The Atamaha-ha - Sea Monster of the Georgia Coast!

Home of the Altamaha-ha?

One of my favorite Southern monsters is the Altamaha-ha.

A massive sea monster or river monster that is said to inhabit the waters around the mouth of the Altamaha River in Georgia, the Altamaha-ha has been seen for hundreds of years.

The oldest documented account I could find, in fact, dates back to 1826. A sea captain named named Delano was sailing his schooner, the Eagle, through Doboy Sound on the Georgia Coast that year when he saw a creature that must have been the Altamaha-ha.  He didn't tell anyone about it at the time, but then he saw it again four years later off St. Simons Island, Georgia:

...He repeated the...particulars precisely, describing the animal he saw as being about 70 feet long, and its circumference about that of a sugar hogshead, moving with its head (shaped like an Alligator's) about 8 feet out of the water. - Savannah Georgian, April 22, 1830.

Altamaha River in Georgia, home of a Monster?

This time Captain Delano reported his sighting and his account was backed up by five other eyewitnesses on his ship, all of whom were willing to sign legal affidavits as to what they had seen.

Doboy Sound, where the first sighting took place, separates Sapelo Island from the Georgia mainland and connects to the Altamaha River. St. Simons Island borders the Altamaha to the south.

From the time of Captain Delano's first sighting in 1826 until today, people have claimed to see a monster in the waters around the mouth of the Altahama or up the river in the various channels and abandoned rice fields and canals of its delta. They describe the Altahama-ha as being around 30 feet long, with flippers like a seal and a head like a snake or alligator.

Read the full story of the Altamaha-ha and seem some video taken by an amateur photographer at: www.exploresouthernhistory.com/altamahaha.

And be sure to check on a host of other Southern monster and ghost stories at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/ghosts.