Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-26041522-20150127014159/@comment-16047389-20150128151536

Matsczon wrote:

It's possible Manus was the Pygmy, but then he would've likely been able to adapt to the growth of his Lord Soul. Instead, his humanity goes wild, and he becomes corrupted into what he is in-game. Well, it's heavily implied that the town of Oolacile dug up Manus from his grave, then proceeded to torture him. We know that Marvelous Chester claims that Oolacile dug up Manus from his grave, and that they "incited his ornery wrath". The Oolacile Township Dungeon is covered in the same residue that you usually see from the creatures from/corrupted by the Dark, and the Chained Prisoners are testaments to some of the treatment Oolacile used on their prisoners.

The implication is that Manus may have been driven to madness, rather than becoming mad on his own. Also, they dug up an ancient being from the grave. That in and of itself may have set him off. If we look at the Undead Crypt in Dark Souls 2, we can clearly see that the dead don't like to be woken up.