The mysterious monster of the sands. The horror of the Mongolian desert - olgoy-khorkhoy (5 photos). The disappearance of the American research team

Olgoy-khorkhoy (Mong. "intestinal worm, worm resembling the large intestine")- a legendary creature, a headless worm, thicker and longer than an arm, living in the deserted deserts of Mongolia. The Mongols are afraid of this worm, and many of them believe that even the mere mention of his name will entail a lot of trouble. According to eyewitnesses, the mysterious creature looks like a stump of a dark red colon, from 50 cm to 1.5 meters long. There is no particular difference between the head and tail parts of this creature. At both ends of this giant worm there are some kind of small outgrowths or spikes; eyewitnesses did not notice any eyes or teeth in the Olgoi-Khorkhoi. He is extremely dangerous, as he can kill animals and people at close contact (presumably with an electrical discharge), as well as spraying the victim with poison from a distance. There is also a variety of "shar-khorhoy" (yellow worm) - a similar creature, but yellow.

The existence of the Olgoi-Khorkhoi has not yet been proven by science. No traces of his vital activity were found, it is not even known what he eats. It is believed that the Olgoi-Khorkhoi appears in the dunes only in the hottest months, and spends the rest of the year in hibernation. Apparently, due to the fact that the creature hides in the sand most of the time, none of the scientists has seen it yet.

Europeans learned about the olgoi-khorkhoi only in the second half of the 19th century, when the well-known traveler and scientist Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky mentioned this monster in his notes. More detailed information about the Olgoi-Khorkhoi appeared in the book of the American zoologist Roy Andrews "In the footsteps of an ancient man." In 1922, the scientist led a well-equipped and numerous expedition of the American Museum of Natural History, she worked for three years in Mongolia and devoted a lot of time to research in the Gobi Desert.

Perhaps, in our country, the name of this mysterious monster was first heard in Ivan Efremov’s story “Olgoi-khorkhoi”, which was one of his first literary experiments. Ivan Efremov himself participated in a paleontological expedition and probably himself believed in the existence of this monster.

“According to very ancient beliefs of the Mongols, in the most deserted and lifeless deserts there lives an animal called “Olgoi-Khorhoi”.<…>Olgoi-Khorkhoi did not fall into the hands of any of the researchers, partly because he lives in waterless sands, partly because of the fear that the Mongols have for him.

In the afterword to the story, Efremov notes:

“During my travels in the Mongolian Gobi desert, I met many people who told me about a terrible worm that lives in the most inaccessible, waterless and sandy corners of the Gobi desert. This is a legend, but it is so widespread among the Gobis that in the most diverse regions the mysterious worm is described everywhere in the same way and with great detail; one should think that there is truth in the basis of the legend. Apparently, in fact, a strange creature still unknown to science lives in the Gobi Desert, perhaps a relic of the ancient, extinct population of the Earth.

At the beginning of the last century, researchers were interested in the fact that legends about the Olgoi-Khorkhoi in Mongolia can be heard everywhere. At the same time, in the most diverse parts of the country, they sound almost the same and are decorated with the same details. Scientists have concluded that the ancient legends are true and a strange creature unknown to science lives in the sands of the Gobi. Perhaps this is a surviving representative of a long-extinct earthly "population" ...

Appearance

Why was the worm given such an unusual name - olgoy-khorhoy?

If these words are translated from Mongolian, then everything becomes extremely clear: “olgoi” is a large intestine, “khorkhoi” is a worm. This name is quite consistent with the appearance of the monster.

A few eyewitness accounts say that it looks like the insides of an animal, a stump of intestine or sausage.

The body of the worm has a dark red color, and its length is from 50 cm to 1.5 meters. There is no visible difference between the ends of the body: the head and tail parts look approximately the same, and have small processes or spikes.

The worm has no eyes or teeth. However, it is considered extremely dangerous even without these organs. The inhabitants of Mongolia are sure that the Olgoi-Khorkhoy is capable of killing at a distance. But how does he do it? There are 2 versions:

1. I. The monster releases a jet of potent substance, hitting its victims.
2. Electric current discharge.

It is possible that the killer worm is able to use both options, alternating them or using them simultaneously, enhancing the effect.

The mysterious creature lives in the sand dunes, appearing on the surface only in the hottest months after the rain, when the ground becomes wet. Obviously, he spends the rest of the time in hibernation.

The olgoi-khorkhoy easily kills its prey from a decent distance, shooting it with a deadly poison, or strikes it with an electric discharge upon contact. In a word, it is impossible to leave him alive ...

