MonsterQuest was a show largely about cryptic creatures that debuted in October of 2007 and ran for three seasons before vanishing and being replaced by a series of inferior imitations. The series was far better grounded than most, incorporating history of the supposed hidden life form under investigation, eyewitness accounts, and even commentary by actual scientists!
I’m pleased to see that MonsterQuest is back for a fourth season on the History Channel as a series of specials, the first of which aired recently and concerned “Serpentine Creatures” or “Lake Demons,” essentially oversized, monster eels in North American lakes.
In Lake Ontario in 1974, an eel fisherman was reportedly lifted out of the water by an eel that he could barely escape. “Cressie” is said to exist in New Foundland, reportedly measuring 20 to 40 feet in length. Then there’s the gold standard of North American lake monsters, Ogopogo, said to measure up to a whopping 50′ in length and to inhabit Lake Okanagan in Canada! Ogopogo is said to have a snake-like body displayed in coils, and about seven sightings a year are reported by diverse people.
Pursuing Cressie, the MonsterQuest investigative team engineered a search that combined a helicopter team with a dive boat. The helicopter crew spotted a thermal signature from the air, summoning then the dive boat to do a search. The divers found sink holes in the lake, but encountered considerable silt obstruction. They found a carcass that was hoped might be a juvenile specimen, but later scientific testing proved it to be nothing more than a deteriorated salmon…
While the tone of the episode was reminiscent of the old MonsterQuest series, it really wasn’t exciting to me personally, dragging at times to the point of becoming almost tedious. Giant eels really don’t float my boat, although they might if they were actually under it! Hopefully episode 2 concerning Bigfoot will interject a little of the old series excitement…
FOXSYLVANIA 
You must be logged in to post a comment.