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A majestic forest that witnessed an extraordinary encounter.

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It was almost like an invisible force field had lifted this man off the ground.

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A memorial to a man who came back from the dead.

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When people hear this story, it blows their mind.

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And a tribute to a chef who set the culinary world on fire.

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Hot, medium, and mild, and suicidal even.

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Sometimes the greatest secrets lie in plain sight.

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These are monumental mysteries.

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The Big Apple.

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With its epic skyscrapers, world-famous bridges, and iconic monuments,

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the New York skyline is probably the most recognizable cityscape on the planet.

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And every year, more than 50 million people come to marvel

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at the wonders of the city that never sleeps.

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But there is a set of stunning statues here that are often overlooked.

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A beautiful woman on the facade of the New York Public Library.

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A regal female holding court over Columbus Circle.

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And a striking figure at the pinnacle of the municipal building.

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According to writer Robert Westfield,

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these exquisite statues have an extraordinary tale to tell

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of a stunning muse who sent shockwaves through Manhattan.

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This story has a beautiful model.

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It has a devious, suspicious doctor and a dead body on Long Island.

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So what is the story of the woman who was known as the American Venus?

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At the dawn of the 20th century,

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New York City is a cultural beacon on the world stage,

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filled with aspiring young artists and performers,

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all harboring dreams of stardom.

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Among them is a 15-year-old actress named Audrey Munson.

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Audrey has long, cascading hair, delicate, fine features,

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and she has the dreams of a career in the theater.

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But Munson's path is about to take a life-changing turn.

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In 1906, she catches the eye of one of the city's most accomplished sculptors,

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a man named Isidore Conti.

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Conti invites Audrey and her mother to his Manhattan studio,

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where he makes a proposal that startles them both.

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Conti tells them he wants Audrey to become his model.

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But if she accepts, she must pose for him nude.

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Audrey's shocked, her mother's shocked.

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This could destroy her daughter's reputation,

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but she also realizes that this could perhaps lead to bigger and better things.

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So the pair agree, and Audrey begins work as Conti's muse.

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What Conti notices early is she can fully inhabit the pose

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and can convey whatever the artist wants to show.

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As word of her elegance and poise spreads,

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other sculptors and painters seek her out,

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and over the next ten years, Audrey Munson poses for more than 200 artists in the city.

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She is everywhere in New York, on the facade of the New York Public Library.

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At Columbus Circle, she's holding a Laurel wreath representing the rise of America's naval power.

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And at the pinnacle of the municipal building, she holds a five-pointed crown

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that represents the five boroughs of the city of New York.

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Audrey Munson becomes the star of the New York art world,

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and the press gives her a new name, the American Venus.

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But the young star's meteoric rise is about to come to a crashing halt.

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February 27th, 1919.

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The body of a woman is found in the yard of a suburban New York home.

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It seems she has been beaten to death.

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Police identify the victim as Mrs. Julia Wilkins,

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the wife of preeminent doctor Walter Wilkins, upon whom suspicion swiftly falls.

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There's blood on his clothing. His story doesn't quite add up.

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When police investigate further, they discover what could be a motive for the crime.

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Walter Wilkins owns a boarding house in Manhattan.

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And it's rumored that he was obsessed with one of his tenants,

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the young and beautiful model, Audrey Munson.

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There are these stories about flirtation,

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and some tenants say that he wanted to be with Audrey Munson

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if only he could get rid of his wife.

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Police suspect that Wilkins and Munson may have been having an affair,

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and that Wilkins killed his wife to get her out of the way.

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To verify their theory, they need to speak with Munson.

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But there's a problem. She has vanished.

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Audrey Munson is nowhere to be found, and it looks very, very suspicious.

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So was the American Venus mixed up in a cold-blooded murder?

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As police launch a massive hunt for Audrey Munson,

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the press seizes on the sensational story.

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Then one month later, Munson is found in Toronto,

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where she claims she has been exploring prospective projects.

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But in spite of the shadow of suspicion that falls upon her,

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Munson is adamant that she played no part in Julia Wilkins' murder.

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Audrey is offended, she's outraged, she has nothing to do with Dr. Wilkins.

