<img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/10/1572366730777.png">Photo courtesy: Hay Springs Chamber of Commerce. By KALIN KROHEPanhandle Post As Halloween approaches many people start talking about ghost stories, hauntings, and local legends. One of those legends is the Walgren Lake monster in Sheridan County.The sandhills lake is located 2.5 miles east of Hay Springs and 2.5 miles south of Highway 20. The Walgren Lake monster is very similar to the Loch Ness monster in Scotland. One of the earliest sightings of the Walgren monster was by a man named J.A. Johnson who described the creature to likenesses of an alligator, but bigger. There are many legends dating back many years with Native Americans. The story goes that the huge beast would eat livestock near Walgren Lake. The monster is even mentioned in the famous book, Old Jules by Mari Sandoz. "The same devil that scattered the fossil bones over the earth to confound those of little faith could plant a sea monster among the sinners." Sandoz thought local Fundamentalist Christians believed the monster was constructed by Satan to test the faith of people. Wikipedia.org has gathered information on the monster stating, "The July 1938 issue of the Federal Writers Project in Nebraska's Tall Tales monthly publication offered a description of the monster's massive size, which reportedly caused the earth to tremble whenever he moved such that, 'the farmers become seasick for miles around.'&nbsp;The article went on to claim that the monster came ashore daily to eat large numbers of livestock and in doing so created a thick, green mist which disoriented travelers in the area." The January 1962 edition of Outdoor Nebraska repeated the story, exaggerated accounts saying, "eastern innocents had fallen victim to the creature's earth-shaking and had been bounced from Hay Springs to&nbsp;Valentine, over one hundred miles away." Hay Springs Heritage Center director David Perkins said the legend started back in the 1920's and 1930's. Perkins said people would say to one another, "Did you ever see the lake monster in the shallow lake? That's the way it started and it kept growing and growing. The legend of it goes on and on." He said locals call the monster "Nessy". Panhandle Post asked Perkins if there's been any local sightings. "If there was years ago...I don't know. All the people that were doing it are all passed or too old to remember," said Perkins. Perkins stated he's a nonbeliever of the lake monster. "It's just a story. We could talk it up a whole bunch, but it's just a tradition. There's people that will pull your leg a little bit and pull you into it." Whether the legend is true, or fabricated from politician and newspaper man John G. Maher to sell more newspapers years ago; the Hay Springs community embraces the monster and celebrates "Nessy" during a fall festival every year. ﻿

Haunted Panhandle: Walgren Lake Monster