years, there have been over 300 reported sightings of Champ.
The original story is related to Iroquois legends of giant snakes, which the Mohawk named Onyare’kowa.
French cartographer
Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain (; Fichier OrigineFor a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December 1635) was a Fre ...
, the founder of Québec and the lake's namesake, is often claimed to be the first European to have sighted Champ, in 1609. However, this legend dates back to a fake quote published in the Summer 1970 issue of ''
Vermont Life''. In the ''Vermont Life'' article, Champlain is alleged to have documented a "20-foot serpent thick as a barrel, and a head like a horse." This quote has often been repeated, but is in fact apocryphal. Champlain did document large fish:
The 1878 translation of his journals clarifies that ''Chaoufaou'' refers to
gar (or gar pike), specifically ''
Lepisosteus osseus
The longnose gar (''Lepisosteus osseus''), also known as longnose garpike or billy gar, is a ray-finned fish in the family Lepisosteidae. The genus may have been present in North America for about 100 million years. References are made to gars ...
'' (the longnose gar).
An 1819 report in the ''Plattsburgh Republican'', entitled "Cape Ann Serpent on Lake Champlain", reports a "Capt. Crum" sighting an enormous serpentine monster.
Crum estimated the monster to have been about 187 feet long and approximately two hundred yards away from him. Despite the great distance, he claimed to have witnessed it being followed by "two large Sturgeon and a Bill-fish" and was able to see that it had three teeth and eyes the color of peeled onions. He also described the monster as having "a belt of red" around its neck and a white star on its forehead.
In 1883, Sheriff Nathan H. Mooney claimed that he had seen a water serpent about "20 rods" (the equivalent of 110 yards in length) from where he was on the shore. He claimed that he was so close that he could see "round white spots inside its mouth" and that "the creature appeared to be about 25 to 30 feet in length". Mooney's sighting led to many more alleged eyewitnesses coming forward with their own accounts of Champ.
The legend of Champ captured the interest of
P. T. Barnum
Phineas Taylor Barnum (; July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus (1871–2017) with James Anthony Bailey. He was ...
, and in 1873 and 1887, the famous showman offered rewards for anyone who could bring him the monster.
Mansi photograph
In 1977, Sandra Mansi took a photograph while on vacation with her family that appears to show the dinosaur with his head out of the lake.
The entire bay of the lake where the photograph reportedly was taken is no deeper than . According to
Joe Nickell
Joe Nickell (born December 1, 1944) is an American skeptic and investigator of the paranormal.
Nickell is senior research fellow for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and writes regularly for their journal, ''Skeptical Inquirer''. He is als ...
, it is unlikely that a giant creature could swim, let alone hide, in such shallow water.
It has been suggested that the object in the photograph could possibly be a rising tree trunk or log.
![Champ floating tree stump model, view 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Champ_floating_tree_stump_model%2C_view_2.jpg)
In the book ''The Untold Story of Champ'' by Robert E. Bartholomew, it is further revealed that the original photo was sent to Philip Reines, a nautical expert at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh, so that he could examine and hopefully authenticate it. Reines quickly realized that the two most vital elements in verifying the photo were missing. Sandra Mansi said that she had thrown away the negative, and that she could not locate where she snapped the photo. Without the negative or location it was impossible to determine with any degree of certainty what was in the photo. Possessing the negative would allow the image to be magnified to see greater detail, while knowing the location could reveal important clues such as the object’s size and distance, and whether the photo was even taken on Lake Champlain. Reines could not authenticate the photo and the story behind it led to big questions and potential red flags detailed in his book.
Recent reports
Champ reportedly can be seen in a video taken by fishermen Dick Affolter and his stepson Pete Bodette in the summer of 2005.
Close examination of the images may be interpreted either as a head and neck of a plesiosaur-like animal and even an open mouth in one frame and a closed mouth in another; or as a fish or eel. Although two retired
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
forensic image analysts, who reviewed the tape, said it appears authentic and unmanipulated, one of them added that "there's no place in there that I can actually see an animal or any other object on the surface".
One piece of evidence, though not a "sighting" per se, is the recording of sounds from within the lake by the Fauna Communications Research Institute in 2003, working as part of a
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...
program. The group described the sounds as being similar to those produced by Beluga whales or dolphins—neither of which are known to live in Lake Champlain.
An article describing the recordings has been published to scientific literature. Based upon appearance and "mysterious alligatorlike tracks" found near Lake Champlain, cryptozoologists Katy Elizabeth and Dennis Hall suggested in 2016 that "Champ" could be a member of the family Crocodylidae (crocodiles). Researcher Scott Mardis explains that the tracks were likely the tracks of a large snapping turtle and also mentions the longnose gar or the lake sturgeon as more probable candidates for "Champ."
Cultural importance to New York and Vermont
The Champ legend has become a revenue-generating attraction.
For example, the village of
Port Henry
Port Henry is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in Essex County, New York, United States. The population was 1,194 at the 2010 census.
Port Henry lies on the eastern side of the town of Moriah and is approximately one hour's drive (52 miles ...
, New York, has erected a giant model of Champ and holds "Champ Day" on the first Saturday of every August. As the mascot of Vermont's baseball team, the
Vermont Lake Monsters
The Vermont Lake Monsters are a collegiate summer baseball team located in Burlington, Vermont. From 1994 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL). They play their home games at Centennial Field, on ...
, Champ became more prominent after the team was renamed from the Vermont Expos following the 2005 season. Champ has been the primary attraction of the former
Minor League Baseball team since their inception, and continues to serve as the
Futures Collegiate Baseball League
The Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL) is an eight-team collegiate summer baseball league. It has four franchises in Massachusetts, two in Connecticut, and one each in New Hampshire and Vermont.
Format
The Futures League is a wood-bat ...
team's mascot. This mascot version of Champ appears as a special guest at various charitable and other functions throughout Vermont. Several nearby establishments, including a car wash, use images of Champ as a logo. In 2022, it was reported that a feature dramatic film, ''Lucy and the Lake Monster'', was in the works about a young orphan girl and her grandfather looking for Champ. The production filmed in
Port Henry, New York
Port Henry is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in Essex County, New York, United States. The population was 1,194 at the 2010 census.
Port Henry lies on the eastern side of the town of Moriah and is approximately one hour's drive (52 mil ...
and in various locations around
Lake Champlain
, native_name_lang =
, image = Champlainmap.svg
, caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed
, image_bathymetry =
, caption_bathymetry =
, location = New York/Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada
, coords =
, type =
, ...
's Bulwagga Bay in July and August, 2022.
See also
*
Mussie
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 ...
*
Lake Tianchi Monster
Lake Tianchi Monster is the name given to what is said to be a lake monster that lives in Heaven Lake (known as ''Cheonji'' in Korean) located in the peak of Baekdu Mountain within the Baekdudaegan and Changbai mountain ranges encompassing Jilin ...
*
Ogopogo
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 O ...
*
Loch Ness Monster
The Loch Ness Monster ( gd, Uilebheist Loch Nis), affectionately known as Nessie, is a 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 mor ...
*
Mokele mbembe
*
Selma (lake monster)
*
Memphre
In Canadian folklore, Memphre is a lake monster said to live in Lake Memphremagog, a fresh water glacial lake located between Newport, Vermont, United States and Magog, Quebec, Canada.
Background
Lake Memphremagog stretches for , with a mea ...
References
New Information On Mansi Photo
External links
*Lake Champlain Region page abou
Champ, the Lake Champlain Monster
{{Authority control
American legendary creatures
Lake Champlain
Sports mascots
Vermont folklore
Water monsters
Cryptids