A swamp monster (also variously called a swamp creature, swamp man, swamp thing, or muck monster) is a fictional or mythological creature imagined to lurk in a

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

Description

Some swamp monsters resemble aquatic creatures, while other swamp monsters resemble aquatic plants and

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...

. They are generally depicted as fierce and destructive; a confrontation with one presents a lethal hazard. Below is a list of the known swamp monsters in folklore and different media appearances.

Swamp monsters in folklore, legends, and mythology

* The

Will-o'-the-wisp In folklore, a will-o'-the-wisp, will-o'-wisp or ''ignis fatuus'' (, plural ''ignes fatui''), is an atmospheric ghost light seen by travellers at night, especially over bogs, swamps or marshes. The phenomenon is known in English folk belief, ...

appears in swamps, and in some areas there are legends of it being an evil spirit.Observations on Popular Antiquities: Including the Whole of Mr. Bourne's Antiquitates Vulgares (1777). * The

Bunyip The bunyip is a creature from the aboriginal mythology of southeastern Australia, said to lurk in swamps, billabongs, creeks, riverbeds, and waterholes. Name The origin of the word ''bunyip'' has been traced to the Wemba-Wemba or Wergaia ...

is a creature from

Aboriginal mythology Australian Aboriginal religion and mythology is the sacred spirituality represented in the stories performed by Aboriginal Australians within each of the language groups across Australia in their ceremonies. Aboriginal spirituality includes ...

that lurks in swamps, billabongs, creeks, riverbeds, and waterholes. * The

Grootslang The Grootslang or Grote Slang (Afrikaans and Dutch for "big snake") is a legendary creature that is reputed to dwell in a deep cave in the Richtersveld, South Africa. Legend The Grootslang is said to be a huge elephant-sized serpent that dwells i ...

is a huge

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...

-like creature with a serpent's tail which according to legend lives in caves, swamps, freshwater in South Africa. * The

Lernaean Hydra The Lernaean Hydra or Hydra of Lerna ( grc-gre, Λερναῖα Ὕδρα, ''Lernaîa Hýdra''), more often known simply as the Hydra, is a serpentine water monster in Greek and Roman mythology. Its lair was the lake of Lerna in the Argolid, whi ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and

Roman mythology Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. One of a wide variety of genres of Roman folklore, ''Roman mythology'' may also refer to the modern study of these representat ...

was the creature

Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive ...

killed in the swamp near Lake Lerna. * The

Honey Island Swamp Monster The Honey Island Swamp Monster, also known as the Cajun Sasquatch and in frc, La Bête Noire, is an ape-like humanoid cryptozoology, cryptid creature, similar to descriptions of Bigfoot, purported to inhabit the Honey Island Swamp in St. Tammany P ...

is known in Louisiana.Theresa Bane, ''Encyclopedia of Beasts and Monsters in Myth, Legend and Folklore'' (2016), p. 211. * The skunk ape is a horrible-smelling large ape creature said to live in swamps in the Southeastern United States. * The Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp was the subject of a hoax in South Carolina in the late 1980s.The Washington Post (1988-08-14) "'Lizard Man' Claims a Casualty", The Washington Post * The Prime Hook Swamp Creature is a dog-like animal that has been spotted in the Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware.

Examples in comics

From the 1940s to the present many swamp monsters have been used in comics, an early example being Hillman Publications' the

Heap Heap or HEAP may refer to: Computing and mathematics * Heap (data structure), a data structure commonly used to implement a priority queue * Heap (mathematics), a generalization of a group * Heap (programming) (or free store), an area of memory f ...

. Afterwards, both

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

and

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...

created similar characters: * DC has the

Swamp Thing The Swamp Thing is a superhero in American comic books published by DC Comics. A humanoid/plant elemental List of swamp monsters, creature, created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, the Swamp Thing has had several humanoid or mo ...

