Halloween is ahead of us all, and just recently Friday the 13th took place, so get ready for a new batch of creepy horror stories that have been frightening residents of many different cities around the world for many years.
Urban legends are passed down from generation to generation, just like good books or family traditions, so don't be surprised if your children's children also tell each other scary stories about black people and a coffin on wheels. And if Halloween is just around the corner and you're looking for inspiration for a new costume, check out this selection of horror movies right now!
10. El Silbon or Whistler
In Venezuela and Colombia there is a scary tale about a creature cursed to wander the Earth for eternity with a bag of bones on its back.
The mystical creature was once a little boy who lived with his parents in Venezuela. El Silbon was the only child in the family, and his parents spoiled him very much. As a result, the boy became a spoiled, capricious and mischievous young man.
One day, a child demanded that his parents cook him venison for dinner. The father was unable to obtain such meat, which greatly angered his demanding son. El Silbon stabbed his own father with a knife, pulled out his entrails and brought them to his mother so she could cook dinner from the offal.
The unsuspecting woman used the meat for cooking, although it seemed suspicious to her. Having finally realized what had happened, the mother was horrified and was so stricken with grief that she allowed the grandfather to punish the evil boy himself.
The grandfather beat the child half to death, and he poured lemon juice and rubbed chili pepper into his wounds. He then handed his grandson a bag full of his father's bones and set a pack of dogs on the little villain. Right before the animals tore the boy to pieces, his grandfather cursed him to wander forever. This is how a creature named El Silbon was born.
They say that he still wanders through forests, fields and villages, whistling a simple melody under his breath, and sneaking into other people's houses. There he throws the bag of bones on the floor and counts them right in the house. If no one notices the presence of the monster, one member of this family will die. However, if the household catches the Whistler (the second nickname of the cursed creature), no one will suffer, and, on the contrary, good luck is promised to the residents of the house.
9. Drawing of a suicide from Japan
Photo: urbanlegendsonline.com
The most disturbing and scary urban legends often appear in Asian countries, and many of them later even become the basis for famous horror films.
According to one such legend, a young Japanese woman painted a color portrait of a young girl who seemed to look straight into the viewer’s eyes. The talented artist published the drawing on the Internet and, for an unknown reason, soon committed suicide.
After the incident, netizens began to write comments on this drawing, and many said that they saw sadness and even anger in the eyes of the drawn girl. Others wrote that if you look at this portrait for too long, the stranger’s lips begin to curl into a grin, and a strange ring appears around her image. Some went even further - people began to spread rumors about poor souls who looked at the picture for more than 5 minutes in a row and then also committed suicide.
8. Nixes (Nykur)
Photo: kickassfacts.com
We are accustomed to horses being portrayed in films and pictures as beautiful creatures and noble animals. However, if you ever find yourself in Iceland and notice a gray horse standing on the shore of the sea or lake, do yourself a favor and take a closer look at the animal's hooves. If they look the other way, then you have a problem - it looks like you've met a nix...
They say that nyxes are monsters that live in the water, but sometimes come to the coast to lure unsuspecting people to the bottom of the reservoir. The skin of such a horse is sticky, so if a person, fascinated by a wild horse, wants to ride the animal, he will no longer be able to get off it and will be doomed to certain death, because the nyx will drag the rider to the bottom. There is a belief that if you shout the name of a mystical horse, it will get scared and run back into the water without harming anyone.
7. Child on a high chair
This city walks all over the world, but it most likely appeared in Norway. For many years, one Norwegian couple could not afford to go on vacation. Finally, everything fell into place - the couple found a reliable nanny for their grown-up baby and planned a trip.
When the day of departure arrived, the nanny still did not show up. She called and said she had problems with her car. However, the woman also said that she could call a mechanic and be there in 15 minutes because she was almost at the couple's house and was ready to walk.
Taking the nanny at her word, the parents sat their son in a highchair, fastened the child with special belts, kissed him goodbye and left the house. The couple was in a hurry to get on the plane. They left one of the doors open so the nanny could go inside.
