The Thetis Lake Monster.
The Thetis Lake Monster or The Canadian Lizard Man, is a cryptid that was sighted twice on Vancouver Island, Canada.
The creature was first found by two teenagers in 1972, and a police investigation followed. The monster was described as a five-foot (1.5m) tall aquatic reptilian humanoid, and it resembled a human lizard with a large head covered in barbed spikes.
First sighting[]
Four days later, two men reported that the same creature was swimming in the lake and said that the lizardman was covered in silver scales. Within a week, a man reported that his pet lizard Tegu, an aggressive lizard that can grow four feet long, disappeared. Police closed their investigation, stating that the lizardman was the lizard, however, many locals still believe that the Lake Thetis monster is still alive in the lake. Lake Thetis was the first regional conservation area in Canada and was established in 1958.
It spans approximately 831 hectares of protected forests and parks. Approximately 20 minutes from Victoria, and located off the Old Island Highway and a regional trail, it is a popular spot for hiking, swimming, fishing, and boating.
Second sighting[]
However, on August 22, 1972, the Victoria Daily Times reported that two local teenagers claimed to have been chased from the beach at Lake Thetis by a creature that roughly resembled Gill-man from the creature from the black lagoon. One of the teens claimed to have been clipped on the hand by the creature, which showed three webbed toes and fingers, along with spiked fins on its skull, arms and legs, leading to an investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Mounted.
Third sighting[]
It is described as "roughly triangular in shape, about five feet (~ 1.5 m) high and five feet from the base." At the time, the officer stated that "the guys seem sincere and until we determine otherwise, we have no choice but to continue our investigation." Four days after the story was reported, two men claimed to have seen the creature on the opposite side of the lake since its first appearance. According to one, "he came out of the water and looked around him. Then he came back into the water. So we ran!" The boys described the creature as "shaped like an ordinary body, like a human body, but it had a monster face, and was scaly with a point protruding from its head and large large ears." They believed that the creature had a human-shaped face, although it appeared to have scaly blue and silver colored skin.
Unfortunately, 2 of the 4 testimonials came forward and claimed their sightings were conspicuous hoaxes. Whether this is true of the 2 witnesses remains in question.
Similar creatures have been reported from places like Ohio, Delaware, Louisiana, and North Carolina, for at least the last century. They are said to be related to another cryptozoological creature, the Chupacabra. Lake monsters like this are said to exist all over the world. The Haida mythology of Queen Charlotte Islands describes a similar creature, with a face similar to a face, two tails, and often wears a hat. This creature is often feared by Haida canoeists.
Trivia[]
- The Lake Thetis Monster was the inspiration for the late film director, Jack Arnold to create the Gill-Man from the Universal Monsters film The Creature from the Black Lagoon.
- In some versions, The Lake Thetis Monster is described as a Humanoid Amphibian or as a Man-Fish.