‘Giant serpent’ invades island near Phuket

PHUKET: Mysterious giant tracks appeared overnight on Friday (December 14) on Koh Mai Pai (Bamboo Island, just north of Phi Phi), emerging from the forest, going through the local school and then into the sea, leaving students, parents and teachers worrying that they were made by some enormous serpent.

The tracks consisted of a long line of pairs of circles, each circle 20 centimetres in diameter. Local experts estimated that the serpent that made the tracks must be at least 15 metres long.

Pannee Atwaree, a teacher at the school, said that the islanders’ fear was ratcheted up by theories that the appearance of the tracks might be an omen of the great disaster some have been predicting for next Friday (December 21) when the Mayan calendar – and possibiy the world – comes to an end.

  [Click here to read full article]

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Vietnam and High (Humanoid) Strangeness in Wartime

There are few periods in World History that become murkier than those during which conflict erupts. Within this already darkened jurisdiction of past studies, perhaps no era is quite so strange and troubling as those years during which the infamous Vietnam conflict had been waged. Falling between the final years of the 1960s, the United States became embroiled in the conflict with the intention of aiding South Vietnam, and of course, to bolster the ongoing effort toward the spread of democracy in parts of the world still riddled by Communism. So far as historic periods of conflict are concerned, Vietnam is indeed remembered as one of the darker periods in history; and within its shadows of obscurity, there are nonetheless a number of curious accounts and seldom-spoken mysteries which have prevailed over the years, begging questions as to what kinds of odd operations might have been taking place “behind the scenes,”so to speak. That is, of course, if such strange stories can be believed. Indeed, some of the more bizarre accounts from the Vietnam years are so strange, they might likely fall beyond the jurisdictions of what can even be considered “believable.” And yet, the stories persist… which include accounts of friendly giants, glowing nonhumans, and winged wonder-women drifting about the deep jungles by cover of night. [Click here to read full article]

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Miami Police Shoot, Kill Man Eating Another Man’s Face

Miami police are still tight-lipped about the man they shot and killed on the MacArthur Causeway Saturday afternoon, but new details back claims they had no choice: the naked man they shot was trying to chew the face off another naked man, and refused to obey police orders to stop his grisly meal, which one source now claims included his victim’s nose and eyeballs.



Surveillance video taken from security cameras at the nearby Miami Herald building show a police officer arrive on the scene, appear to be startled by the spectacle of two naked men lying on the street, and draw his service weapon. It appears that the officer shot one of the men, but it was difficult to tell in the video.

The bizarre shooting happened shortly after 2 p.m., when police responded to a 911 call about two naked men fighting on a bike path along the Causeway, which was packed with traffic on a busy holiday weekend.

[Click here to read full article]

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Rakshasa, Evil Shapeshifter

Source: Phantoms & Monsters Blog

Some mythical creatures have their origin in tradition and tales from the distant past. However, each culture is associated with a multitude of interesting and odd creatures, many of these beings are humanoids. One of these legendary humanoids is the Rakshasa.

Statue of a Rakshasa

The Rakshasa are a race of humanoid beings in Hindu and Buddhist mythology. They are seen as a type of goblin or evil spirit. They are not equal in evil traits, but have been classified into four subraces:

Ak'chazar - These rakshasa have the heads of white tigers and are skinnier than common breed. They are unusually powerful spellcasters and specialize in necromantic magic. To use their necromantic powers to their full potential the Ak'chazar often use graveyards or old battlefields as their headquarters. When working on one of their dark schemes they often let their undead do the physical work while they stay behind the scenes themselves.

Naityan - These are shapeshifters with the ability to utilize different supernatural combat styles based on their current forms.

Naztharune - Naztharune have the heads of black tigers and are covered in black fur. They have few magical powers but compensate by being strong fighters, specializing in assassination. They lack most Rakshasa's need to be the leader of any organisation that they are part of, often working for other Rakshasa.

Zakyas - Zakyas resemble standard rakshasas, but rather than focusing on sorcery, they are skilled melee combatants and weapon masters. They use their weak magical powers to supplement their martial prowess.

The great ten-headed demon Ravana, enemy of Lord Ram, was a Rakshasa king

According to the legend, Rakshasas emerged from Brahma's foot. The Vishnu Purana also makes them descendants of Kasyapa and Khasa, a daughter of Daksha, through their son Rakshas; and the Ramayana states that when Brahma created the waters, he formed certain beings to guard them who were called Rakshasas. It is thought that the Rakshasas of the epic poems were the rude barbarian races of India who were subdued by the Aryans.

The Rakshasas are described in the Ramayana: "the Rakshasas sleeping in the houses were of every shape and form. Some of them disgusted the eye, while some were beautiful to look upon. Some had long arms and frightful shapes; some were very fat and some were very lean; some were mere dwarfs and some were prodigiously tall. Some had only one eye and others only one ear. Some had monstrous bellies, hanging breasts, long projecting teeth, and crooked thighs; whilst others were exceedingly beautiful to behold and clothed in great splendour. Some had two legs, some three legs, and some four legs. Some had the heads of serpents, some the heads of donkeys, some the heads of horses, and some the heads of elephants."

