 Stories and content in Weird Darkness can be disturbing for some listeners and is intended for mature audiences only. Parental discretion is strongly advised. Welcome Weirdos, I'm Darren Marlar and this is Weird Darkness. Here you'll find stories of the paranormal, supernatural, legends, lore, crime, conspiracy, mysterious, macabre, unsolved and unexplained. Coming up in this episode... Learning of other races and cultures has been something man has sought knowledge of ever since they first discovered other races and cultures existed. But that's the thing. You have to know those races and cultures existed in the first place. And there is one race known as the Ogar that very few know about, and it has been practically wiped from history. Lakes are often scenes of brutal crimes and dumping grounds for murder victims, but you don't often hear of the lake itself being a murderer. But one lake killed 1,700 people in a single night. Imagine moving into a new home, only to realize it already has a resident ghost living there. But not only that, but the ghost enjoys having full-blown two-way conversations with you through the walls. In 1593, a Spanish soldier named Gil Perez claimed that he traveled over 9,000 miles in just a few seconds. Supposedly he disappeared in Manila and appeared in Mexico. Is there any truth to the story or evidence to back up his claim? But first, a streamed sighting took place in 1970 in Hiroshima Prefecture, and the way it's described, it sounds like Japan might have its very own Sasquatch. And now, decades later, that beast might save the town it was spotted in. We begin with that story. Now, bolt your doors, lock your windows, turn off your lights, and come with me into the weird darkness. A nighttime drive on a mountain path half a century ago led to a legend that forever changed this community and could now be instrumental in its survival. On the evening of July 20, 1970, a man in a pickup truck in Saizhou, a northern town of Hiroshima Prefecture, came across a rather unsettling sight, an ape-like creature walking on a mountainside. After word spread about the encounter, other locals came forward with their own reports of an animal walking upright. Their descriptions were similar. The beast was around 1.6 meters tall, with a gorilla-like body and a face shaped like an inverted triangle. The locals started calling the creature Hibagon, a reference to Hiba Mountain in the town. Did Japan have its own Bigfoot or Sasquatch? News and entertainment media began flooding the small towns surrounded by mountains to find out. The locals' lives were turned upside down by the sudden attention, but that was only the beginning of Hibagon Fever. Saizhou Town, today's Saizhoucho district in the city of Shobara and the Hiroshima Prefecture, became inseparable from the creature. Residents today still talk about the legend of Hibagon. Siko Fujikawa, 56, was a first-year elementary pupil when Hibagon Fever took the town by storm. Fujikawa recalls that when he and his fellow students walked home from school in a group, they often found themselves pestered by questions from adults. Have you seen any holes around here, the grown-ups asked the children in hopes of finding a trace of Hibagon or its den? Fujikawa said those days were surreal. Some residents believed that Hibagon represented a symbol of disapproval for the huge recreational facilities under construction in the area, including camping grounds. The god of Hibamountain sent Hibagon to haunt us, one theory went. But Fujikawa mentioned another less spiritual school of thought. According to a rumor, a gorilla had escaped from Asazu in the city of Hiroshima, which is 90 km from Saizhou. And I heard that's Hibagon's true identity, Fujikawa said. We were scared of Hibagon, but it was all in good fun. It's a sweet memory indeed. Katsuyuki Egi, 76, was a young employee at the Saizhou town government office when he was called to the mayor's office in August of 1970. It was right after a local newspaper, the Chugoku Shimbun, ran a story about a Hibagon sighting in the town. It's good that Hibagon is making it to the newspapers, but the bewildered mayor said, Hibagon fever was rising, and day and night reporters hounded residents who said that they'd witnessed the beast. Some reporters even knocked on doors at night or trespassed on fields interfering with farm work. The townsfolk began grumbling about the intense and constant national attention on Saizhou. The Saizhou government decided to create a post to handle the issue of anthropoid apes. Egi was appointed to the position. His work included interviewing people who reported seeing Hibagon and handling inquiries and requests from visiting media and student members of a university exploring club. Egi was previously in charge of tax services, so the topic of anthropoid apes was completely