(Monster Monday) Two-Toed Tom, Alligator Monster of FL & AL

Florida Indians Battle Monster Alligators
Two-Toed Tom is said to rival the size of these gators.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the monster story I posted here last Monday, so I thought we might make Monster Monday a regular feature for awhile.
Today we focus on Two-Toed Tom, the legendary red-eyed, demon-possessed alligator Monster of Northest Florida and South Alabama. The story has echoed through the swamps along the border for more than 100 years and is still well-known today.

The monster first came to prominence in South Alabama where he terrorized farm communities just north of the Florida line. Described as red-eyed and demon-possessed, he gained his unusual name after an attempt to capture him left him with only two toes on one foot.

Alligator in North Florida

Tom was shot, dynamited and otherwise attacked but could not be killed. He eventually tired of the constant battles in Alabama and moved across the line to Florida. He soon appeared in Sand Hammock Lake in the little town of Esto in Holmes County, Florida. After driving out the other bull alligators in the area, he turned his focus on people.

I had the unique opportunity in 1989 to interview one of the survivors of an authentic Two-Toed Tom attack. She then lived in a retirement home in Pensacola and had been attacked by the monster when she was a little girl some 70 years before.

Reptilian mile

She described how she had been walking with her mother along a sandy path near Sand Hammock Lake. When she skipped ahead in the playful manner of most kids, she suddenly heard her mother scream. Turning around to see what was wrong, she was stunned to see that the feared alligator monster had come out into the path between them. It stood up on its hind legs and roared at both of them.

Their screams soon attracted the men of the community, including one who showed up with a "war rifle" to shoot the monster. Blasted with the high-powered rifle, the monster fell still but as the men gathered around to inspect it, the beast suddenly reanimated and swept them all down with the fierce lashing of its tail and escaped back into the swamp.

This is just one of the stories that have grown up around Two-Toed Tom, who is said to still inhabit the swamps of Washington, Holmes and Walton Counties in Northwest Florida. If you would like to read more about him, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/alligator2.

Alligators - Amazing Reptiles of the Deep South!

They have been a part of the South for as long as there has been a South and they remain one of its most amazing sights.

Alligators have played an amazing role in the history of our region. Over the years they have served as enemies, friends, food and more. Almost driven to extinction, they have bounced back remarkably well and once again thrive from North Carolina south to Florida and from the Atlantic west to Texas.

The alligators in Southern history is quite impressive. One of the first pieces of Southern art was a 1564 image by the French artist Jacques LeMoyne of Native Americans in Florida battling and killing massive alligators. The 18th century naturalist William Bartram described seeing alligators that measured 24 feet long and one of the South's favorite "monster" stories involves Two-Toed Tom, a gigantic demon-possessed alligator said to inhabit the swamps along the Florida-Alabama line.

To learn more about alligators, their role in Southern history and even Two-Toed Tom, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/alligators1.