Indrid Cold - The Grinning Man
An artist’s impression of Indrid Cold - The Grinning Man
Around the same time as the Mothman sightings of West Virginia, before the collapse of the Silver Bridge, people also reported seeing a strange man named Indrid Cold. Indrid Cold had a large, unmoving grin and seemed to be able to speak telepathically.
DESCRIPTIONS OF INDRID COLD
Indrid Cold was described as being a strange looking man about 6 feet tall. He had dark tanned skin, small beady eyes set wide in his face and a very flat nose.
The most startling feature of his appearance was his large, almost unnaturally large grin. The smile never left his face and he seemed to be able to talk telepathically, without moving his mouth.
He was always seen wearing an eccentric, sparkly suit that was either green or blue, covered by a dark overcoat.
Indrid kept his arms folded and his hands tucked into his armpits.
Woody Derenberger’s First Sighting OF INDRID COLD
The most notable encounter with Indrid Cold was reported by Woodrow Derenberger of Mineral Wells, West Virginia.
Derenberger was a travelling sewing machine salesman. One November night in 1966 he was travelling home from a business trip in Ohio when he had to stop to adjust a sewing machine in the back of his car.
When he got back on the road he noticed some bright lights on the road ahead of him. He assumed it was a police officer so he pulled over his car when he got close to the lights.
As he got closer he realised they didn’t belong to a police car but to a strange vehicle like nothing he had seen before. It was shaped like a kerosene lamp chimney.
Just incase you are like me and didn’t know what a kerosene lamp chimney was. Photo: Google.
The man spoke to Derenberger saying that his name was Indrid Cold and that he came from a place less powerful than the United States.
When he spoke he didn’t move his mouth and seemed to be able to telepathically communicate with Derenberger.
The man assured Derenberger that he was a flesh and blood man, not special or spectacular in any way.
Indrid encouraged Derenberger to tell the authorities of their encounter and told him that he would be returning to see him again soon.
Derenberger told the Parkersburg police what he had seen and before long the whole town was in a frenzy. People gathered outside Derenberger’s home hoping to get a glimpse of Indrid Cold.
Derenberger was interviewed on live TV leading to a whole range of people also coming forward with similar stories.
TV interview with Woody Derenberger who claims to have interacted with Indrid Cold on many occasions.
Other nearby residents claimed to have seen lights in the sky on the same night as Derenberger’s encounter. Some also claimed to have seen the vehicle on the road that night but were too afraid to pull over.
Other Sightings of Indrid Cold
On October 16 1966 when two boys named Martin "Mouse" Munov and James "Jimmy" Yanchitis were walking on Fourth Street in New Jersey they saw a strange, tall man lurking by a fence.
As they got closer to the figure they realised he was a bald man wearing a metallic green suit. The man was staring at them intently with a huge grin on his face. After a few seconds the man began chasing the boys but they managed to escape.
During the same time period in Point Pleasant, West Virginia a young girl named Linda Lilly awoke to see a man standing over her bed. The man was very large and tall and all she could see of him in the dark was his large, wide grin.
Linda screamed and hid under the covers and when she reemerged the man was gone.
POSSIBLE EXPLANATIONS
You can purchase Derenberger’s book Visitors from Lanulos on Amazon. (Affiliate link)
Woody Derenberger went on to write a book about his further encounters with Indrid Cold claiming that he told him he was an alien from the planet Lanulos. There’s a very big rabbit hole to go down on this one if you’re up for it!
A more down to Earth theory is that Indrid Cold was just a normal man with an eccentric sense of style and Derenberger was embellishing the details.
This theory is supported by a comment on the Indrid Cold Cryptid Wiki claiming that Indrid Cold was a relative of user SamWamm. SamWamm said they have a strange relative named Indrid Cold or Kindrid Caud who would travel around the Point Pleasant area in the 1960s.
SamWamm’s relative was affectionately known to the family as Uncle Kain or Grandpa Kain. They described him as being a cheeky, friendly fellow with a huge grin. He was a Canadian Inuit man with a large flat nose and wide set eyes. He liked to wear a sparkly blue-green zoot suit.
This explanation does seem plausible but it doesn’t explain the kerosene lamp aircraft, the strange lights in the sky or Woody Derenberger’s continued meetings with Indrid Cold.
We may never know for sure what the truth is.
If you enjoyed this article you might also like to read about Mothman of Point Pleasant, Virginia or the Flatwoods Monster.
