Lake Erie

Lake Erie is a spooky legend about a monster called The Storm Hag who lives at the bottom of a lake in Ohio and preys on unsuspecting sailors.

If you ever go fishing on Lake Erie, beware of what lurks below the water’s surface. According to legend, there is a sea witch who lives in the depths of the lake, near Presque Isle. They call her The Storm Hag.

Sailors who go out on Lake Erie tell tales of terrible encounters with this demonic female. She has pale, green skin, piercing, yellow eyes that shine through the darkness, green teeth and long nails that are sharp enough to pull the skin right off a tough old sailor.

They say that, if you go out on Lake Erie and stray into the realm of the Storm Hag, you will hear her soft, quiet song carrying across the water on the breeze.

“Come into the water, love,
Dance beneath the waves,
Where dwell the bones of sailor-lads
Inside my saffron cave.”

Then, she summons a violent storm that tosses your boat around on the waves, shaking it to and fro like a rag doll.

The Storm Hag rises from the murky waters, wind and lightning spewing from her mouth like venom. She reaches out and her long, thin arms wrap you in an icy embrace. Her gnarled, bony fingers clutch you tight and her sharp, pointed teeth sink into your soft flesh.

Before you have a chance to resist, The Storm Hag drags you down to the bottom of the lake where she devours you whole among the weeds and the mire.

One evening, many years ago, a ship was caught in a bad storm on the lake and desperately tried to make it back to port. Violent winds tossed the vessel to and fro for more than an hour and just when it was in site of land, the storm suddenly stopped.

Then, without warning, the water next to the boat began foaming and churning. Something burst forth from the depths and within seconds, the ship and its crew disappeared beneath the waves. Witnesses on shore claim they heard the screams of the sailors echoing across the lake. To this day, those who sail on Lake Erie claim to hear phantom screams of the victims who were taken long ago.

Late one night, an oil tanker called the Clevco was being towed by a tugboat named The Admiral. Just after 4 AM the Clevco radioed that The Admiral had suddenly disappeared. It was as if the tugboat had somehow sunk to the bottom of the lake without a sound.

When the Coast Guard arrived to investigate, they found that the Clevco had vanished as well. Early the next morning, the bodies of two crew members of the Clevco washed ashore. No other crew members were found, living or dead.

Then there is the mysterious disappearance of Captain Donner. One evening, a freighter left Presque Isle and sailed across Lake Erie. The Captain retired to his cabin for the night and told his first mate to wake him when they were nearing their destination.

As the ship neared port Washington, the mate went to the captain’s room and found it empty. Captain Donner was not in the bed, nor was he anywhere else on the ship. The crew organized a thorough search, combing every nook and cranny on the vessel, but the captain had disappeared without a trace. Captain Donner’s body was never found. It was as if he was snatched off the face of the earth.

Were these ships all victims of the Storm Hag? Is there a demonic witch lurking at the bottom of Lake Erie?