The Basilisk of Friendswood

When out on a nature hike in a state park, one expects to see many of the wonderful sights and sounds of nature that the average couch-potato oft neglects themselves the pleasure of. However, what one might not expect to do is come across a mutated creature or perhaps an all together undiscovered species. On a crisp Fall day one Reddit user may have stumbled upon just that.

While walking the trails of the Frankie Carter Randolph Park, located in the beautiful city of Freindswood, Texas, Reddit User GoliathPrime heard a snap from beyond the brush at the edge of the trail.

Having seen multiple rabbits, squirrels and other small animals, our witness decided to wait in anticipation of seeing some cute woodland creature. What they saw next would be exactly what they were hoping for…presented through the lens of the bizarre.

Goliathprime did indeed see the squirrel that they had hoped to behold, however, the poor creature was locked in the jaws of a creature that seemingly crawled out of either some kind of genetic testing facility or straight out of myth and legend.

“What came out of the forest was a huge skink-like lizard. It looked kind like an Alligator Lizard mixed with a Blue Tongued Skink – long and snakelike, but still a lizard. It had a squirrel in it’s mouth that was way too big for it, but it was trying to swallow it anyway. What set it apart though was it has 6 limbs spaced equally down the side of it’s body. There were 2 sets of front limbs and 1 set of back limbs, all seemed functional and well formed. I don’t recall the eyes, but since they didn’t stand out, I’d guess they were more or less the same color as the skin – grayish or black. It looked like an Alligator Lizard ” reported GoliathPrime

Amazed by what they saw, GoliathPrime’s first thought was of the acquisition of the hexapoidel reptilian, aberration. Chasing the creature, GoliathPrime tried to get close enough to pin it to the ground, but was thwarted when the beast dove into a hole in the roots of a tree.

GoliathPrime would go on to say “I sat around that tree trying to dig it out until dusk but I had no tools and it was impossible. Hard ground, thick roots – I made little headway.” Waiting until the sun went down it became apparent that his reptilian quarry would not be making an appearance again.

GoliathPrime left that night without the beast despite their best efforts. “I came back to that spot for years but never saw it again. It’s the only impossible creature I’ve ever seen.“

So what did GoliathPrime see? Was it a one in a million mutation? Was it a genetic experiment gone wrong? With strange UFO sightings from as recently as June of 2018, from nearby (15 minutes away!) Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base, could it even be something otherworldly? Ancient myths speak of the Basilisk; a creature said to be reptilian, have between 4 and 8 legs, and able to spit venom. Here is a entry on Karl Shuker’s amazing blog about the basilisk. I HIGHLY suggest you check his site out. It’s pretty awesome.

As for me, I think it’s possible that it might be an undiscovered species of lizard, perhaps a relative of the creature that spawned the legend of the mythical Basilisk. Let’s just hope that whole death stare power is all just legend.

Keep it creepy kiddos,

-C