Louisiana Wookie?

The Monster Legend Of Honey Island

By TCC Team Member Dorraine Fisher

            Legends of monsters in the swamp have permeated the bayou country of Louisiana for well over a

hundred years. But sometimes there’s a reason legends persist.

            Honey Island Swamp in southern Louisiana is a stretch of land 27 miles long and seven miles wide. Thick pine forests make up the northern portion, and the southern portion consists of 70,000 acres of protected swampland not easily accessible by humans except by boat or on foot. Many dangerous animals make their home there, including black bears, alligators, and feral hogs. But some say, that in the deepest, darkest recesses of the area, there is another creature that calls this place home.

                        Known as the Louisiana wookie (due to its reported resemblance to the Star Wars character) or the Honey Island swamp monster, it was first spotted in the 1960s when humans began exploring further into the remote areas of the swamp.

            The first documented sighting was in 1963 when a man named Harlan E. Ford and his friend Ray Mills were hunting in the area. They came across a large, hairy creature standing over a dead boar with its throat ripped out.