Expedition Team: Dave Miller
Date: October 29, 2021
Bishopville is the home of the famous Lizard Man, sightings of a reptilian humanoid which began in 1988 and continued through 2008. This cryptozoology case is unique as citizens in Bishopville and a small settlement named Brownstown, just a few miles west located along Scape Ore Swamp, reported sightings of a six to seven foot tall creature resembling a lizard that walked/ran on two legs. Other resident reports included physical damage to cars and an actual attack. The national media picked up on the sightings including Good Morning America doing a live broadcast from Brownstown and Dan Rather CBS Evening News interviewing the sheriff in Bishopville.
Rosie and I drove toward Bishopville past the dense Scape Ore Swamp which was damp, muddy, spongy ground with tall, thin pine and cypress trees, fat rotting tree trunks and the constant sound of insects. Slogs, which is the shallow, murky, mossy water, was everywhere. Bishopville (population 3,300) was a small, quaint southern town home of the South Carolina Cotton Museum. The museum displayed several 1988 newspaper articles and two Lizard Man footprint casts (Photo#1, #2 & #3) showing three long toes on the foot. The footprint in Photo#2 seems to be a fake as experts claim it is too perfect. In addition, if the animals/creatures that are bipedal have a smaller rear pd on the sole of the foot. This cast shows both front and back pads are large. Experts said the footprint in Photo#3 seemed to be more realistic of bipedal animals. The museum store sold Lizard Man t-shirts (Photo#4) and a book about the sightings and investigation. This book, “The True Story of the Lizard Man” by Lyle Blackburn is an excellent read. We talked to museum staff about the sightings and town/county history which was one of the state’s leaders in cotton production.
We drove a mile and ate lunch at the Harry & Harry Too Restaurant and enjoyed the themed “Lizard Man Sandwich” a delicious burger (Photo#6) with onions and cheese plus French fries. The interior of the restaurant/bar had dozens of original newspaper articles and photos (Photo#8 & #9). You couldn’t miss outside, the large sign (Photo#5) promoting the iconic local cryptid, the Lizard Man. I hope to return again someday and hike around the swamp area.
