From a giant octopus to an eel pig – here’s America’s weirdest lake monster myths

THE Loch Ness Monster isn’t the only mythical lake creature that has left people terrified over the decades.

There’s been multiple lake monster sightings across the US and these range from claims of a giant octopus to a half eel half pig creature.

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Clik here to view.Courtesy of Allen Plaster

Lake Worth Monster rumors caused hysteria in the 1960s[/caption]

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Clik here to view.Nebraska State Historical Society

This is an artists impression of the Alkali Lake Monster[/caption]

Atlas Obscura created a map of all the ‘lake monsters’ in America.

Here’s four of the creepiest sounding creatures that might make you think twice about going for a swim.

Giant Octopus of Lake Thunderbird

Even though an octopus technically wouldn’t be able to survive in a freshwater lake, there’s still a rumor that there’s one in Oklahoma.

A giant octopus myth surrounds Lake Thunderbird.

Myths and rumors suggest the octopus is as large as a horse with long tentacles that drag swimmers to their deaths.

Lake Worth Monster

You could avoid a giant octopus if you stayed out the water but you’d have to take on Texas’s Lake Worth Monster on land.

The monster of Lake Worth caused mass hysteria back in 1969.

According to Texan folklore, it’s a legendary creature that inhabits Lake Worth at the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge.

It’s said to be part man, part goat and lives on land and in the water.

In the late 1960s, newspapers reported on sighting of the monster.

It allegedly jumped out of a tree onto a man’s car and left a trail of dead sheep with snapped necks around the lake.

Some people blamed high school students in a costume but no culprit was ever caught.

Eel Pig of Herrington Lake

Kentucky has its own lake monster myth.

Folklore states there’s an eel-like pig creature with a long curly tail that lives in Herrington Lake.

One theory for the tale is that sightings were actually of a giant alligator.

Alkali Lake Monster

The monster of Alkali Lake in Nebraska had an eye witness report in 1923.

The shocked witness said it looked like an alligator with a single rhino-like horn.

It was also said to roar from the water and apparently smelled terrible.

Sightings peaked in the 1920s and no reasonable explanation for the monster sightings was agreed upon.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Illustrations by Dylan Thuras. Used with permission of Atlas Obscura

Atlas Obscura think Kentucky’s eel-pig monster could look like this[/caption]

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Clik here to view.Getty

A giant octopus myth surrounds Lake Thunderbird in Oklahoma[/caption]

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Illustrations by Dylan Thuras. Used with permission of Atlas Obscura

The monster of Alkali Lake was said to have a rhino-like horn[/caption]

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And, here’s how an electron microscope can make tiny creatures look like terrifying monsters.