Weird California - By Joe Parzanese
The Monster of Elizabeth Lake
Palmdale, California
93532
There are at least ten different Elizabeth Lakes in California. This one is in LA County near Palmdale and is perhaps the oldest one in the state. Legend states that the Devil himself created the lake and placed one of his own pets inside it. If you swim deep enough, eventually you will find a secret passage direct to the underworld which isn't entirely far fetched, as the lake lies directly over the San Andres fault line. From this lake a horrible monster came to be.
Although there have been no reported sightings since the 1880's, there were a few from 1830 all the way up to 1886. The creature has been described as having bat wings, the neck of a giraffe, the head of a bulldog, six legs, a length of at least fifty feet, and emit a horrible nauseating stench. Several ranchers and owners of land around Elizabeth Lake abandoned or sold their property at losses to get away from the beast. Supposedly, Spanish missionaries dubbed the lake Laguna del Diablo and Native American Legend also supports the rumors that the Devil created the lake.
The first sighting was by a Spaniard Don Pedro Carillo in the 1830's. He built a ranch on the shores of the lake, but one day a fire of unknown origin burnt every single structure down all in a single night. In the 1850's, American settlers tried to establish themselves near the lake, but screams at night, unnatural noises, visions, and other experiences that they would not relate drove them away from the fertile soils.
Then came Don Chico Lopez and Don Chico Vasquez. He established an entire ranch along the lake and for several months everything was fine. The monster did not show itself. Then the workers reported livestock and animals disappearing. This was followed by a giant winged shadow passing over the house each and every night. Soon the residents had multiple sightings of the beast. Bullets reportedly bounced off the creature's hide. As ranch hands quit, and animals kept disappearing, the owners were forced to sell. The land was eventually sold and the ranch abandoned.
Miguel Leonis purchased the ranch next. Leonis was a Basque immigrant, a large and burly man who controlled a large amount of land throughout Southern California. He ruled over it like a dictator, and squatters were often severely dealt with through either lawsuits or armed force.
Several months after he purchased the ranch on Elizabeth Lake, the creature began eating his animals as well. But Leonis would not have it. He lay in wait for the beast and then savagely attacked it when it emerged at night. As bullets bounced off its tough hide, he engaged it closer, beating it with his rifle butt across the nose and then punching it in the eye. So taken back by the ferocity of the attack, that the creature retreated back to the lake, and there lay resting, healing its injured eye. Eventually, it fled from the lake heading east towards Arizona.
A depiction of what the original Thunderbird Photograph may have looked like. Not the original!
The tale, however, doesn't quite end there. The spawn of the Devil that inhabited Elizabeth Lake has also been linked to the area around Tombstone and the Thunderbird Photograph. The Thunderbird Photograph is a possible picture taken a very long time ago presumably in early 1890 of several cowboys and ranchers holding up what appears to be a pterodactyl. The beast was apparently seen flying in the area, and was lured by some ranchers into a trap in the Huachuca Mountains, west of Tombstone, where they killed the creature. Some stories link the monster of Elizabeth Lake to the monster in the old picture of the pterodactyl, stating that they are the same creature. The picture, of course, also has several stories surrounding it. Scholars aren't even sure if such a picture even exists let alone if it is authentic. The picture apparently appeared in the newspaper: the Tombstone Epitaph and showed several cowboys and ranchers in front of a dead pterodactyl who's wings were pinned to the wall of a barn. The picture soon disappeared.
Regardless of if the creature fled to Arizona, and regardless of if it was killed west of Tombstone, since the day that Leonis beat up the Devil's pet, Elizabeth Lake has mostly been quiet. Speculation has long existed on if the monster did exist. Additionally if it did not exist, no one can draw a conclusion as to why several Spanish dons, American squatters, and wild west ranchers would go to such lengths to avoid such a fertile area.
If the Tombstone story is to be believed, the monster outlived it's attacker, Miguel Leonis, by only one year. Leonis eventually died in a strange wagon accident in 1889. As he wasn't very well liked, rumors of his murder spread afterwards. His and his wife's ghost still haunt the Leonis Adobe in Calabasas.
