lake monsters
Legendary freshwater beasts
Lake monsters are legendary creatures said to inhabit large bodies of freshwater—the Loch Ness Monster being the most famous example.
Reports typically describe serpentine or prehistoric-looking animals glimpsed briefly at the surface.
Most lakes of any size have attracted such legends, though no specimen has ever been captured or conclusively documented: Believers scan the water for signs of the lake monster.
- Loch Ness MonsterLegendary Scottish lake creature
- sea serpentLegendary aquatic monster
- cryptidUnproven legendary animal
- Loch NessScottish lake, alleged monster
- plesiosaurExtinct marine reptile
Nessie · kelpie · water spirits · Selma · folklore · local legend · hoax · urban legends · mockumentary · pseudoscience · mermaid · sonar · grainy footage · leviathan · eyewitness · Great Lakes · tourist attraction · water dragon
- American folklorePaul Bunyan, tall tales, folk heroes, John Henry, folk narratives
- cryptidsBigfoot, sasquatch, yeti, Nessie, Loch Ness Monster
- water folklorewater spirits, water nymphs, naiads, river spirits, mermaids
- Lake Imageryserene waters, scenic beauty, frozen lakes, mist, fog
- nature mythsnature spirits, creation stories, origin stories, world tree, tree of life
- geomythologyflood myths, sacred mountains, crater lakes, sacred springs