The policy of the Mongolian authorities, as well as the isolated position of this country, made its fauna inaccessible to all foreign zoologists. For this simple reason, the scientific community knows practically nothing about the terrible olgoi-khorkhoi.

The broad masses were able to learn about the Olgoi-Khorkhoi only in the second half of the 19th century after the famous traveler and scientist mentioned the worm in his works. N. M. Przhevalsky. Curious scientists and researchers from different countries could not pass by an unusual creature. Therefore, several expeditions were undertaken, not all of which ended successfully.

Roy Andrews

In 1922, Andrews led an excellently equipped numerous expedition, which worked for 3 years in Mongolia, devoting much time to exploring the Gobi Desert.

Roy's memoir tells how the Prime Minister of Mongolia once approached him with an unusual request. He wanted Andrews to catch the killer worm, giving it to the government of the country. Later it turned out that the prime minister had his own motives: a monster from the desert once killed one of his family members. And, despite the fact that it is not possible to prove the reality of this underground inhabitant, almost the entire country unquestioningly believes in its existence. Unfortunately, the expedition was not successful: Andrews did not manage to catch or see the worm.

Ivan Efremov and Tseven's story

The Soviet geologist and writer, I. Efremov, also published some information about the Olgoi-Khorkhoi in the book “The Road of the Winds”, collected during expeditions to the Gobi Desert in 1946-1949.

In addition to standard descriptions and attempts to prove the existence of an underground monster, Efremov cites the story of the Mongolian old man Tseven, who lived in the village of Dalandzadgad.

Tseven argued that such creatures are a reality, and they can be found. Talking about the Horkhoi, the old man described them as the most disgusting and creepy creatures. It was these stories that formed the basis of a fantastic story, originally called "Olgoi-Khorkhoi", about Russian explorers who died from the poison of giant worms. The work is a fiction from beginning to end, and it is based only on Mongolian folklore.

Ivan Makarle

The next explorer who wanted to find the monster of the Gobi Desert was Ivan Makarle, a Czech journalist, writer, author of works about the mysteries of the Earth.

In the early 90s of the 20th century, together with Dr. J. Prokopets, a specialist in tropical medicine, and cameraman I. Skupen, he made 2 research expeditions to remote corners of the desert.

Oddly enough, they failed to catch the worm, like previous scientists, but Makarla was lucky enough to get solid evidence of the monster's existence. There was so much data that Czech scientists launched a television program, calling it "The Mysterious Monster of the Mongolian Sands."

Describing the appearance of the olgoi-khorkhoi, I. Makarle said that the worm looked like a sausage or an intestine. The body length is 0.5 m, and the thickness is about the size of a human hand. It is difficult to determine where the head is and where the tail is due to the lack of eyes and mouth. The monster moved in an unusual way: rolled around its axis or wriggled from side to side, while moving forward.

It is amazing how the legends and myths of the peoples of Mongolia coincided with the description of Czech researchers!

The disappearance of the American research team

A. Nisbet, an American scientist, like his colleague R. Andrews, set himself the goal of finding the killer worm at all costs. In 1954, he nevertheless received permission from the Mongolian government to conduct the expedition. Two jeeps with team members who went to the desert disappeared.

Illustration for Ivan Efremov's story "Olgoi-khorkhoy"

Later they were discovered in one of the remote and little explored regions of the country. All employees, including Nisbet, were dead. But the mystery of their death still worries the compatriots of the team. The fact is that 6 people were lying next to the cars. And no, the cars weren't broken, they were in perfect working order. All belongings of the group members were intact, there were also no injuries or any injuries on the body. But due to the fact that the bodies were in the sun for a long time, unfortunately, it was not possible to establish the true cause of death.

So what happened to scientists? Versions with poisoning, illness or lack of water are excluded, and no notes were found. Some experts believe that the entire team died almost instantly. Could the Nisbet expedition have been able to find the Olgoi-Khorkhoi who had killed them? This question will remain unanswered.

Versions of scientists

Of course, the scientific community around the world has been studying this phenomenon. But scientists have not been able to come to a consensus on what kind of creature this is.

There are several versions of who the Olgoy-Khorkhoy is.

• mythical animal
• John L. Cloudsey-Thompson, a zoologist, believes that the killer worm is a type of snake that can infect its victims with poison.
• Michel Raynal, a French cryptozoologist, and Jaroslav Mares, a Czech scientist, believe that a surviving two-legged reptile is hiding in the desert, which has lost its legs in the course of evolution.