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This was a one-sided relationship.

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Audrey insists that Dr. Wilkins' feelings towards her were never reciprocated,

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and that she had left the boarding house weeks before the murder.

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After conducting further inquiries, police conclude that Munson's story checks out,

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and that she is telling the truth.

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They do believe that this was purely the doctor's motive, murder, obsession.

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Wilkins is tried, and on June 27th, 1919, is convicted of murder,

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and sentenced to die in the electric chair.

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But while Audrey's name is cleared, the damage done to her reputation

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is not so easily repaired.

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So Audrey Munson, who is used to being loved, is suddenly the victim of the media.

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The public has turned against her.

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With her career in tatters, the former star retreats from the limelight,

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and in 1922, even tries to commit suicide.

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Audrey Munson puts four tablets of mercury bichloride into a glass of water

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and drinks the solution down.

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While she survives this ordeal, she is never the same again,

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and is eventually placed in a mental institution where she lives out the rest of her days.

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And in 1996, Audrey Munson dies in obscurity.

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But the legacy of this infamous artist's muse lives on in the monuments she inspired.

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So this amazing sad story of Audrey Munson has been forgotten largely,

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but her works of art remain throughout the city,

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and she is seen every day by millions of people, whether they know it or not.

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And today, one only has to gaze upon these majestic statues to be reminded of the American Venus,

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whose classic tale of stunning success and tragic demise captivated the nation.

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Amid the scorching deserts of Arizona is a rugged 2.7 million acre expanse of lush forests and sweeping vistas.

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This area is filled with tall, imposing pine trees and vast mountain ranges.

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This is the Sitgreaves National Forest, a magnificent oasis in the arid southwest.

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But according to author Shanna Hogan, this tranquil, beautiful, and beautiful forest

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in the middle of the landscape was once the scene of a chillingly bizarre encounter.

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Forty years ago, it was the site of something forever linked in history to this horrifying tale.

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So what eerie event took place in this seemingly idyllic forest?

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And how did it trigger a wave of controversy that still reverberates to this very day?

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November 5th, 1975, Central Arizona.

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Seven lumbermen are clearing brush at the edge of the Sitgreaves National Forest,

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when they witness something astounding.

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These lumber workers saw this strange column of light.

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It appeared to be this dome-shaped object that was flying right above the trees.

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One of the men, a 22-year-old named Travis Walton, steps forward to investigate the blinding light.

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What happens next has become the stuff of legend.

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According to these workers, Walton was suddenly propelled into the air.

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His arms and legs outstretched. It was almost like an invisible force field had lifted this man off the ground.

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And then, in an instant, he's gone.

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It was as if he had just vanished into thin air.

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It seems that Travis Walton has been abducted by a UFO.

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The remaining crew members flee in terror, and straight away report what they have seen to the local police,

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who immediately begin searching for the missing woodsman.

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There's this massive manhunt, but there was absolutely no sign of Travis Walton.

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For five days, authorities comb the forest.

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But they find no trace of the man, and no clue to suggest where he might have gone.

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So officers turn their attention to Walton's coworkers.

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Could the men have fabricated this outlandish tale so as to conceal a more sinister truth?

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This sheriff began pressing them for a more plausible explanation.

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He suspected that these men were actually maybe covering up maybe an accident, or possibly even a murder.

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And when the loggers refused to disavow their stories, police objected the crewmen to a lie detector test,

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the results of which are astounding.

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Five of these men passed the polygraph. The sixth one was inconclusive.

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How could five people beat this polygraph? The sheriff was flabbergasted.

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With nothing to disprove the men's stunning tale, and no trace of the missing coworker,

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the police wonder if the unthinkable might actually be true.

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Was Travis Walton actually abducted by a UFO?

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On November 5th, 1975, lumberworker Travis Walton goes missing in Arizona's Sitgreaves National Forest.

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His fellow crew members insist that Walton was abducted by an unidentified flying object.

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But with no hard evidence to support this seemingly far-fetched tale, detectives begin to wonder,

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are Walton's coworkers trying to cover up a deadly accident, or even a crime?