out of his domain. But it was fun, he said. My job was kind of like a jack of all trades. Looking back, I'd say it was a once in a lifetime experience. Back then, residents in some part of the mountain town did not have access to television. Egi himself never watched TV until he graduated from high school. His first job at the town government office, in fact, was to install TV antennas in the mountains. Hibagon fever, which coincided with the high growth period of the post-war Japanese economy, spread the use of televisions in Saizhou. Residents became glued to the tube and started enjoying the fame again, exclaiming, for example, my neighbor was on TV. The town government, in the meantime, came up with a unique policy to pay 5,000 yen, or $48, for each resident who spotted the creature. The money was to make up for inconvenience caused by a Hibagon sighting. It was an exceptional offer, considering the starting monthly salary for a town government employee back then was $14,900 yen, Egi said. Although the payments raised suspicions of bogus sightings, Egi personally knew some of the witnesses very well. They were above lying, I can tell you that, he said. By October 1974, the town office had received 29 reports about Hibagon appearing in the wild, but then the sightings completely stopped. Hibagon fever is over, the town officially declared in June 1975, five years after the first sighting. Hibagon was never caught, even on film. The creature's true identity has remained wrapped in mystery. Hibagon is a symbol of our town, said Egi, who still lives in the area. I'm blessed with six grandchildren. I believe Hibagon, too, was living peacefully, somewhere deep in the mountains, surrounded by grandchildren, he said. Egi's sentiment is reflected all around the Saijocho district. A character resembling Hibagon is ubiquitous in such places as gas stations, bus stops and souvenir shops. The young generation may not be familiar with Hibagon at all, but Saijo is the town of Hibagon, said Kazuo Yamaguchi, 49, who heads the non-profit organization Saijo Sightseeing Association. Yamaguchi was born and raised in Saijo, but he spent his high school and college days in Hiroshima City. He was only an infant when Hibagon fever reached its peak, but he said he feels so proud of having Hibagon in his hometown. In 2005, Saijo merged with other municipalities and became part of the city of Shobara. At the end of June, 3,262 people lived in the Saijocho district, 35% decrease from the population 20 years ago. As part of revitalization efforts in 2020, Yamaguchi's organization and the city government hosted many events to mark the 50th anniversary of the first Hibagon sighting. Tours to places where Hibagon was seen were on the agenda, but they sadly had to be canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, Yamaguchi hosted an online tour to Hibagon-related locations and sightseeing spots, with Eggy serving as a tour guide. When Weird Darkness returns, we'll learn about the ogar, a long-lost race that has been practically wiped from history. Over 1,700 people were murdered in a single night, not by a man or a beast, but by a body of water that exploded. And a couple move into a home only to find a presence living in the walls and wanting to communicate with them, not just through noises and talking, but even through singing. These stories and more coming up. My doc agrees that I need to lose a few pounds. I knew that going in, but he also told me that the meds I'm taking for my type 2 diabetes aren't going to do me much good if I finish each meal with ice cream or cheesecake. I kind of knew that in advance, too. But cutting back on carbs and sugars is a lot easier said than done. I've tried a lot of protein bars while on the road, but I swear it's like eating non-sweetened chocolate-dusted particle board. But now I travel with built bars. Built bars taste like candy bars. In fact, I'm now using them for my dessert. And in about 150 calories per bar, less than 3 grams of sugar, up to 19 grams of protein, I can satisfy my sweet cravings guilt-free. Visit WeirdDarkness.com slash built in Try a Box. You can go for a variety pack of several flavors to try or pick and choose to build a box of your own. Use the promo code WeirdDarkness at checkout and get 10% off your entire purchase. That's WeirdDarkness.com slash built. The Ogars were a little-known race that has been virtually unheard of. As you're about to find out, though, the Ogars were unique in a number of ways, despite being almost obliterated from history. There was a reason why people shouldn't learn about their existence, but there are those who have kept the memory of the Ogars alive. They have passed on their stories to future generations, hoping the truth about the Ogars would survive. There was once physical evidence that confirmed the