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The Evil Michelin Man

 

This is a story from my childhood. I had completely forgotten about this incident as I had dismissed it as a figment of my childhood imagination. But a picture brought the memories back and I still don't know whether they were real or imagined.

I was about 4 years old when it first happened. We were staying at our family home which was quite sprawling, surrounded by a spacious garden and big ponds. There were a lot of people staying there at the time including my parents and my brother, uncles and aunts, my cousins, my grandma, some relatives, and a host of servants, cooks and gardeners.

Everyone used to hang around with their groups: my mom with my aunts, all my uncles with my father, my older cousins (in their mid to late teens) formed a racket team together and my younger cousins 10 -14 yrs, had a secret playhouse where they spent all their waking hours. Since I was the youngest, I was a maverick and spent most of the time playing by myself in the morning and in the evening, with the servants, telling me stories in the kitchen.

One evening, I was in the kitchen as usual, sitting next to my nurse. I still remember everyone talking and laughing and having a good time. It was then dusk outside and one could see the ghostly outlines of the trees in the garden in a hazy manner. The kitchen had two doors - one leading to the dining hall and the other into the back garden. Both the doors were open at the time.

It was winter and I was wearing a woolen cap. I was sitting just inside the door leading off to the dining hall facing the kitchen when all of a sudden my cap was snatched off my head and thrown to the ground next to me. I quickly looked around and did not see any one in the hall. I turned around and asked the servants who had done that and they just laughed and went on with their chores. After picking up my cap, I turned back again to the hall to catch the culprit. The dining hall had two floor-length windows through which one could see the passage beyond clearly. When I was peering around, I saw a big black shadow hurry past the windows on all fours. It looked fleetingly like a huge black dog, but our German Shepherd had died a few months back.

Being quite young, I quickly forgot the incident and started pestering my nurse to tell me a story. Suddenly, I saw a movement from the door to the garden and I looked up to see who it was. What I saw is still beyond my comprehension. Standing at the door was a man who was easily 6 ½ feet tall. He was a dead ringer for the Michelin Man only he didn't look so friendly. And unlike the Michelin Man, his body was totally green. He had luminous green eyes, his mouth snarled in menace and his right hand was raised holding a big green sickle which he was menacing me with.

I looked around to see if anyone else had seen it, and nobody gave any indication of doing so. I suddenly felt light headed, and for the first time in my life, I fainted.

I woke up to my Mom's anxious face. By the time the Doctor made a house call, I was running an extremely high fever around 105 degrees. After his examinations, he said that something had terrified me and had caused my fever. Needless to say, all the servants got a good round of scolding for scaring me, though they denied doing so.

The next incident happened during spring time about 3-4 months later and at dusk as usual. A cousin and I were netting tadpoles from a small waterhole close to the kitchen, when something made me look up to the second story of the house. I saw the same man standing at one of the windows and threatening me with the same gesture and the sickle. As usual, I fainted, and woke up to a high fever.

The third and last time I saw this thing was about 5-6 months later. We were going on vacation and had to start by 4:30 am. I was up and ready by four and went out to the garden with my Dad. We were standing next to the pond in the hazy early morning light. That was when I saw it at the other side of the pond looking at me and threatening with the sickle. I looked at my Dad to see if he had seen anything since he was also looking at the far side. I looked back and saw it walking away towards the boundary wall. It gave me one sneering look and just vanished into the wall. And strangely, I did not faint.

That was the last time I saw it. In fact, I had forgotten this whole incident when it all came back to me in my mid thirties when I was leafing through an auto magazine and saw a Michelin Ad with the Michelin man. I was with my family at this time and when I related the above incidents, I was absolutely sure that I would be laughed at. Strangely enough, they all believed me and not even one snort was heard.

I know the whole story sounds quite absurd. It is also strange that I could remember so much since I was quite young. But somehow this incident which I had forgotten for about 30 yrs, came rushing back to me only because I saw a picture of the Michelin Man in a magazine. I had never seen the ad before since I lived in India and Michelin didn't have a presence here then.

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Comments about this paranormal experience

The following comments are submitted by users of this site and are not official positions by yourghoststories.com. Please read our guidelines and the previous posts before posting. The author, Realistic, has the following expectation about your feedback: I will read the comments and participate in the discussion.

Kiego (2 stories) (52 posts)
+1
11 years ago (2013-06-11)
We have all had events, photos, smells etc that have triggered something and jarred our memories of a past event, whether it was good or bad. Just the other day I was cleaning out my garage, yes for the fun of it lol, and I found an old old old candle that My grandma gave to my ex ex ex girlfriend. It brought back a few memories that had up until recently, dissipated from my memory bank... I guess I'm saying that I know where youre coming from. Oh and did I mention, good story?! =)
geetha50 (15 stories) (986 posts)
+2
11 years ago (2013-04-29)
I totally agree with Miracles about the suppressed memories because it has happened to me. I have been writing a story for a while but it's hard not going to that dark spot in your life. I remember that incident (which I will post soon) because of another incident that happened.

