Champ (folklore)
{{Short description|Alleged lake monster in Lake Champlain, United States}}
{{Infobox mythical creature
|name = Champ
|image = Mansi Photograph (cropped).jpg
|image_size =
|caption = Champ in the Mansi photograph.
|AKA = Lake Champlain Monster, Champy
|Similar_entities=Loch Ness Monster, Ogopogo, Altamaha-ha
|Sub_Grouping=Lake Monster / Sea Serpent
|Country = United States, Canada
|Region = Lake Champlain
|Habitat = Water
}}
In American folklore, Champ or Champy{{cite web|url=http://www.pressrepublican.com/news/local_news/gordie-little-writes-children-s-book/article_53f2213e-24b2-5df9-8477-0dfbff1102ec.html |title=Gordie Little writes children's book |last=Caudell |first=Robin |work=Press-Republican |date=Nov 5, 2011 |access-date=Dec 9, 2014}} is the name of a lake monster said to live in Lake Champlain, a {{convert|125|mi|km|adj=on}}-long body of fresh water shared by New York and Vermont, with a portion extending into Quebec, Canada.{{cite web|url=http://cnc.virtuelle.ca/ogopogo/lake_creature/champ.html|title=Canada's Lake Creature: Champ|year=2001|access-date=25 October 2009|work=Welcome to Ogopogo Country|publisher=Centre culturel Marie-Anne-Gaboury |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20050302182625/http://cnc.virtuelle.ca/ogopogo/lake_creature/champ.html |archive-date= 2005-03-02}} The legend of the monster is considered a draw for tourism in the Burlington, Vermont and Plattsburgh, New York areas.
History of the legend
Over the years, there have been over 300 reported sightings of Champ.
The original story is related to Iroquois legends of giant snakes, which the Mohawk named Onyare'kowa.
French cartographer Samuel de Champlain, the founder of Québec and the lake's namesake, is often claimed to be the first European to have sighted Champ, in 1609. The earliest source for this claim is the summer 1970 issue of the magazine Vermont Life. The magazine quoted Champlain as having documented a "{{convert|20|ft|abbr=on}} serpent thick as a barrel, and a head like a horse." There is no evidence that Champlain ever said this,{{citation needed|date=May 2023}}, although he did document large fish:
{{Blockquote|There is also a great abundance of fish, of many varieties: among others, one called by the savages of the country Chaoufarou, "which varies in length, the largest being, as the people told me, {{convert|8|or|10|ft|abbr=on}} long. I saw some {{convert|5|ft|abbr=on}} long, which were as large as my thigh; the head being as big as my two fists, with a snout {{convert|2.5|ft|abbr=on}} long, and a double row of very sharp and dangerous teeth. Its body is, in shape, very much like that of a pike; but it is armed with scales so strong and a poniard could not pierce them. Its color is silver-gray.}}
The 1878 translation of his journals clarifies that Chaoufaou refers to gar (or gar pike), specifically Lepisosteus osseus (the longnose gar).{{cite book |last=de Champlain|first=Samuel |author-link=Samuel de Champlain |translator-last1=Otis |translator-first1=Charles Pomeroy |translator-link=Charles Pomeroy Otis |title=Voyages of Samuel de Champlain |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q_kWAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA216 |year=1878 |publisher=Prince Society |location=Boston, Massachusetts |volume=2: 1604-1610 |pages=215–217}}
An 1819 report in the Plattsburgh Republican, entitled "Cape Ann Serpent on Lake Champlain", reports a "Capt. Crum" sighting an enormous serpentine monster.{{cite news |last=Mackerel |first=Horse |title=Cape Ann Serpent on Lake Champlain |date=24 July 1819 |url=http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn83031979/1819-07-24/ed-1/seq-2/ |newspaper=Plattsburgh Republican |location=Plattsburgh, New York |volume=9 |issue=17 |page=2 |via=NYS Historic Newspapers}}{{cite web |url=http://lakeplacidmedia.com/uploads/PDF/Champ.pdf |title=The Search for Champ |access-date=2010-04-03 |publisher=Lake Placid/Essex County Visitor's Bureau |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713182023/http://lakeplacidmedia.com/uploads/PDF/Champ.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-13 |url-status=dead }} Crum estimated the monster to have been about {{convert|187|ft|abbr=on}} long and approximately {{convert|200|yd|abbr=on}} away from him. Despite the great distance, he claimed to have witnessed it being followed by "two large Sturgeon and a Bill-fish" and was able to see that it had three teeth and eyes the color of peeled onions. He also described the monster as having "a belt of red" around its neck and a white star on its forehead.{{cite web|last1=Joe|first1=Nickell|author-link=Joe Nickell|title=Legend of the Lake Champlain Monster|url=http://www.csicop.org/si/show/legend_of_the_lake_champlain_monster/|website=Committee for Skeptical Inquiry|access-date=17 January 2016|date=July 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100207065739/http://www.csicop.org/si/show/legend_of_the_lake_champlain_monster|archive-date=7 February 2010|url-status=dead}}
