Is John Keel's Indrid Cold The Grinning Man?

by Theodore White

When famed paranormal researcher John Keel went to West Virginia to investigate the now famous Mothman case, he found far more strange activity in the area than just the 7 ft flying bat creature.

While there, Keel received a phone call from a man who identified himself as ‘Indrid Cold.’

Keel said that the Indrid Cold calls were, cryptic and prophetic.

During his time in West Virginia, Keel interviewed dozens of people and many reported seeing UFOs, Men in Black, and “a strange man who seemed to come from nowhere”, that man was Indrid Cold.

Many believe that the Grinning Man and Indrid Cold are, in fact the same person.

Interestingly, the Keel phone call from Indrid Cold, was not the first contact with someone using that name.

Near Point Pleasant, West Virginia, where the Mothman was seen, is the town of Parkersburg.

While driving home from work on Interstate 77, a man named Woodrow Derenberger, reportedly came face to face with Indrid Cold.

Derenberger said, he heard a loud crashing sound, he looked in his rear view mirror, but just as he looked back, a vehicle sped past him.

The vehicle moved over in front of him, and began to slow until the vehicles came to a stop.

Derenberger gave a bizarre description of the vehicle that had cut him off:

“It looked like an old fashion kerosene lamp chimney, flames coming out both ends, with a big bulge in the middle.”

Then the door opened, and out stepped a man about 6-foot tall, with a dark tan, dark hair and wearing a one piece, blue shiny suit.

The man approached Derenberger and spoke.

Derenberger said the stranger used telepathy to communicate told him that they meant no harm and that he would be in contact with Derenberger in the future. The man identified himself as “Cold.”

With all the strange things that are reported in West Virginia, and all along the Ohio River, its hard to know if Indrid Cold, Mothman, Grinning Man and the collapse of the Silver Bridge are really connected or just a coincidence.

Many see the Mothman as a harbinger of death and disaster, because it was reportedly seen on or around the Silver Bridge shortly before it fell.

Also Mothman was never seen again after the bridge disaster, at least according to some.

It also seems like the mysterious Indrid Cold has also vanished.

While there may continue to be reports of the strange Grinning Man, the name Indrid Cold is rarely attached to the stories.

It would seem that Indrid Cold has entered the realm of urban myth, under the general name of ‘Grinning Man.’

So who was Indrid Cold?

Some say that Indrid Cold was, in fact the Mothman himself.

I’m not really sure why. Maybe just because they seemed to appear and disappear at about the same time.

After all, Mothman was a bizarre creature and anything but human in appearance.

I think Woodrow Derenberger saw something very strange, told the story, and it has now become an urban legend.

There is that strange phone call that the journalist John Keel received though. I don’t know if that was the “real” Indrid Cold or someone who had heard the story and decided to prank Keel.

Whatever the case may be, Indrid Cold is here to stay, under the name Grinning Man.

Here is the 1966 interview with Woodrow Derenberger who described his encounter with the ‘Grinning Man.’ ->>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZujqvezWB7c