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As the police ponder the results of the men's polygraph tests, which indicate all five witnesses are telling the truth about the UFO abduction,

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there's a stunning development in the case.

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A local resident finds a confused and bewildered man on the outskirts of town.

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Police identify this incident as a murder.

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He was disheveled, he was dirty, and he's wearing the same clothes he wore five days earlier when he disappeared.

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Walton appears disoriented and confused.

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Though missing for almost a week, he tells officers that he believes he's been gone for only a few hours.

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And he delivers a horrifying account of what happened after he saw the strange man's body.

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After being struck by this beam of light, the next thing he remembers is he wakes up, he's on this exam table surrounded by these tall, humanoid-like figures.

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And Walton immediately thought that he was surrounded by aliens.

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According to Walton, these aliens covered his face,

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before he blacked out. Then he says he awoke what seemed like only moments later, safe on the ground in Heber, Arizona.

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Skeptics dismiss the entire tale as a hoax, concocted by a group of men seeking fame and fortune.

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The man is a man who has been killed by a group of men, and he's a man who has been killed by a group of men.

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He's a man who has been killed by a group of men, and he's a man who has been killed by a group of men.

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He's a man who has been killed by a group of men, and he's a man who has been killed by a group of men, and he's a man who has been killed by a group of men.

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But Walton declares he'll do whatever it takes to verify his story.

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Take lie detector tests, be hypnotized, whatever he could do to prove he wasn't lying.

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And in subsequent years, Walton reportedly passes a total of 12 polygraph tests,

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leading many to conclude that the young man was telling the truth.

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Over the years, Travis Walton's story has held up again and again, making it one of the most well corroborated cases of alien induction in history.

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And almost four decades later, visitors to the Sitgrieves National Forest can ponder this mystery for themselves, wondering if the answer is out there, floating somewhere above this verdant American treasure.

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Located along the blustery shores of Lake Erie, Buffalo, New York is known as the Queen's City, thanks to its one-time status as one of the most prosperous settlements along the Great Lakes.

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But near the center of town is a curious monument that reflects what the city of Buffalo is most famous for.

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Carved from silver maple wood, it's a larger-than-life statue of a local heroine.

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It's monstrous, it's 10 feet tall, she has an apron and she has a bowl and a spoon in her hand.

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As restaurant historian George Schaefer knows, inside this bowl is a spicy concoction that set the culinary world on fire.

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So which all-American finger food was supposedly invented at this very spot? And who really created it?

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August 1980, Buffalo, New York.

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Celebrated food writer Calvin Trillin has arrived on a special assignment.

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He's writing a comprehensive review of the wildly popular recipe that put this region on the map.

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Chicken wings, deep-fried and drenched in hot sauce. Buffalo wings.

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To start his survey, Trillin eats his way across the city.

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So he went around and he tried a variety of chicken wings in hot, medium and mild and suicidal even.

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He was starting to grow feathers. He had so many chicken wings.

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But for his article, Trillin also wants to uncover this popular dish's origins.

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He was investigating where this phenomenal product, this chicken wing, started.

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In talking to locals, one restaurant's name comes up over and over again.

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The place that he had heard most about was the Anchor Bar, so that's where he went.

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And when the journalist interviews the co-owner and head chef, Teresa Bellissimo,

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she heartily proclaims that she invented the famous wings.

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Teresa's tale of culinary inspiration begins on a late night back in March 1964.

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Her son, Dom, was entertaining the last patrons of the evening at the Anchor Bar.

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They were putting down quite a few beers, getting pretty hungry.

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The kitchen's closed, but Dom says to his mom, mom, can you help them out a little bit?

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But back in the kitchen, Teresa saw nothing but chicken wings.

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Scraps, typically worthy of only soup or stock.

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She said nobody around here eats wings, but then she thought, well, okay, maybe I can do something with these.

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By cutting each wing in half, she created a drumette and a flat, two pieces diners could easily eat with their hands.

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She then broiled the meat, doused it with a cayenne pepper hot sauce, and topped the dish off with a condiment and some crisp, gruitatés.

