South Carolina issues official warning regarding 'Lizardmen'

BISHOPVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA — Officials in South Carolina are now warning locals about the potential for "lizardmen" encounters in advance of the upcoming total solar eclipse.

With the solar eclipse set to occur on August 21, this week the South Carolina Emergency Management Division tweeted out an infographic of an area map with reptile icons pinned to reported lizardmen sightings, stating it "does not know if Lizardmen become more active under a solar eclipse," but "residents of Lee and Sumter counties should remain ever vigilant."

The legend of this walking reptilian was born back in 1988, when Christopher Davis, 17, had just finished changing a flat tire near Scape Ore Swamp in Bishopville, South Carolina. He reported seeing a "red-eyed devil" about 30 yards away. As the story goes, Davis got in his car and sped off, but he claimed the creature managed to chase him down and jump on the hood of his car, before he was able to shake him.

Lizardman sightings have since become a regular-enough occurrence in the area, the latest reported in 2015 when local man Jim Wilson claimed he saw "something come out of the woods and run across the Scape Ore Bridge." He described it as a "tall, dark figure that had a tail and appeared to have scales...almost like an alligator with a short nose and long legs."

Last week, police in Greenville, South Carolina warned the public "not to shoot" at any figures resembling bigfoot. NASA has also released a graphic entitled "Sunsquatch" detailing the best spots to catch the total solar eclipse and bigfoot at the same time.