For thousands of years, the men of a tiny Sardinian town have transformed into monsters-and no one knows why
No one dares to speak as smoke from a massive bonfire billows and twirls into a thick haze in the remote mountain town of Mamoiada. Flaming logs crack open, echoing through central
Sardinia's rugged massifs and twisting valleys, shooting sparks toward a solemn mass of spectators. We're huddled together on a piercingly cold January night, bracing for something wild in the darkness that's lurching ever closer.
I peer through the smoke, searching for any signs of life beyond the glow of the blaze when I see several mothers suddenly pull their children in close. Just then, Ruggero Mameli, a lifelong Mamoiada resident who had invited me to come witness this event, whispers, "They're coming."
Within seconds, a distant rattling sound shakes the night awake, building slowly with each heavy step until it erupts into a deafening clatter. The sea of spectators parts, I see
them, and a chill runs up my spine. Twelve menacing figures in jet-black masks with jutting, ghoulish features and dark sheepskin tunics are inching toward me, weighed down by up to 65 pounds of cowbells strapped to their backs. Their hunched frames slowly drag forward in two rows, eyeing the crowd as they heave themselves into a series of synchronized convulsions that cause the sheep bones inside their copper bells to clang in a thunderous chorus.
Comment: Jackie Onassis was not far off. See: Former Nixon aide: Lyndon B. Johnson arranged John F. Kennedy's assassination
And for an even broader view of the JFK, RFK and MLK's assassinations, watch the stunning and comprehensive video Evidence of Revision: The Assassination of America