Many traditional Hindus believe these creature are indeed real and that it feeds on human flesh. They are shape changers and magicians, and often appear in the forms of humans, dogs, and large birds. They can make themselves invisible and can not enter a home without being invited. In the popular lore, Rakshasas are demons and fiends who haunt cemeteries, disturb sacrifices, harass priests, possess and devour human beings, and vex and afflict mankind in all sorts of ways. They are said to drink blood and preferred to attack infants and pregnant women.

Rakshasas are most powerful in the evening, particularly during the dark period of the new moon, but they are dispelled by the rising sun. Most powerful among them is their king, the 10-headed Ravana. Putana, a female demon, is well known for her attempt to kill the infant Krishna by offering him milk from her poisoned breast; she was, however, sucked to death by the god.

They usually disturbed the sacrifices, and tortured the priests. Rakshasas are known to carry away beautiful women to whom they were attracted. The Rakshasas, male or female, were ugly in appearance, but they could assume any form they pleased with the powers they possessed. Occasionally they would serve as rank-and-file soldiers in the service of a warlord. There are epic tales of certain members of the race who rose to prominence, some of them as heroes, most of them as villains.

Most weapons don't work against these creatures. But all Rakshasas have a common weakness; that any crossbow blessed by a priest will kill them instantly. In addition there is said that a dagger of pure brass has the ability to slay it.

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Tikbalang, the Demon Horse

Source: Phantoms & Monsters Blog

Some mythical creatures have their origin in tradition and tales from the distant past. However, each culture is associated with a multitude of interesting and odd creatures, many of these beings are humanoids. One of these legendary humanoids is the Tikbalang.

The Tikbalang (many different spellings are used - translates as 'demon horse') is a creature of Philippine folklore said to lurk in the mountains and forests of the Philippines. It is generally described as a tall, bony humanoid creature with disproportionately long limbs, to the point that its knees reach above its head when it squats down. It has the head and feet of an animal, most commonly a horse. It has been compared to the half-man, half-horse centaur from Greek mythology. It travels at night to rape female mortals who will then give birth to more Tikbalang. It is sometimes believed to be a transformation of an aborted fetus which has been sent to earth from limbo.

Picture of a Tikbalang

Tikbalangs are very playful with people, and they usually make a person imagine things that aren't real. Sometimes a Tikbalang will drive a person crazy. Legends say that when rain falls while the sun is shining, a pair of Tikbalangs are being wed. Since horses only arrived in the Philippine archipelago during the Spanish invasion, there is a theory that the image of a half-horse, half-man creature was propagated by the conquistadors to keep the natives afraid of the night. There are stories claiming that the Tikbalang are actually half-bird, half-man creatures, much like the Japanese Tengu.

A traveler who finds himself lost and suspects that a Tikbalang is leading him astray may counteract it by wearing his shirt inside out. Another countermeasure is to verbally ask permission to pass by, or to avoid making too much noise while in the woods so as not to offend or disturb the Tikbalang.

Folklore says that one can tame a Tikbalang and compel it to be one's servant by plucking three golden hairs from its mane. There are also stories where a Tikbalang asks its intended prey a riddle. Someone who manages to answer correctly will be rewarded with a pot of gold.

Other legends depict the Tikbalang as a monster of the night, with eyes that glow red. This version of the Tikbalang casts it as a fearsome creature, a real danger to people. It is believed that when it is angered - and it is easily angered - it stomps on people with its hooves until they die. In these tales, the Tikbalang is always accompanied by the stench of burning hair and smokes great big cigars.

It is said that delirious town folk who have stumbled their way into town after long absences tell of how an apparation resembling a Tikbalang pushed and slapped them, often knocking them over and not allowing them to right themselves; all the while shaking with nervous, childish giggling. People say that the cessation of resistance or protest will suddenly lead a victim to find themselves alone in the woods, plunged into darkness; the sun long set. The path home, recalled by the few who return after a disappearance, is hampered by a severe sense of disorientation and a forest that seems to curl in on itself repeatedly.

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Tiyanak, the Demon Child

Source: Phantoms & Monsters Blog

Some mythical creatures have their origin in tradition and tales from the distant past. However, each culture is associated with a multitude of interesting and odd creatures, many of these beings are humanoids. One of these legendary humanoids is the tiyanak.

Tiyanak (Demon Child) or impakto are creatures which, in Philippine mythology, imitate the form of a child. It usually takes the form of a newborn baby and cries like one in the jungle to attract unwary travelers. Once it is picked up by the victim, it reverts to its true form and attacks the victim. Aside from slashing victims, the tiyanak also delights in leading travelers astray or in kidnapping children.

Painting of a Tiyanak

Some say the tiyanak are babies who died before receiving baptism rites. After death, they go to a place known as Limbo, a chamber of Hell where unbaptized dead people fall into and transform into evil spirits. These phantoms return into the mortal realm in the form of goblins to eat living victims. The tiyanak can also be the offspring between a demon and a human or an aborted fetus, which comes to life to take revenge on its mother.

There are several versions of Tiyanak physical descriptions and activity. This mythical creature are also sometimes related to a Malaysian folkloric creature called Pontianak which is, according to Malay folklore, a woman who died during delivery or childbirth.