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Comments:
- Eloisa of Salt Lake City , Utah on 2024-03-02 said:
- I lived there in the 90’s with my parents. As kids we got into everything, I can remember going into abandoned houses, and hiking up the hill across from the golf course because there was supposed to be a place for devil worshipers, rope swinging right behind the mailboxes into the water. I never saw a monster or thunderbird, but my Uncle did drive his thunderbird into the lake drunk once, my dad had to pull him out. I’m now 41 and I wonder what that town was all about, they could probably make a series out of it.
- Manny of Castaic, California on 2023-02-04 said:
- I’m not saying I saw the “Monster of Lake Elizabeth” but something very similar? When I was 13 years (2013ish) me and 3 of my friends were at the sports complex located in Castaic, Ca. When we were leaving the park we noticed a humanoid creature—with dark gray skin— seems like it was kneeling down close to the exit in the parking lot looking at us. As weird as it seemed, we had to walk pass it in order to exit the park , as we were getting close to it, it stood up and started running towards us, once it got close to us it started running away exposing its wings as it started flying away. We were all shocked, we were walking back to my fiends trailer home at the r.v. park. They were all talking about what we just saw and how weird it was, I was quiet because I was in shock but every detail they were describing was spot on, we all witnessed the same thing and it wasn’t a imagination I had . We finally arrived to my friends R.V. after around 10 minutes . Everything seemed fine as we’re watching t.v. but moments later we started hearing claw scratches all around the R.V. (did it really just followed us from the sports complex?!) we immediately knew what it was and all tried leaving in the same moment, after getting stuck because of how scared we were and trying to leave through his door all at once we didn’t even bother to look what was scratching his home and left the R.V. park by running without stopping .
I’m a very skeptical guy, but this day was unexplainable, I personally believe it resides near lake Elizabeth or lake Hughes or anywhere in dense mountains but I’m not perusing to investigate what that thing was. I’m an 27 year old adult now but still remember that day like if it was yesterday.
- Chuck Slay of Trinidad , CA on 2022-11-06 said:
- I lived overlooking Elizabeth Lake for 10 years. I even served on the HELUS school board. Frequented Papas store. One time trolling for trout in my 12 ft aluminum boat, I had foolishly forgotten to pull up my anchor. Halfway across the lake I hooked onto “something” that began pulling my boat almost fast enough for me to pull a water skier. I had a friend with me. Thinking we were going to be drug under, I untied the anchor. That was no trout!
- Chuck Slay of Trinidad , Ca on 2022-10-13 said:
- I lived overlooking Elizabeth Lake for 10 years. Even served on the HELUS School Board. I fished the Lake for bass in the shallow east end. The erratic swim pattern on the lake created optical illusions. HOWEVER. Fishing I hooked onto something that drug my boat about 100 yds. scaring me. I told several friends who said it must have been huge catfish. When it dried I did find some catfish skeletons over 6 feet long. When trout were planted Forest Service friends told me “something” waited for the trout and a great swirling of the water, and the trout disappeared. They are Sump Ponds, not lakes. Tectonic in origin, and incredibly deep.
- Chaunte of Hemet, California on 2021-09-04 said:
- Omfg...I ran across this looking up something on my car somehow.Ive lived here
in Hemet,CA for little over a year now and seen this big dark flying creature four times now,I've
been calling it a dragon. So the first time it had flown over me which made duck real fast yet I
thought that maybe it happened so fast I just thought it was something big and saud. Nothing to
anyone. Second time I was in my car alone smoking a cigg. And I seen it fly far above my house and
disappear into the night sky.told my family but that laughter and said it was just a bat. Third time
we'll I didn't see it but my boyfriend and I was outside on our porch and we but ended up ducking
because it sound like huge wings right above us as tho we where gonna get picked up mind you there's
a roof on our porch so altho it sounded like that it couldn't have done so ,but could have been that
close to the roof.but ofcourse he says it wasn't a dragon just had to be some bird. the third time
was just last night ,I was getting out my car and across the street way far up in the sky back a
distance I seen flying again disappeared in the darkness then back again as it did a turned and was
a little lower joining a second creature then they both disappeared. Now I know I'm not crazy. And
know mostlikely they are not Dragons but I know or a fact there's something huge up in these skies.
