THE WEIRD WATERS OF LAKE TRAVIS

Lake Travis is well known as an oasis for those seeking a reprieve from the Texas heat. The location is a popular destination for recreational pursuits. It is a tourist draw, and even boasts a nudist park known as Hippie Hollo. The Mansfield Dam has kept the Colorado River in check since 1937, giving shape to Lake Travis and creating a paradise for visitors. It is also a hub for strange, unsolved and “paranormal” activity. You need not dig too deeply to find stories of ghosts, UFOs, lake monsters and much, much more.

In 2021 football player Baker Mayfield reported a UFO sighting over Lake Travis, describing a large object moving downwards towards the water. He shared the encounter on Twitter, and his wife Emily corroborated the story. In fact, Mayfield was not the only one who would report strange lights in the sky that night. The American Meteor Association would receive 20 similar reports from across Texas.

The existence of “phantom alligators” was recently confirmed when a deceased specimen was found. There had long been chatter of a lakeside resident who procured two or more alligators and released them into the waters of the reservoir when they became too difficult to care for. More outlandish takes included accounts of dogs and even people being dragged beneath the surface to their deaths, and when NPR affiliate KUT 90.5 broke the story in June of 2011 Austin residents could at least point to one source as the potential root of these stories. There were, in fact – and may still be - alligators in Austin.

Numerous people have disappeared while visiting the lake. Caution should be taken not to equivocate human tragedy with interest in the paranormal, and the sad reality of aquatic recreation is that drownings – and disappearances – do happen. Perhaps this is a cautionary tale in water-safety, but in one chilling case, a couple’s empty vessel was discovered in an area known as Devil’s Cove.

Many have heard of the Loch Ness Monster, but Lake Travis has its own ambiguously described sub-nautical beast. Reports depict a plesiosaur-like creature (much like Nessie), and more modern sightings describe a large eel-like form. Catfish can reach massive proportions and are common in Lake Travis, but to reach “50 feet in length,” would require a special fish indeed. This monster goes by Ole Hippie, and sightings seem to originate – you guessed it – around Hippie Hollow.

This photo is believed to have first emerged on Reddit in 2007, and has been shared countless times. A quick inspection draws the eye to a strange figure on the righthand side. According to estimates, the figure in the photo stands somewhere between eleven and fourteen feet tall.

To date, no one has claimed responsibility for the picture and its nature is unknown. Extreme flooding occurred around Lake Travis in the early 1900s, resulting in

BY: Aaron Deese

heavy loss of life. Is this the ghost of some long-lost Austinite? Folklore in nearby Marble Falls tells of a creature called The Bear King, a monster said to possess the physical traits of an ape and bear. Marble Falls connects to Lake Travis via the river – perhaps the Bear King is still around?

What other secrets does Lake Travis hide? Dinosaur tracks normally covered by the Paluxy River recently reappeared in Dinosaur Valley State Park near Dallas. Historic drought has shrunk the river, revealing the tracks for the first time since 2000. Rock collectors frequently find small fossils in the Lake Travis area, such as ancient seashells and fossilized barnacles.

Perhaps more secrets lurk beneath the weird waters of Lake Travis.

Sources: https://www.nj.com/news/2021/03/nfl-star-baker-mayfield-wasnt-the-only-one-who-saw-strange-lights-in-the-sky.html https://www.kut.org/energy-environment/2011-06-17/dead-alligator-found-on-shores-of-lake-travis https://www.kxan.com/news/unsolved-the-mysteries-lurking-in-lake-travis/ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2019/03/weird-tales-from-lake-travis-texas/ https://laketravislifestyle.com/lake-travis-area-history-mansfield-dam-and-lake-travis/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/drought-exposes-dinosaur-tracks-in-texas-180980647/ https://medium.com/freaklore/monstrous-humanoid-photo-from-lake-travis-remains-a-mystery-69dafc289f74