LINDSAY SELBY: Quebec lake monsters

Misiganebic, a lake creature with a horse's head, or sometimes described as having a snake- or eel-like head, is said to exist in several lakes in the Quebec area. It has been reported in at least eight lakes including Blue-Sea, Cedars, Bitobi, Baskatong Reservoir, Lake Desert and Lake Pocknock. There is also an intriguingly named 'Snake Lake' nearby. According to locals Blue Sea lake, Cedars lake and Bitobi lake are inter-connected. The legend about Misiganebic started with the indigenous people of the area.

Blue Sea Lake is about 90 kilometres (56 miles) north of Gatineau. It is known for its crystal clear water. The story goes that a monstrous snake-like animal with a horse head lived in the lake and was seen by several people between 1913 and 1930. It was said to be very long and a very fast swimmer. The next report of its appearance was in 1980 in the Baskatong Reservoir, located further north. This change of venue was thought to be due to the increase of tourism around the lake and the increased use of motorboats and noise.

The creature was also said to have been seen in Lake Williams in 1928 but looking slightly different. While on a camping trip to the lake, Rev. A. D. MacKinnon and his family came upon a huge, horny-pelted creature, which they described as resembling a hippopotamus. The animal, which appeared to be both aquatic and able to move on land, crawled about in the muddy, shallow waters near shore, browsing in the mud and snapping at passing fish. Mr MacKinnon and his party merely gazed at it from a safe distance and then it went under the surface of the water. It was known that huge sturgeons inhabited the lake but Rev MacKinnon insisted that the strange creature he saw was not a fish. He said it wasn’t an actual hippopotamus but looked like one. The reverend had been in charge of the Union church there for many years and his truthfulness was considered unquestionable. (N.B. This may have been a different creature)

Lake Saint-Jean is also said to be the occasional home to the snake-head monster.


In 1880 a snake "as thick as a telegraph pole " colour "dark green", was seen between the lighthouse and the shore. Since 1975, with a peak in 1980, local newspapers reported persistent observations of a "monster in the lake."


In (as far as I can establish, I had to translate this from French and I am out of practice) 2000, a Mr Geoffroy and his son, saw an unidentified animal from the edge of Lake Brochu. It made a wave, a convex shape in the water as it swam. Mr Geoffroy’s engine on his boat was 120 horse power so he set off in pursuit. He was going 35 miles per hour (56km / h) but could not catch up with it. He said it was not of fish under the surface because it went too fast and a fish would not cause the wake he saw. The claim was that it was a prehistoric beast stuck there as the Gouin dam basin was formerly open to the sea.

Mocking Lake is also located in Quebec, Canada. Local villagers say that a twelve (4 metres) to eighteen feet (6 metres) long creature lives in the lake with a saw-tooth-shaped fin on its back. A grey creature thirty-five feet( 11.1 metres) long was seen by Donat Lavaseur (no date) and a Mr and Mrs Gage saw a large creature come up out of the water when they were fishing. They saw its head and nine feet (3 metres) of its back. ( again no date)

My translation may be a bit off in places but it appears Quebec is home to several or one travelling snake-head lake creature plus a hippopotamus-type creature. If anyone has any information please post a comment.