Encounter Atlas
The Ningen, Japanese for 'human', is a modern legend of a huge, pale white creature with a human-like body, arms and sometimes legs or a tail, said to be seen by whaling and research crews in the Southern Ocean. It is described as tens of feet long and smooth-skinned, with small eyes and a slit mouth.
The story spread on the Japanese forum 2channel in the 2000s, where posters claimed whaling crews had seen something they first mistook for a submarine. In 2007 the paranormal magazine Mu ran an article on it, including a Google Earth image off Namibia that seemed to show a white humanoid shape. Skeptics point to icebergs, whales and image glitches, and the Ningen is widely treated as an internet-born legend.
What witnesses report
- A ghostly white humanoid shape in the water at night
- Smooth, hairless skin
- Something mistaken for a submarine
Famous cases
- 2007Mu magazine article
Japan
Seen the Ningen?
Tell us what happened. Every report is read by a person before it goes on the map, and you can stay anonymous.
