Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp

Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp (also known as the Lizard Man of Lee County) is a creature said to inhabit the swampland of Bishopville, South Carolina.

Creek Indian Legend
Creek were a Native American confederacy forming the largest division of the Muskhogean family, primarily in Alabama, Georgia and in South Carolina. They received their name form the English on account of the numerous streams in their country. According to Myths and Tales of the Southeastern Indians by John Reed Swanton in 1929, the Creek encountered a human sized lizard monster in the area. "Several Indians were out together and formed a hunting camp. A hunter came back one evening and said, " I have found a big bear tree.” He told the rest of the hunters and they said to one another, " To -morrow morning we will set out, build a fire there and smoke the she bear out so that we can see her.” They slept and next day started off and came to the place. When they got to where the big tree stood it looked as if something lived there, and they said to one another, “ A bear surely lives here, ” so they started a fire under it. The smoke filled up the hollow inside and soon a big lizard came out. The people saw it and ran away . The big lizard jumped down and gave chase . It ran along till it caught one of them and came back with him . It came with him to the big tree and threw him down into it. Then it chased another and did the same to each in turn - overtook, caught, and brought him back. Only one was left. It chased him and after it had gone a long distance overtook him and brought him back. When it was coming through a place where the trees were thick, a tiger (or panther ) was lying asleep in it. When the big lizard got there with the man, the [panther] awoke and jumped upon it. The lizard let the man go and jumped upon the panther in turn and they began to fight…The man saw this, jumped up, and ran away. Of the people who had gone far away from their homes to hunt only one came back. He told his people how the big lizard had killed all of the others.""

Modern Sightings
The first modern reported sighting of the creature was made by George Holliman Jr. in the Fall of 1987, but it was the report by Christopher Davis, a 17 year old local man that made the Lizard Man famous.

Davis said he encountered the creature while driving home from work at 2 AM on June 29, 1988. According to his account, Davis stopped on a road bordering Scape Ore Swamp in order to change a tire which had blown out. When he was finishing up he reported having heard a thumping noise from behind him and having turned around to see the creature running towards him. Davis said the creature tried to grab at the car and then jumped on its roof as he tried to escape, clinging on to it as Davis swerved from side to side in an effort to throw it off.

After he returned home, Davis' side-view mirror was found to be badly damaged, and scratch marks were found on the car's roof, though there was no other physical evidence of his encounter.

"I looked back and saw something running across the field towards me. It was about 25 yards away and I saw red eyes glowing. I ran into the car and as I locked it, the thing grabbed the door handle. I could see him from the neck down – the three big fingers, long black nails and green rough skin. It was strong and angry. I looked in my mirror and saw a blur of green running. I could see his toes and then he jumped on the roof of my car. I thought I heard a grunt and then I could see his fingers through the front windshield, where they curled around on the roof. I sped up and swerved to shake the creature off.""