Retiring “Johor Hominid”

Sometimes people back themselves into corners. I think this happened with Vincent Chow, who became, it seems at this stage of the game, a victim of his own desires and hopes for the reality of the Johor Hominid pictures. As I said often, if we had the photographs, this matter could be resolved, perhaps, quickly. A sliver of an image appeared, not another drawing, and poof, it was.

The era of an active cyberspace cryptocommunity is upon us. There are thousands of eyes out there, thanks to the internet, various sites, and, modestly I must note, Cryptomundo, looking for the answers. I wish to, once again, congratulate Cryptomundo reader and French hominologist Jean-Luc Drevillon for his sterling work on this matter.

Skeptical and hopeful, I wanted this to be more, but feared for the worse, and it turned out to be less. Now that this harsh outcome has occurred, I find the need for a sharp linguistic line in the sand, so to speak.

On July 2, I wrote: "Johor Hominid probably will catch on because of its naturally simplistic combination of a regional name and a scientific-based anthropological noun, mixed with a little alliteration, as a focused cryptid label."

But there is no more Johor Hominid, in my nonfiction view of this subject. Henceforth, I will be referring to the on-going sightings and historical reports from Johor of these unknown upright hairy hominoids as Orang Dalam, Hantu Jarang Gigi ("Snaggle-Toothed Ghost"), or even Malaysian Bigfoot.

Except with reference to this hoaxed photographic fiasco, I will no longer make use of the Vincent Chow-coined "Johor Hominid," which was incorrectly based on photos, images, thoughts, drawings, and theories not linked to the reality of what’s happening on the ground in Malaysia. There is still much work to do, to backtrack, and to collect the good accounts. The size differences and supposed erectus feet on Chow’s hominids never made sense; the giants are what are being seen.

The time is here again, to listen to the local people and overcome this hoax that has so distracted the media and serious researchers in Malaysia. You will see me going back to using Orang Dalam more often. (See this February 26, 2006 blog, "Malaysian Zoologist: Call Them Orang Dalam".)

Of course, the Western media may use these photos to publish another one of those summer stories they love about a cryptid being a "hoax," but we all will still be here, after this blows over, searching.

Language is important, and I want to make this distinctive division clear: For me, "Johor Hominid" is gone from these pages. Those two words will remain a phrase that shall correctly forever be associated with the 14 photographs that had nothing to do with Malaysian, Cambodian, or Southeast Asian hominology or cryptozoology – except with regard to fakery. You will not see my blog using "Johor Hominid" again, unless I am talking about this hoax specifically.

Well, thank goodness. The reality behind these shadowy, hidden photographs is now known. I have come to understand what the "JH Guardians" were guarding. They were protecting mistruth, as well as the truth.

For a complete rundown on all the August 4th breaking news on the "Johor Hominid" hoax discovery, please see:

Onward now, and back to digging into the recent initial Orang Dalam sightings that began the serious examination of this matter in late 2005. Were those encounters, indeed, actual or planted events?

Loren Coleman About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct). Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015. Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.

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