Olgoi-Khorkhoy remains an unsolved mystery

Today you rarely hear about the Mongolian giant worm; only local researchers are involved in solving this cryptozoological puzzle. One of them - Dondogizhin Tsevegmid- suggests that there are two varieties of the worm. He was again prompted to a similar conclusion by folk legends, which also speak of the so-called shar-khorkhoi - already a yellow worm.

In his book, the scientist cites a story about a camel driver who met such Shar-Khorkhoys in the mountains. The driver saw a lot of yellow worms crawl out of the ground and crawl towards him. The unfortunate man rushed away in horror and managed to save himself ...

So, today, researchers of this phenomenon are of the opinion that the legendary Olgoi-Khorkhoy is a real living creature, completely unknown to science. Quite convincing is the version that we are talking about an annelids, which adapted well to the harsh conditions of the Mongolian desert, acquiring a special, simply unique protective skin. By the way, some of these worms can spray poison for self-defense ...

And by the way, olgoy-khorkhoy is an absolute zoological mystery that has not yet received a single acceptable explanation. Therefore, all these theories will remain theories until the researchers manage to get a photo or the sandworm itself from the Gobi Desert.

The researcher Nikolai Nepomniachtchi wrote the following about him: “What else do they have there,” the driver Grigory said with annoyance, but suddenly he braked sharply and shouted to me: “Look quickly! What?"

The cockpit window was blocked by a radio operator who had jumped down from above. With a gun in his hand, he rushed towards a large dune. Something alive was moving across its surface. This creature had no visible legs, not even a mouth or eyes. Most of all, it looked like a stump of a thick sausage about a meter long. A large and fat worm, an unknown inhabitant of the desert, wriggled on the purple sand. Not being a connoisseur of zoology, I nevertheless immediately realized that we were facing an unknown animal. There were two of them."

This is a fragment from the story of the famous paleontologist and writer I.A. Efremov, written by him after an expedition to the Gobi desert. Further, Efremov talks about how people ran up to mysterious creatures that looked like worms. Suddenly, each worm curled into a ring. Their coloration turned from yellow-gray to violet-blue, and at the ends - bright blue. Suddenly, the radio operator collapsed face down on the sand and remained motionless. The driver ran up to the radio operator, who was lying four meters from the worms, and suddenly, strangely twisted, fell on his side ... The worms disappeared somewhere.

The explanation of the mysterious death of his comrades, which the hero of the story received from the guide and all other experts in Mongolia, was that an animal called the olgoi-khorkha lives in the lifeless deserts. It has never fallen into the hands of any person, partly because it lives in waterless sands, partly because of the fear that the Mongols feel before it. This fear is quite understandable: the animal kills at a distance. What is this mysterious power possessed by the olgoy-khorkhoy, no one knows. Perhaps it is a huge electric discharge or poison sprayed by an animal.

Stories about a mysterious creature living in the waterless deserts of Central Asia have been around for a long time. It is mentioned, in particular, by the famous Russian researcher and traveler N.M. Przhevalsky. In the 1950s, the American A. Nisbet went in search of the Olgoi-Khorkhoi to Inner Mongolia. For a long time, the authorities of the Mongolian People's Republic did not give him permission to enter, believing that the American might have other interests besides zoological ones.

In 1954, having received permission, the expedition on two Land Rovers left the village of Sainshand and disappeared. A few months later, at the request of the US government, the authorities of the Mongolian People's Republic organized a search for her. The cars were found in a remote area of ​​the desert in perfect working order, not far from them lay the bodies of five members of the expedition and a little further away - the sixth. The bodies of the Americans lay in the sun for a long time, and the cause of death could not be determined.

Some scientists, analyzing reports of olgoe-horhoi, are inclined to the hypothesis that it kills with a potent poison, such as hydrocyanic acid. Creatures are known in nature, in particular the centipede kiwisyak, which kills its victims at a distance with a stream of hydrocyanic acid. However, there is a more exotic hypothesis: the olgoi-khorkhoy kills with the help of small ball lightning, which is formed during a powerful electric discharge.

In the summer of 1988, the newspapers "Semilukskaya Zhizn" and "Left Bank" reported on strange events that took place in the city of Lugansk. On May 16, during earthworks in the area of ​​​​the town of the plant. The October Revolution suffered one of the workers. He was taken to the hospital unconscious, with a snake-shaped burn on his left arm. Waking up, the victim explained that he felt an electric shock, although there were no electric cables nearby.

Two months later, six-year-old Dima G. died. The cause of death was an electric shock from an unknown source. Several more similar cases were recorded in 1989 and 1990. All cases are associated with earthworks or with fresh earth delivered from another place. One of the victims said that before losing consciousness, he heard a strange sound, similar to the sobbing of a child.

