Honey Island Swamp monster
Encyclopedia
The Honey Island Swamp monster is a humanoid
cryptid
reported from Honey Island Swamp
, Louisiana
since 1963. In native Americans
, this creature called Letiche. Cajun
call it the Tainted Keitre.
ler who had taken up wildlife photography. After his death in 1980, a reel of Super 8 film
showing the creature was allegedly found among his belongings.
In 1974 the monster gained national fame after Ford and his friend Billy Mills claimed to have found unusual footprints in the area, as well as the body of a wild boar whose throat had been gashed. Ford continued to hunt for the creature for the next six years.
Another sighting happened recently, though not in Honey Island. A bizarre creature was spotted in the Bayou area, when a man and his family were camping; when he woke up his camera was destroyed but his SD card wasn't, which caught the monster on tape. The image was later proved as a hoax several times because two different versions of the same image had a different date on it.
guide, Robbie Charbonnet, have seen any evidence for it.
s escaped, and interbred with the local alligator
population.
Humanoid
A humanoid is something that has an appearance resembling a human being. The term first appeared in 1912 to refer to fossils which were morphologically similar to, but not identical with, those of the human skeleton. Although this usage was common in the sciences for much of the 20th century, it...
cryptid
Cryptid
In cryptozoology and sometimes in cryptobotany, a cryptid is a creature or plant whose existence has been suggested but is unrecognized by scientific consensus and often regarded as highly unlikely. Famous examples include the Yeti in the Himalayas and the Loch Ness Monster in...
reported from Honey Island Swamp
Honey Island Swamp
The Honey Island Swamp is a marshland located in the eastern portion of the U.S. state of Louisiana in St. Tammany Parish. Honey Island earned its name because of the honeybees once seen on a nearby isle.The swamp is bordered on the north by U.S...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
since 1963. In native Americans
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
, this creature called Letiche. Cajun
Cajun
Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles...
call it the Tainted Keitre.
Description
The creature is described as bipedal, seven feet (2.2 metres) tall, with gray hair and red eyes. The creature is accompanied by a disgusting smell. Footprints supposedly left by the creature have four webbed toes.Sightings
The first claimed sighting was in 1963 by Harlan Ford, a retired Air traffic controlAir traffic control
Air traffic control is a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and in the air. The primary purpose of ATC systems worldwide is to separate aircraft to prevent collisions, to organize and expedite the flow of traffic, and to provide information and other...
ler who had taken up wildlife photography. After his death in 1980, a reel of Super 8 film
Super 8 mm film
Super 8 mm film is a motion picture film format released in 1965 by Eastman Kodak as an improvement of the older "Double" or "Regular" 8 mm home movie format....
showing the creature was allegedly found among his belongings.
In 1974 the monster gained national fame after Ford and his friend Billy Mills claimed to have found unusual footprints in the area, as well as the body of a wild boar whose throat had been gashed. Ford continued to hunt for the creature for the next six years.
Another sighting happened recently, though not in Honey Island. A bizarre creature was spotted in the Bayou area, when a man and his family were camping; when he woke up his camera was destroyed but his SD card wasn't, which caught the monster on tape. The image was later proved as a hoax several times because two different versions of the same image had a different date on it.
Criticism
The idea of a large, ape-like creature in the area is not without its critics, notably the local ecologist Paul Wagner, who with his wife Sue run nature tours in the area. Neither they nor their CajunCajun
Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles...
guide, Robbie Charbonnet, have seen any evidence for it.
Folklore
A local legend tells of a train crash in the area in the early twentieth century (early 1900s). A travelling circus was on the train, and from it a group of chimpanzeeChimpanzee
Chimpanzee, sometimes colloquially chimp, is the common name for the two extant species of ape in the genus Pan. The Congo River forms the boundary between the native habitat of the two species:...
s escaped, and interbred with the local alligator
Alligator
An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. There are two extant alligator species: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator ....
population.
