Honey Island Swamp Monster

The Honey Island Swamp Monster is an alleged humanoid creature from Louisiana (United States) folklore.

Folklore says the monster is a Bigfoot-like creature native to the Honey Island Swamp and the wetlands (bayous) around Pearl River.

Honey Island Swamp consists of pristine marshlands covering about 70,000 acres near Slidell in St. Tammany Parish.

The island derived its name from a large colony of bees found at the site.

Although zoologists and wildlife experts dismissed claims that the island is home to a mysterious Sasquatch-like monster, many residents say they have seen it.

The local authorities promoted the legend for tourism purposes. Several companies organize tours to the island.

Description

Louisiana folklore describes the Honey Island Swamp Monster as a 7-8 feet tall crypto-hominid that walks on two legs (bipedal). It has a stinky, shaggy gray coat and big, piercing, yellowish, reddish, or amber eyes that glow in the dark.

Some accounts claim the monster weighs 500 pounds.

Based on evidence from footprints, the cryptid has four instead of five toes like other primates.

According to Harlan Ford, who first reported sighting the creature in 1963, the creature stood about 7 feet tall, had a humanoid face, and thick black or greyish hair covering its body from head to toe.

Honey Island Swamp Monster origin legends

Louisiana legend claims that the Honey Island Swamp Monster was a circus freak that escaped along with several chimpanzees when a train transporting it crashed in the swamp near Pearl River years ago.

Other accounts claim the monster resulted from chimpanzees interbreeding with swamp alligators.

However, traditions about hairy humanoids living in the swamps of Louisiana might have originated in the oral traditions of Native American tribes, such as the Chitimacha, the Coushatta, and the Atakapa (Attakapa or Atacapa).

Honey Island Swamp Monster and Rougarou in Cajun legends

Cajun traditions may also have influenced the Honey Island Swamp Monster legend.

The Cajun are former Roman Catholic French Canadians who settled in the bayou areas of southern Louisiana in the 18th century.

The French-speaking Cajun believed a humanoid creature lived in the swamps around Acadiana (Cajun Country), surrounding woodlands and sugarcane fields.

They referred to the monster as Rougarou (Rugaru) or loup-garou.

However, in Cajun folklore, Rougarou was a werewolf-like creature. It had a dog- or wolf-like head and a human body.

Some have traced the legend of the Rougarou even further back to medieval France. Medieval French parents reportedly told stories of a monster that ate naughty children.

Is the Honey Island Swamp Monster the same as the Letiche?

Other legends claim that the Honey Island Swamp Monster is the same as the Letiche, another swamp creature in Cajun and Native American lore that attacks people and boats.

The Letiche was a humanoid creature, sometimes described as a child raised by alligators after its parents left it to die.

Some stories claim the monster resulted from crossing a chimpanzee with an alligator.

Sightings and Tales

Harlan Ford and Billy Mills

The first report of the Honey Island Swamp Monster was in 1963.

Harlan Ford, a hobby hunter, first shared his story in 1974 in a letter. He claimed that in the 1960s, he and a friend Billy D. Mills used to go hunting on remote grounds of the Honey Island Swamp.

They would ride in a boat halfway to their remote camp and then walk the rest of the way. Once while he and Mills were walking to one of their hunting camps, they spotted a strange creature that appeared to be feeding on the carcass of a slain animal.

The creature squatted on all fours over the carcass while feeding.

When the creature saw them, it stopped feeding, stood on two feet, and stared at them. Frightened, the men drew their guns and prepared to defend themselves. But the creature turned and scurried into the bush.

Realizing that no one would believe his story, Ford decided to find the beast. He returned to where he first spotted it and searched the surrounding swamp.

During the search, he came to a blood-splattered clearing near a watering hole.

He noticed large three-toed footprints in the muddy ground and guessed from the condition of the surrounding bush that a violent struggle had occurred there. Nearby, he saw the mutilated carcass of a wild boar. Someone or something had killed the boar by slashing or ripping out its throat.

