Lake Champlain's Champ Monster - Sightings, Videos, Photos, History » Historical Sightings

Champ Chasing season has begun…

admin — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 18:45:24 +0000

The warm weather is here, so we’re getting ready for another season of Champ Chasing. Here are some excerpts from the journal of the original (European) champ chaser, Samuel de Champlain:

“… there is an island where a terrible monster resides, which the savages call ‘Gougou,’ and which they told me had the form of a woman, though very frightful, and of such a size that they told me the tops of the masts of our vessel would not reach to his middle.”

And he goes on…

“… and they say that he has often devoured and still continues to devour many savages; these he puts, when he can catch them, into a great pocket, and afterwards eats them; and those who had escaped the jaws of this wretched creature said that its pocket was so great that it could have put our vessel into it. This monster makes horrible noises in this island. … When they speak of him, it is with the greatest possible fear, and several have assured me that they have seen him.

“What makes me believe what they say is the fact that all the savages in general fear it, and tell such strange things about it that, if I were to record all they say, it would be regarded as a myth; but I hold that this is the dwelling-place of some devil that torments them.”

Here are the links to the journals online, hosted by the Gutenberg project….

A ton of pre-1900 Champ news articles

admin — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 03:52:58 +0000

You can view the google search result page here… 162 sources!

NY Times 1887 – A MILK AND LEMONADE SERPENT.

admin — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 01:42:54 +0000

NY Times

July 11, 1887, Wednesday

Page 1, 168 words

BURLINGTON, Vt., July 10.–That there is a Lake
Champlain sea serpent is stoutly maintained by a party from Charlotte
who were holding a picnic on the lake shore Saturday afternoon.

Read the article…

NY Times 1887 – THE SEA SERPENT HAS WINGS.; ADIRONDACK MURRAY TELLS HOW IT APPEARS ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN.

admin — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 01:38:04 +0000

NY Times

May 22, 1887, Wednesday

Page 13, 984 words

When any considerable number of truthful people agree in their
testimony touching anything it naturally receives human credence. That
an appearance of strange and extraordinary character has been seen in
Lake Champlain by many people both intelligent and truthful cannot be
denied.

Read the article…

NY Times 1887 – LAKE CHAMPLAIN’S MONSTER.; NEIGHBORS WHO ARE NOT CONVINCED BY MR. MURRAY’S EXPLANATION.

admin — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 01:36:21 +0000

NY Times

May 29, 1887, Wednesday

Page 5, 520 words

While the general public were exulting over Adirondack Murray’s
explanation and disposition of the so-called sea serpent, as published
in the Burlington Free Press and copied into many other papers
throughout the country, which no doubt was a fair description of what
…

Read the article…

Fauna Communications – Lake Champlain Research

admin — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 05:48:58 +0000

This group spent 8 days on the lake trying to listen for Champ. Whales and dolphins search for food using echolocation or bio-sonar so maybe Champ has a similar ability. They heard something, but was it Champ?

Mansi Photo Analysis

admin — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 05:13:08 +0000

From the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry:

“The most famous photograph of a monster in Lake Champlain was taken
in 1977.

The photo sparked the modern age of Champ investigations and renewed
national interest

in the creature. Recent field experiments, however, reveal that the
“creature’s” size is less than monstrous and the main eyewitness is mistaken.”

This site has great analysis of the famous Mansi photo depicted below…I believe it’s legit.

Unmuseum’s Champ Page

admin — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 05:05:12 +0000

Unmuseum has a great page on Champ, featuring a few historical sighting accounts among other things.

Lake Champlain Land Trust Champ Page

admin — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 04:57:59 +0000

There is a wealth of information on Champ located on the www.LCLT.org website. Here is a sample of their sightings list.

How many reported sightings of Champ
have there been?
Indeed, there have been over 300
reported sightings in the last 100 years. Here are a few
of the highlights:

1819: Bulwagga Bay, Port Henry, NY
1871: Horseshoe Bay, riders of the
steamship Curlew claimed to see a head and long neck that
created quite a wake.
1870: Charlotte, Vermont, a full
steamboat spotted Champ
1873: Dresden, New York, another
steamboat full spotted Champ
1945: In the middle of the lake the
creature was spotted by the famous S.S. Ticonderoga
1954: A 14 inch reptile was trapped
in Shelburne Bay, possibly a baby…
1977: The Mansi photograph was taken
by Sandra Mansi, a tourist from Connecticut, with her Kodak
Instamatic, of what she called a dinosaur. This has become
the most famous piece of evidence—featured nationally
in Time Magazine and the New York Times among others.
1984: Off Appletree Point, Vermont.
86 passengers aboard the Ethan Allen spotted 3 to 5 “humps” which
disappeared after about 3 minutes due to the approach of
a speed boat.
1993: Button Bay State Park, Ferrisburgh,
Vermont. A baby Champ reportedly swam between two women
bathers.
1995: Dennis Hall of Champ Quest
recorded Champ on video.

The history of Champ.

admin — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 11:44:23 +0000

I will use this category to organize historical accounts of Champ. From the Native Americans to Samuel De Champlain to railroad crews, Champ is as old as the lake.