, created by

Len Wein Leonard Norman Wein (; June 12, 1948 – September 10, 2017) was an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics' Swamp Thing and Marvel Comics' Wolverine, and for helping revive the Marvel superhero team the X-Men ( ...

and

Berni Wrightson Bernard Albert Wrightson (October 27, 1948 – March 18, 2017), sometimes credited as Bernie Wrightson, was an American artist, known for co-creating the Swamp Thing, his adaptation of the novel ''Frankenstein'' illustration work, and for his o ...

. * Marvel has the

Man-Thing The Man-Thing (Dr. Theodore "Ted" Sallis) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writers Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, and Gerry Conway and artist Gray Morrow, the character first appeared in ''S ...

, created by

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...

Gray Morrow Dwight Graydon "Gray" Morrow (March 7, 1934 – November 6, 2001).e., the Gilberton Company, publisher of the ''Classics Illustrated'' comic-book series of literary adaptations], and I was given a script. One thing led to another and I was soo ...

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibl ...

, and

Gerry Conway Gerard Francis Conway Thomas, Roy. "Roy's Rostrum" ("Bullpen Bulletins") in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #43 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated May 1974. (born September 10, 1952) is an American comic book writer, comic book editor, screenwriter, t ...

. The debuts of the two characters were so close that it is impossible to say which came first.

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and ''From Hell' ...

, who worked on ''Swamp Thing'' for a period, later described the character's original incarnation as "a regurgitation of Hillman Comics' The Heap", adding that "When I took over that character at Len Wein's suggestion, I did my best to make it an original character that didn't owe a huge debt to previously existing swamp monsters." Other swamp monsters in comics include: * Solomon Grundy, a swamp

zombie A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in whic ...

created by

Alfred Bester Alfred Bester (December 18, 1913 – September 30, 1987) was an American science fiction author, TV and radio scriptwriter, magazine editor and scripter for comic strips and comic books. He is best remembered for his science fiction, inclu ...

and

Paul Reinman Paul J. Reinman (; born Joseph Paul Reinmann, ; 2 September 1910 – 27 September 1988)Paul J. Reinmen
So ...

for DC Comics * The Glob, created by

and

Herb Trimpe Herbert William Trimpe (; May 26, 1939 – April 13, 2015) was an American comics artist and occasional writer, best known as the seminal 1970s artist on ''The Incredible Hulk'' and as the first artist to draw for publication the character Wolver ...

for Marvel Comics * Swamp Beast from ''

Monster in My Pocket ''Monster in My Pocket'' is a media franchise developed by American company Morrison Entertainment Group, headed by Joe Morrison and John Weems, two former senior executives at Mattel. The focus is on monsters and fantastical and legendary cr ...

'' by

Dwayne McDuffie Dwayne Glenn McDuffie (February 20, 1962February 21, 2011) was an American writer of comic books and television, known for producing and writing the animated series ''Static Shock'', '' Damage Control'', ''Justice League Unlimited'' and ''Ben 10 ...

and

Gil Kane Gil Kane (; born Eli Katz ; April 6, 1926 – January 31, 2000) was a Latvian-born American comics artist whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s and virtually every major comics company and character. Kane co-created the modern-day versio ...

for

Harvey Comics Harvey Comics (also known as Harvey World Famous Comics, Harvey Publications, Harvey Comics Entertainment, Harvey Hits, Harvey Illustrated Humor, and Harvey Picture Magazines) was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by Alfr ...

. * Bog Swamp Demon, a fictional character appearing in ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Michelangelo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Miche ...

'' comic books. * Danny Dunn and the Swamp Monster by

Raymond Abrashkin Raymond Abrashkin (March 9, 1911 – August 25, 1960) was an American writer and filmmaker. He is known for writing, co-producing, and co-directing '' Little Fugitive'' and for co-creating and co-writing with Jay Williams the ''Danny Dunn'' ser ...

and Jay Williams. * In the anime and manga ''

One Piece ''One Piece'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' since July 1997, with its individual chapte ...

'', the Straw Hat Pirates are attacked by Caribou who has eaten the Swamp Swamp Fruit (a Logia-type Devil Fruit that lets its consumer generate, control, and turn into a "swamp").

