Lizard Demon of Wood County

The team talks to a witness

***Lizard Demon of Wood County*** is the sixth and final episode of Mountain Monsters season one, and the sixth episode overall.

In the season one finale, the A.I.M.S. team travels to Wood County to hunt a large amphibious reptilian creature known as the Lizard demon.

## About The Episode

The episode begins with Trapper, Jeff, Huckleberry, and Buck, traveling to Wood County, which is a short 25 miles from Pleasants County, right on the Ohio River. Jeff says he's been getting reports from people of cattle and deer being mutilated, and they believe the culprit is the Lizard demon of local folklore, who is said to have gills, and a triple eyelid like a crocodile. Trapper describes the creature as seven and a half feet tall, 300-400 pounds, and has 3 toes, with the center one being the longest. It is also known to chase and attack cars. Jeff shares a story he's heard of a group of farmers who'd trapped the Lizard demon in a barn at night, and the next morning it was gone, leaving a hole in the back of the barn. As for the history of the creature, the Lizard demon was first spotted in the 1900s in Kentucky and

   Tennessee, but appears to have moved to West Virginia, according to Jeff. Trapper says the key to this hunt will be to find the monster's water travel routes. Buck and Huckleberry show uncertainty over the hunt because they can't see or breathe in the water and the Lizard demon can.

The team meets with a hunter named "Jay Bob" who has seen the lizard demon entering his pond. He says it had a head akin to a lizard's, with a mouth full of teeth, and standing 7 feet tall with dark green skin. Jay bob says after seeing it, he later put out a trail cam in case it came back and got a photo, which he shows to the team.

After examining the photo, the team is able to make out what appear to be gills, ribs, and a shoulder. Being impressed with the evidence, Trapper thanks Jay Bob for sharing his story, continues the investigation at night.

After dark, the team begins their first-night investigation in the farmland in between Jay Bob's house and the Ohio River, which they believe the Lizard demon is using. They split into two groups; Jeff and Trapper searching the flat high country, and Buck and Huckleberry searching the woods for clues to the monster's presence. Buck is hopeful they will find signs of the Lizard demon because even though it is a water creature it reportedly has to feed on land. His guess is well-founded because, sure enough, they find a footprint that is very deep in the mud. Huckleberry attempts to make a print, but he is far less deep than the one they found, showing it had to be something considerably heavy. Meanwhile, Trapper and Jeff search the farmland and quickly notice the lack of deer, which is strange as it is springtime. They scan the woods with the thermal camera, to no avail, but feel as if they're being watched. Huck and Buck continue they search when suddenly Buck is startled by a noise. Following it, they come across a cliff face with a small cave, which Huckleberry decides to investigate.

    Buck quickly calls him out, however, when rocks begin rolling down the cliff onto them, revealing they're not alone. While giving an interview to the cameraman, Huckleberry hears even more rocks sliding down, so they radio Trapper for back up. Upon Trapper and Jeff's arrival, the four search the top of the cliff and determine something big was indeed there. Because of the creature's speed, Trapper decides they will have to trap him in the water, instead of land.

The next day, after being given information on the Lizard demon by Trapper, Willy gets to work on a trap. He uses an old smokestack with a trapdoor on the end, which will go in the water but is strong enough to hold a bear, he says.

Next, the rest of the team goes to see another witness, named "Mark", who is about two miles away from Jay Bob. Mark says one night his dogs were barking madly, so he went down into the woods near his house to investigate, where he spotted a dark green, 7 foot tall, lizard-like creature. He says he would have thought it was someone playing a joke on him if not for the way it moved, bouncing down into the deep holler easily. Taking the guys down the hills to the waterfall where he'd seen the creature, Mark also says he saw a footprint, that was similar to the description of the Lizard demon's feet. Since the area is mostly never set foot in by man, Trapper believes the Lizard demon is using it as a travel route to the country ponds they know he's been using, so they'll put the trap near the area.

The team then meets with their third eyewitness, an auctioneer named "Bob", who is not an outdoorsman, only coming out to the country to relax at his cottage. Bob says he was hiking when he saw something standing up in the bushes, at first believing it was a bear before noticing the color and shape of it body, which matches the description of the Lizard demon. Jeff asks Bob if he's seen any animal carcasses, to which he says he'd seen a dead cow in the river with a large chunk taken out of it. He takes them down by the river where he'd seen the Lizard demon, saying it had leaped into the water and swiftly swam away. Aside, Trapper shows concern for Bob's safety, not being an outdoorsman and not knowing of the danger he may be in. Investigating the riverside, Trapper discovers a slide area and a worn-out spot on the bank, showing the beast has been in the area near Bob's cottage many times, much to his astonishment. Finally, Trapper thanks Bob and tells him to be very careful.

Now with a better idea of where to put the trap, Willy and his friend Mark, wait for Wild Bill to arrive so he can help put the trap in the water. When he arrives, the team uses a heavy-duty forklift to place the trap in the water, just in time for the team to arrive. With the team together and the trap in the water, all that's left to do is bait it, which is, as usual, Buck's job, much to his discontent as the water is freezing cold.

With the sundown and everything ready, the team begins the hunt, with Trapper, Willy, and Bill in the water, and Jeff, Huckleberry and Buck on land, all ready to push the beast to the trap. The land team heads to the farmland where they'd previously encountered the creature, and soon discover another large footprint.

Judging by the freshness of the print, they know the Lizard demon is in the area. Meanwhile, on the river, Trapper is in a rowboat scanning the river for signs of the monster, along with Wild Bill and Willy, in waders. They hear splashing and see ripples in the water, which leads them to discover a cow rib cage underwater. On land, the others hear rustling in the brush but Jeff's camera reveals nothing. Suddenly, they hear a different noise; a clang. On the water, Trapper spots an eye, which Willy and Bill chase to land and then disappears, in the direction of the other team. Jeff picks up a shape on his thermal, headed toward an old barn, so the three investigate. Upon entering the barn, which is unlocked and open, the team notices dust falling down from the loft above as well as banging around. Buck climbs up the ladder to the loft, followed by Jeff and Huckleberry, and find a huge nest of hay, and what appears to be a tunnel in the wall.

     They don't have much time to look at it however when a loud noise erupts from below them. After hearing more banging, Jeff scans with his thermal to see a form running towards the other team. After telling Trapper, who sends out Bill and Willy, Buck, Huckleberry, and Jeff rush to the side-by-side to give chase to the Lizard demon. When they meet with Bill and Willy, they are shocked to find they did not encounter the Lizard demon despite it heading in their direction. Trapper, still in the boat, says he has not seen anything either. They then hear another noise and believing it to be the trap, they charge after it, only to find the trap empty and still up. Trapper determines the creature was too busy running to stop for food. When all seems lost, they hear splashing not fifty feet away from them, and, worried the Lizard demon will attack, the team opens fire.

     After letting off a round of shots into the water the team finds no sign of a body, leaving them to believe they missed him and he escaped. However, they are convinced they scared the monster right out of the area, perhaps even as far as Pittsburgh, as Trapper says. Overall, the team is happy they did their jobs and ended the threat to the locals.