One version of the legend says that the nurse was never able to get into the house because all the doors were closed (they were slammed by the wind), and she decided that the parents took the child with them. The woman went home without confirming whether this was true.
In another version, on the way to the house, the nanny was hit by a truck, and in the third scenario, the nurse was actually an elderly relative of the family, and on the way she suffered a heart attack. In any case, she never made it into the house where a little boy was waiting for her in a high chair.
In all versions, the couple returns home to find the child dead and still strapped into his child seat...
6. The Girl from Studley Road
The scariest urban legends are the horror stories that take place closer to our own cities and homes, or when mention of them comes up again and more recently. Three years ago, a user of the social platform Reddit told a horror story that terrified him throughout his childhood and throughout his teenage years. The man lives in Mechanicsville, Virginia, and in the area of this town lies a winding road called Studley Road.
Several years ago, a family with an alcoholic father lived in a small house near this road. One evening the man became enraged and beat his wife and child to death and then committed suicide. The girl's jaw was broken, but she did not die immediately. In search of help, she managed to get to the road, where she fell dead, bleeding all over her pajamas.
Since then, on the winding turns of Studley Road in the middle of the forest, some drivers have seen the luminous figure of a little girl wandering along the side of the road with her back to passing cars. Unsuspecting motorists, unfamiliar with the creepy legend, stop to help a child in his pajamas. The girl turns around and lets out an inhuman scream, showing the stunned travelers her hanging, bloody jaw. Sometimes she even tries to say something, but due to the blood flowing from her mouth, she can only make gurgling sounds.
5. Phantom Cart
South Africa also has its own urban myths, and the most famous among them are the story of the Flying Dutchman and the ghostly fellow traveler from Uniondale. However, the most terrible legend originated here back in 1887. Major Alfred Ellis told this terrible tale in his South African Sketches, and since then the legend has terrified all local residents.
Four men - Lutterodt, Seururier, Anthony de Heer and an unnamed visitor from Cape Town - boarded a wagon and set out on a joint journey from Ceres to Beaufort West. This area has long been famous as a haunted place, which was even indicated on old South African maps. During the trip, one of the cart's wheels suddenly broke down, and it took until 3 a.m. to repair it. The company returned to the road again, but their horse suddenly rebelled, froze in place and refused to go further.
Out of nowhere, the men heard the sound of another cart approaching at high speed. When the travelers finally saw her, they realized that a team of 14 horses was rushing straight towards them, which the coachman was whipping with all his might. Frightened, Lutterodt, Seruryi and the stranger from the capital jumped out of their carriage, and de Heer grabbed the reins and managed to move their vehicle out of the way. An angry de Heer shouted at the hurrying coachman: “Where are you going?”, to which he replied: “To hell.” With these words, the cart disappeared into thin air, as if it had never existed.
Lutterodt later learned that anyone who dared to talk to the ghostly coachman ended up very badly. A week after this incident, de Heer's body was found at the bottom of a rocky gorge, and the wreckage of his cart and the corpses of horses lay right next to its owner.
4. Blue Baby
Photo: urbanlegendsonline.com
Like Bloody Mary, the Blue Baby is a legend associated with a mirror, only in the case of a little boy, the story also includes a mad mother who killed her child with a piece of that same mirror. Naturally, after the birth of the terrible story, those who are trying to summon an innocent victim, nicknamed the blue child, appeared. The ritual for meeting the other world includes going to the bathroom at night. The cosmetic mirror needs to be fogged up so that “blue baby” can be written on it. The light should be turned off at this time, and the one who made the inscription should fold his hands as if a real child was lying on them. The belief says that the spirit of the boy will certainly appear in the arms of the person who calls him. If for some reason you drop this baby on the floor, your mirror will break and you will die.
According to another version, a boy appears if you go into a dark bathroom, repeat “blue baby” 13 times, and all the while move your hands as if you were rocking a child. The ghost will not only make itself known, but will also scratch you. However, this time, don’t be afraid to drop your baby, because escaping from the bathroom will be the best way to survive. They say that during such a seance, a distraught mother may appear in the mirror, and she will definitely want to kill you.
