It has been an exciting journey researching monsters from across the United States. This week’s monster, though, isn’t a cryptid; it is a lake.

You read correctly. The monster lake is Pyramid Lake, an enclosed lake 15 miles long and 11 miles wide. Its maximum depth is 350 feet deep, and the lake’s haunted. The Lake is part of the Paiute Indian Reservation located thirty-five miles east of Reno. It was an ancient remnant of Lake Lahontan formed during the Pleistocene Epoch. This epoch time is anywhere from 2.6 million years to a measly 11,700 years ago. It is an ancient lake and the largest natural lake in the state.

So, why all the history and information? Because this lake is beautiful but deadly.

People like me would have a field day with this lake. It has a spooky history of anglers and boaters disappearing. It also has a high concentration of people drowning. I pulled a brief search of drownings, and my tabs filled up from the number of reported deaths. Some deaths were mysterious. Other deaths authorities claiming the victims weren’t wearing life jackets.

The Paiute Indians have tales from generations back. One of the most long-lasting stories is the one about the water babies.

According to ancient Paiute stories, the tribe were said, “to have thrown malformed and premature babies into the dark and murky waters to drown in an effort to keep the tribe strong, keeping only the children who would grow to be capable and useful members of their tribe.” So, the story goes that the spirits of these drowned babies haunt the lake. It is said you can hear their shrieks, cries, and wails at dawn and dusk.

Of course, the babies were understandably angry and haunted the lake. Their angry spirits would pull the unsuspecting people into the lake and drown them. If you wandered too close to the edge, you were taking your life in your hands.

This story doesn’t sound familiar, does it?

There are skeptics, and they say that the Paiutes made the story up. The reason for making up such a horrible story is guilt. The story of the Paite drowning babies is true, the skeptics say. What isn’t true is that the spirits of the water babies are exacting revenge? I don’t know; the lake has old energy and an atrocious event like that carries its own energy. Do those two energies combine? It can create something bad.

What the Paiutes did was horrible, and as the story goes, they felt guilty for their actions. So, they passed the story on about the drowned babies haunting the lake.

The water babies aren’t the only spirits haunting the lake. According to another Paiute legend, there is a story involving a Mermaid.

A gorgeous mermaid fell in love with a Paiute warrior. They were madly in love with each other. However, there was some dissent in the tribe. Members of the Paiute tribe weren’t thrilled having a mermaid as a member of their tribe. The upset members convinced the chief to banish the fair mermaid back to the lake.

Naturally, she wasn’t happy with the small minds in the tribe. She missed her love and hated being alone. Her emotions transformed into bitterness and hate, and she vowed revenge on the tribe.

I understand her hurt and anger, but to blame the entire tribe for a stupid few? Then again, no one defended the maiden, including her love. There was nothing in the legend about him protecting her. Nothing about him saying anything against the tribe for what they did to her.

Like the water babies, if any member of the tribe approached the shores of Pyramid Lake, the mermaid would grab them and drag them to the deepest part of the lake. The mourning lady still roams the edges of the lake today.

So, you have drowned baby spirits and a revengeful mermaid haunting the lake. You add drowned anglers and boaters along with disappearing bodies, and you have the ingredients for a mysterious lake with a haunting history. A haunted lake that could be alive and its energy is feeding the spirits.

It is as if the lake itself is alive.

Mark Fiorentino wrote an article about the haunted lake. He had made plans to go with his friend, Dan, to go fishing at pyramid lake. Another friend heard of his agenda and was scared for him because she had heard about the lake’s legend. His research showed that the lake has underwater shelves, caves, and other structures not seen from the surface.

Now, this makes sense. Fiorentino also added that the wind conditions on the lake could be harsh. The speed and direction can change on a dime, which can cause rough boating conditions.

What he writes makes sense, but the authorities don’t report any harsh lake conditions affecting boaters. There are no reports about empty boats. There are reports about missing boats along with their owners. There have been reports of drownings. People drowned wearing no life jackets, nor were life jackets found even in the boats. This is unusual because these are supposedly experienced boaters.

Did the vengeful water babies pull the victims off the boat?

Stories of cries and wailings throughout the lake, usually during the morning hours, abound. The water babies have caused equipment malfunctions, boating accidents, and people’s disappearances.

There was a poster of two missing brothers dated May 2017. When the brothers failed to return from their fishing, authorities searched for them. The police found the brother’s empty boat trailer and truck, but not the brothers. That begs the question, where is their boat?

Pyramid lake is only 15 miles long and 11 miles wide, not a vast area to search. Yet, the men and the boat are still missing.

The story of the Paiute throwing the babies in the lake is reportedly true. However, the Paiute believe that the bad luck tied to the lake is from the curse of the mermaid. Many of the locals believe the water babies are real too. Witnesses have reported strange movements on the surface. If you are on the surface of the lake at dawn or dusk? You could hear the eerie crying and wailing of babies.

Are the stories true?

If you look at just the facts, it makes you wonder. There have been unusually high drowning deaths reported every year. Then you have an increased number of boaters disappearing at the lake in a year. Those two stats alone suggest that there is something unusual happening at the lake.

Surviving boaters claim that their sonar picks up strange pings. Only to watch them fade away, leaving nothing behind of what it was.

Water babies, Mermaid, equipment malfunctions, boating accidents, drownings, and disappearances.

There are way too many coincidences happening at this lake. The lake is currently closed because of a toxic algae bloom. July 2020, cyanotoxin levels could harm pets and humans.

Another coincidence?

I’m not sure I am ready to believe in a haunted lake. I am curious enough to check the lake out personally. Suppose you get there before me. Be safe and monitor it from a distance. There is something fishy about that lake aside from babies and mermaids.

Image selected by pixabay.