Pennsylvania has had a love affair with cryptids for years. From possible werewolf sightings that go back to the 1800’s, to a high report of Bigfoot encounters. It would seem that now it also has it’s very own lake monster.
Raystown lake was created to control flooding in 1905. Years later the dam that had formed the lake was repaired and the first sightings of “Ray”, as the locals called him, began. It is said that the creature resembles the Loch Ness Monster, only with a much more lizard-like face and is very shy of people. Some Biologists speculated that if the creature were to truly exist it would have to be an herbivore. This assessment came from a variety of reasons, such as animal life in the lake not being enough to support a large meat eater for very long.
A famous sighting occurred back in 1962 during the Raystown Ski Club Watershow, where many of the physical descriptions of the creature came from. People have claimed to see Raystown Ray as early as 2007.
My take on the whole situation is that it is very unlikely to be an actual surviving dinosaur that many have speculated lake monsters of being. The reason for this is the newness of the actual lake and the lack of any sightings even remotely similar to the creature before Raystown lake was created. However, the sightings and photos do give me pause and make me wonder what could be under the surface of the water.
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(If you enjoyed the Raystown Ray, please feel free to check out other fascinating cryptids under the Creature Feature category.)
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