Tahoe Tessie

image I spent the weekend in a small town (King's Beach) on the coast of Lake Tahoe. While there I figured I would investigate the local legend of Tahoe Tessie, a monster that supposedly lives in the lake. However, the legend doesn't appear to be widely known, even in the Tahoe area. Most people whom I asked about it gave me a blank stare. Some details that I found on AmericanMonsters.com include that:
Legends of this creature first began to surface in the mid-1800's, when members of the Washoe and Paiute Indian tribes began to tell the white settlers about the "monster" dwelling in the depths of the Tahoe basin. As fascinating as those original testimonies may be, the most intriguing account surrounding this mystery-beast did not occur until the mid-1970's, when the renowned, French oceanographer, Jacques Cousteau, lead an expedition to explore the depths of lake Tahoe. While submerged Cousteau reportedly encountered something so terrifying that he refused to reveal what it was to the public. Sources credit Cousteau as saying, quote: "The world wasn't ready for what was down there!"
I managed to pick up a small Tahoe Tessie stuffed animal and a Tahoe Tessie keyring in a gift shop. Then I heard that there was an entire Tahoe Tessie Museum located in King's Beach run by a guy named Bob McCormack. And that it was just a few blocks down from where I was saying. So I took off to find it. Unfortunately I discovered that the museum closed a few years ago and that the building it was in was torn down. All that remains is an empty lot next door to a video store and a row of porta-pottys (see thumbnail). So much for Tahoe Tessie. I didn't venture into the porta-pottys to check if Tessie was hidden in there.

Cryptozoology

Posted on Tue Sep 12, 2006


Comments

I have it on good authority that Cousteau had seen Barney.
Posted by Joe  on  Tue Sep 12, 2006  at  12:19 PM
If Tessie has been reduced to hiding in a porta-pottie, I don't think she'd want to be seen. She'd lose all street-cred amongst the other monsters.
Posted by Madmouse  on  Tue Sep 12, 2006  at  04:24 PM
Well that really sucks!
Posted by RedNeckOreo  on  Tue Sep 12, 2006  at  05:35 PM
"The world wasn't ready for what was down there!" Bulls**t!
Posted by Spike_j  on  Tue Sep 12, 2006  at  08:12 PM
I think Spike's right:

http://dmla.clan.lib.nv.us/docs/nsla/archives/myth/myth151.htm
Posted by JoeDaJuggler  on  Tue Sep 12, 2006  at  10:39 PM
As I recall, I saw Tessie in a brochure for a resort at Tahoe. Something to the tune of "3 performances daily by costume dinosaur."
Posted by Eric  on  Tue Sep 12, 2006  at  11:14 PM

I think Spike's right:

http://dmla.clan.lib.nv.us/docs/nsla/archives/myth/myth151.htm


Sure... that's what the Nevada government wants you to think!
Posted by fk  on  Wed Sep 13, 2006  at  12:27 AM
have seen perhaps what Jacque has seen !
actually 3 different things, one the world is not ready for, as it can't be explained, but is big and blue and have seen this thing twice, can't describe, except it is not tessie
Posted by David fambrough  on  Tue Jan 23, 2007  at  10:47 PM
That's like Chessie, the Chesapeake Bay monster. Except people have been seeing her since the 1600s
Posted by freshie  on  Sun Aug 23, 2009  at  11:09 AM
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