The History of McCall’s Mysterious Lake Monster

If you're in McCall this Saturday, you'll see several references to a mysterious lake monster. The history of the "monster" starts 100 years ago when locals claimed to see a creature with a "35-feet long, a dinosaur-type head, humps on its back and shell-like skin."

According to KTVB, in the 1950s, a newspaper called The Star-News held a nation-wide contest to rename the monster that was known then as Silly Slim. The winner,  LeIsle Hennefer of Virginia, got the honors of renaming him Sharlie.

Now, a lot of people have claimed to see Sharlie in the waters of Payette Lake, but to date, there is no photographic evidence. Maybe you'll get lucky this weekend during the McCall Winter Festival. If not, you'll have to settle for an ice sculpture of her.