existence of the Ogars, but their burials were deliberately destroyed. It's a remarkable ancient story that gives us much to ponder. During excavations in a small village in Romania, peasants found dozens of giant skeletons and prehistoric solar calendars created by an unknown race. What happened to these giant bones? One man who participated in the digs revealed a massive cover-up. Giants were by no means only mythological beings. Even in more modern times, there is evidence people of incredible stature can exist. According to our knowledge, Robert Pershing Wadlow, also known as the Giant of Illinois, was the tallest man who ever lived. When Robert died in 1940, he was entombed in a coffin 10 feet long and weighing a thousand pounds, requiring a dozen pallbearers and eight other assistants. Another interesting giant who we know with certainty did exist was Chiang Wu Gao, also known by his stage name, Chiang. The Chinese Giant was born in China in the 1840s and was roughly eight foot in height. He first began showing himself in London around 1865. There are many other examples of modern giants who walked the earth not so long ago. So if they can be found in modern times, why shouldn't they have been a part of earth's ancient history? It's no secret that remains of giants have been discovered worldwide. It's also an unfortunate fact that there has been a massive cover-up to deny the world any knowledge of these immense skeletons. Ever since the first giant bones were unearthed, scientists, historians, and archaeologists have all been involved in debunking the existence of this powerful ancient race that once almost ruled the world. Bones of giants have been deliberately destroyed, hidden in secret vaults or simply labeled as remains of long-extinct animals like, for example, dinosaurs. Our search for traces of giants takes us to Romania in Eastern Europe. We learn from Romanian mythology that earth was inhabited by different humanoid races in the past. At the beginning, the Ogars walked the earth. However, they resembled deformed humans and they disappeared eventually. In numerous sacred ancient texts, myths and legends relate how the gods attempted on several occasions to create intelligent beings. Were the Ogars perhaps an early failed genetic experiment conducted by ancient gods or did they suffer from a genetic disorder inherited at birth? Ancient Romanian stories tell that after the Ogars vanished, giants suddenly appeared. They rebelled against God and were sentenced to die during the flood. After the giants, humans started ruling the planet. However, humans will eventually be replaced with lajini, a race of small stature beings who have a good soul and are pleasing to the gods. Although many graves of giants have been discovered across the world, it is not often we encounter people who have participated in the excavations and can tell the public about what they have seen with their own eyes. Ionita Florea, who is today an old man, has been involved in several archaeological excavations in Romania. Romania has a long tradition of giants. For some reason, no one knows why giants were nicknamed Jews. One possible explanation could be that people call them Jews is because these beings came from Israel. Did the mysterious pre-edemic didanum race that originated from Israel visit Romania? The didanum people were ancestors of the Nephilim and Rhafiam who were giants. The country s most famous giant was called Novak. He fought several battles against a dragon that tried to harm people. Novak finally defeated the dragon that fled and left a trail on earth. Ionita Florea tells of an old place called Nusetful. It s a town in Bihor County, western Transylvania, Romania. Its name means walnut trees. From his parents, Ionita Florea learned that this place was once inhabited by huge giants. For a long time, Ionita Florea did not believe all those stories about giants, but everything changed when he unearthed very large bones himself. In 1926, a Decian fortress that was very unusual in size and much larger than accepted was discovered in Argedeva Vasil Parvan. The archaeologist in charge of the excavation was convinced that he had found the first capital of Brabista. Excavations were carried out several times until the year 2000. Later it turned out that the fortress was in fact the first citadel of Brabista. The king who united all the Decian tribes and ruled half of Europe between 82 BC and 44 BC. Between 1946 and 1956 archaeologists and peasants who helped with the dig discovered 80 skeletons of giants. The remains were of humanoids who had been between 4 and 7 feet tall. Ionita Florea, who had participated in the excavations for three years, tells his story of what really happened at Argedeva. I began to dig here in 1947, he said, with a team of archaeologists. They employed about 30 people in