The Perplexing Legend of Vermont's Sea Monster • Mystery Files

"Around the lake, around the lake..."
Sensitive topics: n/a
Have you ever found yourself on a Wikipedia deep dive on the weird side of the internet? In this show - weird thing enthusiasts Ryan and Shane take turns presenting their latest fascinations to each other covering everything unusual, unexplained, and unhinged! This week's topic: Champ, Lake Champlain's own cryptid!
Bloopers! Bonus Content!
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HOSTED BY
Shane Madej
WITH
Ryan Bergara
DIRECTOR
Annie Jeong
PRODUCER
Brittney Lee
EDITOR
Anthony De Vera
MOTION GRAPHICS
Diana Arana
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Jucel Andrin
PRODUCTION DESIGNER
Billy Jett
RESEARCHER
Alaina Rook
WRITER
Alaina Rook
CAMERA OPERATORS
Jay Tran
Jucel Andrin
Mark Celestino
GRIP & ELECTRIC
Jay Tran
SOUND MIXER
Jacob Fuller
SET DRESSER
Darren DeMatteis
CONSTRUCTION COORDINATOR
John Terry
PROP DESIGNER
Violet Rawlings
PRODUCTION COORDINATOR
Carter Lau
PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS
Brendon Ryu Violet Rawlings
POST PRODUCER
Sam Young
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Frank Parker
HEAD OF DEVELOPMENT
Katie LeBlanc
HEAD OF PRODUCTION
Lizzie Lockard
HEAD OF POST PRODUCTION
Sam Young
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
Steven Lim, Ryan Bergara, and Shane Madej
Social
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Watcher. A network from Steven Lim, Ryan Bergara, and Shane Madej.

[@Scrofar]

Ryan: covers actual crimes and misdeeds Shane: covers whatever might involve a silly little guy

[@AKindOfDog]

And he's so right for it

[@wvu05]

While wearing fun costumes.

[@taylorclossin]

I think his main reason for choosing topics is what costume he would get to wear for it.@@wvu05

[@colin6603]

I’ve been in that lake before and I’m not joking I felt a weird presence underneath me. It was Eerie. Actually Champlain but eerie for sure.

[@sourgreendolly7685]

@@colin6603lmfaooo I was gonna say "no, Eerie's a different lake" but you're way ahead of me 😂

[@nicolesuker9241]

Vermonter here. The lake used to be much larger and was called the Champlain Sea. Whale skeletons have been found around the lake.

[@jayeharrison4533]

Seahorses too 🙂

[@Arkantolas]

so it COULD have been whale schlong....

[@reyisdumb.]

yeah the charlotte whale!

[@cbalparda]

Yes! I was coming in here to say the same thing! Can’t forget the Charlotte Whale.

[@regicidez5361]

if there are a lot of whale skeletons , what animal could of been made the champlain sea a look like a feeding ground?? right? right?

[@CassandraL666]

“MAIS NON. A French colonizer could not be deterred with a fuck ton of beaver furs on the line.” The impeccable humor, Shane. Chefs kiss.

[@rileynoelle2406]

Also dragging PT Barnum and rightly calling him a racist charlatan

[@Tarabobera]

Can’t forget the call out of SeaWorld and how they treat the whales ❤

[@R0KURU]

Hurr durr racism bad, I am also full of virtue hurr

[@bopshi]

@@R0KURUAre you okay???

[@bananaguy123456789]

@@R0KURUhurr durr racism good. I am also a piece of shit

[@timpaxew712]

As a paleontologist that first theory was so insane 😭😭 shane basilosaurus is an early whale, like a mammal ! The marine reptile that looks similar you’re thinking of is a mosasaur

[@rachelharrington8420]

I'm in school for marine sci and am currently in a morphology/evolution of marine organisms class and took a break from studying to watch KZbin and I was LOOSING IT

[@haybish172]

Thanks for saying this!! I was so confused at first and felt like I was being gaslighted or something lmao

[@davidchalmers2504]

Man, when they talked about the Mary Celeste and mentioned a giant octopus, as a marine bio major, I was tearing my hair out.

[@Twapska]

I was also yelling 🤦

[@jk-nz9bq]

He literally described it as a prehistoric whale.

[@coinwater8511]

I bet Champ is legally protected because they don't want people shooting at random stuff they see moving in the water in an attempt to kill a mythical monster

[@jayeharrison4533]

Really. They could accidentally hit our ferry.

