The Wild Girl of Catahoula – Louisiana’s Strangest Unsolved Mystery

LOUISIANA - Louisiana is one of, if not the most unique in America. Our culture, food, and even our laws are truly on-of-a-kind. We don't just stand out for these reasons though, Louisiana's ghost stories, swamp creatures, and legends are also a big part of what makes our corner of America stand out.

But, one of the strangest and most fascinating stories dates back to the late 1800s, when people across Central Louisiana claimed to see something they couldn’t explain.

Have you heard the legend of “The Wild Girl of Catahoula”?

Who Was The Wild Girl of Catahoula?

In the 1880s, newspapers across Louisiana, and even around the country, began reporting sightings of a strange young girl living deep in the woods near Catahoula Parish.

Eye witnesses and newspaper articles describe seeing barefoot girl, roughly about 14 to 16-years-old, often unclothed, silent or speaking only in strange sounds, with many people reporting she could run as fast as a horse.

READ MORE: Creepy Louisiana Legends and Cryptids as Action Figures

Reported Sightings Across Louisiana

Sightings of the Wild Girl of Catahoula weren't just a one-time occurrence, they were reported several times through the 1880s.

According to countryroadsmagazine.com, one newspaper reports that family claimed the girl grabbed a goose from their farm and disappeared into the woods before anyone could stop her.

In another report, two men said they found her standing on a log holding a freshly killed pig and a knife. When the two men approached her, she didn’t panic, she simply ran off into the wilderness.

Search parties were reportedly organized multiple times but no one was ever able to catch her.

READ MORE: The Bizarre Tale of the Louisiana Sackabilly

Stories of The Wild Girl of Catahoula were reported in newspapers across Louisiana in 1888 like The Catahoula News, the St. Martinville Weekly Messenger, the Lake Charles Echo, The Daily Picayune in 1891, and The Town Talk 1889.

You can search digital archived reports over at The Library of Congress at loc.gov.

Was The Wild Girl Real… Or A Hoax?

Even back in the 1880s and 1890s, people were divided about whether The Wild Girl of Catahoula was real or a hoax.

Some believed the Wild Girl was real, but possibly an abandoned child who somehow survived alone in the forests and swamps of Louisiana. Others weren’t convinced. One theory suggested the entire story may have been exaggerated or even created for publicity. What kind of publicity we're not sure.

Get our free mobile app

The Final Sightings And Disappearance

Reports of the Wild Girl continued into the early 1890s. In one of the last known sightings, travelers claimed they saw a woman believed to be her running at an almost unbelievable speed before vanishing into the woods.

Multiple accounts describe The Wild Girl of Catahoula as being covered in hair, carrying a knife or a weapon.

The story of the Wild Girl of Catahoula feels like something out of a movie, but it was widely reported as real news in its time. In the 1800s, stories of so-called “wild people” living off the grid were surprisingly common in newspapers, especially in rural areas.

So, what was really happening in the woods of Catahoula Parish? To this day, no one actually knows for sure.

You can read more over at countryroadsmagazine.com.