The Pontianak - in Malay folklore, it usually announces its presence through baby cries or assumes the form of a beautiful lady and frightens or kills those unlucky enough to come too close. It disguises itself as a beautiful young woman mainly to attract its victim (usually male). Its presence can sometimes be detected by a nice floral fragrance, followed by an awful stench afterward

According to folklore, one can bewilder the creature and break loose from the enchantment of its cries by turning his clothes inside out. The legend has it that Tiyanaks find this method laughable and would just leave the victim alone. Some say that repellents like garlic and the rosary can also drive the tiyanak away.

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Genderuwo, Evil Seductor

Source: Phantoms & Monsters Blog

Some mythical creatures have their origin in tradition and tales from the distant past. However, each culture is associated with a multitude of interesting and odd creatures, many of these beings are humanoids. One of these legendary humanoids is the Genderuwo.

Genderuwa (from the Java language: 'Genderuwo') is a Javanese myth about a type of the jinn or spirit that can manifest into human-like apes, big and stout with reddish black color, his body covered with thick hair. Genderuwa are most widely known in Java, Indonesia. Sundanese people call it "Gandaruwo" and the Javanese people generally call it "Gendruwo".

Picture of a Genderuwo

They are said to dwell in large trees that are shaded or damp corners of deserted buildings. According to myth, this creature resides in forest areas such as Teak Forest Nature Reserve Danalaya, Slogohimo district and in the White Weak, Purwosari, Girimulyo in Kulon Progo.

This entity is believed to communicate and make direct contact with humans. Various legends say that Genderuwo can change the appearance of its physical form to follow someone or to entice people. The Genderuwo creature is believed to be idle and dissolute, has the tendency to tease people, especially women and children. Genderuwo is sometimes happy slapping a women's rump, caressing her body while she slept, or even to switch women’s undergarments to others. Genderuwo occasionally appear in the form of furry little creatures that can grow in an instant. Genderuwo also like to throw stones at people’s houses at night. The Genderuwo is known to tempt lonely wifes when husbands leave or those that become widowed. Sometimes, Genderuwo have sexual relationships with these women in order impregnate them and produce more Genderuwo.

According to legend, The Genderuwo has a very strong ability to attract women. Genderuwo's sexual game is said to be unusual and that women feel often satisfied and extend extraordinary favors. Genderuwos have very strong libidos and possess seduction skills far superior to men.

There is a legend that states Genderuwo can enter and remain happy in the womb of a woman if an intimate relationship forms between the woman and the Genderuwo and that the desire never wains until one dies...which is usually the woman. At that point, the Genderuwo moves on to his next sexual conquest. There is little a woman can do to deter the advances of this creature.

The Genderuwa myth has been widely used in many modern entertainment media forms, mainly in horror films from Indonesia and Malaysia where Javanese communities still practice the beliefs and culture of Java. An Indonesian man who seems to possess an unusual knack for seducing women of all ages is seen as a Genderuwa and considered to be touched by evil and capable of committing horrible acts.

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Ebu Gogo, The Flores Island Hobbit

Source: Phantoms & Monsters Blog

Some mythical creatures have their origin in tradition and tales from the distant past. However, each culture is associated with a multitude of interesting and odd creatures, many of these beings are humanoids. One of these legendary humanoids is the Ebu Gogo.

Ebu Gogo are a group of human-like creatures that appear in the mythology of the people of the island of Flores, Indonesia. In the Nage language of central Flores, ebu means 'grandmother' and gogo means 'he who eats anything'.

Drawing of a Ebu Gogo

The Ebu Gogo are described as small, nasty people with a voracious appetite that sometimes included the devouring of the occasional human baby. Ebu Gogo have hair covered bodies, longish arms, big bellies and protruding ears. They were said to walk awkwardly and could be heard murmuring in their own language and were said to be capable of mimicking human speech. When they could tolerate the Ebu Gogo no more the Flores islanders drove the small people in the direction of the caves, perhaps near Liang Bau or perhaps they burned the survivors alive. In any case, these stories were probably told to keep truculent Flores children in line in much the same fashion as some western fairy tales are told.

Indonesian culture just like any other has folklore about ghosts, little people and mysterious beings. Word of mouth folktales are handed down from generation to generation. Indonesian village people would talk of an ape-like creature that walks like a man.

Some scientists believe that the Ebu Gogo folklore maybe a shared cultural memory of Homo floresiensis but there is no solid evidence to support that theory. However, legends have the Ebu Gogo disappearing about 400 years ago at the time of the arrival of the Dutch and Portuguese explorers. Scientists working on the Homo floresiensis find have also referred to the Ebu Gogo as 'Hobbits'.

From October 2004 - telegraph - Richard Roberts, discoverer of the 'Hobbit', says local tales suggest the species could still exist.

When I was back in Flores earlier this month we heard the most amazing tales of little, hairy people, whom they called Ebu Gogo - Ebu meaning grandmother and Gogo meaning 'he who eats anything'. The tales contained the most fabulous details - so detailed that you'd imagine there had to be a grain of truth in them.

One of the village elders told us that the Ebu Gogo ate everything raw, including vegetables, fruits, meat and, if they got the chance, even human meat.

