the dump creature, what was it?

WAIT!
DON'T READ THIS UNTIL YOU READ THE POST BELOW!!
AND THAT ONE SAYS THE SAME THING, SO GO TWO DOWN...!!

When Paula M. went to the dump site in search of old, collectible bottles, the last thing she expected was an encounter with an unknown animal. And she may not have expected the amount of attention the story of her encounter would receive. Besides the article about her sighting of this mysterious creature, which appeared on this website (see "The Creature of the Dump"), Paula was also recently interviewed by talk radio host Jeff Rense. Brad Steiger, a well-known author of many books on the paranormal and mysterious creatures, also spoke with Paula on Jeff's show. Steiger commented that he has documented many encounters with strange creatures, but the one Paula met was new to him. Most curious, he said, was the animal's large, crystal-blue eyes.

Paula is still seeking answers or even suggestions to what this large, worm-like creature might be. Some readers have responded with their ideas - and even warnings - about this blue-eyed tube worm. Here is what they have to say:


An Ingot?_
I probably won't be the first or only to inform you that what Paula saw at the dump may indeed be an unidentified Southeastern Asian creature known as an ingot [possibly lingot]. Check with Agence France-Press for stories about ingots during the final years of French involvement in Indochina. They were seen burrowing everywhere, and the descriptions of the bodies and eyes match those of Paula's story. Old Indochina veterans in the French army could never explain them or where they came from, and there is no record of American sightings during this country's involvement later. General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, supreme commander of French forces in Indochina, was so unnerved by sighting of burrowing ingots and the lack of information about them that he brought in a special team of researchers, who apparently found nothing. The ingot is like no other creature reported on earth, and it contributed to the general weirdness of the French experience in Indochina. Ingots were reported in large numbers in 1953 around the North Vietnamese site where an entire French regiment vanished without a trace. This disappearance may have had nothing to do with ingots, but there are still old veterans in the cafes of Paris, Bordeaux and Marseilles who swear there was a connection. Incidentally, the reality of the disappearing regiment is well-documented. For a few years in the 1950s, burrowing ingots made big news in France. But France, like the US later, hid its Indochinese veterans and paid little attention to their stories... about anything. Such is defeat. - Loic C.

Tatzelwurm?_
I just read the article in the new issue titled "The Creature of the Dump." At the end of it, you asked if anyone had any idea as to what the thing might have been. Is it possible that it was a tatzelwurm? I've not heard anything about tatzelwurms for quite some time. But upon reading that article, that was the first, and really the only, suggestion that came to mind. While I'm writing, I also want to say that I am very glad to have found your website. I ran across it only a few weeks ago while researching something and joined the mailing list. It must take a huge amount of time and effort to maintain such a website. For that, I thank you. - Scott



The tatzelwurm, German for "worm with claws," is a legendary creature, not recognized by science, that is said to dwell in the Swiss and Austrian Alps. It is reputedly a "dragon" with a catlike head and spiked ridges along its back. It supposedly has a seven- foot-long, light-colored cylindrical body with four legs that end in three protruding toes. The above skeleton was allegedly given to the Geneva Institute of Sciences as the first physical proof that the tatzelwurm actually exists. The first sightings of the tatzelwurm were in the 1700s by a farmer who claimed that it attacked his livestock. The skeleton is almost certainly a fake.

The 8-Foot Horror_
I have not seen this creature myself, but I know of someone in California who has. It was about more than 30 years ago and the people who saw it were little children at the time. They said they were playing in the backyard in the dirt when all of a sudden this "thing" came sprouting out the the dirt. The brother and sister just watched in horror, holding their breath. The brother described it as a tall, worm-looking thing about 8 feet tall. Up to this day, if the sister asks the brother, "Do you remember...?" he cuts her off and says he doesn't want to talk about it. I believe in what they saw._- Natalie W.

Predatory Behavior?_
I read the article about that weird creature of the dump that Paula M saw. I just think that she ought to be careful going back to look for the creature. Its behavior seems to me to suggest that it is a predator of some sort. First, most herbivores, when aware of an unknown, possibly hostile species, will do their best to flee, or at the least if they cannot escape they will show some sign of fear. This creature obviously showed no sign of fear from the account that was given. This creature even came out of the ground when it was likely that it would have had some sign that there was a large being somewhere in the vicinity. I assume that it had this knowledge as a creature that lived underground would likely be sensitive to vibrations, and be able to determine that something large was around. The next thing that makes this creature seem predatorial is how it extended itself and waved in the air in a very obvious manner. This seems like it could be some sort of attraction mechanism for prey, by showing them a small part of its body to attract some other creature toward it. Of course, I am not a professional in the field of animal behavior, but I have observed and read about predators so that I do have some knowledge on the subject. These ideas could be completely wrong, but it never hurts to be careful. I'd just suggest that she doesn't approach the creature and that she does not go to look for it alone. Perhaps the reason that the creature is unknown is that no one has ever survived an experience with it before. - Anton B.


personally, i think that the first post "An Ingot?" doesn't do much to confirm or authentify paula's story, but it sure makes for a creepy addendum.
the last one, offering that what she saw might only be the tip of the iceberg, a dangling bit of bait to lure prey closer--that's eerie too!
but obviously, none of these comments can absolutely identify the creature and THAT'S what makes the whole thing stay with me. even if a zoologist or biologist somewhere were able to step forward and show us a specimen or give an entire thesis of this thing, it's still a monster!

that why i love this stuff. i WANT there to be weird, still-undiscovered, unknown creatures out there! i WANT to know that there are still some dark shadowy places where the light of our so-called civilizataion hasn't yet shined. i WANT to see these creatures, run into them. yeah, maybe even at night...

i just don't want them to eat me.

whadda YOU think?

todd