In 1883, Sheriff Nathan H. Mooney claimed that he had seen a water serpent about "20 rods" (the equivalent of {{convert|110|yd|m|abbr=on}} in length) from where he was on the shore. He claimed that he was so close that he could see "round white spots inside its mouth" and that "the creature appeared to be about {{convert|25|to|30|ft|abbr=on}} in length". Mooney's sighting led to many more alleged eyewitnesses coming forward with their own accounts of Champ.{{cite book |last=Hall |first=Dennis Jay |title=Champ Quest 1999: The Ultimate Search |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OkdqCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA59 |date=June 1999 |publisher=Essence of Vermont |isbn=978-1-928837-00-8 |page=55}}
The legend of Champ captured the interest of P. T. Barnum, and in 1873{{cite news |editor-last=Wheelock |editor-first=J. W. |title=Vermont News |date=27 August 1873 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/365924268/ |newspaper=The Green Mountain Freeman |location=Monpelier, Vermont |volume=30 |issue=35 |page=3 |quote=I hereby offer $50,000 for the hide of the great Champlain Serpent to add to my Mammoth World's Fair Show. |via=Newspapers.com}} and 1887,{{cite news |author=Staff writer |title=After a Sea Serpent |date=5 August 1887 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/86365643/ |newspaper=The Daily Post |location=Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |volume=45 |page=4 |quote=P.T. Barnum believes that a huge sea serpent exists, and has renewed his offer of $20,000 for the reptile. |via=Newspapers.com}} the famous showman offered rewards for anyone who could bring him the monster.
File:Benjamin Radford and Joe Nickell with Champ eyewitness & photographer Sandra Mansi.jpg and Benjamin Radford]]
In 1977, Sandra Mansi took a photograph while on vacation with her family that appears to show the dinosaur with his head out of the lake.{{cite news|last=Radford|first=Benjamin|author-link=Benjamin Radford|date=April 2004|title=Lake Champlain Monster|publisher=Fortean Times}} The entire bay of the lake where the photograph reportedly was taken is no deeper than {{convert|14|ft|m}}. According to Joe Nickell, it is unlikely that a giant creature could swim, let alone hide, in such shallow water. It has been suggested that the object in the photograph could possibly be a rising tree trunk or log.{{cite web|url=http://www.csicop.org/si/show/legend_of_the_lake_champlain_monster/|title=Legend of the Lake Champlain Monster|last=Nickell|first=Joe|author-link=Joe Nickell|access-date=31 October 2010|publisher=The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry|date=July 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100207065739/http://www.csicop.org/si/show/legend_of_the_lake_champlain_monster|archive-date=7 February 2010|url-status=dead}} In the book The Untold Story of Champ by Robert E. Bartholomew, it is further revealed that the original photo was sent to Philip Reines, a nautical expert at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh, so that he could examine and hopefully authenticate it. Reines quickly realized that the two most vital elements in verifying the photo were missing. Sandra Mansi said that she had thrown away the negative, and that she could not locate where she snapped the photo. Without the negative or location it was impossible to determine with any degree of certainty what was in the photo. Possessing the negative would allow the image to be magnified to see greater detail, while knowing the location could reveal important clues such as the object's size and distance, and whether the photo was even taken on Lake Champlain. Reines could not authenticate the photo and the story behind it led to big questions and potential red flags detailed in his book.
