5. Ogopogo Lake Okanagan in British Columbia, Canada, is said to be the home of a Nessie-like aquatic creature called Ogopogo. The origin of the monster's name is itself a matter of some contention. One story has it that "Ogopogo" is a Native American term meaning "the remorseful one," in a reference to an Indian legend of a murderer who was transformed into a hideous serpent as punishment for his crimes. But it turns out that the actual Indian name for the creature is "N'ha-a-tik," and "Ogopogo" is actually derived from satirical rewrite of an old English dance hall song, which ran in part as follows: His mother was an earwig, His father was a whale; A little bit of head and hardly any tail -- And Ogopogo was his name. Sightings of Ogopogo run back as far as 1860, when the Lake Okanagan area was first colonized by settlers of European descent. The earliest reports involve objects floating across the water that at first looked like logs, but then suddenly began to move -- a description that has recurred in Ogopogo sightings through the years. Captain Thomas Shorts saw a 15-foot creature from the deck of his steamer in 1890. In 1914 a strange animal carcass with flippers and a long tail was pulled from Lake Okanagan, measuring five feet and weighing 400 pounds, but it was most likely a manatee. A 1925 report in a Vancouver newspaper popularized the Okanagan monster legend and led to the usage of the Ogopogo name. In 1959 a group on a motorboat noticed what appeared to be a large creature trailing them. They turned and headed toward the creature, getting within 175 feet and seeing its snake-like head before it disappeared under the waves. Another group reported a similar experience in 1968, saying they chased after Ogopogo at 40 mph but were unable to keep up. Also in 1968, Arthur Folden captured film footage of the supposed creature with his 8mm movie camera. Although extremely hazy (as seen in the still picture shown on this page), the single minute of footage appears to have recorded an aquatic animal between 50 and 70 feet in length, quickly diving and surfacing and leaving a wake behind it. Some observers claim to see a head, a tail and a three-humped back, but these features are indefinite. Fearing public ridicule, Folden kept the film private until 1970, when he turned it over to the local mayor. The subsequent public screening sparked an immediate sensation, with the film being largely discredit as fake or inconclusive. Discouraged, Folden disappeared from the media's reaches and refused further examination of his film. Next: Ed Fletcher's Ogopogo Photos Back to Cryptozoo Entrance Paranormal message board: Share your views