The Honey Island Swamp Monster, also known as the Cajun Sasquatch and, in Cajun French, La Bête Noire, is an ape-like humanoid cryptid creature, similar to descriptions of Bigfoot, purported to inhabit the Honey Island Swamp in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana. The creature is commonly described by alleged witnesses as a large, bipedal, humanoid, about 7 feet (2 m) tall, covered with gray hair, having yellow or red eyes and accompanied by a putrid odor. Other local names for the creature include the Rougarou, Louisiana Wookiee, and The Thing. Alleged plaster casts of footprints said to be from the creature showcase four toes; not a natural trait found in primates, who possess five. The first claimed sighting was in 1963 by Harlan Ford, a retired air traffic controller who had taken up wildlife photography. After his death in 1980, a reel of Super 8 film showing the creature was found among his belongings. In 1974, Ford and his friend Billy Mills claimed to have found unusual footprints in the area, as well as the body of a wild boar whose throat had been gashed. Today, the creature is still purported to inhabit the swamp and the bayous along the Pearl River. Local lore tells of a train crash that occurred near the swamp in the early 20th century in which a traveling circus lost chimpanzees who adapted to the environment and offer a potential explanation as to the creature’s origins.
Alias Honey Island Swamp Monster, Cajun Sasquatch, La Bête Noire, Rougarou, Louisiana Wookiee, The Thing
Appearance List Article: “Man Claims Creature…” for The State Times Advocate (Baton Rouge, 1973). TV: “The Swamp Monster” episode of In Search of… (Season 2, Ep. 16, 1978) — narrated by Leonard Nimoy; The Beast Of The Bayou: Louisiana’s Terrifying Swamp Mystery for America Unearthed (Season 4, Episode 7, Travel Channel).
Sample Read The Beast Of The Bayou: Louisiana’s Terrifying Swamp Mystery | Boogeymen | Shiver [YT]
Description The Honey Island Swamp Monster, also known as the Cajun Sasquatch and, in Cajun French, La Bête Noire, is an ape-like humanoid cryptid creature, similar to descriptions of Bigfoot, purported to inhabit the Honey Island Swamp in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana. The creature is commonly described by alleged witnesses as a large, bipedal, humanoid, about 7 feet (2 m) tall, covered with gray hair, having yellow or red eyes and accompanied by a putrid odor. Other local names for the creature include the Rougarou, Louisiana Wookiee, and The Thing. Alleged plaster casts of footprints said to be from the creature showcase four toes; not a natural trait found in primates, who possess five. The first claimed sighting was in 1963 by Harlan Ford, a retired air traffic controller who had taken up wildlife photography. After his death in 1980, a reel of Super 8 film showing the creature was found among his belongings. In 1974, Ford and his friend Billy Mills claimed to have found unusual footprints in the area, as well as the body of a wild boar whose throat had been gashed. Today, the creature is still purported to inhabit the swamp and the bayous along the Pearl River. Local lore tells of a train crash that occurred near the swamp in the early 20th century in which a traveling circus lost chimpanzees who adapted to the environment and offer a potential explanation as to the creature’s origins.
