Bottomlands by Matt Bialer

In the heart of a small town in South Carolina, something is lurking, something hideous, snakelike; previously this thing caused mass hysteria. Now new sightings have sparked the interest of a television show hunting folkloric monsters. Ernie and Wade want the scoop first for their show before the similar more popular show gets there first. Wade’s life is in domestic turmoil; his twelve-year-old son with Asperger’s, the wife who left him, and trying to figure things out is the heavier burden to go along with the higher ratings for the television show. Bialer’s folk-horror epic poem spins a personal matter into a contemporary; heartfelt, monstrous competition while elucidating the main question. Is the infamous Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp real or fake?