3. The woman who hanged herself with Delonix regalis
Photo: abc.net.au
One of Australia's creepiest urban myths is the story of a young woman from Darwin who was raped by a Japanese fisherman in the East Point area. When the girl realized that she was pregnant, she was horrified and hanged herself on the nearest tree, which turned out to be a royal delonix.
The restless spirit of the victim began to haunt all the men who appeared in East Point. The girl appeared as an alluring figure in white. However, as soon as a man succumbed to the beauty’s charms, she turned into a creepy witch with long claws, tore her prey into pieces and ate the entrails of the unfortunate men.
The most intrepid adventurers can try to summon the spirit of suicide by visiting a local park on a moonless night. Turn around yourself three times and call the woman by name. An eerie scream will notify you that the seance was a success. Although in this case it is better not to hesitate and run without looking back if you value your own guts.
2. Devil's Toy Box
Photo: thoughtcatalog.com
It is said that the series of mystical films “The Hellraiser” was filmed under inspiration from a terrifying urban legend that is buzzing throughout America. According to rumors in Louisiana (Louisiana, USA) there is a one-room house, the walls of which are covered with mirrors from the floor to the ceiling. The place got the creepy name “Devil’s Toy Box”, and according to myth, if you go into this house and stay there too long, the devil appears in the room and takes the soul of the unfortunate person.
Experts in the field of supernatural phenomena have found that the mirrors facing the inside of the house form a hexagon, and according to rumors, it is almost impossible to stay in this room for more than 5 minutes. One person stood there for more than 4 minutes and went outside completely mute. From then on he never spoke again. One woman in this room even experienced cardiac arrest, and the teenager who entered the “devil’s box” was difficult to get out of there - he screamed and fought like a madman. Two weeks later the guy committed suicide.
1. Clack-clack
Photo: yokai.com
One scary Japanese legend says that a few years after World War II in Hokkaido, American soldiers raped and beat a local girl. The scolded Japanese woman jumped off a bridge that stood over the railroad tracks that same evening and was immediately hit by a train. The unfortunate woman's body was cut in half at the waist. The weather that evening was very frosty, and therefore the girl did not die immediately. Slowly bleeding, she (her upper half) crawled to the station, where a shocked station employee threw a piece of tarpaulin over the grisly remains. The suicide died in terrible agony.
According to Japanese legend, 3 days after you hear or read this sad story, the ghost of a young woman will find you, and you will know about its approach by a characteristic clicking sound. If you think that escaping from a legless girl is easy, you are mistaken, because she can move at a speed of 150 kilometers per hour. No wonder this is a ghost...
After death, the suicide set herself the goal of capturing as many people as possible. The ghost chases its victims in order to cut them in half, and takes the lower part of the body for itself. The only way to avoid a terrible fate is to correctly answer the monster's questions. The girl will ask if you need your legs. The answer is that you need them right now. And if the ghost asks who told you this story, feel free to say: “Kashima Reiko.”
A fertile topic is ghosts; everyone who “saw” can contribute to an already existing story. The author of the site, Alexandra Mikhailidi, chose the five most common legends
Location: Ireland, Gripmain Castle
According to an old legend, the wealthy Earl of Northmebry had no children, except for one adopted child. When the count died, his entire fortune was supposed to go to this child, but the guardian, the count’s closest relative, did not like the fact that the heir to a substantial estate was some rootless boy.
The boy was taken into the forest, where he died of hunger and cold
He starved the unfortunate man for several days, and then took him to the forest, where he died of hunger and cold. However, the story did not end there: the boy “returned” the very night after his burial and began to take revenge on his relative for the rest of his life.
At night, many tourists still notice the ghost in the castle, and especially impressionable ones “feel an icy shiver” even in broad daylight.
Place: USA, Pennsylvania.
No one knows exactly when this story happened, but many years ago, a woman named Mary lived in one of the villages. Local residents considered her a witch: young girls disappeared when they visited her shop with medicinal herbs, and Mary herself remained young and attractive. This is how she received the nickname Bloody Mary.