Finally, in winter, when digging a hole on the estate in the Artyomovsky district of Luhansk, near a heating main, a strange creature was caught that made a similar sound when attacked. Fortunately for himself, the man who dug the hole was wearing thick gloves and was not injured. He grabbed the creature, put it in a plastic bag and took it to show to a neighbor who worked in a biological laboratory.

So an animal unknown to science ended up in a metal box in a laboratory behind thick armored glass. It looks like a thick lilac worm about half a meter long. Head of the Laboratory Candidate of Biological Sciences V.M. Kulikov claims that this is most likely an unknown mutant. But a certain resemblance to the mysterious Olgoi-Khorkhoi is undoubted.

If you happen to read the fantastic novel "Dune" by F. Herbert, then you know such a character as Shai-Hulud. It is a giant sandworm capable of absorbing not only people, but also vehicles. Who would have thought that an analogue of such a creature is found on our planet?

Any Mongol will tell you that the dangerous worm Olgoi-Khorkhoi exists, but so far no one has managed to catch it. The search for this "sausage stump" in the Gobi desert has been going on for several decades, but the result is still zero. What kind of creature is this, which, according to rumors, kills its victim with an electric discharge or a poisonous jet?

Kills from afar

The story of the writer and scientist I. Efremov "Olgoi-Khorkhoy" tells about a strange and mysterious animal, whose homeland was the Gobi desert. With its appearance, this work of nature resembles a piece of thick sausage, one meter long. Both of its ends are equally blunt, it is impossible to see the eye or mouth, as well as determine where the head is and where the tail is. This fat, writhing worm only causes disgust.

In the 70s, the story of I. Efremov was perceived by most readers as fantastic. But after some time, many residents of Mongolia started talking about the existence of Olgoi-Khorkhoi. There were rumors that this creature is capable of killing its prey from a distance. Olgoi-Khorkhoy is translated into Russian as "intestinal worm", and it must be said that the mysterious animal really resembles a fragment of the large intestine.

According to some eyewitnesses, the worm produces, others claim that it strikes its opponent with a high-power electric discharge. Even a hardy camel cannot withstand such an attack, and dies on the spot.

There is another type of worm, which is distinguished by a yellow color. The Mongols call her Shar-Khorkhoy. According to eyewitnesses, these creatures become especially active in the heat of summer, they spend the rest of their lives in burrows.

First evidence of a killer worm

The history of this unusual creature is rooted in the distant past. One could read about it in the stories of our compatriot N. Przhevalsky, and N. Roerich did not leave the worm without attention. Traveling in Tibet, the latter made acquaintance with a lama (this title is given to local religious figures). Lama told Roerich that in his youth he was a member of a caravan sent to study at a local university.

Some of the young people traveled on short Mongolian horses, the rest on camels. Once, after stopping for the night, an incomprehensible chirp was heard, followed by human screams. The Lama looked around and noticed that the camp was surrounded by incomprehensible blue lights. An exclamation was heard: “Olgoi-Khorkhoi!”. People rushed in all directions, some fell dead for no reason.

In 1926, a book by the American writer and scientist R. C. Andrews entitled "In the Footsteps of Ancient Man" was published. And that's when the killer worm became widely known. The American paleontologist heard about the existence of this mystery of nature even before the start of the trip from the Mongolian leaders who issued him permission to travel. He was warned of the danger and asked, if the opportunity presented itself, to catch and bring back a specimen of this animal.

The American promised to comply with the request, while observing all the necessary precautions. However, he did not believe in the veracity of the story he heard. Unfortunately, the scientist failed to find the worm, but he described it in his work. After that, the worm Olgoy Khorkhoy gained worldwide fame.

How does a worm kill

So how does this fiend kill its victim? Usually we are talking about poison, but the possibility of the worm generating electrical discharges of high power should not be ruled out. The locals have an interesting story to tell...

At the end of the last century, Western geologists carried out work in Mongolia. One of the researchers stuck a metal rod into the sand, then his body convulsed, and at the same moment. A moment later, an eerie worm emerged from the sand. There is no doubt that the death of the geologist came from an electrical discharge that passed through the metal.

Apparently, the desert-dwelling Olgoi-Khorkhoi is capable of killing with both poison and electric shock. Such deadly activity is not hunting or sustenance for him. This is just a way of protection, carried out without warning.

Olgoi-Khorkhoi was never caught

Attempts to catch the intestinal worm have been made many times. In the middle of the last century, a scientist of American origin A. Nisbet decided to find the creeping villain without fail. It took several years to obtain permission for the expedition from the Mongolian authorities. In two jeeps, American explorers rushed into the desert and quickly disappeared.

