What appears to be some sort of tall, thin, all-white humanoid was recorded walking across a bridge in Jharkhand, India, and no seems to know what it might be. That leaves it open to speculation – hoax, Slenderman, ghost, tall white alien with a UFO, Chudail (an interesting local legend we’re going to expand on) or something else. Take a look at the video here, form your own opinion and then read on.
“The video has become talk of the town. People are assuming it to be an Alien and it actually could be, keenly observe the 13th second of the video, A red Lapros wing UFO flying with jangling sound. Place-Near Hazaribagh,Jharkhand”
The video was uploaded to Twitter on May 29 and quickly went viral. Many local news outlets in and around Hazaribagh, a town in the state of Jharkhand in eastern India, broadcast the video – identifying the location as the Chadwa Dam bridge, but not offering much else in the way of factual information. A number of motorcyclists stopped and watched while others rode past. Some sort of red light passes over it while a “jangling” sound is heard, but that may or may not be connected to the being. The long, thin torso and limbs had some suggesting Slenderman – the imaginary tall, thin being – or a tall white alien since it seems to be naked or in a white bodysuit. On the hoax side, a commenter points out the front of it may be black, making the being appear thinner and hiding it from oncoming traffic.
“Chudail lagrahi hai.”
That Hindi comment on the video itself translates to “looking witch” or “looks like a witch,” which is the most interesting suggestion. The chudail or churel is a mythical creature, usually resembling a woman, in the folklore of India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Like so many ‘old woman’ legends, it’s often described as the ‘frustrated’ ghost of a woman who died during pregnancy or childbirth and comes back to torment men. Being a shape-shifter, they typically take the appearance of a beautiful woman or young girl in white clothes, but the ruse is spoiled by her backwards-pointing feet (good picture here). Chudails are most often reported near cemeteries, old battlefields, toilets or crossroads. Deceased women expected to come back as chudails are not cremated but instead buried face down so their graves can be filled with rocks – both vampirish techniques to prevent them from rising again. While the white clothes and crossroad of the video could suggest chudail, there don’t seem to be enough other characteristics to confirm it.
That leaves … what? It’s easy to say ‘hoax’ with such circumstantial evidence, and that’s certainly where the needle on the skepticism meter wants to go. The red light looks coincidental rather than connected to the incident. One report says the person who recorded it travels this road frequently, so perhaps the creature will be seen again.
This writer’s hopes were on chudail but his money is still on hoax.
by Paul Seaburn
Mysterious Universe
