Ningen

**The Ningen** are the central creatures in the analog horror web series of the same name. Inspired by the Japanese creepypasta, Ningen are intelligent hominid creatures that live in Antarctica. They are also the ancestors of humans.

More will be updated to this page as the series goes on

## Description

There are individual 'stages' of Ningens with varying descriptions.

### Stage 1

Stage 1 Ningen have giant, human heads and two legs connected to it for movement. At the base of the head is a fairly short spine that stops half way before symmetrically reversing to a cervical spine that connects to a pair of collar bones, which are connected to the shoulder blades and humeri, which in turn are connected to an abnormally small ribcage and sternum. A pair of unrecognisable appendicular bones protrude from the ribcage, and with a few strange bones connect them to other appendicular bones beneath the humeri. At the end of the legs are hand-like feet.

Stage 1 Ningen are intelligent hunters with a good pair of eyes that help them hunt their prey. It apparently can smell fear, and with it's strong jaws it can tear flesh and bones apart. It can hunt even at the bottom of the ocean, and it is more evolved then any human, being able to always outrun you. It's grasp can kill humans instantly, and the series says that 'if you want to see your family again, avoid Ningen at all costs'.

### Stage 2

Stage 2 Ningen look like (and possibly are) whale/human hybrids with wide jaws, flippers and tails. The tailbones of the Ningen are actually spinal bones that appear to be crossed with the tail of a whale skeleton. Connected to the spine is a large ribcage which is also connected to shoulder blades with flipper-like arms protruding out of it. The skull is fairly normal, with the exception of the long jaws which can open wide, as seen by the deep sea video.

The tailbones of the Stage 2 Ningen are 'a powerful engine' and the skeleton is made of bullet-proof bone. It always has a superior instinct, with hands that tear down the neck, and it can remember anybody. It is also a cannibalist, the series calling it the 'ancestor of cannibalism'.

### Stage 3

When a Stage 2 Ningen becomes a Stage 3 Ningen, it will undergo an 'ancient process', it's head and arms 'slosh off like uterine lining' and it will ascend into the sky. It hangs with no clear direction, and is 'impossible and beautiful'.

The Stage 3 Ningen looks like some sort of human/whale spine. An illustration of a Stage 3 Ningen found on the Soviet ship Professor Zubov shows depicts it with tentacle-like tendrils coming out the top of it as it appears to attack the crew of the ship. It is compared to a 'gashadokuro' from Japanese mythology.

## Examples of Ningen

**Unknown Stage 1 Ningen** - This Ningen appears in the very first episode of the series, The Ningen (1990 Sighting). Whilst stranded in the middle of a snowstorm, Japanese explorer Keizo Funatsu hears something calling out his name. Keizo yells back, announcing his location. The voice replied, saying that it could see him. Keizo kept yelling to allow them to find his location. The Ningen stepped out from the white, and Keizo ran as fast as he could away from it. Audio Keizo's recording device shows that the conversation happened in English, meaning that at least some Ningen can understand and speak it. A similar Ningen appears at the start of the episode in footage of the Antarctic Peninsula. It is unknown if this is the same Ningen that Keizo encounters.

**Icarus I** - Icarus I is the name given to a corpse of what appears to be a Stage 2 Ningen laying on top of a mountain. It is unknown how it got there, but cave paintings found in Antarctica tell a strange story that involves a mysterious creature (revealed to be a human/whale hybrid) found dead on a mountain.

**Icarus II** - Icarus II was a Stage 2 Ningen that was discovered swimming in the Antarctic oceans in 1991. It eventually encountered the Professor Zubov, turned into a Stage 3 Ningen, attacked/fused with it, and they became Icarus III.

**Icarus III** - Icarus III is the result of a fusion between Icarus II and Soviet ship Professor Zubov. Taking on the shape of Professor Zubov, it turns it into an organic 'human factory' that produces human-like lifeforms. For some reason, it is covered with the Soviet word for 'assistance' or 'aid', ПОМОЩЬ.