Examples in other media

* The title creature in

Theodore Sturgeon Theodore Sturgeon (; born Edward Hamilton Waldo, February 26, 1918 – May 8, 1985) was an American fiction author of primarily fantasy, science fiction and horror, as well as a critic. He wrote approximately 400 reviews and more than 120 sh ...

's 1940 short story " It!" is the earliest example of a plant-based swamp monster. * The

Gill-man The Gill-man—commonly called the Creature—is the main antagonist of the 1954 in film, 1954 black-and-white science fiction film ''Creature from the Black Lagoon'' and its two sequels ''Revenge of the Creature'' (1955) and ''The Creature Wal ...

from the 1954 film ''

Creature from the Black Lagoon ''Creature from the Black Lagoon'' is a 1954 American black-and-white 3D monster horror film produced by William Alland and directed by Jack Arnold, from a screenplay by Harry Essex and Arthur Ross and a story by Maurice Zimm. It stars ...

'' appears as a fish-like humanoid. ** A creature, credited as the Gill-man, also appears in the non-Universal release ''

The Monster Squad ''The Monster Squad'' is a 1987 American black comedy horror film directed by Fred Dekker, and written by Dekker and Shane Black, who met as classmates at UCLA. Peter Hyams and Rob Cohen served as executive producers. It was released by TriSta ...

'' (1987) along with

Count Dracula Count Dracula () is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. He is considered to be both the prototypical and the archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by som ...

Frankenstein's Monster Frankenstein's monster or Frankenstein's creature, often referred to as simply "Frankenstein", is a fictional character who first appeared in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''. Shelley's title thus compares ...

, the

mummy A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay fu ...

, and the

Wolf Man In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshifting, shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropy, therianthropic mythological hybr ...

. He was performed by Tom Woodruff, Jr. * An episode of '' Kolchak: The Night Stalker'' entitled "The Spanish Moss Murders" (December 6, 1974) features a young man, subject of a study in sleep research, whose nightmares of a

Spanish moss Spanish moss (''Tillandsia usneoides'') is an epiphytic flowering plant that often grows upon large trees in tropical and subtropical climates. It is native to much of Mexico, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Central America, South America, the Southern Uni ...

-covered swamp-dwelling monster called ''Pèremalfait'' from stories heard in his youth in the Louisiana Bayou come to life. (The creature in this case was played by

Richard Kiel Richard Dawson Kiel (September 13, 1939 – September 10, 2014) was an American actor. Standing tall, he was known for portraying Jaws in '' The Spy Who Loved Me'' (1977) and '' Moonraker'' (1979). Kiel's next-most-recognized role is the t ...

.) * The DC comics character "Swamp Thing" mentioned above was the subject of a 1982 film and a 1990 live-action television series. * In the 1986 novel '' It'' by

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

, It takes the form of a swamp monster to kill Eddie Corcoran. * The 1996 ''

Goosebumps ''Goosebumps'' is a series of children's horror fiction novels by American author R. L. Stine, published by Scholastic Publishing. The protagonists in these stories are tweens or young teens who find themselves in scary circumstances usually i ...

'' book "How to Kill a Monster" featured a Swamp Monster. It was depicted as a green-furred monster with the head of an alligator and a gorilla-like body with claws on its fingers. ** The Swamp Monster makes an appearance in the 2015 ''

'' movie performed by Nate Andrade (who was credited as "Monster #1"). He is one of Slappy the Dummy's monster and villain henchmen and is referred to as the "Bog Monster" during the 2014

Comic Con A comic book convention or comic-con is an event with a primary focus on comic books and comic book culture, in which comic book fans gather to meet creators, experts, and each other. Commonly, comic conventions are multi-day events hosted at con ...

appearance. Its appearance is different where it looks like a large creature made of moss. * The TV series ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...

'' featured some swamp monsters. In the episode "

I Never Met the Dead Man "I Never Met the Dead Man" is the second episode of the first season of the animated comedy series ''Family Guy''. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on April 11, 1999, stating in a promo that it is the official series premiere of th ...