And would love to know what and be able to tell those who say I'm seeing this I told them so.
- Anonymous on 2021-07-04 said:
- I lived by lake elizabeth ca for over ten years. I did not use the lake but it at least it made nice scenery and a kept piece of nature. The only monster was the government that brought us the "FOREST ADVENTURE PASS" TO EVEN PARK BY THE LAKE!!!!
- Bill of Palmdale, California on 2021-07-01 said:
- I can say with all certainty that Lake Elizabeth in Los Angeles County is monster free. In 1990, the lake dried to the point where you could walk across it and get no deeper than your thighs, I never saw anything in the lake at this point.
- al ponce of cottonwood, arizona on 2020-09-20 said:
- Grew up in the area in the 60s and 70's and never heard the monster story. Back then we heard stories of bigfoot and UFOs in the area and watched for them LOL. I remember when it was really cold and the lake nearly froze over with ducks stuck in the ice. That was sometime in the 60's. The fact that the San Andreas fault runs under the lake is scary enough. People all over that area have reported strange or paranormal things for decades if not centuries.
- Adrian of Quarts Hill, California on 2018-10-28 said:
- This story is so funny. Right now, as I was watching channel A&E on cable. Titled Acient Aliens. They were talking about this story. I'm sorry folks but I've lived near the place and swam Lake Elizabeth Lake for years. It was only 7 ft deep when it had water. Now, in 2018 the Lake is dry. No cave. We now use it to race radio controlled/ fueled small cars What's more scary about this story is me reading this on this site and at the same time it came on TV as I read and type this. 10/26/2018.
- Shelley of Rowland hgts, Ca on 2018-05-30 said:
- It's a prehistoric animal, long gone. My grandmother Ruth was one of the first bus drivers and then Ruth and Velma were the cooks at the school. Ruth's brother Cokey was the governor of lake Hughes. He , in his hey day-Years back they use to have a yelling contest at the lake, for fun to see if they could call the monster. The alien program even used the history of the prehistoric creature to try to prove there is a secret hole under ground in which the aliens hide. Yes the prehistoric creature left and was found dead in Arizona. There is no monster anymore but people love a scary story they are a part of. So when driving through the hills of lake Hughes, imagine at one time it really did exist.
- KC Cowgirl of Acton, CA on 2017-09-20 said:
- This article is hilarious. Humans LOVE superstition and folklore. As a former resident of Green Valley and now Acton, Elizabeth Lake wouldn't even be here now if not fed by a pumped water source. :-)
- Vera of Lancaster, California on 2017-04-18 said:
- A friend of mine told me that she saw this monster several years ago and it scared her. She was driving home to Lancaster from santa Clarita and she took the back road through the Elizabeth lake area. Age said she saw this giant green monster that was really tall creeping across the road from her rear view mirror. It had ears like shrek. It scared her so bad. She finally shared her story yesterday after seeing this thing years ago. I just Google this to see if I could find any information about it and came across this sight. A male friend of mine took me and my daughter there about 4 yrs ago. I didn't like that lake. It was unkepted.
