Encounter Atlas

Creature index / Lake and sea monsters

Mussie

Also called Hapyxelor, Hapaxelor, Muskrat Lake monster

A friendly lake monster of Muskrat Lake, Ontario, sometimes said to have three eyes.

Mussie is the monster of Muskrat Lake, a long, deep lake beside the village of Cobden, about 75 miles north-west of Ottawa. Descriptions vary: a walrus-like animal, a big sturgeon, or a Nessie-type creature with three eyes and sharp teeth.

Stories go back to around 1916, when it was called Hapyxelor. A local claim that Samuel de Champlain wrote about it in the 1600s has no evidence behind it. A sonar search by author Michael Bradley picked up two large shapes he thought could be marine mammals.

Mussie is now a cheerful local mascot on welcome signs, sometimes wearing a Santa hat. A 1990s tourism campaign offered a million dollars for a live capture, which no one claimed.

What witnesses report

  • A walrus-like or long-necked animal
  • Three eyes (in some stories)
  • Large shapes on sonar

Famous cases

  1. 1916First anecdotes of the lake creature
    Cobden, Ontario

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Related

Igopogoaka Kempenfelt Kelly, Beaverton BessieA seal-faced lake animal said to live in Ontario's Lake Simcoe.Manipogoaka Winnipogo, Lake Manitoba monsterManitoba's humped lake serpent, with its own provincial park and festival.Memphréaka Memphre, Memphremagog monsterThe cross-border lake monster of Quebec and Vermont, honoured on a Canadian coin.