Although it might sounds like a character from the Golden Age of Comics, the Manta-Man is a unique cryptid that created a huge stir in 2013, after multiple eyewitnesses claimed to have seen this eerie and evidently carnivorous synthesis of a manta ray and human soaring among the towering trees in Santiago’s Bustamante Park.
On September 29, 2013, members of the Chilean media reported that numerous witnesses had reported spying a bizarre, bipedal AVIAN ANOMALY on the wing over Bustamante Park, which was built on the remains of the Pirque railroad and is located in Providencia, Santiago de Chile.
The first official sighting occurred at about 8:00 p.m., when a young man who identified himself only as “Ignacio” came forward to describe his brief yet disconcerting encounter with a 6-foot tall creature, which he claimed resembled an airborne “manta ray.”
Ignacio — who drew the flying fiend for television cameras affiliated with Juan Andrés “La Red” morning program — testified that he saw the winged weirdo take to the air between the park’s trees. Ignacio described this living gargoyle as having leathery, segmented wings, which stretched the entire length of its body. His drawing also seems to show spiky hair atop its’ otherwise featureless head.
Ignacio’s description of this creature is not other strange HYBRID BEASTS that seem to pop up all over the globe and, according to observers, incorporate both simian and bat-like characteristics.
Some of these so-called “winged monkeys” include Africa‘s OLITIAU, Vietnam‘s AHOOL and Indonesia’s notorious ORANG-BATI.
Not surprisingly, Ignacio’s initial statements were met with much skepticism by the press and public alike, but he would soon be vindicated as more eyewitnesses came forward to describe the same (or identical) entity flying over Santiago. A witness who called herself “Sylvia” confirmed that she had also seen a “flying manta ray” in the mountainous Los Barrenchea Commune, which is basically the equivalent to a “county” in the U.S.
As if this creature’s mere existence wasn’t enough to spread panic throughout the families living near the park, an e-mail which was published online gave the entire phenomenon a decidedly grisly twist. The communiqué was written by an anonymous man who (along with his wife) allegedly saw the potentially demonic being nesting in a church steeple:
“My wife and I saw this creature in one of the towers of the San Francisco church in Santa Isabel, and it was eating something similar to a dog. I think that if you inspect this tower you will find its remains. Unfortunately, I have no evidence to give you beyond my wife’s report and my own.”
It bears noting that incidents of flying humanoids are not new to Chile. Residents of other regions such as the Peñaloén Commune have submitted similar accounts and during the 1980’s the town of Juanita Aguirre was evidently besieged by a flock of BIRD MEN, which journalist Osvaldo Murray chronicled in his book: “Los Seres de Luz” or “The Beings of Light”
There is also the notable case of Chili’s DOG FACED GARGOYLES, which kept pace with the truck that contained Carlos Abett de la Torre and his family during a harrowing trip, which traumatized the entire clan.
Although these creatures flew like the Manta-Man, the witnesses described them as a pack of “dog-faced kangaroos,” which leads us to believe that they represent a separate — though no less terrifying — unknown species.
Other’s have suggested that these flying flesh eaters might be a relic species of the (some say) FORMERLY EXTINCT pterodactyl, but one would assume that if this entity bore the distinct features of this ancient animal, then at least one of the eyewitnesses would have pointed it out.
There is also grainy video footage (posted above) which seems to show a bat-like creature with membranous, almost skeletal wings, a humped back and a long tail, soaring between the spires of the San Francisco church.
Unfortunately, as my Spanish is a bit rusty (i.e. nonexistent) I’m not sure if the La Red program was presenting genuine footage or simply a dramatic reenactment of the event. If it is genuine, then the images are intriguing indeed. If anyone can translate this clip for us please let us know!
Whatever the Mysterious Manta-Man is — be it a paranormal MOTHMAN-like oracle of doom, an enigmatic entity like the OWLMAN OF CORNWALL, an alien from OUT OF THIS WORLD like the BAT BEAST OF KENT or simply a heretofore unknown species of bat — the primary question that remains is if there really is an unidentified, winged and presumably predatory humanoid lurking in the trees and steeples of Santiago (no doubt waiting to swoop down on its unsuspecting prey) are the citizens of Chile safe?
And, even more disturbing, if the creature has acquired a taste for canines… can humans be far behind?
© Copyright Rob Morphy — 2015
Rob Morphy is an artist / journalist / filmmaker / designer / crypto chronicler / pod host / cult movie lover and co-founder of American Monsters.