the village. I was the youngest of all being only 18 years. They paid us about $9 to $12 per day, U.S. I was poor at the time and I needed work. I could buy almost 1 kg of corn for the money. Once after I dug to a depth of 4 feet, I unearthed a giant skull. It was two or three times the size of an ordinary human. I went and told Dinu Viroceti, one of the archaeologists, about my discovery. As soon as I showed him the skull, all villagers were immediately sent home and the archaeologists continued to dig on their own. I saw how they put the bones of the giants on a truck and drove away. I did not know where they took the skeletons or what happened to them. What Ionita Florea relates is just one of many dreadful cover-ups undertaken by so-called men of science who are determined to deny generation after generation the right to learn the true history of our planet. Voltaire was certainly correct when he declared that history is the lie commonly agreed upon. In Africa, the people of Cameroon, especially those who live along the shores of Lake Nios, know very well the story of an evil spirit which emerged from the lake, killing all those who lived near it. While this was a legend shared and passed across from one generation to another, the truth of the matter was that the bad lake was in actual fact a killer lake that at one point in its wake killed more than 1,700 people and over 3,000 animals around the lake in just one night. On August 21, 1986, Lake Nios experienced one of the strangest natural disasters in history, from which over 1,746 people suffocated in one night. How Did This Happen? Scientific reports can note that Lake Nios was formed in a volcanic crater created about 400 years ago. Crater lakes normally contain high levels of carbon dioxide, CO2, formed by the volcanic activity happening miles beneath them. Under normal circumstances, this gas is released over time as the lake turns over. That's not how Lake Nios worked, however. Instead of releasing the gas, the lake was storing it, dissolving the CO2 in the calm waters. Pressurized to the physical limit, Lake Nios was a ticking time bomb in waiting. On a fateful night, something triggered a commotion in the lake that's not known what the prompt was, landslide, small volcanic eruption, or small cold rain falling on the edge of a lake, whatever the cause, the effect was catastrophic. The lake exploded like the bomb it was, sending a fountain of water over 300 feet into the air, creating a mini tsunami. Although the water was lethal, more fatal was the gas that masked the countryside. This kind of explosion is known as a limbnic eruption. In about 20 seconds, some 1.2 cubic kilometers of carbon dioxide was released into the atmosphere. The result was instant death as oxygen was squeezed out of the affected areas. The wave of the poisonous gas spread in the villages around the lake. All fire and flames were immediately extinguished, spelling doom in the area. In a matter of minutes, people and animals perished. The villages of Nios, Cam, Chah, and Subam were wiped out. In a nearby village, out of 800 people only 6 survived, and according to a report, those who did survive escaped to higher ground on motorcycles. Many people died in their sleep without ever knowing what hit them. Others met their death at their doorsteps, on their way out to find out the cause of the loud sound they had earlier heard. In that period, the normally calm and clear blue waters turned into a deep red, as if symbolizing the number of people and animals that had swallowed in the violence. Science, however, explains that the deep red color was a result of iron stirred up from the bottom. In a bid to avert future explosions, the lake needed to be degassed especially because deeper studies of the lake revealed that there was more CO2 forming at the depth in the lake that could react again. In 2001, an electronic pump that would simulate an eruption was sunk in an effort to degas the lake. A pipe has been installed in lake Nios that runs vertically between the lake bottom and the surface. The pipe allows the gas to escape at a regular rate. Due to the pressurized nature of the gas, the water comes out of the event in a rather lovely CO2-powered jet of water. While this has been working over the years, there is a need to do more because according to the reports, the CO2 saturation in the lake has gone high again. If it exploded, it would cause a double disaster of both flooding and gassing simultaneously. Lake Kivu and Rwanda, which also happens to be created through volcanic explosions just like Lake Cameroon, has been shown to have a historical record of causing creatures in the lake to go extinct, approximately every 1,000 years. According to scientists, a volcanic disturbance on the lake could cause much more harm and destruction than witnessed in Nios. But