Tales from the lake

The Kildevældsparken lake is not much larger than a regular-sized public swimming pool. And yet, there are eyewitness testimonies, mostly from the 1970’s, about “something” in the lake, reminiscent of what has been reported from Loch Ness and other, much greater, bodies of water throughout the world. Most accounts have come from dog walkers during the late night or early morning hours of summer. They have described something looking like a capsized boat (usually in the region of 2-3 meters, but sometimes reported to be up to 4 or 5 meters) moving back and forth in the water, with a wake following it. The “thing” would always submerge after no longer than a few minutes. Over the years, several dogs have also been said to have drowned in the lake under strange circumstances. The dog would be swimming, when suddenly the water around it began to react violently, and the next minute it disappeared with a *plop*.

The stories of lake creatures may be scoffed at for its immediate unbelievability. But the following, said to have taken place in the late 1990’s, is more realistic: A young, drunk couple had trespassed into the park one night, to go for a secret swim in the lake. They had both taken their clothes off and were ready to jump in, but in the last minute the guy declined because he simply was too intoxicated. The girl went ahead anyway, while the boyfriend passed out to the sound of her splashing in the water. The next morning he woke up, with both their clothes in piles on the grass, but the girlfriend nowhere in sight. Even after an intensive search, she was never found again.

Possible explanations

The aforementioned incident with the couple is likely an urban legend, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a core of truth to the story. We know for a fact that people have drowned in the lake even in recent times. In regards to the “thing”, the observations were mostly made during periods of hot weather. If there really is, or was, a large creature in the lake, it would make sense that it came to the surface precisely during these times, as heat makes the oxygen level in water drop.

As to what nature of beast we might possibly be dealing with, author and cryptozoologist Lars Thomas leans toward a larger than average pike. A pike is a rather grotesque and prehistoric-looking fish found all over Denmark, and a good sized specimen would be able to drag down a small dog without too much trouble. However, a pike with a length of 3 or 4, let alone 5, meters, as some reports suggest, is wholly unrealistic.

There is also a legend that there exists an underwater passage, leading from the lake to the nearby Svanemøllen harbor. This notion has been reinforced by visitors at times having caught the unusual scent of seaweed, and other odors not usually associated with freshwater. If that were true, then the possibilities of what the lake might hold, at any given time, would expand dramatically.

Ultimately, since there hasn’t been any reports about the “thing” for decades, the original culprit is probably long dead. However, there is nothing to prevent that another “monster” could one day appear and spark a new generation of sightings – or something even worse.

Sources & further reading

• Lars Thomas –  Det Mystiske Danmark (Aschehoug, 2005)
• Lars Thomas – Weird Waters (CFZ Press, 2010)

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