Vermont

Vermont’s cryptid and folklore traditions draw from New England ghost stories, mountain wilderness legends, and a handful of modern mysteries. The state’s deep forests, colonial farmsteads, and misty waterways have long inspired tales of spectral figures and uncanny creatures.

From the waters of Lake Champlain to the covered bridges of Stowe, Vermont’s legends reflect both its frontier past and the persistence of local storytelling. Cryptid lore here continues to shape the state’s cultural landscape, linking modern sightings with older traditions.

Champ (Lake Champlain Monster, 1600s–present)

Champ, Vermont’s most famous cryptid, is said to dwell in Lake Champlain along the state’s western border. Reports describe a long-necked, serpentlike creature with a ridged back, often compared to a prehistoric reptile.

The earliest written references appear in the 1600s with French explorer Samuel de Champlain, though most historians note later 19th-century accounts helped solidify the legend as lake commerce expanded. Sightings remain common on both the Vermont and New York shores, and Champ endures as both a regional tourist attraction and one of New England’s best-known lake monsters.

Pigman of Northfield (1970s)

In the early 1970s, residents of Northfield, Vermont, began reporting a strange figure on rural roads. Witnesses described a muscular, bare-chested man with the head of a pig and glowing eyes. Some accounts placed him near abandoned farmhouses, while others connected the legend to tales of disappearances in the area.

Skeptics have suggested the stories began as a local prank, but the figure soon took root in Vermont folklore. The Pigman remains one of the state’s most unusual cryptid legends, blending small-town rumor with the eerie isolation of its backroads.

The Awful (Vergennes, 1925 reports)

In 1925, residents of Vergennes, Vermont, reported sightings of a terrifying winged beast soon nicknamed “The Awful.” Witnesses described a dragonlike creature with a long body, leathery wings, and glowing red eyes. Newspapers at the time recorded the panic as townsfolk claimed it swooped over rooftops and scattered livestock.

The wave of reports faded as quickly as it began, but the story left a strong mark on local memory. “The Awful” remains one of Vermont’s most dramatic monster flaps, standing out among New England’s stranger cryptid tales.

The Ghost of Emily’s Bridge (Stowe, 1840s legend)

Emily’s Bridge in Stowe is one of Vermont’s most famous haunted sites. Built in the mid-1800s, the covered wooden bridge gained its legend from stories of a young woman named Emily who died there in the 1840s. Some versions claim she leapt from the bridge after heartbreak, while others say she was killed in a tragic accident.

Since then, visitors have reported cold touches, unexplained scratches on their cars, and ghostly apparitions crossing the bridge at night. The tale of Emily’s Bridge endures as a classic New England ghost story and a key piece of Vermont folklore.

Catamount (Green Mountain folklore, 1700s–1800s)

The catamount, or mountain lion, once roamed Vermont’s forests in large numbers. By the late 1800s, settlers believed they had been hunted to extinction in the region, but stories of the fierce cats lived on in Green Mountain folklore. Colonial farmers often told of livestock attacks, and tales of unusually large, shadowy cats stalking the hills became part of Vermont’s frontier lore.

Even after the species was declared gone, sightings continued. Modern reports of big cats in Vermont’s backcountry keep the catamount alive as both a possible survivor and a lasting symbol of the state’s wild heritage.