the Rwanda government, with support from foreign organizations, are exploiting the lake's underneath resources such as methane to produce electricity. By doing so, Rwanda is reducing the pressure from below the lake with the name of reducing the risk of a catastrophic event. If an explosion ever happened at Lake Kivu, more than 2 million that live along the shores would succumb to the deadly gases. For now, the three lakes are still and nobody knows when the disaster will strike again. Governments and foreign organizations are, however, employing every effort necessary to avert the calamities that could be brought about by explosions in the volcanic lakes. It was March 1934, and Mr. and Mrs. Wilkie, a couple in their 80s, along with their 9-year-old granddaughter, Bunty Ross, were living in Tarvis, a small village in Aberdeenshire in northeast Scotland, and had been living there for the past four months. Shortly after moving into Gateside Croft, the Wilkie's began to hear a voice coming from the walls. At first they were alarmed, but soon they were on conversational terms with their unexpected lodger. The following exchange between Mr. Wilkie and The Beastie, as it became known, was reported in Dundee's The Courier Advertiser newspaper. Mr. Wilkie asked, What are you? Have you four legs? And the voice replied, I Have you a tail? No, but I have a beak. In addition to answering the Wilkie's questions, the Beastie, which spoke in a broad-buckin dialect, could repeat the alphabet, count to 90, say the Lord's Prayer, and would sing a bicycle made for two, and the hymn Jesus Loves Me. When news of the Wilkie's strange and talented ghost, for that's how it was being reported, reached the village and beyond, it brought a steady stream of visitors to their home. The Beastie wasn't shy, and it seems no one left the Croft without having heard it speak. It could be quite direct, and would often call out anyone it felt was asking too much about its identity. For the most part, though, the Beastie had a wicked sense of humor, as illustrated by this exchange with a local curiosity seeker. A woman said, I'll need to be going down the road now, and I'll come home with you. Indeed, you will know, do that. At that, she grabbed her hat and coat and ran out of the house. While the newspapers were reporting this as a haunting, and it seems that the Wilkie's believed that something supernatural was going on, according to the courier and advertiser, the general opinion is that a trick is being played on the old folks. But who would play such a mean, but convincing and entertaining trick on an elderly couple? Within a few days of the Beastie making the news, it suddenly stopped talking. The Evening Telegraph of March 26 reported, the voice died on Tuesday night, and the family here are at a loss to explain the reason. It would be another two days before it was revealed that the voice had stopped because the mystery had been solved. The voice belonged to Bunty, the Wilkie's granddaughter. Exactly how this was discovered is not clear. There are at least three accounts, and while each account credits one of Bunty's teachers with solving the mystery, they vary in how the teacher made the discovery. According to the Evening Telegraph, the teacher became suspicious during a reading lesson after Bunty lapsed unconsciously into the voice. The teacher noticed something unusual about her voice and became convinced that the little girl was a ventriloquist, explained the Telegraph, when questioned Bunty, a bright youngster admitted that she was the voice. Another newspaper for which I failed to note any details claimed that the voice had followed Bunty to school, and while the class was being entertained by the Beastie, one of the teachers was closely watching Bunty. The account that appeared in the Aberdeen Press and Journal on March 29 seemed to suggest that something more troubling than a practical joke was going on. A child in genuine distress, perhaps? When she first attended Barthol Chapel School some months ago, she was a fluent speaker and reader. Last week, however, she developed a serious stammer, some of her words being entirely incoherent. In consequence of inquiries then made, it was found that she possessed a ventriloquial voice. Following Bunty's confession, other details began to emerge that appeared to confirm her guilt. The Aberdeen Press and Journal reported on a separate incident that happened one day when Bunty and a classmate were walking home from school. Seemingly, a voice began to talk to them from the ditch at the side of the road. When the classmate became frightened, Bunty told her it was just a trick. And it seems that the locals, well, most of them, were now claiming that they had never been fooled by Bunty's antics. Two of those locals were Mrs. Bonner and Mrs. Sinclair, both of whom had