Mussie of Muskrat Lake
In a deep lake in Ontario, people report a creature with three eyes. Legend says even Samuel de Champlain met it.
What was reported
Muskrat Lake, near the town of Cobden in Ontario, is said to be home to Mussie, a lake monster described in different ways: as a walrus-like animal with tusks, as a long, green, scaly creature, and often as having three eyes.
Local legend claims that the explorer Samuel de Champlain saw it in 1613, when he travelled through the area. Champlain did pass by: an astrolabe thought to be his was found near Cobden in 1867. But no record of a monster sighting by him survives.
Explanations offered
Sceptics suggest large fish such as sturgeon, otters or floating logs. Muskrat Lake is unusual: its deepest water hardly mixes with the layers above and has little oxygen, which interests scientists but makes large animals unlikely. Mussie is now a local mascot.
- When
- Reported since the 1900s
- Where
- Muskrat Lake, Cobden, Ontario, Canada
- Witnesses
- Residents and visitors
- Status
- Unconfirmed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
More from Ontario