Media Article # 25

Monday, July 18, 1988

South Carolina's Swamp Slob

By Ron Schaffner
Creature Chronicles

"The ‘lizardmania' began to spread as Chris Davis, 17 came forth with a story of an encounter that occurred on a Wednesday morning at 2:00 am. On June 22. Davis was returning home from his job at McDonalds when he got a flat tire on a read near the Scape Ore Swamp.

As he was putting the jack back into the trunk, he heard a loud thump across the road in a bean field.

The following is Davis' account to the newspapers and the AP wire services:

"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."

Davis reached home and told his father what happened. They found the mirror on the car door twisted and found scratches on the roof. Davis' father said that Chris was terrified that night. Deputies checked out Chris' reputation and found him to be an honest clean-cut kid.

Davis further described the creature as 7 feet tall, with red eyes, skin like a lizard and snake-like scales.

Rodney Nolf and Shane Stokes were cruising with their girlfriends about 3:00 am on July 24, when something dark darted in front of their car. They said the ‘thing' was about 7 feet tall and had eyes that glowed. They all saw the thing as it ran across the road toward the swamp where Interstate 20 meets Highway 15. Their girlfriends refused to leave the car, so they went to the Sheriff's office.

Lee County deputy Wayne Atkinson and state trooper Mike Hodge went to the site and began an investigation. They discovered 40 gallon garbage cans that had been scattered and tops of trees that were broken about eight feet up. The main findings were of tracks that measured 14 x 7 inches which seemed extended about 400 feet. Plaster casts seemed to indicate a 3-toed impression. Wildlife officials believe that the casts were a hoax.

By the end of the summer, ‘Lizard mania' came to a conclusion. Several researchers believe that the creature was actually a variation of Bigfoot; a skunk ape and that Davis' description may have been flawed.

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