The Silver Lake Serpent

Often attributed to Artemus B. Walker, a hotelier in Perry, New York, the “hoax” of the underwater monster that came to be known as the Silver Lake Serpent seems overblown on not one but two accounts.  When the serpent was first sighted, it was seen by a few men and boys out fishing on the lake.  They claimed to have seen what looked like a floating log that soon began to move, shocking them and starting a veritable frenzy in the tiny town.  The year was 1855 and as visitors came from miles around to see the legendary creature that allegedly called the lake home, the hotels in the area, including Walker’s found themselves practically overbooked.  This fact alone gives a hint to what Walker’s motives could have been in creating such a monster but it is the means claimed to have been used that have drawn scrutiny over the years.

Joe Nickell, in this article from the Skeptical Inquirer, brings up several damning points about the inconsistencies in the historical record surrounding the controversy of the beast, claiming that the means by which the hotelier supposedly used would have been impractical in 1855.  Despite the fact that it should be more believable to consider the legend a hoax, what does one do when the hoax itself starts unraveling due to the passage of time and the muddling of stories?  Tales of how the hoax was discovered seem to be just as varied and unorganized as tales of the monster itself, including a variation that tells of a fire in in Walker’s hotel which led to the remains of the serpent found among the debris.

For many, the hoax sounds too good to be true and some still hold onto the idea that the serpent must have been real as there were tales of sightings of the beast that dated back to the early 1800s or even the late 1700s as related by Natives who lived in the area.  For Nickell and for many, it is more than likely that neither of the stories are true and what was seen on that day in 1855 was a natural occurence (Nickell’s suggestion is that of two otters).  The rest of the sightings were probably a combination of effects from the original hysteria, resulting in people seeing what they wanted to see rather than what was actually present.