Local residents considered Mary a witch
One day, the daughter of a very influential peasant disappeared: the whole village rushed to search, she was found during a ceremony performed by Mary. Seeing the crowd, the sorceress started to run, but was captured and burned. According to legend, during her execution she cast a spell, and now anyone who says her name three times while looking in the mirror will be brutally killed by her ghost.
Place: France, Brittany
Mention of the ghost Anku is found in folklore. There are several versions of its origin, according to one of them - it is the ghost of a person who died last of the year in a city or village, according to another - the first one buried in a cemetery.
The ghost of Anku foreshadowed imminent death
According to legends, he appears in the guise of a tall, thin man with long silver hair in black clothes. His face consists of only cheekbones and empty eye sockets; he usually wears a black hat with wide brims on his head. He has a scythe over his shoulder and is driving a funeral cart drawn by horses.
Meeting Anka is a bad sign. It foretells the imminent death of the person he met or someone close to him.
Place: Estonia, Haapsalu
Many years ago, in the episcopal castle of Haapsalu, all monks were required to observe a strict chaste rule. According to legend, one of the canons fell in love with a girl, but the lovers could not see each other often, so the girl disguised herself as a singer and secretly made her way into the castle. However, the happiness did not last long: the young “chorister” attracted the attention of the bishop, and the secret was revealed. The girl was walled up alive within the castle walls, and the monk died of starvation in prison.
Seeing the White Lady is a good sign
In August, during the full moon, you can see the shadow of a white lady in the window of the castle tower. Locals believe that this is a good omen that foretells true love. This day is considered a holiday, the culmination of which is the staging of the legend of the White Lady in the open air.
Place: Moscow, “Tea and Coffee” store on Myasnitskaya
According to an old urban legend, at the end of the 19th century, the Kusovnikov couple lived on Myasnitskaya: rich and incredibly stingy. They hid all their savings in a wooden box, left the house and drove around Moscow all night, hiding from thieves. One day the couple felt unwell and stayed at home, and decided to hide the box with money in the fireplace.
The Kusovnikov couple were incredibly stingy
The servant decided to light a fire in the fireplace so that the owners would not get cold: all their savings had burned. Kusovnikova could not withstand such a blow and died instantly, and her husband then tried for a long time to obtain compensation from the authorities, but in vain, and followed his wife.
So, Muscovites can meet Kusovnikov on Myasnitskaya after seven in the evening, but this meeting does not bode well - it portends financial difficulties.
The appearance of ghosts on Mangup is a fairly common event. The phenomenon of ghosts on Mangup is directly associated with the legend of the Mangup boy, who from time to time appears to tourists who decide to stay overnight in the ancient cave city.
Since there is a lot of discussion around these stories, there is no longer just one version of the legend, but three.
You will have to believe in the legends about ghosts, you are among them...
(Captain Hector Barbossa - Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl)
The legend of the appearance of the ghost of the Mangup boy
Once upon a time, when the Goths reigned on Mount Mangup, local residents decided to build a powerful wall that would protect their city in the event of an enemy invasion. The Theodorites tried many times to build a wall, but it always collapsed.
A local shaman said that to prevent further destruction, the eldest son of the city leader should be walled up in the wall. So they did. A lot of time has passed, but local residents from time to time continue to see a little boy in ancient clothes, surrounded by a pale glow, on Mount Mangup. The boy’s lips move slightly, as if he wants to say something or warn about something….
True story - ghost phenomenon in 1966
In the late 60s, a group of three young guys decided to wander into Mangup in mid-autumn. The weather was very bad - there was a strong wind and the rain did not stop. The guys set up a tent and were about to go to bed, when suddenly they heard a quiet child’s cry from the direction of the cave. At first they thought it was a bird screaming, but after listening they were convinced that it was the cry of a 6-7 year old child. He began to sob more and more and began to sob loudly.