At the request of the American government, the search for an unsuccessful expedition began. Dead scientists were found in a remote area, their bodies were located near cars that were in good condition. The cause of death of the researchers has not been established.

There is an assumption that scientists stumbled upon a cluster of worms, and they went on the attack. Recall that the cars are in excellent condition, the property remained in place, there were no notes with complaints of illness or lack of water. Most likely, death came instantly - it is with such a speed that the intestinal worm kills.

In the 90s of the last century, Czech specialists were engaged in the search for a mysterious creature. The subject of the research itself was not discovered, but it was possible to collect the necessary material proving the reality of the existence of Olgoi-Khorkhoy.

Members of the Russian expedition caught a small yellow worm, presumably a calf. Around the mouth opening, he had several paws, with the help of which Olgoy Khorkhoy instantly buried himself in the sand.

Desert Gobi. Scorching heat, waterless sands. Czech explorer Ivan Matskerle, before taking the next step, carefully looks at his feet. He is looking for signs that under the monotonous surface of dunes and hollows that barely noticeably change their shape, a hostile creature is lurking, ready at any moment to deliver a mortal blow, spewing a stream of poisonous acid. This creature is so secretive that there is not a single reliable photograph, not a single material evidence of its vital activity. But the locals are firmly convinced: “Olgoi-Khorkhoi”, the Mongolian killer worm exists, it hides in these sands in anticipation of another victim.

The general public first became aware of the deadly worm from the book “In the footsteps of an ancient man” published in 1926. It was written by American paleontologist Professor Roy Chapman Andrews, who apparently served as the prototype for the popular movie character Indiana Jones. However, Andrews himself was not convinced of the reality of the Olgoi-Khorkhoi. According to him, "none of the local storytellers saw the worm with their own eyes, although they were all firmly convinced of its existence and described it in great detail."

In 2005, a group of British cryptozoologists set off in search of a deadly creature in the Gobi Desert. During the whole month of their stay there, they heard a lot of terrifying stories about this monster, but no one was able to prove that he had encountered him himself. Nevertheless, the researchers came to the conclusion that the "Olgoi-Khorkhoy" is still not a fiction, but a real creature. Team leader Richard Freeman stated that all the narrators described him in the same way: a red-brown snake-like worm about 60 long and 5 centimeters thick, and it was impossible to determine where his head was and where his tail was.

Now Ivan Matskerle, an amateur cryptozoologist who travels around the world, is looking for the Mongolian worm, trying to find scientific evidence for the existence of the mysterious inhabitants of our planet like the Loch Ness monster and other similar curiosities.

According to Matskerle in an interview with Czech radio, as a child, he read a story by Russian writer and paleontologist Ivan Efremov about a worm almost as long as a man living in Mongolia, who kills his victims at a distance using either poison or an electric discharge. “I thought it was just science fiction,” Mackerle says. - But a student from Mongolia studied in the same group with me at the university. I asked him: “Have you heard anything about “Olgoi-Khorkhoy”?” I assumed that he would laugh back and say that it was all nonsense. However, he moved closer to me, as if sharing a big secret, and said in an undertone: “Of course I heard. It's an amazing creation."

Here is what else Ivan Matskerle said in his interview: “There, in Mongolia, a strange thing happened to me. We thought about how to lure the worm out of the sand and record it on camera. The idea was born to scare him with an explosion. I remember how we illegally smuggled explosives through Russia, hoping that ground vibrations would make him show, but nothing came of it. Then I had a dream that I see "Olgoy-Khorkhoy", that he crawled out of the sand. I understand that I am in danger, I try to run away, but I run very slowly, you know how it happens in a dream. And the worm suddenly jumps up and jumps on my back. I felt a terrible pain in my back, screamed and woke up from it. I realized that I was in a tent. But the pain didn't go away. A friend pulled up my T-shirt and shone a flashlight on my back. You have something similar to “Olgoi-Khorkhoy” there, he says. On my back, along the spine, I had a bruise, there was subcutaneous bleeding, as I was told. The next day I had bruises all over my body, heart problems started. I had to leave quickly. Since then, my friends have scolded me for not carrying any talisman with me, protection from evil forces.

So does the Mongolian killer worm exist or not? The belief of local residents in its reality makes more and more new explorers and adventurers go in search of it. Maybe you will join them too? Then you should remember: when wandering through the Gobi desert, in no case do not wear yellow clothes. It is believed that this color excites the "olgoy-khorkhoy" and makes him send his deadly charge to an unsuspecting victim. So now you are forewarned, which means you are armed. Happy hunting!