Seelkee

Not to be confused with Selkie.

In Canadian folklore, Seelkee (transcribed in English from Halqemeylem, the local indigenous language) is a lake monster reported to have lived in the swamps of what is now Chilliwack, in British Columbia, Canada. Seelkee has been allegedly seen by the Stó:lō, First Nations, people for hundreds of years. The most common description of Seelkee is a 10 to 15-foot-long (3.0 to 4.6 m) sea serpent like beast with the head of a horse.^[3]

Seelkee

Creature information
Other name(s)	Seelkee, S’í:lhqey, Si'xqe, Shla- lah-kum, Su'ike, Ts'ewalf[1][2]
Sub grouping	Lake monster
Origin
Country	Canada
Region	Chilliwack, British Columbia
Habitat	Water

Most descriptions talk about how the creature was snake-like with two heads. Mostly black the serpent had red circular designs. The primary summer shelters for the Stó:lō people was in the form of a longhouse. Although some modern longhouses were built with gabled roofs, most Stó:lō longhouses were built with a single flat, but slanted roof, similar to the Xá:ytem Longhouse.^[4] Entire extended families would live in a longhouse, and the structure could be extended as the family expanded. Some of the longhouses in the local Stó:lō villages were defined by large house posts with Seelkee designs accented with red paint.^[5]

One of the first Caucasian settlers of the region, Issac Kipp, reportly saw a Seelkee and spoke how he was told by the local Sto:lo people never to turn your back on the beast.^[6][5] Saying "Don't turn around, if you do you'll be sick."^[7]

See also

• Igopogo, said to live in Lake Simcoe, Ontario
• Loch Ness Monster
• Ogopogo, said to live in Okanagan Lake, BC
• Memphre, said to live in Lake Memphremagog, Quebec
• List of reported lake monsters
• Selkie, a similar named creature