Police Report a Drop in ‘Monkey Man’ Calls
The mass hysteria over reports of a “monkey man” that attacks people while they sleep has disappeared as mysteriously as it came.
By the end of last week, New Delhi police received more than 100 reports nightly about a swiftly moving hairy creature who could leap from roof to roof. Dozens of people showed scratch marks to police. At least two deaths were blamed on the panic.
By the weekend, though, the calls dropped sharply, and on Tuesday there was only one call.
Most victims were poor, uneducated people vulnerable to superstition, their fears magnified by intense heat and power blackouts, psychologists said.
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