“La Letiche, by the way, is the Honey Island Swamp’s answer to Bigfoot.” – EA Hanks, The 10
My ears perked up when I came across this line in her travel memoir published in April 2025.
“The Cajun version of the story has La Letiche as the soul of an unbaptized baby, haunting the waters. (Catholics, right?) The Native American version involves an abandoned baby taken in and raised by alligators. A more contemporary version of the tale has a local stumbling on a horrifying figure ‘over seven feet tall, having dingy, grayish hair, yellow eyes, and being accompanied by a disgusting stench.’ ” She quoted a blog post from Pelican State of Mind, the official blog of Pelican State Credit Union.
EA was doing a tour at the 70,000 acre Honey Island Swamp, north of Lake Pontchartrain. On the 10, she drove west from New Orleans and passed the Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge, Lake Pontchartrain, and Bogue Chitto National Wildlife Refuge. Did you know Louisiana has a state insect? The honey bee.
Reading The 10, I’m re-travelling New Orleans and getting to possibly understand why I liked the city as I did. EA asked the person she rented the guesthouse from “what is something she wishes people knew about this place.” The Brooklynite Leesaw replied, “moving to New Orleans is like falling in love. It’s like those relationships where you completely lose yourself. You didn’t like jazz? Well, now you do. You don’t eat red beans and rice? Not anymore. You can really lose track of yourself here.” She also offered, “this is a magical place, but it’s also a place that can grind you down.” So for a few days, I experienced a magic. It was also just a few days.
According to the blog, the swamp is home to not just alligators, turtles, wild boars, and many species of birds. It’s also where the Honey Island Swamp Monster lives. Known also as Louisiana’s Bigfoot, the Bayou Beast, and Wookiee, it was spotted in 1963. EA’s quoted description above comes from this sighting by Harlan Ford. Years after this incident, he found actual evidence – footprints by a slain boar. He casted it, a three-toed webbed foot.
His granddaughter, Dana Holyfield, continues the search. She produced a documentary and in 2012 published a book called Honey Island Swamp Monster Documentations. Fan of cryptozoology? Maybe this book is for you. Or you’ve already read it?
For the Cajun and Native Americans, the myths of La Letiche go way back.
Gulf Coast Eco Tour in Mississippi
Eco Walking & Cruise Tour
On this tour, you travel on the waterways of the Mississippi River to see the wildlife and fauna. You will also walk on a boardwalk trail. Pristine Honey Island Swamp is one of the attractions.
The meeting point is 5033 Levee St, Pearlington, approximately 45 minutes from New Orleans.
Historical Haunted Bayou Cruise
“Visitors will embark on a journey into the Mississippi Devils Marsh in Bayou Caddy for all to see and hear with Ghost Stories on a Haunted Bayou Cruise for the Chill of the unknown. Along the way, travelers may see wildlife from blue herons to alligators along with oak trees and ghosts of the past. While not a guarantee to see a ghost or gator, the changes are high. Explore the most haunted bayou in America with Mystic Molly like never before.”
The tour starts at the boat launch on Bayou Caddy in Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi. This is approximately 45 minutes from Biloxi/Gulfport and 45 minutes from the French Quarter in New Orleans.
“In The 10, every mile is a revelation. E.A. Hanks intertwines geography and memory, drawing readers into her exploration of family secrets and self-discovery. A masterful blend of humor, heartache, and unforgettable landscapes, this memoir reminds us that family, like the open road, is as winding as it is essential. Hanks’s story, at once intimate and universal, is a testament to how the open road can both reveal and heal. A truly moving memoir.” – Adrienne Brodeur, New York Times bestselling author of Wild Game
Cajun & Creole Folktales is a repertory of Louisiana stories, myths, and legends retold in Cajun French and English.
“All of them colorful examples of Louisiana narrative at its best.”