When food was served to them they also ate the plates, made of pumpkin - the original guests from hell (or heaven, if you don't like washing up and don't mind replacing your dinner set every week).

The villagers say that the Ebu Gogo raided their crops, which they tolerated, but decided to chase them away when the Ebu Gogo stole - and ate - one of their babies.

They ran away with the baby to their cave which was at the foot of the local volcano, some tens of metres up a cliff face. The villagers offered them bales of dry grass as fodder, which they gratefully accepted.

A few days later, the villagers went back with a burning bale of grass which they tossed into the cave. Out ran the Ebu Gogo, singed but not fried, and were last seen heading west, in the direction of Liang Bua, where we found the Hobbit, as it happens.

When my colleague Gert van den Bergh first heard these stories a decade ago, which several of the villages around the volcano recount with only very minor changes in detail, he thought them no better than leprechaun tales until we unearthed the Hobbit. (I much prefer Ebu as the name of our find but my colleague Mike Morwood was insistent on Hobbit.)

The anatomical details in the legends are equally fascinating. They are described as about a metre tall, with long hair, pot bellies, ears that slightly stick out, a slightly awkward gait, and longish arms and fingers - both confirmed by our further finds this year.

They [the Ebu Gogo] murmured at each other and could repeat words [spoken by villagers] verbatim. For example, to 'here's some food', they would reply 'here's some food'. They could climb slender-girthed trees but, here's the rub, were never seen holding stone tools or anything similar, whereas we have lots of sophisticated artefacts in the H. floresiensis levels at Liang Bua. That's the only inconsistency with the Liang Bua evidence.

The women Ebu Gogo had extremely pendulous breasts, so long that they would throw them over their shoulders, which must have been quite a sight in full flight.

We did ask the villagers if they ever interbred with the Ebu Gogo. They vigorously denied this, but said that the women of Labuan Baju (a village at the far western end of Flores, better known as LBJ) had rather long breasts, so they must have done.

Poor LBJ must be the butt of jokes in Flores, rather like the Irish and Tasmanians.

A local eruption at Liang Bua (in western Flores) may have wiped out local hobbits around 12,000 years ago, but they could well have persisted much later in other parts of the island. The villagers said that the last hobbit was seen just before the village moved location, farther from the volcano, not long before the Dutch colonists settled in that part of central Flores, in the 19th century.

Do the Ebu Gogo still exist? It would be a hoot to search the last pockets of rainforest on the island. Not many such pockets exist, but who knows. At the very least, searching again for that lava cave, or others like it, should be done, because remains of hair only a few hundred years old, would surely survive, snagged on the cave walls or incorporated in deposits, and would be ideal for ancient DNA analyses.

Interestingly, we did find lumps of dirt with black hair in them this year in the Hobbit levels, but don't know yet if they're human or something else. We're getting DNA testing done, which we hope will be instructive.

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Mythological creature caught by US soldiers in Laos?

by Oregon Chang

Recently I embarked on a spiritual enlightenment trip to Laos. It was an eye opener, at the very least. I did not forget to put in some R&R too; it was at one of those tourist trap shops where I noticed this poster as seen in the photo above.

"What is this?" I asked my local associate who was showing me the delightful sights and sounds of Laos.

"This, is what is known as the Naga, a legendary creature from Laos," she replied.

"Surely, you can't be serious," I asked. "This, whether its a fish or snake, is huge!"

She smiled and explained to me that this photo was taken in the 1970s, by a group of US army soldiers who were training in the area. They caught a Naga in the Mekong River near Nong Khai. Once believed to be a legendary mythical creature, now it has passed from legend into reality.

This photo become famously known as the "Queen of Nagas seized by American Army at Mekhong River, Laos Military Base". It was said to be taken on June 27, 1973 with the length of 7.80 meters.

This piqued my interest. I had to find out more.

The Naga refers to a snake, serpent or dragon-like creature prevalent in Hindu and Buddhist mythology. It is also especially mentioned in many South East Asian cultures, mainly Laos, Thailand and Cambodia.

The people of Laos especially fear and respect this creature; they even hold annual sacrifices to the Naga. This is for protection and safety while they transverse the Mekong river.

Adding to their belief that such a creature actually exists are the Naga Fireballs phenomena. This phenomenon occurs mostly around late October every year. A series of "fireball lights" rise from the Mekong River into the night sky. This is a similar effect to the St Elmo's Fire or Will O' the Wisp phenomena.

[The Will-o'-the-wisp phenomenon]

So are the legends true? Was a Naga really caught by soliders as seen in the photo? A quick investigation reveals that this photo was not faked, but more likely a photo or a normal oarfish.

This is a photo of some people holding up a dead oarfish I found on the internet. Notice the similarities?

Further research reveals that the photograph is actually that taken by USN LT DeeDee Van Wormer, of an oarfish found in late 1996 by US Navy SEAL trainees on the coast of Coronado, California.

This is a picture of the news report accompanying the actual photograph.

So the legend has been debunked. But how did a picture taken in the USA in 1996 become known as a famous photo said to be taken in Laos in 1973?

My research brought me to this article A Big Fish Tale written by Trevor Ranges. He surmised that an enterprising entrepreneur in Laos or Thailand probably chanced upon this photo on the internet and siezed the opportunity to use it for financial gain. The story and photo, coupled with the locals' strong beliefs in the creature, fueled the legend and so it grew.

