The Vanishing at Lake Angikuni - Fact or Fiction?

Summary

The video explores the mysterious disappearance of an Inuit village near Lake Anjikuni in Nunavut, Canada. It delves into the original 1930 newspaper account by Emmett E. Keller, subsequent retellings by Frank Edwards, and skepticism raised by Dwight Whalen and John Colombo. The narrative examines various theories, including supernatural explanations and police cover-ups, while highlighting the lack of concrete evidence and the conflicting stories that have turned the incident into an enduring mystery.

Takeaways

• 🎥 The video discusses the mysterious disappearance of an Inuit village near Lake Anjikuni in Nunavut, Northern Canada.
• 📚 The story was popularized by Frank Edwards in his 1959 book 'Stranger Than Science', but it has earlier origins.
• 📰 The original story was published in a newspaper article by Emmett E. Keller on November 27, 1930, in The Bee from Danville, Georgia.
• 🧐 Trapper Joe Labelle discovered the deserted village with personal belongings left behind but no signs of struggle or the villagers.
• 🐾 Labelle encountered two nearly starved huskies and found a grave with stones moved, but no body inside.
• 🤔 The Inuit folklore mentions an evil spirit named Thornraark, which some villagers blamed for the disappearance.
• 👮‍♂️ The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) were involved in the investigation but found no concrete leads or evidence.
• 📖 In Frank Edwards' version, there are discrepancies such as the method of Labelle's arrival and the presence of dead dogs tied to tree stumps.
• 🔍 Skeptic Dwight Whalen attempted to debunk the story in 1976, suggesting it might be a hoax or exaggerated tale.
• 🏛 The RCMP officially considers the story to be an urban legend, with no records or evidence to support the event's occurrence.
• 💬 The video leaves the audience with the question of whether the story is a debunked myth or an unsolved mystery, inviting further discussion.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video?

The main topic of the video is the mysterious disappearances, specifically focusing on the story of a whole village that seemingly goes missing, known as the Vanishing Village of Lake Anjikuni.

Who is credited with the original story of the vanishing village?

The original story is credited to Emmett E. Keller, who wrote an article titled 'Vanish Eskimo Tribe Gibbs, North Mystery Stranger Than Fiction' published on November 27th, 1930 by The Bee newspaper from Danville, Georgia.

What role does Frank Edwards play in the story of the vanishing village?

Frank Edwards is credited with popularizing the story in his 1959 book 'Stranger Than Science,' where he presents a slightly altered version of the story, suggesting it as a fact and possibly referencing a police report.

What is the significance of the name Thornraark in the story?

Thornraark, possibly referring to Thorne Garsuk, an Inuit sky god, is mentioned in the story as a possible explanation for the villagers' disappearance, according to Inuit folklore.

What was the initial reaction of Joe Labelle upon arriving at the village?

Joe Labelle was greeted by two nearly starved huskies instead of his Inuit friends, and he found seven dog corpses, which aroused his suspicion about the village's sudden abandonment.

What did Labelle find inside the huts of the village?

Inside the huts, Labelle found personal belongings of the tribe's people, including deerskin parkas, boots, clothes in the process of being sewn, and greasy iron pots, but no human remains.

What was the significance of the opened grave with no body inside?

The opened grave with no body inside was one of the strangest findings during Labelle's investigation, adding to the mystery of the villagers' disappearance.

What was the outcome of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) involvement in the case?

The RCMP was equally puzzled by the case and could not find any concrete evidence or explanation for the villagers' disappearance, leaving the case unsolved.

What is the significance of the 1931 police report mentioned in the video?

The 1931 police report, allegedly released by the RCMP Commissioner Cortland Starnes, contains a denial of the event by Sergeant Jay Nelson, suggesting that the whole story might have been a hoax.

What does the video suggest about the authenticity of the vanishing village story?

The video suggests that the story is largely debunked due to the lack of concrete evidence, inconsistencies in the story, and the fact that the RCMP has no record of the event or the police reports mentioned in various versions of the story.

What are the two main explanations provided by the video for the vanishing village story?

The two main explanations are: 1) The police reports do not exist, suggesting that Joe Labelle may not have existed, and there is no evidence of the village's existence. 2) The police reports from the 1930s do exist but are lost, which would support the idea that the story was a hoax.

