The world is full of mystery. We see what we are not supposed to see and hear what we
are not meant to hear. Tales of life
and death, ghosts and aliens dominate
our collective conscience. This is a run-down of some of the most potent but
obscure mysteries in the world. Here
you will encounter UFOs, demons, monsters and witches who make the universe all the more interesting.
1. The Night Dancers of Bukunja
To date nobody
has been able to convincingly explain the phenomenon of the night dancers of
Bukunja in Uganda. Local folklore says that these are cannibals who are
overtaken by the spirits of the dead and travel at lightning speed in the
night, destroying crops and defacing property with feces. They stand accused of
grinding the bones of babies to make a powerful concoction that is used to
fertilize their lands. Others marvel at tales of large acres of agricultural
land that is tilled by a single night dancer in a single day by capturing the
spirits of the living and putting them to work.
These evil beings capture the bodies of the living and force them to eat
the flesh of dead bodies. Using a spoon and a human bone, they are able to
summon the dead before eating them. When the night dancer is caught, they foam
at the mouth and cannot seem to remember what they did. A gory end awaits night
dancers if members of the community capture them. They are stuffed with raw
bananas in their anus until they die. Psychologists and psychiatrists have tried
in vain to explain this phenomenon (of those who fleet from life to death and back) without success. Understandably the night dancers
are said to be very secretive about their religion and practices.
2. The Jatinga Bird Suicide
The massive bird
suicide of Jatinga in India remains one of the enduring but obscure mysteries of the universe. This small rural community of Assam is deceptively
beautiful with plenty of flora and fauna but it hides a terrible story behind
the enchanting outlook. Between September and November each year, a number of
migratory birds congregate in Jatinga. Their arrival coincides with the monsoon
season. Between 7 and 10 pm on the allotted date, hundreds of the avian
visitors come down from the sky falling into trees and buildings. They make no
attempt to cushion their fall and consequently suffer a gruesome death. Folklore has speculated that the
birds commit suicide at the behest of evil spirits who reside in the sky. The
scientists claim that it is the monsoon winds that disorientate the birds and
cause them to fall because they are looking for the lights in the village.
Nevertheless the villagers continue to believe that there is something mysteriously evil going on.
3. Dyatlov Pass Incident
The “mountain of
the dead” mystery continues to
fascinate and baffle in equal measure. Nine Russian mountaineers met a gruesome
death whilst on a skiing trip in the
1950s. It is no secret that these men and women died tragically but the
explanation of their death leaves many questions unanswered. Researchers
concluded that some unknown compelling force must have devoured the trekkers
from the Ural Polytechnic Institute. They had a number of strange signs when
they were discovered including broken skulls, missing tongues, fractured chest
bones, missing eyes and brain trauma. It also seemed that strips of cloth had
been cut from the victims. The authorities were so baffled by the mysterious incident that they barred
anyone from visiting the site for three full years until they could ascertain
what exactly had taken these young lives. The findings were inconclusive. It
could not be said whether humans, animals or some other unknown force had
killed the trekkers. We must secretly wonder whether there are life forces that
take people mysteriously without us ever finding out what really happened.
4. Hudra the Nordic Troll
If you think
trolls are limited to the internet then you can think again. Hudra is a female
troll that is said to live in the woods. Beautiful, Huldra hides a terrible mystery that will scare the living daylights out of you. She is
said to be very wild but otherwise harmless. Her long cow tail adds to the
frightening imagery surrounding her. This menacing tail is hidden when you
approach. Legend has it that she was one of Adam and Eve’s children who were cursed
to remain hidden forever. Hudra is said to be very flirtatious but neither good
nor evil. She is one of the lost souls
that are destined to spend the rest of their existence in the underworld. God
ordered that that which is hidden will remain hidden. We all secretly hope
never to meet her in person.
5. Nicaraguan Vampire Tree
The phenomenon of
flesh-eating plants has always fascinated us because we tend to prefer plants
as helpless victims rather than aggressive carnivores. Nicaragua has brought us
tales of the creepy vampire vine. This harbinger of a horrendous death has been invariably referred to
as the “Devil’s Snare” on account of its associations with the evil underworld.
Unlike most plants; the vampire tree closely resembles an octopus. The
naturalist Dunstan has confirmed sightings during his anthropological travels.
He describes a plant that is quite capable of engulfing a dog in its deadly
embrace. Using thick fibers and menacing dark barks; the tree was able to
entrap the hapless dog. The tree is said to have a series of pores that exude a
thick gum that smelled like rotting animal flesh. When Dunstan tried to release
the dog by cutting the roots, the murderous tree started to wrap around his
fingers. He barely escaped with blistered hands. When the dog was able to
escape, it had holes as if something had sucked blood from it. The really
terrifying thing is that the plant seems to crave human flesh.
