FIELD FILE · SHARLIELAKE & SEA MONSTERREGIONAL LEGEND

Sharlie

Also known as Slimy Slim, The Payette Lake Monster, The Twilight Dragon of Payette Lake

The humped “Twilight Dragon” of Payette Lake in McCall, Idaho – reported since 1920 and named Sharlie in a 1954 newspaper contest.

Payette Lake is a deep, glacier-carved mountain lake – about 5,330 acres and nearly 400 feet deep – in the forested high country of west-central Idaho, with the resort town of McCall on its southern shore. Since the early 20th century, people on and around the lake have reported a long, humped serpent cruising its cold water. Locals first called it “Slimy Slim”; since 1954 it has been Sharlie.

Some retellings say the area’s Native peoples regarded the lake as home to a powerful spirit, though this is rarely documented in detail. The first well-known modern report dates to 1920, when men cutting railroad ties at the upper end of the lake noticed what they took for a floating log – until it began to move. The real excitement came in the 1940s: in August 1944 several groups described a creature 30 to 35 feet long with a dinosaur-like head, prominent jaws, camel-like humps and shell-like skin, and in September 1946 a party of about twenty people, including a Nampa physician, reported a 30- to 40-foot animal that kept diving and left a wake like a small motorboat.

In 1954 A. Boone McCallum, editor and publisher of McCall’s weekly Payette Lakes Star, decided that no self-respecting lake monster should go without a name and held a contest. More than 200 entries came in, from “Humpy” and “Snorky” to “Neptune Ned.” The $40 prize went to Le Isle Hennefer Tury, a former Idaho resident then living in Springfield, Virginia, who suggested “Sharlie” – a nod to radio comedian Jack Pearl’s famous catchphrase, “Vas you dere, Sharlie?”

Reports continued for decades; sources give the last documented sighting as 1997 or 2002. Today Sharlie is firmly part of McCall’s identity, with a street and a lakeside garden named after her, souvenirs in local shops, and a giant ice-sculpted Sharlie often appearing at the town’s famous winter carnival.

Type

Lake & sea monster

Status

Regional legend

First reported

1920

Best-known location

Payette Lake, McCall, Idaho

Also called

Slimy Slim, The Payette Lake Monster, The Twilight Dragon of Payette Lake

Reported in

Idaho

What witnesses describe

A serpent or reptile-like animal about 30–40 feet long, with a dinosaur-like or dragon-like head, strong jaws, several camel-like humps and a rough, shell-like or scaly skin. It is often reported diving and leaving a boat-sized wake.

Where and when it’s seen

The deep, cold waters of Payette Lake near McCall, Idaho, including the upper (north) end of the lake and the Narrows near Ponderosa State Park; most reports come from summer, often at dusk.

Notable sightings

1. 1920The log that moved Upper end of Payette Lake, Idaho

   Workers cutting railroad ties saw what they thought was a log in the water – until it started to move. This is usually cited as the first documented modern sighting.

2. August 1944A humped serpent Payette Lake, Idaho

   Several groups reported a creature 30 to 35 feet long with a dinosaur-like head, prominent jaws, humps like a camel and shell-like skin.

3. September 1946Twenty witnesses Payette Lake, Idaho

   A group of about twenty people, including Dr. G. A. Taylor of Nampa, watched an animal estimated at 30 to 40 feet long that repeatedly dived and left a wake like a small motorboat.

4. 1954Naming Sharlie McCall, Idaho

   The Payette Lakes Star ran a contest to name the monster. Out of more than 200 entries, “Sharlie” won, earning Le Isle Hennefer Tury of Springfield, Virginia, a $40 prize.

5. 1997–2002Last documented reports Payette Lake, Idaho

   Accounts differ on the date of the most recent documented sighting, giving either 1997 or 2002. Occasional unexplained disturbances in the water are still reported by visitors.

What could explain it?

• Large fish such as sturgeon or big lake trout have been suggested, though no sturgeon population is known in Payette Lake.
• Floating or waterlogged logs – common in a lake surrounded by forests and once used for timber operations – can appear to move with currents and waves.
• Boat wakes, wind-driven standing waves and swimming animals such as deer or otters can look like humps at a distance.
• The 1940s reports followed the worldwide fame of the Loch Ness Monster, which shaped how witnesses described what they saw.

Legend, culture and tourism

Sharlie is McCall’s mascot: Sharlie Lane and Sharlie’s Garden carry her name, local shops sell Sharlie T-shirts and plush toys, and ice sculptors often carve her for the McCall Winter Carnival. Idaho historian Rick Just has written about the 1954 naming contest and even described seeing an unexplained churning of the water in the Narrows himself.

Places to visit

Where it’s reported

Idaho

Sharlie in the news

No recent headlines about the Sharlie. Our news desk checks every day — see all cryptid news.

First published October 13, 2026 · Updated October 14, 2026