The legendary death worm from the Gobi Desert. Olgoy-khorkhoi

In the desert regions of the Gobi lives the “hero” of Mongolian folk tales - giant worm, resembling the insides of an animal. Neither eyes nor even a head can be discerned on his ugly body impossible. The Mongols call this creature “olga-khorkha” and are most afraid of meeting it. Since none of the scientists had a chance to see (let alone film) Olgoy-Khorkhoy, this mysterious inhabitant Mongolian deserts for many years was considered a fictitious monster, a purely folklore character...

At the beginning of the last century, researchers became interested in the fact that legends about the Olgoy-Khorkhoy in Mongolia can be heard everywhere. At the same time, in the most different 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 that strange things live in the sands of the Gobi. known to science creature. Perhaps this is a surviving representative of a long-extinct earthly “population”...

The Mongolian word “olgoy” means “large intestine” in Russian, and “khorkhoi” means a worm. Legends say that these half-meter worms live in waterless and inaccessible areas of the desert and spend most of their time hibernating - in burrows that they make in the sand. These creatures come to the surface only in the hottest summer months- and then woe to the people they met along the way. The Olga-Khorkhoi easily kills its prey from a decent distance by shooting at it deadly poison, or strikes upon contact with an electric discharge. In a word, it is impossible to leave him alive...

Mongolian politics power structures, 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 Olgoy-Khorkhoy. However, the book by American paleontologist Roy Chapman Andrews “In the Footsteps of the Earliest Man” (1926) tells about the author’s conversation with the Mongolian prime minister. He asked Andrews to catch the Olgoy-Khorkhoy. The minister pursued personal goals: one of his family members was once killed by desert worms. However, the American researcher was unable to even just see the mysterious worm...

Science fiction writer and scientist Ivan Efremov and Olgoi-Khorkhoi

In 1958 Soviet geologist, famous paleontologist and even more famous writer in the USSR Ivan Efremov, in a book called “The Road of the Winds,” published information regarding Olgoy-Khorkhoy, which he collected during expeditions to the Gobi Desert (1946-1949).

Among other evidence, the author cites the story of the Mongolian old man Tseven, a resident of the village of Dalanzadgad, who claimed that the Olgoi-Khorkhoi live 130 km southeast of the Aimak region. Tseven spoke with horror about these disgusting and terrible creatures. Efremov used these stories when writing a fantastic story, which was originally called “Olgoi-Khorkhoi.” The story told how two Russian researchers died from the poison of giant worms. Although the work was entirely fictional, it was based solely on Mongolian folklore.

Not a single researcher was lucky enough to see the creepy Olgoy-Khorkhoy

The next person to “track down” the desert monster was the Czech journalist and writer, author of a number of works about the intriguing mysteries of the Earth, Ivan Makarle. In the 90s last century He, accompanied by Dr. Jaroslav Prokopets, a specialist in tropical medicine, and cameraman Jiri Skupen, led two research expeditions to the most remote corners of the Gobi. It was also not possible to catch a live worm then, but evidence was obtained of it real existence. There was so much of this evidence that Czech researchers made and launched television program about “The Mysterious Monster of the Mongolian Sands.”

The next attempt to unravel the mystery of Olgoy-Khorkhoy in 1996. was undertaken by another group of Czech researchers led by Petr Gorky and Mirek Naplava. Scientists followed in the footsteps of the sand monster a significant part of the desert, but, alas, also to no avail.

Olgoy-Khorkhoi 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 pushed to a similar conclusion folk legends, which also talk about the so-called shar-khorkhoi - already a yellow worm.

In his book, the scientist gives a story about a camel driver who met such shar-khorkhoi in the mountains. The driver saw many yellow worms crawling out of the ground and crawling towards him. The unfortunate man rushed away in horror and managed to escape...

So, today researchers of this phenomenon are of the opinion that the legendary Olgoi-Khorkhoi is a real living creature, completely unknown to science. The version that we're talking about O ringed worm, which in harsh conditions Mongolian desert He adapted well, acquiring a special, simply unique protective skin. By the way, some of these worms can spray poison for self-defense...

However, Olgoi-Khorkhoi is an absolute zoological mystery that has not yet received a single acceptable explanation. Although there is something fantastic in all this...

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, the mysterious creature looks like a stump of a dark red large intestine, ranging from 50 cm to 1.5 meters in length. 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 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 the famous traveler and scientist Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky mentioned this monster in his notes. More detailed information about the Olgoi-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 American Museum 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 various areas mysterious worm 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 lives something still unknown to science. strange creature, possibly a relic of an ancient, extinct population of the Earth."

And no matter how many expeditions were undertaken into the desert, not one of the scientists had ever seen a giant worm. For many years Horkhoi was considered a fictional character in ancient Mongolian legends.

However, the attention of researchers was attracted by the fact that all the legends about the giant worm are replete with the same details and facts. Scientists have come to the conclusion that the legends are based on quite probable events. It is quite possible that in the desert sands Gobi lives an ancient animal that miraculously did not become extinct.

Word " olgoy" translated from Mongolian means "large intestine", and " Horkhoi"translated as "worm". If you believe the legends of the Mongols, the half-meter worm lives in the waterless sandy areas of the Gobi Desert. For most of the year, the worm sleeps in a hole it makes in sandy soil. The animal crawls to the surface only in the summer months, when the sun furiously bakes, heating the earth. The Mongols, on pain of death, will not go into the desert in the summer: it is believed that Olgoy-Khorkhoy capable of killing prey from a distance. Throwing out deadly poison, the monster paralyzes a person or animal.

