You know, I sometimes like to go back and skim through my old writing. I do this because it’s interesting to see how far I’ve come as a writer; for example, I was able to write introductions without feeling like I was slamming my head against a wall of jagged rocks and diamonds. I hope my insurance covers that because, by the time I finish every write-up for this month, I’m gonna look like ground beef mixed with Freddy Krueger!
So anyway, now that I’m done bemoaning my problems, let’s talk about today’s story. It’s one that actually forced my hand on something I’ve needed to do for a while on this blog: redo the tags. While I don’t think I’ll have done it by the time this article goes up (it’ll depend on if I want to dedicate the time to it), I know that a lot of topics I focus on aren’t tagged properly.
Allow me to clarify by using today’s central focus, The Fragosa Jelly Man, as an example. Humanoid encounters are something we talk about a lot on this blog, yet it wasn’t until this write-up that I finally made a tag—aptly named “Humanoid Encounter”—for it. The reason I did this is, as wild as it may sound, this story doesn’t fit any other category. So come along, dear reader; it’s time to dive-bomb into the gelatinous tale of Spain’s very own Jelly Man!
I’m in Spain Without the A
I found today’s story when I was flipping through the Paranormal Strange Wiki, with that site’s main source being Cryptopia (who also gave this creature its delightfully amusing name). I also swear that I planned to write about this thing years ago, but I can’t remember for certain. I just know that the name rings a bell. Also, as a pointless fun fact, La Fragosa—the setting of today’s mystery—is just under six hours from Vizcaya, where Octosquatch was seen! I wonder which would win a fight? Hm… I have to go with my man Octosquatch. The additional limbs would make him extra dangerous at close quarters. Who would you put your money on, dear reader?
Anyway, onto our story. Back in August of 1965, in the small village of La Fragosa, Spain (which has a population of a mere 165 as of 2020), siblings Juan and Isabel Dominguez were returning home with baskets filled with peaches. It’s not stated how old Juan and Isabel were, but Cryptopia says that they “were possibly children.” So, for the sake of consistency, I’ll be running with that idea; if there is an article out there that states otherwise, I didn’t find it. Regardless, on their journey home, the duo walked by “a pastoral garden wall,” which the Paranormal Strange Wiki adds was near a local Church near a river. This is when their world would get turned on its head.
Near the wall, pacing back and forth like a man arguing with himself on what to tell his crush, was a humanoid figure that emitted “a stranged resonance” as it walked around. This sound was later likened to a “rattler.” I don’t know if they mean some sort of musical instrument or a rattlesnake; I know the latter of those two as “rattlers” because I used to live where there were Timber Rattlesnakes. But I’m guessing they mean something closer to the former.
Either way, the two drew closer to the entity. They soon realized that this wasn’t someone simply pacing back and forth, but rather a thing—and I firmly believe that “thing” is the word that best describes this thing. It was 6 feet (1.8 meters) tall (though the Cryptopia claims it may have been taller) and was “semi-humanoid” with “gelatinous and translucent flesh.” It also sported “incredibly long arms that hung nearly to the ground.” Said arms swayed as it walked around. Rounding things off was that this creature had no face. This makes me think what they saw was some kind of humanoid jellyfish, but I digress.
Despite its lack of a face, the Jelly Man eventually stopped wandering around aimlessly and instead shifted its focus to Juan and Isabel. It then began advancing towards the duo, presumably yearning to wear their faces so it could once again see the beautiful world around its jelly body. This sudden encroachment terrified the siblings, who dropped their peach baskets and ran away like someone who could not stand gluten-free food.
With that, the story comes to an unceremonious end; this was the one and only sighting of the Jelly Man. Whatever happened afterward—whether any adults went to investigate the area or if anyone else saw it—is unknown. It certainly isn’t the only report of a gelatinous creature, though. Two years ago, I wrote about something known as Gargantuan Globulous, which was seen in October of 1965 down in Argentina. I won’t lie; I forgot that that story took place in the same year as this one until I was ready to cite it. It’s an interesting coincidence in my eyes. However, unlike the Jelly Man, the Gargantuan Globulous was spherical.
Though, yeah, that’s all there is. I wasn’t able to find anything else on either this story or any other creatures like it, the Argentinian sphere of Jell-O notwithstanding. Luckily, there are a few theories to work with, so let’s dig into them (like Jell-O).
Theories
1. An interdimensional being
I hope there’s a dimension where there’s a creature made of peanut butter. I’d love to see if the Jelly Man would get along with that fellow!
Anyway, to start off this section, we have the theory that this was some sort of interdimensional being that, somehow, got transported into our world. Given how much this theory will be used this month—which wasn’t by design at first—I’m hesitant to get into the specifics about how this would have happened. But odds are, this poor gelatinous fellow accidentally found himself at the wrong place at the wrong time; our reality and his overlapped, and he was momentarily brought to our world.
