Giant snake rumor stirs panic in Turkish village

TOKAT

Rumors about a “four-meter-long snake that can eat a human” have stirred panic in a northern Turkish village.

Local media published stories from the Black Sea province of Tokat’s Batmantaş village on Oct. 1, quoting locals who said some of them even fell sick due to terror caused by the snake, whose nest was allegedly destroyed during the construction of a nearby dam.

“I did not believe the rumors spreading in the village, but then I saw the snake myself. As told earlier by others, it was indeed three to four meters long and as wide as a leg, looking like a python,” Oğuzhan Güler, a local, told the media.

Another villager, Kemal Kaya, said his brother-in-law fell sick out of terror when he saw the snake six weeks ago. “He keeps telling us that he still sees the snake whenever he closes his eyes,” Kaya added.

“They say that the snake is as big as it can eat a human. We cancelled our fruit gathering trips in the wild this year because of the snake,” 76-year-old Cevat Demirci was quoted as saying.

“The snake did not harm any human yet but there is panic in the village,” Hatice Demirci added.