Honey Island Swamp Monster

The Honey Island Swamp Monster is one cryptid that apparently has not receive alot of coverage here on ATS. I had read about it in passing before but never paid much attention. Last evening I watched the Syfy (SciFi) show Fact or Faked and they covered a case regarding this cryptid. There findings were somewhat inconclusive (what else would you expect from a show like this) but it got me interested in the case nonetheless.

Brief overview:
The Honey Island Swamp is considered one of the least altered swamps in all of the US and encompasses approx 70,000 acres in the bayous of eastern Louisiana. The monster has been sighted numerous times through the years, but only one video has ever been taken (see below). Local folklore states that it is a possible hybrid between old circus chimps and the local gator. I find this unlikely but folklore usually is. Could this be the Louisiana equivalent of the skunk ape? I think it very well may be. These bayous are not well travelled and would provide the perfect cover for such a creature.

The first sighting of the monster came in 1963 by Harlan Ford and following his death in 1980 a super-8 film supposedly depicting the creature was found amongst his belingings.

Link for shows website where you can see the orig, it looked much better on tv, or maybe my comp screen just is lacking: Fact of Faked website video section

There are other youtube videos but none that I can find showing the original footage, mostly recreated footage.

Harlan Ford's daughter also has a website on the matter, looks like she is just trying to sell a documentary on the subject though, you can find her site here: honeyislandswampmonster.com

The moster has been featured on In Search of ( i loved the reruns of this as a kid) and American Monsters as well as the Fact of faked last night.
On Fact or Faked they were able to recreate the video simply by using a ghillie suit and made it look pretty realistic. Its a shame there is only one small clip available appox 19 or 20 seconds long.

What made this video stand out to me when i watched it on tv was the striking similarity to the Patterson film. Perhaps it was the super-8 film or the time frame but to me it was striking. Not that this video was as clear as Pattersons, but to my eyes the creature had a similar gait, similar hide and hair. Did anyone else watch this show? Perhaps I am alone in seeing the similarities, and if I am please tell me.

What else does anyone know about the Honey Island Swamp Monster? I have alot of thoughts here that I have tried to organize concisely, but I am sure mor will come out in the thread.

reply to post by youdidntseeme


Louisiana kid here. I know people who have been hunting deep in the Honey island Swamp and seen things they can't explain. These sightings are consistent with most bigfoot type sightings. They see something moving apelike in their peripheral vision but by the time they look directly at it, the thing has dashed away or disappeared into the brush. These folks are definitely not making it up, though. At least a couple of them are hardcore skeptics but still can't quite explain what they saw just for a second. They claim that it could've been a person but the movements,quickness, and long body hair make it unlikely. Who knows. That swamp is barely touched by man. Just a relatively small amount of hunters during certain seasons. It is a perfect place for an undiscovered species to exist.

reply to post by louieprima


Star for you my friend. The Glades and bayous all along the Gulf coast are so hard to penetrate that I dont think man will ever touch these regions. Cryptids all over the world are said to exist in places that are just as untouchable. From what I saw on the show, it looks very remote. I think there was one guy living on a houseboat near to where the sighting took place. He was definetly a believer.
His sighting composed of what you talk about. Seeing something in peripheral vision, turning to see a creature diving into the water and then disappearing altogether.

reply to post by youdidntseeme


Have never heard of this... great that you brought it to the forum.
Very interesting...

yeaaah i was more than a bit pissed when they deemed that the scream they heard in the woods was a pig. It was not "boar like" whatsoever. It was their most significant evidence and they just "brushed it off" they didnt even bring the scream to a local hunter or wildlife preserve and ask the experts what sound that was. Which they have done a number of times with less evidence than they got last night. It was like they were being told to "shut it down" and the lights in oregon! So not a hoax. But they were all like- plane! I think someone higher up is telling them to label all their stories now as hoax's. Seriusly- the two last night were so legit.

Funny you should post this today. I was just about to make a thread about the new pictures from Louisiana that were just posted on Cryptomundo today. What do you all think?

Full story here:

www.cryptomundo.com...

Just the picture here:

reply to post by wrathofall


That is so creepy!

wow, this is like the 3rd thread
on this same image today

www.abovetopsecret.com...

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/d2e19b11bfd0.jpg[/atsimg]

reply to post by wrathofall


That is not a picture of the Honey Island creature.
In fact I do believe that has been discussed here on ATS and determined to be a hoax from an ad campaign if I'm not mistaken.

Boon this thread is NOT about that image haha, although I did look it up last night when i saw it on a commercial for the local news...but all I found was a piece about hoaxed viral marketing

Well, as dangerous as my cajun buddies to the West say New Orleans is, I'll take it over swamp monsters (and mosquito swarms) any day of the week! Pretty creepy pic.

Originally posted by youdidntseeme
That is not a picture of the Honey Island creature.

Oops sorry
well then wrath gave the wrong pic too
as this is where I took the lead from.
Sorry, my bad

reply to post by xynephadyn


The scream to me was pretty compelling. I was trying to image to lung capacity it would take to make such a noise. I thought wild boar was a bit too small to make such a sound.

(the second piece though I agreed with them)

I still say it's a dude in a Gorilla costume

Never heard of the Honey Island Swamp Monster!
Star for you.
Did a search and found this interesting pic of the supposed creature.

reply to post by flyingfish


Thanks for the image. Doesnt quite look like what the video showed though.
I wish i could find a still from that original super 8 video, but havnt been able to find one yet.
I tried to do a screencap from the syfy website, but not turning out well yet.

reply to post by youdidntseeme


You might be interested in this link:jmichaelms.tripod.com...
Looks like some shenanigans may be a foot

reply to post by flyingfish


Good find there.
Might make me take a closer look at these now.
Thanks alot.

Makes me wonder though what was on the video though.

I watched the show fact or faked also, and I know that the scream they heard was not from a normal animal. It had more of a human voice than anything, and seemed like it was pretty mad.

Originally posted by flyingfish
Never heard of the Honey Island Swamp Monster!
Star for you.
Did a search and found this interesting pic of the supposed creature.

I'm pretty sure that pic has featured in another thread here, it seems familiar to me. Don't remember what it was supposed to be of, but if I remember correctly it was dismissed as a hunter moving forward in camouflage.

Here is the actual footage at 3:23