Ningen: The Mysterious Cryptid Of Antarctica
Wikimedia CommonsThe Ningen is said to be a whale-like humanoid, living in the cold waters of Antarctica.
One of the most modern cryptids on this list, the first mention of the Ningen appeared online in 2002, on the 2channel online message board:
“I heard that the research whaling surrounding the Antarctic Sea, conducted by the Japanese government, is not only conducting research on the whales they catch but also researching and recording whales they do not catch… In the last few years of research, it is said that ‘some objects’ that cannot be officially announced have been witnessed. This information is gained directly from a person involved. These are what is called, among people related to research whaling, hitogata buttai (‘human-shaped objects’).”
The post goes on to explain that researchers had allegedly come upon several different creatures near Antarctica. One was said to look like a human — a head and four limbs — and another like two human upper bodies joined together.
These creatures were reportedly large, measuring “a few tens of meters long” and stark white in color. Not much more information is given in the original post, other than that these creatures were allegedly being kept secret so as not to discredit the authenticity of other research that was gained during the whaling expedition.
Wikimedia CommonsAn artist’s interpretation of one form of the Ningen, a modern cryptid on this list.
In online circles, these human-shaped creatures came to be known as the Ningen, and the story quickly spread throughout Japan. As Felicity Greenland of Doshisha University, Kyoto and Philip Hayward of the University of Technology Sydney explored in a study published in the journal Shima, the story of the Ningen was unique for a number of reasons.
Firstly, the deep, icy waters of the Antarctic are shockingly sparse with cryptozoological inquiries, and the Ningen filled an opening. Secondly, it was among the first cryptids to surface online in the age of the internet and spread to a captivated audience. Its connection to Japan’s whaling industry likewise touched on “political and environmental discourse and related aspects of the Japanese social imaginary in the post-World War Two era.”
The Ningen even worked its way into Japanese pop culture, emerging as a subject of J-pop songs and making appearances in manga series. While it may not have the same widespread popularity in the West, the Ningen is truly a cryptid on the same level as Bigfoot in Japanese culture.
Ebu Gogo
Monster WikiAn artist’s rendtion of the ebu gogo, a human-like cryptid.
The Nage people of Flores in Indonesia have long told tales about a group of wild, human-like creatures that once lived alongside people. Said to be like cave-dwelling hobbits, the ebu gogo supposedly murmured to each other in their own language, but also sometimes parroted human phrases.
Their name essentially translates to “gluttonous grandmothers,” and by the 1700s, the Nage villagers had begun accusing the ebu gogo of kidnapping children and stealing food. After reportedly tricking the ebu gogo into taking large quantities of palm fibers into their caves, the Nage people tried to set the whole species ablaze, though a few were said to escape.
Warriors of Myth WikiAn artist’s interpretation of what an ebu gogo cryptid may have looked like.
According to Aeon, there may actually be a bit of truth to the legend of the ebu gogo. In 2004, a new branch on the human evolutionary tree was announced after the discovery of bones that belonged to a small, previously unknown human relative on the Indonesian island of Flores.
Given the name Homo floresiensis, these small human relatives shared a striking number of similarities with the legendary ebu gogo. These hominids had small brains, the ability to cross difficult waterways, and honed skills in toolmaking. Evidence suggests they had a fairly primitive anatomy, yet their behavior indicated they may have been somewhat advanced and human-like — hence, researchers gave the hominid species the nickname “hobbit.”
Evidence even suggests that Homo floresiensis may have existed on the island as recently as 12,000 years ago — well after the arrival of humans in the region. In fact, many scientists had believed, until that point, that Homo sapiens was the only hominid species left there at the time.
Naturally, many researchers began to wonder if Homo floresiensis and the ebu gogo were one and the same. And given how recent stories of the ebu gogo had been shared among the local tribes, some were even hopeful they might find Homo floresiensis alive on remote parts of the island.
To this day, though, none have been found.
