And here we are, on to the final state attached to the mainland of the United States. South Carolina is a state located in the Deep South Region of the Southern United States and is bordered with the US states of North Carolina and Georgia and has a coast along the Atlantic Ocean. The state capital is Columbia while the largest city is Charleston. It was the first state to vote to secede from the Union before the American Civil War begun.
South Carolina is made of three distinct geographical regions, rather similarly to its Northern cousin, these are the Atlantic Coastal Plain where the land is lowest and flattest heading towards the Atlantic Ocean, the land here is generally good for farming but can also be swampy and there is also much forest, and along the coast are many sea and barrier islands, in the mid-section of the state, also called the Midlands, is the Piedmont region, which is more rugged and hilly, and there is much forest here as well. Finally, in the furthest North-West part of the state, often called the Upstate, is the Blue Ridge region which is mountainous and the most rugged area of the state, and also includes forests as well. Sometimes hurricanes moving up the eastern coast can threaten the state, or cause tropical storms.
South Carolina has a somewhat diverse economy with the largest sector being tourism, other large sectors include retail, services, industrial, including textiles, paper, chemicals, machinery and automobiles and manufacturing and of course agriculture with major outputs including tobacco, cotton, poultry, cattle, dairy, soybeans, hay, rice, and swine.
Now that’s over with let’s get on to the strange and the unexplained of the state of South Carolina. The state has a number of scary and interesting legends, including on the paranormal and cryptids, just like any state, and of course like in most states Bigfoot also makes a cameo. But as always, I like to focus on things that are as specific and unique as possible to the state itself and so let’s get going…
Perhaps one of the most well-known legends and cryptids within the state, and of which is also related to one of the biggest conspiracy tropes around, is the lizard man, although this lizard man is more of an environmental beast rather than an intelligent secretive overlord of the human race. Lizard man sightings, although far rarer than bigfoot sightings, are said to have originated in and around Lee County, specifically Scape Ore Swamp in the state during the late 1980s, other sightings have also been claimed elsewhere in the state as well.
The typical description is of a very tall creature as high as 7ft that stands like a biped on two legs with clawed feet that are often three-toed and may leave tell-tale large three-toed footprints in areas they’ve said to have been seen, and that they have scaly skin. Some sightings have also described it having patches of black hair, which would be odd for an actual reptile. Its hands are also described as having three fingers that are also clawed.
The Lizard Man was often described as being aggressive and likely to damage property, usually the victim’s vehicle, such as when the individual in question attempts escape, although the Lizard Man has also said to have aggro’d vehicles for no known reason as well. So, for example someone comes out and discovers their car is damage for whatever reason, perhaps some of the damage looks a bit like claw marks, bite marks or insert-other-unusual-looking-damage and would thus then end up getting quickly dubbed as the lizard man being the perpetrator, often by another third-party.
Such stories of sightings were widely spread via newspaper, radio and television reports that likely had a large role as to why the creature is so well-known even outside of the state and even outside of the US as well. Of course, other reasons that so many know of lizard people as well is due to pop culture, namely science fiction or dystopian entertainment, such as the V series for example, which plays into the larger lizard people conspiracy itself. Other legends and myth also talk of lizard people having been the original dominant inhabitants of Earth before humans came along and violently displaced them, sending them underground, and as such they have since plotted ways to secretly enter human power structures to gain supremacy over us as revenge. Some people actually believe this.
Also note that the V series first started around the mid-1980s so it could be another theory that South Carolina’s resident Lizard Man was in-fact inspired into reality by the show itself, perhaps in part at least.
