The Lapping Farm Lizard Man

by Cole Herrold

Reptile-like monsters have always been a staple in horror, science fiction, and fantasy. They speak to us culturally in a primitive way of something old and ancient. Something that predates us and will most likely exist long after us. There is an understandable fear to anything we cant relate to hence why we project them in classic kaiju films like Godzilla, the Giant Behemoth, Gamera, and The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms as well as in characters like the Sleestaks from Land of the Lost, the Lizard from Spider-Man, and the sinister extraterrestrials from V. With these creatures the more human-like we make them it always seems to be more terrifying and more intelligent they appear to be. Yet while our movie theaters and television screens host these bizarre beasts, they are not alone, as reports of similar creatures are claimed to be sighted around the world. 

Humanoid reptiles are a topic that constantly is discussed in cryptozoological circles. Reports have been sporadically coming in from all over the world. In America, though, we have had a rather steady amount of reports and sightings from just about every state. The most famous case, however, is of the Lizardman of Scape Ore Swamp, which was sighted in the late 1980s which chased and attacked a car near Scape Ore Swamp. In California, a bizarre lizard creature was reported coming out of a river during a rainstorm and also attacked a car. Most reports of these ostensibly semiaquatic dwellers are from the southern portion of the United States, yet upon doing some digging, there are reports of some reptile-like beasts in the northern states as well. In Rosemary Ellen Guiley and Kevin Paul's amazing book Haunted Hills and Hollows: What Lurks in Greene County, Pennsylvania, they describe an extremely early account of a lizard humanoid in Franklin Township near the Lapping Farm area, and it is an exceptionally bizarre case and also possibly a look into an even more disturbing element to these creatures.

It was on a warm day in the 1890s when two hunters decided to go out and hunt in the woods around Lapping Farm in Franklin Township. The pair had no success that day but still proceeded to trek out and search for a game. It was in a particular wooded section that the men decided to take a break and enjoy the beauty of nature. Yet there was something off in the woods that day. There was no sound of any birds, and even the insects had quieted down, and unease flitted through the woods. The men paid no real attention to this and proceeded to sit quietly on a nearby stone. The stillness of the day would not last long, however, for the two hunters soon heard the sound of rustling in a nearby bushy area. The bushes began to shake vehemently as though something large was coming out. The men readied themselves as they prepared to encounter a deer or bear, their guns drawn at the ever-shaking shrub. What came out, however, was not the fauna that they were particularly used to but instead a bizarre beast that was something unlike anything they'd ever seen in their lives. The creature was a little bit bigger than a man and covered in greenish-brown scales. Its head was reptile-like in shape, but it walked on two big sturdy legs and bore long clawed arms. The monster stepped closer to the men, its movements exceptionally slow as though its bulky body could not withstand the weight of it. The creature looked down at the men and unleashed a loud hiss as the men just stared unbelieving at the strange creature. The creature came extremely close to the men and stopped as it was mere inches away from the men. That's when the unthinkable happened. The creature reached out with its long scaly arm and grabbed one of the men, and proceeded to place him securely under its arm like a man with a football. The hunter's companion stared in absolute horror as the beast began its slow, meticulous walk again. The friend, for fear of hitting his friend if he took aim at the beast, decided to go and try to get help from the community and began to run like the wind. Meanwhile, the monster continued with its prize down the wooded path while the now trapped hunter began to scream in absolute terror. His cries echoed through the silent wood. The hunter's friend arriving to town in a pure Beauty and the Beast or Frankenstein moment began to tell the local townsfolk about the abomination and its captive. And in a mad rush, a mob was formed. The party was led by the hunter's friend, and the group had proceeded to travel into the ever-darkening wood. They followed the path and made their way to the site of when the hunter became the prey and searched for the footprints of the beast. They found the clawed toed mementos the creature left behind and proceeded to follow them through an exceptionally briary patch of bushes. They followed the path until they began to hear the cries of the hunter ringing ever-still in the woods. The mob began to pick up speed and entered a clearing, and there was the hunter still alive and still in the arms of the Lizard Man. The beast turned as it heard the clamor of voices and assumedly tools and weapons and, in turn, proceeded to drop its prey. The hunter jumped up from the ground as soon as released and ran towards the party. The group watched as the creature began to descend into an enormous hole that was in the area. The group continued to advance toward the creature even after it was out of sight. The enraged community deciding to put an end to this scaly sadist, began to block the presumed home of the beast with as many large stones as they could find to stop the chance of another assault. And as far as we know, it worked.