One of the guys decided to leave the tent and see what was going on. Maybe the baby is lost and needs help? The guy went out and never returned... His friends never saw him again. The guys continued to hear crying until the morning...
A couple of days later, local residents of the village of Zalesnoye decided to climb Mangup and pick up the harvested hay. On the way, they noticed a tent in which there was a completely frightened young man, completely gray-haired, who continuously repeated: “He’s crying, he’s crying all the time!”
Someone, of course, will not believe this story, but there is a report from the control and rescue service of the Bakhchisarai region, which states that in October 1966, two guys disappeared in the Mangup area. Three days later both were found. One was in the village of Ternovka (4 km from the cave city), and the second was in the village of Kuibyshevo (5 km from Mangup).
Both ended up in a local psychiatric hospital with a severe mental disorder, which, according to doctors, was due to severe mental shock. They could not explain what happened to them. They only said that they didn’t remember anything and wouldn’t understand how they ended up in the place where they were found.
The phenomenon of ghosts did not end there. After this, the Mangup boy continued to appear to travelers who wandered onto the mountain. This happens especially often in winter, in inclement weather. It is still not known exactly who this lost ghost baby is.
According to legend, it is believed that this is the son of Prince Alexander, who was cursed by his father for renouncing his faith and accepting Islam. Other legends say that this is the ghost of a baby who died during a massacre in 1475. The poor little ghost still wanders through the ruins of the ancient city and is looking for his parents.
Who is this Mangup ghost?
It is reliably known that in 1475 the Turks captured the young heir to the princely throne. He grew up at the court of the Ottoman Sultan of Porta and all the time accompanied all important diplomatic missions to Orthodox states.
They called him Bey Mangupsky. For the royal dynasties and for important aristocratic families (which had the right to the Byzantine coat of arms with a double-headed eagle), the boy was a relative. So the fate of Bey Mangupsky was not so bad at all. But then why does his ghost still rush through the mountains with tears, scaring travelers he meets?
Some claim that there is not just one ghost in Mangup, but many. The latest ghost sightings happened not too long ago. You can see more detailed eyewitness accounts of what happened on Mangup if you watch the video presented.
However, think about it, maybe you shouldn’t take everyone’s word for it? Maybe you should touch the ancient stones to feel if there is some kind of mysticism in this place?
P.S. If you stand at the very beginning of the village of Khodzhi-Sali (located not far from Mangup), you will see a small cafe nearby. Here you can try many delicious oriental dishes. Having had a good meal, ask the owner to show you the Mangup boy (he is lying down on the cafe there).
This story makes you shiver, but you will read it to the end. I heard it as a child.
This happened in a neighboring village, next to which there was a deep lake. And a couple in love loved to go to this lake. The boy was the tallest and most handsome in the village - a brunette with black eyes. The beautiful girl was fair-haired and green-eyed. They loved to sit on the shore of the lake in the evenings, the girl sang songs and wove wreaths. They usually returned home very late. Parents did not like such dates; the girl was rarely allowed to meet with the boy, but she constantly ran to him.
And at that time a terrible drought fell on the village, and famine began. The rains still did not come and everyone already thought that death was coming. The parents completely stopped letting the beautiful girl go on a date with the young man, and at that time he was sitting by the river bank and waiting for her.
One day, apparently, he wanted to get a blooming lily for her - and he drowned, unfortunate, in the cool water, unable to get out of the swampy place. The lake had a bad reputation for a long time; it looked like a swamp. Only one thing was beautiful about it: it was blooming, there were many different flowers, but people did not swim there and were afraid to go there.
The guy's body was not found. The girl, heartbroken, often came to the old place and called his site.
After the death of the young man, the drought stopped, the rains came, and the specter of starvation receded. And the girl was still suffering. They wanted to give her away in marriage, but she resisted and completely exhausted herself.
A month later, drought and famine set in again. This made people go crazy, so they decided to send the unfortunate girl after the young man. Her family was not against this sacrifice, for them she was still a burden. At night, when the girl was sleeping, evil people broke into the house and killed her, and then dragged her to the lake, where a wooden raft was waiting for her. The girl was placed on a raft and her body was strewn with flowers. People thought that in this way they would attract the attention of the devil (the young man who died), and pushed the raft away from the shore.
