Tales of monsters living submerged underneath the Earth’s waters are nothing new. The Lochness Monster is probably the most notorious aquatic legend around. But did you know that a river serpent has been sighted quite a few times right here in Connecticut?

Below the surface of the Connecticut River is a giant serpent that has terrified the nearby residents and boaters from the earliest days of settlement.
Flickr/Ben Byrne
Sailors in the 1800s often brought tales home of the frightening sea creatures that they happened across during their voyages. But not all sightings of these creatures occurred in the sea.
Flickr/Coryn Wolk
The first recorded sighting of the Connecticut River monster was documented in the New York Times in 1886. According to the publication, two men encountered the beast while in a small boat near Cromwell. The men reported that a serpent over 100 feet long hit their boat and threw them into the air. Fortunately they landed in the boat and were able to return safely to shore.
Flickr/physmike

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In 1894, the serpent was again spotted near a bridge that crossed the river. In an article in the Boston Herald, the monster was described as being a giant snake that was black with a white stripe on its underside that rose out of the water six feet.
Flickr/Tom Hammarberg
There have been other sightings of the frightening river serpent since 1894, but the encounters were not as close as the two previously described. Some people say it is all a big hoax, while others believe that anything is possible.
Flickr/Scott Smithson
Some residents think that the river serpent may have made its home in the Hog River Tunnel underneath our capital city, Hartford. If that's the case, who knows when the monster might reappear on the river for all to see.
Wikimedia Commons/Elipongo

Did you know about the river serpent that has been sighted on the Connecticut River? Do you believe it’s real or just a bunch of hogwash? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Do you enjoy learning about local legends? If so, take a closer look at this mysterious black dog that haunts the Hanging Hills in a most unsettling way.

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