Various regions have their own cryptozoological legend. New Jersey has the Jersey Devil, Scotland has the Loch Ness Monster and South Carolina has the Lizard Man.
Several residents in South Carolina have been raving, claiming that the Lizard Man returned to Lee County last Sunday. The Lizard Man is a local urban legend about a massive, man-sized lizard that lurks in the area's swamps, according to Starpulse.
Sarah, a Sumter woman who says she went to church with a friend Sunday morning when she stepped out of the building and allegedly saw the Lizard Man running along the treeline. This sighting prompted her to take a photo to spread the word, according to ABC's South Carolina affiliate ABC 4.
"My hand to God, I am not making this up," she wrote in an email to the ABC News 4 newsroom. "So excited!"
He's baaaaaack... #bishopvillesc #lizardman https://t.co/VtUIIV3RBH (Photo by Sarah). pic.twitter.com/HUMnK7SzgB
— Coll. of Charleston (@CofC) August 3, 2015
She reports that she was about one mile away from Scape Ore Swamp, which happened to be the site of another sighting of the fabled Lizard Man back in May.
Another man, who asked not to be identified, submitted a short video Monday morning taken in Scape Ore Swamp of what he believes is the Lizard Man. He allegedly made the video in May, but only mustered up the courage to speak up after seeing reports of the Lizard Man outside Sarah's church.
"I saw your lizard man story, and it's given me the courage to send you a video I took in early May," the man wrote, according to Canada Journal. "Though my wife believes me that it's real, she said she would be embarrassed that everyone would think I was a loon so I kept it a secret."
In the video, the man ducks behind a tree as the "creature" walks by in the distance. The video stops when the creature appears to have spotted the cameraman.
"If you're wondering I absolutely believe it's real. I also don't know if it's the same thing you posted," he added. "When it noticed me I high tailed it out."
Scape Ore Swamp has been the area with the most Lizard Man sightings within the past 30 years.
The Lizard Man was first spotted by Christopher Davis, 17, in the summer of 1988 when he stopped to change a flat tire near a swamp at 2 a.m.
Davis reported running to his car after allegedly seeing a 7-foot beast running towards him. He claimed that the creature jumped on the hood of his car, leaving scratch marks on the roof.
The Lizard Man has been engraved in South Carolina's mythos ever since.
