Fitch Bits: Champ

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This post was originally shared as a Facebook and Instagram "DID YOU KNOW" post.

We share them weekly and you can get in on the fun by liking us at Facebook.com/TheNewSlightlyOddFitchburg and following us at Instagram.com/SlightlyOddFitchburg! Now onto the odd story!


DID YOU KNOW

that New England has its own lake monster?

Champ is his name, and being a cryptid is his game! He's said to live in the waters of Lake Champlain in Vermont. There have been more than 300 documented sightings, and P.T. Barnum, himself, once offered a $20,000 reward to anyone who could bring him the creature, dead or alive.

One of the earliest sightings by Western eyes was in 1819 by a ship's captain. He reported that he saw a creature over 180 feet long with "eyes like peeled onions!"

The story goes even further back in time, though. The Iroquois and Abenaki tribes both have ancient legends of a lake monster that lurked in the lake and ate people. The Abenaki even had a name for it: "Tatoskok"!

So is it true? I don't know, what do you think?

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About the Author

Ed Sweeney documents folklore, odd history, hauntings, and cryptid cases at SlightlyOddAmerica.com. He wrote Slightly Odd Fitchburg: The Odd and Haunted History of Central Massachusetts, is a content creator, and founder of the Slightly Odd Society

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