Lake George Monster

The Lake George Monster, also known as Georgie, was a creature created as part of a hoax in New York State during the early twentieth century.

Description
Georgie was created from a ten-foot cedar log to which was attached a monstrous neck and head featuring huge eyes, a wide mouth with red fangs, and a set of whiskers made from frayed hemp. It was attached to an anchor and sturdy rope, by which means it could be raised and lowered in the water to give the impression of the beast surfacing and diving.

History
In 1904, a man named Harry Watrous, a keen fisherman, made a bet with his friend Colonel William d’Alton Mann, over who could land the biggest catch. After Mann fooled Watrous into thinking he had bagged a 40lb monster by having a dummy fish assembled which at first glance appeared to be the real thing, Watrous decided to have a little fun himself. He proceeded to have Georgie constructed in an attempt to have the Colonel believe that there was in fact a previously unknown creature in residence in Lake George.

After word of the first sightings began to spread, Watrous later had the “creature” transported to different locations around the lake in order to keep the ruse going, but thirty years later admitted to the fact that the whole thing had been an elaborate hoax.

The dummy monster still exists as an exhibit at the Clifton F. West Historical Museum in Hague, New York State.