Grand Lake Hoedag

 




The Grand Lake hoedag is a fearsome critter from St Mary’s Ohio, not to be confused with the more famous Wisconsin hodag. It was said to be a lake monster, albeit one that was completely different from the typical plesiosaur / Nessie type. The hoedag was said to be a one of a kind, female creature, not a species. It appeared in news articles from 1912 to the 1960’s, and was never meant to be taken seriously.

The hoedag was the size and shape of a giraffe. She had fur on her body and a combination of feathers and porcupine quills on her neck. Her body was covered in a cow spot pattern and had a camel like hump on her back. Her front legs were long like a chicken’s and her back legs were short like a pigs. Both sets of legs ended in plate shaped feet, which were capable of moving over mud and water plants without sinking in. On her head she had a singular green eye, partly covered by cow licked bangs. Her tail stuck up in the air like a flagpole and at the end of it was a red eye. This eye was capable of shooting out a beam of fire, which she used to destroy traps set for her.

The hoedag haunts the lake, only coming out on foggy nights. This is because she’s terrified by hummingbirds. The hummingbirds can sense the hoedag’s malice and attack her, poking her in the eye with their beaks. If it wasn’t for the hummingbirds’ efforts the hoedag would rampage through the town of St Mary’s and destroy everything. Instead she scares humans who venture too close to the lake at night, and drag young lovers into the waters, drowning them. The hoedag was believed to eat wild geese and stray dogs. However her favorite food was pumpkin pie, which was used to bait the traps set for her.

There are two stories of the Hoedag’s origin. One was that she existed before Grand Lake was dug. And once the artificial lake was complete the refreshing waters lured her to the area. It’s unknown where the hoedag lived before this. The other story is that people built a float of a mysterious creature for a town parade. The top of the float was blown off by the wind and landed in the lake, where it came to life.

The stories of the hoedag were written by various newspaper employees but they were always framed as reports from one Fred Longsworth, who worked for the fictitious Hunters, Trappers and Traders Association. This organization was also responsible for setting the numerous traps for the hoedag.


Sources 

https://samkalensky.com/products/hoedag

https://www.theeveningleader.com/entertainment/the-hoedag-of-grand-lake/image_adf2776a-6212-11ee-9147-534e019c2c7b.html


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