Swamp Monsters

Lake Springfield’s Suspicious Serpent

Springfield, Illinois, is in central Illinois, in the Midwest USA, west of Decatur. It is the state capital and the county seat of Sangamon County. The Sangamon River, which flows near Decatur and Springfield was impounded to make Lake Decatur. But the manmade Lake Springfield is a reservoir built by impounding water upstream of Spaulding Dam on Sugar Creek. The water for the lake comes from rain falling directly on Lake Springfield, however, the predominant supply is runoff from the 265-square-mile watershed that lies primarily southwest of the lake, most notably from Lick and Sugar Creeks and their tributaries, that [...]

Penn Giant Snake Eats Kittens

One hundred years ago, explorer Colonel Percy Harrison Fawcett was sent by the Royal Geographic Society to make a thorough survey of the Rio Abuna and Acre Rivers. He encountered a Giant Snake. Today, sightings of a large serpent have stirred the media in the Midwest USA. Click image for full-size version Fawcett ran across his snake in 1907, as he was drifting along the Rio Negro. Fawcett shot the creature and finally examined it on the river bank where it came ashore. According to Fawcett, the snake measured 45 feet out of the water and 17 in it, for [...]

Maine Mystery Beast Back?

Two major attacks in which over 26 sheep have been killed in central coast Maine have occurred. These killings have taken place in a pasture in Wiscasset, Maine, over the last weekend and on Monday, June 3-5, 2007. Read full details here. Dogs are being blamed, at the moment, but hair samples and bite marks are being examined to make a better determination of what animal or animals are behind these attacks. The killings do not match coyote kills. This is a breaking story in Maine, and I’ll update developments later, as more news arrives. The Downeast Maine location is [...]

Maddening Mystery of Maine Mutant Muddled

The dead dog near the road was photographed by Michelle O’Donnell, Turner, Maine, August 2006. Click on the image to make it bigger. The Maine Mystery Beast is back. Well, at least, the animal discovered next to Route 4, which was incorrectly labeled as the killer of livestock and pets, is. Mark LaFlamme called yesterday, and interviewed me about the claims of a Florida woman that the dog probably killed by a vehicle barreling down Route 4 was her’s. Anything is possible, but the problem with this whole new sidebar to last summer’s sensational story rests in the matter of [...]