HAUNTED WATERS

In spring of youth it was my lot 

 To haunt of the wide earth a spot 

 The which I could not love the less— 

 So lovely was the loneliness

 Of a wild lake,  with black rock bound, 

 And the tall pines that tower’d around. 

 But when the Night had thrown her pall 

 Upon that spot, as upon all,

 And the mystic wind went by 

 Murmuring in melody— 

 Then—ah then I would awake 

 To the terror of the lone lake. 

 Yet that terror was not fright, 

 But a tremulous delight— 

 A feeling not the jewelled mine 

 Could teach or bribe me to define— 

 Nor Love—although the Love were thine. 

 Death was in that poisonous wave, 

 And in its gulf a fitting grave 

 For him who thence could solace bring 

 To his lone imagining— 

 Whose solitary soul could make 

 An Eden of that dim lake. 

Edgar Allan Poe 

The Master of the Macabre Edgar Allan Poe Certainly does paint A picture of water we all know I'll know in his poem simply titled The Lake. The lake is beautiful enchanting, and endearing by day and mysterious and dark at night. Poe plays on the fondness and thrill of this serene and wild place. But then haunts us later as he describes his "delight" at waking to "the terror on the lone lake."
But what else would expect from this writer who has been fighting us with scary tales such as the Ravin, Murder in Rouge Morgue, and The Telltale Heart?
And while the location of Poe's dedication remains unidentified. Historians have suggested, Poe could have written the poem about Lake Drummond, a lake outside Norfolk, Virginia, also known as the Great Dismal Swamp. One of only two natural lakes in Virginia, Lake Drummond offers a jungle atmosphere of lush and beautiful scenery and dark waters of unsolved mysteries.
Poe is said to have visited the lake and possibly could have been inspired by the lake's creepy history.
According to legend, the lake is haunted by the supernatural canoeing spirits of two star-crossed lovers and the ghostly Lady of the Lake. 

Edgar Allan Poe

First, it's the tragic story of a young Native American couple who lost their lives on the lake. The young woman had died on their wedding day. Mad with grief, the young man has a vision of her paddling her canoe in the distance. He fashions together a raft that comes apart while on the lake and drowns while attempting to reach her. It is said that at night one can see this ghostly bride and groom floating together in the moonlight.
Over the years, many have also claimed to see the Lady of the Lake paddling a white canoe holding a firefly lamp.
Could Poe have heard these tales to inspire his poem or perhaps have seen them for himself? The answer is unknown. But what we do know is folklore has a way of spilling into our waterways, especially after dark.
So whether you're courageous or skeptical, here are a few of our nation's haunted waters you just might want to paddle (if got the nerve) this Halloween or anytime for your chance to see a ghost.

Saco River, New Hampshire & Maine 

The Saco River is a popular recreational river that draws canoeists and kayakers across the northeast. While there are a few rapids, for most of its 136 miles, it's steady, calm, and it's cursed. Most of the locals have already heard the story that dates back to 1675. It's been told, three white-drunken sailors were rowing upriver when they came upon a Native American pregnant woman and her young son in a canoe. According to the story, the sailors believing in a myth that all baby natives could swim, attacked the canoe, grabbed the baby, and much to the horror of the child's mother, tossed the baby into the river. The infant sank, and the mother dove in and retrieved him. However, it was enough, and the baby and pregnant mother would tragically die not long afterward.

 

Saco River

As it turned out, the husband and father of the baby was the chief of a local tribe by the name of Squando. He was in despair and rage at the death of his pregnant wife and his young son. The incident would soon ignite violence between the tribe and white settlers. But Squando would conjure a more sinister type of vengeance. He asked the spirits to lay a curse over the waters of Saco saying, the river would "claim three lives a year until all white men fled its banks" to replace the lives of the three lost that day.
For the record, there are no official records of drownings and deaths on the Saco River, but locals swear that “Curse of the Saco River” is real and do not go near the river in fear of the ominous prophecy. Skeptics say it's just an old superstition. They say the river can be dangerous because it flows through many deep gorges with stronger currents. Over time accidents are bound to happen. However, in 1947 the Maine Sunday Telegram proclaimed that the curse was broken with the headline, "Saco River Outlives Curse of Indian Chief," after no deaths were reported that year.
Squandro eventually made his peace with the whites, but he never rescinded his curse. News of deaths is still reported during the summer months as the curse still looks for victims up and down the length of the Saco River.

Pocantico River, New York

The Pocantico River in western New York was made famous by Washington Irving's Halloween classic The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Ever since people have been keeping a keen out for the Headless Horseman. Who, as the story said, would ride alongside the river looking for hapless victims.
The Pocantico is a nine-mile-long tributary of the Hudson River following an urban setting, But even today, it has a dark and unnerving nature. "The Pocantico winds its wizard stream among the mazes of its old Indian haunts, sometimes running darkly in pieces of woodland," wrote Irving.
He had obviously had heard the tales surrounding the Old Dutch Church, Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, and Spook Rock to inspire his story of the Headless Horseman. 

Pocantico River

Spook Rock, sit on the east­ern side of Rock­e­feller State Park, next to the Saw Mill River Park­way. Just its name conjures up ghosts. The his­tory of Tar­ry­town tells the leg­end of the Lady in White who haunts the rock after dying in a snow­storm. It's said you can still hear her cries of the howl­ing of the wind and see her ges­tures to warn of impending winter storms.
It also tells of the ghost of a colo­nial girl, who jumped to her death there to escape a Tory raider dur­ing the rev­o­lu­tion. As well as the heartbreaking tale of Star Girl the spirit of an In­dian girl who roams the area lament­ing her death of for her lover and son.
It is said that even to­day, on a quiet spring night, one can stand on the banks of the Pocan­tico River and still hear Star Girl cry­ing out for her lover and child.

The Tar River, North Carolina

Known as a river for large catfish and kayak fishing, but if you encounter The Tar River Banshee and live, you'll tell a different tale of the one that got away.
The Tar River meanders past the farm fields and small towns for some 200 miles through the northeast part of North Carolina toward the estuary of Pamlico Sound. The river gets its name when the British Navy used the area's dense longleaf pine forests to provide much of the tar, turpentine, and pitch needed for shipbuilding. The name stuck when it became a major shipping route for tar-laden barges transporting goods throughout the colonies and abroad. 

