I'm Lauren Norton, and this is one strange thing, the show where we search the nation's

news archives for stories that can't quite be explained.

Summer seems like the perfect time to take a nice relaxing swim, doesn't it?

A dive into the clear water of a pool, feeling the waves crash against your legs as you sink your toes into the sand, floating like a lily pad on the surface of a placid lake, a nice refreshing drink in one hand. Sounds perfect. Well, maybe it

sounds perfect if you haven't been thinking a lot about what might lie beneath

that still water.

Unfortunately, strangers, we have.

In fact, we've been thinking far too much about this subject in general.

But specifically today, we're digging into the persistent rumors of a certain

monster who was said to reside in the northwestern United States. Many locals call this creature

flossy. Some reports and webpages go with flessey or even Nessy, but that just feels derivative.

One newspaper bizarrely went with Mildred for reasons that we cannot explain.

Flossy seems to be the popular choice, though many people prefer just calling it the monster.

And what is this flossie? It depends on who you ask. It might be like a whale. It might be a

huge fish. It might be a large snake or an eel-like creature, one that slips through the water, water that is known for being

unusually clear.

We're not talking about the murky depths that you might associate with a mysterious lake creature.

This is one that apparently has been cited for well over a century and arguably much longer than that.

Monster is perhaps a strong word, considering that this creature is reportedly less temperamental

than many we've covered, but we suppose that every region has them or has heard of them.

After all, you've got a body of water and you've got strange sightings, and then maybe you've got

yourself a creature. And eventually you've got to call that creature something, right?

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