A. B. Walker wanted to increase his hotel business. He may have thought that summer would be a slow one. Perhaps he remembered the old Seneca legend and was inspired.
He, with some trusted friends, created the monster out of cloth and wire. In the darkness of the night, they took the fake serpent to the lake and silently placed it in there. The bellows and hose provided the air to make it rise up out of the water and submerge. The weights gave it the serpentine motion. The ropes made it move through the water.
Walker and his friends enjoyed the excitement their monster had created. The hotel keeper also enjoyed the increased business. It was fun. What a great practical joke and the results it created! Then, they had a few narrow escapes while navigating their monster through the waters of the lake or taking it there and back, during which they were nearly discovered with it.
The men thought about what could happen if their hoax was discovered. They began to worry how the people would react once they found out they had been deceived. This is why the Silver Lake serpent made its final appearance in late summer.
Several years ago, I read that Walker made a very hasty exit from the town fearing repercussions after the hoax was discovered.
There are still some today who believe the serpent was real and write about its validity despite compelling evidence to the contrary. One imaginative writer said that it was impossible to have been a fake because the monster's eyes glowed like fire.
In the course of my research, I found a website that calls the monster "Sylvie" and compares it to Nessie. No state was mentioned on the website, but there was a link to a local mall. This Silver Lake is in Los Angeles. At least this one is not perpetuating a fraud, but I am surprised the webmistress did not research lake serpents and find out about the Silver Lake monster hoax.