" (April 11, 1999), the Griffin family catches a creature strongly resembling a "Swamp Monster" while fishing. In the episode " Business Guy" (December 13, 2009),

Carter Pewterschmidt ''Family Guy'' is an American animated comedy series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Characters are only listed once, normally under the first applicable subsection in the list; very minor characters are listed with ...

and

Lois Griffin Lois Patrice Griffin (''née'' Pewterschmidt) is a fictional character from the animated television series ''Family Guy''. She is voiced by Alex Borstein and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the Griffin family, in a 15-minu ...

trick

Peter Griffin Peter Löwenbräu Griffin, born Justin Peter Griffin, is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the American animated sitcom ''Family Guy''. He is voiced by the series' creator, Seth MacFarlane, and first appeared on television, alon ...

into surrendering Pewterschmidt Industries by scaring him into believing a local swamp monster will eat him if he does not. A seemingly real swamp monster scares Peter out of the office and then chases Lois and a disguised Carter before being trapped and unmasked to be

Gregory House Gregory House, M.D. is the titular protagonist of the American medical drama series ''House''. Created by David Shore and portrayed by English actor Hugh Laurie, he leads a team of diagnosticians and is the Head of Diagnostic Medicine at the f ...

. *

David Winning David Winning is a Canadian-American film and television director, screenwriter, producer, editor, and occasional actor. Although Winning has worked in numerous film and TV genres, his name is most commonly associated with science fiction, thr ...

's 2008 film ''

Swamp Devil ''Swamp Devil'' is a 2008 Canadian horror film directed by David Winning and starring Bruce Dern, Cindy Sampson and Nicolas Wright. It is the 13th film of the ''Maneater Series''. Plot Melanie Blaime returns to her hometown of Gibbington, Verm ...

'' stars

Bruce Dern Bruce MacLeish Dern (born June 4, 1936) is an American actor. He has often played supporting villainous characters of unstable natures. He has received several accolades, including the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor and the Silver B ...

as a retired sheriff trying to prove the existence of a swamp monster. * In

Animal Planet Animal Planet (stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American multinational pay television channel owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. First established on June 1, 1996, the network is primarily dev ...

's ''

Lost Tapes ''Lost Tapes'' is an American television series that aired on Animal Planet. Produced by Go Go Luckey Entertainment, the program presents fictional found footage depicting traumatic encounters with creatures cryptozoological, supernatural, myth ...

,'' the episode "Swamp Creature" (January 26, 2009) is about the Louisiana Swamp Monster, which is said to be an abandoned Native American child who was raised by alligators. * While criticizing a movie featuring a swamp monster, one of the hosts of the 2010 series ''

This Movie Sucks! ''This Movie Sucks!'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''TMS!'') is a Canadian comedy television series hosted by Ed the Sock, premiering on May 28, 2010, two years after '' Ed's Night Party'' went off the air. The show is similar to another former Ed th ...

'' ( Ron Sparks) tells the legend of ''

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...

Pete'' about a man who becomes a crime-fighting swamp monster after his parents are killed by one. * In the video game ''

Infamous 2 ''Infamous 2'' (stylized as ''inFAMOUS 2'') is an action-adventure video game developed by Sucker Punch Productions and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3 video game console. It is a sequel to the 2009 video game ''Infam ...

'', the Swamp Monsters are the least mutated type of the Corrupted that have scythes instead of forearms and are the more common of the Corrupted. * In

season two Season 2 may refer to: * ''Season 2'' (Infinite album) * ''2econd Season ''2econd Season'' is the second and most recent album by Atlanta-based rapper Unk. Release It was released on November 4, 2008. Guest Performers The album features gu ...

of '' Scream Queens'', the Green Meanie is described to be a swamp monster that lives in a toxic swamp near the C.U.R.E. Institute Hospital.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swamp monsters Swamp monsters Lists of stock characters Fictional monsters

Description

Swamp monsters in folklore, legends, and mythology

Examples in comics

Examples in other media

See also

References