Spooky Lakes: 25 Strange and Mysterious Lakes that Dot Our Planet

by Geo Rutherford

From TikTok sensation and educator Geo Rutherford, creator of the hit series “Spooky Lake Month,” comes a thrilling nonfiction book that plumbs the depths of unusual lakes around the world.

Some of Earth’s strangest—and creepiest—wonders lie deep below the surface. There’s Lake Natron, a Tanzanian lake so briny that its waters can mummify any creature that touches its surface; Lake Maracaibo, a Venezuelan tidal bay where a constantly brewing storm sends an average of 28 lightning bolts per second into the water; and at the bottom of Lake Superior, the crew of the USS Kamloops—which mysteriously disappeared in 1921—remains somehow almost perfectly preserved.

Middle-grade readers will learn not only about the science of hydrology, but why understanding the natural world is crucial to protecting it from pollution and climate change. Backed by extensive research and packed with all-new content—including eerie and eye-catching watercolor illustrations—Spooky Lakes takes readers on an adventure through weird and wild waters.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Middle Grade, Nature, History, Audiobook, Picture Books

Kindle Edition

Published September 24, 2024

Reviews

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before I read Spooky Lakes the adjective I most associated with “lake” was “placid.” It turns out some lakes are very much not placid. In this book by Geo Rutherford, readers learn about twenty-five lakes that are…unusual. A better adjective for some would be “freaky,” but the point is, respect their power and give them a wide berth. (Unless the lake is Pitch Lake, in which case, feel free to walk on it.)

A lake is simply a body of water surrounded by land. We typically think of them as large, but a pond is a kind of lake. They can be freshwater, saltwater, or brackish, and most of Earth’s lakes are in the Northern Hemisphere, with Canada having the most of any country at around two million.

The lakes in Spooky Lakes run the gamut in surface area and depth—and in their spookiness. A few have common features (such as toxicity and dangerously high acidity), but all entries are much more unlike each other than alike. Venezuela’s Lake Maracaibo is illuminated by thousands of lightning strikes almost every night of every year. Cenotes along the Yucatán Peninsula are water-filled sinkholes containing numerous artifacts, from ancient jewelry to human bones. China’s Qiandao Lake hides an elaborate city, estimated at more than a thousand years old. An oddity can also exist on the seafloor—brine lakes:

Brine is a type of water that is saltier and denser than the surrounding ocean water, causing it to pool and form what we might call a lake within the ocean. These super salty pools can be deadly to marine life because they lack dissolved oxygen, which is how they have garnered the nickname “hot tubs of despair.”

The lakes are one-of-a-kind, but all sit at the extreme end of spooky. The best are those that would be most at home in a horror story:

Lake Superior, with its hundreds of shipwrecks, some of which contain the floating bodies of long-dead, but well-preserved, crews

An underwater lake in Australia nicknamed “the Shaft,” the entrance to which is a hard-to-detect hole in the middle of a cow pasture

Lake Nyos in Cameroon, whose rapidly spreading carbon dioxide gases killed more than 1,000 people and their pets and livestock while they slept in August 1986

The “Sacred Cenote” at Chichén Itzá, which contains evidence of ceremonial human sacrifice

Yellowstone’s hot springs, whose high acidity dissolves flesh on contact

India’s Roopkund Lake, where roughly 800 human skeletons lie in or around the body of water—but no one knows why

Spooky Lakes has colorful, dramatic illustrations and large pages (larger than average for a picture book), and I was positive this was a children’s book when I got it from the library. But soon after starting I decided publishers had been confused on how to market it. This may be a picture book, but it’s heavy on text, with nonfiction writing that isn’t simplified in a way that caters to elementary-aged children. Rutherford made the scientific explanations comprehensible to middle-school readers and older, but really, adults will appreciate Spooky Lakes the most.

[Lindsey Otta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good soup! 👻

[Aliyah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The pictures, facts, and eerie stories make this book an educational delight. Also the physical size of the book makes me feel like a kid again, reading a massive book about a special interest on the floor of the library. 10/10 spookies!

[Kenz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved sitting in my little lake (the bath) and learning about one of my fave things (spooky lakes)

[O · Rating 5 out of 5]

The hallmark of a great children's book is where the contents make you cry and leave a bottomless pit of dispair in the soul, but also has really cool illustrations.

12 out of 10 Spookies 🫶

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who gave anything less than 5 stars??!?! How dare you.

[Grace Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I used this book as a read aloud for my 6th grade world geography classes, but as a geography nerd myself, I would have totally read this on my own! This book combines fascinating and weird information with beautiful illustrations. I love learning about places and phenomena on our planet that I would otherwise not have known about. My students came into school asking if we could read about another spooky lake all the time. Twelve year olds love weird, gross, creepy, and strange stuff, so this really had them hooked!

[Lizzie S · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was fabulous! I'm a fan of Geo Rutherford's Spooky Lake Month on TikTok and was so excited to see this book. I devoured it in one sitting, but it would be a great coffee table book, as well as an excellent non-fiction choice for a middle schooler with an inclination towards the dark and scary. Highly recommended - loved the illustrations, the hidden ghosts, and all the information included.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Geo and I love Spooky Lake month. 10/10 Spookies

[E.M. Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Um, yes, hello!"

I've been a fan of Geo Rutherford's "Spooky Lake Month" video series on TikTok since the second lockdown Covid era. It runs every year in October.

Her picture book, Spooky Lakes: 25 Strange and Mysterious Lakes that Dot Our Planet carries on the best traditions of the videos, though I do miss the animated dancing skeleton and spooky music.

Hand drawn by Rutherford herself, the illustrations feature tiny ghosts in each picture, which you can hunt for as you're reading about the lakes. Some are creepy naturally; others got their spooky factor through human intervention.

