In a July 14 posting on the official LakeNormanMonster.comwebsite, a diver from Clemmons claims to have seen an “enormous” fish in the lake 20 years ago. The driver, who didn’t give a name, said he was looking for old bottles among the buildings that were submerged when the lake was first created.

Adding to the creepiness factor: His light found the fish in the black waters inside one of those submerged buildings, he wrote.

He guesses it may have been a catfish – “a damn big, scary one too.” It could be the monster, he suggested.

Speculation of the possible origin of the fabled “monster” has increased in the past week after a website called CryptoZoology.com reported a 35-year-old Mecklenburg County man claimed he saw a “dinosaur-like creature” two weeks ago while traveling on a boat with friends.

The man described the creature as “splashing around in the water,” 10 feet long and reminiscent of the mythical Loch Ness monster. It was visible for about a minute before dropping below the surface, he told the website.

Doubters believe the creature – if there is one at all – is a giant catfish or even an alligator, a species that is rare in local waters.

“Couldn’t this be a sturgeon?” asked one skeptic on LakeNormanMonster.com. “They get MASSIVE and do closely resemble … a croc with the spines on their back and large bumpy scales.”

The Observer has covered the ongoing Lake Norman sightings, which date back nearly 50 years.

A few dozen witnesses have posted sightings on LakeNormanMonster.com. Descriptions range from a dinosaur-like monster to a giant snake with fins … and thick whiskers.

Most describe the creature, called Normie, as looking like the famed Loch Ness monster that allegedly inhabits  Loch Ness in the  Scottish Highlands.

A page is devoted to The Lake Norman Monster on the website UnknownExplorers.com,which notes there is no physical evidence to support the existence of a monster living in Lake Norman. The site speculates the sightings could involve a giant catfish or alligator gar.

“Descriptions of Normie vary from sighting to sighting, and range from a crocodilian like a creature to the more classic three humped serpent,” says UnknownExplorers.com. “Most that have seen the Lake Norman Monster seem to agree that the beast is more fish like, with a slender body, thick whiskers like appendages, flippers and a ragged looking dorsal fin.”