In Search of the Mongolian Death Worm
Tue, Sep 16, 2008
Trudging gingerly across the arid sands of the Gobi desert, Czech explorer Ivan Mackerle is careful not to put a foot wrong, for he knows it may be his last. He scours the land and shifting valleys for tell-tale signs of disturbance in the sands below, always ready for the unexpected lurch of an alien being said to kill in one strike with a sharp spout of acidic venom to the face. A creature so secretive that no photographic evidence yet exists, but the locals know it’s there, always waiting in silence for its prey, waiting to strike – the Mongolian Death Worm.
Reported to be between two and five feet long, the deep-red coloured worm is said to resemble the intestines of a cow and sprays a yellow acidic saliva substance at its victims, who if they’re unlucky enough to be within touching distance also receive an electric shock powerful enough to kill a camel… or them.
Given the latin name Allghoi khorkhoi, the Mongolian Death Worm was first referred to by American paleontologist Professor Roy Chapman Andrews (apparently the inspiration for the Indiana Jones character) in his book On the Trail of Ancient Man, in 1926 but he didn’t appear to be entirely convinced about the whole idea. Even though locals were desperate to relay events of when the dreaded worm struck, Andrews writes: “None of those present ever had seen the creature, but they all firmly believed in its existence and described it minutely.” But it wasn’t to stop other inquisitive adventurers taking up the investigative mantle when Andrews was no longer interested, or able to pursue the matter.
Only a few years ago, in 2005, a group of English scientists and cryptozoologists spent a month in the hostile Gobi desert searching for the fabled creature, and although they spoke to a number of Mongolians in the area, all of whom regaled wondrous stories of the worm, no one could verify they had seen the creature first-hand. Even still, after four weeks the team had gathered enough verbal evidence to be convinced that the worm really does exist. Lead researcher, Richard Freeman, said: “Every eyewitness account and story we have heard describes exactly the same thing: a red-brown worm-like snake, approximately two feet long and two inches thick with no discernable head or back (tail).”
Intrepid explorer, Ivan Mackerle
Today, it is Ivan Mackerle, a self-made cryptozoologist who travels the world in search of scientific evidence that proves creatures like the Loch Ness monster and Mongolian Death Worm exist. As a boy he read the stories of the Russian paleontologist Yefremov, who wrote about a worm, which resembled a bloody intestine, that could grow to the length of a small man and mysteriously kill people at great distance, possibly with poison or electricity.
Mackerle says: “I thought it was only science fiction. But when I was in university, we had a Mongolian student in our class. I asked him, ‘Do you know what this is, the Allghoi khorkhoi?’ I was waiting for him to start laughing, to say that’s nothing. But he leaned in, like he had a secret, and said, ‘I know it. It is a very strange creature.’”
So Does the Mongolian Death Worm really exist, and what if it does?
This insistence by locals that worm is a reality will continue to fuel inquisitive minds and as long as open-mindedness remains a fair virtue, we’re prepared to wait a little longer for empirical proof of its existence.
Just remember, if you do decide to go Death Worm hunting in the Gobi desert, don’t wear yellow, seemingly that’s the color that sends our wrinkly friend into one its trademark electrifying, spitting freak outs. Don’t say we didn’t warm you.
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En busca del gusano de la muerte mongoles Says:
September 16th, 2008 at 7:39 pm[...] En busca del gusano de la muerte mongoleswww.environmentalgraffiti.com/featured/mongolian-death-worm/… por mezvan hace pocos segundos [...]
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Mongolian Death Worm | reallygoodmagazine.com Says:
September 17th, 2008 at 5:15 pm[...] Reported to be between two and five feet long, the deep-red coloured worm is said to resemble the in… [...]
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Buy: Modern Mythical Creatures | Buy Or Don't Buy Says:
September 17th, 2008 at 7:22 pm[...] for me, frightened dumb people are still roaming the earth. The latest ‘mythical creature’ report comes in a familiar form. I’ve fought these things in Zelda and other games, and have seen [...]
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Op zoek naar de ‘Mongolian Deathworm’ - Sargasso Says:
September 17th, 2008 at 7:40 pm[...] Op zoek naar de ‘Mongolian Deathworm’17-09-2008 om 20:40 door Grobbo De wormen van Duin schijnen te bestaan Dieren, Mongolië, Natuur, Raarrr, Waan v/d Dag Terug naar het [...]
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theremin chronicles » mongolian Says:
September 17th, 2008 at 9:14 pm[...] don’t know about you, but i think if bigfoot encountered the mongolian death worm, the worm would definitely [...]
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links for 2008-09-17 | Nerdcore Says:
September 17th, 2008 at 9:38 pm[...] In Search of the Mongolian Death Worm | Environmental Graffiti Trudging gingerly across the arid sands of the Gobi desert, Czech explorer Ivan Mackerle is careful not to put a foot wrong, for he knows it may be his last. He scours the land and shifting valleys for tell-tale signs of disturbance in the sands below, always ready for the unexpected lurch of an alien being said to kill in one strike with a sharp spout of acidic venom to the face. A creature so secretive that no photographic evidence yet exists, but the locals know it’s there, always waiting in silence for its prey, waiting to strike – the Mongolian Death Worm. (tags: cryptozoology animals weird) [...]
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Mongolian Death Worm? « Life, love and philosophy Says:
September 18th, 2008 at 4:31 am[...] In Search of the Mongolian Death Worm [...]
