The Beast of Lake Champlain

On the still morning of July 22, 1819, a man named Captain Crum climbed into his wooden boat. It seemed like any other day on Lake Champlain—a long, thin body of water nestled between Vermont and New York. Thick trees lined the edges of the water. In the distance, towering hills rose toward the bright sky. Blue-green waves rippled gently in the breeze.

Then Captain Crum saw something he would never forget: a reptilian head, followed by a large body and a tail, rising out of the water. The captain was stunned.

The creature looked almost 200 feet long—much longer than Crum’s boat, and definitely longer than any animal the captain had ever seen. It had large, yellow eyes and a red streak around its neck. The beast swam quickly across the lake, lashing its huge tail. Then, suddenly, the giant creature dove under the water’s surface and disappeared. 

Terrified, Crum rushed to tell people about what he had seen. A local newspaper even published a letter about the experience. As the story spread, some people didn’t know what to think. Was the captain making it up? 

Others believed they knew exactly what Crum had witnessed: a lake monster now known as Champ.

On the morning of July 22, 1819, a man named Captain Crum climbed into his wooden boat. It seemed like any other day on Lake Champlain. That’s a long, thin body of water nestled between Vermont and New York. Trees lined the edges of the water. In the distance, hills rose toward the bright sky. Waves rippled gently in the breeze.

Then Captain Crum saw something he would never forget: a reptilian head, followed by a large body and a tail, rising out of the water. The captain was stunned.

The creature looked almost 200 feet long. That was much longer than Crum’s boat—or any animal the captain had ever seen. It had large, yellow eyes and a red streak around its neck. The beast swam quickly across the lake. Then, suddenly, it dove under the water’s surface and disappeared.

Terrified, Crum rushed to tell people about what he had seen. A local newspaper published a letter about the experience. Some people didn’t know what to think. Was the captain making it up?

Others thought they knew what Crum had witnessed: a lake monster now known as Champ.

Captain Crum’s story was not the first of its kind. There had been whispers about a strange creature in Lake Champlain for thousands of years. Local Native American tribes shared legends about a beast that made its home in the water. The Abenaki, for example, told tales of a horned serpent that lived beneath the surface. In the early 1700s, when settlers from Europe arrived in the area, the Abenaki warned them not to make too much noise near the lake as doing so might upset the creature.

So when Crum told his story in 1819, many people in the area weren’t surprised. Years passed, and rumors continued to spread. In 1873, a group of railroad workers claimed to have spotted the head of a snaking beast covered in gleaming silver scales in the lake. That same year, a sheriff reported seeing an “enormous snake or water serpent” up to 35 feet long. 

The stories soon reached a man named P.T. Barnum. Barnum owned a popular circus in the U.S. and was intrigued by the idea of featuring the monster at his shows. So he offered a large prize to anyone who captured the beast: $50,000. (That’s more than $1 million in today’s money!) People from near and far flocked to the lake, hoping to strike it rich. Many swore they caught a glimpse of the creature. Yet nobody could catch the elusive beast.

Captain Crum’s story was not the first of its kind. There had been whispers about a strange creature in Lake Champlain for thousands of years. Local Native American tribes shared legends about a beast that lived in the lake. In the early 1700s, settlers from Europe arrived in the area. The Abenaki, one of the local tribes, warned them not to make too much noise near the lake. Doing so might upset the creature.

So when Crum told his story in 1819, many people in the area weren’t surprised. Years passed. Rumors continued to spread. In 1873, a group of railroad workers said they saw the head of a snaking beast covered in silver scales in the lake. That same year, a sheriff reported seeing an “enormous snake or water serpent” up to 35 feet long.

The stories reached a man named P.T. Barnum. He owned a circus in the U.S. He was intrigued by the idea of featuring the monster at his shows. So he offered a $50,000 prize to anyone who captured the beast. (That’s more than $1 million in today’s money!) People from near and far flocked to the lake, hoping to get rich. Many swore they saw the creature. Yet nobody caught the beast.

Then, in 1977, a woman named Sandra Mansi came forward claiming she had concrete evidence of Champ’s existence: a photograph of the monster.

Mansi was on vacation, visiting the area from Connecticut. One day, she, her partner, and their two children were hiking around the edge of the lake. At one point, the family stopped by the shore to swim. That’s when Mansi noticed something moving on the surface of the water. Suddenly, she saw a peculiar head and a long neck poke out. Mansi rushed to grab her camera and snapped a photo.

“I was scared to death,” Mansi later said.

Today people can use artificial intelligence programs to quickly and easily create fake images that look real. But this technology did not exist in 1977. So when Mansi’s photo was published in newspapers, it kicked off a nationwide frenzy.

Was the image proof that a beast really did inhabit Lake Champlain?

Over the years, experts have studied Mansi’s photo. They all agree it’s authentic. But just because the picture is real, it doesn’t mean that Champ is. Many experts point out that the object in the photo could be anything. Perhaps Mansi took a picture of a bird in an odd position, for example, or a twisted log bobbing on the water. Or maybe the photo just shows a floating piece of trash.

Then, in 1977, a woman named Sandra Mansi said she had evidence of Champ’s existence: a photograph of the monster.

Mansi was from Connecticut. She was on vacation at the lake. One day, she and her family were hiking around the edge of the lake. They stopped to swim. That’s when Mansi noticed something moving on the surface of the water. Suddenly, she saw a peculiar head and a long neck poke out. Mansi grabbed her camera. She snapped a photo.

“I was scared to death,” Mansi later said.

Today people can use artificial intelligence programs to quickly and easily create fake images that look real. But this technology did not exist in 1977. So when Mansi’s photo was published in newspapers, it kicked off a nationwide frenzy.

Was the image proof that the beast existed?

Over the years, experts have studied Mansi’s photo. They all agree it’s authentic. But that doesn’t mean that Champ is real. The object in the photo could be anything. Perhaps Mansi took a picture of a bird in an odd position. Maybe it was a twisted log. Or maybe it was just a floating piece of trash.