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She arranged a monotree with cold celery sticks and a little jar of blue cheese.

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She figured that wouldn't go good.

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But the guests eye the concoction of chicken scraps warily.

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They all kind of look around at each other and say, what are you trying to serve us? We don't eat these things.

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Finally, a brave patron decides to try one.

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He takes a little bite out of it. Pretty good.

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Another one, and all of a sudden everybody's eating them. And that was the end of that. They loved them.

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Teresa soon adapts the recipe to deep fry the wings instead of broiling them.

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And as news of the aptly named Buffalo wings spreads throughout the city and beyond, the dish soon becomes a staple at pubs and restaurants across the nation.

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After hearing Teresa's account and with his investigation seemingly complete, Trillin gets ready to head home and write up his feature story.

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But before he leaves Buffalo, a local man comes forward with a tale that makes the writer question everything he's just heard.

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He was approached by other individuals that he is really the king of wings. He is the originator of the wings.

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So who really invented Buffalo wings?

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August 1980, Buffalo, New York. A claimed journalist Calvin Trillin has mounted a rather unusual quest to uncover the true origin of the city's famed chicken wings.

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While many locals believe that Teresa Bellissimo, owner of the popular anchor bar, was the first to invent Buffalo wings, another man steps forward insisting that he is the one who pioneered the recipe.

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So who's the real creator of one of America's staple foods?

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The man introduces himself as John Young and tells Trillin that in the mid-1960s he concocted a fanciful new recipe.

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Deep fried chicken wings, drenched in his own special spicy mambo sauce, and made it the signature dish at his appropriately named restaurant, John Young's Wings and Things.

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He says, and I've been selling wings for years, at least since 1964.

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And although that's the exact year that the anchor bar first began serving the same dish, Young says he can prove that he invented Buffalo wings, since he marked the dish's creation with an official certificate of registration at the county courthouse.

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John Young actually registered himself as the king of wings.

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And now, with Young's seemingly official account directly contradicting Teresa Bellissimo's version of events, the journalist doesn't know what to believe.

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He's wondering now, am I right or am I wrong about my story?

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To settle the dispute, the reporter approaches the local poultry distributor, who sold to both restaurants in the 1960s, hoping a record of sale can prove who was the first to order the main ingredient for the famous chicken dish.

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But what the vendor tells him only adds fuel to the fire.

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They said, it's no question about it, that both houses were both buying a lot of wings. Who bought the first case? We don't know. We don't keep our receipts that long.

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Without definite proof, Trillin is unable to determine who started selling Buffalo wings first.

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On August 25th, 1980, Trillin's article is published in The New Yorker, and in the end, he attributes the creation of Buffalo wings to both Bellissimo and Young.

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Regardless of who was the first, what difference does it make? They both contributed well to the wing idea, and it's international now.

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And though the origins of the dish may forever remain shrouded in mystery, many a fan will still argue that Teresa Bellissimo was indeed the one who first put Buffalo on the culinary map.

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In 2007, this carved statue of Teresa is erected just outside the anchor bar's entrance.

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A proud tribute to a spicy snack that became an American sensation.

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Nestled on the shores of a 5,000-acre man-made lake in western South Dakota is the Shade Hill State Recreation Area.

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And overlooking this vast landscape from a high bluff stands a solitary and curious formation.

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The monument is made of petrified wood, stands about 6 feet tall, and is about 4 feet wide.

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Shaped like an ancient throne, this monument bears a bronze plaque which commemorates an epic tale of bravery and betrayal.

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When people hear this story, it blows their mind.

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What harrowing life or death struggle began on this very spot?

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1823, the Dakota Territory.

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What began a year earlier as a fur trapping expedition up the Missouri River, boasting around 100 men, has now, through attrition and disease, dwindled to just 14 brave souls.

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Among the intrepid trappers is a hearty adventurer named Hugh Glass.

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Hugh Glass was a tough man. You had to be tough.

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There was absolutely no civilization for miles. There were hostile native tribes, wild animals that wanted to kill you.

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With supplies running low, the remaining men in the expedition are headed for a trading post near the Yellowstone River.

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Their plan was to get to the closest safe haven that they have.