Many of Rutherford's most popular lakes are here, such as Lake Superior in Northern Ontario and Lake Baikal in Russia. Others I either didn't remember or enjoyed learning about.

In format, the book is quite massive--it would be hard to store on my shelves, and is oversize for a coffee table read. This is an example of where having a great library system is a huge advantage.

I read a few pages of this book for about a week while drinking my morning coffee. It's surprisingly pleasing to read a picture book with informational content designed for all readers, and I enjoyed the reading experience more than I thought I would.

I missed the quirky rating system that is such a feature of Rutherford's videos. October is Spooky Lake Month as I mentioned, so if you'd like to see Geo do her thing, you can follow her on TikTok.

[Josie · Rating 5 out of 5]

look i just KNOW that geo is going to make this book amazing. i KNOW the art is going to be good. i KNOW the facts are going to be CRISP. i KNOW that these lakes are going to haunt me. i’m excited. I’ll replace this review with a real one when i get a chance. 11/10 spookies.

[Kelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love me some haunted hydrology~

This was a very fun, spooky, and informative read.

Our lovely and talented author, Geo Rutherford [aka @geodesaurus], takes us on a “guided tour” of spooky lakes and water-adjacent features from around the world. Scientific and historical information about each location is provided along with some macabre, tragic, bizarre, or otherwise “spooky” factoids about the location and/or circumstances around it. Illustrations related to each location cover every page—and the art is both quaint and absolutely lovely.

This book is like candy for the brain.

If you are a fan of Geo and her TikTok videos, much of this information is probably not new for you. She covers a lot of familiar and fan favorite topics.

But, the illustrations unveiled in this book are certainly new and speak to the labor of love that went into curating this collection.

I’d recommend reading this book just for that reason alone.

Unfortunately, you don’t see this kind of craftsmanship going into a lot of books and stories currently being published. Especially outside of children’s literature, it’s rare to see such a well-crafted work.

Though this is certainly a children’s book and it is written in such a way as to be accessible to young readers, I personally think it appeals to readers of all ages.

Definitely recommend~

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ummm Yes, Hello! These creative illustrations and fact filled footnotes bring to life Geo's popular TikTok series "Spooky Lakes Month: where we're doing 31 days of haunted hydrology"!! Whether you're a loyal follower or you're new to the series, this books is filled with fascinating bodies of water from around the world. For extra fun, find the little ghosties 👻 hidden throughout the drawings! 10/10 Spookies and 5/5 🌟

[Marj · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining and a solid intro to a lot of geological phenomena. The audio recording had a few moments where the editing missed a repeated line, but it wasn’t jarring and the narration is mostly really good.

I suspect the print book with illustrations would be the better way to read it, but I still enjoyed this.

[Daphne Maijer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uhm yes hello! This was absolutely amazing! The choice of lakes and tales to tell, the animations/drawings on each page, the smaller notes with interesting facts, it was great! It was so fun to learn a lof about so many different types of lakes and some dangers, but in a fun and informative way.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/10 Spookies

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved it. I look forward to "Spooky Lake Month" every year, and being able to support this amazing scientist/artist is icing on the cake. I loved learning about some strange lakes and admiring the artwork. I especially enjoyed trying to find the little ghosts peppered throughout the book. My only critique, which is very minor, is that the book is incredibly tall so it can be awkward to read and tough to find a tall enough shelf. But, that also made the font and artwork bigger so I suppose it balanced out.

5/5

[Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is SO COOL! I am so glad Geo Rutherford already had published videos on many of these lakes because I need more information on all of them asap! The illustrations are lovely and the descriptions and history spark an informational deep dive every time.

[Gretta · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS WAS AWESOME 👻

[Michelle Sprague · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations are divine. Following Spooky Lake Month made my favorite part of flying across the country going over Lake Michigan.

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

who was gonna tell me this is a children's book

[Jliongrrrl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do love spooky lake month. It is one of my favorite things on TikTok. The creator has beautiful, eerie illustrations and shows her immense talent with this book.

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yep this was awesome! Everything about the illustrations to the information was enthralling- I felt like I was reading about a special interest all over again. I think the combination of the way it looks and the information provided was a perfect match and I have been referencing pictures of these lakes along the way!!

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

{5} A fascinatingly fun read!

[Aaron Scharff · Rating 5 out of 5]

phenomenal. great illustration and extra spooky

[Hailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook version. I enjoyed learning about the spooky lakes, but my favorite fact was that baby flamingos are called flaminglets.

[Elizabeth Summers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Um YES HELLO read this to help prep for spooky lake month!
Geo Rutherford is a national TREASURE

[Rebecca McPhedran · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Maine Student Book Award nominee for 25|26.

This was a super cool, and super large, book detailing many of the cool lakes all over the world. I know many of my students will like this one.

[Maddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funnnnn. I was given this copy as part of the free educator book series on Libro.fm. My 9YO and I listened to this together for the week of Halloween and it was fascinating! I’m probably part of the minority that didn’t know this TikTok series before reading, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. We were often pausing and pulling up maps and pictures of the lakes and got excited when lakes we’ve been to (Yellowstone and Crater) came up! SUCH. Good vehicle for expanding a child’s interest in geography and geology, etc. through the platform of “spooky lakes.” I will definitely be gifting this one to the little boys in my life, especially. But the paperback—hot take but truly didn’t love Geo Rutherford’s audio.
My daughter says, “so spooky but also very interesting!”

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

I often randomly take home a nonfiction book that intrigues me when I am shelving books at the library where I work. I read most of this book aloud to my family during dinner for a week—guys, you won’t believe this one….I learned a lot, googled a lot, it was cool!