Eyewitness Account: The Swamp Mimic

Who, or what, did this man encounter deep in a South Carolina swamp?

The following story appeared on Reddit's r/BackwoodsCreepy in a post titled "Creepy Encounter in the SC Swamp." Edited for clarity.

"I had a really weird experience in Congaree National Park outside of Columbia, South Carolina. The park has a beautiful boardwalk that winds through the swamp and cypress forest. It’s super peaceful to walk at night and hear all the wildlife. I would often jump the fence for a stroll. The park never had a ranger or guard there after hours, so I was always alone. 

The last time I did this was in October 2021. I was taking my usual stroll, flashlight in hand. I should mention, that between the insects and frogs, the park is loud. But when I was about a mile in, the wildlife sounds stopped completely. I then heard what I thought was my wife call out to me from the trail ahead. But that was impossible. I was alone and my wife was out of town. I then heard water sloshing to my right but saw nothing with my flashlight.  

I chalked it up as being tired and kept moving. The wildlife noises started up shortly after, and everything was fine. About 15 minutes later, it got eerily quiet again. I then heard swamp water sloshing on my left, but this time the sound seemed more deliberate, like somebody walking. I was in a thick portion of the cypress and couldn’t see more than 20 feet in front of me. Then I heard my wife’s voice a second time. But again, she wasn’t with me and was out of town; she certainly wasn’t moving through a swamp at 1 AM.  

Then, for a split second, I saw what looked like a human silhouette move between the trees. But it was…off. The figure was very skinny, pale, and taller than me at six feet. I noped the fuck out of there and ran almost two miles back to my truck and didn’t slow down until I heard the wildlife again. 

Like I said, this is a boardwalk that’s in a swamp in the boonies. Nobody is walking around in the water at night without a light, or ever. I don’t know of any animal that big that walks in a bipedal pattern, and I have spent my life in the outdoors. I feel I should add that I wasn’t high or sleep-deprived. I just like the woods at night.  

I’m convinced I encountered a crawler or Wendigo or something else that can mimic voices. There’s no way some meth head that sounded like my wife was stumbling through the swamp miles from civilization. But then again, this is South Carolina.”