Ningen

In 2005, a Japanese whale research vessel allegedly encountered something off the Arctic coastline that they initially took to be a submarine. The object was huge - 20-30 metres in length and pale against the dark water.

They brought their ship closer to investigate, but the strange-looking “submarine” vanished beneath the waves.

Later that same year, Google Earth captured something strange near the Southern Ocean. It looked like a whale - but it appeared to have arms. Sceptics suggested it was simply an iceberg, or a beluga whale that had been photographed in such a way that it gave the illusion of arms instead of fins.

In 2010, the Japanese Enoshima Aquarium published a video showing ocean life it had observed. Toward the end of the video, a huge object looms into view from the deep. The object appears to have small eyes, a slit-like mouth, and appears to be lying on the ocean floor. The aquarium insists the object is just an unusual rock formation and the ‘eyes’ are simply sponges, but others aren’t so sure.

Sometime after that, an unknown user posted a new video to YouTube. The underwater footage seemed to show a whale-like sea creature, but with humanoid arms.

Sceptics claim that these are all cases of misidentifying ordinary things, or straight-up hoaxes. However, the Japanese gave the creature a name - Ningen.

The Japanese word for “human”.

The label came about from a 2007 issue of MU magazine, a Japanese publication dedicated to paranormal phenomena. The issue featured an article on the above reports and was titled 南極の人間 “Nankyoku no ningen” - “Antarctic Human”

Since 2005, multiple Japanese “whale research” vessels have reported encountering the creatures - and interestingly, they don’t always ascribe it the “giant mermaid” form.

While the most common description is of a huge creature with a whale-like body, a round, humanoid head, long arms with distinct hands and fingers, there are rarer reports of little terrestrial versions that appear to be just the head of the creature with either humanoid legs or tentacles that move them across the ice and snow.

Whatever they are, they don’t appear to be dangerous, preferring to quietly slip from view when approached.

Sightings of either version seem to occur most frequently at night, making them difficult to photograph. It’s said that in images, they usually end up just looking like ice or a whale, but if the photograph is enlarged, smooth, human-like skin can be discerned. Not enough for positive identification, or even to prove their existence.

The Ningen remains a hotly disputed cryptid.

“Blood in the Water” features a Ningen. In my book, the creature turns out to be helpful, so keep an eye out for it!