Electric worm from the Gobi Desert. The horror of the Mongolian desert - Olgoi-Khorkhoi (5 photos). Disappearance of American Research Team

The hero of Mongolian folklore - a giant worm - lives in the desert sandy areas of the Gobi. In its appearance, it most closely resembles the insides of an animal. It is impossible to distinguish either a head or eyes on his body. The Mongols call him olga-khorkha, and more than anything else they are afraid of meeting him. Not a single scientist in the world has had a chance to see with his own eyes the mysterious inhabitant of the Mongolian deserts. And therefore, for many years, the Olgoi-Khorkhoi was considered exclusively a folklore character - a fictitious monster.

However, at the beginning of the 20th century, researchers drew attention to the fact that legends about the Olgoi-Khorkhoi are told everywhere in Mongolia, and in the most different and remote corners of the country, legends about the giant worm are repeated word for word and are replete with the same details. And therefore, scientists decided that the truth lies at the heart of the ancient legends. It may very well be that a strange creature unknown to science lives in the Gobi Desert, perhaps a miraculously surviving representative of the ancient, long-extinct “population” of the Earth.

Translated from Mongolian, “olgoy” means “large intestine”, and “khorkhoi” means worm. According to legend, the half-meter worm lives in inaccessible waterless areas of the Gobi Desert. The Olgoi-Khorkhoi spends almost all of its time in hibernation - it sleeps in burrows made in the sand. The worm comes to the surface only in the hottest months of summer, and woe to the person who meets it on the way: the olgoi-khorkhoi kills the victim from a distance, throwing out deadly poison, or kills with an electric discharge upon contact. In a word, you can’t escape him alive...

The isolated position of Mongolia and the policies of its authorities have made the fauna of this country practically inaccessible to foreign zoologists. Therefore, the scientific community knows practically nothing about Olgoy-Khorkhoy. However, in 1926, the American paleontologist Roy Chapman Andrews, in his book “In the Footsteps of Ancient Man,” talked about his conversation with the Prime Minister of Mongolia. The latter asked the paleontologist to catch the Olgoi-Khorkhoi. At the same time, the minister pursued personal goals: desert worms once killed one of his family members. But, to Andrews’ great regret, he was never able to not only catch, but even just see the mysterious worm. Many years later, in 1958, the Soviet science fiction writer, geologist and paleontologist Ivan Efremov returned to the theme of the Olgoi-Khorkhoy in the book “The Road of the Winds.” In it, he recounted all the information that he collected on this matter during reconnaissance expeditions to the Gobi from 1946 to 1949.

In his book, among other evidence, Ivan Efremov cites the story of an old Mongolian named Tseven from the village of Dalandzadgad, who claimed that the Olgoi-Khorkhoi live 130 kilometers southeast of the agricultural region of Aimak. “Nobody knows what they are, but olgoy-khorkhoi is terrible,” said the old Mongol. Efremov used these stories about the sand monster in his fantasy story, which was originally entitled “Olgoy-Khorkhoi.” It tells about the death of two Russian explorers who died from the poison of desert worms. The story was entirely fictitious, but it was based solely on Mongol folklore.

Ivan Makarle, a Czech writer and journalist, author of many works about the mysteries of the Earth, was the next to follow the trail of the mysterious inhabitant of the Asian desert. In the 1990s, Makarle, together with Dr. Jaroslav Prokopets, a specialist in tropical medicine, and cameraman Jiri Skupen, led two expeditions into the most remote corners of the Gobi Desert. Unfortunately, they also failed to catch a single specimen of the worm alive. However, they received evidence of its real existence. Moreover, this evidence was so numerous that it allowed Czech researchers to make and launch a program on television, which was called: “The Mysterious Monster of the Sands.”

This was not the last attempt to unravel the mystery of the existence of the Olgoy-Khorkhoy. In the summer of 1996, another group of researchers - also Czechs - led by Petr Gorky and Mirek Naplava followed the worm's tracks through a good half of the Gobi Desert. Alas, also to no avail.

Today almost nothing is heard about Olgoy-Khorkhoy. For now, this Mongolian cryptozoological puzzle is being solved by Mongolian researchers. One of them, the scientist Dondogizhin Tsevegmid, suggests that there is not one type of worm, but at least two. He was again forced to make a similar conclusion by folk legends: local residents often talk about the shar-khorkhoi - that is, the yellow worm.

In one of his books, Dondogizhin Tsevegmid mentions the story of a camel driver who came face to face with such Shar-Khorkhoi in the mountains. At one far from wonderful moment, the driver noticed that yellow worms were crawling out of holes in the ground and crawling towards him. Mad with fear, he rushed to run, and then discovered that almost fifty of these disgusting creatures were trying to surround him. The poor fellow was lucky: he still managed to escape...

