Ontario Cryptozoology. an abandoned blog. I could not find it continued somewhere else. But, it might have become larger, focusing on all of Canada. This site only had two posts about the topic, others were about forming a group.

Monday, June 16, 2008 Igopogo

Everyones heard the story of there being a creature that lives in Lake Simcoe. Most descriptions of said creature state that its about 12 feet in length, has a long neck, and a head resembling that of a dog. A few descriptions also claim that it has fins.

Not too many pictures around of this creature, however floating around somewhere is a video that has been seen by some very big names. The most I can find on this video is a description so here it is. "According to the unnamed videographer, while a friend was preparing for a hydroplane race, he suffered a mechanical breakdown and was forced to pause for repairs near the south end of the lake. As the racer lifted the engine hatch in order to assess the damage, a large animal suddenly surfaced directly in front of him - stunning the racer as well as the spectators on the shoreline. The viewers began to panic as the creature slowly lowered its head into the water. It continued to stare at the racer before disappearing completely"

any thoughts?

Tuesday, July 8, 2008 Lake Erie Monster

Since August of 2001, an unknown, aquatic predator has been savagely attacking swimmers - especially those unlucky enough to go swimming off the Pump House beach, near Port Dover, Ontario. In a span of less that 24 hours - no less than three people were bitten by a large, unseen animal.

Dr. Harold Hynscht treated three patients recently who suffered major bites on their legs after swimming in Lake Erie beside the Port Dover pump house. All were in about a meter of water when the attacks occurred. Hynscht, a diver with extensive knowledge of aquatic life, is at a loss to identify the animal that caused them. The bites were not minor. Six inches separated the wounds inflicted by the top and bottom teeth, suggesting the animal has a large mouth.

It wasn't long before rumors began to spread through Port Dover and its neighbouring communities, regarding the source of these vicious attacks. Wildly speculative theories from a rogue school of piranhas, which may have been released into the wild after they grew too big for their owner's aquarium, to a baby nessie-like creature which may have been swimming closer to shore in search of prey. Other researchers have suggest that the animals may be similar to the eel-like cryptids which allegedly haunt Newfoundland's Crescent Lake.

In Simcoe County the most famous cryptid is without question the sea serpent said to be swimming the waters of Lake Simcoe and Lake Couchiching: Igopogo.

The name Igopogo is said to be inspired by the slightly more famous “Ogopogo”, a similar sea serpent native to Okanogan Lake in British Columbia. Igopogo is also known as “Kempenfelt Kelly” or “Beaverton Bessie”, depending on where they are seen. Sightings of the creature date back to at least the 1860s with first and second-hand accounts often describing a large, serpentine creature measuring anywhere from 6 to 15 meters in length. Its body is noted to be dark, and it is said to move in a snake-like manner just below the surface of the water. Some sightings even describe the long neck and head of the creature breaking the water’s surface. Eyewitnesses are often boaters, anglers, or local residents who catch a glimpse of the beast while enjoying time on the lakes.

One of the more recent sightings of Igopogo took place near Jackson’s Point on Lake Simcoe. Bradford resident Neil Lathangue and his family saw the creature while boating. This encounter made headlines across the county in the summer of 1963:

Although stories of Igopogo have always been popular with locals, skeptics often dismiss the sightings as misidentifications of common animals native to the lakes. Lake Simcoe is home to several species of large fish including the lake sturgeon, Canada’s largest freshwater fish. Lake sturgeon can grow up to 2 metres long and weigh over 180kg. They have a ridged back which gives them an almost pre-historic look. Although once numerous in Simcoe County, the lake sturgeon is now an endangered species and fishing for them is highly illegal. Given their size, appearance, and former presence in the area they have been cited as a possible explanation for the Igopogo sightings of the past.

Source: Simcoe Country Cryptids

There are gases in mines, does that make you a little suspicious about stories that come from miners and whatever they might see, or think they see, deep underground?

