I believe in the Lake Storsjon Monster

June 3rd 1989 

It started out as a sunny but cold day in Jamatland, where I have lived since I was born. I went to school here and I went to college here. It was in college that I studied what I love and that is learning to be a pilot. My purpose however would mainly be flying for myself although that does not mean I am not obliged to give others lifts in the plane I would fly in since that is what I would be paid for. But be that as it may, I knew I had a long way to go before I could become a professional pilot. Time flew fast so quickly that I did not realize that I topped each and every class of mine, graduating with a major in aviation. I tried a number of different piloting jobs although as I mentioned this would not involve flying a plane full of passengers from one country to another although I still had to have someone with me. I decided however I would mainly base myself in Jamatland and one place here which I found intriguing and wanted to base my work around was Lake Storsjon.

This lake has been a popular location for boating and fishing although these activities are tiny compared to what this body of water is mainly known for; an immense animal that inhabits the depths of it, not unlike the Loch Ness Monster. Sightings of it have been reported since 1635, the very same year that French cartographer Samuel De Champlain, the discoverer of the Lake Champlain monster died. Personally, I did not believe in either animal although I decided to fly around the lake in order to see for myself. As I circled the lake in my plane, I had to divide time between looking down at the lake and focusing on keeping the plane steady and on track in the air. I did not fly too high as I wanted to get a reasonable view of the lake. When I glanced down at the calm waters, I began to wonder how such an animal reported by countless people around here could even live in a lake like this; this mainly comes from the fact that its waters are cold and it is only 90-feet deep which in my opinion would not support such a large animal although its fish populations are quite healthy and may suit the diet of any apex predator in the lake. Yet, I was still not sure.

Suddenly the waters began to ripple and a large black mound with five more humps behind it emerged and began to move through the lake. I thought it was probably a large submarine whose size made it seem like it was divided when it came up just before lifting its periscope. Suddenly, my thoughts changed when I noticed hairs on the front mound and it rose out of the water, revealing itself as a bearded serpent, looking somewhat like a mythological dragon. The next three mounds suddenly elongated into large hoops which I recognized to be the body while the last hump rose the way the animal’s head did and this was clearly the tail of the animal which began to hyperventilate. Upon looking up and seeing me, it began to hiss very loudly. I was scared; it is the only time I have been afraid while flying and I would have certainly lost control of the plane which might have crashed into the lake, were it not for my instinct to look back up and focus on the controls of the plane. I just kept looking ahead and flew my plane in a straight direction towards the area of the shore where I had taken off. I did not dare to even look down into the lake for fear that my fear for the animal would cause me to succumb to my horror that could cause me to crash into the lake. I had no idea what the animal would be capable of doing to me if that were the case.

Back at the airstrip where I had taken off from, I began to think deeply about what I had seen. I was not hallucinating and I had not consumed a single drop of alcohol. This thing that I had seen was as real as ever and it was enough to convince me that a mysterious animal resided in the lake and has been seen my numerous people living around here. Then I began to look from the animal’s point of view; it may be hard for it to hold its breath underwater for so long since it is clearly an air breather which was probably explained by its hyperventilation when it surfaced for air. It must be used to seeing boats or ferries but might have never seen a plane before and unlike a ferry or a boat, it may have seemed threatening to the animal which was its reason for reacting in a hostile manner to me which could clearly be out of fear not aggression. It may have also been frustration at surfacing after very long which it displayed through its fear of my plane.

Putting that to the side however, I am no longer a sceptic of the mystery of this lake. I am now a firm believer in lake monsters such as those in Loch Ness in Scotland, Lake Champlain in Vermont and New York and Lake Ikeda in Japan just to name a few. It is clear to me that this animal simply wishes to be left alone and clearly does not enjoy attention out to the middle of the lake or anywhere else in it. If people are to see it then it must be from a safe distance and not to the point of closeness or where it would evidently be overwhelmed. My experience has not discouraged me from flying over the lake although when I am not flying, I still look through my telescope or binoculars out onto the lake. If the animal is still there, then I hope it will be left in peace to enjoy the calm waters of its beautiful habitat.

- Hans Maxwell