The Lake Norman Monster - is it a hoax, or is it real? The question has been asked here for more than a quarter century. At first, Normie’s existence was only a rumor, started by an individual who claimed he saw something very large swimming in the lake.
Next were tales from anonymous scuba divers inspecting the dam. As they swam near the bottom of the lake, a burst of water pushed them toward the rocks, and something large swimming above them turned the water black by obscuring the sunlight. The astonished divers reportedly freaked out!
Hundreds of monster sightings have been reported since - so many, in fact, that a Web site was developed by Matt Myers for people to post their observations. In 2007, 10 different incidents were reported.
Matt learned years ago that those who report sightings of UFOs hovering overhead or mermaids, monsters or alligators in the lake are viewed with suspicion. However, he wanted a venue to welcome such discussions without fear of reprisal or criticism.
That’s when he created www.lakenormanmonster.com.
While some sightings are suspect, Matt says there is enough substance to think there might be a creature lurking below the water’s surface. He cites the following comments as giving weight to the monster theories:
* “Its eyes were the size of basketballs.”
* “It had a huge body with two large fins.”
* “I was swimming in the northern part of the lake when I saw the water divide, and something sticking out of the water was coming toward me.”
* “The ‘catfish’ I saw was definitely bigger than I was. It was dark gray and approximately 4 feet long and 2 feet wide.”
When asked why the increased interest in Normie, Matt says “Other large lakes have legendary monsters, so why not Norman? Lake Norman is the state’s largest lake, with water depths to over 130 feet, and it has more than 500 miles of shoreline - lots of room for a monster to roam.”
And the increased sightings have everyone keeping an eye out, he said.
“Newspaper articles about record catfish from LKN, stories about big garfish, recent stockings of grass carp (that grow to huge portions) and reports of people catching the dreaded snakehead fish have everyone scanning the water,” Matt said.
He also cited a rumor about a biological experiment that possibly went awry. Years ago, Arkansas Blue Catfish and Wyoming Buffalo Carp were reportedly cross-bred in hopes of producing a fish that would grow to 1,000 pounds and provide excellent table fare.
Rumors are these fish were stocked in Lake Norman. To date, none have been caught.
(Original headline: Web site users share Lake Norman monster sightings )