[@blake9033]

I do find it messed up that potentially not real creatures are protected under laws, but some actual endangered species are not

[@coinwater8511]

@@blake9033 it seems Champie is protected under state law. But in the US, all animals under the ESA Threatened and Endangered Species List are legally protected. If you mean that people often try to keep animals off of the Threatened and Endangered species list just for selfish or financial reasons, you're definitely right. ESA is a great idea that legitimately helps a lot of animals and plants, but it is also very flawed. Not to mention the pushback from other political organizations on the state, federal, and local level, as well as people like developers constantly tying them up in (usually but not always rediculous) lawsuits. Fun fact that is an exact example of what you're talking about: Red Wolves were at one point completely extinct in the wild, only existing in captivity. Some Red wolves were eventually released into the wild. This is a very delicate operation, as captive raised animals virtually always struggle to survive in the wild. It is very necessary to release them though so they can hopefully recover one day and return return their place in nature. So how did the ESA designate this incredibly vulnerable but extremely important population of released wolves? A "non-essential" population. How is it even possible that the ONLY population of Red Wolves in their natural habitat are NOT ESSENTIAL? The survival of this group is key to the survival of the species outside of captivity. Btw, an experimental non-essential population doesn't even have the protections of an endangered species. They have the legal protection of a Threatened species while on a national park or certain other national wildlife areas. But on other land they are only allowed the protection of an animal being CONSIDERED for listing as a Threatened species. Really sorry for the rant, I just learned about this situation in my Species planning and recovery class and it has me heated 😆

[@coinwater8511]

@@jayeharrison4533 that or the much-less-serious but still bad situation that they shoot or hurt an animal in the water that is protected for some reason.

[@MrChristianDT]

That, & official acknowledgement from the local authorities lends credibility & is good for tourism, plus, on the off chance it was real, it seems rare enough to legally consider it endangered.

[@willowsoulia9732]

My parents actually owned the store that commissioned the fucked up statue of Champ at 9:29! They got it built about 16 years ago or so to try and attract customers to the store! (It was an old gift shop with a creemee stand (creemees are what we call soft serve in Vermont)) that shut down a while ago because of rent or something :( It cost $4000, its internals are 2 soloflex exercise machines (one for the tail, one for the neck), and its eyes used to be made of glass, but someone stole them and they replaced them with the fucked up painted eyes. The poor statue got flooded one year, and you could only see its weird lil head poking out of the water... So weird seeing this in this episode! It ignited a lot of memories of me climbing on it! Also, my parents *claim* he's been repainted, and that he used to look better when he was first built, but I remember it always looking really silly.

[@willowsoulia9732]

I really love Champ, everyone in Vermont knows someone who's seen Champ! My mom even claims to have seen him! Though... It was probably a school of fish near the surface of the water...

[@InkdBaker]

Honestly, I've never personally met anyone that's seen champ.

[@TeoElijah]

how small the world can be huh :)

[@washkabe9179]

I have to come see that someday lol

[@cheezettegazette]

" a French colonizer could not be deterred with a f*ck-ton of beaver pelts on the line....." *Literally wheezing*

[@DanGamingFan2846]

First off, Shane looks adorable in that Champ costume and I love how chaotic his episodes get. Second, I'm so glad that they've covered Champ, one of my favorite cryptids. Tales and theories of these lake monsters have always fascinated me.

[@watershipup7101]

He looks so cute in it.

[@LadyBeyondTheWall]

I love me some lake monsters too. What's hilarious though is somehow "Cryptids" is in their "Sensitive Topics" section? Like, what? I looked to see what was listed as "sensitive topics" because "surely there's probably nothing listed, because talking about Champ probably doesn't include things like murder and assault" only to see... "cryptids". 😂

[@JayyJay92]

Y’all are gay lol 😂

[@FlyingBanana985]

Ryan's episodes are more serious while Shane's are super chaotic and I love it.

[@thevoicelesswriter]

Shane set that tone early with his peanut butter jar scale.

[@Fishycheese99]

@@thevoicelesswriter how early?? Well imagine a jar of Peanut Butter. Now imagine that jar of Peanut Butter 9 months ago.

[@bexiexz]

i do love it too

[@thatboykaden8128]

I feel like they are able to joke and kid around more.