Champ reportedly can be seen in a video taken by fishermen Dick Affolter and his stepson Pete Bodette in the summer of 2005.{{cite web|last=Phillips|first=Adam|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/a-13-2006-03-21-voa14/319772.html|title=Is Lake Champlain Home to a Sea Serpent?|date=21 March 2006|publisher=Voice of America|access-date=25 October 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331160149/http://www.voanews.com/english/news/a-13-2006-03-21-voa14.html|archive-date=31 March 2012|url-status=live}} Close examination of the images may be interpreted either as a head and neck of a plesiosaur-like animal and even an open mouth in one frame and a closed mouth in another; or as a fish or eel. Although two retired FBI forensic image analysts, who reviewed the tape, said it appears authentic and unmanipulated, one of them added that "there's no place in there that I can actually see an animal or any other object on the surface".{{cite web|url=http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=1648547&page=1|title=Is There a Monster in Lake Champlain?|date=22 February 2008|access-date=25 October 2009|publisher=ABC News|work=GMA}}
Related, the recording of sounds from within the lake by the Fauna Communications Research Institute in 2003, working as part of a Discovery Channel program. The group described the sounds as being similar to those produced by Beluga whales or dolphins—neither of which are known to live in Lake Champlain.{{cite news|title=Lake's First 'Champ-Hearing' Recorded|date=July 2003|publisher=Burlington Free Press}} An article describing the recordings has been published to scientific literature, explaining that the sounds were likely a form of echolocation despite none of "the known native creatures" being able to echolocate.{{cite journal|title=Echolocation in a fresh water lake|journal=The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America|volume=127|issue=3|pages=1862|doi=10.1121/1.3384449|year=2010|last1=Vonmuggenthaler|first1=Elizabeth|last2=Gregory|first2=Joseph|last3=Mardis|first3=Scott H.|bibcode=2010ASAJ..127.1862V}}
File:Champ Drone Footage from "Lucy & the Lake Monster".png
During post-production of the film Lucy and the Lake Monster, the filmmakers reviewed their drone footage from production on August 2, 2024, and noticed what appeared to be a large creature swimming just below the surface of the water in Bulwagga Bay. The alleged creature is visible in the bottom right portion of the screen, swimming behind a boat on which the two lead actors of the film were aboard.{{cite news |last1=McKinstry |first1=Lohr |title=Champ film streaming premiere surfaces |url=https://www.pressrepublican.com/news/champ-film-streaming-premiere-surfaces/article_4eb34b54-bd69-11ef-b7ff-a37907ffe292.html |access-date=19 December 2024 |agency=Press-Republican |publisher=Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. |date=December 18, 2024}} The boat was 142 inches from the tip of the bow to the stern and 50.5 inches at the widest point, and the alleged creature appears to be larger than the boat.
One of the co-writers, Kelly Tabor, believes it to be a foundational piece of evidence for Champ. The second co-writer and director of the film, Richard Rossi, said that he shared the footage with scientists.{{cite news |last1=Riddle |first1=Lyn |title=SC filmmaker surprised by lake footage where a sea monster is alleged to live. |url=https://www.thestate.com/news/state/south-carolina/article290995365.html#storylink=cpy |access-date=14 August 2024 |agency=The State |publisher=McClatchy Company |date=14 August 2024}} A ten-second clip from the longer five minute footage was shared publicly on YouTube.{{cite news |last1=Bartlett Yaw |first1=Shaundra |title=Champ movie to hold world premiere: Potential footage of plesiosaur surfaced in post-production |url=https://suncommunitynews.com/news/111754/champ-movie-to-hold-world-premiere/ |access-date=12 August 2024 |agency=Sun Community News |date=12 August 2024}}
Cultural importance to New York and Vermont
