Awesome or Off-Putting is a weekly delve into cryptozoology, ufology, medical marvels, scientific wonders, secret societies, government conspiracies, cults, ghosts, myths, religion, strange facts or just the plain unexplainable.
This week: Cryptozoology
In May of 2001, New Delhi, India had a rash of sightings of a creature that came to be known as 'The Monkey-Man'. Witnesses have reported his height to be anywhere from 4' 6" to 5' 6", and he's completely covered in a thick coat of dark hair. The creature would appear in the dark of night, attacking the unfortunate few who crossed his path with tooth and claw.
The Monkey-Man of New Delhi is a cryptozoological creature rarely described the same way twice. A few descriptions did surface more than others: The creature is short, extremely furry, wears a helmet and has claws of metal. Occasionally it was said to have wires sticking out of its head and chest-plate, and green lights glowing on it's metallic breast. Some reports even had the creature looking more cat-like than monkey. A few witnesses described their encounter with him saying:
"[We] were taking our evening stroll. The creature jumped right onto the walkway in front of us. We came face-to-face with this huge man-monkey. The monster sprang up six metres (20 feet) from a crouching position and caught the branches of the trees."
The creature then disappeared in the leaves. His collective sightings covered the very short span of May 2001 to June 2001. The epidemic even caused some deaths – two to be exact. One was a pregnant woman who fell down several flights of stairs after being awakened by her neighbours frightfully screaming that the monkey had arrived. The other was a man who had been sleeping on the roof of his building when the creature jumped up and began biting and scratching those slumbering near him. The man slipped on a gutter in an attempt to flee, and plummeted to his death. The Monkey-Man was actually cited by the Indian police in both deaths.
Usually the attacks only resulted in scratches and bruising – scratches and bruising the Indian press picked up and ran with. Seeing pictures of the wounds in the paper really helped fuel the hysteria. On the night of May 14, as many as 50 attacks were reported. By the 17th of May, police had taken as many as 65 calls from alleged Monkey-Man witnesses. A high ranking police officer said:
"The whole drama was very carefully enacted by the anti-social elements who wanted to test the nerves of the Delhi Police."
A reward was also offered to anyone who could supply the police with a picture or film of the creature – $1000. No such evidence was ever obtained.
Then the creature disappeared in a bizarre fashion that hecklerspray readily admits to not understand at all. It boarded a plane and left the area. Popular news website Ananova reportedly published the tale of the creature's departure in an article with the headline 'Monkey Man reappears on Moscow-bound flight'. A Russian newspaper also picked up the story. Their headline is said to have been 'Monkey Man Attacks Russian Airliner'.
For one last very weird twist, let us tell you this little bit. A West Virginia man claims to know two people who witnessed a similar creature in the United States weeks before the New Delhi sightings. He said:
"A friend of mine and another man were standing on a country road (in southern West Virginia), just talking, when one of FEMA's 'biological experiments' came out of the woods. It was maybe five feet tall, very slender, and looked more like a human than an ape. It had on a white headband with little wires sticking out. It started jogging up the road, away from us. Couple of minutes later, a white van drove by. There was a whole lot of radio equipment in the front seat, and some bald guy was driving it."
Well there you have it. To us it all sounded pretty good until the creature boarded a plane (incidentally, Moscow didn't want him. He was returned to India and then deported due to an expired Indian visa). At the same time, so many reports and injuries must have a basis in some sort of truth. Does the Monkey-Man exist? If so, does anyone else notice that he sounds an awful lot like a more toothy Spring Heeled Jack?
Whatever the case, let's all hope to never have to meet him.
Read more:
Monkey Man Madness – Strangemag
[story by Shawn Lindseth]