The Ningen; Japanese Mermaid or Arctic Cryptid?
Cryptozoologists have been on the hunt for prehistoric maritime creatures like Nessie, Champy, and Tessie for decades, if not centuries. And a recent discovery of an 80 million-year-old shark species has likely fueled the interest of seekers still hoping to make a discovery. But there is one creature that has recently joined the ranks of these elusive cryptids, that remains unbeknownst to many: the Ningen.
The Ningen, A Japanese Mermaid?
What started off as an anecdote posted in a popular Japanese online forum, has now led to a multitude of sightings and alleged video evidence of an aquatic, humanoid fish, said to be roughly the size of a whale. The Ningen, which translates literally to ‘human,’ is a 20-30 meter-long, bulbous creature that was originally spotted by a Japanese research vessel, off the coast of Antarctica.
The creature is described as having a pale white, human-like figure with a torso, appendages, and fingers like ours, but with a mermaid-esque tail. It is also described as having minimal facial features with a small slitted mouth and two vacuous eyes.
The Ningen sea creature has been spotted primarily at night and in colder waters, leading some to believe that it has been hiding in the Arctic, beneath the ice. Some say that it may be a previously undiscovered species of albino ray, though the description of those who have encountered it is distinctly different.
There are several lackluster videos and questionable photos circulating the internet that purport to show the Ningen sea creature in its natural environment, but like most cryptids, none provide definitive proof. Though that hasn’t warranted an abandonment of the search for this amphibious wraith. Why would it? Scientists continue to discover multitudes of new marine species in the depths of the ocean on a regular basis.
Over the past decade, a number of hydrothermal vents have been discovered in the arctic depths. In these frigid waters, new and bizarre lifeforms, like the Yeti crab, have been discovered clustering around these vents. Some scientists have theorized that hydrothermal vents are where life originated on Earth in its nascent phases some 4.6 billion years ago.
While the Ningen sea creature remains an anecdotal tale among Japanese sailors and fisherman, there is rumor that the Japanese government is taking reports of the Ningen seriously, amassing a trove of putative accounts. It has also been rumored that photographic evidence of the Ningen was captured by the sailors of the original story, but the Japanese government destroyed the evidence so as not to draw attention and controversy.
Some have speculated that the Japanese government may be involved in a cover-up of the Ningen, due to a rare chemical compound it may produce that is either medicinal or highly venomous and able to be weaponized. Stories have been told of men in black threatening anyone who purports to have seen the Ningen sea creature or anyone attempting to expose its existence; though this is all unconfirmed hearsay. And while the story of the Ningen didn’t necessarily attract significant international attention, Mu Magazine,a Japanese publication specializing in the paranormal, created a serious buzz in Japan. Soon a plethora of stories, sightings, and alleged photographic evidence was made public
The original sighting by Japanese fishermen notes that the crew saw what they at first believed to be a foreign submarine, but upon further examination was clearly a living, breathing entity.
It’s unclear whether there are any cryptozoologists currently pursuing the Ningen, as its location would require a well-funded expedition with crew members knowledgeable of arctic territory. And though the Ningen cryptid might seem like another contrived hoax, told amongst sailors with too much free time, one mustn’t forget the maritime tale of the Kraken, that turned out to be based on a real creature: the giant squid.
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UFOs and Bigfoot; Evidence of an Inter-Dimensional Connection
John Keel, the prominent ufologist and paranormal researcher, famous for the Mothman Prophecies, once proposed the idea that there are “window areas” throughout the world, connecting our reality with parallel dimensions. These areas, Keel imagined, may help elucidate some unexplained reports of entities that are too fleeting or confusing to later detail or prove. With the increasing plausibility of the multiverse theory and infinite neighboring universes, maybe we should be asking ourselves; are UFOs and Bigfoot interdimensional travelers, and could there be a connection between the two?
Interdimensional Bigfoot Theories
For hundreds of years, people worldwide have reported encounters with monsters, fairies, demons, and cryptids. To this day those experiences persist, while many of these same entities have also been encountered through the use of psychedelics.
Now, it would be easy to say these are simply archetypal figures; beings our collective consciousness conjures in our minds with anthropomorphic features based on fears or subliminal functions of our psyche. Or we could entertain the ostensibly bizarre possibility that these are entities from another dimension operating on higher realms of existence.
Keel referred to these entities as ultra-terrestrials; beings capable of crossing dimensions at will, often acting as “cosmic pranksters.” Daniel Pinchbeck says he experienced prankster entities from a psychedelic realm cross into the real world after encountering them during and in the subsequent weeks following a psychedelic trip.
When it comes to Bigfoot, Sasquatch, the Yeti, or whatever you want to call them, there is often a playfulness and/or spookiness described in their actions. Tree knocking or eerie screams alert us to their presence until we get close enough where they might offer a glimpse, before vanishing seemingly into thin air.
Their appearance could be considered another form of prank, embodying a primitive, ape-like creature that exudes a noxious odor. Yet, they’re able to evade contact with us despite thousands of reported sightings over hundreds of years. Is Sasquatch cosmically trolling us?
An intriguing account tying UFO’s and Bigfoot together comes from an 1888 meeting between cattle ranchers and a group of Native Americans in Northern California. The natives described three “crazy bears” that descended from the sky in a small moon, leaving them in the woods before taking off.
In another instance, in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1973, a woman named Reafa Heitfield and her daughter were awakened in the middle of the night to a beam of light extending down from a bulbous umbrella shape in the sky. Tracking the light to where it landed in the nearby woods, the two noticed a grayish, simian creature wandering toward the beam. Before they knew it, both the ape and the craft disappeared.
Though these stories may be apocryphal in nature, it’s reported that at least 20 percent of Bigfoot sightings coincide with UFO events.
Jack Cary, a cryptozoologist who has studied Bigfoot for decades, says he believes it’s alternatively plausible that Bigfoot is being abducted by UFOs in much the same way humans are, to study its DNA and physical attributes.
