Urban
legends have been around for as long as story telling has left its mark on
civilization. They tend to fascinate audiences and captivate all ages alike,
which is the main reason they stick around and are so popular. The Adirondacks
have a share of urban legends that have been passed down for generations. I
will detail a couple of my favorite ones.
Champ: The Monster in Lake Champlain. This urban legend is not a unique one (it
is more commonly known in Scotland), yet that does not diminish from its
popularity. The lake, which separates New York and Vermont, has been rumored to
host the monster since 1609. Rewards have been offered for the monster, dead or
alive, in the 19th century and over 300 sightings have been
reported. Most crypto zoologists do not deny the existence of the monster,
rather claim it to be a gigantic fish or what was thought to be an extinct
creature. Most of the sightings can be explained by schools of fish or rocks,
signaling that the chance of the monster’s existence to be quite low.
Bigfoot:
Another large, mythical creature has captured the hearts and minds of
people in the Adirondacks, however, this one is a land creature. Bigfoot, or
Sasquatch, has reportedly been seen near Saranac Lake, the high peaks region,
and Whitehall with as many as 200 reported sightings. Some of the claims stem
from random rock throwing, including rocks the size of basketballs being hurled
at people. Additionally, large footprints of unknown creatures have been found
throughout the region. These could be a result of two footprints combining, or
a whole new creature. Despite the popularity of the myth in the west coast, inhabitants
of the Adirondacks claim the real Bigfoot lives in their region, and they are
determined to prove it.
The
Indian Lake Project: This lesser known myth is more along the lines of a
conspiracy theory. In the 1990’s, a hiker stumbled upon a box that contained photographs
of children in what seemed to be a government run experiment. After the hiker’s
death, his nephew took possession of the box and started to look into the
photos, including discovering CIA experiments run in the 1950’s that targeted
mind control and its similarity to the photos. The hiker’s nephew visited
Indian Lake in the mid 2000’s, only to find cement structures hidden in the
woods which he believed to be remains of the experiment that was shut down in
the 1990’s. The hiker’s nephew set up a
blog to discuss his findings, but soon shut it down due to mysterious phone calls
and threats. The investigation ended shortly after it began due to his belief that
he was being watched. The root of the photographs and cement structures remains
unknown.
I love stories like this (my personal favorite was The Indian Lake Project)! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDelete