A Main Character

Jaikeveis Roberts

March 14, 2023

Mr. Bosstick

ENG212-005

Cryptid Research and Adaptation Wiki : The Appearance of The Mongolian Death Worm.

Summary: The legend of The Mongolian Death Worm has been told numerously of the profound beast that savagely scurries through the sands of the Gobi Desert in search of prey. This cryptid has came to life through the influence of natives, referring to this worm as "olgoi-khorkoi" which means large intestine worm when deciphered into our language. The amazing impact the natives had culturally spread the possibility of there being a supernatural hidden out there that could potentially threaten the human race and anything coming in its path. Although the natives have majorly impacted this new opening to questioning the beliefs of this journey overall, it was believed that internationally, it wasn't until 1926 when paleontologist Roy Chapman Andrews released his encounters through his book "On the Trail of Ancient Man." that others knew of something that could hold a massive rampage when provoked in the Gobi Desert at certain times. Roy Chapman Andrews even takes it further to expand upon this thought by introducing the reader to a descriptive reference quoted by the Mongolian Prime Minister. The Mongolian Prime Minister, from his perspective, sought the beast to be within measurements of 2-5 feet long, sausage-shaped, while lacking both the head and the legs of itself. The Mongolians referenced have been both invested and terrified as word has spread that the worm gained its reputation by gaining the ability to spit and electrocute prey within range of its physical prey. The rumor also stated that the electrocution from the Mongolian Death Worm can result in a fatal resolution, an instant death to whomever is unlucky enough to cross paths with the worm. Although these are rumored to be true, while I have done thorough research, there is yet to be any hardcore factual evidence on whether or not this beast is actual real. There is currently no pictures or videos captured on the actual history of The Mongolian Death Worm.

The History: The theory of the Mongolian Death Worm's history has been hypothesized continuously but there is not a exact detailed date of the origination of The Mongolian Death Worm's period besides the 1926, "On the Trail of Ancient Man." by Roy Chapman Andrews. Although, there is multiple sources of referenced, documented expeditions that many zoologists, biologists, scientists, and more have done to try to prove the existence of this worm. The Mongolian Death Worm's story was popularized during the 1926 expedition of Roy Chapman Andrews in his book "On the Trail of Ancient Man.", where he took it upon himself in completion of his mission to collect dinosaur eggs near the Gobi and overheard nomads illustrating in vivid detail of stories about a death worm alongside the inevitable chances for survival you have if you encounter this beast. The nomads have never experienced the tragedy told yet have held on to a strong belief that this death worm could in fact be out there. Czechcryptozoologists such as Ivan Mackerle traveled to Mongolia three times in search of the worm, ranging from the time periods of : 1990, 1992, and 2004. From Ivan Mackerle's lifetime experience, he claims to have been referenced information about the Mongolian Death Worm's appearance from the work of paleontologist Ivan Yefremov as a young man, whose work highlighted the main key components of Roy Chapman Andrews's point of view. Ivan Yefremov's time researching the credibility of the worm was rumored to have lasted from the time periods of 1944 to 1954. In 2005, zoologist journalist Richard Freeman mounted upon an expedition as well, yet was found empty-handed on the end of his trail. Freeman concluded the existence of the worm to be apocryphal and that the reported sightings were probably the involving of a non-poisonous burrowing reptile species.

The Legends: From thorough investigation of researching the trail of existence of the Mongolian Death Worm, there is rumored to be only one piece of information regarding an actuality to if there ever were to be a true encounter. The only encounter that appeared to be in some cases successful for the possibility and credibility for this worm was a story told by the nomads. During the story of Ivan Mackerle's expedition, there were stories told by the nomads of the strange occurrence that a young boy once played in the Gobi Desert joyfully until he encounter the Mongolian Death Worm. By nomads, it was legend that the young man was soon to have been followed by the Mongolian Death Worm and ending experiencing contact with the worm's tail which resulted in an instant fatality, leaving the young man to have been presumed deceased. The nomads continued to discuss that in search of the young man from the parents, the Mongolian Death Worm didn't take too long before finding more prey to strike upon, leaving rumored that the parents had too fell short of the death worm's wraith. This was the only thorough encounter that was researched enough to be considered a possible credible narrative for a belief that the Mongolian Death Worm could still be out there.

The Adaptations: From the language told despite the narratives of the nomads, natives, authors, czechcryptozoologists, and more, the Mongolian Death Worm seemed to have little to none adaptations whatsoever. The Mongolian Death Worm was rumored to have had the capability to instantly kill their prey if they were within distance. The Mongolian Death was told to have had the ability to spew acid on its enemy, leaving a corrode shade of yellow upon their prey which could be rumored to have been a signal for more worms to appear and rejoice as for they have now marked a brand new territory for their now current meal. The yellow acid could also be interpreted from the belief that this could be the reason why nomads thought were the electrocution of its victims comes from. Among all the prior instances and individual tales describes by nomads, the Mongolian Death Worm story had mainly been consistent through time and generations. According to Ivan Mackerle, the death worm resides underground, hibernating, living its time in holes and only resurfaces when it climates of the Gobi reaches the wet and rainy seasons. The only other adaptations beside was a mentioning by Roy Chapman Andrews that the Mongolian Death Worm was said to have been the inspiration for Indiana Jones. No further information had been acquired as to any other adaptations further along.

The Analysis: Considering the fact there wasn't many or if not any renditions or adaptations of the Mongolian Death Worm, I will discuss an approach as to how could others view an adaptation through perspective. (Like a movie or a book for example). The first step would be finding the key components of theorized death worm. The key components should include some interviews from the nomads, visual representations of the Gobi Desert/both late and night scenes to truly grasp the audience's attention as the story is being told. As far as the death's worm's appearance, the worm could be animated into scenes, drawn my witnesses or within the scenes drawn the reader in more by showing worms or the many other reptilians the death worm has been in comparison with. The adaptation should also follow up with the consistency of time as well as expeditions meaning start with Roy Chapman Andrews and follow as times moves on. I would try to make the scene gloomy and build dramatic effect for the audience to sink in them shock them with the capabilities the Mongolian Death Worm has as it is in search of its prey. At that moment then there would be a comparing of how strong the death worm could be to carry an immense shocking to not only the audience but to the prey. The death worm would appear to be anyone's worst nightmare, as it would appear very spiky, sharp teethed, slimy, yellow, snake-like, and completely unstoppable when it has been sent on its destructive path of chaos. To even have the idea of the rumored family's death consisting of the young man and parents included would be something to give the audience to look back upon. The ending of this tale would be no happy one, as for no one would receive their justice, and the evidence of the Mongolian Death Worm's existence would remain anonymous.

Works Cited

Radford, Benjamin. “Mongolian Death Worm: Elusive Legend of the Gobi Desert.” *LiveScience*, Purch, 21 June 2014, https://www.livescience.com/46450-mongolian-death-worm.html.

Ishak, Natasha. “Meet the 5-Foot, Venom-Spitting Death Worm Said to Stalk the Gobi Desert.” *All That's Interesting*, All That's Interesting, 22 July 2020, https://allthatsinteresting.com/mongolian-death-worm#:~:text=The%20Mongolian%20death%20worm%20is%20an%20infamous%20creature%20whose%20legend,the%20insides%20of%20a%20cow.

Kiprop, Victor. “What Is the Mongolian Death Worm?” *WorldAtlas*, WorldAtlas, 9 May 2018, https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-is-the-mongolian-death-worm.html.

Thomas, Ben. “The Mongolian Death Worm.” *YouTube*, YouTube, 12 June 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsNHmf5jksA.