Tar River

It's also about that time when the legend of the river's banshee, was spawned. It was during the Revolutionary War when British soldiers gunned down an Irish miller on the banks of the river. His crime, supplying aid to the patriot militia and not being loyal to the crown. As the water turned red with the Irishman's blood, he swore his revenge on the soldiers. He told them that they would be visited by a Banshee, a wailing and shrieking messenger of death. They shot him again, and he disappeared under the murky brown water.
Later that night, true to the Irishman's words, the British soldiers were awakened by the sorrowful wailing of the Banshee, the female apparition told them they did not have long to live and, they would soon all die in battle. And Not long after, the soldiers were all shot and killed in a skirmish with North Carolina militiamen.
Area folklore says the Tar River Banshee still roams the river shore. To this day, anyone unlucky enough to wade into the waters where the Irishman died so long ago, will be visited by the Banshee, who will wail her sorrowful song into the night and foretell their deaths.

The Wolf River, Tennessee

One would think that a section of the Wolf River in west Tennessee fittingly called the “Ghost river.” would be haunted, and you would be right. The Wolf River is a paddling favorite. The river is known for beautiful pristine and unspoiled countryside that meanders through bottomland hardwood forests, cypress-tupelo swamps, and open marshes. One missed sign on the 8-mile Ghost River canoe trail, and you could find yourself hopelessly lost drifting the cool and dark swampy waters shaded among spooky 100-foot moss-draped cypress tree on a river with no current. Some suggest that this eerie stop of flow is how the river section got its name. Others, however, point to the river's forlorn history. A Native American scout vanished without a trace in these waters in 1682. While on December 4, 1863, Union and Confederate forces clashed in a desperate struggle on a railroad bridge over the river. 

Wolf River

Pvt. Augustus Hurff of the 6th Illinois Cavalry described what happened, "We had no sooner crossed the bridge than were fired upon from ambush. This threw our forces into a panic. They forced us back to the river; we were ordered to draw our sabers and charge... but the rebels were reinforced. We dismounted and fought as infantry. Many of our horses were shot in the river, as were a great number of our men. The rivers seemed like running blood instead of water."
In the disorienting maze of willow, cypress, and tupelo, you will have to figure out on your own how the Ghost River section got its name. Is it because the river seems to get lost while running through a swamp? Or as others claim, because they still see ghosts of Civil War soldiers wandering about the shores.

Chicago River, Illinois

You will be traveling through the heart of the Windy City when paddling down the Chicago River. Looking up, you will find yourself surrounded by Chicago's legendary skyline. However, while gazing into the river's dark waters, you might see a strange reflection that is not your own staring back and possibly hear sounds of Screams, moans and splashes coming over the calm waters. Local paranormalists say without a doubt, they are the ghosts of the sinking of the SS Eastland.

The Eastland Disaster on the Chicago River 

The morning of July 24, 1915, passengers were boarding the Eastland for a summertime excursion at a dock in downtown Chicago when the ship began listing on the starboard side. To correct the imbalance, the ship’s crew let water into the ship’s ballast tanks. Only to have the vessel began listing again, this time on the port side. By this time, the boat had reached its limit of 2,500 passengers. Minutes later, the ship began taking on water. The vessel drifted away from the dock. At approximately 7:30 AM, the Eastland rolled onto its side. Onlookers were horrified as hundreds of people began to drown before their eyes.

"I looked across the river," reported one witness, "As I watched in disoriented stupefaction a steamer large as an ocean liner slowly turned over on its side as though it were a whale going to take a nap. I didn’t believe a huge steamer had done this before my eyes, lashed to a dock, in perfectly calm water, in excellent weather, with no explosion, no fire, nothing. I thought I had gone crazy."

On the upper deck, the panicking passengers, many holding children, spilled into the river. While below deck, other passengers were crushed by heavy furniture as the water poured inside the capsized ship.

Despite the Eastland being in just 20 feet of water and just a few yards from shore, its sinking killed 844 people, ranking it as one the worst maritime disasters in American history. It was among the city’s deadliest catastrophes. Hundreds of more died in the Eastland disaster than in the Chicago fire of 1871.

For years now, people have sensed paranormal activity along the river. Pedestrians on a river walk stroll have heard what sounds like a loud commotion coming from the water. Screams and splashes accompany the murmurer of a large number of people are floundering around in the water. Of course, they look to the river, and the water is perfectly calm. Some have seen a large wash of water suddenly overflow the area, while others have been shocked to see the ghost-like reflections staring back at them from the depths of the Chicago River.

Medina River, Texas

It is hard to scare Texans. But the tale of the Donkey Lady Bridge over the Medina River south of San Antonio for over a century has had them shaking in their boots. The Medina River is one of the gentlest rivers in the Texas Hill Country. Paddlers will enjoy amazing views and face very few hazards while journeying down this 120-mile waterway, that is until they approach the Donkey Lady Bridge. "It is extremely scary, very frightening. It's the most haunted places of ALL haunted places," wrote one visitor. 

The Donkey Lady Bridge

In one of Texas' legendary ghost stories, it's told that a man went mad and murdered all of his children and set his nearby farmhouse on fire. Escaping the house, the wife ran away, burning alive and throwing herself over the bridge into the water to extinguish the flames. Her body was left horribly disfigured. Her face was charred, and her hands had been melted into hoof-like stumps of a donkey. Over the years, she has become one of Texas' most terrifying apparitions in all of Texas.

Witnesses have report screeches, screams, and the sound of braying coming from the bridge.  Others have said they were attacked by the menacing specter while driving over the bridge. It has been told that the Donkey Lady would jump on the hoods of cars, leaving dents and broken windshields behind.

Since the bridge has been converted pedestrian bridge as part of the Medina River Green Way Trail System, but paddlers still might consider crossing under the bridge.

Missouri River, Nebraska

Blackbird Hill is a distinctive 300-foot-high landmark on the west side of the Missouri River in northeastern Nebraska. It was well known to river travelers throughout the 19th century. In 1804, Lewis and Clark climbed the rise to visit the grave of an Omaha chief, while famed frontier artists George Catlin and Karl Bodmer painted it in the 1830s. Traditional Native American accounts say that Chief Big Elk is buried at the site. It is also said to be haunted by the spirit of a young woman who was murdered on the hill more than a century and a half ago.
According to local folklore, a young couple fell in love and agreed to marry. But first, the boy had to make his fortune, promising her he would return for her. But after years of waiting, the young girl finally gave up, thinking her husband-to-be was dead. She married another man and settled atop Blackbird Hill.

