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SUMMER 1975, MILTON, KENTUCKY, USA, CLARENCE CABLE, GARRETT CABLE:

Brief summary of the event and follow-up:

Cryptozoologist, mystery mongers, Fortean researchers, and even ufologist, report that in October 1975, in Milton, Kentucky, on October 1975, witnesses reported seeing a giant biped lizard man roaming the woods near an automobile junkyard.

It was described as having, a foot long forked tongue, and big eyes that bulged something like a frog's. It was dull white with black and white stripes across its body with quarter size speckles over it.

The real story, reported in the local newspaper, is rather different and bears no relation to UFOs or "lizard-men" at all. It took place in the summer, not October, and involved two brothers, Clarence and Garrett Cable, junkyard workers, who on several occasions glimpsed at a big lizard; they tried to shoot it, but the beast was never found. One of the brother suspected it was a monitor lizard born from eggs that were possibly forgotten in one of the damaged cars they stored.

Basic information table:

Narratives:

[Ref. lc1:] LOREN COLEMAN:

The cryptozoologist indicates that in October 1975, near Milton, Kentucky, Clarence Cable reported that a "giant lizard" was roaming in the forests near his junkyard.

Author Peter Guttilla described the creature surprised by Cable as about 15 feet long, with a foot-long forked tongue, and big eyes that bulged something like a frog's. It was dull-white with black-and-white stripes across its body with quarter-size speckles over it.

[Ref. mh1:] MARK A. HALL:

Mark A. Hall indicated that in Trimble County, Kentucky, an area that has certainly had its share of mysteries over the years, and in 1975, Carl Abbott heard something making grunts and groans as it passed through his field near Milton in the night. He managed to photograph a track he found, 5 inches long, with deeply imbedded claws, in the word of the Trimble County Banner-Democrat.

A short time later, a local dog was attacked by an unseen assailant and was inflicted slash wounds. The creature was finally seen in July by Clarence "Toughy" Cable near the Blue Grass Body Shop: as he was walking through the junkyard, he saw a huge lizard emerged from behind the trashed cars. It hissed at him times. Cable told it had "big eyes similar to frog's ... Beneath its mouth was an off-white color, and there were black and white stripes cross ways of its body, with quarter-size orange speckles over it." Cable said that the cars were being removed, and that may have brought the lizard out of hiding.

The lizard wasn't seen again until July 27, when Cable's brother Garrett saw the head and shoulders of a lizard emerge from beneath some discarded car hoods. He went to get his brother, and when they returned, the lizard was gone.

The next day the was seen lizard again, although Cable later said that this one appeared to be larger than the first: while looking for a stick with which to prop up a car hood, he encountered a lizard some 15 feet in length. He threw a rock at it and came back later with a rifle, which he fired into the brush.

Mark Hall adds that the Milton Lizard has not appeared since, so the mystery of exactly what it was that was seen that month may never be fully solved.

[Ref. jc1:] JEROME CLARK:

Jerome Clark indicates that in October 1975, residents of the tiny town of Milton on the Ohio River in Kentucky reported seeing a giant, bipedal "lizard."

[Ref. ar1:] ALBERT ROSALES:

Albert Rosales indicates in his catalogue that in Milton, Kentucky, on October 1975, at an unknown time, witnesses reported seeing a giant lizard man type humanoid roaming the woods near an automobile junkyard.

It was described as having, a foot long forked tongue, and big eyes that bulged something like a frog's. It was dull white with black and white stripes across its body with quarter size speckles over it. The creature was reported to have run bipedal.

Albert Rosales indicates that the source is Mark Opsasnick and Mark Chorvinsky, Strange Magazine #3.

[Ref. jr1:] JUSTIN RATPICK MOORE:

A web page by "Justin Ratpick Moore" indicates that in October 1975, residents of Milton, Kentucky, along the Ohio River, reported the sighting of an upright walking "Giant Lizard." Clarence Cable said that this creature was roaming the forests near his junkyard. Described by author Peter Guttilla as "about fifteen feet long, had a foot long forked tongue, and big eyes that bulged something like a frog's. It was dull white with black and white stripes across its body with quarter sized speckles over it."

Mark A. Hall, an on site investigator, pointed out that this "Giant Lizard" only ran in an upright fashion according to other Trimble County witnesses whom he had questioned.

Justin Ratpick Moore then proposes that such creatures could have been one of the extraterrestrials called "Nommos" by the Dogon tribe in Africa.

[Ref. wi1:] WIKIPEDIA:

Points to consider:

As noted by Jerome Clark, this is one of the rare stories of "lizard-man" sighting reported. There seems no be, however, no notion of bipedy in the primary sources. And as the very informative article on Wikipedia indicates, the sighting has not much to do with lizard-men, aliens, reptoids, reptilians, swamp-monster, not even with the Creature from the Black Lagoon of the 1954 movie...

The monitor lizard, Varanus varius. Not "15 feet long", not usually walking uptight... but the skin is an exact match of the description: "...an off-white color and there were black and white stripes cross ways of its body with quarter-sized orange speckles over it."

List of issues:

Evaluation:

Big lizard. Had nothing to do with the UFO topic.

Sources references:

* = Source I checked.
? = Source I am told about but could not check yet. Help appreciated.

• [---] ? "Canip Monster Is Sighted Again", article in the local newspaper The Trimble County Banner-Democrat, Trimble County, USA, July 31 1975.
• [---] ? "Monster Still Sought", article in the local newspaper The Trimble County Banner-Democrat, Trimble County, USA, August 7, 1975.
• [---] ? Peter Guttilla
• [---] ? Article by Mark Opsasnick and Mark Chorvinsky in Strange Magazine, #3.
• [lc1] * "Curious Encounters", book by Loren Coleman, Faber & Faber publishers, Boston, Mass., USA, page 74, 1985.
• [mh1] * "Natural Mysteries: Monster Lizards, English Dragons, and Other Puzzling Animals (2nd ed.)", book by Mark A. Hall, Minneapolis, Minnesota, self-published, 1991.
• [jc1] * "Unexplained!", book by Jerome Clark, Visible Ink Press publishers, Detroit, USA, page 327, 1993.
• [ar1] * "1975 Humanoid Reports", compiled by Albert Rosales, circa 2001, at www.ufoinfo.com/humanoid/humanoid1975.shtml
• [jr1] * "The Children of Dagon - An Investigation of the Paranormal", web page by Justin Ratpick Moore at www.horusmaat.com/silverstar/SILVERSTAR5-PG45.htm
• [wi1] * "Milton Lizard", from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, as of July 2007, at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_lizard

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This page was last updated on July 12, 2007