Outlines

00:00

🔍 The Mysterious Vanishing Village of Lake Anjikuni

The video delves into the enigmatic disappearance of an Inuit village near Lake Anjikuni in Nunavut, Canada, as suggested by a viewer named Dain Tan. The story, first reported by Emmett E. Keller in 1930, tells of trapper Joe Labelle's discovery of an abandoned village with no signs of struggle or the inhabitants. Labelle's encounter with two emaciated dogs and the absence of human remains led to speculations about the involvement of an evil spirit from Inuit folklore. The story was later popularized by Frank Edwards in his 1959 book, but with discrepancies from the original account. The video sets out to explore the various versions of the tale and the mystery that surrounds it.

05:01

📰 The Evolution and Skepticism of the Vanishing Village Tale

This paragraph examines how the story of the vanished village evolved over time and the skepticism it faced. Initially reported by Keller in a 1930 newspaper article, the story was later retold by Frank Edwards with modifications, including the introduction of a police report. Skeptics, such as Dwight Whalen, attempted to debunk the story, suggesting it might be a fabrication. The paragraph discusses the various publications and sources that have cited or questioned the story's authenticity, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's (RCMP) denial of any record of the event. It also mentions the difficulty in finding concrete evidence to support the story, leading to a debate between believers and skeptics.

10:02

🕵️‍♂️ Unraveling the Truth Behind the Anjikuni Lake Mystery

The final paragraph summarizes the investigation into the authenticity of the Anjikuni Lake vanishing village story. It discusses the challenges in finding the original newspaper article and police documents, which are crucial to validating the story. The paragraph presents two possible explanations for the story's origin: either the police reports never existed, suggesting the story was a fabrication, or they exist but have been lost, which would support the skeptics' claims. It also addresses the inconsistencies in the story, such as the location's reference and the use of a photograph that may have been misattributed. The video concludes by inviting viewers to share their thoughts on the mystery and to engage with the channel for more content.

Keywords

💡Vanishing

The term 'vanishing' refers to the sudden and unexplained disappearance of something or someone. In the context of the video, it is used to describe the mysterious disappearance of an entire village, which is the central theme of the story being explored. The script mentions 'the vanishing' to introduce the topic and to emphasize the enigmatic nature of the event.

💡Mysterious Disappearances

Mysterious disappearances are events where people or objects vanish without a clear explanation. The video delves into a specific case of mysterious disappearances, focusing on the story of a village that seemingly went missing. This concept is integral to the video's theme, as it sets the stage for the exploration of unexplained phenomena.

💡Anjucooney

Anjucooney, or Anjikuni Lake, is the location where the village's disappearance is said to have occurred. It is a geographical reference that is crucial to the narrative of the video, as it is the setting of the mysterious event. The script uses the name to anchor the story in a specific place, adding to the authenticity of the tale.

💡Frank Edwards

Frank Edwards is an author who wrote about the village's disappearance in his book 'Stranger Than Science'. His work is significant in the video because it popularized the story and introduced it to a broader audience. The script mentions Edwards to trace the origins of the story and to discuss the variations in the narrative.

💡Emmett E. Keller

Emmett E. Keller is the author of the original newspaper article that first reported the story of the vanished village. His contribution is highlighted in the video as it provides a historical context and a starting point for the narrative. The script refers to Keller to establish the lineage of the story and to discuss its evolution over time.

💡Inuit

The Inuit are the indigenous people who live in the Arctic regions of Canada. In the video, the Inuit village is the subject of the mysterious disappearances. The script uses the term 'Inuit' to describe the cultural background of the villagers, which adds depth to the story and provides a cultural context for the event.

💡Joe Labelle

Joe Labelle is a character in the story who is an experienced trapper and the one who discovered the vanished village. His role is central to the video's narrative as he is the first person to report the disappearance and his experiences are a key part of the story. The script uses Labelle's perspective to describe the initial discovery of the empty village.

💡RCMP

The RCMP, or the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, is the federal police force of Canada. In the video, they are mentioned as the authority that got involved in the investigation of the village's disappearance. The script refers to the RCMP to illustrate the official response to the mysterious event and to discuss the credibility of the story.

💡Thornraark

Thornraark, or Thorne Garsuk, is mentioned in the script as an evil spirit or an Inuit sky god, respectively, according to different sources. It is brought up in the context of Inuit folklore as a possible explanation for the disappearance. The script uses 'Thornraark' to explore cultural beliefs and to add a layer of mystery and speculation to the story.

💡Dwight Whalen

Dwight Whalen is an individual who published a story in Fate magazine titled 'Vanishing Village, Revisited', attempting to debunk the original story. His work is significant in the video as it represents the skeptical perspective and challenges the authenticity of the tale. The script mentions Whalen to discuss the controversy and the varying interpretations of the story.

