Is this America’s Loch Ness Monster? Tourists claim to spot strange phenomenon linked to mysterious legendary sea monster named Champy living in spectacular lake

A recent sighting at Lake Champlain has reignited the discussion over whether America has its own version of the Loch Ness Monster.

Visitors staying at Marine Village Cottages along Point au Roche claimed they spotted a strange object moving through the water while they were visiting the sprawling lake on August 7.

Beth Haig said she was the first to witness the strange creature, according to a report in the Adirondack Explorer.

‘It looked like a wave, but then you could see a serpent kind of thing going on. It would go up and down, moving across the lake and it was large,’ Haig said.

The sighting in the lake near the New York-Vermont border prompted new speculations about it being Champy, the mysterious creature believed to inhabit the lake’s depths.

Hailee Finkle, who accompanied Haig, filmed a 24-second video on her phone before the creature vanished.

‘I’m definitely more of a scientific person, but it was weird seeing it in person,’ she said. ‘I’m trying to believe it might be something besides scientific,’ she said.

Susan Sisti, Haig’s mother, said the strange creature was gliding at the speed of a small motor boat.

‘It was almost like there was an alligator partly under the water. The front part was like the top of the head. Then you saw a couple of raised areas behind it,’ Sisti said.

‘But it was at least three or four times the size of any alligator I’ve ever seen. Not that I’ve seen an alligator on Lake Champlain,’ she added.

Stories about Champy have been told for centuries, long enough to inspire local businesses like themed cafes, products and storefronts along Lake Champlain and draw tourists to the picturesque lake.

With more than a hundred alleged sightings of Champy, the first one is often attributed to Samuel de Champlain, the founder of Québec and the lake’s namesake, in 1609.

The explorer described the mysterious creature as a 5-foot gar ‘as big as my thigh a head as large as my two fists, a body protected by scales of a silvery gray colour and so strong that a dagger could not pierce them.’

Many have described Champy as a ‘giant sea serpent’ or a ‘dragon-like beast,’ including a sighting by a certain Captain Crum, who told The Plattsburgh Republican that he saw a 187-foot black serpent in Bulwagga Bay in 1819.

It had a head shaped like a seahorse, ‘three teeth… a white star in the forehead, a belt of red around the neck,’ and enormous eyes ‘the color of peeled onion,’ according to the newspaper.

Champy is often compared to Scotland’s famous Loch Ness Monster, another mythical creature whose popularity has far outlived any credible evidence of its existence.

Filmmakers Kelly Tabor and Richard Rossi allegedly spotted the sea creature on camera in early June this year.

They documented a gigantic, mysterious shape in Lake Champlain, which viewers said is proof that Champ exists.

‘To see our hometown legend of Champ being debated and celebrated from New York to Tokyo is an incredible honor for our entire lake community,’ Tabor told the outlet.

‘When I saw it, I saw it was like a skinny neck, and that the body got larger,’ Tabor told the Daily Mail.

‘It looked like the skinny neck was oscillating back and forth, as if it was grazing underwater. My eyes were just popping out.’

Rossi said it is always good to get footage of any sightings checked by experts. 

‘It’s exciting to hear about new sightings. We encourage all new sightings to go through a vetting process of having scientists with PhD degrees examine them as we our doing with our sighting,’ he told the Daily Mail.

The duo is now working on The Secrets of Lake Champlain, the sequel to their movie Lucy and the Lake Monster. 

The movie is in post production and is expected to be ready for release to theaters nationwide in 2027. ‘We look forward to sharing it with all of you,’ he said. 

Despite the alleged sightings, many people remain sceptical that Champy exists.

Experts have said that large lakes can often create optical illusions, Adirondack Explorer reported.

It can be floating logs, swimming animals, clumps of seaweed and unusual light conditions that create the appearance of something far more mysterious than reality.

However, both New York and Vermont governments have said that the creature ‘should not be disturbed, injured or harassed’ if it exists.

As for the recent sighting, Haig said she doesn’t believe the sighting was Champ but it was still interesting.

‘I grew up on that lake. I’ve never seen this before,’ she said.