[@bexiexz]

@@thatboykaden8128 :)

[@AnUumi388]

shane’s dead eyed glare while his ginormous head is dwarfed in that puffer jacket made him look like a toddler who’s mad at his mom for making him bundle up in the winter 😂😂😂

[@sarahkelly7991]

It’s giving Christmas Story

[@summerwatson3794]

This is a gem of a comment 😂😂

[@whoyoufightin1442]

I came to the comments to say that the thumbnail gave me a nice chuckle, but you said it better

[@youbabooo]

1​@@summerwatson3794

[@seppuku-]

That daft punk sequence was so funny lmfao. “Around The Lake, Around the lake”

[@JessicaKennedy367]

As someone whose father was a swim coach, and who has many photos of him swimming across lakes in Algonquin, that photo immediately looked like the hip and arm of a front crawl.

[@bellzie42]

Hahaha now that you mention it that’s all I can see now, imagine just going for a swim and your photo being plastered everywhere being labeled as a lake monster LOL

[@tiffanymarie5674]

OMG thank you that was my first thought as well! I was like, that is CLEARLY just someone swimming like what??? So glad I'm not the only one who sees that

[@niknak594]

My personal favorite theory for lake and sea monsters like Champ is that they are actually the ghosts of dinosaurs instead of surviving creatures. Not because it's more likely than people mistaking driftwood for living things, but just because its more fun :P Great video as always, Watcher team!

[@Clydedonovn2424]

😂you ghost people are pushing the ghost agenda everywhere!!

[@Karin_Allen]

That's one kind of ghost I would love to believe in!

[@niknak594]

@@Clydedonovn2424 lmao you caught me, I'm a ghost with a devious agenda 👻

[@Clydedonovn2424]

@@niknak594 sir ghost propoganda is not a joke! Millions of families suffer each year

[@haleyc.3530]

That logic could be used to explain dragons too

[@enjay5696]

Shane coming in strong with his Edward Cullen cosplay 8/10

[@littlemau1360]

Hilarious reading this as Shane changes into his Champ costume.

[@rev.9683]

Omg literally 😭

[@enbeast8350]

Edward is a massive lake creature? Hawt. Idk I never read the books

[@mmlkshake]

reading this comment is like walking into a room and someone punches you in the face

[@kevingluys3063]

​@@enbeast8350 This actually reminds me of the funny fact that the book says that he was the cause of native myths of a blood drinking spirit called "Apotamkin", but contrary to Stephanie Meyer's description of that native myth, Apotamkin wasn't a blood drinking humanoid spirit. It was a giant hairy snake that lived in a lake. Stephanie Meyer literally said that Edward Cullen was a Loch Ness Monster.

[@mikaylafleming1693]

At 9:50, two picture boards are shown, that I actually hand painted back in highschool!!!! Champ is a huge part of our little town of Port Henry, and the float shown at 9:52 was made by my great grandfather!!! This is super cool to see shared, thank you guys!!!

[@Woomp_Woomp]

That’s Soo cool

[@3ch1dna07]

During the "Champ noises", my 18 year old son was walking down the stairs and couldn't see what I was watching. 😂 He stopped before taking the last few steps and asked if it was ok for him to come down. 🤣🤣🤣 I was so confused about what he was talking about. He just said, "I thought you were watching something...different."🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@seitanbeatsyourmeat666]

You raised a considerante, thoughtful young man. Good job 🎉

[@3ch1dna07]

@@seitanbeatsyourmeat666 first, your name is awesome. Second, my youngest son is definitely thoughtful to a point. He thinks of what will be the best for him in the end and I encourage him! 😂 I was too much of a pushover and I didn't want my kids to be the same.

[@limitless3765]

Something I feel people always forget in relation to sea 'monsters' is that many aquatic animals live much longer than land animals! Whales can live over 150 years, and other sea creatures like clams can live over 500. It's very possible that any of these cryptids are endangered species of animals that have that kind of longevity, and the ones spotted in the 1800s are still alive now, maybe even the last few of their kind. I feel like if they had the kind of senses like a shark, they could hear someone approaching from miles away and always stay out of sight. I also find it interesting that these cases never turn up any other huge, known animals that can explain it, it's always hypothetical! I'd think if all these sea monster stories were just unusually large fish, they'd find a lot more at least close to the size when searching the waters. Amazing video as always!

[@KiboSanti]

There are some jellyfish that are theorized to be functionally immortal (they tend to be eaten before they can die of other "natural causes")

[@limitless3765]

@@KiboSanti whoa that's wild????

[@cedardelossantos5987]

I was thinking this the entire time!! And honestly the idea of a 100+ year old endangered species of some animal is much more interesting to me than a possible cryptid.