There you have it. A legend debunked through simple investigation on the Internet. I mentioned my findings to my Laos associate.

She replied, "Well, even if its not a Naga in the photo, we still strongly believe that the Naga still resides in the river and we must respect it."

As a Master of the Paranormal, I would choose to believe that some creature must exists in the waters of the Mekong, otherwise there would not be such firm beliefs from the locals.

Whether its existence can be proven or not remains to be seen.

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Mystery 'pulsating winged being' filmed

A video has appeared online showing a glowing figure with wings appearing briefly on CCTV footage.

The video shows an unremarkable street in Indonesia when out of nowhere an unidentified winged figure bathed in light suddenly drops down on the right-hand side and then quickly disappears. Moments later a number of people ( assumed to be security guards ) rush over to see what's happening. The exact origins of the footage remain unclear with some speculating that it could be a viral advertisement for an upcoming movie or video game.

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I could crush you

Source: Michael Hesemann, UFOS: The Secret History

Bourgata, Israel - May 30, 1993 - 3:00 a.m.

Hannah Somech woke up when she heard her dog barking. She got up and went downstairs from her bedroom to the kitchen and looked out the garden through the glass door when she saw her dog literally flying through the air and slam against a wall. Shocked and terrified she bravely opened the door but was confronted by an invisible wall: she could not go any further. Then she saw an eight-foot tall giant in bright coveralls.

A thief, she thought. “You think I am a thief?” she heard inside her head. “What did you do with my dog”, she asked furiously. “He disturbed me, as you do now,” the giant spoke telepathically, without moving his lips. “I could crush you, but I don’t want to. Just leave me alone, I am busy.” The woman ran back to the bedroom to wake up her husband, but when both came down, the giant had disappeared.

In the garden, they found huge footprints, 1 foot, 4 inches in length. Later, circles appeared too, again covered by the reddish cadmium based liquid. After the encounter Hannah suffered severely from fatigue, headaches and muscle pain.

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Russians test a gun that turns people into zombies

It’s been widely speculated that the U.S. military has been developing weapons with the capacity to scramble brain activity and basically turn your mind into mush. If so, we might be seeing a new kind of arms race as a new report claims that the Russia government has been testing a gun that does exactly that.

The weapon in question uses electromagnetic technology, such as microwave beams, to disrupt the central nervous system. Indeed, previous research has shown that certain kinds of low-frequency radiation can cause “a sensation of buzzing, clicking or hissing in the head,” according to a report by MSNBC. So along that line of logic, taking it up a few notches would lead to weapons that can potentially fry eyeballs, stop the heart from beating and even turn people into zombies.

Right now there’s no indication that anyone’s perfected anything close to an actual “zombie gun,” although the Australian publication The Herald Sun reports that Russia’s main man, President Vladimir Putin, plans to have them ready within a decade as a defensive measure against enemies of the state or unruly dissidents, such as protesters.

According to their report:

Plans to introduce the super-weapons were announced by Russian defence minister Anatoly Serdyukov. While the technology has been around for some time, Mr. Tsyganok said the guns were recently tested for crowd control purposes.

“When it was used for dispersing a crowd and it was focused on a man, his body temperature went up immediately as if he was thrown into a hot frying pan,” Mr Tsyganok said. “Still, we know very little about this weapon and even special forces guys can hardly cope with it,” he said.

But the effort to come up with something that can enable bona fide mind control has proven immensely challenging, despite decades of work by some of the brightest mad scientists. For instance, while the U.S. military has harnessed similar technology to produce a heat ray that creates a burning sensation hot enough to break up crowds, it still takes hours to power up and is a lot less effective when it rains.

[Click here to read full article]

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The Man of the Sea

Source: Phantom and Monsters Blog

For several years, residents of coastal areas around the southern and southwestern Caspian Sea have been reporting of an amphibious creature resembling a human being. In March 2005 an eyewitness account from the crew of the Baku, an Azeri trawler, was published by Iranian newspaper Zindagi: “That creature was swimming parallel course near the boat for a long time,” said Gafar Gasanof, a captain of the ship.

“At the beginning we thought it was a big fish, but then we spotted hair on the head of the monster and his fins looked pretty strange... the front part of his body was equipped with arms!” said the captain. Back in Azerbaijan, nobody took his story seriously. It sounded ridiculous to those who thought that the guy must have been drinking while on board.

On the contrary, shortly after the publication of his interview, the offices of the Iranian paper got flooded with numerous letters of the readers who claimed that the story was yet another piece of evidence proving the existence of the so-called “man of the sea.” The readers pointed out that many fishermen had repeatedly seen the strange creature at sea and on shore after the seabed volcanoes in the area of Babolsera had come to life in February and offshore oil production operations had intensified in the Caspian.

All the eyewitness accounts provide a similar description of the marine humanoid. His height is 165-168 cm, he has a strong build, a protruding ctenoid stomach, his feet are pinniped and he has four webbed fingers on either of his hands. His skin is of moonlight color. The hair on his head looks black and green. His arms and legs are shorter and heavier than those of a medium-built person. Apart from his fingernails, he has nails growing on the tip of his aquiline nose that look like a dolphin's beak. No information as to his ears. His eyes are large and orbicular. The mouth of the creature is fairly large, his upper jaw is prognathic and his lower lip flows smoothly into the neck, his chin is missing.