- Steve from Calabasas on 2016-11-24 said:
- For a number of years I lived & worked directly across from the Leonis Adobe in Calabasas and was good friends with the two caretakers, Morgan & Ruth, that lived there. They were very familiar with the various ghosts that 'lived' there as well. School buses regularly brought children to tour the historic two story adobe building. The tour was an odd one due to the fact the walls were two feet thick; making the building much smaller on the inside than it appeared on the outside. You would see the small rooms on the first floor then go up the only set of stairs to the second floor, see the small bedroom and bath room (with its cool copper tub) then turn and walk into what seemed to be the door to another room and end up outside! Instead of a room or hallway you would find yourself outside on the second story veranda! It had one other door that lead straight down the staircase. It was very disorienting and Everyone practically fled back down those stairs! Out one door, "What? I'm outside!?", back through the other door and down the stairs. No one hung out there except the caretakers (& myself) after hours on warm nights, chatting, drinking tea in it's three rocking chairs. Working across the street I would watch the kids come and go and look over to see if I could spot my friends. One day I was very much surprise to see someone actually sitting in one of the rocking chairs. I can still see her, an old lady dress all in light gray sitting bolt straight, slowly rocking. She was the same shade of light gray from head to toe and barely, slowly rocking, staring straight back at me. It was very weird; no one stopped and sat there EVER, yet there she was; the same light gray from head to toe. I watched her and she watched me for several minutes. When I went back to work I resolved to ask my friends later who she was. I forgot all about it until days later, sitting on that same porch, sipping tea after hours, Morgan & Ruth mentioned that they had had visit from 'The Lady in White' a few days before. The school kids on a tour had run downstairs freaked out by a strange old lady on the porch. The two caretakers had quickly gone up to investigate, taking the only staircase to the second floor and on to the veranda. When they got there the chair was still rocking but empty. The self-same chair I was sitting in at the time! They told this story not knowing what I had seen. It was a real "Wait, what? But, but, but... " moment for me!
- Simon Williams on 2016-11-08 said:
- I think this creature might actually be a dinosaur, and that it really existed.
- Gianni of Mission viejo ca, California on 2016-07-23 said:
- This monster is scary it scared the crap out of me as my sister told me that i prayed to god before we got on the highway on the ortega so we were driving our way to tamecula as the dark wather wAs chasing our car
- Dave of Scranton, PA on 2016-06-24 said:
- Steve- you claim Lake Elizabeth is dried up, now.
Where did you get that idea from?
The lake is still very much there.
You can even google streetview the road beside it, and see it.
It's quite lovely.
- Anonymous on 2016-06-05 said:
- Some of these comments are amazing! (What I mean by that is, they are ridiculous!)
I'm a genealogist and researcher, and I believe the original news story was just one of imagination. I have come across dozens of articles just like it in old newspapers. Remember, this was before radio and television. Newspapers were not only a source of information, but entertainment as well.
I read the story and wondered if what people were spotting was a California Condor. Have you ever seen one in flight? Those things are huge! I had the luck to see one take flight over Pyramid Lake a little over a decade ago.
People sure loved them some devil stories!
As for the lake, we used to hang out there a lot when we lived in Green Valley, but it really was nasty. I was more creeped out by the stinky, black mud.
- Steve of Palmdale, CA on 2016-05-30 said:
- Lake Elizabeth is completely dried up now , so go try and find the portal to hell , doubt you will.
- charla marshall of carpinteria, ca on 2016-05-24 said:
- my mom (Eva) ran the snack bar at Edgewater park in the 60's and us kids spent our summers there. Although we never saw a monster we did scare the bejesus out of ourselves at the nearby grave yard after dark. I fell off the high dive (onto the patio) and lost a lot of one summer then for an 8th birthday feast someone butchered one of the goats we had named and were friends with :( Needless to say I didn't eat any! There were Peacocks on the upper patio and big bullfrogs everywhere. My mom was pictured on a postcard for the park holding up a mug of beer. One day she picked up a really big gopher snake and came in through the back door where my dad was cooking burgers and out the front window he went. There was a juke box that mom gave us quarters painted red with fingernail polish and every time I hear Twilight by the Platters I think of Edgewater. I can still remember how warm it was to lay on the patio after coming out of the pool and the smell of chlorine. One day our dog ran down onto the dried lake where a sheepherder was moving his sheep. My mom felt bad that our dog chased the sheep and scattered them all over the place. Edgewater was owned by Fred & Maria Cantell & they lived up the road and had a parrot that swore. Wonderful memories.
- Erwin Deleon of Lake Hughes, Ca on 2016-05-21 said:
- I bought a property on Sage Trail lake Hughes, march 1995, my Daughter lives there now. I Never seeing anything. Sorry....