[@rabbit6546]

@@KiboSantithere’s also lobsters who could technically live forever if it wasn’t for how energy intensive shedding their shell is the larger they get

[@temeria1986]

''live longer'' is very different from living for millions of years, falls through pretty easily. Endangered species that big are pretty much not able to hide in the shadows except if they live very deep (which they dont because there are videos of it at the surface). ''stay out of sight'' while being sighted? ''I also find it interesting that these cases never turn up any other huge, known animals that can explain it'' but it did, it can be a series of big fish which are discussed in the video, fish can get massive. All your ''evidence''/logic falls through easily, its all circumstancial, and every points towards your already bias idea, clearly. Look at your logic, you think a ''endagered species'' can hide in the shadow and ''always stay out of sight'' yet for big fish you use the logic ''they'd find a lot more at least close to the size when searching the waters''.

[@thomasmacdonough288]

I grew up on Champlain and inherently I still see it every day. Can't say I've ever seen champ, but my grandfather gave his testimony on witnessing it back in the day. He's an ex-military, rather no nonsense guy so it's always a little wild when he starts talking about witnessing cryptids in the lake.

[@jeffreygeorge219]

We fished Lake Champlain, Ticonderoga area almost every summer usually, spend like 5 days there. We used to eat at the Wagon Wheel, greatest breakfast ive had and Chicken fried Steak. Havent been up there in 3 years, but trying this year. Awesome safe area.

[@a.p.3366]

​@@jeffreygeorge219 Just an FYI, the Wagon Wheel is no more. They decided to get out of the business.

[@gothclown9013]

i'd like to see a ghost files-esque show about the boys hunting cryptids! it would be fun to see the roles reversed, ryan becoming the skeptic and shane the believer!

[@quillmurphy345]

As a local, I have to say that we genuinely love Champ. If someone tried to poach our monster we would absolutely enact purge rules to stop them. Great vid!

[@AngelMary]

Agreed 💚

[@nishottara777]

now i realize how badly we need a loch ness puppet history

[@missy_tom]

As a Scot, I never thought I’d ever learn about America’s Loch Ness monster. Nessie will always have a little place in my heart as I went on boat trips to try see him when I was younger with my parents all the time (sadly haven’t seen him), so thank you for sharing the story of your little monster

[@apokkalypse]

I know it was just a small mention, but I love that the Ogopogo made an appearance! He's always fascinated me, since I grew up in the area. He's a funky dude.

[@elizercat]

Me too! I have an ogopogo stuffed animal I got when I was a kid. Love that little guy. His Indigenous name is Nxaxaitk, IndigNews did a really cool interview with a Sylix knowledge keeper on him!

[@mia-tg4rq]

i thought the thumbnail was just a picture of shane in that costume with the word CAMP above it. and honestly. didn’t question it

[@ameliebutler9104]

I would like to ask, nay beg, Ryan and Shane to not talk about how excited they are for "watersports", due to Internet reasons

[@jimmywinter7961]

Go cry about it 😂

[@ezimmerman562]

That's, uhhh, well... that there is kinda the joke, ya see?

[@Oldass_Deadass_dumbass_channel]

​@@jimmywinter7961shit bait

[@AlinaProbably]

wait what, why?

[@BetterLifeAhead35]

@@AlinaProbably because of the other kind of watersports...

[@nutellagod6229]

I'm a local to the area and tbh as fun as the idea of Champy has always been, Lake Champlain genuinely isn't big enough to hold a sea monster lol. Northern parts of the lake are average 50-70 ft deep and the rest down south is 100-200ish. There are sturgeons in the lake though, and those can actually get huge! Up to around 26 ft long!

[@babymae5731]

as a local, lake champlain gets as deep as 400 ft :)

[@sed6657]

Who says he has to be that large?? Sea monsters can be little, sometimes. It's about the energy, not the size.

[@nontoxicpaint]

As someone who doesn't live anywhere near the lake and only found out about this 'monster' 10 mins ago, is there a chance it could be a lone orca? The pictures look alot like a collapsed dorsal fin.

[@lilylavalley]

Also a local and thank God another person saying champy. My eye was starting to twitch.

[@mntll5702]

I’m from Kyrgyzstan and I never thought I would hear Shane and Ryan mention my country, but here we are 23:14

[@KennyMcCormick99]

ON A SCALE OF 1 - 10 1, being absolutely HORRIBLE. 10, being AMAZING. What would you rate, (while you lived there) life & living in your country?? 🤔

[@cherryblossombaby96]

My father who is from Ethiopia attended some kind of military training school in Kyrgyzstan in the mid-to-late 80s. I've seen photos of him and his friends in the USSR from back then, kinda wild

[@mntll5702]

@@KennyMcCormick99 I would rate it around 5-6. The economy is not so great and still in its development stages, but at least it's peaceful here. Although, as they say, the grass is greener on the other side, and many of us wish to study/work abroad.

