Giant of Kandahar

Submission 1,385

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About

The Giant of Kandahar or Kandahar Giant is a cryptid said to be a 12-foot tall giant humanoid found in the mountains of Kandahar, Afghanistan that was purportedly killed by American soldiers in 2002. Rumors of the giant, which is often said to be a Nephilim, started spreading as early as 2008 when author Stephen Quayle released his book LongWalkers: The Return of the Nephilim. The conspiracy theory surrounding the monster gained significant spread in 2016 when L.A. Marzulli interviewed an anonymous man who claimed to be a soldier in Afghanistan who helped shoot and kill the Giant of Kandahar in 2002. The rumors continued to spread online throughout the 2020s.

Origin

On January 1st, 2008, author Stephen Quayle released the fiction book LongWalkers: The Return of the Nephilim, which is about a man who discovers giants, referred to as Nephilim, "kept in secret underground caverns in suspended animation, waiting to be revived."^[1] A Nephilim is a giant, biblical creature of Hebrew origins said to have lived before the flood.^[2]

While the work is fictional, according to a post on Quayle's website,^[3] the book is based on a true story. Stephen Quayle spread this story and others about Nephilim on shows like Coast to Coast FM throughout the 2000s.^[4] The webpage reads:

Since my new book "Longwalkers – The Return of the Nephilim" is written in a fictional format, derived from my movie script – I have included the personal letter that I received from the pilot who flew a 12-foot tall, dead, cannibalistic giant out of the Middle East after destroying a Special Forces group hunting the Taliban in 2005. The giant had six fingers and six toes and the Longwalkers book cover is a VERY accurate artistic representation of the actual event. The pilot related to me in our subsequent phone call certain things that only someone who actually observed the giant could have possibly known. I suggest those of you who know what "The Days of Noah" really means, prepare accordingly!

L.A. Marzulli Interview

On August 13th, 2016, L. A. Marzulli uploaded a video to YouTube in which he interviews an anonymous person at an undisclosed location referred to as "the shooter," who alleges to have been an American soldier in Afghanistan in 2002 and part of the unit that killed the Nephilim. He also interviews a second witness who backs up the story. The second witness claims to have heard rumors of a unit that killed a giant at the mouth of a cave, also claiming that the giant had "extra digits" on his hands and feet.

The shooter claims to have seen and helped kill the giant. Throughout the interview, the giant is referred to as the "Giant of Kandahar," with Marzulli also referring to it as a Nephilim. The shooter claims that the giant smelled like a "pile of rotting corpses" and wielded a pike.

Additionally, the shooter states that a unit went missing and his unit was sent to investigate, when they found the Nephilim in the mouth of a cave, with remains of the missing unit found nearby. He claims that the Nephilim had red hair and was 12 to 15 feet tall. According to the shooter, the giant skewered one of the soldiers, Dan, with his pike and the rest of the soldiers shot at its face. He claims the giant took multiple shots without dying.

The shooter alleges that they transported the body of the Nephilim back to a base via helicopter and reiterates how badly it smelled. One person interviewed claims it weighed around 1,500 pounds. When they returned to the base, the soldiers were allegedly told to keep quiet about the situation and made to sign an NDA barring them from talking about the giant. The witness is then seen suggesting to Marzulli that the government is hiding the existence of the giant because it is a Nephilim and supports biblical theories rather than scientific theories.

The video was deleted on an unknown date but was archived by the Wayback Machine,^[5] showing that it garnered over 170,000 views before it was removed (reupload shown below).

Spread

On August 31st, 2016, an article was published by Snopes^[6] claiming that the story was false, as there has never been any concrete proof of the giant's existence. Despite this, the story continued to spread online.

On July 10th, 2020, YouTuber^[7] MrBallen posted a video about the Gian of Kandahar, garnering over 8 million views in four years (shown below). The video begins with MrBallen claiming that he heard the story from someone in Afghanistan while he was a Navy SEAL.

On March 8th, 2021, iFunny^[8] user J0HNNYSINSBRAV0 posted an image macro consisting of a depiction of the giant stabbing Dan and referring to the story, garnering over 50,000 smiles in three years (shown below). On August 15th, 2022, YouTuber^[9] FORGOTTEN HISTORY posted a video about the giant, garnering over 800,000 views in two years.

On January 11th, 2023, X^[10] user @yungkitty404 posted a meme using the My prof: IDK format about telling their professor, who insisted that giants don't exist, about the Giant of Kandahar, garnering over 1,100 likes in a year (shown below). On September 4th, allthatsinteresting^[11] published an article about the Giant of Kandahar.

On August 24th, 2024, X^[12] user @creepydotorg posted a piece of artwork depicting the Giant of Kandahar spearing Dan, writing, "What really happened in Afghanistan?" garnering over 78,000 likes in two days. Later that day, X^[13] user @Cadmarch posted a screenshot of the post, writing, "Probably not this," garnering over 69,000 likes in two days.

That same day, X^[14] user @uncle_deluge quote-reposted @Cadmarch, writing, "Not only did this happen but it wasn't even the only one the US Army found during the War on Terror. There's one chained beneath Haditha Dam in Iraq. Occupying forces reported hearing its ceaseless screams," garnering over 21,000 likes in two days (shown below).