corn snake hatchling

If one were to visit the remote Pacific island village of Lamakara today, one would likely encounter natives performing bizarre rituals in homemade U.S. military outfits with large American flags flying over bamboo huts. The unusual display worships American materialism and honors a mysterious and mythical messiah they call John Frum: a still unidentified American who is said to have first appeared on the island in the late 1930’s. A figure who many believe is more spirit than man, Frum is a hero to the island people of Tanna. Many claim to have seen or known him, island lore says that he still lives at the top of the smoldering volcano, which they call [quote] “John Frum’s House,” and many of the locals worship him to this day.

According to one village elder interviewed by Smithsonian Magazine, John Frum promised the island people that he would [quote] “bring planeloads and shiploads of cargo to us from America if we pray to him. Radios, TVs, trucks, boats, watches, iceboxes, medicine, Coca-Cola and many other wonderful things.” Yet, despite the assertion that the mysterious American is [quote] “even more powerful than Jesus,” there is scant evidence that John Frum is still alive today, let alone that he ever existed to begin with…

Pictured: Finland's Sakkiluoto Island as seen from Google Earth... 9 piers and a (highlighted) helipad mysteriously purchased by a Russian oligarchic with deep military connections.

On September 22nd, 2018, Finnish retiree Leo Gastgivar was outside working in his garden on the tiny island in an archipelago between Finland and Sweden where he lived. Suddenly, his peaceful afternoon was interrupted by a most unusual presence. Gastgivar noticed two black speedboats packed with Finnish commandos in camouflage fatigues waiting in the bay short of his front door.

Awkward greetings were exchanged, as Gastgivar remained utterly at a loss as to what this somewhat sinister military presence signified for his peaceful island life. Seemingly satisfied with whatever they were observing, the commandos began to reverse their boats and continue onward. Gastgivar went inside his home, collected a pair of binoculars and watched in amazement as the commandos raced off toward another tiny island belonging to his nearest neighbor, a mysterious Russian businessman he had never met or even seen.

Mr. Gastgivar was certainly unnerved by the spectacle. He would later recall: “I thought: ‘Wow! That is certainly unusual,’” “Nobody ever visits that place...”