Onondaga Lake
Syracuse, New York, United States
Syracuse, New York, United States
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| Cub Scout Troop 400's patch. |
Oggie is a giant salamander-like creature inhabiting Onondaga Lake, one of the polluted lakes in the country, near Syracuse, New York.
Origin
The Onondagas and Iroquois told of monsters in Onondaga Lake that would occasionally come on land to terrorize families, and they built fortifications to protect themselves from the creatures. However, several urban legends also attempt to explain the creature's origins.
One story goes that in the summer of 1972 a young boyscout returned from a camping trip in upstate New York's Camp Woodland with a salamander he had found while sitting on a log. Initially the boy's parents allowed him to keep the creature, but eventually he lost interest in it and his mother began insisting that it be released. One night the boy's father snuck into his room, took the creature out of its box, and flushed it down the toilet, feeling it would have no chance of survival in the harsh Syracuse winter.
The salamander survived the flush and ended up in Onondaga Lake, where the hazardous chemicals that filled the lake slowly mutated the creature until it had grown into a monster.
Others say that Oggie is some sort of descendant of algae blooms and bacteria colonies in the polluted lake, and still others say it's a phantom (out-of-place) alligator.
The Sightings
In 1977 people began noticing a bizarre creature in the lake, and members of the Syracuse branch of Cub Scout Troop 400 reported that they had seen a dragon swimming not far offshore. The monster is now the troop's mascot.
Due to its description as a giant salamander, Oggie bears some resemblance to the giant salamanders of California.
Fame
The creature is a local celebrity, and a 14 foot-long statue of it is included in the area's yearly Halloween celebrations.
