Lake Storsjön Dragon
Lake Storsjön in Sweden is another lake that was
brought into being during the ice age. It is about 300 feet (100 metres)deep.
Stories of a monster called Storsjöodjuret have persisted for 400 years.It is a
water dragon according to myth, is
a terrifying creature with serpentine or reptilian features .There are
said to be 200 documented witness reports from 500 people who have seen
Storsjöodjuret. It is described as serpentine and humped with large eyes. Many
more have spoken about their experiences, but haven´t submitted a written
testimony.
In 1635, Mogens Pedersen from Herdal, wrote down the
legend about two trolls who were boiling a mixture in a large kettle on the
shore of the lake. When they had boiled the mixture for years and years, the
contents of the kettle began to groan and wail and there was a loud bang.
"A strange animal with a black serpentlike body and a cat-like head jumped
out of the kettle and disappeared into the lake. The monster enjoyed living in
the lake, it grew unbelievably large and terrorised the people living on the
shores of the lake. After some time it extended all the way around the island
Frösön, and could bite its own tail."
In an 1878 sighting, a local mechanic reportedly saw
something craning its neck past the water's surface. He described it as having
a "snake-like head that was larger than what I figured the neck could
support."
Then on October 31st, 1898 there was a report in the
local paper, Jämtlandsposten ,about M.P. Jöns Bromée´s experience outside
Billsta, Hackås in 1863: "...there was a large ugly monster in the lake
and we decided to pursue it. Two shotguns were loaded and two boats equipped in
haste. Meanwhile the monster had slipped away from the shore, into the water,
and began to move slowly away. At that point, it resembled 10 or 12 shiny black
anchors linked together and following each other..."
In 1920 Per Jönsson from Andersön said he seen
Storsjöodjuret three times. In a recorded interview from 1960 he tells of an
encounter outside Digernäs in 1920: "...I saw that big grey-green body
between the waves. The water boiled around me. I saw that its tail was moving
with powerful strokes. After a hundred metres or so it disappeared without a trace.
A few days later they saw it from the peninsula Rödön. It must have gone off
that way..."
IN July 1931 Storsjöodjuret appeared at Myrviken in
front of Anders Bergqvist and Jonas Hansson. The County Prosecutor, Mr.
Carlsson, was asked by the County Authorities to make a more detailed
investigation of which part of the report read:"Mr. Hansson had observed a
large object on the surface of the water. The object consisted of a globelike
form, the upper part of which was above the water. The height of this object
above the water was about 10 centimetres, possibly a bit more. Behind the globe
there was a bow-shaped hump..."
In 1947 in Jämtlands tidning (another local
newspaper), Anna Rahm told of her experienced at Åssjön outside Rösta:
"The monster was 3 metres long and grey like an elephant with a smooth,
hard skin. Its head was as big as a jug and its back was dented in places. In
its terrifying and wide mouth its tongue moved up and down in a threatening
manner; its eyes rolled, as I've said and its ears were large and stood out. It
seemed to have a large, powerful tail. We only saw the upper part of it but its
back was wide and it wasn't a serpent as has been said earlier. That I'm
sure..."
In 1972 a sighting was reported by two Swedish
military airmen on holiday
Fisheries officer Ragnar Björks, 73, was out
checking fishing permits on Sweden’s Lake Storsjön when he had the fright of
his life. A huge tail suddenly broke the surface near Björk’s 12 foot (4
metres) row boat. The creature attached to the tail appeared to be 18 feet (6
metres) long, grey-brown on top with a yellow underbelly. When Björks was
alongside the monster, he struck at it with his oar, hitting it on the back. The
creature then slapped the water with its tail and the rowboat was thrown nine (3
metres)to twelve feet(4 metres)into the air. ‘At first I didn’t believe that
there was any monster in the Storsjön…but now I am convinced.'”
Then On the 10th of August 1983 Carina Johnson went
out in the Bay of Brunflo in a boat . She reports:"Suddenly I saw
something that looked like birds about to take off, far out into the lake. They
looked like three white gulls moving towards Östersund at an incredible
speed...as we came closer it changed direction away from us and then suddenly
the water became still and calm. I had a feeling that the thing was relatively
large, and what struck me afterwards was that it moved so fast."
In 1994 a young man and his father on a canoe trip
witnessed something strange "...Suddenly I saw something like a plough in
the water. The water "divided" as when you go water-skiing. It went
on for about 10-15 seconds..."
More recently in August 2008 A Swedish documentary
film crew claimed to have caught the monster on film. https://www.thelocal.se/20080828/13980/
At the museum Jamtli in Östersund In the
Storsjöodjurs exhibition there are, among other things, the giant iron trap
that was once used to attempt to catch the Storsjöodjur. The trap was then
baited with a pig, with no success.
The stories of the creature have been around a long
time . The description sounds once again like a giant eel and would explain the
cat like or even dog like head some
people describe. The film as usual is not clear and is no doubt disputed
evidence by some. It is one more glacial lake from the ice age with a large
creature being reported.
