|Theories|| · Cryptid|
The Swift Peter was a flying cryptid reportedly sighted near Arkabutla Lake in Tate County at around 11:00 PM. A woman named Marie in Mississippi claimed that in 2013 she saw a large creature with wings that scared her dogs and reminded her of the stories her grandparents told of a Mothman-like creature they called a Swift Peter. (mysteriousuniverse.org)
The creature was described as a tall humanoid entity with large wings. It reportedly left seven-toed footprints.
There are several explanations as to what the creature could be. Theories include:
- An undiscovered species (a Cryptid)
- A hallucination
- The event brought back memories of her grandfather’s experience with the Swift Peter:
- "My grandparents used to talk about it. Supposedly, the Swift Peter was some type of unseen creature that would attack or kill all of the dogs in the vicinity at night in a rapid fashion. My grandfather had coon hounds. He would often tell me stories about when he would go hunting at night and something unseen would go past him and attack the dogs … When my grandfather said it scared him, I took notice because he was a man that was not afraid of anything and did not joke around."
- A book entitled I’ll Give You Something to Cry About by Corey Mesler tells the story of Swift Peter, also known as the Beast of Cooper-Young.
- "Swift Peter was half codfish, half weasel and he could fly over fences. He was six-feet long and two-feet high. The number of dogs he had killed was said by some to be seventeen and by others to number in the triple digits … Sally Yarborough lost a child to the beast, though few today believe her story."