The fictional universes devised by creative minds, where the superhuman or supernatural coexist with us ordinary folk, are not entirely devoid of facts. Many of us are entranced by the mysterious appeal of the strange and unusual and, now more than ever, the superhuman is the subject of some of the most popular films, TV series and books.

Here are five people with super human powers.

Natasha Demkina: X-Ray Vision

Natasha Demkina is known in her native Russia as the “Girl with X-ray Eyes”. She claims to have the ability to see through people’s skin and into their insides.

Ben Underwood: Sees through sound

Ben Underwood, born in 1992, suffered from retinal cancer and had both of his eyes surgically removed at the age of 3. At the age of 5, he harnessed the ability to practice echolocation, the remarkable skill used to detect surrounding objects by hearing the sounds projected from them.

Isao Machii: Super Samurai

Isao Machii wows audiences with his impressive sword wielding skills: Isao can cut through a pellet fired from a BB gun coming at him at 200 miles an hour.

Michel Lotito: ‘Monsieur Mangetout’

Appropriately known in his native France as ‘Monsieur Mangetout’, which means ‘Mr. Eats It All’, Michel Lotito (1950-2007), could eat anything. Lotito ate an estimated nine tons of metal between the years 1959 and 1997.

Master Zhou: ‘Jewel of China’

Master Zhou is a Thai Chi and Kung Fu master and a Qigong healer. The ‘qi’ in Qigong roughly translates to the word ‘heat’ and this is what Master Zhou is famous for: the ability to heat things with his bare hands. He has demonstrated his remarkable talent by drying up clay in his hands and even bringing water to a boil by simply holding it.

-TheRichest