6. The Sick Sacrificial Ice Mummy
The recently
discovered Incan mummy speaks of the darker nature of humanity. Apparently the
process of preservation had etched the gory details of the poor girl’s death.
She had been sacrificed and had a lung infection that had survived all the 500
years since her death. Researchers concluded that she had suffered from Spanish
flue but what remained mysterious
was how the disease had managed to survive its victim. The dark side of
humanity was evident all those years ago when the girl was sacrificed at the
Llullaillaco volcano in Argentina. Apparently the body was so well preserve
that there was still some lice in its hair. The ancient peoples regularly
engaged in this type of sacrifice which they referred to as “capacocha”; a long
process that began years before the victim was actually killed. In this case it
is estimated that the girl was only fifteen when she met her gruesome death. The idea that apparently civilized
human beings are capable of sacrificing one another is not as alien as it
seems. We are regularly besieged by horror stories of people who have enslaved
and abused their family in cold blood. That poor girl’s soul will have many
companions in death.
7. Nökken the Sly Water Creature
Nökken is a water
creature whose history is steeped in mystery.
His preferred domain includes ponds and other deep freshwater bodies. The dark
eyes which creep up the water surface adds to the terrifying spectacle of a
creature peering at those who pass by. Sometimes Nökken is able to reappear as
a beautiful young man. He uses this disguise to trick gullible women into
falling to their death in the water.
Nökken is very adept at changing his shape in order to confuse the living. For
example he can appear as a white horse and encourage young children to ride on
his back. Nökken will then jump into the water in order to drown his precious
cargo. The only way to save yourself from the evil machinations of Nökken is to
throw a piece of metal in the water. This folk cult figure frightens the child
in us and reminds us that nature can be enticingly cruel.
8. The Accursed Island of Daksa
Talk about a property that will not
shift….The Island of Daksa in Croatia fits this bill for very mysterious reasons. It is truly
beautiful and peaceful. Some would go as far as saying that this coastal
paradise near Dubrovnik is too peaceful for comfort. The truth is that it hides
a horrendous history in which 48 Nazi sympathizers were massacred. The mayor at
the time was part of the gruesome bloodbath. For many years the bodies of the
dead remained unburied. Those that have dared to venture to this island of death report hearing eerie moaning
during dark stormy nights. Despite repeated price reductions to attract buyers,
nobody seems to be interested in this offer. It remains the bloody scene of the
ambiguous justice of the victor. Here is a real life horror story with so many
tragic and ironic endings. One wonders whether those moaning sounds are of souls
in regret and repentance or whether they are haunting calls for retribution in
atonement the bloody scenes that once overtook Daksa.
9. The Sea City
There are always tales of the other world
which sees us but which we cannot see. A man described how he was sent by his
father to live under the sea with mysterious
people. Only the children of the chosen ones are admitted. They are then taken
through a terrifying ritual of conversion in which they learn all the tricks of
witchcraft and other forms of sorcery. He describes it as a beautiful place
with supernatural beings that can create paradise and evil in equal measure. The
“City under the Sea” has achieved legendary status and has been retold in many
different cultures often focusing on those that are greedy for wealth and are
willing to do virtually anything to get it. It is a tale of life forms that are alien and
frightening to the rest of us. So much remains unanswered and so much is
suggested. What do the people live like in those underwater cities? Are they
amphibians? We also worry that at any moment our children are going to be
captured and sold to foreign lands from which they will never return.
10. The Ouija Board Possessed Girl
There is something almost comical about the
tale of a Peruvian girl that became possessed as she played with an Ouija Board
App. It is a modern tale of virtual life
in which reality is constructed and veers towards terrifying dimensions. This
is a story of a demon that is able to use modern technology in order to capture
the attentions of the unsuspecting. Patricia Quispe was 18 years of age at the
time and was apparently sound of mind. What happened in Chosica would turn her
into an urban legend that went way beyond its humble beginnings in Peru. She
said that it is her friends who sneakily enticed her into downloading the app
and she lived to regret it. The symptoms or stigmata that she experienced
included screaming, convulsing and foaming at the mouth. The skeptics are not
entirely convinced and argue that she might have been onto something.
Everything about her changed. Mystery
can come from the strangest places. Technology controls so many parts of our
lives that this tale may be the logical conclusion to a world in which we are
mere cogwheels in a sequence of technology updates.
A Final Word
It seems that the entire universe has gone mad with all sorts of
unexplained phenomenon coming to the fore. These tales come from so many different
cultures and in some many different instances that one has to begin to wonder
whether there is another dimension of life
that is just waiting to pounce the moment we let our guard down. What seems
like pure fiction now may become a nightmarish existence when you are next in
line for a mysterious event. The
skeptics always give us explanations but they are careful never to make them
seem certain. It is always left to the imagination to fill in the blanks.
Ambiguity is all part of the fun.