made multiple visits to the craft to hear the voice. According to Bonner and Sinclair, the Beastie never spoke until Bunty was in bed. And when it spoke, Bunty always had her face covered, with a book, a newspaper or a knitting pattern, and her head could be seen to move as the Beastie spoke. Anyone was of Kent it was her, said Mrs. Sinclair. So was Bunty responsible for the voice? So why did she do it? How did she do it? Unfortunately, Bunty's willingness to talk about the voice ended with her confession. She never spoke of it again. On trying to get her to talk about it, a reporter from the Aberdeen Press and Journal wrote, She simply smiled but would not speak a word. She would not even reveal how she came to use her unnatural voice. But it is almost certain that she never saw a professional ventriloquist on the stage. Eleanor Castel, also of the Aberdeen Press and Journal, got the same response from Bunty. And though the girl was happy to spend time with the journalist, she would not talk about the voice. However, spending time with Bunty did give Castel some valuable insight into the girl's incredibly lonely life. She told me she had a cat, a black one, and its name was Topsy, but this was her only playmate. There was no school fellow who came to share her romps. She spent all her spare time with the old couple. Despite having made a full confession to responsible persons, there were some, including her grandparents, who refused to believe that Bunty had been behind the voice. Bunty had nothing to do with it. Mr. Wilkie told Castel, I tell you it was a beastie this was a no-wall. Lizzie Stott, who worked on a neighboring farm, also firmly believed that Bunty was innocent. In fact, Castel noted that nothing would shake her, Stott, from her conviction that a supernatural agency had been at work. So why were the Wilkie's and Mrs. Stott so confident that Bunty was innocent? It seems that they all had encounters with the beastie at the Croft while Bunty was away at school. And that, to the best of my knowledge, was the end of the Tarva's Beastie story. Coming up, if you're a fan of the Neverglades Mysteries series that I've been releasing once in a while on Creepypasta Thursdays, you'll want to listen through the end of the Chamber of Comments because there's a little piece of news about the Neverglades you might want to hear. But first, in 1593, a Spanish soldier named Gil Perez claimed that he traveled over 9,000 miles in just a few seconds. Supposedly, he disappeared in Manila and appeared in Mexico. Is there any truth to that story or evidence to back up his claim? That story is up next, When Weird Darkness Returns. Here it comes, my favorite part. Have you ever noticed that when George Bailey is on the bridge, it doesn't start snowing again until after he says, Aw, man, the power's out. No problem, because you're prepared with the Patriot Power Generator from Four Patriots. While the rest of the city is dealing with the weather outside is frightful, you can have the power that's so delightful inside your home. Flip to switch and suddenly you're back to the TV and radio for weather updates, your space heaters are keeping you toasty warm, your phones and laptops are charged, your fridge is still running, and you're back to watching It's a Wonderful Life in Time to Hear at a Boy Clarence. The Patriot Power Generator has zero fumes, so you can use it indoors and it's solar, so if the outage lasts a while, you're still good to go. Grab a Patriot Power Cell CX-2 and everybody can charge up at the same time. Don't let the unexpected put your family in danger. Grab a Patriot Power Generator today at fourpatriots.com slash weird. That's the number for Patriots.com slash weird. Free shipping for orders over $97. Have a merry little Christmas, not a scary little Christmas. Visit fourpatriots.com slash weird for the Patriot Power Generator, the Patriot Power Cell CX, and more. That's the number for Patriots.com slash weird. In fiction, ESP, time travel and teleportation are common story arcs. Just try counting how many books, movies or television shows were released just the last year or so that feature time-defying tropes. And why not? It's a fascinating concept, especially since physicists say it's completely possible. Most times, however, the truth is stranger than fiction. Take, for example, the Möbrily-Jordain incident, in which two emin, Charlotte and Möbrily and Eleanor Jordain, claimed to have time traveled while visiting the Palace of Versailles in 1901. The story goes that after they got lost while walking through the gardens to the Pettit Trionon, the two noticed that everything looked out of the ordinary, as if they were in a living picture. They even claimed to have come across Marie Antoinette, insinuating that they'd experienced a haunting or they had time traveled to the 18th