Blackbird Hill by Karl Bodmer

 As the story goes, it was years later when the former lovers were once again reunited, when the young man came looking for her on the banks of the Missouri River. Overjoyed to see him, she confessed that she had never stopped loving him and only married another because she thought he was dead. Surely, it was fate that brought the long-lost lovers back together. She told him that she would go home to tell her husband that she wanted out of their marriage, so they could leave together in the morning.
When the girl returned to the cabin, she explained the situation to her husband, saying she did not love him and intended to leave him to marry her first love. At first, the husband begged her to stay. But when she refused, he went into a bitter rage and attacked her with his hunting knife. Mortally wounding her and with nothing to live for, he carried her to the cliff of the hill overlooking the river and leaped with her into the river far below. The woman’s death scream pierced the air until it was silenced by the muddy waters of the Missouri River. The young lover witnessed the couple tumble and drowning in the river, and he also became a victim as he later died of a broken heart.
A century and a half later, the river no longer touches the base of the hill Blackbird Hill, but the young woman’s restless soul remains. According to the legend, on October 17th the anniversary of the murder-suicide, the woman’s chilling screams can be heard at the top of the hill. Over the years, dozens of people reportedly have heard her cries of terror.

The Colorado River, Lake Mead & Hoover Dam, Nevada and Arizona

The massive concrete arch-gravity Hoover Dam spanning the Colorado River is an American icon. It's 660 feet thick at its base, over sixty stories tall, and over 1,200 feet wide. It supplies both significant amounts of hydroelectric power and irrigation water to the southwest United States.  Many maintain that the dam is haunted by the workers who lost their lives while building the colossal structure.

Built during the height of the Great Depression between 1931 and 1935. It's said, some 112 people died during its construction. The deaths were all typical industrial accidents such as drowning, most common in dam construction, being struck by equipment or debris, and of course, accidental falls. A traditional story often told says that a few of those killed fell into the concrete while it was being poured and now encased the dam itself. While a popular myth, it isn't true. Experts say having human bodies mixed within the concrete would make the dam structurally unsound. 

Hoover Dam by Ansel Adams

However, the construction company said 42 workers not listed in the body count died of pneumonia. Most think that they actually perished from carbon monoxide poisoning while operating vehicles inside the diversion tunnels, and the company made up the pneumonia story to avoid any lawsuits.

No matter what the actual number of people who died may be, many think the dam is a harborage for all the lost souls. Dam workers and visitors have reported experiencing temperature drops in hallways and flickering lights and hearing footsteps in empty corridors of the Hoover Dam facility. Some have even been startled by the creepy apparition of men dressed in old-fashioned worker's clothing wandering the area. 

This year, with Lake Mead forecast to be at 34 percent of full capacity, the lowest level since the completion of the Hoover Dam in the 1930s, the lake too is a ghost of what it should be. 

Pinto Lake, California

Native American legends, a history of tragic drownings, and an unsolved murder plague this Northern California lake. Add in a paranormal activity along with massive algal toxin blooms will only add to the creepiness of Pinto Lake. 

Pinto Lake

Pinto Lake is a 120-acre recreational lake in Watsonville, CA. It's a great place to bring your kayak or canoe for an afternoon float, but according to the local folklore, you might want to be off the water after the sunsets. Allegedly it was an old Native American burial ground. Over the years, both artifacts and remains have been found in and around the lake. Some believe the spirits of those Indians still reside along the banks.

Over time several drownings have also taken place at the lake. Many think these lost souls walk the shore after dark. It's said, the apparition of the young woman in a white nurse's uniform dating back to World War II.  In the 1970s four locals, all claimed to have seen the phantom nurse from across the lake.

 “Talk about being scared," reported one witness, "This silhouette of this girl chased us all the way until we got out. We swore never again to be caught there after dark.” 

However, the ghost of whom some people think is Bonnie Brashers will send shivered down anyone's spine. In 1973, Bonnie, a local housewife, and mother of nine went out for a walk along Pinto Lake and never returned. Her husband was the main suspect in disappearance yet never was charged for her murder since her body was never found. Many believe, Bonnie was murdered by her husband. They say, he threw her body in the murky waters of the lake.  Her ghost now roams the shores there on occasion seeking justice and waiting for her body to be finally found to solve the mystery. 

So what do you believe? Are these just good old-fashion ghost stories passed down over the years?
Or are there really haunting spirits out there at the edge of the water?
Whatever you believe, these tales have intertwined with the history and folklore of these waterways. They have captured our imaginations and can provide us, that is if you’re feeling especially brave, a spooky paddling adventure where you can go see for yourself. But, only if you dare.

Happy Halloween

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HAUNTED LAKES: ELEVEN SPOOKY PLACES TO PADDLE

Photo Illustration by Deborah Ann Klenzman

Certain it is, the place still continues under the sway of some witching power, that holds a spell over the minds of the good people, causing them to walk in a continual reverie. They are given to all kinds of marvelous beliefs, are subject to trances and visions, and frequently see strange sights, and hear music and voices in the air. ---Washington Irving 

By the light of the day, all lakes both large and small provide a vision of tranquility. They are the most peaceful and serene places we have come to know. We take comfort in their beautiful views, bathe in relaxing waters, and have found solitude paddling along their wild and whimsical shorelines.
But beware; after the sun falls behind the horizon, the darkness and the lake will conjugate their mystical powers casting a bewitching spell of uncertainty, dread, and fear. It's on that rim of darkness we will venture, seeking that surreptitious boundary between the water and the night, and real and imaginary.
"Some places speak distinctly," American author Robert Louis Stevenson wrote, "Certain dark gardens cry aloud for a murder; certain old houses demand to be haunted; certain coasts are set apart for shipwreck."
So what's lurking out there in the lake? Is it a spirit from beyond? Or a blend of frightening folklore that exposes our innermost fears and sparks our imaginations? Whether you’re spooked or skeptical, here are few haunted lakes and ponds you just might want to paddle (if you dare), this Halloween or anytime, for your chance to glimpse a ghost.