The next morning the raft remained, but the girl disappeared. Someone said that a local old man saw a young man, all in white, lying next to her, stroking her hair, and then lowered her into the water and dragged her to the bottom.
Sometimes in that area you can hear the voice of a girl and a boy coming from the lake at night, and even songs. It was from then on that this young man was nicknamed the ghost of the swamp, he began to be revered and feared.
This story is about great love, which was destined to meet even at the bottom of a deep lake and stay together forever. I personally went there - the place was unpleasant, there were three wooden posts. Nobody knows what's going on there, or maybe they know, they're just silent. After all, that village is responsible for many other sins, including sacrifices.
Legend? True story?
It was a long time ago. So long ago that this story turned into a beautiful legend about love and fidelity, about revenge on people for the death of a loved one.
A long time ago, in the Elbrus region, at the foot of a beautiful white mountain, which was called Mingi-tau (a mountain consisting of a thousand mountains, this name of the mountain has been preserved to this day), only a few clans lived. At that time there was no mountain climbing involved. Everyone was mainly concerned about getting their daily bread. And, besides, according to ancient legends, on the top of the white mountain there lived evil spirits who could become angry with the disobedient and take cruel revenge on them. People, like their ancestors, were engaged in cattle breeding. They lived a simple, natural life: grazed livestock, cut hay, collected stones to clear the land for building houses and cultivating vegetable gardens. To acquire the necessary things, they rode oxen and horses to the plain, where they exchanged their modest products for fabrics and products made of bronze and iron. So their life flowed monotonously from year to year, from century to century. They lived - they didn’t grieve, they didn’t complain about their health. And who can you complain to, only your family chiropractor.
One day the measured routine was disrupted: people completely different from them arrived from below, from the plain. And they were not talking in some incomprehensible language. They had an interpreter through whom they communicated with local residents. They were able to explain why they climbed so far into the mountains. Their goal was to climb a high white mountain, which they saw towering above all the mountains of the Caucasus. They needed a guide who would take them along the shortest, fastest and safest route. They promised to pay well to anyone who would undertake to do this.
At this time, the local residents had already begun the “balcariad” - that’s what they now call the haymaking season. During the “balcariad” the day feeds the year, and all the men spent their days and nights in the alpine meadows. Naturally, no one wanted to go down and help the visitors fulfill their strange request.
Lovers lived in this village. They couldn't live a day without each other. When the guy went to the hayfield, the girl kept her eyes open, waiting for him to return. But when the guy appeared, the foreigners were the first to meet him and were closer. They started talking to him, and the girl was embarrassed to approach. The aliens persuaded the guy to take them to the top.
The girl met her beloved, kissed and hugged him. He said that the newcomers persuaded him to take them to the snow-white Mingi-tau. For this he will receive a lot of money, they will get married, build their own house and live together.
The girl really didn’t like the first part of the sentence. She began to persuade her sweetheart to refuse this offer and stay with her. Like, she has a bad feeling. But youth is always honest and irreconcilable. The guy explained to her that he had already given his word and received a deposit.
- How can I refuse the word I gave!? I will be covered in eternal shame in front of foreigners and fellow villagers!
The girl in love could not object to anything. And although there were tears in her eyes and her heart was beating anxiously, she, without saying a word, saw off her dear one on his way.
The group, led by a young guide, walked for a long time. Step by step, day by day they moved upward. We passed alpine meadows, passed lifeless rocks, stepped onto snow, and then onto ice. We spent the night on the road several times. It was getting colder. The air whistled out of his open mouth, his strength diminished every day. But the young man did not notice the difficulties, he thought about the bride, about his new home, about the future wedding.
The group rose to such a height that the entire Caucasus became visible for hundreds of kilometers from sea to sea. The peaks of the two-headed Mingi-tau seemed very close.
