Pressie the Lake Superior Monster

Welcome to Supernatural Park! Here you'll find all sorts of creatures that can be read about in myth, legend, and folklore. If it's the popular Bigfoot you're interested in or the adorable, lesser known carbuncle you're anxious to see you're sure to find them here. Please follow just a few rules we have as we guide you along:

1. Stick to the trail
2. Do not approach the wildlife, unless instructed to do so
3. Do not feed the wildlife

This week we'll be looking for Pressie, the Park's mascot and Lake Monster that calls Lake Superior her home. We hope you enjoy your visit!

Sources cited for this episode:

1.The Pine Barrens Institute. An online, cryptozoological, Midwest folklore and historic newspaper reference site based out of Janesville, WI
01, D., & Benedict, /  A. (n.d.). Pressie - cryptid/folklore profiles. THE PINE BARRENS INSTITUTE. Retrieved July 26, 2022, from https://pinebarrensinstitute.com/cryptids/tag/pressie

2.  The University of Minnesota's Department of American Indian Studies
The Ojibwe People's Dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved July 26, 2022, from https://ojibwe.lib.umn.edu/

3.  The Duluth News Tribune
Thomas , R. (2017, December 9). You cannot handle Pressie. Duluth News Tribune. Retrieved July 26, 2022, from https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/opinion/you-cannot-handle-pressie 

4.  Seamonster.org-You can find a video of Randy talking about his experience here
Seamonster.org Lake and sea monsters sightings,videos and news. SeaMonster.org Lake and Sea Monsters Sightings,videos and news. (n.d.). Retrieved July 26, 2022, from https://seamonster.org/

Transcript

The Park is a conscious, omnipotent being. It seeks out those who wish to unveil the mysteries of nature and it brings them here. Do not be afraid. It finds you worthy. Welcome to Supernatural Park. 

-Intro Music-

Hello visitors! I’m Park Ranger Amy and I would like to welcome you to Supernatural Park. I see by that surprised look on your face that you didn’t expect to find yourself at the gates of a massive park that isn’t defined by the concept of time or space or logic. That’s totally understandable. Sometimes nature just has a way of whisking you off the trail and taking you wherever it calls you. Oh but, do try to do your best to keep to the trails here. Much of the flora and fauna are fragile and it’s important to keep nature the way we found it. Also, this is a very special park. Here you’ll find creatures not commonly found outside its boundaries. I’m talking Mothman, Centaurs; basically anything you may have read or heard about from mythology and folklore. So it’s important not to get lost as all of these creatures are wild animals. Not to worry though; just simply don’t approach them unless I give you specific permission. 

 Since you have found yourself here then that means you are truly curious about the natural world and wish to learn more of it. The Park has brought you here, showing you the trail of crushed sea glass along route 61, to the beautiful scenery of Minnesota's North Shore on Lake Superior. 

Today we’ll be looking for and hopefully meeting Pressie, the cryptid that calls Lake Superior home. Now here at Supernatural Park, we (and by we I mean the Park itself) believes in letting creatures roam around in their natural habitat. It tends to switch out those habitats from time to time, the previous one being returned to its original geographical location. But for Pressie, well, she’s from Lake Superior so all we have to do is take a short walk down to the beach to see her. Let’s get going! 

Ah, here we are. Look out to the water towards the horizon and you’ll be sure to see her. Of course, with Lake Superior having a surface area of 31,700 square miles with a connection to the other Great Lakes, she has plenty of space to travel and explore. Since her origins are near Michigan, she tends to be seen more around the Upper Peninsula . But she’ll come to us eventually. She loves to give hugs.

Now Pressie is what is known as the Lake Superior Monster-sort of like Nessie in Loch Ness. I’m not sure why every supernatural lake creature has to have the word “essie” as part of their name. I assume it’s similar to the binomial naming system that’s part of the scientific community. Think about it; essie in Latin means star and if you place the N in front of essie for Nessie of Loch Ness, then her could mean literally the Star of Loch Ness. Likewise for Pressie, who was first sighted near the Presque Isle River in Michigan. And Pressie is quite the star here at Supernatural Park; you could even say she’s our mascot. 

What’s your definition of a monster, visitor? The dictionary defines it as “an imaginary creature that is typically large, ugly and frightening. I personally think that’s a bunch of nonsense. Pressie is as real as you and me. And as far as ugly and frightening; why she’s the most beautiful and sweetest creature you’ll ever meet. Sure there’s been some tall tales of some run-ins with her. In 1897, near Duluth, Minnesota, a sailor from Detroit Michigan, ran his yacht along a rock in the water and fell overboard. He claimed that Pressie attacked and attempted to constrict him. But I’m sure she was just trying to help him get back on his boat. Those who have had the rare chance to interact with her in or around the Lake have claimed she’s aggressive. But couldn’t you  say the same thing about people when they find a stranger in their home?

While we wait for Pressie to show, why don’t I give you a description about her? She’s dark blackish-green in color, about 75 feet in length with 15 of that feet being her neck!  That slender neck holds up a horse-like head with a foot long jaw. She likes to take it easy, moving her serpentine body through the water at an easygoing pace of 9 miles an hour though some reports have seen her moving at a speed that was only described as “very rapidly”. Her tail, shaped like a whale’s tail, helps to propel her forward along with her large pectoral fins that provide streamlining. 

If you’ll excuse me, visitor, the Park is telling me it’s time for a lunch break. Join us for a bit of poetry won’t you? Creative writing and music are the Park's favorite meals. 

Today’s poetry comes from me, Park Ranger Amy. 

