In the most desolate places of the Gobi Desert, a mysterious monster lives - a dark red worm that kills its victims at a distance either with deadly poison or electric shock. Local stories are full of gruesome details of his attacks. But not a single scientist has yet been able to personally verify the existence of an elusive killer.
The first mentions of olgoi-khorhoi appeared in 1922, when an American expedition led by professor - paleontologist Roy Chapman Andrews arrived in Mongolia. During the meeting, Prime Minister Damdinbazar asked Andrews to catch a dangerous animal, the name of which the scientist wrote down in English - allergorhai-horha.
The prime minister gave the following description of this creature: “A sausage about two feet long, without head and legs, so poisonous that just touching it means certain death. It lives in the most deserted parts of the Gobi ….
The professor promised the Mongolian leaders to catch the dangerous worm with steel tongs. He even prepared special black glasses to neutralize the destructive effects of the malicious monster's gaze. But the scientist failed to keep his promise - the olgoy-khorhoi never got in the way.
Perhaps, fortunately, since in 1954 the American expedition disappeared without a trace in the territory of Inner Mongolia. Six people left the Seishand village in two cars and disappeared. After a long search, the unfortunates were found dead, lying in the sun near completely serviceable cars. Criminologists failed to establish the cause of the mysterious death of the expedition members. But the local population assured journalists that the Americans had become victims of the olgoy-khorhoy.
The Soviet paleontologist and writer Ivan Efremov also tried to catch the elusive monster. He visited the Gobi three times in 1946-49, collected a huge amount of evidence associated with this strange creature.
For example, according to the story of an old man named Tseven, the olgoi-khorkhoi live 130 kilometers southeast of the agricultural area of Aimak and terrify local shepherds.
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Subsequently, the writer used the stories told by the Mongols in his fantastic works. For example, in the story "Olgoi-khorhoi", the death of two Russian researchers from the poison of Mongolian worms is described. Efremov was convinced of the real existence of the desert killer and later expressed himself that this is, perhaps, a descendant of an extinct species, strangely preserved in Mongolia.
But not only Americans and Russians showed interest in the Gobi riddle. In the late 1990s, Polish zoologists also unsuccessfully investigated possible habitats for the elusive creature. Based on interviews with local residents, they concluded that there are at least two species of desert worm.
Further, the Czechs in the summer of 1996 followed in the footsteps of Polish zoologists, but they managed to compose only a verbal portrait of the one who, killing, remains elusive. The Mongols describe the olgoi-khorhoi as follows: “It resembles the insides of an animal, very similar to the intestines of a dark red color, a little more than half a meter long. There is no head, no mouth, no eyes on his body."
The locals claimed that the monstrous worm was throwing out the strongest poison at a great distance. According to these descriptions, a life-size model of the olgoi-khorkhoy was even made, which is kept in the museum of the Elym-Am valley, Mount Gurvan-Saykhan. The Czechs also shot a film - "The Mysterious Monster of the Sands".
At present, Mongolian researchers are trying to find a living Olgoi-Horhoi. They discovered legends about a yellow worm - shar-khorhoi. Dondogijin Tsevegmid, a Mongolian scientist trying to solve the riddle of a desert worm, cites the story of a camel driver, who once witnessed a terrible sight - yellow disgusting snake-like creatures suddenly climbed onto him from the earthen holes, trying to surround the driver from all sides. He rushed to run and, fortunately, escaped.
Also Ivan Mackerle, a Czech amateur cryptozoologist, is trying to find scientific evidence for the existence of the desert monster. He writes that he was inspired by the science fiction of Ivan Efremov. At first, he believed that the meter-long killer worm was just a fantasy invention. But when he asked a Mongolian fellow student about the reality of the olgoi - khorkhoi, he whispered in his ear: "Of course I heard, this is an amazing creature."
After that, the keen Mackerle went to the Gobi. He even smuggled explosives through Russia, hoping to lure out the monster by vibrating the soil. But all his attempts ended in vain - the worm was elusive.
And then Ivan had a strange dream. “I see an olgoy-khorhoy, he got out of the sand. I understand that I am in danger, I try to escape, 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 a terrible pain in my back, screamed and woke up from this."
The most interesting thing is that he had a bruise along the entire spine, and then bruises all over his body began, even heart problems began. Ivan urgently left Mongolia, but still cannot understand what happened to him that unfortunate night. Did the worm attack him in his sleep?
In scientific circles, zoologists continue to discuss the Mongolian phenomenon. Some believe that the worm is a species unknown to science, others find in it a relationship with the ocean viper. There is another opinion: olgoy-khorhoi is a ringed worm that has adapted to life in the desert. This version is close to the truth, since some species of earthworms are indeed capable of splashing poison as self-defense.
There is even a version that olgoi-khorhoy generates a laser beam in the ultraviolet region of the spectrum, and possibly gamma or beta radiation! Who is really right - time will tell. But, as the arats warn - gobi herders, going into the desert, do not need to wear yellow clothes, because yellow excites the elusive reptile!