Charleston Lake is situated in Canada 30miles north of Kingston. It is approximately 9 miles long and about 4 miles wide with a depth of over 450 feet( 150 metres) in some places. There is said to be a strange creature living in the lake nicknamed Charlie by the residents. It has been recorded as being seen for over 100 years.
- In 1897 Noah Shook claimed he was pursued by a large, hissing creature.
- In 1947 three fisherman reported that they had seen a dinosaur type creature swimming in Tallow Bay Rock.
- In 1994, Mr. H while visiting the place his father’s ashes were scattered on the lake , saw what he described as being a large rain slick in the water. "I had never seen any thing in the like that before" he said.
- In 1997, a couple travelling at night claimed they saw waves that were 3 to 4 feet high, caused by something in the water. There wasn’t any wind and the water was calm and there were no boats in the area.
- Charlie is not the only strange creature in the area:
- There have also been reports of a snake like creature, living in Red Horse Lake located in nearby Lyndhurst. The creature is said to be greenish black, a head like a horse with small breathing tubes on its head and it about 60(20 metres) to 80 feet ( 26 metres) long.
- Fisherman have reported seeing a long black body in the water
In the 1970s, an unnamed woman , said she was leaning over her small row boat in order to grab a bullfrog for her pond when a creature "just popped its head right out of the water and looked at me!" The woman screamed from fright and the creature dived beneath the water leaving foaming bubbles. The woman left immediately.
Both lakes are in The Charleston Provincial Park. The park also provides habitat for the rare black rat snake which is also the largest snake found in the area. The Black Rat Snake (Elaphe obsoleta) sometimes called a pilot black snake is a non-venomous species . It prefers wooded areas and is known for having the ability to climb the trunk of large mature trees . It is known to reach lengths of 8 feet( 2.6 metres) but one was found that was 9.1 (3metres) feet long.
Now what if it fell from a tree into a lake? That would explain the hissing creature that chased Mr Shook all those years ago. It may also account for some of the other sightings but not all of them. Just a thought for Friday..
Heretofore I had only heard of the 1947 "Dinosaur" which I had asumed to be the typical report in the area. That does not sound so clear to me now and I guess that some of the reports could be seals or otters (they hiss, too, you know)or just unusual water conditions. That "Rain slick" does not sound like an animal at all, unless some sort of seal was leaving a grease slick.
ReplyDeleteA snake? It's simply not possible to mistake a snake head a mere 2" wide for that of some water creature as described. Besides, while the black rat snake loves the edges of swamps, lakes and rivers because of all the succulent amphibians which frequent those neighborhoods, I'm pretty sure it is not a swimmer/diver. Thus that snake wouldn't even be in the lake, much less popping up from a submarine swim for a periscope lookie-loo.
ReplyDeleteI think in a land-locked lake it was more likely a muskrat, nutria or beaver, maybe even an otter (but not a seal in a lake!). Lets not rule out Mr. Submerged Log or Ms. Waterlogged Branch. That is, if it wasn't some 80-foot horse-headed sea serpent.