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| “ | The men called them the Ghost and the Darkness. There were two of them, and that had never happened before because man-eaters are always alone. They owned the nights, but they also attacked in daylight, alone or together, without fear or reason. Some thought they were not lions at all, but the spirits of dead medicine men come back to spread madness. For others, they were the devil, sent to stop the white men from owning the world. I believed this... that they were evil, and what better ground for evil to walk than Tsavo? Because this is what the word "Tsavo" means, a place of slaughter. | „ |
| ~ Samuel's narration on the lions. |
| “ | Lions don't do this. Lions never had a lair like this. They're doing it for the pleasure. | „ |
| ~ Remington upon discovering the lions' cave filled with human bones. |
The Ghost and the Darkness are the titular main antagonists of the 1996 historical adventure film of the same name. The two lions are responsible for the numerous deaths in Tsavo, Kenya during the construction of the Uganda Railway. They are based on the Tsavo Man-Eaters.
They were portrayed by animal actors Ceasar and Bongo, while their vocal sound effects were provided by Martin Lopez.
Biography[]
They are a pair of man-eating lions from the Tsavo region, which were responsible for the deaths of a number of construction workers on the Kenya-Uganda railway from March through December, 1898. The lions were unusual both for the number of victims that they claimed and in the manner in which they carried out their attacks.
They were dubbed "The Ghost and the Darkness" by the people of Tsavo, Kenya, because of their hunting methods. Unlike other lions, they were shown to kill their prey and lick up their victim's skin, and drank their blood when it reached the surface. Unlike other male lions, they would hunt together. They were not killing for sustenance, as they often did not consume their victims. The locals believed them to have been demons in lion skin. The total number of their victims may have been about eighty people or more.
As a result of the lion attacks, the construction of the bridge was halted. John Henry Patterson, who had some experience in hunting lions, was appointed to kill the pair. Joining him was a native African named Samuel and a hunter named Charles Remington who was appointed by Sir Robert Beaumont when the construction of the bridge was slowing.
After a few failed attempts, Remington sets up a trap by using Patterson, with a baboon as bait, and thereby manages to kill one of the lions. The following day the remaining lion is revealed to have dragged Remington out of the camp overnight and killed him. Seeking vengeance, Patterson burns the grass surrounding the grass to lure the lion out. This results in them ending up on the unfinished bridge, where Patterson successfully kills the surviving lion. The bridge construction is then completed. Samuel, who had been narrating the movie, says that the carnivorous man-eaters can be found at the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The Ghost and the Darkness are depicted as having manes and were shown to be fit and healthy. Historically, the Tsavo Man Eaters lacked any manes, like most lions from the Tsavo region. Additionally, autopsies revealed numerous health problems in both lions, which probably explained their attacks on humans.
- In the film, Remington killed the first lion and Patterson killed the second. In reality, it was Patterson who killed both lions.