So, today, researchers of the Mongolian phenomenon are inclined to believe that we are talking about a living creature completely unknown to science. However, zoologist John L. Cloudsey-Thompson, one of the renowned specialists in desert fauna, suspected the Olgoi-Khorkhoy to be a species of snake that the scientific community had yet to become acquainted with. Cloudsey-Thompson himself is confident that the unknown desert worm is related to the Oceanic viper. The latter is distinguished by an equally “attractive” appearance. In addition, like the olgoi-khorkhoi, the viper is capable of destroying its victims at a distance, spraying poison.

A completely different version is shared by French cryptozoologist Michel Raynal and Czech Jaroslav Mares. Scientists classify the Mongolian desert dweller as a two-walker reptile that lost its legs during evolution. These reptiles, like desert worms, can be red or brown in color. In addition, it is extremely difficult for them to distinguish between their head and neck. Opponents of this version, however, rightly point out: no one has heard of these reptiles being poisonous or having an organ capable of producing electric current.

According to the third version, the Olgoi-Khorkhoi is an annelid worm that acquired special protective skin in desert conditions. Some of these earthworms are known to spray venom in self-defense.

Be that as it may, Olgoi-Khorkhoi remains a mystery for zoologists, which has not yet received a single satisfactory explanation.

Gobi Desert. Scorching heat, waterless sands. Czech researcher Ivan Mackerle carefully looks at his feet before taking the next step. He is looking for signs that under the monotonous surface of the dunes and hollows that barely change their outlines, a hostile creature lurks, ready at any moment to deliver a fatal blow by spewing out 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 life. But local residents are firmly convinced: “Olgoy-Khorkhoy” Mongolian killer worm exists, he is hiding in these sands, waiting for his next victim

The general public first became aware of the deadly worm from the book “In the Footsteps of Ancient Man,” published in 1926. It was written by the 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 “Olgoy-Khorkhoy”. 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 English cryptozoologists went to the Gobi Desert in search of a deadly creature. During the whole month of their stay there, they heard many terrifying stories about this monster, but no one was able to prove that they had encountered it themselves. Nevertheless, the researchers came to the conclusion that the “Olgoy-Khorkhoi” is not a fiction, but a real creature. Team leader Richard Freeman said that all the storytellers described it the same way: a red-brown snake-like worm approximately 60 centimeters long and 5 centimeters thick, and it is impossible to determine where its head is and where its tail is.

Now searching Mongolian worm is carried out by Ivan Matskerle, an amateur cryptozoologist who travels around the world trying to find scientific evidence of the existence of mysterious inhabitants like our planet loch ness monster and other similar wonders.

As Matzkerle says in an interview with Czech radio, as a child he read a story by Russian writer and paleontologist Ivan Efremov about a worm that lives in Mongolia, almost as tall as a person, who kills its victims from a distance using either poison or an electric discharge. “I thought it was just science fiction,” says Matzkerle. - But in the same group as me at the university there was a student from Mongolia. I asked him: “Have you heard anything about “Olgoy-Khorkhoy”?” I assumed he would laugh back and say it was all nonsense. However, he moved closer to me, as if sharing a big secret, and said in a low voice: “Of course, I heard. This is an amazing creature."

Here’s what else Ivan Matskerle said in his interview: “There, in Mongolia, one strange thing happened to me. We were thinking about how to lure a worm out of the sand and record it on camera. The idea was born to scare him with an explosion. I remember when we were illegally transporting explosives through Russia, hoping that the ground vibrations would make him show up, but nothing happened. Then I had a dream that I saw “Olgoi-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, as it happens in a dream. And the worm suddenly jumps up and jumps on my back. I felt terrible pain in my back, screamed and woke up from it. I realized that I was lying in a tent. But the pain did not go away. A friend lifted my T-shirt and shined a flashlight on my back. You have something similar to “olgoy-khorkhoy” there, he says. There was a bruise on my back, along the spine; there was subcutaneous bleeding, as I was told. The next day I had bruises all over my body and started having heart problems. I had to leave quickly. Since then, my friends have scolded me for not carrying any talisman with me to protect me from evil forces.”

So does the Mongolian killer worm exist or not? Conviction local residents in his reality forces more and more researchers and adventure lovers to go in search of him. Maybe you will join them too? Then you should remember: when traveling through the Gobi Desert, under no circumstances wear clothes yellow color. It is believed that this color excites the “olgoi-khorkhoi” and forces him to send his deadly charge at an unsuspecting victim. So now you are forewarned and therefore forearmed. Happy hunting!

Researcher Nikolai Nepomnyashchy wrote the following about him: “What else do they have,” the driver Grigory said with annoyance, but suddenly he braked sharply and shouted to me: “Look quickly!” What's happened?"

