The Lake George Monster, fittingly nicknamed "Georgie", was a
hoax
A hoax is a widely publicized falsehood so fashioned as to invite reflexive, unthinking acceptance by the greatest number of people of the most varied social identities and of the highest possible social pretensions to gull its victims into pu ...
invented by painter
Harry Watrous
Harry Willson Watrous (17 September 1857 – 10 May 1940) was an American artist who received an academic education in France. His paintings included genre scenes, stylized figural works, landscapes, nocturnes, portraits, religious subjects, and ...
after a fishing bet with newspaper editor Colonel
William d'Alton Mann
William d'Alton Mann (September 27, 1839 – May 17, 1920) was an American Civil War soldier, businessman, and newspaper and magazine publisher.
Early life
He was born in Sandusky, Ohio on September 27, 1839.
Career
During the Civil War, M ...
in 1904. The monster was purportedly sighted at Hague Bay in
Lake George in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. This was a reported solution to an ongoing rivalry that Watrous had with another resident (Colonel Mann). After word had spread about, Watrous began to move the monster around the lake for more publicity. The monster was also sighted at ''The View'' restaurant, near
Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
.
The original monster is currently on display at the Clifton F. West Historical Museum in the Hague Town Hall in
Hague, New York
Hague is a town in northeastern Warren County, New York, United States located on the scenic Lake George. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 854 at the 2000 census. The town was named after the city T ...
. A replica monster can be found at the Lake George Historical Museum in
Lake George, New York.
Origin
According to ''
Mysteries at the Monument
''Mysteries at the Monument'' (formerly ''Monumental Mysteries'') is an American reality television series currently airing on the Travel Channel and is hosted by Don Wildman. The show uncovers stories of history and unsolved mysteries behind Ame ...
'', Harry Watrous and Colonel William Mann were avid fishermen, and the two decide to see who can catch the biggest trout in the lake. When Mann showed Watrous a 40-pound whopper he had just caught, he knew he wasn't going to catch anything bigger and realized he had lost the bet. However, days later, Watrous discovers he had been pranked, Mann had ordered a fake fish, and from a distance it looked real. Watrous then decides to get even; he would scare the colonel, and using a 10-foot-long cedar log, he builds a bizarre-looking creature. It has bright red fangs, large eyes, a massive open mouth with a long tongue and strands of whiskers made from hemp rope. Watrous then threaded a 100-foot-long rope through an anchor at the bottom of the lake and through a pulley at the end of the log the monster rested on. So by tugging on the rope, he is able to make the monster rise up out of the water at will. Watrous pulled his friendly prank over and over, sparking the frenzy of sightings all those years ago before abandoning the gag for good. But 30 years later, Watrous revived his monster with the intent of revealing his secret as a practical joke.
References
External links
*
* {{cite web , title=Lake George Monster , work=Hague on Lake George Chamber of Commerce , url=http://www.visithague.com/monster.htm
Hoaxes in the United States
1900s hoaxes
1904 in the United States