Greetings & Salutations, Y'all!
On Saturday, June 1st, my travels once again took me to the small town of Bishopville, South Carolina and the South Carolina Button Museum for the 2nd Annual Lizardman Festival 2019 to kick off this summer of travel blogging.
The festival itself is little more than a small gathering of people whose hobby includes cryptozoology, the hunt for unknown species and legendary creatures, from Bigfoot (Sasquatch or Skunk Ape) to the Loch Ness Monster, whose existence hasn’t been scientifically proven, but the stories of which none-the-less intrigue some individuals like this blogger.
I briefly touched on the local legend of the Lizard Man of Scape Ore swamp (also known as the Lee County Lizard Man) in a previous blog post when I visited Lee County with my grandmother Carolyn (RIP) and my youngest brother, Alex. Later next month I will be posting a more detailed account of the Lizard Man legend, and my theories about what people who allegedly witnessed this creature claim they saw.
Festivals based on paranormal events and local encounters with strange creatures are not unique to Bishopville, South Carolina. Point Pleasant, West Virginia, has an annual Mothman festival. Flatwoods, West Virginia, has a festival honoring the Braxton County monster. There is also a Western North Carolina Bigfoot Festival in Marion, North Carolina. Roswell, New Mexico has annual events based on the alleged UFO crash in 1947. And every year, you can go to Fouke, Arkansas, to celebrate the Beast of Boggy Creek.
Nor is the United States alone in this phenomenon. There is a huge tourist industry surrounding Lock Ness, Scotland, U.K., centered around the lake monster that has allegedly been spotted there.
It turns out that legends like this bring in plenty of tourist dollars. According to the Point Pleasant Chamber of Commerce, the Mothman Festival is probably one of the largest economic driver between Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Charleston, West Virginia.
With literally hundreds, if not thousands, of legends of strange creatures, haunted places, and strange phenomenon across the world, tourists and curiosity seekers of all kinds are always bound to turn out to see for themselves.
This brings us to the 2nd Annual Lizardman Festival, hosted by the South Carolina Button Museum. This event was sponsored by the South Carolina Paranormal Research and Investigations. This small gathering of crypto-hunters, paranormal investigators, and some really talented artists, was an interesting couple of hours that I thoroughly enjoyed.
 |
| When it comes to travel snacks, nothing beats Chick-O-Sticks. |
The nearly 2 hour drive to Bishopville from my home is a pleasant one that took me through several beautiful parts of my home state. Lee County is located along the sand hills and upper coastal plains region, and is a largely rural community. Lots of lovely farmland and corn crops growing along SC Highway 34.
The following are the photos I took of the event, including more photos from inside the Button Museum itself. Enjoy.
 |
| Mr. Mark Luncy, author of the books Eerie Florida and Freaky Florida, giving a presentation on someof the cryptids and local legends in his part of Dixie. His work can be seen at: eerieflorida.com. |
 |
| Astronomer and planetary photographer, Mr. Eric Colley. He was inviting folks to look at the sun and sunspots through his telescope. |
 |
| I totally loved his shirt! |
As I departed the Lizardman festival to return home, I stopped at the bridge over Scape Ore Swamp -- the alleged home of the legendary creature. It occurred to me that the very first Lizardman sighting took place just over 30 years ago in June of 1988 on a deserted stretch of road just like this. I didn't really get out of the car as I had a couple years ago when I visited the site with family; I just pulled over long enough to take a photo.
Have a Wonderful Dixie Day, and y'all come back now, ya hear?
No comments:
Post a Comment