Popular culture
- The Honey Island Swamp Monster was featured in The Secret SaturdaysThe Secret SaturdaysThe Secret Saturdays is an American animated television series created by Canadian cartoonist Jay Stephens for Cartoon Network. It debuted on October 3, 2008, in the United States...
episode "Ghost in the Machine" with its vocal effects done by Dee Bradley BakerDee Bradley BakerDee Bradley Baker is an American voice actor. He is noted as his long-running-role as Klaus Heissler in American Dad! and other various characters including Squilliam Fancyson in the hit TV series SpongeBob SquarePants, Nightcrawler in X-Men: Legends and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance...
. This version resembles a BigfootBigfootBigfoot, also known as sasquatch, is an ape-like cryptid that purportedly inhabits forests, mainly in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Bigfoot is usually described as a large, hairy, bipedal humanoid...
-like creature with crab-like claws.
- It also appeared in an episode of Lost TapesLost TapesLost Tapes is an American horror/thriller docudrama television series that airs on Animal Planet. Produced by Go Go Luckey Entertainment, the program presents fictional found footage depicting traumatic encounters with cryptozoological creatures , including the Chupacabra and Bigfoot, and even...
.
- It also was the subject of an episode of In Search of...
- It was also featured in a segment of the documentary Southern Fried Bigfoot.
- It was a subject on the show Fact or Faked: Paranormal FilesFact or Faked: Paranormal Files-Reviews:The show has been described as Mythbusters meets Destination Truth. A Variety magazine review says – "Now we know what Fox Mulder would have done after leaving "The X-Files" unit: Get his own reality-TV show!"-Criticism:...
on Dec. 9, 2010, showing Mr. Ford's original film. The investigators were able to recreate Ford's footage with a man dressed in a camouflage ghillie suitGhillie suitA ghillie suit, wookie suit, yowie suit, or camo tent is a type of camouflage clothing designed to resemble heavy foliage. Typically, it is a net or cloth garment covered in loose strips of cloth or twine, sometimes made to look like leaves and twigs, and optionally augmented with scraps of foliage...
used by hunters. They deduced the film could simply be mistaken identity on Ford's part, but didn't rule out that such a creature could exist.
- It also appeared on the May 26, 2011 episode of Swamp PeopleSwamp PeopleSwamp People is an American reality television series that debuted on History on August 22, 2010. The show follows the day-to-day activities for several Cajuns living in the Atchafalaya River Basin swamp in Louisiana, USA who hunt American alligators for a living.The second season debuted on March...
.
- The Legend of Boggy CreekThe Legend of Boggy CreekThe Legend of Boggy Creek is a 1972 horror docudrama about the "Fouke Monster", a Bigfoot-type creature that has been seen in and around Fouke, Arkansas since the 1950s. The film mixes staged interviews with some local residents who claim to have encountered the creature, along with fictitious...
films are based on the legend.
See also
- Fouke MonsterFouke MonsterThe Fouke Monster, also known as the Southern Sasquatch, is a legendary cryptid reported near the town of Fouke in Miller County, Arkansas during the early 1970s, where it was accused of attacking a local family. Initial sightings of the creature were concentrated in the Jonesville/Boggy Creek...
- Lake Worth monsterLake Worth monsterThe Lake Worth Monster is a North American cryptid reported to live in Lake Worth, Texas.-History:Numerous sightings in July 1969 led to the belief of a half-man, half-goat creature living in Lake Worth in Texas. Jim Marrs, a reporter, wrote an article about it in the newspaper, which made the...
- Lizard Man of Scape Ore SwampLizard Man of Scape Ore SwampThe Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp is a humanoid cryptid which is said to inhabit areas of swampland in and around Lee County, South Carolina along with the sewers and abandoned subways in towns near the swamp....
- Skunk apeSkunk ApeThe Skunk Ape is a hominid cryptid said to inhabit the Southern United States, from places such as North Carolina and Arkansas, although reports from Florida are most common. It is named for its appearance and for the unpleasant odor that is said to accompany it. According to the United States...
- Loch Ness MonsterLoch Ness MonsterThe Loch Ness Monster is a cryptid that is reputed to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is similar to other supposed lake monsters in Scotland and elsewhere, though its description varies from one account to the next....