Overview
The Lizard Man is said to live in Scape Ore Swamp, a stretch of blackwater and woods outside Bishopville in Lee County, South Carolina. Witnesses describe a creature about seven feet tall, green and scaly, with red eyes and three fingers on each hand. It walks upright like a man but looks like a lizard. The legend is young. Almost all of it comes from a single burst of reports in the summer of 1988, and a few scattered claims since then.
The story began with Christopher Davis, a 17-year-old who said the creature attacked his car one night after he stopped to change a flat tire near the swamp. Soon other residents reported cars with chewed bumpers and torn trim. Sheriff Liston Truesdale took the reports seriously enough to investigate, and deputies made plaster casts of three-toed footprints. The case ran in more than 100 newspapers and drew reporters from around the world.
Bishopville did not run from the attention. Local shops sold Lizard Man shirts, a Columbia radio station offered a one-million-dollar reward for a live capture, and the chamber of commerce welcomed the publicity. Decades later the town still leans in. A Friends of the Lizard Man committee formed in 2019, and the Lizard Man Stomp festival began downtown in 2022. Concrete Lizard Man statues now turn up around town.
Skeptics point out that the main witness's story changed over time and that no photo of his car damage exists. One hoax is on the record: an airman who claimed to have shot the creature confessed two days later. Even so, the original 1988 reports remain part of the official record, and the legend has become a fixture of Southern monster lore.
Timeline
- Late June / July 1988Christopher Davis reports the creature jumped on his car near Scape Ore Swamp.
- July 14, 1988A car in the Browntown area is found damaged overnight; Sheriff Liston Truesdale investigates.
- Summer 1988More car-damage reports; deputies cast three-toed footprints; national media arrive.
- Aug 5-7, 1988Airman Kenneth Orr claims he shot the Lizard Man, then confesses it was a hoax.
- 2008A couple reports a damaged vehicle with blood traces; testing points to a dog.
- 2015Local TV station WCIV airs photos and video said to show the creature.
- Aug 2017South Carolina's emergency agency tweets a joking eclipse warning to watch for the Lizard Man.
- 2019Friends of the Lizard Man committee forms in Bishopville.
- 2022First Lizard Man Stomp festival is held downtown.
Reported sightings
Road near Scape Ore Swamp, Bishopville SC
Summer 1988 (about 2 a.m.) On the record
Christopher Davis, 17, said he was driving home late when a tire blew out near the swamp. As he finished changing it, he saw a tall figure running at him across a field. He described it as green, wet-looking, about seven feet tall, with red eyes, three fingers and lizard-like skin. He said it landed on the roof of his car as he drove off, and he swerved to throw it. He reported a damaged mirror and roof. The town website says he later passed a polygraph test.
Source: cityofbishopvillesc.comBrowntown area outside Bishopville SC
July 14, 1988 On the record
A homeowner found his parked car damaged overnight. Sheriff Liston Truesdale looked into it and reported tooth marks and scratches on the vehicle, along with hair and muddy footprints left behind. This report, and Davis coming forward about his own encounter, are what turned a local rumor into a sheriff's case and then a national story.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgAround Scape Ore Swamp, Lee County SC
Summer 1988 On the record
In the weeks after the first reports, several residents said their cars had been attacked, with bumpers and trim damaged. Three-toed footprints were found and plaster casts were made. The Bishopville town history notes these casts and the car damage as part of the 1988 record. Some of the original casts later went on display in the South Carolina Cotton Museum in Bishopville.
Source: cityofbishopvillesc.comHighway 15, South Carolina
Aug 5, 1988 Proven hoax
Kenneth Orr, an airman from Shaw Air Force Base, filed a police report saying he had met the Lizard Man on Highway 15 and shot it. He handed over scales and a small amount of blood as proof. On August 7 he recanted, saying he made it up to keep the story going. He was charged with unlawfully carrying a pistol and filing a false report.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgBishopville SC
2008 On the record
CNN reported that a couple found their vehicle damaged, with traces of blood on it, and the Lizard Man came up again. Testing showed the blood came from a domestic dog. The sheriff suggested a coyote or a wolf might have done the damage.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgLee County area, SC
2015 On the record
Charleston TV station WCIV aired photos and video sent in by viewers, including a man named Jim Wilson, that were said to show the Lizard Man. The images got wide attention online. They have never been confirmed, and no follow-up evidence came with them.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgEvidence
Three-toed footprint casts (1988) Disputed
Deputies made plaster casts of three-toed prints during the 1988 flap. Some are now shown at the SC Cotton Museum in Bishopville.
Davis car damage Disputed
Davis reported a damaged mirror and roof. Accounts of the damage differ, and no photos of it are known.
Orr's scales and blood Proven hoax
Handed in by airman Kenneth Orr in August 1988. He confessed two days later that he invented the encounter.
2008 blood traces Explained
Blood on a damaged car was tested and found to be from a dog.
2015 WCIV photos and video Disputed
Images aired on local TV said to show the creature. Never verified.
What each side says
What witnesses and researchers report
Supporters point out that the 1988 case did not begin with rumors. It began with a sheriff's investigation, damaged cars, and footprints cast in plaster. Sheriff Liston Truesdale, an elected official, kept the case open and talked openly to the press. The town's own account says Christopher Davis passed a polygraph test.
Researchers like Lyle Blackburn, who wrote a full book on the case in 2013, note that several unrelated residents came forward that summer with similar damage. To believers, the swamp itself is a reasonable hiding place: large, wet and lightly traveled at night.
What skeptics and scientists suggest
Writer Benjamin Radford argues Davis's account does not hold up. He says details changed over weeks and months, including how close the creature got and how the attack unfolded. He questions how much anyone could see at 2 a.m. in dark woods, and notes there are no photos of the car damage. He also points out that a marketing firm arranged Davis's appearances and the polygraph.
Others offer down-to-earth answers. Local officials suggested a bear. Investigator Alicia Lutz proposed that Davis may have run into a local butterbean farmer, Lucious Elmore, who was guarding his shed from thieves that night. The 2008 blood turned out to be from a dog, and one 1988 claim was a confessed hoax.
Open questions
- What exactly damaged the cars around the swamp in July 1988?
- Who or what made the three-toed footprints the deputies cast?
- Did Davis's story change, or did the newspapers change it?
Visiting
Where: Bishopville, Lee County, South Carolina, off I-20 between Columbia and Florence. Scape Ore Swamp lies just outside town.
Access: The swamp roads are public but much of the land is private. The South Carolina Cotton Museum (121 W. Cedar Lane) holds the Lizard Man material, including footprint casts; call ahead for hours. Small concrete Lizard Man statues are placed around downtown.
Events: Lizard Man Stomp, a downtown festival held each summer since 2022, run by the Friends of the Lizard Man committee.
Did you know?
- South Carolina's emergency management office joked on Twitter during the 2017 solar eclipse that Lee County residents should watch for the Lizard Man.
- The Lizard Man material ended up in the Cotton Museum because no other place in town was looking after it.
- Lyle Blackburn's 2013 book 'Lizard Man: The True Story of the Bishopville Monster' is the main book-length study.