💡John Colombo

John Colombo is an author who wrote 'Mysterious Canada', a book that discusses the story of the vanished village and cites the findings of previous skeptics. His work is mentioned in the video to represent the ongoing debate and to provide a comprehensive view of the story's reception. The script uses Colombo's research to question the validity of the police reports and the existence of the village.

Highlights

Introduction of the video's topic: mysterious disappearances, specifically the story of a vanished village.

Acknowledgment of viewer suggestion by Dain Tan for the video's topic.

The story's complexity and the potential for a non-linear narrative due to its various iterations.

Reference to Frank Edwards' book 'Stranger Than Science' as a popular iteration of the story.

The original story's attribution to a 1930 newspaper article by Emmett E. Keller.

The setting of the story in the Kivilik region of Nunavut, Northern Canada, near Anjikuni Lake.

Introduction of trapper Joe Labelle as the main character who discovers the abandoned village.

Description of Labelle's encounter with starved dogs and dead dog corpses upon his arrival.

Labelle's investigation of the village, finding personal belongings but no human remains.

Mention of a mysterious rifle found by Labelle, suggesting the villagers did not leave willingly.

Labelle's speculation about the Inuit folklore's evil spirit, Thornraark, as a possible explanation.

The involvement of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in the investigation.

Discovery of an Inuit boy and an Eskimo named Samak, who provided no useful information about the vanished village.

Dwight Whalen's attempt to debunk the story in 1976, suggesting it might be a hoax.

John Columbo's 1988 book 'Mysterious Canada' which further investigates the story's credibility.

The skepticism surrounding the story due to the lack of evidence and RCMP's denial of the event.

The debate over the authenticity of the story, with some attributing it to Frank Edwards and others to Emmett E. Keller.

The unresolved nature of the story, leaving it as an open question for viewers to ponder.

Invitation for viewers to share their thoughts on the vanishing village of Lake Anjikuni in the comments.

