Tuesday 2 July 2024

Pitt Lake and its creatures

 

  Pitt Lake Creatures

Pitt Lake is lake in  British Columbia. It is approximately 25 km (16 miles) long and about 4.5 km (2.8 miles .) wide. It is one of the world's  tidal lakes, The lake has  a reported maximum depth of  468 feet.

There are many strange things about the lake including the report of the so called Pitt Lake Giant. Described as 10 -15 feet tall ( 3-5 metres) ,covered in hair with long arms . Prints show 4 toes and are 2 feet long( .66 metre).

On June 28th, 1965,  two prospectors Ron and Loren Welch, followed a track of large  footprints to a smaller ice bound lake.where they encountered a large bigfoot like animal estimated to be 10-15 feet tall (3-5metres). They returned later but it had gone.

In late 1975 a man deer hunting saw what looked like a bear walking on its hind legs

In 1995,  there was  a report from the owner of the Pitt River Lodge who spotted a set of large tracks alongside a creek whilst hiking in a remote area.

The strangeness doesn’t end there the lake also has a monster, the Pitt Lake Lizard, a.k.a. Canadian Alligator .It is reported to be between 5 and 10ft long (1.6 and over 3 metres),with a dark skin,a long snout and four legs with webbed feet.

In June 1973 couple Warren and Sharon Scott watched as a large number of creatures that resembled huge reptiles swam slowly through the water looking like a family group.. While the couple watched from shore, Warren reportedly captured a baby one and sent one it to the Simon Fraser University biology department for study. Records of what became of this collected specimen have not been found.

In 2002 the Pitt River Lodge owner, Dan Gerak claimed to have seen a creature that was over 5ft (1.6 metres) long and possessed dark black skin . He described the creature as resembling that of an oversized salamander.

There have been stories of giant salamanders in the USA but no proof was found.

See: https://cryptozoo-oscity.blogspot.com/2009/07/does-new-discovery-give-hope-to.html

Then there is the legend of the lost gold mine.

Local newspapers claimed that since 1900 some two dozen prospectors and treasure hunters looking for Pitt Lake’s gold mine died. It was said to be Slumach’s curse. An old man  who  put a curse on the mine in the Chinook language  “Nika memloose, mine memloose”. Loosely  translated it reads “No man who finds the gold will live long enough to bring it out.”

I have often said some areas seem to attract strangeness and more than one phenomenon is found there…..Pitt Lake appears to be one of those areas.

Friday 14 June 2024

Lake Superior Serpent collided with Ship?

 

Lake Superior Serpent Responsible?

A freighter ship in Lake Superior collided with something underwater, Coast Guards says

The U.S. Coast Guard says a freighter in Lake Superior has hit something underwater and started taking on water.

The Coast Guard Great Lakes district received reports about 6:53 a.m. that a 689-foot-long (210-meter-long) ship called the Michipicoten had collided with something about 35 miles (56 kilometers) southwest of Isle Royale, which is part of the state of Michigan. The ship was carrying taconite, which is a low-grade iron ore, and had 22 people aboard.

Authorities say the cause of the collision will be investigated.The collision occurred in the northwest part of the lake, which straddles the U.S.-Canadian border and is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area.

ByThe Associated Press June 8, 2024, 4:18 PM

Source :

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/freighter-ship-lake-superior-collided-underwater-coast-guards-110954409

Could it have been the Lake Superior Serpent?

Lake Superior or Gitchigumi (meaning Great Water or Great Lake) is a fresh water lake. It is 1,333 feet deep in places , with an average water temperature of 34 degrees F and is 350 miles long and up to 160 miles wide in parts. The lake is almost an inland sea. It is said to house a lake serpent ,Pressie, named after the Presque Isle River where one of the best sightings occurred .The native indigenous people called the serpent Mishipishu and it is seen in pictographs at various shoreline sites, either as a spiky cat-like creature or as a serpent .Modern sightings cite a serpent type creature up to 75 feet long with a horse-like head on a longish neck and a bilobate (whale-type) tail, and described as dark green to black in colour. The reported sightings go back centuries

Read rest here :

https://cryptozoo-oscity.blogspot.com/2009/07/pressie-lake-superior-serpent.html

 

Thursday 30 May 2024

The Billiwhack Creature

 

Billiwhack Monster

This creature is said to be sighted around the former Billiwhack Dairy in Santa Paula, California

 Its described as a tall  goat/ape/ human hybrid with twisted horns and grey or  white fur.Sightings started  in the 1940 and it has been seen multiple times. Most sighting have been reported by local students to the area. Some say it carries  a large club and throws  large rocks at cars leaving dents.

