A remarkable find can be seen at Jamtli, the Museum of Jämtland. In a glass jar there is a dead animal, which is said to be an embryo of Storsjöodjuret. It was said to be found on the shore of lake Storsjön on 18th June 1984.

The story of Storsjöodjuret (the Great Lake Monster) is at least 400 years old. It reigns in lake Storsjön, Swedens fifth largest lake, in the county Jämtland which is right in the middle of Sweden.

Lake Storsjön was created some 9000 years ago in the end of the ice age. We don´t know exactly what the bottomstructure of the lake looks like, but what we do know is that the soil and rock forms a good environment for a large fishproduction in the lake.

The lake is also quite resistent to pollutions. This gives the perfect conditions for a possible monster.

Today there are some 200 documented witnessreports from 500 people who have seen Storsjöodjuret. Many more have spoken of encounters. There are probably a large number who still don´t dare to speak of what they have seen in the dark waters of lake Storsjön.

There is one thing that all witnesses are stressing: - It is an empowering experience to meet with the monster, an experience which is hard to forget. Can all these witnesses be wrong?

The legendary creature, Storsjöodjuret, has fascinated people for hundreds of years. The phenomenon has made a deep impression on the people around the lake and there are a number of people who don´t doubt its existence for a minute. Storsjöodjuret has an ancient lineage and there is even an account of its mysterious birth.

The written statements on Storsjöodjuret in lake Storsjön date far back. The first one is from 1635. A person, Mogens Pedersen from Herdal, wrote down a legend. It tells of two trolls who were boiling a mixture in a large kettle on the shore of the lake. When they had boiled the mixture for years and years, the contents of the kettle began to groan and wail and there was a loud bang.

"A strange animal with a black serpentlike body and a cat-like head jumped out of the kettle and disappeared into the lake. The monster enjoyed living in the lake, it grew unbelievably large and terrorised the people living on the shores of the lake. After some time it extended all the way around the island Frösön, and could bite its own tail."

The northernmost runestone in Sweden is on the island Frösön in lake Storsjön, Jämtland. There is a serpent on the stone, a rune scripture and a cross. It is said that under this stone lies a terribly large serpent's head with a body that stretches across the lake Storsjön to the villages Knytta and Hillesand where the tail is buried (a distance of about 2,5 kilometres). According to the ferryman and his wife, as well as many others in the 17th century, the rune stone was knocked down and broken in two because no one could journey across the lake in peace. For as long as the stone lay on the ground many strange things happened on the water. It was obvious that the disturbance originated from the broken rune stone and so it was repaired and raised again.

Storsjöodjuret has continued to appear every now and then. Until today there are hundreds of documented stories of witnesses, hunting expeditions have been made, books have been written and the County Authority has placed the monster under legal protection.

Further information can be found at www.storsjoodjuret.jamtland.se