Aside from the obvious issues, like the lack of hard proof on other dimensions and what have you, this is arguably the one and only theory that fits this creature and its incomprehensible appearance. It would also explain why it was only seen once and why there’s apparently nothing else like it (outside of the Gargantuan Globulous). So make of that what you will; I, for one, can’t make much of it because I’m a brainlet.
2. A case of misidentification
This theory was posited in the Paranormal Strange Wiki article, and I’ve got to be honest: I have absolutely no idea how this could be the case. At least, not with the minimal details provided in the telling of the story I read. I have said in the past (and will say in later write-ups this month) that human memory is unreliable. That, coupled with the imagination of a child, does lend a bit of credence to this theory; I will not deny that. However, I don’t know how you could mistake something for… this.
Nevertheless, it is one of the most plausible theories we have. A child’s imagination is unlike anything else on this planet; they can create the wildest stories and scenarios in their mind as they play with toys. So the idea that two kids—assuming Juan and Isabel were that young—mistook something for a gelatinous abomination isn’t shocking. Unfortunately, I don’t know what they could have mistaken for something like the Jelly Man.
The Paranormal Strange Wiki suggests it may have been “some kind of wading bird” due to the wall and church being located close to a river. However, I don’t know of a bird that could be mistaken for a faceless humanoid made of jelly. Then again, I don’t know what birds live in western Spain (let alone Spain as a whole). But I’d rather wait until we get to my take to speculate more on my own end, so I’ll leave this bit as is for now, and let’s instead continue on with the theories.
3. A gelatinous hoax
This is a lot like the previous theory but with a slight twist to it. Instead of Juan and Isabel having mistaken an animal (or, heck, maybe some random person wandering around), they made the entire thing up. Why would they do such a thing? Well, that’s easy: children are prone to mischief and may have wanted to be a bit silly.
Unfortunately, I have no idea if these two kids were prone to lying; I cannot imagine that parents would have taken kindly to lying in the mid-1960s. My understanding of that era is only from what I’ve heard life was like in the United States, and it sounds like it was half hippies, half angry old people. If Spain was also like this, I cannot imagine Juan and Isabel were going to get off easily if their parents found out they were pulling a prank. Still, kids will be kids, and if they want to prank their elders, they’ll probably do it. This is one of many reasons I have no interest in being a father.
4. It was Slimer
Someone, call Bill Murray and the other Ghostbusters! They can fix this!
My Take
As you can likely tell, there wasn’t much in the way of theories. Half of them involved the thing not existing, one involved it being from another dimension, and then there was the meme theory. I considered adding more so there’d be more to this, but I sadly had no idea what to add. Maybe it was an alien, but I figured that—since it was outright said that there weren’t any UFO sightings—it wouldn’t be worth it. I also have no idea what kind of alien this would even be; I’ve never heard of one like this.
I also considered having cryptid, demon and escaped experiment theories, but there wasn’t anything to add. I also didn’t want to pad this out by being silly. Even though the story was certainly absurd and could have been treated as seriously as a child saying they’re capable of using psychokinetic powers, I didn’t want to be an idiot. Now then, onto my take; let me go through what to don’t buy into.
For starters, I don’t know if these two kids were troublemakers, so I don’t want to throw accusations around like they’re candy and say they were lying. Yes, it is very much possible, but I’m hesitant to label people as liars unless I have prior knowledge. However, I will concede that children and mischief go together like peanut butter and jelly.
Anyway, let’s move on to the next point. The misidentification theory honestly bothers me way more than it should. Even though it’s the one I’d usually subscribe to, I don’t think there’s any feasible way to mistake something like a bird for something this elaborate and downright ludicrous. I also don’t know of any other that this could have been since, well, there isn’t an animal out there that looks like a 6-ish foot tall humanoid made of jelly that lacks a face… well, except for one way. I do think this theory is the most plausible under one condition: if the two were exhausted or dehydrated (or both). If this was the case, then I fully believe Juan and Isabel mistook a large bird for something else—even if it was completely nonsensical.
Unfortunately, as it stands, I didn’t read anywhere that they were either of those. Still, it was August; I don’t know how hot it gets in Spain during the summertime, but I imagine it gets pretty warm. I also imagine that carrying several baskets full of peaches is exhausting should it be sweltering outside.
That said, I do have to admit that this thing sounds unlike anything else I’ve read about in recent memory. So, there is a part of me that does kind of lean toward the interdimensional being theory. The only thing that holds me back is, well, children aren’t the most reliable sources. Though given I don’t know whether or not Juan and Isabel were children or not, that uncertainty is stuck in limbo. So, until further notice, I have to go with the theory that the two were exhausted, dehydrated, or both.
How anticlimactic.
Conclusion
There was a time when I used to love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Sadly, I don’t like jelly anymore (I still love peanut butter, though). This story didn’t do anything to revitalize my liking for jelly, but it did remind me of that former love, so that’s a thing. Anyway, I hope you liked this little foray into the world of the Fortean, and as always, stay happy, stay healthy, and thank you for reading!
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