The infamous sands of the Gobi desert have many secrets. Few are capable and willing to venture deep into its territory, but those that do may have more to worry about than the blazing heat and dehydration. It is said, that a mysterious and deadly creature, the Olgoi-Khorkoi or Mongolian Death Worm, lives deep underground roughly around the prohibited area of the disputed Mongolian-Chinese border. With the first sighting recorded almost a thousand years ago, numerous eye-witness accounts and hundreds of vivid depictions, this creature has taken a hold of the minds of adventurers and paranormal researchers for generations.
Translated from Mongolian, it’s name literally means intestine worm. It is said to be a bright red color, as if covered in fresh blood, about three to seven feet in length and deadly to anything dumb enough to touch it. The worm feeds on unsuspecting desert dwellers, camels and the occasional human that comes too close. According to witnesses, the creature would erupt from the ground and tower over its victim as it spews a corrosive acid-like substance that kills instantly. The world first learned of its existence when in the beginning of the 20th century paleontologists started actively researching the Gobi desert and talking to the local nomadic people.
Official expeditions have started to search for the worm only a bit more than twenty years ago, but nobody knows how many countless adventurers went out to seek out the creature, only to never be seen again. The most fascinating aspect of all of this, is that the Mongolian government had actually placed a ban on anyone from entering the Gobi in hopes of finding the cryptid, which was eventually lifted when Ivan Mackerle led his expeditions in 1990 and 1992.
Another curious piece of information about the Mongolian Death Worm mystery is the fact that in 1926 an American paleontologist by name of Roy Chapman Andrews published a book called “On The Trail Of Ancient Man“ in which he quoted Mongolian Prime Minister Damdinbazar who gave him a detailed description of the worm. The reason why this is interesting, is because very few paranormal creatures are acknowledged by people of power and if high-ranking Mongolian officials claim that the worm is real and exists and even go as far as to describe it, this would mean that the Olgoi-Khorkhoi is more than just an old folktale. The implications of this are fascinating.
The main problem with proving or disproving the creature’s existence is, of course, its geographical location. The Gobi desert is an incredibly inhospitable place and it is nearly impossible to survey it in its entirety. An expedition has very limited resources in the desert and the matter is further complicated by the fact that the worm is said to hibernate for the majority of the time. This would mean that the research group can spend months searching for it without ever finding a trace of its existence.
Regardless of whether the Mongolian Death Worm is real, it has fascinated adventurers, paleontologists, movie directors and authors alike, causing much debate and speculation. The people who have made the Gobi desert their home, however, have no doubt about the existence of this mysterious creature, to them, it’s just another danger lurking among the sandy dunes.