Transcripts

the vanishing

at lake anja cooney

this video is the first one in which i

take a viewer suggestion

so thank you dain tan i hope i

pronounced that right for the idea

the topic is mysterious disappearances

in particular

a story about a whole village that

seemingly goes missing

i've known about this story for a while

and thought this would be the perfect

time to take a deeper look into

it i apologize in advance this video

might be a little everywhere as this

isn't particularly a straightforward

story

this story like most i cover on this

channel has a few iterations

one of them the more popular one comes

from a gentleman named

frank edwards from his book stranger

than science

released in 1959 many still believe that

this

was the original story before it was

ripped off by a thousand different

people

this is not the original story although

it suggested he referred to a police

article

edwards probably referenced this story

from a newspaper article 30 years prior

the article in question was written by

emmett e

keller named vanish eskimo tribe gibbs

north mystery stranger than fiction this

allegedly real story was published on

november 27th

1930 by the bee a newspaper from

danville georgia

interestingly not in canada where the

story takes place

i thought i'd mention this first in

hopes that it's easier to follow

with that being said here is how the

original 1930s story goes

first off this story takes place in the

kivilik region

of nunavut northern canada on the shores

of anjikuni lake

the article references an experienced

trapper joe labelle who frequents the

area around none of it

it starts with labelle rolling up to the

shores of lake anjikuni towards an inuit

village that he's visited many times

before

lebel beached on the shore about a

hundred yards from the village and began

yelling a greeting while making his way

towards the settlement

instead of a response from his inuit

friends he was greeted by two bony

nearly starved huskies that crawled

towards him

not far from where the dogs met lebel

there were seven dog corpses laying on

the ground

labelle is now suspicious he makes his

way to the village which consisted of

six

elk skinned huts labelle enters a hut

and begins investigating

he was fully expecting to find skeletons

or decomposing corpses but instead finds

what you'd expect

personal belongings of the tribe's

people deerskin parkas

boots clothes that are in the process of

being sown and greasy iron pots

the only bones labelle apparently found

were of fish and deer which were

scattered all over the ground

labelle notes that interesting of all he

found a rusty rifle

something the eskimos surely wouldn't

have left behind if they were vacating

the area

lebel finds the other tents in a similar

state some of them damaged by wind

it appears the tribe's people suddenly

got up and left but

never returned there were no signs of

struggle either

at this moment labelle thought about an

evil spirit in

inuit folklore thornraark a few sources

say this might be referring to

thorne garsuk an inuit sky god but i'm

not too sure

from here in the story labelle wanders

back down to the lake pondering about

thorn rock

and speculating about where these 25

individuals could have gone

he thought they may have drowned but it

seemed unlikely at the lake

lebel being followed by the two starving

dogs finds the strangest thing during

his investigation

he notes there was a grave a carn built

of stones but the stones were moved off

the grave

into two separate piles next to the dirt

mound the grave itself was opened but

there was no body inside

where did the body go from here lebel

caught some fish for the starving dogs

and headed out of the village before he

had to spend the night there the whole

time he noted that everything looked

peaceful but the air seemed

deadly from here

somehow the royal canadian mounted

police or rcmp

got involved but they were apparently

equally as puzzled as labelle

during that season keller the author of

the story states labelle went to various

other inuit villages during his travels

to ask questions about the missing tribe

they all had no idea but all blamed

thornrarck

apparently police do discover that in an

inuit village 150 miles north of the

abandoned anjikuni camp

an inuit boy has wandered into the

village no one in the camp knew where he

came from but they took him in

another apparent lead from the police is

when an eskimo was discovered named

samak i think i pronounced that right

who was brought to the hospital on the

hudson bay railway for treatment

police finally found a translator and

wanted to question samak about the

village

it's noted that he totally denied any

questions about the village and

apparently only mentioned

thornrark police then tried getting

samack drunk to spill some information

yeah that apparently happened this

didn't work however as somak refused the

alcohol because he didn't like the taste

the 1930s article finally ends with

keller saying the police are trying

their best to unravel the mystery

so far all evidence points to that this

story was originally published november

27th

1930 in the b as i mentioned previously

days later

the article was taken up by various

other newspapers as many sources say but

as of now we cannot find any evidence of

that

the most common publication sources seem

to cite is the halifax herald

published november 29 1930 titled tribe

lost in

barons of north village of dead found by

wandering trapper joe labelle

i do believe this article is real as

many other sources and skeptics cite it

but it appears to be lost in time after

the story came out it's thought to have

gained some traction but ultimately

boiled away

this is until about 30 years later when

frank edwards reincarnates the story

as i mentioned previously edwards

published this story albeit changing a

few things

in his book stranger than science 1959

presenting the story as fact

edwards did change a few things notably

in his version titled the vanish village

labelle hiked up to the camp instead of

canoeing in labelle was not greeted by

starving dogs

after his yelling to the village but

instead found seven dead dogs tied to

tree stumps after his investigation

in this version labelle finds three

canoes beached on the lake one of which

belongs to the inuit chief

what's interesting about this story is

it's the first to cite the alleged

police report of the incident

and it's alleged because no one knows if

it actually happened but we'll get to

that

in his writing edward suggests he only

referenced the police document and not

the original newspaper article

further i'd like to mention that the

police investigation wasn't completed

during keller's publication

so it makes sense the original story

wouldn't have referenced it anyway

in edward's telling experts determined

that the village has been abandoned for

about two months

judging by some berries found in some

cooking pots edwards then states the

rcmp filed the case as unsolved

the story again gained a little traction

but then died down

in november 1976 an individual named

dwight whalen published a story in fate

magazine titled vanishing village

revisited

where he actually attempts to debunk

both edwards and the original article