Iranians dubbed the creature Runan-shah or “the master of the sea and rivers.” The name is partly based on stories about large shoals of fish accompanying the creature at sea. Other stories refer to the waters that would turn crystal clear and stay that way for two or three days after the creature was seen swimming in those areas. Fishermen claim that fishes that stay alive for a while in the net can feel the creature coming out of the deep blue sea. Fishes were reported producing barely heard gurgling sounds as the monster came near. He was said to answer the call of the catch by making similar throaty sounds.

Some researchers believe that there is no smoke without fire and the stories circulating in Iran can be true. Besides, Runan-shah was seen by Azeri fishermen living in the villages located between the cities of Astara and Lenkoran. According to a theory, the creature is not alone; there is a family of underwater humans who are on a mission ... to tackle environmental problems of the Caspian.

The Caspian Runan-shah is not the only species of underwater humans on record. Both Herodotus and Plato believed that original human beings were amphibious and might have founded an underwater state.

A book of collected scientific articles titled “The Universe and Humankind” that was published in St. Petersburg in 1905 contains a story of “marine female” caught in the Caribbean. It also has stories about dead bodies of the amphibious humans washed ashore in the Azores in 1876. Their descriptions largely correspond with the reported description of Runan-shah.

An amphibious humanlike being was reported in Karelia in 1928. The creature was repeatedly seen in the lake of Vedlozero by local residents. A group of researchers from the Petrozavodsk University arrived to investigate the case on location. Unfortunately, the findings were classified and the members of the research party eventually perished in the Gulag.

According to latest reports in the media, Iranians have already started their research of the Caspian phenomenon. The international scientific community might as well help unravel the mystery if politics do not get in the way of science this time around.

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The Baku Trawler Reports

Source: Phantom and Monsters Blog

Master Oregon note: The creature described in this reports are what said to be a type of humanoid fish-like entity, i.e. a fish-man. Such creatures have been commonly reported being seen in the Caspian Sea area. Such sightings of similar creatures also occur throughout the world - Goat Man, Lizard Men, Dog headed Men, etc.

Location/Date: Caspian Sea, Astara & Lenkoran Azerbaijan - March 2005 - Afternoon

Residents of a few towns on the Caspian shores in Iran and Azerbaijan say they have seen an amphibious man, he was reported to be swimming amidst huge shoals of fish. Rumor has it that the waters where he swam were becoming sparkling clear. Recently eyewitnesses onboard the Azeri trawler, “Baku” reported seeing the creature.

According to Gafar Gasanof the captain of the trawler, the creature was swimming in a parallel course near the boat for a long time. At first they thought it was a large fish, but then they spotted hair on its head and his fins looked very unusual. And incredibly the front part of his body was equipped with arms. Shortly after this report was published in an Iranian newspaper, numerous readers came forward describing their own sightings. The readers pointed out that numerous fishermen had repeatedly seen the strange creature at sea and on the shore after seabed volcanoes in the area of Babolsera became active in February and offshore oil production operations intensified in the Caspian.

All the eyewitness accounts provide a similar description of the marine humanoid. His height is about 165cm to 168cm, it has a protruding stomach, his feet are pinniped and he has four webbed fingers on either of his hands. His skin is pale white in color. The hair on his head looks black and green. His arms and legs are shorter and heavier than those of a medium-build person. Apart from his fingernails, he has nails growing on the tip of his aquiline nose that resembles a dolphin’s beak. There is no information as to his ears. His eyes are large and orbicular. The mouth of the creature is fairly large, his upper jaw is protruding and his lower lip flows smoothly into the neck, his chin is missing.

Iranians have dubbed the creature, “Runan-shah” or “Master of the seas and rivers”. Other stories report that the waters remain crystal clear for days in the area where the creature has been spotted. Fishermen report that the fish that are caught in their nets seem to sense the creature when it approaches and produce a barely audible gurgling sound. It is said that the creature answers the call of the catch by making similar throaty sounds. According to a theory the creature is not alone and that there is a family of underwater humans, who are on a mission.to tackle environmental problems in the Caspian.

The reproduction of flora and fauna in the Caspian has significantly deteriorated due to a surge in offshore oil production operations and underwater volcanic activity. The Astrakhan fishermen have long complained about the decrease in the stock of sturgeon.

Location/Date: Caspian Sea territorial waters of Azerbaijan - end of March 2005

Azerbaijani fishermen from the trawler “Baky” (Baku) were stunned to see a weird entity in the water. The entity swam for a long period of time near the trawler, parallel to it, reported Gafar Gasanov Captain of the ship to the local newspaper “Zindagi” when he arrived at the Iranian port of Enzeli. At first the crew thought that the entity was some type of unknown large fish, but soon they noticed that the entity’s head had distinct hairs on it and the front fins were not fins at all but webbed hands. They acknowledged that the entity looked more like a humanoid than any kind of known fish. They all concluded that they had never seen something like it in the waters.