Gardner Lake, Connecticut
You will find more humor than horror in Connecticut's Gardner Lake. In 1895, the area grocer decided to move from the south side of Gardner Lake to the east side. While many would simply build another house at their new location, the grocer wanted to keep the two-story house he already owned. His solution was to wait till the lake was frozen over and sled his house and contents, including a piano, over the ice.

Gardner Lake

All went well until the ice cracked and the house slowly sank into the water. Not being able to pull it free from the lake's icy grip the home sat there till the spring thaw when it plunged the rest of the way into the bottom of the lake
OK so nobody died and the event is funnier than frightening. So why is lake considered haunted? Well, it's said the ghosts of the people who drowned in the lake can be seen and heard around the lake. That's no big deal for a lot of places. But the most unusual thing some say is on quiet nights, the piano that went down with the house can be heard playing from the spot on the lake where the home met its watery fate. Cue spooky piano music...

Haunted Lake, New Hampshire
The local real estate listings say Haunted Lake is a peaceful and tranquil place featuring shallow pond rimmed birches, pines, and summer cottages. The lake offers fishing, scenery, delightful shade, and unexplained weird noises.
According to the area's folklore, centuries ago a massive forest fire swept through, killing everything and everyone living around the lake. The Native Americans and Europeans settlers in the fire's aftermath were more than a little spooked by the charred trees and burned out landscape. After that, the little pond was called Haunted Lake.

Haunted Lake

In 1753, surveyor Matthew Patten only added to the little pond's lore when he wrote this in his diary while camping near the pond's outlet: "Soon after darkness set in, there commenced groaning and shrieks as of human being in distress, and these continued, most plaintive and affecting, till nearly morning."
The pond took on the identity of Scoby Lake when a family by the same name built a mill there. Of course, that didn't end the spookiness surrounding the pond, especially after they uncovered some skeletal remains on the lake shore. Its pseudonym as Haunted Lake would only endure.

Lake Ronkonkoma, New York
The creepy tales told of Lake Ronkonkoma, Long Island’s largest lake, say that it's a deep dark abyss with no bottom. It's so cold that spirits of ice skaters have been seen skating across it when it wasn't even frozen. However, the most prominent legend involves an Indian maiden who was not permitted to marry her white boyfriend. Overwrought with despair, she drowned herself in the lake, but not before vowing to drown one young man every year from then on.

Lake Ronkonkoma

The story that prologues the curse of Lake Ronkonkoma has all the ingredients of a Shakespeare tragedy. Two young star-crossed lovers; a beautiful Native American princess and her steadfast colonist pledging undying love for one another on the banks of the lake. Forbidden to see each other, they use the lake to float love notes written on birch bark back and forth to one another, proclaiming their enduring devotion.
Finally, they agree to marry and run away together. But they were found out. A fight ensues and our brave young colonist is killed. Overcome by grief, our young maiden paddles her canoe to the deepest part of the lake. Tying a rock to her body, she then casts herself into the water, but not before casting a sinister curse over the entire lake, saying because her love was unfulfilled, one young man will drown in the lake every year from then on.
Now here is where it gets bizarre. Folks around the lake say at least one person has drowned every year over the past 200 years, with most of them being young men.

Lake Lanier, Georgia
Is there something sinister happening at Georgia's Lake Lanier?
The 38,000-acre lake 40 miles north of downtown Atlanta is one of the state's most popular getaway destinations. The grim stats however also show that for many, it was also their final destination.
Constructed over 50 years ago, the lake is cursed with a ghoulish legacy. In making way for the water, workers unearthed and relocated the remains of nearly 20 cemeteries before flooding the valley. Those empty graves and scores of ghost towns were then entombed under fathoms of lake water, bestowing a fair share of strange mysteries to the area.
By far the best ghost story is the spine-chilling tale of Susie Roberts and Delia Mae Parker Young. Driving home in 1958, they missed the bridge and met their fate in the murky water. For over a year, it was a mystery of what had happened to them, until the lake released Delia's body from the deep. It must have been a terrible sight; wearing a blue dress, her body was missing both hands and her left foot was minus two toes. Ever since the accident, there had been rumors circulating about the Lady of the Lake. A ghost with no hands wandering on the bridge in her blue dress trying to find her hands.
It took 32 more years to recover Susie's body. In November 1990 a construction crew working on the bridge discovered a car with Susie's remains inside. It was a mystery solved, but tales of Lady of the Lake appearing near the bridge still persist.

Lake Lanier

Add that to the fact that over the years there have been a disproportionate amount of deaths associated with the lake, ranging from boating accidents, drownings, and drivers careening off the road into the water, as well as several unsolved murders, giving the lake a menacing and spooky reputation. According to 2017 article in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, since 1994 at least 160 people have died in or around the lake. It's not hard to see why the local population thinks the lake is cursed.
The stories from accident survivors and near-drowning victims concur that the waters seem to be damned. There are accounts of boats hitting something where there is nothing, watercraft capsizing for no apparent reason and sudden waves without warning. In drowning incidents, the survivors have described the sensation of being pulled under by unseen hands.
Could they be the missing hands of the Lady of the Lake, or could it be the Angel of Death come calling?
For many, the lake's latest ghost story may be its most frightening. It has been reported that several eyewitnesses have seen in the dead of the night a mysterious ghostly raft piloted by a shadowy specter. Similar to the boatman on mythological River Styx, the phantom is holding a lantern and guiding the craft with a pole. The apparition appears out of nowhere before disappearing in the darkness.

Manchac Swamp, Louisiana
Nothing is creepier than a swamp. Adrift in the murky water, be on the lookout for snakes, gators and in the Manchac Swamp, the spectral spirit of a voodoo priestess who just happened to leave behind a death wish that to this day still plagues the swamp.
Located near New Orleans, the Manchac Swamp is a web of waterways through a forest of bald cypress, water tupelo, and freshwater marshes. Its resident ghost is said to be Julia Brown, who before dropping dead in 1915 made a terrifying prediction to the townsfolk, singing, “One day I’m gonna die, and I’m gonna take all of you with me.”
She was true to her word. The day of her funeral a devastating hurricane ripped through the entire village, killing hundreds. So many in fact, that locals claim it’s still common for skeletons to resurface today drifting in the muggy swamp.