Seaglass

At first, you were carelessly discarded 

Thought to be a piece of trash.

You found your way into the lake,

It’s freezing waters enveloping you. 

For years you stayed there

Persistently battered and pushed around 

By the waves. 

Your trials smoothed your jagged edges,

The weathering of your form changed you.

And now as you sit upon this shoreline 

Glinting in the sunlight

You are seen as beautiful 

And are considered treasure. 

Although you didn’t know it,

You always were. 

This is one of the first poems I wrote for my new poetry collection. I feel a connection to how sea glass is made, always discarded and pushed around until it becomes polished and beautiful. I think everyone has that experience in life, where the tides and currents carry you this way and that until eventually you land somewhere; somewhere where you are at peace with yourself. 

Sightings of Pressie date back to the 1800’s and as I mentioned before, first originated around the Presque Isle River in Michigan. Many people confuse her with the creature known as the Mishibizhii (Mish-i-bish-ee), the  Great Lynx, from Annishinabe culture, the first nations people who originally called this land home. The two are distinctly different, though some sources say that Pressie is a more modernized version of that creature. However, that’s a story for another day. The Park may allow us to visit the Mishibizhii (Mish-i-bish-ee) in winter when those stories are meant to be told. 

She has also been mistaken for a Lake Sturgeon, a large, prehistoric freshwater fish that can still be found in the Great Lakes today. I don’t know about you but there’s a significant size difference between the two; Lake Sturgeon have been known to grow up to six and a half feet  compared to Pressie’s reported 75 feet. 

 Have you seen a sturgeon before? We’ll get to why in a second.They’re prehistoric freshwater fish that can still be found in the Great Lakes today. Imagine a grey, 6 foot bony fish that has a snout pointing upwards and with several rows of bony plates along their back called scutes. Attached to their face are 4 whisker looking barbels, the same thing a catfish. 

Have you got that picture in your mind? Good. Now compare it to the description of Pressie I just gave you. Some folks have argued that Pressie has been mistaken for a very large sturgeon. If you were to see a sturgeon and her together; would you think they look similar? Perhaps from far away or in a very blurred image. That’s what a camper experienced one memorial day weekend in 1977.

Now this story is one of the most famous sightings of Pressie outside of The Park was back in 1977, during Memorial Day Weekend. In Michigan’s Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park a hiker by the name of Randy Braun was camping near the Presque Isle Campground. While he hiked along the lake shore, he saw two bumps in the water, separated by only a few feet . At first he thought they were diving ducks since one bump would go underwater followed by the other. As it came closer to him, he realized there was a third, smaller bump, and that whatever was in the water was swimming in a quick, undulating fashion and as it came closer, it started weaving in and out of the boulders along the shore. He quickly grabbed his camera and rested it on the boulder he was sitting on. After stopping several hundred feet from the rock he was near, he saw the head and back rise  out of the water then back in a teeter totter fashion, going back and forth. The lower part of the jaw seemed to always be just under the surface. He quickly snapped a picture of it, just as the head was partially on top of the surface. You can find this picture online and I definitely recommend looking at it. 

After taking the picture he said that the creature turned, parallel to the shore, and disappeared into a layer of fog hanging low above the water. Alas, after all that excitement, it was gone. 

Looks like we’re still waiting a bit. Why don’t you ask a question visitor? I’ll try to answer as best I can. Oh. You’re wondering what she eat? Well, we don’t need to feed the animals here at Supernatural Park; the Park provides the food for them to forage and hunt for. But our accounts of watching Pressie have indicated she is at least carnivorous if not omniverouis. In the summer of the mid 1990’s, a group of fortunate fisherman in Point Iroquois (Ear-Oh-Qua), Michigan got to experience the sight of her drag a buck that was wading in the lake under water, leaving only it’s severed head.

Oh! Finally visitor there she is, out in the distance! I can see that she’s eagerly making her way closer to you. Look at that large wake she leaves behind as she cruises through the water. Stretching out her long neck, she's ready to constrict you in a tight hug. Make sure to take a deep breath so you don’t suffocate and wait patiently for her to finish. It should only last 5 minutes.What’s that? No you don’t gotta worry about being eaten. The Park has strict rules about feeding the wildlife here. We don’t want them to get used to people handing out food for them or get sick from eating something they shouldn’t eat. With so many visitors that come here from all over, there’s no telling what they may carry. 

There now, how did that bone crushing hug feel? Go on and take a moment. I can see that your breath has been taken away by how beautiful she is. What a lovely girl. Thanks for stopping by; please enjoy the rest of your adventure here at Supernatural Park. When the Park is ready to let you return home, it will show you the trail of crushed sea glass again. Just follow that back to wherever you came from and come back to visit when it summons you. 

Until next time, visitor. Enjoy your travels and please, do not feed the wildlife.   

Today’s episode was brought to you by the Great Lakes Aquarium. Based in Duluth, Minnesota, the Aquarium is dedicated to leading freshwater conservation by connecting all people to Lake Superior and the world’s waters.Their mission is to engage and inspire, encouraging stewardship of wildlife and water.

Sources cited from today’s episode can be found in the show description.

If you have a short story, poem, or song you would like to feature on a future episode’s Lunch Break, please send the written version or a sound recording to thesupernaturalpark@gmail.com

If you liked this episode and want to hear more as well as gain access to behind the scenes content and in the works poetry, visit my patreon account at patreon.com/supernaturalpark. You can also find the facebook page for it by searching Supernatural Park. 

The music intro used in the show is titled “Magic Forest” by Kevin Macleod. To hear the full version of the song or hear to hear more of his music, please visit incomptech.com