The amphibian entity then plunged deep into the waters and disappeared from sight. When Captain Gasanov returned to Azerbaijan people there refused to talk to him about the incident alleging that he and his crew had all been drunk. But the Iranians took the report seriously because of numerous rumors about “a man from the sea” were circulating in Iran long before this report. After publication in the local newspaper “Zindagi” local Iranian residents wrote numerous letters to the newspaper reporting their own encounters with a similar entity.

The common opinion was that underwater volcanic activity in the area of Babolser and the intensification of oil extraction in the Caspian Sea has somehow caused unknown deep water dwellers to venture up to the surface. The entity is shorter than that of the average height, about 165-168cm, thickset, with a protruding belly, feet with flippers, and 4 fingered webbed hands. The skin is pale yellowish gray in color and it has stiff black-green hair. Arms and legs are slightly shorter and thicker than that of humans. Sharp nails grow on its hands and also at the tip of its hump-shaped nose, forming something like a dolphin’s beak. The ears are not visible. The eyes are big and round and the mouth is quite big with a protruding upper jaw, smoothly connected to the neck, without chin, the smaller lip is similar to that of a shark’s jaw.

In Iran this amphibian humanoid is called “Runah-Shah” which means, “Sovereign of waters and rivers”. Interestingly the fishermen have noticed that the fish seemed to react when the entity appears, like if there were some kind of distant, extra sensory communication between the entity and the fish. Other witnesses reported seeing the same or similar entity in May between the small fishing villages of Astara and Lenkoran.

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Saudi couple blames jinn for their poverty

Passers by in a busy street in the Saudi capital Riyadh look with curiosity at a man and his wife who turned a building corner on the pavement into their house. The two, looking poor and untidy, blame the jinn (spirits) for their ordeal.

Their open-air accommodation does not have any of the modern life facilities except for their mattress, blankets, pillows and a few cups and water bottles.

As if to underscore their problem, the two Saudi citizens chose to squat a corner which is just across the road from the government grievances court, which is daily flooded by hundreds of people seeking justice.

The unshaven Mansoor looks as if he has not had a bath for weeks while his wife’s sight is weakening almost every day and she will eventually become blind in the absence of medical care, according to a Saudi newspaper.

“I am under magic spell because of what has befallen me,” said the lean, brown man, quoted by the Arabic language daily Sabq.

Mansoor said he had a house before he was sacked “without any reason” from his job at the ministry of finance. He now has no house and has been deprived from his pension “for some reason.”

Although his wife kept interrupting him to shut up, he went on:”I have a son from another wife and he is now 20 years old…but I don’t see him….I also have 16 brothers but they are useless as they never tried to help me…I have been to many government departments for help but they refused to help,” he said.

“I then got a job as a security man but they later sacked me…I then got a job as a school bus driver but again they sacked me shortly later saying I am no good…I then decided to sell fruit and vegetable but government inspectors came and impounded my stuff…one day, a person I don’t know came to me and said he would help but he never come back…I am sure I am haunted with jinns.”

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The Invisible People

In the early 1990s I worked in a large plantation in the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. The plantation was situated south of Lake Toba, and was in hilly terrain.
All the executives' houses were constructed in a straight line on top of a low hill. My house was the second one in the row. In the front of our houses were a few rows of oil palm trees. After this the hill sloped off into a valley. As it was too steep to plant on this slope, it became covered over with undergrowth and small jungle trees. The valley itself was a riot of all sorts of tropical creepers, weeds and larger trees. On the other side of the valley, the slope was terraced and planted with rubber trees.

As I was new to the country then, and just learning the language, I kept mostly to myself after work and pored over an Indonesian dictionary every night. Other than satellite TV, we had no other entertainment. On weekdays we hit the sack early as we had to get up at five the next morning for work.

Even from my first week there, I noted that there was some sort of celebration or prayer meeting every Wednesday evening straight opposite my home. Although I saw no one, I concluded that this must be the case, as precisely at half past six, I heard the sound of metal drums. This sound went on for about half an hour or one hour, and then stopped as suddenly as it began. When I asked my house help as to what was going on there, she just shrugged her shoulders and did not reply. I thought it was impolite or improper to ask about such matters, and did not bother to question her about it anymore.

As I got to know the plantation better, my curiosity about this drumming became deeper. I knew that there were no houses or buildings in the valley in front of my home. On the hill beyond the valley too there were no homes or other buildings. Yet every Wednesday, the drumming appeared to be coming from somewhere very close- almost as if from the valley!

Finally, as tactfully as possible, I asked some of my assistants as to what the sound was and from where it was coming. They just smiled at me and said, ' Itu orang Bunian ' ( It's the Bunian people ). I did not wish to look silly by asking them what the Bunian people were, and so I just said, ' Oh ' and nodded in agreement.

There was an assistant there who was particularly close to me. I asked him in confidence as to what these Bunian people were. He replied that they were invisible people, somewhat similar to the gnomes and fairies of Western folklore. They liked living near humans and sometimes got friendly with some of them. There were stories about how some human males married Bunian females and went on to be accepted in the Bunian community. They however became invisible to other humans as soon as they entered the Bunian community. Humans could ask for help from the Bunians. If a person was having a feast and did not have enough cutleries for the occasion, plates could be borrowed from the Bunian people. Great care however must be taken that not a single plate is broken.

