Okay, we are now entering “ghost season” at Fort Mifflin. Not that there are particular times of the year when “sightings” are more common but in October we do Candlelight Tours and celebrate our “permanent tour guides.” This story is not about our fort but rather a true American Mythical creature of historic importance.

First spotted in 1793, many Northeast Ohioans claim to have spied the 30-foot sea serpent called South Bay Bessie.  Thought of as the Loch Ness Monster’s Canadian cousin, no two descriptions of Bessie are exactly alike. Some say she (he?) has a dog-like head and large fins; others say it has human-like arms. The beast’s color has been reported as grey, copper, or even silver. Most say it has long, snake-like body five meters to 18 meters long.

The first known Bessie sighting was in 1793 when the captain of the ship Felicity was steering his sailboat through the shallows of Lake Erie’s islands, duck hunting with a musket. He reported that he was startled by an enormous serpent which had started thrashing around near his boat. “The beast “hissed and lashed water with his tremendous tail before disappearing back into the foam.”  Perhaps this captain had had a bit too much grog…

These sightings are great sensational fodder for newspapers and reported Bessie sightings continue every 10 or 20 years right up until more recent reports.  Many historians, however, believe the newspaper’s account to be an allegorical broadside at the Second Bank of the United States whose credit policies were swallowing up small farms. 

Nowadays, the myth is celebrated through the Cleveland Monsters hockey team and a Great Lakes Brewing Co. IPA named after the beast.

---

Want to have the
Regimental Brewmeister
at your site or event?

You can hire me.

https://colonialbrewer.com/yes-you-can-hire-me-for-your-event-or-site/