Sailors and miners tend to be very superstitious people, working in risky places so deep underground or so far away floating on top of such deep water. It's no surprise they come up with stories. Some people just like to scare each other too. See what they can get started... So do you believe everything you hear from miners, or sailors?

Found on Twitter:

What, or who, were the giants, old or prehistoric skeletons found, which are at least seven feet tall? I've heard they were redheaded or blonde and described as white/ pale skinned by the native Indians who encountered them in their history.

Could they have been Vikings, certainly we know Vikings did make it to (what is now) Newfoundland in Canada. Or, could they have been Neanderthals? They were also known to be taller than average people and have red hair. Could they have been here before the native Indians and could the people we call native Indians now have caused their extinction? People have found many of the Indian mounds to have skeletons and bones from taller than average people, giants.

Could the burial mounds have been created to dispose of remains and items after a battle with these giant people? I don't see why they would need to hide the evidence, but who knows what was going on hundreds of years ago. We can only speculate. Still, what else would they have done with bodies after a battle? Dumping dirt over them would have prevented predators and scavengers (animals) from gathering and maybe attacking the people in the area. There are good reasons for burying bodies, especially if there were several of them.

Some of the skeletons have been found to be much older than the people we think of as our ancestors, or those we call native to North America. Also, early explorers to North America have reported seeing and dealing with giants. I've read about giants from around the world but I especially would like to know about those who might have been right here in Ontario. When, and how did they get here and what happened to them? How did they live, what was their culture and technology? Are we related to them, some of us? Has anyone looked into what might be left from them in our modern DNA? They have researched this for Neanderthals, has anyone found DNA for giants to research this? Or, would it be the same DNA as the Neanderthals. It would be nice to know they were here, maybe survived as ancestors for people still around.

I think there is too much interesting evidence to call this a myth. But, there are so many great theories about who these giants may have been.

Research and evidence about giants has been hampered by religion and science. Proof of giants messes with accepted theories about evolution, either side for or against the theory. But, maybe they are just a missing link, or a part of history we haven't found enough proof to validate them enough to give them acceptance and further research. One problem are the Indian mounds themselves, they are not allowed to be excavated any longer.

But, what I wanted to know - Do we have evidence of giants found here in Ontario?

A few years ago an article appeared in the Toronto Telegraph stating that in the township of Cayuga in the Grand River, on the farm of Daniel Fredenburg, five or six feet below the surface, were found two hundred skeletons nearly perfect, nine foot tall in a string of beads around the neck of each, stone pipes in the jaws of several of them, and many stone axes and skinners scattered around in the dirt. The skeletons were gigantic, some of them measuring nine feet, and few of them less than seven.

Some of the thigh bones were six inches longer that any now known. The farm had been cultivated a century and was originally covered with a growth of pine. There was evidence from the crushed bones that a battled had been fought and these were some of the slain… Were these the remains of Indians or some other race? Who filled this ghastly pit?

“On Wednesday last, Rev. Nathaniel Wardell, Messers. Orin Wardell (of Toronto), and Daniel Fredenburg, were digging on the farm of the latter gentleman, which is on the banks of the Grand River, in the township of Cayuga.

When they got to five or six feet below the surface, a strange sight met them. Piled in layers, one upon top of the other, some two hundred skeletons of human beings nearly perfect — around the neck of each one being a string of beads.

“There were also deposited in this pit a number of axes and skimmers made of stone. In the jaws of several of the skeletons were large stone pipes — one of which Mr. O. Wardell took with him to Toronto a day or two after this Golgotha was unearthed.”

These skeletons are those of men of gigantic stature, some of them measuring nine feet, very few of them being less than seven feet.

Some of the thigh bones were found to be at least a foot longer than those at present known, and one of the skulls being examined completely covered the head of an ordinary person.

These skeletons are supposed to belong to those of a race of people anterior to the Indians.