I asked this assistant as to how he could prove that the drumming was made by the orang Bunian. He replied that on one Wednesday, two other assistants determined to find out once and for all from where the sound issued. Armed with torchlights and long knives, they proceeded to look for the source of the sound as soon as it started. They descend all the way into the valley and travelled up quite a distance on the hill on the other side, and still the sound appeared to be coming from just a short distance in front of them. As it had already gotten dark by then, they abandoned their quest and hurried back home.

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Filipino Gnomes

Source: Phantom and Monsters Blog

After my grandpa died, I think it was about four years ago at the Philippines, my older cousin was with us out side talking and we had toy guns that shoot out little plastic rubber bullets. When we were talking about going to the megamall, my cousin looked at the bushes and he saw a little tiny foot. When he said that, we had been shooting our toy guns at the bushes. A lot of little people's heads started to come out staring at my cousin, trying to tell us to stop shooting at them. I couldn't see anything - no feet or no little heads of a gnome.

Finally, he told us to stop. After that we got really scared, so we ran inside and told our parents. One hour after that happened, we went to my grandma's house and my cousin that saw a gnome that was really sick. So a couple of days later they called a witch doctor to come and heal him. My cousin said they had pointy hats they were small and dressed in green and they had a skinny little stick that they use to play as a flute.

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Tree Women - Naree Pon

One of the greatest mysteries in Thailand surrounds the existence of Tree Women known as Naree Pon or Makalipon. Naree Pon are like fruit Faeries, females with perfect form and great beauty but miniature in size.

Legend has it that the God Indra ( Phra Indra or Phra-In in Thailand) created a magical forest as a safe abode for Prince Vessantara and his family to live. This forest he called the Himapan Forest. Prince Vessandara was the Lord Buddha in one of his previous lives. In the Himapan Forest, Indra planted 16 magical Nareepon trees.

Lord Indra had two reasons for planting trees with fruits like gorgeous women. The first reason was to catch out the misbehaving Deities who had not been able to overcome their sexual lust. They would be tempted to make love to these tree Fairies and then would immediately fall into a coma. When they awoke they would find their magical powers had disappeared. The second reason was to protect the wife of Prince Vessandara from being pestered by these same sinful Deities.

After the Nareepon flowers blossomed, bunches of Naree Pon would be formed. In 4 days they would drop from the tree and could talk, dance and sing. In just 7 days they would die and start to shrivel until eventually becoming about the size of a person’s hand. Legend states that Nareepon trees will exist until the World no longer has a single person following the teachings of the Lord Buddha.

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Japan Tsunami Fast Swimmer

This video was bought to our attention by one of our readers. In this video taken during the Japan tsunami disaster last year, an unidentified animal was spotted swimming at an incredibly fast rate.

Our reader feels like it could be the legendary Kappa, a mythical creature from Japan folklore.

What do you think?

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A real-life medical report on three cases of Haitian zombies

Here are the three case studies the researchers observed in southern Haiti between 1996-1997:

FI was around 30 years old when she died after a short febrile illness and was buried by her family the same day in the family tomb next to her house. 3 years later she was recognised by a friend wandering near the village; her mother confirmed her identity by a facial mark, as did her 7-year-old daughter, her siblings, other villagers, her husband, and the local priest. She appeared mute and unable to feed herself. Her parents accused her husband of zombifying her (he was jealous of her after she had had an affair). After a local court authorised the opening of her tomb, which was full of stones, her parents were undecided whether to take her home and she was admitted to the psychiatric hospital in Port-au Prince [...]

WD, 26 years old, was the eldest son of an alleged former tonton macoute (secret policeman) under the Duvaliers' regime. The father was our principal informant together with WD's mother and other villagers. When he was 18, he suddenly became ill with a fever, "his eyes turned yellow," he "smelled bad like death," and "his body swelled up". Suspecting sorcery, his father asked his older brother to obtain advice from a boko [or sorcerer], but WD died after 3 days and was buried in a tomb on family land next to the house of a female cousin. The tomb was not, as was customary, watched that night. 19 months later, WD reappeared at a nearby cock fight, recognised his father, and accused his uncle of zombifying him [...]

MM, aged 31, was the younger sister of our principal informant who described her as formerly a friendly but quiet and shy girl, not very bright. At the age of 18, MM had joined some friends in prayers for a neighbour who had been zombified; she herself then became ill with diarrhoea and fever, her body swelled up and she died in a few days. The family suspected revenge sorcery. After 13 years, MM had reappeared in the town market 2 months before we met her, with an account of having been kept as a zombi in a village 100 miles to the north, and having borne a child to another zombi (or perhaps to the boko). On the death of the boko, his son had released her and she travelled home on foot.

The researchers diagnosed the first patient with catatonic schizophrenia, the second with epilepsy and brain damage (presumably from oxygen deprivation), and the third with potential fetal alcohol syndrome.

To makes matters even curiouser, DNA testing revealed that the second and third patients were cases of mistaken identity. The researchers posit that reported cases of zombification have less to do with mind-controlling neurotoxins and more to do with untreated or undiagnosed mental illness and brain disorders.

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