Lake Monsters

Lorraine Julien | Nov 19, 2009

Lake Monsters – is there such a thing or are they just figments of our imagination? Do you ever wonder what lies beneath the surface of some of our deeper lakes in the cool, dark depths? We’ve all heard about the Loch Ness monster, but what about our own bodies of water in Ontario and, more specifically, eastern Ontario and the Land O’ Lakes area.

Certainly tales have been told and re-told over hundreds of years of various huge snake-like creatures that lurk in some of our deeper bodies of water. Native people told of both good and bad beings inhabiting the waters they paddled. Before crossing large bodies of water, they would offer tobacco to the spirit before starting out. It was hoped that an offering would appease the spirit so that it wouldn’t whip its giant tail and upset their canoes.

Mazinaw - In one instance, native legends say that a water spirit called ‘Mishipashoo’ inhabits Mazinaw Lake. At least one of the pictographs on Mazinaw Rock shows a dinosaur-like creature with a long, spiked tail. Dinosaur bones had not yet been unearthed when these pictures were drawn so is this picture just an imaginary thing or did something like this actually exist in the lake? Some say the Mazinaw creature looks very eel-like and is over 20 feet in length. There’s lots of room in Mazinaw for elusive beings as the lake is the second deepest in Ontario, after Lake Superior, with an average depth of 135 feet and a maximum depth of 475 feet.

Muskrat Lake - When Champlain travelled up the Ottawa River in the early 1600s, the Algonquins told him of a large creature that lived in Muskrat Lake, near Petawawa. Even today there are still reports of people seeing the Muskrat Lake monster affectionately called ‘Mussie’.

Lake Ontario - There have been many, many sightings in Lake Ontario for at least the past couple of hundred years…certainly too numerous to mention many of them here.

Many strange occurrences involving damage to ships on Lake Ontario are documented in Frederick Stonehouse’s ‘Haunted Lakes’. Some of the stories tell of ships ramming into solid objects in water depths of 1000 feet, and at the same depth, sudden violent churning of the water.

Kingston – A strange creature that has been seen in the Kingston area has been given the name Kingstie. One of the more recent sightings in the area was that of an MNR employee who, in 1977, witnessed a large creature diving into the lake from the shores of Prince Edward County.

The stories go on and on but most seem to have a common theme: the creature is black and about 20-40 feet long, snake or eel-like with ridges along its back and horns or antlers on its head. Some say the head is dog-like such as the Igopogo creature in Lake Simcoe; others say it is alligator-like. They have been spotted by many people during the last century, especially in the south end of Lake Simcoe and, in particular, Kempenfelt Bay.

Some believe the larger lake serpents could be rare, shy descendants of giant, long-necked reptiles called plesiosaurs which lived during the dinosaur era more than 65 million years ago.

Other areas in eastern Ontario where lake creatures have been reported are the Ottawa River, Big Rideau Lake near Arnprior and the Bay of Quinte, just to name a few.

With so many sightings over the years, isn’t it highly possible that some ancient creatures still lurk in the depths? Are they just giant sturgeons, eels or snakes, or some left-over dinosaur-like creature from another age? There is no hard and fast evidence supporting the existence of lake monsters other than the odd fuzzy photograph, but could all these people be mistaken or were they involved in some kind of hoaxes?

In any case, if there are monsters, they must be friendly ones, as I don’t recall stories of people actually being attacked. I still prefer to swim in more shallow areas of our lake where I have a clear view of what is on the bottom!

Please feel free to report any observations to Lorraine Julien at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  or Steve Blight at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.