A real monster? The people of Ostersund, Sweden, 370 miles Northwest of Stockholm, believe so. The city is situated on the vast and beautiful Lake Storsjon, which is a picturesque recreation spot for camping, water sports, and fishing in summer, and a great location for ice-skating in winter. The lovely lake community of Froson is across the bridge from Ostersund. One of the favorite pastimes all around the lake is trying to get a glimpse of the resident monster, which the locals have named “Storsjoodjuret.”
The first recorded sighting of the Lake Monster was in 1635 when Parson Mogens Pedersen wrote in the church register that a group of witches by the lake conjured up the monster by a magic rune stone spell! Legend tells that Vikings had long ago used this site as a place for animal and human sacrifice in ancient, pagan fertility rites. In the twelfth century, after the area became Christian, Froso Kyrka was built on the site to sanctify the unholy ground. Visitors can see a Viking Rune Stone at the church near the bridge . But sightings of the monster have persisted through over 360 years since the Parson made his registry notations.
In the 1890’s King Oscar II of Sweden, who was quite interested in science, set up funds for the Company to Capture the Great Lake Monster. Pigs and live calves were used as bait in traps, but the company reported no success. A book about the monster was published in 1899, another in 1950, and in recent years Ulla Oscarsson wrote the only other book about the mysterious, elusive Monster of Lake Storsjon.
By 1987 there had been nearly 500 officially reported sightings of the Monster, mainly during the warm tourist season. But, of course, the lake is frozen solid in the winter months with no holes for the monster to come up. Some say they saw an eel about ten feet long and three feet wide. Others say it is a gray-brown serpent at least 46 feet long with a small, dog-like head and humps. Many have seen a wavy pattern in the water with big humps appearing. In July 1996 a group of tourists were able to capture 30 seconds on video out of a sighting they said lasted at least three minutes. However, the video is from a long distance and is not clear in details. The many different sightings and varying reports have led local authorities to conclude they must have a group of these unknown monsters in residence.
Authorities deduce that the animal is not a member of the seal family, because they are not seen in winter. Swedish folklore explains that the lake monsters migrate to the Gulf of Bothnia for the winter. Some folk even claim to have seen them, moving on land between the area lakes in summer. Authorities believe many more than the 500 who officially reported sightings have actually seen the monster but were afraid of sounding peculiar. Eyewitnesses say the creature is certainly not a fish. It has been concluded that it must be some form of huge, unknown eel, serpent or chameleon.
In 1986, on the 200th anniversary of Ostersund, the County of Jamtland decided to pass a law to protect the Great Lake Monsters, their nests, spawn, or eggs, should they ever be found. Under the Nature Conservancy Law anyone destroying or harming these will be prosecuted. In 1987 Jamtli Historyland County Museum, under the direction of Sten Rentzhog, started to promote the monster for tourism and it was christened, “Frojo” and now greets families who come to the museum. Children can enter a whimsical replica monster’s mouth and slide down inside Storsjoodjuret to the museum displays.
From witches’ to a child’s play acting…Frojo embodies the Halloween spirit!
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