“Some three years ago, the bones of a mastodon were found embedded in the earth about six miles from this spot. The pit and its ghastly occupants are now open to the view of any who may wish to make a visit there.

“Later: Dunnville, August 22,

“There is not the slightest doubt that the remains of a lost city are on this farm. At various times within the past years, the remains of mud houses with their chimneys had been found: and there are dozens of pits of a similar kind to that just unearthed, though much smaller, in the place which has been discovered before, though the fact has not been made public hitherto.

The remains of a blacksmith’s shop, containing two tons of charcoal and various implements, were turned up a few months ago.

“The farm, which consists of 150 acres, has been cultivated for nearly a century, and was covered with a thick growth of pine, so that it must have been ages ago since the remains were deposited there.

The skulls of the skeletons are of an enormous size and all manner of shapes, about half as large again as are now to be seen.

The teeth in most of them are still in almost perfect state of preservation, though they soon fall out when exposed to the air.

“It is supposed that there is gold or silver in large quantities to be found in the premises, as mineral rods have invariably, when tested, pointed to a certain spot and a few yards from where the last batch of skeletons was found directly under the apple tree.

Some large shells, supposed to have been used for holding water, which were also found in the pit, were almost petrified. There is no doubt that were a scheme of exploration carried on thoroughly the result would be highly interesting.

A good deal of excitement exists in the neighborhood, and many visitors call at the farm daily.

“The skulls and bones of the giants are fast disappearing, being taken away by curiosity hunters. It is the intention of Mr. Fredinburg to cover the pit up very soon. The pit is ghastly in the extreme.

The farm is skirted on the north by the Grand River. The pit is close to the banks, but marks are there to show where the gold or silver treasure is supposed to be under.

From the appearance of the skulls, it would seem that their possessors died a violent death, as many of them were broken and dented.

“The axes are shaped like tomahawks, small, but keen, instruments. The beads are all of stone and of all sizes and shapes. The pipes are not unlike in shape the cutty pipe, and several of them are engraved with dogs’ heads. They have not lost their virtue for smoking.

Some people profess to believe that the locality of Fredinburg farm was formally an Indian burial place, but the enormous stature of the skeletons and the fact that pine trees of centuries growth covered the spot goes far to disprove this idea.

Source - ”Ancient American Volume 6, Issue 41, p. 9. Researched and submitted by Benoit Crevier. Originally published in The Daily Telegraph (Toronto, Ontario), Wednesday, August 23, 1871, page 1.

Source - Greater Ancestors World Museum - 200 seven to nine foot tall Skeletons Cayuga Canada

I found this right away when I looked for giant skeletons in Ontario. Then the search drifted into Halloween costumes, etc. So I will see if I can find more and post about it later.

When you don't live in the city you can call yourself a rural explorer.

Chances are you already know the first place you want to explore. There's something that catches your eye on the way home from work every day, each time you drive to visit your Mother, when you go on the backroad into the next town... There's a place out there which you'd like to stop and get a look at, if only you dared. Let's not say you need to find the time. The time is there. It's not easy to stop the car, get out with your camera and make that first step into being an urban explorer.

Or, a rural explorer, as I see it. I don't live in the city. I've lived in the city, in a small city and a range of towns around Ontario. I started exploring abandoned farm houses with my Mother and my Aunt, before I ever knew other people were doing the same thing. I didn't go looking for antiques, old hardware or anything like that. I wasn't hoping to see a ghost or wanting to get creeped out. I wanted to see a relic from the past, the old woodwork, the way the bricks had weathered and whatever mysteries might be lost, forgotten and buried under dust, debris and wild plants. The best thing I found myself was an old iron key. I still have it in my jewelry box.

The first time I explored on my own was years later. Right after I got my first digital camera. No co-incidence there. The digital camera is a wonder for anyone into exploring. Now you can take all the photos you want and not think twice about the cost of getting them developed or how many rolls of film you had packed into your purse.