The cockpit window was obscured by the radio operator who jumped from above. With a gun in his hand, he rushed towards the large dune. Something living was moving along its surface. This creature had no visible legs, or even a mouth or eyes. Most of all, it looked like a stump of thick sausage about a meter long. A large and thick worm, an unknown inhabitant of the desert, wriggled on the purple sand. Not being an expert in zoology, I still immediately realized that this was 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. Next, Efremov talks about how people ran up to mysterious creatures that resembled worms. Suddenly, each worm curled into a ring. Their color changed from yellow-gray to violet-blue, and at the ends - bright blue. Suddenly the radio operator fell 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, bending strangely, fell on his side... The worms disappeared somewhere.

Explanation mysterious death his comrades, which the hero of the story received from the guide and all other experts in Mongolia, was that in the lifeless deserts lives an animal called olga-khorkha. 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 have of it. This fear is understandable: the animal kills from a distance. What is this mysterious power, which the Olgoi-Khorkhoi possesses, no one knows. Maybe it's a huge electrical discharge or poison sprayed by an animal.

Stories about mysterious creature living in arid deserts Central Asia, have been around for a long time. In particular, the famous Russian explorer and traveler N.M. mentions him. Przhevalsky. In the 50s of the 20th century, the American A. Nisbet went in search of the Olgoi-Khorkhoi in Inner Mongolia. For a long time The MPR authorities 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 left the village of Sainshand in two Land Rovers and disappeared. A few months later, at the request of the US government, the MPR authorities organized a search for her. The cars were found in a remote area of ​​the desert in full 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 olgoy-khorkhoy, are inclined to the hypothesis that it kills with a potent poison, for example, hydrocyanic acid. There are creatures known in nature, in particular the nodding centipede, which kills its victims at a distance with a stream of hydrocyanic acid. However, there is a more exotic hypothesis: Olgoi-Khorkhoi kills with the help of small ball lightning, which are formed during a powerful electrical discharge.

In the summer of 1988, the newspapers “Semilukskaya Zhizn” and “Left Bank” reported strange events that occurred in Lugansk. On May 16, during excavation work in the area of ​​the plant’s town. October revolution one of the workers was injured. He was taken to hospital unconscious, with a snake-shaped burn on his left arm. When he woke up, the victim explained that he felt an electric shock, although there were no electrical cables nearby.

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

Finally, in winter, near a heating main, while digging a hole on the territory of an estate in the Artemovsky district of Lugansk, a strange creature was caught that made a similar sound when attacked. Luckily for himself, the person digging 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 it to a neighbor who worked in a biology laboratory.

So the animal, unknown to science, ended up in a metal box in the laboratory behind thick armored glass. It looks like a thick lilac worm about half a meter long. Candidate Laboratory Head biological sciences V.M. Kulikov claims that this is most likely an unknown mutant. But a certain similarity with the mysterious Olgoy-Khorkhoy is undeniable.

Olgoy-khorkhoi (Mongolian "intestinal worm, worm resembling a large intestine") - legendary creature, headless worm, thicker and longer than an arm, living in the deserted deserts of Mongolia. Mongols are afraid of this worm, and many of them believe that even the mere mention of its name will lead to a lot of trouble. According to eyewitnesses, mysterious creature looks like a dark red stump of large intestine, 50 cm to 1.5 meters long. There is no particular difference between the head and tail parts of this creature. On both ends of this giant worm there are some semblance of small outgrowths or spines; eyewitnesses did not notice any eyes or teeth on the Olgoy-Khorkhoy. It is extremely dangerous, as it can kill animals and people through close contact (presumably with an electrical discharge), as well as by spraying the victim with poison from a distance. There is also a variety of "shar-horkhoi" (yellow worm) - a similar creature, but yellow in color.

The existence of Olgoy-Khorkhoy has not yet been proven by science. No traces of its vital activity were found; it is not even known what it eats. It is believed that the Olgoy-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 spends most of its time hiding in the sand, none of the scientists has yet seen it.

Europeans learned about Olgoy-Khorkhoy only in the second half of the 19th century, when a famous traveler and scientist Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky. More detailed information about the Olgoy-Khorkhoi appeared in the book by American zoologist Roy Andrews, “In the Footsteps of 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 “Olgoy-Khorkhoi,” which was one of his first literary experiments. Ivan Efremov himself participated in the paleontological expedition and probably himself believed in the existence of this monster.

“According to the very ancient beliefs of the Mongols, in the most desolate and lifeless deserts there lives an animal called “Olgoi-Khorkhoi”.<…>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 through 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 Gobi that in the most diverse areas the mysterious worm is described everywhere in the same way and with great detail; one must think that there is truth at the heart of the legend. Apparently, in fact, in the Gobi Desert there lives a strange creature still unknown to science, perhaps a relic of the ancient, extinct population of the Earth.”