1915 Hurricane

“The water was washin’ in the front door," Louis Barbier, recounted his experience. "We thought we were gone. All the camps down there are gone. On the big lake, that had big timber, big cypress timber, it was just like a big boar went along there."
Today, the only thing that remains on the island where Brown’s village once stood is a mass grave where the dead were buried. Over the years, hundreds of people have experienced the sound of a ghostly voice singing Bown’s infamous song.
Both the 2009 A&E special Extreme Paranormal and 2013 SyFy series Haunted Highway believe they caught substantial evidence of the unexplained paranormal activity on camera while filming an episode in the swamp.

White Rock Lake, Texas
One of Dallas' best-known ghost stories is the Lady of the Lake, who haunts White Rock Lake Park. It starts like any late night campfire tale, a young couple on a romantic moonlit drive around the lake encounter a young beautiful girl dressed in a sheer white dress along the road, dripping wet and soaked from head to foot.

That first account was published in the Texas Folklore Society’s publication, Backwoods to Border, in 1943. Ever since then, the legend of the Lady of the Lake has grown. One account has the apparition as a drowning victim from a boating accident in the 1930s, while another has the lost soul being a distraught bride a victim of a tragic suicide.
Dallas-area newspapers published reports of ghostly encounters in the 1960s, while on Halloween night in 1985, several psychics held a candlelight vigil trying to contact the Lady without much luck. But if you want to take a drive along the lake, we recommend waterproof seat covers just to be safe.

Veteran's Lake, Oklahoma
The stories related to Veterans Lake read more like a script from a low-budget Hollywood horror film. A pair of vengeful phantasms that wreak havoc by luring unsuspecting people into the water and drowning them after sundown.
As the story goes, back the 1950s a woman was watching her son play in the small man-made lake in what is now the Chickasaw National Recreation Area. The mother, distracted for only a moment, looked up to see that her son had disappeared under the water. Being a good mother she rushed into the lake to save her son, only to be pulled under herself, resulting in them both drowning.
But the story doesn't end there. A few years later, it was said that another girl drowned in the lake as a result of a boating accident, and now as the night nears the two apparitions can be seen hovering over the lake searching for their next victims.
Considered one of the most haunted places in all of Oklahoma, the lake often induces a feeling of unease and panic in visitors after the sun sets. Linked to a 2015 murder and kidnapping and 2009 incident where a man drowned while trying the save the life a young child that had difficulty swimming, the lake's reputation for creepiness has only increased.

Lake Superior, Minnesota, Michigan & Wisconsin
Mariners say Lake Superior seldom gives up her dead. Icy and cold, it's called the "Graveyard of the Great Lakes" with harrowing tales of shipwrecks, spooky lighthouses, and ghost ships.
While not as famous as the Edmund Fitzgerald, the freighter Canada Steamship Lines SS Kamloops disappeared in 1927 with 22 people onboard while steaming towards Isle Royale. The search continued for the next 50 years before divers found the vessel in 1977. While exploring the engine room, they reported a preserved body that appeared to follow them around the room.

SS Kamloops

The lake's lonely picturesque lighthouses also produce a wide variety of ghosts. Witnesses at the Marquette Harbor Lighthouse have described the ghostly figure of a girl, seen staring out the upper floor window, peering out at the horizon towards the big lake.
At the Big Bay Point Lighthouse B&B, to this day, guests are awakened by the ghost of an elderly groundskeeper with Coast Guard attire standing at the foot of their bed in the middle of the night morning the loss of his son, before then vanishing back into the walls.
Meanwhile at Split Rock Lighthouse, local legend says a visitor in the mid-1980s saw a man in a lightkeeper's uniform on the catwalk long after the museum had closed for the evening. When he returned the next day, he was told no one was in the tower after hours.
The sight of ghost ships has circulated throughout the big lake's history. The latest account happened in October of 2016 when Jason Asselin and a friend were taking in the fall foliage in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. When they stopped to photograph a gorgeous rainbow over the lake, things got spooky.
“We were looking at it [the rainbow] and noticed the object”, Asselin told CBS News, “I zoomed in and still couldn’t understand what I was seeing. I’ve been there before and never saw it before. It really just didn’t belong there, I’ve seen ships before and it looked nothing like that."
They watched it for a while before it just disappeared.

Spirit Lake, Idaho
Near the Coeur d'Alene, nestled in a scenic mountain valley, Spirit Lake paints a dreamlike view of Shangri-La. Often a veil of mist floats over the lake intermingling with through dark silhouetted pines standing guard at the water's edge. It's a virtual happily-ever-after with the lake's crystal clear waters and gleaming mountain views.
However, the legend of Spirit Lake doesn't have a romantic fairytale ending for our two forlorn lovers. They are united only in death, where their spirits now haunt the lake making it one of the spookiest places in Idaho.
The saga has been told for generations of Hya-Pam, the beautiful and faithful girl whose name means Fearless Running Water. She was the daughter of the tribe's chief and madly in love with one of the tribe's handsome braves.
But a villainous chieftain from another tribe threatened war if he could not have the lovely Hya-Pam for his very own. Wanting peace for his people Hya-Pam's father could only agree.

Spirit Lake

Now the story from here on has several endings, so pick your favorite.
One says, on the day of the marriage ceremony. Hya-Pam's true love kills the evil chieftain and rescues her in a canoe. But in their escape across the lake, a rain of arrows fall upon them, killing them both. In another version, Hya-Pam's true love is killed in the battle as she escapes in a canoe. But seeing he has been killed, she paddles to the middle of the lake and throws her body overboard. Meanwhile, the last story has the two lovers tying themselves together and leaping from Suicide Cliff into the lake, never to be found again.
All the endings of course resulted in the same tragic conclusion, so don't plan on there being a Disney movie anytime soon. So sad in fact, that the Native Americans changed the name of the lake from "Clear Water" to "Lake of the Spirits." because in the spring they hear mournful and haunting sounds emanating from along its shores.
And to this day, people often report seeing the two young lovers ghostly silhouettes on moonlit nights paddling the lake in their phantom canoe till it disappears into the mist.

