By E. Graydon Carter

The goose-necked creature sunning itself off the shore of Lake Champlain may look like an inflatable beach toy, but there are those who insist that Champ is a genuine sea monster. Amateur Photographer Sandra Mansi, for one. Four years ago, says Mansi, she snapped Champ with her Kodak Instamatic. To see if the photo had been doctored, it was sent to the University of Arizona Optical Sciences Center for close scrutiny. B. Roy Frieden, 44, professor of optical sciences, pronounced it see-worthy. But skeptics are nettled by a number of things: 1) the possibility of a nearby sand bar that could have enabled hoaxers to plant a mechanical monster, 2) the negative has vanished, and 3) Mansi's inability to recall the spot where she took the shot. Paul Kurtz, 55, professor of philosophy at the State University of New York at Buffalo, reckons that the locals may just be feathering a Ness. "It's about as real," says he, "as Bigfoot, UFOs and the tooth fairy."

Forget Mr. Blackwell's "worst dressed" lists. Professors of history and politics at the Catholic University of America in Washington have taken a vote and come up with the "ten most villainous people in history," a collection of rotters guilty of sins even more grievous than wearing brown shoes with a blue suit. The envelope, please. In chronological order: Caligula, despotic Emperor of Rome from A.D. 37 to 41; Nero, full-time Emperor and sometime violinist who struck sour notes in Rome from 54 to 68; Attila the Hun, who led his barbaric tribe from 433 to 453; Ivan the Terrible, nogoodnik Tsar of Russia from 1547 to 1584; Catherine de Medicis, Machiavelli-mentored Queen of France from 1547 to 1589 and noted butcher of Protestants; Abdul-Hamid II, murderous ruler of the Ottoman Empire from 1876 to 1909; Joseph Stalin, Soviet leader from 1929 to 1953; Adolf Hitler, an automatic club member as leader of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945; Mao Tse-tung, Chinese Communist leader from 1949 to 1976; and the only living honoree, Uganda's brutish, exiled Dictator Idi Amin. Seven politicians, a barbarian, a lady-in-hating and a frustrated artist. But only one woman? Says Steven Schlesinger, one of the voters: "We only selected one woman not because we're chauvinists but because few women have been in a position to cause the kind of damage men have."

Crowned the "Queen of the Creepies" for her roles in such harem-scarems as Halloween and Prom Night, Actress Jamie Lee Curtis, 22, graduates to real life in her next part but still plays a victim. In the NBC-TV movie The Dorothy Straiten Story, Curtis will play the Playmate of the Year turned actress who was murdered last August by her husband. The daughter of Actor Tony Curtis, 56, and Actress Janet Leigh, 54, Jamie will be dressed for family viewing in the TV movie, but will show off those good family lines in a racier European version. --By E Graydon Carter.

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