[@glareicebutts1423]

that’s how i felt seeing this video as a vermonter 😂

[@f1zz-k1d89]

now when i go to issyk kul for break all im gonna be able to think abt is shane saying “issa cool!”

[@emare313]

sturgeons can be like 10 feet long, they have bony plates along their body and they literally look like sea monsters when they’re that big swimming around!!! i think it was a sturgeon

[@Wethinktoohard]

Im a VERY excited Vermonter ❤ I’ve been wanting them to cover Champ for so long!!!

[@edwardburke-od9wf]

@Wethinktoohard I’m a Vermonter too, and I love whenever ANYTHING Vermont is covered nationally or internationally.

[@jayeharrison4533]

Hi. I’m in Burlington 😊 Super excited to see this one too.

[@MercyGrrl15]

​@@edwardburke-od9wfSame! I'm in Southern Vermont and anytime we come up, it's cool cool cuz we're so rarely mentioned lol

[@Neogeddon]

Hi!!! I grew up in the Morristown area : ] Used to look out for Champ any time we were at the lake. I took it very seriously; no fun lmao

[@emclaire7027]

As a Burlington native, I am EXTREMELY excited that our local cryptid is worthy of a Mystery Files episode

[@jayeharrison4533]

And we have the cutest downtown. I love Church Street and the boardwalk.

[@skrtskrt22]

question. is that where the coat factory is??

[@jayeharrison4533]

@@skrtskrt22 No.

[@emclaire7027]

@@skrtskrt22 actually no, that's from Burlington, New Jersey lol

[@glareicebutts1423]

i did a double take 😂

[@yoyoendlessstring]

shane's level of historical context is so satisfying

[@kristycargile6917]

Laughing at Ryan's response to the video footage! If the equivalent was provided from a "haunted" location, he'd be bouncing off the walls!! 😂

[@Boggythefroggy]

One thing I have to say bc so many people don’t seem to know this - plesiosaur did not have thin, super long necks!! With more modern science, palaeontologists have modelled them to have big thick necks they wouldn’t have been able to freely bend around like depicted in art of Nessie or Champ. They looked more like whales in shape in actuality. Not to mention, the Loch Ness monster only started to look like how we once thought plesiosaur to appear AFTER the plesiosaur was discovered. Before that, there are a wide array of descriptions of Nessie, none resembling the long necked fish like sea serpent we think of today. Trey the Explainer has a great video on it, along with a whole cryptid series that really digs into the misinfo passed around in the cryptozoological field.

[@TaakofromTV]

I used to work on a river conservation project in the Mississippi river and a guy there told me that they were out checking some nets one day when they saw an enormous alligator gar. Like the biggest any of them had ever seen. It turned out to be a regular gator gar that had part of a tangled fishing net caught on it somewhere, and it was dragging the net behind it as it swam.

[@eddieregretti]

i love watching someone share their special interest with their friend while wearing a costume of said special interest

[@r0siepurple853]

The quietly excited way they both said ‘cork board’ was so funny!! 😄 I love how playful the whole vibe of this show is!

[@As8bakwTheSage]

I'm a Vermonter (and an Abenaki person.) Born and raised. Champ is truly our local legend and I'm so pumped you guys are talking about them!! (I say "them" because Champ's gender is ambiguous and unknown.) Just,,,, AHHHHH!!

[@glareicebutts1423]

wouldn’t have a gender as he’s not human though right? also from vt but farther south so i’ve only been out on the lake a handful of times

[@sleepysombre4307]

you not human

[@As8bakwTheSage]

@@glareicebutts1423 Well, yeah, you have a point.

[@amandab9439]

I grew up on Lake Champlain and can personally attest that Champ is real. I saw him with my own (10 year old) eyes in Bulwagga Bay! Thanks for covering CHAMPY, Shane and Ryan. ETA: Champy is loved equally by his New York family and Vermont family ❤️

[@shoshanahtheodile9586]

What did you see exactly?

[@temeria1986]

You saw him when you were 10, probably bombared by the people around you that there was a lake monster. So what did you 10 year old brain do? Make it much more than it actually was, probably a big fish or a log in the water.