Anyway, one of the first well-known recorded sightings was reported by a 17-year-old local of Bishopville called Christopher Davis who claimed that his car was damaged by a creature which he described as around 7-feet tall, green, wet, skin like a lizard, red eyes, and snakelike scales. Davis’ story is that he was driving home from a night shift at a fast-food place but that his car unfortunately got a flat tire, and so he stopped to fix it. After fixing the tire Davis then claimed that an unidentifiable creature was walking towards him, naturally Davis leapt into his car and made to drive away, as he did the creature bounded right on top of his car, causing Davis to hit the brakes, sending the creature tumbling off the car, allowing him to then escape. This report came after a less-known report of a car that was inexplicably damaged during the night while parked outside a home on the edges of Scape Ore Swamp, and that the damage included tooth marks and scratches, with hair and muddy footprints left as evidence – although a lizard man was not directly blamed for this, but may have been an inspirational spark.
Davis’ story led to a media frenzy that was encouraged by the community and local government due to it being beneficial to business, with shops even selling related merchandise. A substantial sum of money was also offered by a local radio station for its capture and the area became an attraction for tourists and hunters. Authorities attributed the sightings to a bear. It could even be possible that it was a bear with mange, which can explain the description of patches of black hair in some sightings, and can also cause skin to become scaly. Bear’s, specifically Black Bears, have been known to also stand up on two legs.
How about something that is basically in the realm of the paranormal, as in the realm of relations to ghosts and ghouls and other things that go bump in the night. South Carolina has its own type of ghostly entity known as the Boo Hag. These entities are neither here nor there but anywhere in the state, harassing people for their energy, they may even go a step further and try and steal your skin if you really annoy them, such as by trying to put up a fight, or if they have got to the point where they’ve sucked out most of your energy.
The creature itself can be seen as a type of vampire, and it originates from Gullah legend, which came about from African slaves brought over to America and who later settled along the Lowcountry regions of Georgia, Florida and South Carolina, it has connections with Voodoo and is really a blend of various African legends, cultures and beliefs. The creature is rather fowl and will attempt to enter into the homes of victims, during times they are sleeping, through any tiny gap they can find, and once in they will climb upon the chest of the victim and breathe in energy through their mouths and leave the victim exhausted upon waking.
Boo Hags will often be entirely invisible, but when they do reveal themselves, they will look like a wretched old woman with no skin, they will be red with blue bulging veins. Boo Hags may come back several times upon a victim, but may eventually decide to end them by stealing their skin to wear themselves. Boo Hags may be the cause of sleep paralysis or it could even just be the other way around, less scary that way. Legend also says that a person may become a Boo Hag if their soul does not go to heaven due to bad things they have done during their life.
One way to defend against them is to leave a broom lying on the floor of the bedroom, as in typical vampire fashion they will be too busy counting each bristle to ever have time to attack their victim.
Next up we have an urban legend about a humanoid mutant or other thing that is said to stalk the utility tunnels under the University of South Carolina, these utility tunnels are often referred to as “the Catacombs” by the students, of which many bend the rules to do a bit of urban exploration or other activities within. The story begins all the way back in November 1949 where two students are said to have witnessed an odd figure dressed in silver lift up a manhole cover and enter into these utility tunnels, that is as much as they saw, one of the witnesses was Christopher Nichols, very conveniently a student reporter writing for the The Gamecock, which was the campus newspaper, he wrote up a story about what he saw and published it.
Not much more would happen until April of the following year when an officer of the campus on a late-night patrol made an eerie discovery, a bunch of mutilated chickens on the grounds, and of which hunching over the scene was a man dressed in silver, the officer was able to get a better look using his flashlight only to reveal a horror, he described the figure having skin that was grey and grotesque and also that it had a third eye on its forehead, leading to its name, the Third-Eye Man.
The officer called for backup but by the time another officer arrived the figure had managed to escape into “the Catacombs”. And thus, ever since whatever the thing was has been a spooky legend of the campus, but it would not be the last claimed sighting of whatever this thing was. Fast forward to the 1960s and another sighting would be made.
This next sighting was made by fraternity brothers who used the tunnels to make frightful pledges for initiation into the group. On one occasion a group of them came upon what was described as a crippled old man dressed in silver, and for whatever reason they decided to press on towards this thing, only for it to attack with a pipe, knocking one of them to the ground, and then whatever it was escaped.