Lake Tahoe, California
Rising 150-feet out the water, Fannette Island, Lake Tahoe's only rocky isle, is found in scenic Emerald Bay on the west shore of the lake. It's been called many things over the past 100 years; Coquette, Baranoff, Hermit's, but by far its creepiest name was Dead Man's Island.
Captain Dick Barter lived on the island in the 1870s. A retired British sea captain, he looked after a railroad tycoon's five-room summer villa. A recluse who enjoyed the company of drink, he would pilot his dinghy he called The Nancy to Tahoe City or the South Shore to visit the local saloons, often coming back sozzled.
It was one occasion in January 1870, Captain Dick capsized his boat in the chilly waters of the lake.
"The night was of inky blackness, the weather intensely cold, the mercury being many degrees below zero,” Captain Dick told a local reporter, “I knew it was useless to call for help. I also knew if I got in my boat and attempted to reach the shore, I should certainly freeze to death.”
He made it back but ended up amputating his own toes after the harrowing experience.

Captain Dick's Chapel

Fearing the lake had his number, he chiseled a tomb in the island's granite and erected a wooden chapel and mounted a wooden cross on top. He let it be known to his bar buddies that if it ever happens again and his body washes ashore, he would like to buried on the island.
The lake did in fact have his number and claimed Captain Dick's life on October 18, 1873, as he was returning from Tom Rowland’s Lake House Saloon. His boat was found smashed to bits against the rocks at Rubicon Point.
They never found his body. His tomb on Dead Man's Island remains empty to this day. But it is said, on chilly evenings in October when the mist provides an eerie bridge to the isle, the ghost of Captain Dick can be seen rising from the lake's icy grip and climbing up the steep weathered rock in search of his final resting place on Fannette Island.

Stow Lake, California
Of all the sights to see San Francisco, Golden Gate Park's Stow Lake is understandably not necessarily at the top of the list. Surprisingly, however, it's the site of The City by the Bay's favorite ghost story.

Stow Lake

Created in 1893, the 12-acre doughnut-shaped pond is a perfect spot daytime for a stroll, a picnic, or pedal boat ride around Strawberry Hill Island. However, for those brave enough to visit after dark, you just might encounter "The White Lady". Not a shy ghost like most, she will rise out of the lake as a glowing white apparition and in a haunting yet terrified voice, she will ask you only one question, "Have you seen my baby?"
The story is as old as the lake itself. A young mother had brought her baby to the park in a stroller to enjoy the day. Stopping briefly to talk with another woman sitting on a bench, she does not notice that stroller and baby have rolled away from her and into the lake. When she realizes her baby is gone, the scene turns into every parent's nightmare as she frantically rushes around the searching for the lost child and asking everyone she sees if they have seen her baby. Her horror is only magnified when she comprehends that stroller and baby must be in the lake. She goes into the lake herself and never resurfaces.
The grief-stricken mother is never identified and the only clue that the story could be possibly true comes from a newspaper account. On July 10, 1906, The San Francisco Call reported that two girls living in a nearby camp, set up after the Great Earthquake, said they saw "the naked body of a baby floating" in nearby Lloyd Lake. According to the newspaper, police investigated and even dragged the lake but could find no trace of the body.
Over the past century, the narrative has only grown. A popular urban legend says you can even summon the lady by chanting “White lady, white lady, I have your baby" three times at the water's edge. Of course, answering her question will lead to either a lifetime of haunting or instant death, so it's probably not a good idea when you visit.
Although that pedal boat ride sounds fun. But in the daytime of course.

So do you believe in ghosts? Or are they just creepy stories passed down over the years? Whatever the answer is, these tales have become intertwined with the history and lore of the lakes. They have captured our imaginations and provide us an opportunity for a spooky paddling adventure to go see for ourselves.

THE CHRISTMAS LETTER

Christmas is a season for kindling the fire for hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart. -- Washington Irving 

It was Christmastime and I was feeling a little homesick. And like always to forget my troubles I went kayaking. I was paddling upstream along the river bank when I came across the Storyteller. Wearing rubber boots, an old leather jacket and his trademark Fedora, he was up to his ankles in the stream stooped over panning for gold. He stirred his pan carefully after standing upright, then held the pan like a waiter holding a plate picking through the big chunks of his find with his other hand.

“Winter is the most successful time of year for finding gold," he said as he noticed me coming towards him still sorting through his pan, "It was then and it still is now. Back then miners worked in freezing cold weather 10 to 12 hour days in leather boots, canvas pants, and a woolen blanket or coat. It was cold but if you were lucky you got gold.”

I beached my kayak along the shore and found a flat rock to watch him work.

"So how are you doing this holiday season?" he asked glancing up from his miner's tin. Seeing my expression he didn't let me answer before running calloused fingers through the sand and gravel again.

"Christmas was like gold in the mine camps," he explained, "Almost every miner took the holiday off, which was always a welcome relief. I think I'll take a break for a little bit too, besides my feet are getting cold in this water."

He waded out the water and sat down on the rock beside me. He was quiet for a moment while scanning his pan for anything before flecking its contents back into the river.

"They were predominantly young men who came out west seeking gold, so their Christmas celebrations were a mixture of unbridled carousing and lonely contemplation. They realized after getting out here that finding their fortune in gold was a lot harder than they previously thought," the Storyteller continued,"They found themselves in a harsh country a long way from home missing family and loved ones. And Christmas just reminded them of just how alone they were."

"One gold seeker named William," pointed out the Storyteller, "Found himself snowed in at his claim site far up along the river. It would not be much of Christmas for him he thought. Because of the drifting snow, he wouldn't be even able to make it to the gold camp to celebrate. The preacher there would offer some short Christmas message in the makeshift saloon. Then after singing a few carols, they would usher in the holiday by whooping it up and firing a gun or two into the air around the fire while a fiddler played a jig."

"Now, nobody called him Bill, " asserted the Storyteller, "It was always William. He came out here from someplace back east, maybe it was Wisconsin. He had been here for almost a year and so far hadn't had much luck and like many certainly hadn't struck it rich."

"He was spending his Christmas, alone and thinking about family back home while writing a letter to his sister Emma he wrote,

"Emma, It snowed hard all day yesterday and got so cold last night made it hard to keep a fire going. I wish that I could be at home today since it's Christmas. We could have a Christmas party. We would have the old gobbler roasted with a score of fat hens, pound cakes, pies, and lots of other good things. But the best of all would be the pleasure of seeing you all. Probably if we live we may be with you next Christmas. And signed it your loving brother, William."

"He wished he might be able to post the letter," the Storyteller speculated, "But back then especially in the wintertime,  the weather and the terrain made it difficult, he had all but given up on getting his letter out or even hearing from anyone back home till next spring. For William, it would be a gloomy Christmas indeed."