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Interesting Links 91 » Hemmy.net - A source of varied interests Says:
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Weekly Weird News Says:
September 30th, 2008 at 6:35 pm[...] And in cryptozoology: Beware of the Mongolian Death Worm! [...]
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My Natural Furniture » Blog Archive » In Search of the Mongolian Death Worm Says:
October 28th, 2008 at 4:21 am[...] Graffiti has more. Link -via [...]
September 16th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
Is this real? It’s wicked cool. I want one as a pet.
September 16th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Uhm… is that a Mongolian Death Worm or are you just glad to see me?
September 16th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
Now there is a guy with clearly WAY too much spare time on his hands. Gimme a break!
Jiff
http://www.datools.net.tc
September 17th, 2008 at 8:18 am
OMG!!! Its a Gohaul !!!
September 17th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
Shai-Hulud!
September 17th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
Why is the guy looking towards the sky in the pic above?
September 17th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
OGMZZZZ!!!!!! It’s Shai-Hulud!!!!!
September 17th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Something new in this world )) Cool.
September 17th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
so its a creature that literally noone has ever seen. and the author is debating whether or nor it exists. when admittedly there is not even one witness. who is buying this crap? 9/11 was an inside job, right? read a book.
September 17th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
What’s the big deal? I’ve been growing them in my rose bed for years. Haven’t seen a squirrel, raccoon, skunk, rabbit or possum in the garden for years plus the worms taste like beer brats with just a couple of minutes of grilling.
September 17th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Goa’uld
September 17th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Thats what she said!
September 17th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
@@ “Why is the guy looking towards the sky in the pic above?”
Haha, that’s great. He’s looking for the even more fabled version of the worm, the Flying Mongolian Death Worm.
September 17th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
if it’s not real, then what is the first picture on the top?
September 17th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
“Why is the guy looking towards the sky in the pic above?”
Haha, that’s great. He’s looking for the even more fabled version of the worm, the Flying Mongolian Death Worm.
September 17th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Yes, the Mongolian Death Worm, a new paradigm of locative art.
September 17th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
Allghoi khorkhoi ain’t Latin; it’s what the indigenous people call it the local tongue.
And Wikipedia sez it’s about as real as Bigfoot:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongolian_Death_Worm
September 17th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
There is only ZUUL!
September 17th, 2008 at 5:16 pm
I opened a can of peanuts with a Mongolian death worm inside it. Fucking thing almost bit my head off. I immediately returned those peanuts to the store for a full refund.
September 17th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
The image at the top is a conch egg case and a crab claw.
September 17th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
gotworms?
filthyrichmond.blogspot.com
September 17th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Jackal, jackal, is it a jackal? Jackal, jackal it looks like a jackal, is it a jackal?
September 17th, 2008 at 6:34 pm
I think you mean warn you, not warm you.
September 17th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
In this time, the most precious substance in the universe is the spice Melange. The spice extends life, the spice expands consciousness, the spice is vital to space travel.
September 17th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
Only thing wrong with this is that Indiana Jones was an archaeologist, not a paleontologist. Common mixup, dinosaurs and humans…
September 17th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
Cool but very much probably false. BTW the Gobi desert is mostly grass, contrary to the fact that it’s called a desert and most people think that inherently means large tracts of only sand.
September 17th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
You didn’t warm me for sure. It’s freezing here.
September 17th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
SARLACC AINT SHIT!! Tried to eat me, put me down. Well GUESS WHAT?!? I”M BACK! motha fuckin boba fett, most bad ass bounty hunter in the galaxy. you can’t touch this. mongolian death worm? thats what theyre callin you now? SARLACC GOIN DOWN!!
September 17th, 2008 at 10:28 pm
It was filmed last month see website
http://www.myblog.110mb.com
September 18th, 2008 at 2:57 am
So yellow will provoke this creatures into attacking us eh?
Well if they are so damn hard to find, why dress up some animal in yellow stick it out there and wait?
September 18th, 2008 at 9:04 am
I give proof of further sightings.
http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Dungeon_Worm
September 18th, 2008 at 8:55 pm
This sounds an awful lot like the famed “Mexican Staring Frog of Southern Sri Lanka”.
September 19th, 2008 at 9:45 pm
Nah. Acid spitting, cow-killing electric shock? Huh uh.
September 20th, 2008 at 3:36 am
I was really hoping it was real!
September 20th, 2008 at 7:02 am
How can a worm tell if you are wearing yellow?
September 20th, 2008 at 11:06 am
Big Foot, The Loch Ness Monster, Snorkling Jiffy-John Voyeurs, Vampires, Werewolves, and now The Death Worm.
September 22nd, 2008 at 9:16 pm
I’ve killed these before
…in Zelda 3…;;
September 23rd, 2008 at 4:00 am
“Today, it is Ivan Mackerle, a self-made cryptozoologist who travels the world in search of scientific evidence that proves creatures like the Loch Ness monster and Mongolian Death Worm exist.”
in search of … the Loch Ness monster.
I’m done reading.
September 27th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
looks like those big worm monsters you find in Final Fantasy 10 (in the desert near al bhed ‘Home’) & 12 (think they’re called Sandworms?). Heh.. maybe they modelled them on this? :P
to those who think the picture in the article with the guy has him looking at the sky, I think he’s probably looking at the top of a sand dune or something~
November 11th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
pics or it didn’t happen
December 4th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
I was married to her and she lives in a small town in Texas