A spokesman for the university has said that nothing is down there what should not be, but then that’s the kind of response you’d expect, even if something was actually down there. In all likelihood the person was probably just some old homeless guy that got inadvertently turned into a campus horror legend, or it could even have just been a completely made-up story for the campus newspaper that some others also decided to run with. But of course, perhaps there is the small chance it was indeed something more sinister.
Up next is some kind of ghost dog legend, known as the Ghost Hound of Goshen, or sometimes just the Happy Dog, although don’t let this other name fool you as the dog is very short of happy and will certainly not mind killing you or others. The ghost dog is said to be out for revenge after his master was murdered, and haunts a specific stretch of road through Sumter National Forest called Old Buncombe Road, although other nearby roads have also apparently had sightings.
The legend is highly variable like most folklore, but in general it goes that a peddler was coming through town and had a big white dog as his companion, the story differs from telling to telling, with some saying it’s a Great Dane or perhaps a Mastiff or some other large dog breed. The town at the time had been experiencing a string of petty thefts or some other lowly crime and naturally the suspicion falls on to the stranger who had recently come to town, the peddler. And so, it isn’t long until an angry mob forms, takes the peddler and hangs him from a tree. The great white dog stays at the execution sight and howls in grief for at least a week until someone eventually decides to put the dog out of its misery. The peddler himself was later found innocent of the crimes, too little too late.
And so, the great white dog begins haunting the area, often described as being more Hellish now, with burning eyes and an uncanny toothy grin, which is where the name Happy Dog is thought to come from. Many locals have claimed to see the dog and that they then become filled with fear and dread to the point where they run away.
Once again to end this off, you might be able to guess it. It’s another water cryptid. Almost every state is guaranteed to have one and it is almost always inspired some way by the spiritual mother Nessie herself. With the name Messie you certainly know that’s the case here as well. Messie is said to be a water serpent that prowls the waters of Lake Murray. The lake is, just like the one we covered in North Carolina, also man-made. The reservoir at one point was the largest in the world at its time and the Saluda Dam was the largest earthen dam in the world at its time and an engineering marvel. The lake provides hydroelectric power to the region and is popular for recreational activities.
But apparently something had taken up residence within the lake as well, either trapped in when the dam was constructed or just somehow appeared there perhaps if whatever it is, is actually a spiritual manifestation rather than an actual flesh and blood being like a number of people believe may be the case with unexplained water serpents such as Nessie, which is why they can never be fully proven or caught, because they will only appear or be seen when they want to be.
The first sighting of the creature dates back to 1933, 3-years after the reservoir had been created, claimed by someone called Gilbert Little who said he saw something large swimming about. But one of the most well-known sightings is to do with a couple called Buddy and Shirley Browning who were out on the lake in a boat while on a fishing trip along with a friend called Kord Brazell, they claimed their boat was attacked by something the size of an alligator but insisted it was not an alligator. They said it even attempted to climb into their boat but it was beat back using a paddle. Buddy Browning thought that it could possibly have been a sturgeon.
A number of other sightings have been reported of the creature. Common explanations include some kind of large fish such as a sturgeon or that it could in-fact be an alligator.
Well, there you have it. Next up we shall go over the penultimate state before the finale, the strange and the unexplained of the US state of Hawaii, which is a place certainly shrouded in much cultural legend and folklore.
Thank you for reading this post, if you have any queries please Email me, you can find my Email in the Contacts & Community section. Please also follow The Weekly Rambler on Twitter, Reddit, Pinterest and Facebook which you can access through the buttons at the bottom of this website. You can also use the social media buttons under each blogpost to share with your family, friends and associates. You can also subscribe to Email notifications at the right-side of this website to know whenever a new post goes up (you can easily unsubscribe from this at any time through a button in each Email notification), or alternatively you can use an RSS Feed Reader. Please also join my FB Group The Weekly Ramblers Readers Group where readers can more easily talk with each other and also with me whenever I am on, you can also find it in Community.