- Kelly murch of Temple city, CA on 2016-05-01 said:
- On a road trip, a couple years back, I stumbled upon this lake. It was Memorial Day, and instantly I found it strange that the lake was open, but stark empty, all of the surrounding properties were for sale, and the silence in the air was noticeably eerie, We left, feeling out of sorts, and upon returning home, I googled the history only to come across this strange dialogues. Years later, a homeless man mentioned to me that he witnessed the death of 3 fisherman,
- Snayron of Los angeles, CA on 2016-04-04 said:
- I saw it flying when I was about 10 years old I never spoke bout it thought no one would believe me specially growing when Pokemon was just new then I came across a show a few days ago talking bout such beast I will never forget what I saw!!
- James Rivera of Ridgecrest, CA on 2016-04-01 said:
- All these funny stories come from our desire to find mystery in our live. Nice stories, just huge fictions. Also, when taking drugs to have ethereal experiences, remember and be prepared to know that what you see while on drugs probably isn't all real.
- Marc Minich of Folsom, CA on 2016-01-11 said:
- I lived in Lancaster from 1983-1987 and visited Elizabeth Lake many times. I tried fishing it with no luck. Once while fishing from the roadside shore I found a dead fish. At first I thought it was a Bluegill but a closer look showed the unmistakeable teeth of a Piranha. I think someone thought it was funny to dump a Piranha in the lake when they got tired of feeding it. I don't believe there was sufficient natural food for a population to flourish and this one died of starvation and washed ashore. People shouldn't import exotic species as they frequently get into the wild by accident or on purpose. That's my Monster story. No, I would have never cared to swim there either.
- margaret anne moore of Wilmington , California on 2015-11-27 said:
- I read about this creature in an article in the 1980s. I suspect that it may well be some type of dinosaur, like the Thunderbird of the Plains Indians, that obviously excaped extinction.
- margaret anne moore of Wilmington , California on 2015-11-27 said:
- I read about this creature in an article in the 1980s. I suspect that it may well be some type of dinosaur, like the Thunderbird of the Plains Indians, that obviously excaped extinction.
- Michael of Valencia, California on 2015-08-05 said:
- @Travomatic of Green Valley
Sounds like something the DEVIL would say!
- Pepper Levinson of CANYON COUNTRY, CA on 2015-08-04 said:
- I live in Santa Clarita, a stone's throw from this lake. Never seen the monster, but there is something in the woods on the road there.
- Travomatic of Green Valley, California on 2015-05-05 said:
- Well, I just wanted to say that I've lived in Green Valley (neighboring community) for my whole life, 26 years, except for 3-4 years that i did actually live in the Ranch Club area of Lake Elizabeth, and so I know the area very, very well. I attended school K through 8th at Hughes Elizabeth Lakes Union School, and I am very active in my community, so reading this thread, almost all of you who commented, are COMPLETELY wrong, and it saddens me the way that people may envision my amazing little town, through reading your comments. The funny thing to me was that the one guy who commented something similar, about everyone being wrong, WAS WAY FARTHER FROM THE TRUTH!! We (being Lake Elizabeth, Lake Hughes, Green Valley, and Leona Valley) are a beautiful and friendly, and extremely talented community. many artists, teachers, and hard working people make up our small, but passionate community. Anyways, here's some facts... There's no place called "The Rock Store." There is The Rock Inn, which i'm not gonna get into the history there, at least not here. Lake Elizabeth wasn't always dry until 1971, although it may have been dry at the time, it has been dry quite a few times, including, the last few years where it has been just about dry, but slowly returning. (In my opinion, it was due to the helicopters and DC10s taking water out of it during the station fire) Also Lake Elizabeth is fed by an underground aquifer due to the fact that the San Andreas Fault quite literally runs directly underneath. Lake Hughes is another story, I'm not positive, but something similar is my guess. There is no "pet cemetary" however, on the south side of the lake, there is what used to be a sort of weekend retreat, called Edgewater Park, and if you take a brief hike to the west, parallel to the lake, you will find a very small, family cemetary, although a tad bit creepy, it is in not a "pet cemetary" Another note, the lake is actually called Elizabeth Lake, not Lake Elizabeth, hence the main road through the area being called Elizabeth Lake Road. One thing that I do remember about the "monster" was that in I think it was 3rd grade, after learning a bit about the story, we had an assignment to draw what we thought the lake monster looked like, so that i guess means, that the monster was real enough to teach about in school, although we were probably being taught about folklore at the time. I could go on and on, as i already have, ha ha, about this terrific little mountain community of mine, but I am going to go ahead and leave it at that, and before I go I will say some thanks to the old timers who were in this thread, who had some of the only real knowledge in their comments, but the rest of you guys, please don't talk about the place i was born and raised as if you know all about it, cause you don't, we are a different breed up here, but we wouldn't change a darn thing.... Oh yeah and the monster is real, most definitely, and it's a she! Her name is Lizzy... :)
- wannabuy a condo of Tehachapi, Ca on 2014-12-12 said:
- Sounds to me that this story was created for exactly one Reason. You hear them say fertile land and stay away ... well seems the current land / homeowners want to keep out the rif raff . Good one !!