He cast the footprints and took them for expert analysis. No one had ever seen such prints before.

Did Harlan Ford film the Honey Island Swamp Monster?

No one took Ford’s claims seriously. He came under severe criticism and accusations of forging evidence.

However, after he died in 1980, his wife Yvonne reportedly found an 8mm film containing footage of the monster in his attic.

Dana Holyfield

Dana Holyfield is Ford’s granddaughter. She inherited the film from her grandfather.

The grainy 8mm footage seemed to confirm Ford’s story. It appeared to show a hairy monster moving between trees in wooded terrain.

Ford’s family also found a handwritten letter describing his first encounter with the monster and subsequent search.

The film suggested that Ford had taken a camera to the swamp to capture the monster on film. However, he never shared the footage with anyone. No one knew about it until after he died.

It wasn’t clear why he did not share the film. But Holyfield believed that if a swamp monster existed, Honey Island Swamp would be the right place because it has vast unexplored but protected marshland.

Cryptozoologists believe the film could be proof of the existence of the legendary swamp monster.

Since her granddad died, Dana has researched the monster and published a book about it. She also did a documentary about it.

Hubert

According to a story shared by writer Jerry Breaux and published in The Advocate, Hubert (a friend of the writer) was hunting deer when he had a close encounter with a strange creature in 1981.

The hunter was perched atop an oak tree when he heard sounds approaching. He watched an 8-foot-tall hairy creature walk past him and disappear into the thick woods.

Niel Benson

Neil Benson, the proprietor of Pearl River Eco Tours, reported seeing a strange creature when he was 16 years old.

Benson said he was paddling in a pirogue while duck-hunting in the swamp when he saw a tall creature wading through water on two legs. He was sure it wasn’t a bear, but he wouldn’t claim it was the legendary monster.

Ted Williams

Ted Williams, a Louisiana native, claimed to have sighted the creature on multiple occasions and believed there was more than one living in the marshes.

He said he’d seen them swimming in the river. On one occasion, he saw one crossing the river to the other side. It passed close to him. He had a gun but didn’t shoot since it did not threaten him.

However, Williams reportedly disappeared mysteriously. He went fishing in the swamp and never returned.

Explanation

Scientists dismissed claims about the legendary creature because there were no known primate species native to Louisiana and surrounding states.

Primatologists also noted that all known primates have five toes. Thus even if the swamp monster exists, it couldn’t be a primate as alleged eyewitnesses claimed.

Authorities believe the claims are due to mistaken identity, hoaxes, or pranksters.

However, Honey Island Swamp is a marshland filled with hundreds of species, including alligators, turtles, snakes, raccoons, and wild boars.

Some skeptics believe terrifying encounters with marshland animals might have inspired stories about the monster.

References

Honey Island Swamp Monster Documentations, Dana Holyfield (2012).

https://www.nola.com/curious_louisiana/is-there-really-a-honey-island-swamp-monster-louisianas-bigfoot-curious-louisiana-answers/article_c3ff7ad8-f7da-11ec-ad38-cb074e0fc868.html, “Is there really a Honey Island Swamp Monster, Louisiana’s Bigfoot? Curious Louisiana answers,” accessed on March 10, 2023.

https://web.archive.org/web/20090925135750/http://www.csicop.org/si/show/tracking_the_swamp_monsters/, “Tracking the Swamp Monsters,” accessed on March 10, 2023.

https://countryroadsmagazine.com/outdoors/knowing-nature/the-honey-island-swamp-monster/, “Country Roads: The Honey Island Swamp Monster,” accessed on March 10, 2023.

https://jmichaelms.tripod.com/HIS/, “The Honey Island Swamp Monster, by M.K. Davis and Jay Michael,” accessed on March 10, 2023.

https://swampmonster.weebly.com/, “Honey Island Swamp Monster: official website by Dana Holyfield,” accessed on March 10, 2023.

https://pelicanstateofmind.com/louisiana-love/legend-honey-island-swamp-monster/, “The Legend of the Honey Island Swamp Monster,” accessed on March 10, 2023.