Mysterious Creature?

I present a link to this story because I always strive to give everyone fodder for future horror stories. Don't say I never give ya anything...

The Vancouver Sun is only one of many publications that ran a story the past few weeks about a furry 'gargoyle-like' creature dragged ashore from a northern Ontario lake by a dog. This occurred on the First Nations Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug reserve, located much closer to Hudson Bay than to Thunder Bay. For those of you unfamiliar with Ontario geography that's waaaayyyy up north.

Commentors on the article speculate the creature is a decomposed otter or perhaps a marten or fisher. The Kitchenuhmaykoosib website notes that "No one knows what it is, but our ancestors used to call it the Ugly One...Rarely seen, but when seen, it's a bad omen. Something bad will happen, according to our ancestors."

We used to have a small fish pond in our last house in Ontario. One day I found an odd creature floating in the water. It appeared to be a bloated squirrel with the fur mostly skinned from it's body. Needless to say, it didn't look very squirrelish any more....and I certainly didn't want to delve into why it was missing it's fur...

I don't know if the creature was sent off for testing by biologists or veterinarians or whatever, but something inside me says that some mysteries are best left vague and murky. Perhaps the story should be tucked away in the Loch Ness or Sasquatch files.

Speaking of mysterious and the nether-regions of Ontario...I have heard from a reliable source that the enthusiastic and talented Cathy Olliffe will be starting her 'American week' tomorrow at Life on the Muskoka River. I must admit that I figured that she wouldn't get enough Americans submitting stories. I even submitted an essay for her to use during the week but was turned down flat. I'll stop now before I begin to sound bitter [sulks silently in corner...]

However, the same un-named yet moderately reliable source noted that Ms. Olliffe will kick off her American week with a special guest. I shall be breaking out the Bud (it's a long weekend down there, right?) and wrapping myself up in the 'stars and stripes' for the duration of the week. Drop in to her blog for a little bit of Americana...I know I will.

And speaking of big events...I am still seeking submissions to the Land's Edge flash fiction contest. Entries must be submitted by Sunday, June 20th (yes, this year!). Click on the link for all the facts.

Cryptozoology...

...it's more than just a big word. According to the Wikipedia people, it 'refers to the search for animals which are considered to be legendary or otherwise nonexistent by mainstream biology.'

An article in Canoe.ca news caught my eye this morning and I figured I would share it with you, just in case you haven't had enough weirdness in your day. The full story can be found here, but to paraphrase: there was a photo released taken on Cameron Lake near Parksville, BC on Vancouver Island. The woman who took the photo had seen something on the surface and snapped a quick shot of the serpent-like creature. Researchers spent Saturday on the Lake and did, indeed, pick up a large sonar signal from an object 60 feet below.

British Columbia has had a storied history with strange beasties from the Sasquatch to Ogopogo, and, years ago, the fabled Cadborosaurus. It's interesting that all it takes is one misinterpreted sighting of an object on a body of water, over a span of dozens of years, gets folks speculating as to what lies beneath. I'm as guilty as the next person...when we visited Loch Ness years ago I had my eyes peeled on the water at all times, just hoping for the elusive sighting. I guess some things are human nature. To the right is a photo of the serpent play-thingy, made of concrete, located at Gyro Park at Cadboro beach in Victoria. I used to play on that as a kid.

And all of this reminds me of the hilarious video to be seen at Carrie Harris' blog regarding the trend of merging the classics with supernatural elements. You've got to check it out.