The Billiwhack Dairy was once owned and operated by the Ruble family. It closed in the mid 1920's and has since been sold many times .The abandoned buildings of the old dairy still dominate the land.. In the fifties, a nine year old boy reported being attacked and clawed by a weird animal near the Billiwhack Dairy. He had scratches across his arms and back. Then  in 1964  it terrorized several hikers for a few  hours and made headlines in a local newspaper.

The Ventura Star Free Press published the first article about the Monster on November  4th 1964. It was the main source of news coverage of the Monster.

The Billiwhack Monster is reputed to  have been the creation of secret experiments during World War II that were intended to create super soliders by the Office of Strategic Services or the OSS. The OSS was the precursor to the Central Intelligence Agency. The story is that the OSS had Ruben performing experiments beneath the dairy. The Billiwhack Monster is apparently a product of this research and experimentation that escaped to roam the local area.

A secret organizations, the OSS was involved in all sorts of experiments ranging from brainwashing techniques, use of  drugs on unsuspecting  victims, studies of diseases for use in warfare, and other immoral practices.

 The creature seemed to mainly be attracted to attacking young people.The last sighting I could find was in the 1970s , a woman  and her husband saw it crossing the highway in front of their car.It was over 100 yards away so they could have been mistaken.

So super soldier or urban legend? Maybe someone will make an investigation of the diary buildings and reveal the answer.

Moberly Lake Monster

 

Moberly Lake Creature

Moberly Lake is  east of Dawson Creek, British Columbia .Like many Canadian Lakes it is said to have a resident monster. 65 million years ago, Moberly Lake was part of the shore of a great inland sea.

There have been various sightings of the Moberly Lake monster over the years, It has an abundance of fish such as Trout and Pike.

Moberly Lake is special to the Dane-zaa First Nations people, they call it  “the lake you can depend on.” Food sources there were always plentiful and reliable.The Dane-zaa First Nations also know , Moberly Lake as “the lake with a hole through it” or “the lake with no bottom.” There is a legend that is often told of an ancient creature that surfaces sometimes. The average depth of the lake is 18.3 m (60 ft) and maximum depth said to be 42.7 m (140 ft).Deep enough to hide a monster even if it is not bottomless.

In 1989 a local  resident reported seeing a creature in the lake with a horse like head.It seems the first nation legend may not be a legend after all.

Since then there seems to have been no sightings reported but possibly people are reluctant to report it because of fear of ridicule. If anyone knows of any more recent reports of the creature please post in comments .

(n.b. it can take 24 hours for comments to appear as they are moderated)

Monday 29 April 2024

A living Dragon or a lizard?

 

Artrellia ,a dragon ?

 

Papua New Guinea is the area of  the eastern half of the island of New Guinea .It is north of Australia and still has unexplored areas being largely tropical jungle .It is thought there may be undiscovered tribes living there .There is a huge diversity of wildlife.

 Artrellia is a creature ,dragon-like  in appearance that is said to be found on the island.Described as a lizard up to 40 feet long (13 metres),a carnivore which would eat human flesh.It climbs trees and some say breathes fire. More likely is it spits venom.

In 1933, Richard Archbold ,an American zoologist ,led a scientific expedition into Papua New Guinea. They were there to  map the environment, and study the  plants and animal life. The locals warned them about the dragon and said they would not survive an encounter with it.

During World War 2 allied soldiers stationed on the island  began reporting that they were seeing giant lizard-like creatures in the jungle. They were described as being up to 20 feet long( over 6 metres) and very agile.

In  1960, the last district commissioner of Port Moresby Papua New Guinea, David Marsh made an  official  report  about his sightings of giant lizard-like dragons  within the jungle during the 1940’s while stationed as a patrol officer

In 1961, two men,Robert Grant and David George were exploring the Strachan Island District when they saw an Artrellia.. They described it as having grey skin, a 3foot (1metre) long neck and an estimated  26 feet  ( over 8  metres)long.The men were understandingly afraid and did not follow it when it went back into the jungle.

In 1970s an expedition team  known as the Operation Drake Expedition arrived . Operation Drake was an international, round-the-world scientific journey  that included  young researchers between the ages of 17-24 years from different countries. The leader of this part of the  expedition was Colonel John Blashford-Snell.

While in Papua New Guinea, Col. Blashford-Snell became interested in the Artrellia. After interviewing a variety of witnesses, the team went into the the jungle searching for nearly two months. Eventually they trapped what they thought was a baby Artrellia but it turned out to be a monitor lizard known in the area.

Then a team member, Ian Redmond ,was sitting on the ground and resting in an old creek bed when he began to hear large footsteps breaking twigs and crushing underbrush in the jungle up and behind him. He assumed it was one of his fellow  team members walking along the top edge, but then he  turned around to see what was making it. He saw the giant head and shoulders of a large lizard looking down at him. He later described the dragon-like lizard head as being almost as large as a full grown horse head, and the shoulders were equal in size. Redmond tried to reach for his camera but the lizard turned and was gone before he could reach it. A search was conducted but no sign was found of the creature.