- Bob Coleman of Albuquerque, NM on 2014-11-09 said:
- I lived in Quartz Hill, Ca. Bottom of Goades pass. In 1965-1971 we partied there a lot also Munz lake. Paul Koslo's Rock Store is near by. Alot of strange going ons up there. Charles Manson and hls cronies hung out in the area as well, you be the judge.
- Tibor G Balogh of Paradise, California on 2014-11-04 said:
- While soaking at Remington Hot Springs near Lake Isabella I heard terrible, un-natural, loud and almost telepathic sound that was similar to what prehistoric flying creatures might of sounded like, later and completely out of synchronization with sound a huge 30-50 ft prehistoric flying creature overflew without sound, it looked rigid like a modern flying/gliding model having great detail in skin and color, likely as the real thing living millions of years ago, etc... (I thought some tech people were playing a practical joke, but then the several hours/days discrepancy between audio-visual confirmation of flying thing could be a clue to extraterrestrial misunderstandings of presenting a credible illusion or frightening threat from the sky to modern man having great understanding of science)
- Josh Organ of Castaic, CA on 2014-10-24 said:
- well, both lake Elizabeth and lake Hughes are almost completely dried up and both bottoms are very visible. So out goes these stories! Lake Hughes is practically empty. You can see the bottom.
- Shelley Sartin of Rowland hgts, Ca on 2014-08-04 said:
- We grew up in lake hughes. Our grandma was the cook at the school, uncle was a mayor and grandfather the neighborhood mechanic. They all told us the story of the monster and years later they use to have competitions who could yell the loudest to call him out. Great place to grow up.
- bob of san diego, california on 2014-07-12 said:
- our family belonged to the old lake elizabeth ranch club, in the early/mid fifties. I remember changing into our swim trunks in that big old tent and the great fried chicken in their dining room. We lived in Van Nuys and I remember it being a pretty good drive out there.
- DAVID F of LANCASTER, CA on 2014-03-03 said:
- I lived in Lancaster since 1960 and have been to the lake when it was dry and over flowing. In 1972 my 8th grade class wrote a book called "mirages, mountions and mysteries" we all knew of the story as interviews with old locals lead us to information about it. One thing we had noted was that the Sellers brothers circus had offered a $20,000 reward for the capture of the monster alive. It has been noted in folk lore of the native Indians and settlers up to the early 1890's.
- Anonymous on 2013-11-03 said:
- Our ranch overlooked the Lake which was beautiful & full of water in the 1950's. my great uncle was one of the founders of the Ranch Club. My family lived in the area from 1928-1960. Never heard the monster story until about ten years ago, although I hear it was on the History Channel recently.
- Anonymous of Norco, CA on 2013-10-13 said:
- I went to the stables & clubhouse there back in the 70's as we were club members and to this day still own property overlooking the golf course/lake. We'd build there if it wasn't located directly over the San Andreas fault line. Seems the location is more risky than seeing some sort of lake monster that people have attested to being made up since the lake ran dry for a period of time. The canyon is pretty!
- matt j of rialto , ca. on 2013-09-25 said:
- I just recently moved from the area. I fished elizabeth lake daily. Camped there 3 and 4 days the crappie bite was great. The monster/thunderbird was a no show. If you want haunted drive uo the street to lake hughes its small but very lonley. Go see..
