Death Worm

Death Worms (AKA "Mongolian Death Worms", "Olgoi-khorkhoi") are a cryptid species reportedly described in Mongolian folklore.

Description

It is shaped like a sausage about two feet long, has no head nor legs and it is so poisonous that merely to touch it means instant death. It lives in the most desolate parts of the Gobi Desert.
— Mongolian Prime Minister Damdinbazar, 1922

The Mongolian death worm (Mongolian olgoi-khorkhoi, "large intestine worm") is a creature alleged to exist in the Gobi Desert, which first came to Western attention as a result of American paleontologist Roy Chapman Andrews's 1926 book On the Trail of Ancient Man. Andrews described second-hand tales of the monster that he heard at a gathering of Mongolian officials: "None of those present ever had seen the creature, but they all firmly believed in its existence and described it minutely."

According to legend, the Death Worm has a large, soft, smooth, lumpy or segmented, slimy, bright-pink or reddish body resembling an improbably big, creeping, disembodied large intestine, an unearthly creature reputed to be able to kill at a distance, possibly by venom, electrical discharge, or some other mysterious means, such as psychically, or by magical means. The beast was first reported in the Gobi Desert where it is said to live in the most desolate parts of the region, but it is more likely to be encountered in desert regions of the Dreamlands, where it may account for at least some cases of otherwise inexplicable deaths of dreamers.

Keeper Notes

• TO_DO: This entry is original to YSDC's wiki. Some stats would be nice, as would some tips and suggestions on using this creature in a scenario. (It's not much of an excuse for a scenario on its own, but as a plot hook hook, it might provide an excuse to get "Monster Hunter" investigators involved in an an expedition to an exotic location that takes a sudden turn for the unexpected when some other wondrous thing is encountered instead, or otherwise serve as a "filler" encounter or minion monster to add a little tension and danger to expeditions to the Gobi Desert.)

Associated Mythos Elements

• location: the Gobi Desert, Mongolia, and possibly the Dreamlands