This case is one of the most interesting because of the direct contact between a reptilian type of cryptid and a human. While there are several cases of them attacking cars and stalking humans, there are very rare cases of them physically grabbing or assaulting people. Reptilian cryptids have always been assumed to be dangerous simply because of the bias against reptiles, as many view snakes and crocodilians to be violent, aggressive creatures even though they aren't outside of normal predatory or protective functions, but because reptilian cryptids are humanoid, there is the assumption of human-level intelligence. So, with these creatures, they are viewed as pure monsters—creatures whose whole goal is to attack humans for their own pleasure deliberately. While we can't obviously rule out them having human-level intelligence, especially when observing other cultures who have claimed to coexist with reptilian civilizations, such as several Native American tribes who have several tales of intelligent reptile humans, it seems unlikely that these creatures are anything other than an undiscovered species acting under territorial behavior, predatory instincts, or however unlikely for breeding purposes—especially seeing how this case seemed to be showing a creature taking potential prey to its lair, which is something never reported in reptilian accounts. 

While there are countless reports of reptilian cryptids, there is the question of how these creatures could exist, for there is nothing like them in the fossil record? Interestingly there was a thought experiment that was proposed in the 70s and 80s of what would happen if the dinosaurs did not go extinct. The result via evolution was the Dinosauroid, an extremely intelligent creature that could walk bipedally and had hands and arms similar to humans. The creature surprisingly does bear a strong resemblance to many reptilian reports. The only problem with this hypothesis is the fact that the hypothesized model was based on a Troodon, which we now know was covered in feathers, so the Dinosauroid should actually be feathered unless to adapt to living in the modern environment it resulted in the creatures to lose them.

Most scientists today dismiss the Dinosauroid model, especially when the confirmation of feathered dinosaurs became more mainstream, yet the hypothesis could potentially occur and could explain why such accounts of reptile-like humanoids happen. This, of course, leads to several questions outside of the intelligence. One of the next major inquiry would be where do these creatures live and how they can stay hidden. The answer to this is varied depending on where the creatures are located. The Lizardman of Scape Ore Swamp does not need a lair to burrow in for hibernation purposes if these creatures behave like typical reptiles, much like crocodiles or alligators, they can just live in any section of the swamp without excessive need for a lair. Pennsylvania reptiles, however, have to deal with the changing seasons by burrowing or finding a place to hibernate to survive the harsh winters. So, it would stand to reason that the Lapping Farm Lizard Man would have to follow that rule. The Pennsylvania one was seen entering a hole to the underground, and curiously, there are several allegations on the more extreme end of reptile-like creatures living in civilizations underground. In fact, Los Angeles is allegedly home to a massive lizard city under the surface of the earth. In the Ufology circle, there are reported rumors of Reptilians (a race of extraterrestrials as well) having secret underground bases as well as the Greys. Then there are tales of them dwelling in the Hollow Earth. While these tales are entertaining and interesting with cases like the one seen in Pennsylvania, it is best to take the conservative path and view it from a more biological standpoint than a Ufological or conspiratorial one seeing as this case does seem to be something more biological in origin than something more dramatic.

 

This case is fascinating for several reasons, not just because of the creature reported but also because of the little details about it, from the creature going and kidnapping a man to the creature living in a hole to the town bouldering the lair up. To the connections to other legends and phenomena that are reported in other Fortean circles. Yet once again, we're left to wonder what did this creature want the man for and why? were there any other mysterious disappearances in the area? Had anyone else seen this beast? Was it ever seen again? Were there more holes in the area? These are questions with answers we're left to speculate for the time has passed for answers leaving the truth unknown.

Quick Facts:

Species/Potential Species: Reptile
Location: Lapping Farm, Franklin Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania 
Year: 1890s

Works Cited:

Guiley, Rosemary Ellen and Kevin Paul, Haunted Hills and Hollows: What Lurks in Greene County, Pennsylvania. Visionary Living Publishing. 2018.