The Champ legend has become a revenue-generating attraction.{{cite web |url=http://www.csicop.org/si/show/legend_of_the_lake_champlain_monster/ |title=Legend of the Lake Champlain Monster |access-date=2010-04-03 |last=Joe |first=Nickell |author-link=Joe Nickell |date=July–August 2003 |work=Skeptical Inquirer |publisher=CSI |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100207065739/http://www.csicop.org/si/show/legend_of_the_lake_champlain_monster |archive-date=2010-02-07 |url-status=dead }} For example, the village of Port Henry, New York, has erected a giant model of Champ and holds "Champ Day" on the first Saturday of every August. As the mascot of Vermont's baseball team, the Vermont Lake Monsters, Champ became more prominent after the team was renamed from the Vermont Expos following the 2005 season. Champ has been the primary attraction of the former Minor League Baseball team since their inception, and continues to serve as the Futures Collegiate Baseball League team's mascot. This mascot version of Champ appears as a special guest at various charitable and other functions throughout Vermont. Several nearby establishments, including a car wash, use images of Champ as a logo.{{cite web|url=http://www.champcarwash.com/AboutUs.aspx|title=Champ Touchless Car Wash|website=Champ Touchless Car Wash|access-date=17 January 2016}}
File:Behind-the-Scenes "Lucy & the Lake Monster" filming.png
In 2022, media reported that a feature film, Lucy and the Lake Monster, was in the works about a young orphan girl and her grandfather looking for Champ, the film being based on a children's book with the same title.{{cite news |last1=Jones |first1=Tammy |title=Meet the Authors of Lucy and the Lake Monster |url=https://www.wspa.com/your-carolina/meet-the-authors-of-lucy-and-the-lake-monster/ |access-date=26 May 2023 |agency=CBS |publisher=WSPA "Your Carolina" |date=May 26, 2023}}{{cite news |last1=O'Brien |first1=Kelly |title=Champ to star in new book and film series |url=https://www.wcax.com/2022/04/16/champ-star-new-book-film-series/ |access-date=23 April 2022 |agency=CBS |publisher=WCAX-TV |date=April 16, 2022 |ref=Channel 3}}
The production filmed in Port Henry, New York{{cite news |title=Virtual showing of the film, Lucy & the Lake Monster, through December |url=https://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2024/12/dec-region-5-childrens-holiday-party-a-christmas-carol-radio-play-more-events-set-for-dec-19-26.html |access-date=27 December 2024 |agency=Adirondack Almanack |date=December 19–26, 2024}} and in various locations around Lake Champlain's Bulwagga Bay in July and August, 2022.{{cite news |last1=McKinstry |first1=Lohr |title="Lucy and the Lake Monster" films in Port Henry |url=https://news.yahoo.com/lucy-lake-monster-films-port-035900196.html |access-date=8 August 2022 |publisher=Yahoo News |date=July 14, 2022}}{{cite news |last1=O'Brien |first1=Kelly |title='Champ' movie starts filming in Port Henry's Bulwagga Bay |url=https://www.wcax.com/2022/07/19/champ-film-starts-filming-port-henrys-bulwagga-bay/ |access-date=8 August 2022 |agency=WCAX |publisher=CBS |date=July 19, 2022}} Newspapers in the Lake Champlain region reported the film finished in 2024, and premiered in the Lake Champlain region in September, 2024.{{cite news |last1=Bartlett Yaw |first1=Shaundra |title=Highlights from Lucy & the Lake Monster's world premiere |url=https://suncommunitynews.com/news/112263/highlights-from-lucy-the-lake-monsters-world-premiere/ |access-date=11 September 2024 |agency=Sun Community News |publisher=Denton Publications, Inc. |date=September 9, 2024}} As of 2025, the film has garnered multiple awards on the film festival circuit. {{cite news |last1=Hyde |first1=Paul |title=Reedy Reels Film Festival celebrates 10th anniversary with 60 films |url=https://greenvillejournal.com/arts-culture/reedy-reels-film-festival-celebrates-10th-anniversary-with-60-films/ |access-date=20 March 2025 |agency=Greenville Journal newspaper |publisher=Community Journals Media Group |date=March 20, 2025}}
See also
References
{{Reflist|2}}
[https://skepticalinquirer.org/2013/05/new-information-surfaces-on-worlds-best-lake-monster-photo-raising-question/ New Information On Mansi Photo]
External links
- Lake Champlain Region page about [https://web.archive.org/web/20161029023151/http://www.lakechamplainregion.com/recreation/heritage/champ Champ, the Lake Champlain Monster]
{{Burlington, Vermont}}
{{American folklore}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:American legendary creatures