- selma of granada hills, ca on 2013-07-22 said:
- I never knew that Elizabeth lake was dry till the 1971 earthquake...I do know that if it rains a lot, lake hughes and Elizabeth over flow their banks and form one lake over a mile long...I had a friend named jerry,who lived across the highway from the lake for 20 ears...he recently passed away from nose and throat cancer...I wonder if it had to do with the evil part of the lake...
- Dan Kilgore of Hemet, ca on 2013-07-14 said:
- Everyone who has commented on this subject is incorrect and information is wrong. As a kid growing up in the area in the late 1960s Lake Elizabeth was a dry lake bed that I used to ride my dirt bikes in. My parents used to own the Rock Store when it was actually a gas station There was never any water in lake elizabeth that I know of until after 1971 Earth Quake and then in about 1 year it filled up it is only maybe 15 ft deep at best. The story is about Lake Hughes which knowone has ever found the bottom. You need to correct your information. Thank you
- Andres Palma of Dallas, Texas on 2013-07-07 said:
- I grew up in Lancaster, and remember the stories of the Elizabeth lake being home to a monster. However, I do recall the drought in the early 70's when the lake was completely dry and never saw anything. During my teenage years, friends and I would hang out near the shore, and would hear noises and shreiks. Our imaginations got the best of us, but later realized that they were the sounds of coyotes and owls. I haven't been in the area since the late 90's, and do remember the location of the lake and surrounding terrain made for a spooky experience at night.
- Laura of Palmdale, ca on 2013-06-25 said:
- after living 4 yrs on Bouquet I can say there is definitely a presence there, and it's not a good one.. bring any old Indian or Mexican that is a spiritual person, don't tell them a thing, cuz they will tell you...
- Anonymous on 2013-06-21 said:
- While stationed in Cuba we could hear a loud whooping noise coming from the Cuban side of the wire. I was never able to find out what it was but one night while on patrol we were taking a break at Blind Beach the noise was coming from less than 50 yards from the gun trucks. I didn't see what it was but one of the other soldiers said he'd seen it before. It was a bird. Could it have been this bird? We had the weaponry to drop it but it didn't break cover. The noise was mechanical.
- Annette C. of Elizabeth Lake, Ca on 2013-05-08 said:
- The only monsters around the lake these days, are the coyotes & owls that steal you pets!
- Rick of Phoenix, Arizona on 2013-02-06 said:
- I remember the Lake Elizabeth Ranch Club in the mid 1950's. parents and some neighbors from the north SF Valley were members. fun memories of the swimming pool and horseback riding!
freeways and amusement (theme) parks were non existent in those days. We spent many weekends picnicking in Bouquet canyon, Soledad and other places north of the SF valley. However, only monster tales I remember we're Hollywood types, e.g., Frankenstein, Dracula, wolf man etc.?
- crystle of palmdale, california on 2012-10-25 said:
- iv gone fishing there many times i have friends that live there and iv never heard of seeing or hearing anything its a peaceful place full of nature
- Andy Kenyon of Woodland Hills, California on 2012-10-09 said:
- I lived in Lake Hughes from 1999 - 2007. Although I saw no evidence to compell me to believe the story, the son of the man whose house that I indeed purchased told me that he personally witnessed a blue orb hovering just outside the front door. Perhaps he drank too much at the Rock Inn ?
- Jaymee of Leona Valley, California on 2012-10-06 said:
- I have grown up going to that lake and it indeed is haunted. Everything about it is scary.
- chris nelson of lancaster, california on 2012-08-05 said:
- It's all true .and theirs a real pet cemetery in lake huges.
- Cliff and Fergie of now Florida, But Cliff grew up on lake, florida on 2012-07-06 said:
- onenight on are weekend fishing trips at nightWarren, Cliff and I was a collum of fire across the lake winding down the hill like a snake of torches. later that same night we heard something very large flying low over our heads making a flapping sound like a giant june bug all I know is there is something out their and it made me scared.
- Jeff of Tehachapi, Ca on 2012-07-01 said:
- As an LADWP employee, I inspected the LA Aqueduct tunnel which runs underneath Lake Elizabeth several times over the past 30 years. I'm glad I didn't know about the strange events until now (retired).