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But before the hunters begin the next part of their arduous journey, they send Glass ahead in search of game and food.

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Glass hasn't been gone long, when his mates hear a chilling cry for help.

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Of course, they came running and they found this grizzly bear on top of Hugh Glass.

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The men shoot the bear dead. But they're too late to save their comrade from grievous injury.

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The bear had chewed on his arms, chewed on his legs. He's got claw marks on his back, exposing ribs. They can't believe he's still alive at this point.

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And believing Glass to be mere moments from death, the men make a fateful decision.

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They strip him of his belongings and leave him in a shallow grave to die.

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It was Mount Man tradition to never leave anything useful. They took his rifle, his knife. They left him with absolutely nothing.

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It seems that Hugh Glass is just another casualty of the wild frontier. But in fact, his story has only just begun.

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Two months later, another group of fur trappers are enjoying the comfort of Fort Kyoa, a frontier outpost 200 miles away from the scene of the bear attack.

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Suddenly, a haggard figure limps into camp and makes an incredible claim.

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This man walks into Fort Kyoa claiming to be Hugh Glass. The other trappers don't believe it. They see the shell of a man that begs and resembles Hugh. But he's been dead for two months.

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So has Hugh Glass really come back from the dead?

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It's 1823. To the great surprise of a band of frontier fur trappers, a battered and injured man stumbles into a fort on the Dakota plains claiming to be one Hugh Glass.

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But no one can believe it. Just a few months earlier, Hugh Glass was mauled by a bear and left for dead some 200 miles away.

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So is this man really who he says he is?

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The man insists that he is indeed the Hugh Glass and that he has an amazing tale to tell.

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According to the man, when he came to after being attacked by the bear, he found himself abandoned in the wilderness.

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Hugh Glass is lying in his grave, drifting in and out of consciousness at this point.

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And he realizes that he's been left to die.

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But as he lies there, clinging to life, a sinister sound rouses him.

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He hears what he knows as a rattlesnake and it's close.

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Glass reaches for a rock and kills the deadly serpent.

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He then finds the power to cut the meat up into small enough pieces that he can swallow it with his mangled throat.

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This grotesque meal provides him with just enough strength to begin his long journey back to civilization.

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He then starts crawling across the ground inches at a time, inches become feet, feet become yards.

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The wounded hunter subsists on berries and the occasional dead animals he finds along the way.

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But in spite of his efforts, time is running out.

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Hugh's wounds are refusing to heal. He's crawling along in the dirt, constantly getting him dirty.

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He's got these gashes in his back, exposing his ribs. He can't reach his back to clean the wounds.

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So he makes one last desperate bid for survival.

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He finds a rotting log and lays in the rotting mess to get maggots to crawl into it to clean the infection out of his wounds.

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This action, learned from years of experience in the wilderness, staves off further infection and gives Hugh just enough energy to continue his harrowing 200 mile journey to the closest trading post.

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Fort Kiowa.

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Today, the Hugh Glass Monument proudly stands in the Shade Hill State Recreation Area, near the site where the hardy hunter was originally attacked by the bear.

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Hugh is remembered today as one of the most amazing mountain men ever.

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And this monument is a reminder of the epic struggle for survival that one man endured in the remote wilderness of South Dakota.

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Set on the plains of West Central Alabama is the rural community of Carrollton.

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Here, among the old cemeteries and charming churches, is an imposing brick structure that reflects one of this town's darkest moments.

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It's made of brick and it's three stories tall, about 50 feet in height.

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According to playwright Barry Bradford, this building was the site of an enigmatic event that has been etched into this southern Hamlets history for nearly 140 years.

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The story has put Carrollton, Alabama on the map.

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What chilling tale of vengeance and guilt played out behind this building's looming windows.

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1874. Pickens County, Alabama.

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Nearly a decade after the ravages of the Civil War, the town of Carrollton celebrates the construction of a new county courthouse.

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It was a source of pride for the town. They had painstakingly rebuilt it.

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But it isn't long before the town's pride is dealt a terrible blow.

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In the early morning of November 16, 1876, a fire breaks out and the courthouse goes up in flames.

