Folklore and beliefNorth America
Memphre
A creature of Quebec and Vermont folklore, reported at Lake Memphremagog since 1816
Memphre is a water creature of Canadian folklore, tied to Lake Memphremagog, which lies between Quebec and Vermont. Reports of something large in the water go back to 1816 and have continued since, the last one in 2005, though scientists doubt that any such animal exists.
When is Memphre kept?
Memphre is kept on reported at long intervals since 1816, most recently in 2005.
Memphre is a creature of Canadian folklore, described as a large animal in Lake Memphremagog. The lake crosses the border, with Quebec on one side and Vermont on the other. Tellings of the beast go back to 1816, and people still report what they see. Scientists doubt it exists, yet the story keeps its hold on the region.
The lake itself
Lake Memphremagog is a body of fresh water that glaciers carved out and left behind when the ice melted roughly 10,000 years ago, near the end of the last ice age. It runs for about 40 kilometres. On average it is 15.5 metres deep, and the deepest point reaches 107 metres. Newport, in Vermont, sits at the southern end and Magog, in Quebec, at the northern one. Each winter the surface freezes, and the ice can thicken to about a metre.
Reports and doubt
The animal is commonly pictured much as people picture Nessie, the creature of Loch Ness in Scotland. Accounts of Memphre begin in 1816, and sightings have come in now and then since then, the most recent in 2005. Most scientists take a skeptical view of Memphre and of other water beasts, since no proof of such an animal has been found. Belief does not depend on proof, though: the tale is passed on by people who live near the water and by others who simply enjoy a mystery.
Other lake creatures
Memphre has company in the lakes of North America. Ogopogo is reported in Okanagan Lake, in British Columbia. Manipogo belongs to Lake Manitoba, in the province of Manitoba. Champ is reported in Lake Champlain, which touches New York, Vermont and Quebec. Each of these animals is known through stories and reports rather than through a captured specimen, and they are often listed together. The pattern repeats: a stretch of water, an animal nobody can catch, and a name that stays.
On a Canadian quarter
In August 2011 the creature appeared on a coloured Canadian quarter, showing an artist's idea of it rather than a photograph. Coins of this kind are handled by many people, so the picture reached far past the lake's own shores. The quarter is one of the few firm dates in the story: unlike a sighting, it can be checked. A group called the International Dracontology Society of Lake Memphrémagog also carries the name of the water.
How Memphre is kept
There is no set ritual and no day in the calendar. The tradition is kept by telling: people near the lake and visitors watch the water, and now and then someone reports a long dark shape breaking the surface. Such reports are compared with the ones from Loch Ness. The first written notice of Memphre dates from 1816, and accounts have followed ever since, the latest in 2005. Newspapers and websites carry them on. The 2011 quarter also put the creature's picture into everyday use.
When and where
Nothing in the tradition falls on a fixed date. The story is marked instead by its reports. It was first attested in 1816. Sightings have arrived at long intervals since, with the most recent in 2005. Its one firm modern date is August 2011, when the creature's image was placed on a Canadian quarter.
Memphre belongs to Lake Memphremagog, which runs across the border between Quebec in Canada and Vermont in the United States. Newport lies at the southern end in Vermont, Magog at the northern end in Quebec. The creature is part of Canadian folklore, and the reports gather around these shores rather than anywhere else.
What Memphre means
For the people who tell it, Memphre gives a large, cold lake a character and a name. The animal stands for the part of a familiar landscape that stays unknown: the deep middle of the water, the winter ice, the shape a swimmer cannot quite make out. Doubt from scientists does not spoil the story for those who keep it. Like other water beasts, it works as a local emblem, something the district can call its own, and the 2011 coin honoured it on a national scale.
Questions people ask about Memphre
When is Memphre kept?
Memphre is kept on reported at long intervals since 1816, most recently in 2005.
What is Memphre?
Memphre is a creature in Canadian folklore. The stories tie it to Lake Memphremagog, on the border between Quebec and Vermont. People who repeat the tale often compare it with the Loch Ness Monster. There is no scientific proof that it exists, and most scientists doubt it, but reports and tellings have continued for about two centuries.
Where does the story belong?
It belongs to Lake Memphremagog, a freshwater lake on the border between Canada and the United States. Newport in Vermont lies at one end and Magog in Quebec at the other. The creature is part of Canadian folklore, and the reports come from the lake's shores.
Has it appeared on money?
Yes. In August 2011, a coloured Canadian quarter was issued with an artistic impression of Memphre on it. The design showed the animal as an artist pictured it. That coin is the clearest modern date in the story.
Are there similar creatures nearby?
Yes. Memphre is often grouped with Ogopogo of Okanagan Lake in British Columbia, Manipogo of Lake Manitoba, and Champ of Lake Champlain, which touches New York, Vermont and Quebec. All of them are known from stories and reports rather than from a captured animal.
See also
Friday the 13thA Western folk superstition regarding the unluckiness of a Friday falling on the 13th.
Fortune-tellingReading cards, palms or tea leaves to tell a client what may lie ahead
Jack-o'-lanternA carved pumpkin lantern lit with a candle to brighten and protect Halloween nights
WampumShell beads woven into belts by Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands for record-keeping and ceremony.Good reading and sources
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Memphre", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). EveryParampara rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-10.
More from Canada
All the traditions of Canada
🇺🇸 New York, United States and 1 moreFortune-telling
Reading cards, palms or tea leaves to tell a client what may lie aheadFolklore
🇮🇪 Ireland and 2 moreJack-o'-lantern
A carved pumpkin lantern lit with a candle to brighten and protect Halloween nightsFolklore
🇬🇹 Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala and 3 moreMaximón
A folk saint of the Guatemalan highlands, asked for health, crops and protectionFolklore
🇨🇦 Turtle Lake, CanadaTurtle Lake Monster
A Saskatchewan lake legend of a huge creature, claimed sightings and a sturgeon theoryFolklore
The same idea elsewhere
All of this kind
🇸🇳 Senegal and 1 moreKumpo
A palm-leaf figure of the Diola, danced at village festivals to urge good conductFolklore
🇦🇺 Sydney, AustraliaSongline
A navigational and spiritual path across Australia that links ancestral stories to the physical landscape.Folklore
🇬🇧 South Queensferry, United KingdomThe Burryman
A man clad in burdock burrs walks a Scottish town for a day, bringing luck as he goesFolklore
🇨🇳 Puyang, ChinaFeng shui風水
The Chinese spatial practice of aligning homes and graves with natural energyFolklore