written by keller

i need to mention that i did not

actually read this story because i

cannot find it anywhere

i did my best to put together quotes and

tellings of the story from different

sources in my research

weyland largely dismisses the whole

story weyland was the first published

person to mention the original 1930s

news article

and mentions a 1931 police statement on

the event

the 1931 police report a separate one

from the one edward sites was allegedly

released by the rcmp commissioner

cortland starnes

which contains sergeant jay nelson of

the paws denying the whole thing

weyland claims to further call the mcmp

at the time

in which they tell him they have no

record of the event by this

i assume they mean no record of the

original police report from 1930

and the public report in 1931 though it

is unclear

whelan then concludes the whole thing

was either emphasized or totally made up

by both keller and

joe labelle it's cited that the

publication of weyland's story really

kicks things off

it started a wave of retelling and

reimagining of edward's story

labeled both as fiction and non-fiction

i do say

edward's story because it seems unlikely

keller story was even known to the

general public in the late 1970s

people now attribute this vanishing

village to ufos

aliens police cover-up alternative

dimensions

you name it among these waves of firm

believers of course

came this skeptics this is where the

last most cited individual comes into

the timeline

john columbo in 1988 columbo releases a

book called mysterious canada

which talks about both keller's story

and edward's reimagining

and cites weyland's findings columbo

however seems to be the first person to

quote the 1931 police document

suggesting that he's read it this is

interesting because in 1988 skeptics

were able to get a hold of an

rcmp historian sw horrell horrell is

quoted in saying that officers at the

time

who would have investigated the event

have no recollection of this event

actually happening

further after carefully searching rcmp

files coral says they have no reports

from a

joe labelle no reports of sending out

search parties

and no reports of strange crafts the

last one was likely a response to all

the apparent ufo sightings attributed to

the anjikuni lake

well after keller story came out so this

suggests the rcmp know nothing of this

vanishing village everyone is so hyped

about which

further suggests there was no

investigation which would mean the 1931

police report is

fake on top of this having been uploaded

for years the rcmp's official website

has a post debunking the whole anjikuni

story as

a urban legend links in the description

the rcmp

say the whole thing isn't true and there

is no evidence to support such a story

additionally the post states that the

story was all just invented by frank

edwards

but wait frank edwards we established

the story was first written by keller

something we can definitely confirm

do the rcmp themselves not know the

origin of the story though they probably

never saw the original news article it's

cited multiple times that keller

originally wrote it okay well if the

rcmp doesn't know about the original

article which dates almost 30 years

prior to edward's story

then what are the odds they don't know

about the 1930 and 1931 police documents

it's definitely a reach but considering

how well preserved documents are from

that era i.e they aren't

perhaps the police documents no longer

exist that would be why they couldn't

find it

there are a ton of other questions we

could further ask ourselves but i'll

save that for the comments

it's noted that for many years no one

could find keller's original news

article either

it was only until recently i believe

2013 where the article was finally

uncovered and uploaded online

the police documents cited by so many

skeptics still cannot be found to this

day and the rcmp deny they even exist

i could keep asking questions and coming

up with plausible answers but in the end

i have two explanations for the

vanishing village story

i believe the nail is in the coffin for

the vanishing village in two ways

with the current lead that the police

reports do not exist as stated by the

rcmp

this means a few things namely it's

possible joe labelle never even existed

in the first place as there's just no

evidence of him or

at least any evidence that matches up

with his timeline even if he does

well it wouldn't mean anything for the

timeline second there is then

no evidence both written or physical

that the angikuni village

ever existed the sources i've come

across deny such a village could even

survive

in such a remote area again the rcmp

denied the whole thing ever even

happened and some denied labelle

couldn't even have made it that far

north

all we have to go off of is the story

written by keller which

have many inconsistencies in and of

itself my other explanation

is let's say the police reportings from

the 1930s do exist but are simply lost

if so then the quotes from sergeant

nelson would exist giving us solid

evidence that the whole thing was just

one big hoax

this would give a merit to both weyland

and colombo and yeah

big rip it would likely be true then

something i didn't mention before that

the pitcher used in keller's story

isn't of lake and chikuni colombo

mentions it was borrowed from an

ex-member of the force

really taken in 1909 at fort churchill i

found another person mentioned it was

taken in cree village in 1909 so this

seems debated as well

regardless following colombo this starts

to make sense since the original story

states that lake anjikuni is 500 miles

northwest of port churchill

a seemingly odd place of reference for a

location so

maybe keller got that inspiration from

the pitcher it's possible

also lake anjikuni is actually 300 miles

northwest

of churchill canada but i'll cut him

some slack there

all in all considering how many people

doubted keller story to ever exist

and then it seemingly popped up out of

nowhere i do believe the 1931's police

report does exist

it's just no one knows where the hell it

is colombo does state that it was made

public and the people he mentions were

in fact real people having those

positions with the rcmp

whether or not anything from the police

exists it seems the vanishing village of

lake anjikuni is in a checkmate at all

angles

this whole story has just escalated into

a he said she said game of telephone

citing unclear semi-pseudo-history as

fact

all stemming from a story that has no

clear evidence itself

what do you think do you think the story

is largely debunked

do you think the story was all just

conjured up by keller adding to the

growing catalogue of anomalous fiction

at the time

do you feel it has a chance at being

real it seems in the end

perhaps we will never know the exact

facts

what are your thoughts on the vanishing

village of lake anjikuni i'd love to

talk about in the comments

thank you for watching this video and if

you want to see more content like this

why not subscribe to the channel

if you have any other suggestions for

content leave me a comment or email me

at mt.caveat

gmail.com have a great day guys and stay

safe from anything that might cause you

to vanish mysteriously