century. Though the incident has been repeatedly debunked and labeled a hoax, it's still something to think about. While the Möbrily-Jordain incident remains to be one of the most well-known supernatural urban legends, years before there was the mysterious case of Spanish soldier Gil Perez, who allegedly teleported from Manila to Mexico in the 16th century. Gil Perez was a Spanish soldier during the early years of Spain's rule in the Philippines. As a member of the Guardia Civil, he worked for the Gobernador General as a palace guard. One day, however, in October 1593, the 7th Gobernador General, Gomez Perez Das Meringues, was assassinated by Chinese pirates during an expedition. Das Meringues' death made for quite a hectic time, considering he hadn't decided on a successor with several prominent Spaniards vying for the spot. With such tense conditions, Perez was guarding the Palace when he reportedly began to feel dizzy and exhausted. He then leaned against the wall and dozed off for a few seconds, but when he opened his eyes, he was surprised to see that he was in a completely different place. When he asked to buy standard where he was, he was told that he was in Plaza Mayor, now known as Zucalo in Mexico City. Soon, guards in New Spain got wind of Perez thanks to his claims and his strange Manila uniform. He was brought to the authorities, including the viceroy of New Spain, Luis de Velasco, whose palace was where he was transported to. Though understandably shocked, Perez managed to answer all of their queries in great detail, including the assassination of Das Meringues, which, since it had only happened the night before, would not be proven until months later. While the viceroy was pleased with Perez' explanations, it was only time until religious officials got involved. He was turned over to the Holy Office of the Inquisition, commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition, for further questioning. From Mexico, he was taken to Santo Domingo in the Caribbean, where he was placed in jail for desertion and for being a servant of the devil. As a loyal and decorated soldier, Perez took everything in stride and cooperated with the authorities. He was even said that he preferred being jailed over fighting the jungle man of the Philippines. Eventually, he was found to be a devout Christian and, coupled with his good conduct, he was in charge with any crime. But still, the authorities didn't know what to do with the unique situation and kept him imprisoned until they came to a solid decision. One day, Spanish galleon arrived in Acapulco to reveal all of Perez' claims about the Gorbinador General were true. He was recalled to Mexico, where some of the passengers even recognized him as a palace guard. With this, he was freed and sent back on the next ship to Manila. Perez' story has since become legend. It's been recounted in books and stories by several authors, including American folklorist Thomas Alibon Jean Vie, Washington Irving, Luis Gonzalez Abregon, Gaspar de San Agostín, Antonio de Morgue and even José Rizal. The tale may seem far-fetched, but centuries later, people are still trying to explain it. Maybe a visit to the Palacio del Gorbinador, the site of the former residence of the Gorbinador General during the Spanish colonial era in Intramuros, will have to do for now. Thanks for listening. If you like the podcast, please tell someone about it. Recommend weird darkness to your friends, family and co-workers who love the paranormal, horror stories or true crime like you do. Every time you share the podcast with someone new, it helps spread the word about the show, and a growing audience makes it possible for me to keep doing the podcast. Plus, telling others about weird darkness also helps get the word out about resources that are available for those who suffer from depression, so please share the podcast with someone today. Do you have a dark tale to tell of your own? Fact or fiction, click on Tell Your Story on the website and I might use it in a future episode. All stories in Weird Darkness are purported to be true unless stated otherwise, and you can find source links or links to the authors in the show notes. The Big Foot of Hiroshima was written by Kohei Higashitani. The Mystery of the Ogars was written by Ellen Lloyd. The Lake Exploded was written by Christina Skelton. The Beastie in the Walls is from Forty in Ireland, and the Man Who Teleported was written by Poillo Chua. And now that we are coming out of the dark, I will leave you with a little light. Jonah 2 verse 6, To the roots of the mountains I sank down, the earth beneath barred me in forever, but you, Lord my God, brought my life up from the pit. And a final thought, no one can make you feel inferior without your consent. Eleanor Roosevelt, I'm Darren Marlar. Thanks for joining me in the Weird Darkness.