Bessie, the Lake Erie Monster

For many years, the tale of Bessie, the Lake Erie Monster, has captured people’s imaginations. People have seen this mysterious lake monster several times and believe it to reside in the depths of Lake Erie. The Great Lakes region has ingrained this mysterious creature into its legend.

Description

Bessie is frequently characterized as a serpentine being with several humps sticking out of the water’s surface and a lengthy, flowing body. Although the descriptions provided by eyewitnesses differ, several describe witnessing a creature that resembles a horse and has flippers, a tail that thrashes furiously against the waves, and flippers. Some people say they saw the thing stretch up to thirty feet or more.

The Native American tribes near Lake Erie base their traditions and beliefs on the existence of a lake monster or serpent-like entity in the Great Lake’s depths. Oral traditions have passed down these stories over the years, predating European arrival, but specifics may vary within tribes.

The Erie tribe, located near the southern shore of Lake Erie, is the source of one of the most well-known Native American stories. According to their stories, there once dwelt a large, horned snake known as “Mishebeshu,” or “Great Serpent,” beneath the lake’s surface.

The Erie tribe believed Mishebeshu to be a formidable and dreaded being that could create whirlpools, storms, and other disturbances on the lake. It was thought to be a guardian of the creatures that lived in the waterways, as well as a protector of the waters themselves. The Erie people performed offerings and ceremonies to placate Mishebeshu and ensure a safe crossing of the lake.

The Ojibwe people, whose ancestral lands encompassed the regions surrounding Lake Erie, also held stories of a beast resembling this one, which they dubbed the “Mishibijiw” or “Great Underwater Panther.” People described this terrifying beast as a large, horned, serpentine creature with a ferocious nature. Similar to Mishebeshu of the Erie tribe, the Ojibwe held Mishibijiw accountable for storms and hazardous lake conditions.

Some tribes, like the Seneca and the Iroquois, have their own interpretations of the lake monster mythology, frequently portraying the animals as strong spirits or water protectors. These stories not only served as warnings, but also as a means of elucidating natural events and encouraging reverence for nature’s powers.

Numerous contemporary Native American groups in the Great Lakes region widely accept and share these antiquated myths, maintaining their cultural relevance and passing them on to future generations. Some even draw similarities between these old stories and the more contemporary claims of seeing “Bessie” or other purported lake monsters in Lake Erie, implying that the folklore and indigenous beliefs of the area may be the source of the modern legend.

Sightings

Reports from sailors and locals living around Lake Erie’s shoreline begin the chronicle of Bessie’s sightings in the late 1800s. There have been numerous reports of seeing a serpent-like monster in Lake Erie from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1793, a ship captain saw a snake that was more than sixteen feet long near Sandusky, Ohio. Separate crews saw dark-colored, 30- to 60-foot-long serpents in 1817; one crew even fired muskets at it, but to no use. On a beach close to Toledo that year, French settlers reported seeing a 20–30 foot sturgeon-shaped monster with writhing arms. The monster vanished, leaving only scratches and scales the size of silver dollars. An amazing report in 1892 had the whole crew of a ship seeing a 50-foot brown serpent thrashing in the water with fins and “viciously sparkling” eyes. In another well-known event in 1896, four witnesses saw a 30-foot creature with a dog-like head near Crystal Beach for 45 minutes.

In more recent times, there have been numerous sightings; in 1969, the 1980s, and most memorably in 1993, boaters caught footage of a black object, about thirty to forty feet in length, with multiple humps traveling through the lake close to Cleveland. This revived interest in the creature—the existence of a “Lake Erie monster” is still unproven—to the point where a local marina owner is even offering a $5,000 reward for its capture.

A party of boaters reported seeing Bessie on June 6, 1993, while out on Lake Erie, close to Cleveland, Ohio. Many others, including Robert Mackowiak and his spouse, who were out enjoying their anniversary on their boat, saw the incident.

By 9:30 p.m., as the sun was lowering, they said, the group spotted something out of the ordinary in the water. They reported witnessing an object that was long and dark, with several humps, break the lake’s surface and move in an undulating manner.

Mackowiak calculated that the monster was between thirty and forty feet long, with a head and flippers resembling horses. He and his spouse used their video camera to capture several minutes of footage, clearly showing the humps swimming through the water and creating a noticeable wake.

The sighting created a sensation, and both professionals and enthusiasts extensively shared and examined the Mackowiak’s video tape. While some remained skeptical, speculating that a number of logs or other debris floating on the surface might have generated the humps, others insisted that the video provided unmistakable proof of Bessie’s presence.

After the sighting, a group of researchers from the Lake Erie Marine Educators Association investigated the location. Although they couldn’t find any concrete proof of Bessie’s existence, they did find an odd disturbance in the lakebed, which some theorized might have been brought on by the creature’s movements.

A new wave of sighting reports from locals coincided with the 1993 sighting, which rekindled interest in the Bessie tale. It remains one of the most extensively studied encounters with the purported Lake Erie monster, which feeds into the ongoing discussion and conjecture about Bessie’s existence.

Analysis

People frequently compare Bessie’s existence to that of the Loch Ness Monster, a mythical creature thought to reside in the depths of Scotland’s Loch Ness. Similar to Nessie, Bessie’s purported sightings have aroused conjecture and captured the interest of both believers and cryptozoologists. Reports of both species living in vast bodies of water contribute to the mystique surrounding their purported presence.

Those who maintain Bessie’s existence cite the size of Lake Erie and the potential for an undiscovered creature to flourish in its depths. They point to the abundance of eyewitness reports and the legend’s long history as proof that there might be an unexplained element hiding beneath the surface. Furthermore, some people speculate that Bessie might be a living fossil from the prehistoric era that has eluded scientific discovery.

However, the scientific establishment widely rejects Bessie’s existence, citing a dearth of hard data and the impossibility of a new species of that size being unnoticed in a heavily traveled body of water like Lake Erie. Scientists contend that misidentifications of natural occurrences, such as logs or other floating debris, or even the presence of more common aquatic species, like sturgeons or lake serpents, could be the cause of the claimed sightings.

The scientific community may be skeptical, but there’s no denying Bessie’s cultural influence. The mythology has influenced numerous books, movies, and local folktales, becoming an essential part of the area’s identity. Around Lake Erie, festivals and events honoring the animal have proliferated, drawing both tourists and enthusiasts. Many companies and organizations have chosen Bessie as their mascot, further cementing her in the local culture.

Conclusion

People from all areas of life are still fascinated and intrigued by the legend surrounding Bessie, the Lake Erie monster. Her influence on the Great Lakes region’s culture and folklore is evident, even if her existence is still up for question. Bessie’s mythology is certain to arouse curiosity and conjecture for many years to come, regardless of whether she is a genuine living being or just the creation of human imagination.

References

Dickey, C. (2024, January 17). Toward a unifying theory of lake monsters. Atlas Obscura. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/column-lake-monsters

“Legend of Lake Erie Monster Rises Again”. Los Angeles Times (Associated Press). September 30, 1990.

McClelland, E. (2018). Folktales and legends of the Middle West. Belt Publishing.

Neulander, J. S. (2024). Folklore of Lake Erie. Indiana University Press.