3. The Flathead Lake Monster is an enormous aquatic animal that allegedly resides in Montana
The Flathead Lake Monster, originating from Kutenai traditions, is a creature that supposedly dwells in Flathead Lake, Montana. The creature is typically described as an enormous eel-shaped animal with a body akin to that of a snake, measuring between twenty to forty feet in length, blue-black skin, and grey-black eyes.
According to the tribe’s legend, the first inhabitants of the region lived on an island in the middle of Flathead Lake. On one winter day, whilst crossing the frozen lake two girls saw antlers sticking through the ice and believing they belonged to a drowned animal decided to cut them off. After cutting into the two-foot-long antlers the ice split open to reveal the monster, the awakening of whom caused the drowning of half the residents of the lake; this explanation is often provided in folklore for the small number of Kutenai people.
Similar to the Loch Ness Monster in Scotland modern reports of the Flathead Lake Monster are abundant in the local area, including a claim in 1889 by Captain James Kerr, thirteen such reports in 1993, and an alleged rescue of a 3-year-old drowning boy by the Monster. The creature was taken sufficiently seriously that in the 1950s a significant reward was offered for the capture of the “superfish”, but despite numerous efforts, no firm evidence of existence has ever been recovered.