There are still occasional reported sightings but still no proof.  It is quite possible there are unknown creatures in the dense rain forests/jungles still waiting to be discovered or could it be a sort of Kimono dragon that people are seeing ? Further expeditions may yet bring back proof of this living dragon.

Friday 26 April 2024

Some Scottish Sea Serpents

 

The Sea Serpent on the Firth of Clyde

Where the Western Ferries Terminal is in modern times is said to be  where The Gourock Sea Serpent was seen.

In 1942 and Council worker, Charles Rankin spotted something washed up on the beach at McInroy’s Point. It was like nothing he recognisesd.He described it as about 30feet long ( 10 metres) with a long neck .It had a seal like head with large eyes and  pointed teeth in both jaws.The tail was rectangular and it had two pairs of flippers. The skin was covered in rough hairs.

Mr Rankin said it resembled a huge lizard.  ‘The Gourock Times’, reported the sighting. However it was wartime and there was a navy base in the Clyde so it was hushed up. It was thought the body was dissected and either incinerated or buried on Municipal grounds.

Was it a prehistoric creature or an unknown sea serpent or just a basking shark ? Maybe a relative of Nessie who got stranded.

The Firth of Forth Monster.

In September 1903 the crew of the Fraserburgh fishing steamer Glen Grant saw something strange about  80 miles off the coast.

They thought they saw a whale but a huge dark body arose and made for the boat. The men froze  with fear as the huge creature approached them while making an intimidating swaying motion.

It got within 20 feet ( 6 or 7 metres), of the boat then it rose to a great height, hissed and plunged back into the sea. The beast plunging caused the bow of the boat to dip and the engine room filled with water.

It then reappeared and came racing back at them.One of the crew shot it and it sunk below the waves.They said it was 200 feet long (66 metres) and a head like a horse.

In 1903.a few weeks before this , the men of Montrose trawler, Rose, were off Arbroath when they saw a monster  for approximately 15 minutes. They described it as being like a huge snake.

Two fishermen William Christie and George Salmond, claimed to have come  face-to-face with a beast in the Firth of Forth in July 1939.

Described as having  a horse shaped head with a long neck and protruding eyes.They  circled the beast in their boat and it kept staring at them .If they got too close it would submerge.It was about an hour before it departed.

.Dolphins seals and other marine mammals are  often seen in the area. On 16 Apr 2021 a  46 foot (15 metres) whale was spotted .

“Incredible moment giant rare Sei Whale seen splashing around in Firth of Forth at South Queensferry” https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/6975655/sei-whale-firth-forth-south-queensferry/

However one would presume fishermen would recognize these creatures are familiar. So what did they encounter ?

More on Scottish sea serpents:

https://cryptozoo-oscity.blogspot.com/2009/04/saturday-sea-serpent-from-scotlnand.html

 

Monday 18 March 2024

Scottish Bigfoot?

 

Bigfoot investigator claims he has proof legendary monster is hiding out in SCOTTISH forest
Robert Shankland, 56, has shared snaps of what he claims is a 14-inch footprint left by the giant creature in Dumfries and Galloway
Part-time labourer and gardener Robert Shankland has shared snaps of what he claims is a 14-inch footprint left by the giant creature in Dumfries and Galloway.The 56-year-old has spent two years hunting for evidence of a "bipedal hominid creature" in Galloway Forest Park, which spans 300 square milesAs well as pictures of the "footprint", Robert, from Burnside, Lanarkshire, reckons another image could show the creature staring at him from trees. Scotland already has a Bigfoot legend in the shape of "The Scottish Wildman” - Am Fear Liath Mor, in Gaelic - which haunts the summit of Ben Macdui, the highest peak in the Cairngorms.
Robert's theory is that the Galloway creature could be a relative and may even use a "green corridor" of woods to travel between the south-west of Scotland and the Cairngorms. Robert’s photographs show a large footprint-shaped mark outlined in gravel near to Corson Cone in the Craigdulyart Forest, New Cumnock.Using a four-inch long phone for scale, the “footprint” is at least 14 inches long and seven inches wide.He also highlighted parts on the creature that he believes are pressure points on the ground and show the curve of its heel.
Speaking about his encounter with the beast, Robert said: “I actually didn’t realise it was there until I got home and looked at the pictures.
Read rest see photo here:

I live in this area and there have never been reports of wildmen or bigfoot type creatures according to locals. There have been reports of big cats and a friend of mine found a paw print in the forest (see link below).I would be more inclined to believe in a big cat living in the forest than a bigfoot. It’s a busy tourist area and surely someone would have reported something before this?
What is also interesting is this appeared after my crypto fiction book came out set in this area which has a bigfoot like creature in it. (The Weird Helmet ) They say life imitates art or something.