"Helloooooo," echoed through the canyon," proclaimed the Storyteller, "Happy for any type of company William grabbed his coat and flipped open the flap of his makeshift cabin door and went outside."

"The snow was gently falling through the trees where William could make out a figure in a Mackinaw jacket and wide-brimmed hat propelling quickly towards him. It was Snowshoe Thompson one of the most dedicated mail carriers of the Sierra Nevada."

"Snowshoe was wearing a pair oak skis carved himself," emphasized the Storyteller, "They were nearly ten feet long and weighed about 25 pounds. As a young boy in Norway, he had used them to travel quickly over the snow-covered terrain. As a mailman Thompson's skiing ability soon became legendary. He could rocket down mountain slopes at nearly 60 miles per hour holding his balance pole out in front of him, dipping it one direction and then the other, all while carrying a pack that could exceed 100 pounds of mail and supplies. It was said nobody could dance on the heavy wooden boards like Snowshoe Thompson."

"With his charcoal smudged cheekbones to prevent snow blindness and beard layered with ice" the Storyteller explained, " Snowshoe whisked himself up the cabin."

"God Jul! Happy Christmas! William!" He exclaimed skiing up to the entrance of the cabin."

"Now most the time," reminded the Storyteller, "Snowshoe would just throw the mail toward the house, and then glide out of sight, up and over a hill. But today being Christmas he was on a special trip to spread some Christmas cheer."

"Merry Christmas!" William called out to him," continued the Storyteller, "Come in and sit by the fire."

"But Snowshoe shook his head and said he couldn't stay long he had more deliveries to make. He pealed the rucksack off his back and set it in the snow then open its flap and reached inside of it pulling out a package wrapped in a brown paper package tied with twine."

"I thought you might be snowed in up here," Snowshoe said to William with a thick Norwegian accent "I knew when I saw this package for you in town, I just knew I had to get it to you by Christmas. So here I am. "

"Snowshoe handed the package to William," said the Storyteller, "It was his first word from home since coming to California. He held it gently and read his sister's handwriting."

"Open it would you now," said Snowshoe, "So I can see what you got for Christmas."

"William," sighed the Storyteller, "Carefully untied a string and unwrapped the package containing a knitted scarf and five folded sheets of paper. It was a letter from his sister Emma updating with news about his family back east. He quickly read the letter's opening lines."

"Dearest William
I hope this letter finds you well. I only hope searching for gold in California is treating you? With any luck, this will arrive by Christmas for I know this scarf will keep you warm. I hope it will remind you of home and how we missed you."

"William again asked Snowshoe to stay for a spell, But once again Snowshoe shook his head and said there is a storm brewing and he would like to make get his deliveries made before it hit," explained the Storyteller, "William quickly went into the cabin to retrieve his letters home and a couple of coins he had been saving to offer payment. Snowshoe took only one coin for the postage of the letters and turned down the rest before soaring off like an eagle on his skis."

"As William finished the last lines of the letter saying,

"God bless you and keep you safe till we meet again your loving sister, Emma" concluded the Storyteller, "Snowshoe was just going over the hill."

"Merry Christmas Snowshoe Thompson!" hollered William."
"God Jul! echoed back.

The Storyteller then picked up his miner's pan and went back to the river. I found my paddle and went to my kayak.

"Hey kid," the Storyteller, called out to me my boat, then with a slight pause then added "No matter where you are kid, Christmas will find you. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas to you too," I said paddling away.

Merry Christmas to all of you from Outside Adventure to the Max.

LAKE MONSTERS TALES FROM THE DEEP

I am therefore a ready believer in relics, legends, and local anecdotes of goblins and great men, and would advise all travellers who travel for their gratification to be the same. What is it to us whether these stories be true or false, so long as we can persuade ourselves into the belief of them and enjoy all the charm of the reality? -- Washington Irving

A body of water can be a downright terrifying place. Looking straight down into its murky depths any sailor, fisherman or kayaker can't help but wonder what lurks below. Unexplored storm-tossed seas and our deepest unforgiving lakes expose our innermost fears. Add a blend of cultural folklore and eyewitness accounts and our imaginations and curiosity are sparked by an opportunity  into the unknown as we scan the water's surface for sea monsters

The centuries-old legends of lake creatures and modern-day tales of sea monsters are irresistible mysteries to us all especially when there is no way to disprove they exist. Science says they don't. But, seeing is believing. Here are few places you just might want to paddle (if you dare) this Halloween or anytime, for your chance to glimpse a sea monster.


Loch Ness, Scotland.

© Hulton Archive/Getty Images

The lake monster of all lake monsters, the Loch Ness Monster, or Nessie is perhaps the most famous of the lake creatures ever since gaining worldwide attention in 1933. Described as a dinosaur-like creature from the deep, it has a long neck and protruding humps coming out of the water.

"About 30 feet in length, and nearly 10 feet in height from the water to the top of the back." Val Moffat told NOVA about his face to encounter in 1990,  "It was a bright, sunny day, the water was bright blue, and it really showed up against it. It was a mixture of browns, greens, sludgy sort of colors. I looked at it on and off for a few seconds, because I was driving. Must have seen it three or four times, and the last time I looked, it was gone!"

 Lake Windermere, England.

Called Bownessie, the younger and less famous of Britain's sea monster lives in shadow its famous cousin, the fabled Loch Ness Monster in northern England. In 2011, two Brits told the Daily Mail that they spotted three or four mysterious humps emerging from the water while they were kayaking.
"I thought it was a dog," Tom Pickles said, "Then I realized it was much bigger and moving really quickly. Each hump was moving in a rippling motion and it was swimming fast. I could tell it was much bigger underneath from the huge shadow around it."
"Its skin was like a seal's, but its shape was abnormal," said his paddling partner Sarah Harrington it's not like any animal I've ever seen before. We saw it for about 20 seconds. It was petrifying. We paddled back to the shore straight away,"
But, not before getting a fuzzy camera phone picture.