[@swinepine]

sorry but dont a lot of 10 year olds also believe in santa

[@NE81TRO]

@@swinepine that's true but I feel like it I saw a 100 feet long serpant I would at least be like “what the fuck” and prob be tramitiused for the rest of my life. I don’t think champs real but still.

[@amandab9439]

@@shoshanahtheodile9586I saw his large head and long neck and part of his back break the water. It was a rainy day and my dad was driving us to the campsite. The road winds right next to the lake and that’s when I saw it.

[@tiarailic4086]

Fun story about the Ogopogo. Being from BC my family used to take me and my siblings to Lake Okanagan a lot growing up. One night we were all sitting out on a dock and it was pretty dusky out when this thing down the lake comes swimming up the water towards us, got a curved head and has the longest trail of ripples ever following after it. We thought it was a log or something until in dove under the water. My mom got her feet out of the lake so fast...the next day, another camper family said they were out that same night and saw it too, thinking it was a log or something, threw a rock at it but it dove under the water...as a kid i really believed i saw the Ogopogo, pretty sure it had to be either a duck or a seal...but there's always that small chance? Who knows 😊❤

[@adrianned4230]

I like the Sturgeon theory for sea serpents. Proponents of the theory state they can live thousands of years, can be large or small in proportion to their living space and that species even migrate long distances even through different water types (e.g. fresh vs salt water). So large odd looking fish combined with superstition is my vote

[@Arkantolas]

for the record, as a furry, we fully accept shane and his plesiosaur fursuit. i personally fully love and endorse it

[@gordonramslay9955]

I live in Scotland and of course we have the Loch Ness Monster, but in a lake nearby me some artist decided to make a statue of some creepy guy and stick him in the middle of the lake and it eventually had to be removed because the police got called so many times. It was terrifying.

[@alexandredaigle8479]

Man I had saved this entire mystery files season to binge and it honestly doesn't feel the same

[@gracehowell.]

You know what would be an awesome April 1st video? A video about the legend of the purple people eater.

[@georgewilliamson5667]

As a person from Vermont, love to see something about Champie. Also, if y'all ever are looking for other good options for strange mysteries in the Vermont area, I would highly recommend the Bennington Triangle, a sort of Bermuda Triangle kind of legend and an area where a bunch of people went missing in the 40s, leading the the stories about it. Also, point of reference, Burlington Coat Factory is not from Burlington Vermont. They are from Burlington New Jersey. Its a common misconception.

[@cameroncallahan8568]

As a Floridian that champ video 100% looked like a gator😂 also, this show, Puppet History, and Beatdown are ~chef’s kiss~

[@beeaggro2593]

yeah lmao my first thought was straight "that's a gator!?"

[@michelleh.715]

I love that throughout the years we’ve watched these two grow into themselves. From their styles to the confidence in their personalities🥹

[@rus.t]

We need Shane to wear a life-size Professor costume

[@cherokeerose7353]

In Utah there is similar lore- The Bear Lake monster. Before decent maps were made, people believed the Bear Lake monster was the Loch Ness monster that swam through the core of the earth and came up in Utah every once in a while.

[@clowothebear9014]

Furry expert here: all you need to do is like anthropomorphic animals. And costume wise it can be any animal. I’ve seen hammerhead shark Fursuits and cool snake ones! Also, love this episode, I love seeing people talk about cryptids, we need more obscure or just in general fun cryptid stuff

[@hederahelix1383]

I love it when Shane's awe/excitement of animals shows up 24:34 so excited

[@saphiraaestiva9331]

Jeremy Wade has proven time and time again that stories like these have grains of truth and sturgeon once was able to reach upwards of 20 feet long (specifically russian species) along with wels catfish over in europe so there is grains of truth in theory 4 of it being a sturgeon. But due to sturgeon being deep water fish coming up at specific times it makes it hard to locate especially in a large body of water. Water also works differently to land as with the right conditions a fish can keep on growing.

[@manzington]

Honestly I think the fact that these creatures, which are said to be alive TO THIS DAY, haven’t been discovered is a testament to their validity. If these things have been around for hundreds of years, more people would have seen them and or discovered some sort of scientific breakthrough. Always fun to imagine them as mystical sea monsters, though!

[@rayvillarreal635]

I love that champ is getting the full episode he deserves

[@makayllaalexander8566]

Im from Vermont and I love that Shane loves Champ. He is our local lake monster and we may not all agree what champ is but we all know that SOMETHING is in the lake.

[@bluesun1291]

Wow, as a Vermonter I have to say I didn’t expect to see an episode on Champ. It captured my imagination as a child.