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After the blaze is extinguished, investigators examine the smoldering ruins and conclude that the fire may have been started deliberately.

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Believing that an arsonist is in their midst, the people of Carrollton demand justice.

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They were angry when the courthouse was burned down. Of course, the people wanted to know who was responsible.

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While some of the town's citizens focus on rebuilding the torched edifice, others seek vengeance.

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And a year later, a suspect is finally identified.

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A man named Henry Wells.

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Henry Wells was a freed slave who had the reputation of being an ornery man.

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A man who had a hair trigger temper and always carried a gun.

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For the sheriff, Wells' presence in the town the day the courthouse burned is enough evidence to take him into custody.

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Although Wells vehemently protests his innocence, his pleas for the death of his wife and his family are still in the same place.

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The police fall on deaf ears.

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Henry Wells, of course, living in post reconstruction Alabama did not have much hope of being found not guilty.

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According to local lore, the enraged townsfolk demand to be let into the courthouse to exact their own brand of justice.

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Leaving just one person between Henry Wells and the angry mob. The man who brought him in.

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The sheriff was a man of law and order and in order to protect Henry, sent him upstairs to the third floor garret room.

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Then it's said that Wells makes a final and desperate plea for his life and with it, an ominous warning.

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Henry cried out, I'm innocent. If you kill me, I will haunt you for the rest of your lives.

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As the story goes, just as his words ring out, lightning fills the sky, illuminating Wells in all his anguish.

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But the townspeople, thirsty for blood, are unmoved by his protestations. They storm the courthouse and summarily execute Henry Wells.

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But little do the people of Carrollton know that Henry Wells will come back to haunt them forever.

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1878, Carrollton, Alabama. A freed slave named Henry Wells has been executed for allegedly burning down the town's courthouse.

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Legend has it that before he met his fate, he vehemently proclaimed his innocence, warning that if killed, he would forever haunt the town.

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So does Henry Wells make good on his threat?

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The day after Wells is executed, something strange happens.

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The man looked up and saw a face staring down at him from the garret room window.

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The witnesses' screams bring the rest of the townspeople running.

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They could see the face in the window whose mouth was open in fear and pain.

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The faint image in the courthouse window appears to be the terrified face of Henry Wells.

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Residents frantically clean the window, desperate to remove his eerie visage.

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But nothing anyone tried to remove the face of Henry Wells.

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Could this truly be Wells' face?

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Some are convinced that a curse has been put there by the spirit of the condemned man.

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But others insist there must be a scientific explanation.

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One theory is that perhaps the glass when it was blown had imperfections in it, which weren't noticed until it was installed.

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Another theory is that the window actually served as a photographic plate, working in conjunction with a lightning, operating like a giant flashball.

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Some believe that the lightning cooked the image of Henry Wells just as he was proclaiming his innocence.

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Yet modern-day photography experts dismiss the hypothesis for a simple but compelling reason.

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In order for this to happen, the glass would have to be coated with a photosensitive material, which the courthouse window wasn't.

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You need light-sensitive emulsion to be able to create an image like that on a piece of glass.

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So in the absence of a coherent scientific explanation, some conclude that the ghostly image is indeed proof that Wells put a curse on the town of Carrollton.

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Maybe Henry is still hanging out in the courthouse. The truth is we just don't know. It's a mystery.

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Today, what has become known across America as the face in the courthouse window can still be seen in the Pickens County Courthouse in Carrollton, Alabama.

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A spooky reminder of a legendary tale that's left its indelible mark on this tiny southern town.

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Located in northeastern New York is one of the largest national historic landmarks in America, covering some 6.1 million acres.

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It is a great history. It's a beautiful scenic American treasure.

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This is Adirondack Park. Here, amidst the sprawling pine and oak forests, visitors will find a narrow, 32-mile-long gorge.

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It's the body of water, named for the King of England by British colonists in 1755, Lake George.

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But as paranormal investigator Joe Nicol knows, these placid waters contain a frightening secret.

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This peaceful lake was a scene of terror that hinted at something horrific lurking just beneath the surface.

