Ghouls Legends The Susquehanna Greenway is a landscape full of opportuni- ties not only for hiking, biking, and paddling, but also for rich cultural and historic treasures, some of which have ghostly pasts. As Halloween approaches, now’s the time to brush up on your Greenway ghouls and legends. So, grab your mon- ster repellent and get ready to learn all about the spooky specters of the Susquehanna Greenway! kettle creek monster / west branch dugong / susquehanna seal was publicized by outdoor guide and writer Ken Maurer of Sunbury’s The Daily Item. Susquehanna GREENWAY & by Alana jajko
A friend of Maurer’s who had also seen the creature de- scribed it as a small submarine about to surface. On Maurer’s own sighting, he says, “It pushed a wake that made waves that lapped up on the shoreline. At about 50 yards, it sank out of sight. Creepy. Over the next year or two, I saw it sev- eral times and it always sank out of sight before it got close enough to be seen clearly.”Upon being asked during a panel discussion about his most “mysterious sighting” while in the wild, Maurer recalled a large creature that he saw swimming in the Susquehanna River. The account received mixed reactions, some questioning the reporter’s encounters, others coming forward with similar sightings in the area. Has the Susquehanna Seal of Clinton County relocated to new waters? One thing is for sure, the Susquehanna Mystery Thing would be a spooky sight to see from a kayak in the Greenway waters of Northumberland County.
A creature with many names, this elusive legend has been said to lurk in the waters of the Susque- hanna River near Lock Haven in Clinton County. The Kettle Creek Monster, West Branch Dugong, or Susquehanna Seal is a marine creature that dates back over a century.
squonk
An article in the Daily Democrat from February 27, 1897, de- scribes the travels of a creature that existed before the valley was settled, making its way up the river and settling in the area between present-day Lock Haven and Kettle Creek. It is de- tailed as a “marine animal or sea monster” with the “the bulk of an ox or hippopotamus.” The monster was “not the form or image of anything else on earth” and was said to make a horrible howling and thrashing at night. It was often blamed for the spilling or capsizing of lumber rafts at the time. Reports of the creature became less and less frequent in the later 1800s, many believing it to have died or escaped to the ocean through underground caverns. Sea lion, shark, whale, or some prehistoric dinosaur—the true identity of the creature remains a mystery. Is the Kettle Creek Monster / West Branch Dugong / Susquehanna Seal really gone? Tread carefully next time you paddle your way through this section of the Greenway.
The Hemlock forests of northern Pennsylvania are said to be home to a sad mythical creature known as the Squonk. Pig- like with a saggy skin covered in warts and blemishes, the Squonk spends much of its life weeping. It is very elusive, preferring to hide out of sight in the hemlock woods; howev- er, the legend says that if you do happen to catch a Squonk, it won’t be long before you find yourself with a puddle of tears in place of the beast.
Image: Susquehanna Seal by Taylor Garner; PA Wilds
susquehanna ’ s mystery thing Another marine mystery is said to lurk in Susquehanna waters near the river’s confluence in Northumberland County. Seen as recently as the 2000s, the Susquehanna’s Mystery Thing
Image: Squonk rendering from Mysterious Universe
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