NEWS

​Like Loch Ness in Scotland, many U.S. lakes lay claim to monsters, ranging from giant snakes to dinosaur-like creatures. Reports of sightings go back centuries. Many of these were reported by Native Americans; among these are Lake Tahoe’s huge serpent “Tessie,” and Wallowa Lake, Oregon’s “Wally,” also a snakelike creature. Other snakelike creatures include Willy of Lake Willoughby in Vermont and Lake Erie’s “Bessie,” first sighted in the 1700s. Vermont’s Lake Memphremagog boasts “Memphre,” similar in type to the Loch Ness Monster. And Lake Champlain has “Champ,” 30 feet in length with a long slender neck, a small head, and flippers. “Champ” has supposedly been spotted over 100 times.

Not to be outdone, Lake Norman also boasts its own monster, “Normie.”  According to a June 7, 2023, report on WRAL, the story of Normie may also be rooted in Native American legend. The Catawba Indians told tales of huge snakes and giant leech-like creatures inhabiting the Catawba river. Modern sightings have all occurred since the lake was formed in the 1960s. Descriptions of Normie vary widely. A scuba diver who encountered him described him as, “A creature with a doglike head and red eyes.” Luckily, the diver suffered damage to only one of his flippers. According to WRAL, some say Normie is as large as a stretch limo; others describe a monster with eyes that glow in the dark or an enormous fin approaching them as they swam. An October 6, 2020, story on WCCB revealed that when a schoolteacher on a field trip with her students saw Normie, she described what seemed to be large dolphin diving and cresting.

There are a number of explanations for such sightings. Some think Normie is an overgrown alligator; alligators have recently been removed from the lake. Others say he is a giant fish, perhaps mutated because of discharge from the McGuire Nuclear Station. There is some basis for this latter explanation. The Carolina Sportsman reports that in 1969, the Catawba River and Lake Norman were stocked with blue catfish. They are the only fish to eat the freshwater mussels in the lake, and thus don’t have to compete with other fish for food. Some have grown to weigh over 80 pounds. The June 2023 report on WRAL quotes fishing guide Gus Gustafson, saying that the huge fish were the result of an experiment to cross an Arkansas Blue Catfish with a Wyoming Buffalo Carp to grow a big, tasty fish. He speculates that some of the resulting fish may have been released into the lake and have been growing ever since.

Others speculate that people actually are seeing a large bowfin fish, one of only two surviving species from a group of fish that first appeared around 250 million years ago. This seems doubtful, however, since bowfin reach a maximum size of 43 inches and 23 pounds. Another purported culprit, the hellbender salamander, has the same problem since they grow only to about 30 inches. Of course, if such a creature mutated because of proximity to the nuclear plant, it might be larger.

Supposed sighting of the Lake Norman Monster. One wonders why the woman doesn’t appear more excited. (Photo Found on https://cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/Lake_Norman_Monster?file=7281999_f520.jpg)

Whatever the case, Normie definitely has become popular. He has appeared on an episode of Amazon’s American Monsters, as well as an episode of Boogeyman on the cable network Destination America. He is the star of the children’s book “Normie”: The Lake Norman Monster.

He even has his own webpage: lakenormanmonster.com, where you can purchase this book, another named Lake Norman Monster: A Decade of Sightings, tee-shirts, and a plush Normie toy. Normie has allegedly appeared recently near Troutman, Twin Coves, and Sherills Ford. And there are sightseeing tours around the lake where you might be able to spot him. Unfortunately, there are no verified sightings of or photos of Normie yet, but you never know where he might be. Be sure to keep an eye out and your camera ready while you are cruising the lake.