[@majinbooch3787]

if it wasn't for the "drama" i wouldn't have known about this channel i like the content

[@gracepineapple501]

As someone who grew up in a lil village close to the City of Burlington and have been on the lake many a times, I appreciate this. Love seeing my boy Champ getting some attention.

[@FritzTheRitz]

I grew up near Burlington too! Hi from St. Albans 😅

[@Deadbeatdebonair]

I lived on lake Okanagan BC for a little over a year and actually had a sighting of champs Canadian cousin, the Ogopogo. My dad’s house overlooks the deepest part of the lake and one day I was looking off the balcony and saw something giving off a huge wake in the dead calm water. I grabbed my dad’s binoculars and it was smooth like a while and black or dark brown. It moved slowly across the surface of the lake for a few minutes before submerging, and then resurfacing a few minutes later and bit further down the lake only to then submerge for good. It was late winter so there were no boats on the lake yet, but based on seeing paddle boarders and speed boats at around the same spot later that summer, what little part of it I could see from the surface was easily 8-10 feet long. And I stress that was JUST what I could see from the surface.

[@nilahgaudiuso7928]

As someone who lives in the Okanagan, it’s super cool that the Ogopogo was mentioned. There is actually a statue that is submerged in the lake that people can scuba dive down to!

[@apeiceofgarbage9848]

I'm loving the fashion of today's episode, boys. The Champ suit is perfect and the pink t-shirt is a great shade for Ryan's skin tone

[@elanahouston9917]

Petition to have Ryan as Thomas Bangalter and Shane as Guy-Manuel de Hohem-Christo from daft punk it's so perfect

[@KellyBanks-ys8dl]

Shane’s commitment with the costumes is my fave! I was so hype when he brought it back halfway through the episode 😂

[@CeiliRain1]

You know you’ve seen some shit when the term “water sports” insights a visceral reaction

[@yellowbutterfly6796]

You also know you've seen some shit when you know what water sports means and hearing it yields no reaction

[@Kiraj8de]

Having worked on a boat on Lake Champlain last summer, after the crazy flooding that happened, I can tell you that more than just driftwood can end up in the lake. That storm had giant trees displaced into the lake just bobbing and weaving around. The occasional branch sticking straight up out of the water, before the massive tree would turn over, and the branch would disappear under the water. Lol. I bet Champ was spotted a lot last summer. 😉

[@capellanbrad1404]

Dear Sirs, I have watched Buzzfeed Unsolved complete - SEVEN Times through chronologically, and have watched the majority of the WATCHER network. Question: Will you consider covering more mystery based programming ? It seems from the eyes and ears of a 60+ year old fan, that you have a God given skill set of making mysteries interesting {in the ranks of the finest radio mystery broadcasts of the past century}. Your work helped me through cancer, and I am forever grateful. Lean back on mysteries, You are fantastic! Never doubt, you are the Top storytellers on the Web. ⛳⛳⛳⛳⛳⛳⛳⛳⛳⛳

[@Lea-is-sleeping]

I lived on a lake in Canada for the better part of a decade in my adulthood. A lake that had homes built around it. I was lucky enough to rent a basement suite of one of the fancy houses that backed onto the lake. One thing I immediately noticed while living there was how easily the sun, the movement of the water, local flora and weather events (storms, rain, wind, etc) could trick the eye into seeing things that weren't there. The lake was only large enough to house four-hundred houses around it's shore, as well as a town and 2 public beaches (all of which had only been there for 50 years) and yet there was a huge community gossip train about "serious" sightings of the lake monster that lived in it. I won't say the lake monster's "name", because it would give away where I'm from, lol, but suffice to say that tricks of the eye and wanting something to talk about really do create the most interesting of lake monsters here and elsewhere. Sorry Shane, Champ isn't real. 😅

[@PokhrajRoy.]

It’s like the heightened camp version of show and tell. I love it!

[@hlash2566]

Lake Memphremagog, a large Vermont lake also shared with Canada has a monster. Lake Willoughby, a deep glacial lake in Vermont, may also have a monster and large underwater tunnels that connect to another glacial lake, Crystal Lake. I love living in Vermont. It's weird😁

[@LiTTleGaBi21]

Oh yeah, Memphré, as we call it in Quebec. Not as iconic as Champ but a distant cousin I bet!

[@dongaknima5194]

Mystery files is some of my favorite watcher content - would love to see the ghoul boys out in nature again though. My favorite stuff from your buzzfeed days were the episodes in the forests for some reason - like goat man, Bigfoot, and the island one. The ambience of it just hits different. Love your guy’s videos 🤌

[@azzauk1118]

Well that explains why we never see Nessie anymore. She went to Vermont on holiday

[@katiebassett1366]

Life has truly been heavy, and it made my day to see this pop up. Let me get some popcorn.

