The Honey Island Swamp Monster
In the swamps of Louisiana, people describe a tall creature with grey hair and yellow eyes.
What was reported
Honey Island Swamp lies along the Pearl River, on the border between Louisiana and Mississippi. In 1963 Harlan Ford, a retired air traffic controller, said he and a friend saw a large, upright creature there with grey hair and yellow eyes. In 1974 he said he'd found strange footprints with webbed toes and made plaster casts of them.
The creature became a local legend, and swamp tour guides still tell the story.
Explanations offered
No bones, body or confirmed photographs exist. Sceptics suggest the tracks were faked or came from known animals, and that sightings were of bears, deer or people seen in poor light.
- When
- Reported from 1963
- Where
- Honey Island Swamp, Louisiana, USA
- Witnesses
- Harlan Ford and other people in the swamp
- Status
- Unconfirmed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.