Anyways, back to your story. Personally, I think what you saw when you were two and then at four were the same thing and also the four legged black dog creature you saw though the window before you saw the evil thing could be the one and the same. It could have been a creature taking on its different forms.

As mentioned by others, I am happy your family didn't laugh at your experience. But I do have to ask what was their response to what you had to say. If it's too personal, you don't have to answer.

I see that this incident takes place in India. I'm not sure what faith you and your family practices and I don't know if remember or not (as you were really young) if your family cleansed the house. As you know, our culture is big on keeping our place of residence clean from bad and unnatural forces.

Also, I wanted know if it effected just you or any of your cousins when they were young and if this thing has made a return appearance to the young kids of your family?
valkricry (48 stories) (3257 posts) mod
+3
11 years ago (2013-04-26)
Originally when I first read this, I thought maybe the reason no one laughed is that they had seen it too. Especially your dad. But then why didn't someone mention that, when you told? So I guess that doesn't hold water. What does (to me at any rate) is it confirmed something they may have suspected - something was out to hurt you.
On a lighter note: I thought you might like to know that the Michelin Man has a name. It's Bibendum, latin meaning to drink. Unfortunately this information did not help me turn up anything that might explain what you saw.
Miracles has a very valid point about memories, especially traumatic ones. Years later something can trigger them.
Realistic (7 stories) (44 posts)
 
11 years ago (2013-04-26)
Hi girlie, the "Thing" did not look like a protector; it was surrounded by an evil aura. In the story I mentioned that I saw it thrice. All my memories are around when I was about 4+ years old.

However, my Mom mentions that when she would stroll in the garden around dusk with me in the pram (I was around 2 or so), I would stare at the tops of the big coconut trees, have a terrified look in my eyes, roll them and then faint. This happened at least twice.

Also, I had a few freak accidents. Like, once during a power cut a lighted oil lamp actually fell off a shelf, onto my pram, spilling oil onto my legs that caught fire and started burning. No one was close by and so they all blamed the wind. However, the lamp weighed around a kilo. Only my mother's presence of mind saved me from getting burnt. This also happened during dusk.

Another time, I was playing by myself on the patio which was 3 steps from the garden. Mom was doing her housework and keeping an eye on me. She saw me get up, and then stumble violently like as if someone pushed me from the back, and I fell, rolled over the steps, into the garden. I had some really nasty bruises.
girlie (15 stories) (426 posts)
+1
11 years ago (2013-04-26)
I think the green thing could have been some sort of protector of the garden maybe. Look it up if you can. And what did your family said about the green guy. I would like to know. Thank you for the story and I hope ti hear more from you.
GIRLIE ❤
Realistic (7 stories) (44 posts)
 
11 years ago (2013-04-26)
Thank you all for your comments.

Whitewolf, I was just talking to my Mom telling her about my story and the comments, when she informed me that since I was 6 months old, I had a few accidents that could have killed/ crippled me. I think your comments does make a lot of sense. Thanks a ton!

Also, thankfully, I have a really supportive family...
goldduster (55 posts)
+1
11 years ago (2013-04-26)
On Lake Erie the black dog warned of a ship wreck. If you told a captain of a cargo ship in the 1800s may the black dog cross your bow you were telling him you hoped his ship sank. Some men were beaten very badly for saying ir
WhiteWolf (4 stories) (147 posts)
+3
11 years ago (2013-04-26)
I have to say that the black dog that you saw could have be an omen warning you that the entity was trying to harm you.

In lore that I have read about Werewolves there is an entity called the black dog that shows itself to people to let them know that someone that they know or even the person who sees the black dog will die so the green entity with the sickle could have been another form of "death" coming to reap you but was unable to do so and gave up. Count your blessings people who face death do not normally get chances at life.

I can say that you have a good family for believing you when you told them about your encounter and hopefully the entity will not come back.

Thank you for sharing your story I found it to be rather interesting and well written 😁

Whitewolf,
Miracles51031 (39 stories) (4999 posts) mod
+3
11 years ago (2013-04-25)
Realistic - it's amazing the things that can trigger an incident that we have hidden in the deepest part of our memories. I won't even dare tell you that you didn't see what you did. I know that things we see as children can, and do, terrify us so badly that we block them out for years until something sets it free years later, like the Michelin Man.

I'm glad no one laughed at you when you told your story.

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