The photo in this introduction is the very first house I explored, alone. Just my digital camera and me. That was the year 2006.

Don't Pass up a Great Chance to Explore

Access All Areas: A User's Guide to the Art of Urban Exploration I bought this book just after the author died. Not from falling off a building or any kind of exploring accident. I met his wife when I bought the book, at a zine fair in downtown Toronto, Ontario. I still have Access All Areas, even though I have not visited all the places he did. Mostly because I live farther north now. The book is a guide to taking a chance, some risks and visiting places mostly unknown, unseen or where you may not be welcome. I hope people continue to buy Access All Areas for all the same reasons I did years ago.

Photo taken in 2007. This house is now gone. Burned down by vandals, then demolished.

The Real Dangers of Urban Exploration

You may expect the top danger for explorers to be people. It's not!

I've been exploring, often alone, and the biggest danger I've found is from wild animals. Not that I have been attacked by wolves, raccoons, rabid squirrels... no. I've been threatened by birds and attacked by bees. I've had toads and frogs scare the pee out of me - I still think I stepped on one poor toad when I was walking through very long grass and couldn't see where my feet were stepping.

Birds can be territorial and may dive bomb you. The only solution is to tolerate it or hide. I've yet to have one actually strike me. But, the closest to do so were blackbirds (those smaller versions of crows) and hummingbirds. Don't laugh!

Bees are pretty self explanatory. Rule number 1: don't step in between the flight path of two beehives. Just don't do it. If you really must, duck down low and make sure your hair is covered. There is nothing like having a bee lost in your long, curly hair - near enough to your ear so you know you're in danger of being stung and you're not really keen on finding it with your fingers.

People will sometimes ask you what you are doing. In all but one case I have never had any trouble at all with people. They are curious. If they know something about the history of the house/ building/ location they will usually tell you about it. Volunteering all kinds of historical information. Which is great. I do like to hear it. Sometimes people want to talk more than I want to keep listening, but I do appreciate their time, their interest in the place I'm looking at and... the fact that I'm a woman and they are likely telling me all this because I don't seem like someone who would be getting into trouble, or making trouble.

Only once, I had a woman who was suspicious. But, it turned out she was the owner of the house I was photographing - it was a ruin but not abandoned. In that case I liked it for the ruined look. But, there are cases where you will find out (later hopefully) that the abandoned house you're photographing isn't actually abandoned after all. It's kind of funny, later.

Getting back to animals... watch for animal holes. You might hurt your leg if you step into one. It is a good idea not to go alone just in case you do get hurt and need help. I do not explore inside the houses, hardly ever actually. I will go inside if I'm with a group, or at least one other person. Safety in numbers, when it comes to injury or... getting caught as a trespasser.

This has not happened to me. But, it is on my mind each time I stop and get out of the car at a location I want to explore. I feel I am keeping myself out of trouble by not entering the premises. If I just walk around outside taking my photos I'm not breaking into the property. Also, I just don't feel right about entering a home this way. Most often they are pretty gutted by other explorers or people looking for hardware and such to steal and sell as vintage. So, in theory, I feel I am not trespassing, or really missing much.

I was asked to leave one location by the security people. This was a time I was not alone so that was nice for me. I had already taken the photos I wanted too. I think they left me alone to wander around for awhile before they finally approached me. But, I'm sure they would have come on the run if I had been trying to do more than take outside photos.

If you do enter any abandoned, derelict or ruined building you must know you are at risk. You can not be 100% sure about anything in that building. Even a place which does not look badly derelict can have structural damage. Don't be an idiot about exploring inside. Wear decent footwear, bring a flashlight (even in daylight). Have someone with you or at least make sure your phone is charged and with you so you can call for help.

Taken outside of Barrie, Ontario. 2011.

Shipwreck on Lake Ontario, 2007.

How to Find Locations for Urban Exploring

I find places to explore by driving around and looking out the car window. These are the times it's important to have someone else driving the car. You can't navigate the car and have most of your attention focused on catching sight of weathered wood, boarded windows or a driveway overgrown with plants.