[@jaidynwithyman4673]

The Ogopogo is my favourite form of "mythical lake monster", and maybe Im biased bc I live in Canada. But the lake it supposedly lives in is huge and over 10,000 years old from a frozen glacier. So I think it could be totally plausible. And it's also connected to the first nations people of Canada, having an even deeper meaning as well as general folklore :)

[@TheMelloyMan]

I love that this show changes hosts every other episode, really makes it stand out

[@steph7134]

For the debrief: the 1879 sighting could be attributed to a boat. The description including eye color and a star on the head suggests it may have been the prow of a boat, which could be highly decorated. I would be interested to know if there were any wrecks lurking in the lake. It also could have been someone deliberately messing with people. It could really just be a fish though especially something like a sturgeon or a gar. If it's something people haven't seen before they might be exaggerating the size, or mistaken about what they're seeing.

[@redofthewolves]

"I'm more interested in the watersports."

[@apeiceofgarbage9848]

The thing i love about cyptids is that they could be something alien, magical, demonic, or just a misunderstanding of the science and no matter what i will be entertained

[@WordsHere]

I'm surprised I'm not finding an existing comment pointing out that it seems a lot like Ryan is unaware there are two people in Daft Punk. There is not one person who is The Daft Punk. It is a musical duo that is called Daft Punk. This is very funny to me.

[@ElleStuart]

You don't understand how LONG IVE BEEN WAITING.. My favorite Shane and Ryan videos are the cryptid ones!!

[@Jihyosmole]

sigh

[@aliasavova5950]

start adding the metric system pls😭😭😭

[@johnmchugh9658]

Went to summer camp on lake Champlain and they used to tell stories about Champ all the time. Even as a kid I wasn’t convinced… we were more terrified by the zebra mussels 😂

[@Akursedtime]

As a kid, sea monsters freaked me out and made me think it was real. Of course, nowadays knowing sturgeons exist. Still scared, regardless. 😂 The likelihood of lake monsters existing is so low. But the concept and theme to me, is fun. Its a great tourist attraction too.

[@CeiliRain1]

When will we get Ryan in a costume 😢

[@seeyouallintherapy]

“sensitive topics: cryptids” 💀

[@gaymeeko]

Even though it was very small, being a local of the Okanagan, hearing you guys mention the Ogopogo was such a nice surprise!

[@chelsae4141]

As someone who spent my childhood on Lake Champ- this is everything to me!!!

[@GavinGWhiz]

At 11:55, that is clearly a nonsensical image of a steamboat spat out by a generative AI image program.

[@anitas8375]

that's the TV quality

[@ambria9252]

nerd

[@mattbatesteacher]

Ryan is into watersports confirmed.

[@mishel1678]

They should do a series where they go around trying to document unverified myths like this..sea monsters, ufos, Bigfoot, etc! Even if they find nothing it would be so entertaining!

[@klowe7213]

I got all excited for the Ogopogo shout out. Beautiful BC's lake monster.

[@itzNasser]

Is not as dark & intense as BuzzFeed unsolved episodes, but I'm glad we got the bois back!

[@bobbyvasseur894]

I know I’ve said it before but I’m really glad this exist. When I think of this kind of show/video, whatever you wanna call it, I think of you guys

[@Thumper17]

I think early Native Tribes saw the last of these creatures which turned into their legends and explanations for odd phenomena. Like they interacted with Mammoths and those sorts of creatures.

[@valeria_sue777]

Shane being shooketh by Ryan's childhood is the most common experience between an Asian and non-Asian friendship

[@aaronmorton4581]

"If I was packing something that size hmm why not do the backstroke" 😂😂

[@user-qv6xr5qw6q]

You should cover the disappearance of Paula Jean Welden, she was a sophomore at Bennington College, Vermont when she mysteriously went missing in 1946. Until now her body wasn't found.

[@m00nrac00n]

Im new here (I know, very late) and just realized Ive a lot to catch up on, because you two are so charismatic and I love the setting and vibe.

[@user-kz2dl1dj9q]

Vermonter here! Love that you guys covered Champ! I grew up with stories about that funky lil lake dude - it’s wonderful to see him getting more appreciation!!

[@livmayo6266]

Shane singing “around the lake around-“ was NOT hyped enough 26:24