A Canadian man lost in the wilderness for two days claims to have encountered an obscure but legendary entity said to lurk in the country's Northwest Territories.
While boating on the lake known as Lac La Marte, Tony Williah fell overboard and was forced to swim to a small island nearby.
When he reached the island, Williah says that he quickly realized he was not alone.
"All of a sudden, there was a big man standing beside me," he told the CBC.
This 'man' soon disappeared from sight, but the experience was so profound that Williah reportedly would not stop talking about it when he was rescued two days later.
Unfortunately, specific details of his encounter are sparse at this time, but some suspect that Williah had met a being known by native people in the area as the 'nagha.'
According to the Tlicho tribe which has resided in the region for millenia, the nagha are a creature, of sorts, that resembles a human but also seems to possess incredible powers.
Also known simply as 'bushmen,' these entities are ascribed with the ability to induce an almost-panicked state in those who witness them.
The nagha can also purportedly lure their victims into approaching them and have been accused of 'stealing' people from camps.
While one might suspect that the nagha is simply an alternative version of Bigfoot, Tlicho lore says that the entity has been known to wear modern human clothes, suggesting that it is an altogether mystical being if it actually exists.
However there may be an alternative and almost equally strange explanation for what happened to Williah during his harrowing ordeal.
As noted, the lost man allegedly encountered the entity after falling overboard from his boat and frantically swimming to shore.
Therefore, it is entirely possible that he experienced what is known as the 'angel effect,' a mysterious phenomenon where people will perceive of a calming presence near them during times of extreme stress in perilous conditions.
It would appear that all of the conditions for the 'angel effect' were in place during Williah's misadventure, although that does not discount the possibility that he truly did encounter the elusive nagha as well.
Coast Insiders looking to learn more about the 'angel effect' can check out author John Geiger's 1/2/2014 appearance on the program.
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Source: CBC