Indrid Cold is one of UFO Phenomenon lore’s most fascinating and controversial figures. He is also known as “The Smiling Man” because of his odd consistent behavior of always grinning from ear to ear during encounters.
In Indrid Cold’s first-ever documented encounter in 1966, his appearance was bizarre. He was large, being over six feet tall. The humanoid wore a strange jumpsuit that was reflective and tinted green with a black belt. Despite his odd clothing, Cold’s features were more unnerving.
His eyes were small and beady and too far apart from one another. He had no nose, hair, or ears, and his complexion was dark. But the most striking feature was the ear-to-ear wide smile that did not reach his eyes.
The subsequent encounter with Indrid Cold was much less disturbing. He looked like a normal human with slicked-back hair. However, this time his suit of blue was still described as reflective metallic.
As encounters with Indrid Cold continued, his clothing and appearance were that of any average person, and he could perfectly blend in with a crowd. Still, the smiling always remained.
FIRST SIGHTING
The first sighting of Cold back on October 16, 1966, took place in New Jersey. Two boys, Marin Munov and James Yanchitis, were just walking down the street like any typical day when suddenly they spotted a creepy-looking grinning man. He just stared at the two boys, his grin never faltering.
Needless to say, this creeped them out pretty bad, and they tried to get the hell out of there. Indrid Cold chased them down the street, but eventually, they lost him. Indrid would get better at not freaking people out as the encounters continued, but this first encounter shows just how alien humans truly were to the humanoid.
SECOND SIGHTING
The second sighting of the Smiling Man took place in 1966 in West Virginia, which oddly was about the same time that the Mothman phenomena was occurring, so well documented by John Keel.
It was a day like any other to Woodrow Derenberger as he drove down Interstate 77. Suddenly, he heard a strange crashing noise, and then an unidentified flying object swooped in front of his car and landed. Woodrow stopped his car and looked in awe as the Smiling Man left the UFO and walked right over to him telepathically, telling him his name, “Indrid Cold.”
The humanoid told Woodrow that he had nothing to worry about and that he meant him no harm. Cold told the man his alleged intentions of gaining knowledge about the human race. Indrid told the man he came from a planet named Lanulos in the Genemedes galaxy and that there were two others like him on Earth named Demo Hassan and Karl Ardo.
Before leaving, Indrid Cold told Woodrow he would revisit him.
THIRD SIGHTING
During the same time in West Virginia, a family suffered from poltergeist activity in their home. The Lilly family even reported this paranormal activity and did what they could to try and find a way to stop or make sense of the strange occurrences that transpired in their home.
The family’s young daughter, Linda, woke up to find the Smiling Man standing over her. The humanoid fit the description of Indrid Cold perfectly. Apparently, the girl just screamed and kept screaming, and the Smiling Man eventually vanished from sight.
POSSIBILITIES
Indrid Cold could probably be extraterrestrial if we consider this lore legitimate. It’s next to impossible the humanoid species he originates from went down the same evolutionary path as humans, so his species either has shapeshifting abilities or an advanced form of plastic surgery to make the E.T.s look more like humans so that they can blend into our society.
But then some people say Cold is some sort of entity or spirit. Some say the humanoid has connections to the enigmatic Men in Black. Still, Indrid Cold is found in many books concerning the UFO Phenomenon, with him interacting with the authors.
CONTINUED ENCOUNTERS
However, these three initial encounters were not the Smiling Man’s end. Woodrow Derenberger, in particular, as promised, was revisited by the being. In fact, Woodrow said Cold visited him many times and even took him with him into space. Allegedly Indrid Cold took Woodrow to his home planet. Woodrow’s family admitted to seeing Cold many times as well, and his family would endure many strange occurrences.
From Wikipedia:
“His residence would often receive strange unknown phone calls. Sometimes they were threats to stop speaking about his experience, other times they were odd beeps and electronic hums, sometimes it was just silence. The family changed their number to an unlisted one but somehow, they calls continued.”
Eventually, Woodrow got a visit from a man in a black suit who drove onto his property in a black car. Before this encounter, he had never heard of the Men in Black, but he was terrified of them after the visit.
The stress made Woodrow seek medical attention, but he was quickly given a clean bill of health with no chemical imbalances in the brain or other such mental maladies that could manipulate his perception of reality. Even the doctor who gave Woodrow a clean bill of health was contacted by Indrid Cold as well, though not by telephone or any ordinary means, but through telepathy.
Legendary paranormal investigator John Keel had the following to say about Woodrow:
“There are many who will scoff at this book and reject it entirely. Woodrow Derenberger will be called a liar, a psychopath and many other unpleasant things. He has already suffered considerable ridicule and condemnation, even from those who believe in ‘flying saucers’ but do not wish to believe that someone is actually riding around in them. I cannot endorse his story but I do feel I know the man well enough to give him a character reference. The important thing is that he seems to be telling the truth as he knows it. He sincerely believes that these things happened to him. And he is willing to expose himself to ridicule and condemnation in order to make himself heard.”
“I have talked to ‘contactee’ claimants who are doctors, lawyers, newspapermen, police officers and pilots. Woody has a lot of company; sane, reputable people. Perhaps we are the ones who have been insane for ignoring them for so long. Strange, unbelievable things are now happening to people all over the world. By listening to the handful of courageous ones, like Woodrow Derenberger, we may at last gain some real insight into what is really behind the UFO phenomenon. I’m not asking you to believe any of it. But I am asking you to listen to what he has to say. Incredible though it may seem, it is very possible that these very same things could happen to you tomorrow.”
From Villain-pedia:
“Late American investigator John Keel, investigated the Mothman. During his investigations, he received phone-calls from Indrid Cold. The final conversation they had consisted of Indrid Cold telling John Keel to run away because a terrible disaster will happen. As John Keel escaped, the Silver-Bridge collapsed, with 46 people killed from the event.”
Sadly, Woodrow’s experience as a contactee with Indrid Cold ruined his life. Those in the know say the Men In Black harassment is what pushed him over the edge, but the media didn’t help either. He would go into hiding for the rest of his life until he died in 1990 at 74.
CONCLUSION
Indrid Cold seems to be a non-malevolent alien if the accounts are to be taken seriously. However, this most likely was because of the humanoid’s inability to understand humans, their culture, and their mannerisms. He never harmed anyone or seemed to intend to harm anyone in any of the documented appearances. The Smiling Man is pretty damn creepy from the early encounters, but this creepiness was not intentional.
In any case, Indrid Cold has become a prominent figure in American folklore and lore from the UFO Phenomenon. If you ever see the Smiling Man, say hi instead of being freaked out because this humanoid alien might take you on an interstellar trip if he likes you. Just don’t tell anyone, or your life may be ruined, like what happened to Woodrow Derenberger.
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