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What dark shadow emerged from the pristine Lake George?

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Hague Bay, New York, 1904. Upstate from Manhattan, this lakeside hamlet is a popular playground for New York City's wealthy elite.

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And one of those rich vacationers is a tabloid newspaper editor named Colonel William Mann.

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Colonel Mann had a scandal sheet called Town Topics. Really not a very nice paper, but popular, and he made enough money to be able to vacation right here at Lake George.

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One summer's day, Colonel Mann is treating some friends to a relaxing boat ride on Lake George's famously calm waters.

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When their peaceful enjoyment is shattered.

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Suddenly, something breaks the surface, rearing its ugly head, bobbing up out of the water, and people were just beside themselves.

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Colonel Mann was saying, my God, what is that thing?

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But as quickly as it appeared, the mysterious creature vanishes beneath the surface of the lake.

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And as the water takes on an eerie calm, Colonel Mann and his friends try to make sense of what they have just witnessed.

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People described it as having large eyes and a big open-reared mouth with ferocious tongue and fangs. It was some sort of horrible monster.

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One of Mann's passengers, a reporter for the New York Evening Sun, wires a story about this mystifying encounter and dubs the creature, the Lake George Monster.

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The news sparks a frenzy of sightings with people on all sides of the lake claiming to have seen the beast.

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Then, as summer draws to a close and with speculation as to the nature of the bizarre creature at its peak, all sightings of the Lake George Monster suddenly stop.

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And for 30 long years, no one sees hide nor hair of the watery menace.

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Then, in the mid-1930s, with tales of the serpentine creature relegated to nothing more than mere legend, another shocking episode breaks the area's calm complacency.

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1934, a report surfaces of a news sighting of the Lake George Monster.

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After a long period of hibernation, the monster once again emerges from the depths.

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Now the bewildered people of Hague Bay want to know, what is the truth behind this mysterious beast?

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It's 1934, Lake George, New York, inside Adirondack Park.

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30 years after it first terrorized the citizens of this peaceful community, a horrifying and mysterious monster has been spotted rising from the lake again, dredging up all the same fearful questions.

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So what's the real explanation behind this bizarre beast?

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With news of a sinister water monster once again gripping the region, a man steps out of the shadows. His name is Harry Watris.

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Harry Watris had a secret that he was about to share with the world.

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Watris's tale begins 30 years earlier in 1904.

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Watris and his neighbor, newspaper editor Colonel William Mann, are both avid fishermen, and the two decide to make a bet to see who can catch the biggest trout.

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And the Colonel comes over to show this giant fish he has just caught, and it's a whopper.

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Mann holds up what appears to be a 40-pound catch. Watris cannot believe his eyes.

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Watris knew then he was not going to catch such a large trout. He had lost.

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But days later, Watris discovers he's been pranked. The prize catch was a fake.

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Colonel Mann had had a giant, dummy fish made, and from a distance it looked like the real thing.

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So Watris vows revenge.

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Watris decided to get even by scaring the bejesus out of Colonel Mann.

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Using a 10-foot-long cedar log, the ingenious Watris fashions a bizarre-looking creature.

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It has huge white fangs, a bright red open mouth, strands of whiskers probably made from hemp rope.

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Then Watris threads a 100-foot-long rope through an anchor at the bottom of the lake and a pulley at the end of the log.

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So that by tugging on the rope, he's able to make the monster rise up and submerge at will.

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When it came up, it naturally sort of bobbed as if it were a real monster shaking its head.

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Emboldened by his success, Watris pulled this trick again and again, sparking the frenzy of sightings all those years ago, before abandoning the gag seemingly for good.

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But 30 years later, in a fit of nostalgia, he revived the beast.

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This time with the intent of finally revealing his secret as a practical joke.

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With the passage of time, Harry Watris' friendly prank has morphed into the stuff of legend.

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And today, the waters of Lake George in beautiful Adirondack Park will forever be linked to tales of a mysterious creature lurking beneath the surface.

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From an infamous muse to an extraterrestrial encounter, a freshwater fiend to a deep-fried delight.

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I'm Don Wildman and these are Monumental Mysteries.