Heaven Lake

Heaven Lake, China & North Korea
 
The lake is the deepest and the largest crater lake in on the China and North Korea border. It is also the home of Lake Tianchi Monster. The first reported sighting came back 1903 when a large mouthed and buffalo-like creature attacked three people. They were only saved after the creature was shot six times and retreated under the water. More than hundred people reported seeing two monsters chasing each other in 1962 while in 2007, a Chinese TV station shot 20 minutes of video of six unidentified creatures.
"They could swim as fast as yachts and at times they would all disappear in the water. It was impressive to see them all acting at exactly the same pace, as if someone was giving orders," said TV reporter Zhuo Yongsheng, "Their fins, or maybe wings were longer than their bodies."

Lake Utopia, New Brunswick Canada

Local legend that has span centuries, says that the lake is inhabited by a sea monster known as“Old Ned." It seems the monster has a dislike for canoeists. One of the first sightings came a long time ago when two Maliseet Indians were canoeing on the lake and suddenly a terrifying eel-like monster with a large head and bloody jaws appeared chasing them to the other end. 1891, a logger gave this description of a creature,  "It was dark red in colour, the part showing above the water was 20 feet long and as big around as a small hogshead; it was much like a large eel."
In 1996, you guess it canoeist spotted the creature again, measuring “30 to 40 feet” as it swam just under the surface, “up and down” not “side to side," as eels would swim.

Lake Champlain, New York, Vermont & Quebec

Champy is the American cousin to Loch Ness' Nessie. Described by Captain Crum 1819 in an account in the Plattsburgh Republican as a black monster, about 187-feet-long and with a head resembling a seahorse, that reared more than 15 feet out of the water. He claimed the monster also had three teeth, eyes the color of "a pealed onion," adorned with a white star on its forehead and "a belt of red around the neck."
In July 1873, Clinton County's Sheriff, Nathan H. Mooney, reported seeing an  "enormous snake or water serpent." A month later, the steamship W.B. Eddy had a close encounter Champy by running into it. According to the passengers on board, the ship nearly capsized, which prompted circus showman P. T. Barnum offered a reward of $50,000 for "hide of the great Champlain serpent. Ever since approximately 600 people have claimed to have seen Champy.


Lake Norman, North Carolina

Just last summer, a 35-year-old Mecklenburg County man told CryptoZoology he spotted a “dinosaur-like creature” while traveling on a boat with friends. He claimed the creature was about 10-feet-long and reminiscent of the mythical Loch Ness monster.
Sightings date back nearly 50 years on the largest man-made lake in North Carolina and have become more common in recent years. A few dozen witnesses have posted their sightings on LakeNormanMonster.com, like this one from John Edds of Huntersville, “I was on a boat when a huge force from below knocked me overboard,” he wrote, “I got back on to my boat when I saw a Nessie-like sea monster swimming away from me. It looked about 15 feet long.” While another post came from a man and his girlfriend who saw the creature while jet skiing who wrote, “We both saw a large body come to the surface. It was dark, and shiny in some spots but was at least 14-ft long. We both were scared to death. She is now scared to swim there."

Lake Pepin, Minnesota & Wisconsin

The monster called Pepie is described as a large, serpent-like creature that lives in the shadowy depths of Lake Pepin, a lake occurring naturally at the widest part of the Mississippi River. First witnessed by river rafters in 1867, Pepie made an even a bigger splash four years later when the Wabasha County Sentinel, reported, “a marine monster between the size of an elephant and rhinoceros, moving with great rapidity.”
Sightings of the creature have continued over the years contributing to the local folklore. It is said that on a moonlit night in 1922, young Ralph Samuelson saw Pepie skimming across the lake and thought, “If a large aquatic creature can skim across the water’s surface, why can’t I?” which led to the idea behind the sport of water skiing and Lake City, Minn., is now forever known as “the birthplace of water skiing."

In 2008 businessman Larry Nielson made monster watching profitable by offering a $50,000 reward for conclusive proof of Pepie's existence as a ploy to garner tourism in the Lake City area. So far no one has collected the bounty.

Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe, Nevada & California

Tales of an up to 80-foot-long jet black serpentine creature dates back to the Gold Rush when members of area Indian tribes warned settlers about a monster dwelling in an underwater tunnel beneath Cave Rock in the famed alpine lake.

In 1865, I. C. Coggin a got first-hand look at the creature from a treetop.  In 1897, he told the San Francisco Call newspaper this chilling account.

“I heard a sound as if the dead limbs trees, willows and alders that grew in the canyon were being broken and crushed. Soon the monster appeared, slowly making his way in the direction where I was hidden in the tree top and passed on to the lake within 50 feet of where I was, and as his snakeship got by I partly recovered from my fright and began to estimate his immense size."

Not stopping there he continued with his eerie tale, "After his head passed my tree about 70 feet, he halted and reared his head in the air fifty feet or more. His monstrous head was about 14 feet wide and his large eyes seemed to be almost eight inches in diameter and shining jet black and seemed to project more than half the size from his head. The neck was about ten feet and the body in the largest portion must have been twenty feet in diameter."

The headline in the paper screamed Lake Tahoe's Big Serpent and the word of Tessie spread just like the saying, "There is gold in them hills!" Over the decades, off-duty police officers, fishermen, bartenders and kayak instructors have all reported seeing an unusually large creature swimming in the lake.

In the 1970's it is said that renowned, French oceanographer, Jacques Cousteau wanted to see for himself. In a mini-submarine, while exploring the depths of the lake he reportedly encountered something so horrifying that all he could not even bring himself to talk about it saying, "The world wasn't ready for what was down there!"

Courtesy of The Daily Inter Lake

While there no hard evidence for the existence of these creatures, these lakes are vast and largely unexplored giving the possibility of their presence to make sense to us, considering the mysterious environment. Believers say that these creatures represent a line of surviving dinosaurs while  most of the scientific community regards them as a tall-tale without any biological proof.

So while these lake monsters have evaded our detection, they have captured our imaginations providing us with an opportunity to have an adventure searching for them.

A few other famous lake monsters: Bear Lake Monster, Bear Lake, Utah & Idaho, Manipogo, Lake Manitoba, Canada, Cressie, Crescent Lake, Newfoundland, Memphre, Lake Memphremagog, Vermont,  Nahuelito, Nahuel Huapi Lake, Argentina, Ogopogo, Okanagan Lake, British Columbia, Ray, Raystown Lake , Pennsylvania,Bessie Lake Eerie, Vermont & Quebec,  Storsjöodjuret, Lake Storsjön, Sweden and Lake Van Monster Lake Van, Turkey.