A Shadow's Silhouette Trivia Quiz

Answer: True

The Altamaha-ha is described as a large sturgeon that swims like a dolphin. It supposedly has a crocodile-like snout. Some speculate that the Altamaha-ha is actually an ocean cryptic creature (called cryptid throughout the rest of the quiz) that simply comes to the river to spawn. That still means there is an unknown creature lurking in the ocean. Of course, the ocean is vastly unexplored, so the possibilities of ocean cryptids is endless.

Altamaha-ha "sightings" and stories usually involve the creature bumping into people who are swimming in the river. However, even though the majority of stories involve contact with people and the creature, no "attacks" have ever been recorded. Because of this reason, the Altamaha-ha is viewed as a harmless cryptid.

Answer: Lake Erie

Lake Erie is said to be the home of Bessie, which is described as a very large snake-like creature at least an entire foot in diameter, and 30 to 60 feet in length. Many sightings have been reported, interestingly three of which all occurred in 1817, and several more in the 1890s.

Like many other marine cryptids, descriptions of the beast do vary. Some claim they saw arms on it, some say the head was dog shaped, and still others claim there are fins. Others believe it to appear simply as a giant snake.

Answer: Lake Champlain

The Lake Champlain Monster, known often as Champ or Champie, allegedly lives in Lake Champlain, a lake on the Vermont-New York and Quebec, Canada border. Hundreds of people claim to have seen Champ at some point in time, but there are two stories that are the most well-known. The first is the Mansi photograph, taken in 1977, which appears to show the head, neck, and right flipper of some type of creature. Some have claimed it was just a piece of driftwood. The other was a two minute long video showing something swim towards the shore. The video was only two minutes long because, as the man who took the video claimed, the cell phone was losing battery. He said he never saw the creature leave the water, which is why he believes that theories of it being a deer, moose, or dog is inaccurate. The video was taken in 2005.

Sounds were recorded in 2003 of a strange whale-like or dolphin-like echolocation sound. Though no previous whale or dolphin was known to live in the lake, people speculate that Champ is actually an undiscovered species of whale or dolphin. The Mansi photograph, therefore, has often been dismissed simply as a whale's fluke (tail), and the whale was trolling.

Answer: Trout

Fur-bearing trout supposedly lurk in the Great Lakes, Canada, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado. It is said that due to the very cold waters in these regions, a certain trout species has evolved by growing fur to keep warm. One theory suggests that four jugs of hair tonic was spilled in the Arkansas River.

No evidence of any true fur-bearing trout exists. The alleged sightings of these fish actually began as a misunderstanding in the 17th century. More recent "sightings" began in the 1930s. One possible explanation for these "furry fish" is a type of fungus that sometimes grows on fish in a tuft-like manner, and it can resemble fur. Usually, the "fur" is only seen on a fish that has died and washed ashore.

Answer: Gambo

Gambo was discovered by Owen Burnham and his family in 1983. Owen, who loved wildlife, took measurements of the beast, and also drew a couple of sketches showing the massive thing. He claimed not to have a camera, however, so did not take a picture (no camera, on vacation, but had a notepad with colored pencils and measuring tape; peculiar).

He told stories of the beast, and his sketches show what appears to be a prehistoric animal still surviving in the waters of Gambia. However, since no sample was taken, the story seems a bit sketchy (pun intended).

There are many "explanations" for Owen's discovery, one being that he made the story up entirely.

Answer: Ogopogo

Ogopogo (or Naitaka) was first spotted in the 19th century in Okanagan Lake in British Columbia, Canada. The first modern-day sighting took place in 1926, where supposedly 30 cars of people witnessed the event. Igopogo (also called Kempenfelt Kelly) supposedly lurks in Lake Simcoe in Ontario, Canada. Manipogo, named after both Ogopogo and its supposed location, Manitoba Lake in Manitoba, Canada, was first spotted in the 1940s.

Answer: Memphremagog

Memphre is supposedly a snake-like creature that lives in Lake Memphremagog in Quebec, Canada. Though it has gained some notoriety, including being featured on a Canadian colored quarter in 2011, it is still not near as famous as another Canadian cryptid: Ogopogo.

Answer: Sharlie

The Twilight Dragon of Payette Lake is known also as Slimy Slim as well as the much easier and quicker to say Sharlie. Sharlie supposedly lurks in Payette Lake in Idaho, USA. The first "sighting" of the creature was in 1920, when workers thought they saw a log in the water, but then the log started to "move".

In 1954, a contest was held to name the Twilight Dragon of Payette Lake, which is when it got its nickname of Sharlie. Quite a number of sightings of the creature occurred between 1956 and 2002.

Answer: Japan

The names Isshii and Kusshii were both a play on "Nessie", the most famous marine cryptid of them all (well, that and the Kraken). Issie (Isshii) lurks in the waters of Lake Ikeda on Kyushu Island in Japan, and Kussie (Kusshii) lurks in Lake Kussharo on Hokkaido.

In a 2001 film called "Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack", Issie is purported to simply be the larva that will soon grow into Mothra.

Answer: Muskrat Lake

Mussie (yet another marine cryptid whose nickname is derived from that of Nessie's) supposedly lives in Muskrat Lake, which is just 75 miles northwest of Ottawa, Canada. Mussie's story dates back to about 300 years ago, with the "discovery" that Samuel de Champlain made.

Muskrat Lake was originally part of the Champlain Sea, before the water receded, leaving Muskrat Lake behind. This occurred some 6,000 years ago, during the last Ice Age. That means that it would have been at least that long ago that a sea monster could have arrived in Muskrat Lake; and then got stuck when the waters receded. This is definitely a possibility, as three species of ice age shrimp have been found in the lake. There is potential for a much larger creature to have been left behind in the deeper parts of the lake.