Encounter Atlas

Creature index / Lake and sea monsters

Bessie

Also called South Bay Bessie, Lake Erie Monster

Lake Erie's serpent, reported by sailors since the 1790s.

Captain Hiram Bell of the sloop Felicity reported a large serpent near Middle Island in 1793. Over the next two centuries sailors, fishermen and beachgoers described a long, grey, snake-like animal in the western basin.

A cluster of sightings in the early 1990s led a Huron, Ohio company to offer a reward for the capture of "South Bay Bessie" alive.

What witnesses report

  • 30 to 40 ft serpent with humps
  • Grey or black skin

Famous cases

  1. 1793Sloop Felicity sighting
    Middle Island, Lake Erie

Seen the Bessie?

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Related

Champaka Champy, Lake Champlain MonsterAmerica's Loch Ness: the long-necked creature of Lake Champlain.Loch Ness Monsteraka Nessie, NiseagScotland's long-necked lake monster, the world's most famous cryptid.Moragaka Mòrag, Loch Morar monsterNessie's less famous neighbour, in Britain's deepest freshwater loch.