Most people consider the idea of lizardmen to be the last word in unlikely conspiracy theories. The idea of reptilians who can pass as human, usually tied into some overarching conspiracy and espoused by those who feel dispossessed or have an axe to grind, is enough of a challenge to rationality to put almost anyone off.
But as a phenomenon, for whatever reason the concept of lizardmen has become more and more popular in recent memories. There have been many theories based on their origin and their motives.
Such theories include classifying them as living dinosaurs that have evolved through the reptilian hierarchy to match the path that primates took millions of years ago. To give credence to the theory, at one point in time, it was lizards, in the form of dinosaurs, that were the apex predators of Earth.
Thus, some consider it not possible that a small number of them have evolved but remained hidden. After all, the ancestor of homo sapiens millions of years ago was a small, rodent-like creature, markedly different from our species today, and it follows that lizards could have evolved in the same fashion.
However, there is no evidence to justify this theory. The only really tangible piece of testimony that exists today comes from Lee County in South Carolina, where a strange reptilian humanoid was seen on multiple occasions by various people.
The Creek Legend
One of the first accounts that exist of a lizard humanoid being spotted comes from the Creek Native American tribe. According to John Reed Swanton in 1929, the Creek Tribe came across a human-sized lizard in the area of South Carolina.
They had been out hunting bears and hoped to smoke out a female bear from her cave. However, when they did smoke out the beast, it was not a bear, but a lizard of human size came out. The lizard monster chased them, catching one person and returning with them back to its lair.
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It did this to two more hunters. However, when returning with the final man, the lizard disturbed a panther and the two animals fought. The hunter, seizing his opportunity, fled and returned home to tell his story.
The Lizard Man of Scape Ore
The next and more modern mention of a creature like the one seen/heard of in the Creek Tribe legend arises in 1987 by George Holliman Junior. However, this was not the account that would capture the national headlines. It was 17-year-old Christopher Davis’ report that would make the “Lizard Man” famous.
According to Davis, he came across the creature when driving home in 1988 at 2 AM on June 29th. He had stopped on a road that bordered Scape Ore Swamp so that he could change his tire. It had blown out and was preventing him from returning home.
It was no trouble for Davis, however, but when he had finished up he heard thumping noises behind him. When he turned around, he saw a lizard-like creature bounding toward him. He claimed that it tried to grab the car and jumped onto its roof whilst he tried to escape. Davis swerved across the road in an attempt to dislodge the beast.
The story does not end here though. When Davis returned home, he saw that his side-view mirror had experienced extensive damage and the roof of his car had been torn up by a clawed beast. However, there was no actual trace of a lizard man that Davis could prove.
He described the beast as having glowing red eyes and three long, big fingers with nails black as night and rough green skin. Davis claimed it was very strong and particularly angry. Worse than this, the lizard man was fast. When he jumped into the car, Davis was able to see the fingers curled around the roof and hear the grunt of the beast.
What is strange is that in the month that followed this incident, various news stories and reports came in that described a large lizard creature in the swamp area and that many cars were beginning to show signs of large scratches and bite marks. All of these incidents were localized within a three-mile radius. The police and local law enforcement agencies were less convinced and believed that it was likely a bear rather than a strange lizard man.
In order to try and solve the mystery, the Sheriff’s department created several plaster casts of three-toed footprints that had appeared in the area. They measured around 14 inches (35 cm). But local biologists claimed that these footprints were unclassifiable and so the Sheriff’s department did not send them on any further.
The South Carolina Marine Resources Department did get in touch but only to quash any theories. They claimed that it did not match any known mammal and dismissed any idea that it could have been made by a mutated creature. Regardless of this, tourists began to flock to the area.
Hunting the Beast
With the extra attention focused on the Lizard Man, hunters began to track it in South Carolina. A nearby radio station offered a $1 million reward for anybody who could capture the creature alive. Reports dwindled after the summer though.
That was until in August 1988, when an airman based at Shaw Air Force Base claimed that he had encountered the Lizard Man on highway 15. He claimed that he shot and wounded the beast and in order to authenticate his claim he brought scales and a little blood.
However, this was short-lived when the airman, Kenneth Orr was arrested for filing a false report and carrying an unlawful pistol. His excuse was that he wanted the stories and interest to continue.
This was not the end of the story though. In 2008, CNN mentioned the Lizardman in a story about a couple who had reported damage to their car. Though this was proven to be either a dog or a coyote. In 2015, photos appeared of the lizard man taken by Jim Wilson and others. However, these were later claimed to be not real.
There is little in the way of credence for this story of the Lizard Man. Much like Scotland’s Loch Ness Monster, it appears to take on the resemblance of stories of old monsters and myths. But this does not stop the conspiracy theories.
Some believe that the Lizard People have become so ingratiated to society that they now hide in positions of power. Famous conspiracy lizard people include The Queen of England (RIP), the Bush Family, Justin Bieber, and Katy Perry. No matter the evidence against it, some people will not be convinced.
Top Image: Multiple people reported sighting the lizardman in Scape Ore Swamp, described as aggressive and fast. Source: Daniel Eskridge / Adobe Stock.
By Kurt Readman
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