Today the giant worm is unheard of. There is an opinion that in the desert Gobi There are several varieties of worms. At least, Mongolian legends tell of one more specimen - the yellow worm.
One of the legends of the Mongolian people tells about a poor camel driver who happened to meet Horkhoi in the desert Gobi. “He was surrounded by fifty yellow worms, but the driver managed to avoid death, he spurred the animal and galloped away.”

Some scientists believe that the giant worm is nothing more than a snake - oceanic viper. She is also huge and unattractive. In addition, the viper can destroy its prey from a distance using venom, the vapors of which are deadly poisonous.

According to another version Olgoy-Khorkhoy- This is an ancient reptile-two-walker, deprived of legs during evolution. The color of this reptile, like the color of the giant worm, is red-brown. It is also difficult to distinguish their head. However, these animals cannot kill prey from a distance.

There is another version. According to her, giant monster Gobi Desert is an annelid worm. In the harsh desert conditions, he acquired a strong shell and mutated to enormous sizes. Known cases, when desert varieties of worms sprayed venom, killing the victim.

No matter how many versions there are, Olgoy-Khorkhoy still remains a mystery to zoologists and scary monster for the Mongols.

At the beginning of the last century, researchers became interested in the fact that legends about the Olgoy-Khorkhoy in Mongolia can be heard everywhere. At the same time, in the most different 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 that 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 this? unusual name- Olgoy-Khorkhoy?

If you translate these words from Mongolian, then everything becomes extremely clear: “olgoy” means large intestine, “khorkhoy” means a worm. This name is 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 is dark red in color and its length ranges 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 spines.

The worm has no eyes or teeth. However, he is considered extremely dangerous even without these organs. Residents of Mongolia are confident that the Olgoi-Khorkhoi is capable of killing from a distance. But how does he do this? There are 2 versions:

I. The monster releases a stream potent substance, hitting its victims.
Electric discharge current.

It is possible that the killer worm is capable of using both options, alternating them or using them simultaneously, enhancing the effect.

A mysterious creature lives in sand dunes, appearing on the surface only in the hottest months after rain, when the ground becomes wet. Apparently he spends the rest of his time hibernating.

The olga-horkhoi easily kills its victim from a considerable distance, shooting it with deadly poison, or striking it with an electric discharge upon contact. In a word, it is impossible to leave him alive...

The policies 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 Olgoy-Khorkhoy.

The broad masses were able to learn about Olgoy-Khorkhoy 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 different countries could not pass by the unusual creature. Therefore, several expeditions were undertaken, not all of which ended successfully.

Roy Andrews

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

Roy's memoirs tell how the prime minister of Mongolia once approached him with an unusual request. He wanted Andrews to catch the killer worm, leaving it to the national government. It later 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 to prove the reality of this underground dweller is not possible, almost the entire country unquestioningly believes in its existence. Unfortunately, the expedition was not successful: Andrews was unable 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 terrible creatures. It was these stories that formed the basis of the fantastic story, originally called “Olgoy-Khorkhoi,” about Russian explorers who died from the poison of giant worms. The work is a work of fiction from beginning to end, and is based only on Mongolian folklore.

Ivan Makarle

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

In the early 90s of the 20th century, he, together with Dr. J. Prokopec, a specialist in tropical medicine, and operator I. Skupen, 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 obtain strong evidence of the existence of the monster. There was so much data that Czech scientists launched a television program, calling it “The Mysterious Monster of the Mongolian Sands.”

Describing appearance Olgoy-Khorkhoy, I. Makarle said that the worm looks like sausage or intestine. The body length is 0.5 m, and the thickness is approximately 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 was moving 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 descriptions of Czech researchers!

Disappearance of American Research Team

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

Illustration for Ivan Efremov’s story “Olgoy-Khorkhoi”

They were later discovered in one of the remote and little-explored areas of the country. All employees, including Nisbet, were dead. But the mystery of their death still worries the team’s compatriots. The fact is that 6 people were lying next to the cars. And no, the cars were not broken, they were absolutely in good condition. All the belongings of the group members were safe, there were no wounds or any damage to the body. But because the bodies long time were in the sun, install the real reason death, unfortunately, did not succeed.

So what happened to the scientists? Versions with poisoning, illness or lack of water were excluded, and no notes were found. Some experts believe that the entire team died almost instantly. Was Nisbet's expedition able to find the Olgoi-Khorkhoi who 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 Olgoy-Khorkhoy is.

Mythical animal
John L. Cloudsey-Thompson, a zoologist, believes that the killer worm is a type of snake that is capable of infecting its victims with venom.
Michel Raynal, a French cryptozoologist, and Jaroslav Mares, a Czech scientist, believe that a surviving two-walker reptile, which during evolution has lost its legs, is hiding in the desert.

Olgoy-Khorkhoi 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 is Dondogizhin Tsevegmid- suggests that there are two varieties of the worm. He was again prompted to such a conclusion by folk legends, which also speak of the so-called shar-khorkhoi - already a yellow worm.

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

However, Olgoi-Khorkhoi is an absolute zoological mystery that has not yet received a single acceptable explanation. Therefore, all these theories will remain theories until researchers manage to get a photo or the sand worm from the Gobi Desert.

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, 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. No one knows what this mysterious power that the Olgoi-Khorkhoy possesses is. Maybe it's a huge electrical discharge or poison sprayed by an animal.

Tales of a 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 about olgoy-khorkhoy, are inclined to the hypothesis that it kills potent poison, for example hydrocyanic acid. There are creatures known in nature, in particular the millipede, 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 related to earthworks or with fresh soil 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, 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.