Monster Legend: The Grootslang

In South Afrika, there is the legend of a giant primordial snake as old as the planet Earth itself: the Grootslang. As the tale goes past down from generation to generation, the monster originated as a mistake of the gods. Originally there were many and were glorious in their might. But, the great beasts were found to be far too deadly to exist among the other creatures that lived on the planet. The Grootslang had immense strength, size, and was much too cunning to be let loose.

Imagine running into this while exploring a cave

So all the Grootslang were to be broken down and turned into elephants and snakes. The gods decreased the size of the reptile part of the beast (snake), then allowed the other creature to keeps a small amount of its original strength and reduced its size as well, but rendered it clumsy (elephant). As the monsters were being broken down and repurposed, a single Grootslang escaped deep into the Earth through a maze of tunnels.

The monster survived the millennia and currently dwells within a deep cave filled with millions of diamonds located in Richtersveld, South Africa. Over the centuries the legend has attracted many treasure seekers resulting in many real-life documented disappearances, which has only fueled the flame of this monster legend.

In recent years wealthy adventurers have even funded expeditions to locate the cave. They learned all the lore of the surrounding area of Africa and collecting countless maps. Many have searched for the cave never to return, but a single man has returned to tell the tale. He said deep within the cave is a bottomless pit, and he would have had to go down it to continue his journey. But the man gave up deeming it too dangerous to descend into the abyss. However, as he turned to leave the man accidentally dropped his flashlight. The light fell for what seemed to be an eternity before vanishing in the darkness below. 

The gods did indeed make a mistake

In the surrounding area, the cave is allegedly located there has been many supposed witnesses of the Grootslang that all share similarities the description of the monster. It has jet black/gray skin and is 40 to 60 feet long. The monster has a vast serpentine body with its head looking like a grotesque fusion of an elephant and snake with massive pointed teeth and a wide gaping mouth.

Anyone unlucky enough to run into the Grootslang becomes permeated with dread. The terror can sometimes freeze the monster’s victims in place, making them an easy meal. However, the many vanishings in the area have never stopped people from seeking out the cave. The lust for wealth is often more powerful than a sense for self-preservation. The Grootslang also leaves the cave and is known to inhabit swamps, rivers, and lakes in the surrounding area.

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Ancient rock paintings of the Grootslang discovered scattered about in nearby caves throughout South Africa display the antiquity of the legend. Indications the monster might have been worshipped at some point or had some importance to a primitive culture. But, despite all the mystery that surrounds the Grootslang one thing is for sure, tales of the ancient serpentine monster are not going away anytime soon.

Want to try and find the cave with me?

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