- Robert fritz of Lake hughs, California on 2012-06-29 said:
- There is nothing in the lake I was born and raised in the area my dad is 52 and has seen the lake completely dry ask and used to ride dirtbikes through it
- Andi M of Lake Havasu city, Arizona on 2012-06-27 said:
- I use to take my nephew fishing at Elizabeth lake. I believe that the devil created it and lives in it. It is the filthiest lake I have ever been too. People have to be crazy to go swimming in that swamp.
- linwood z of palmdale, ca on 2012-06-19 said:
- i just have to say that i have been fishing and swimming at lake elizabeth since i was about 13 i am now 31 and although it is a little creepy at night and there is some very weird sounds i have never seen any thing then the norm me and my now 5yr old elizabeth have alot of fun there year round night or day
- Jared of Lake Elizabeth ca 93532 , Cali on 2012-05-16 said:
- I have lived in lake Elizabeth , califorina above Palmdale , lancaster my whole intire im 20 now I've had a couple of friends that have seen this swomp like monster out fishing one night Came back to School Talking about this human shaped mossy figure in the night ( 8th Grade at h.e.l.u.s middle School ) now I've never seen that myself but I have seen and herd wierd sounds going boom in the night
- Steve Lopez of Lake Hughes, CA on 2012-05-10 said:
- We know that the original did fly towards the east..but visitors need to be wary as there a reports of other suspicious things that look similar! STAY AWAY!!
- Robert of Palmdsale, Ca on 2012-05-10 said:
- I've been to this lake and the impression I got got is that it is "dead". That is that there is no oxygen in the water. Now before all you science yahoo's write that I am nuts, check it out. There is a certain degree of O2 in water.
So how does this "monster" live in the lake and then fly to Arizona ?
- debbie walker of prince george, virginia on 2012-01-29 said:
- My father owns a swimming pool company called thunderbird pools in san bernandino california. we named the company after lake elizabeth thunderbird and the sign on the front office was a picture of the thunderbird from elizabeth lake
- Gigi of Edmonton, CANADA on 2012-01-02 said:
- After reading the facts about Elizabeth Lake, this is very intriguing and I plan to visit the lake this Fall of 2012 and see for myself what the hype is all about. Thank you
- warner of elizabeth lake, california on 2010-12-05 said:
- It is true about the monster of Elizabeth lake. Stay away and you wont be eaten. Please dont tempt this beast for your sakes and ours.
- strict9 of burbank, california on 2009-08-19 said:
- i believe the origin of this story was extracted from the pages of "on the old west coast, being further reminiscences of a ranger - major horace bell" or the original "reminiscences of a ranger" published in 1881, author mentioned above. i've only read the later & the story is there for sure! chapter 19 titled: "spit in the mouth of hell"
- MDLMUSIC of Lancaster, California on 2009-07-11 said:
- I've gone kayaking in Elizabeth Lake pretty much every weekend for the last two years. Never seen a monster, but there is always a lot of wildlife visible (herons, turtles, snakes, buzzards).
- deadgirl of Palmdale, California on 2009-05-19 said:
- I have been to this lake a million times and i have to admit it is pretty creepy and dirty but that's about it.
- Eve of San Diego, CA on 2007-07-24 said:
- I was intrigued by the suposed photo of the "Thunderbird" of Tombstone AZ, so I did an image search on the net. Right a way I found a photo. The story behind it was very interesting. http://www.gmdstudios.com/weblab/freakylinks/WWWFRE~1.COM/FREAKO~1/TAILS_~1/THUNDE~1.HTM
Outside Links:
Outside References:
- The Field Guide to North American Monsters (1998) by Blackman, W. Haden, p: 76
- Haunted Places: The National Directory (2002) by Hauck, Dennis, p: 62
- Mysterious California (1988) by Marinacci, Mike, p: 97 - 100
- Strange California Monsters (2009) by Newton, Michael, p: 40 - 41
- Spooky California (2005) by Schlosser, S. E., p: 182 - 187
- LA Exposed (2002) by Young, Paul, p: 144 - 145
First Created: 2006-08-02
Last Edited: 2006-08-02