Urban Exploration Photography Tips

My new (new 2 years ago) digital camera has a great feature for urban and rural explorers, zoom. I've got 10x zoom. This makes a big difference in what I can get into a photo without having to be physically closer. You can't always get close up when there are fences, animals, and etc in the way.

Frame your photo and use the rule of thirds. I like to photograph a foreground of weeds/ wildflowers in front of a house. Sometimes I scoot down to the ground so the house appears to be on a hill. (It helps if it actually is on a bit of a rise). I like to get trees on the sides of my photos. It gives the photo a real, living edge. Then I take a photo where the house fills the frame.

Be creative, try different angles, try getting high (the roof of another building, a tree?) then get down low for a different view. Using a tripod is nice, if you have one. I did buy one but I have yet to actually take it with me.

I do have a camera strap. I always keep it on my wrist when I am using the camera. It is so easy to have some little thing trip you up and next thing you drop the camera. If you have that strap over your wrist, your camera has a much better survival rate.

Focus on details. There will be little details you miss, You will notice them once you upload the photos from your camera. As you get practice you start noticing details easier, while you are still on the site. Train your mind to look for small things, the trimmings, the cracks. There will be details which especially appeal to you of course.

Don't be stingy with your photos. Take extra. You can delete any you don't need later. Or, you might find one of your extras just happened to catch the light and the angle just right.

Try different times of day, different seasons too. Sunset adds a glow to your photos outside. Winter makes everything look mysterious and silent. You should explore night photography too, what works for taking photos in darkness. Bring a flashlight, shine it on a window and get a photo of the beam inside the house.

From 2009. Car and house in the background. Ruined by fire.

Another idea is to join Flickr. You can get a free account. Search for local groups with explorers who are already adding photos. Some of them will put directions and locations on the photos. Not everyone will. I tend to leave it ambiguous. I like to protect the places from vandals and people who just want to grab whatever they can sell. So, I am cautious about giving directions. But, that doesn't mean I hoard them all. If you can join the local group, get involved in a discussion, share any photos from old places you already have - you might find a place in the group. Try to attend when people plan an event - meeting at one site. It's a lot of fun plus you make real contacts and become someone they will share information with.

Flickr has a lot of local groups but it isn't the only source. Search online and see what you find.

Read local history. Read the news. See which buildings in your own town are historical and may be in danger of being demolished. Read about the history fo your area and see what has already been lost and what is still left.

Check real estate listings. Some places have been for sale for years, empty. Some of them are being sold due to fire or damage from something else. Some are being sold in order to be knocked down so the land can be farmed or have housing developments built over them.

On a busy road into the town, in 2008. A baby deer was also at the house when I began photographing.

UER Huge site for urban explorers. Having an active membership gives you some prestige and access to extra features. Membership is free, but donations are accepted.

Painting by Michelle Basic Hendry

Women Urban and Rural Explorers - I have met the women explorers on this list through my years of running the Flickr group: Ontario Rural Ruins. If you are a woman urban or rural explorer send me a note and I will check your links and photos and add you to the list.

Flickr: Female Urban Explorers "This group is a place for UE girls to get together to talk about our explores and experiences and a place to share our images. Let's celebrate the fact that we are female Urban Explorers....and proud of it!"

msDeKay Ontario urban and rural explorer. Lots of photos, not all locations in Ontario.

KateKnevil Ontario rural explorer. Not a lot of photos but very good photos.

Lee-Ann Licini Ontario rural and urban explorer. She also runs the Creepy Ontario group on Flickr.

The Navigator Ontario urban and rural explorer. I've actually met Carla, face to face once.

Michelle Ontario rural explorer and artist. Now moved away from Ontario and living in the US. Her paintings of rural ruins are available on her site.

Abandoned on a Lake, 2010

Take only photos; leave only footprints.