At that moment, terrible bad weather broke out: the wind knocked down and carried snow pellets, which painfully cut open areas of the body, visibility dropped to several meters, people began to get lost in the whirlwind of snow. It seemed that the evil spirits of the mountain called upon all the forces of nature to oppose the daredevils. The foreigners, experienced climbers, knew that when an old woman with a scythe stood behind her and was breathing down her neck, they needed to quickly move away. They gathered in a circle, consulted and decided to go down. They warned the young man about their decision. He answered them:
- I promised to climb to the top of the mountain, and I will do it. Nothing can stop me.
The climbers went down, the young man went up. No one has seen him since then.
The foreigners came down and told the girl in love how and where they parted with her beloved.
In desperation, the girl, dressed in a white homespun dress and light shoes, ran along the path of the climbers. She quickly reached the place where her lover alone went upstairs and here her strength left her. She began to crawl up on all fours, then fell and became quiet.
Since then, climbers to Elbrus have often seen a brunette girl in a long white dress with flowing thick black hair on the snow-ice slopes of the mountain. A ghost wandered along the slopes of Elbrus: at night he appeared in a dream, during the day - in reality. A sign has appeared: the appearance of the Elbrus maiden is not good.
Anyone who saw a beauty appear in a dream was protected by the whole group. Many saw her during the ascent:
- I’m walking, and she beckons me with her hand, calling me to her. It’s like I’m walking towards it under hypnosis, not paying attention to the fact that I’m leaving the path and moving towards the cracks,” the climbers said.
Friends saw strange behavior, intervened in the situation, and returned the hypnotized person to duty. When he told what really happened, everyone was surprised. Many didn't believe it.
Did I see? To be honest, yes, I saw it. But I didn’t tell anyone about this, so that they wouldn’t think that I was really going crazy. I didn’t tell a single person in the group I led from Shelter 11. I was prompted to break my vow of silence by my speech on republican television in August 2011 on the topic “Maiden of Elbrus” and the September publication in Moskovsky Komsomolets of Kotlyarov’s article “Maiden of Elbrus.”
I forgot the year. It was about thirty years ago. I remember that I worked at the Elbrus tourist base. It was autumn, snow had just fallen and covered the mountains with a soft fluffy blanket. During the day the snow melted, but the frosty days did not allow the sun to quickly melt it. It smelled like winter.
At the camp site I had already been working with the group for several days. It was a little cold, especially in the morning. But we still walked through the surrounding gorges of the autumn Elbrus region. And this first snow awakened the sleeping winter instincts, and I really wanted to go skiing. Well, impossible! I talked to the group and advocated for about twenty people. The director of the base, Dahir Sogaev, gave his blessing: “Come on! Just be careful."
We went up to the Mir training base for alpine skiing, or better yet, to the “barrels”. The height is 3700 m. The sun is blinding, the bright, pure, pure white snow adds ultraviolet radiation. In order not to relax, we immediately put glasses on our skis. The snow covered all the unevenness of the ice and the trampled track turned out to be wide and smooth. For beginners this is what you need. We worked out for a couple of hours, had lunch and went back to skiing. We were tired on the first day from the workload, and the lack of oxygen took its toll. Everyone slept very well, despite the unusual conditions.
In the morning after an early breakfast it’s back to skiing. We worked out for a couple of hours and decided to rest. The head of the group approaches me.
- Eduard Aleksandrovich, the weather is getting worse, but we would like to go to Shelter 11.
I looked at the sky, at Donguz, at Elbrus and I saw that, according to local signs, bad weather was coming. But not soon. We have two or three hours.
- Let's get ready quickly. Skis in “barrels”. Lock all rooms.
Ten minutes later the group gathered and we left. No cats needed. Nobody takes a rope on such a simple route, and I didn’t take it. Why carry extra weight? The path is known. A packed path. It's impossible to get lost. Slowly, step by step we rise up. The bad weather seems to be stubbornly getting to us: the wind is getting stronger. We climb to Shelter 11 for about an hour. The elements are also not asleep. The wind has picked up in earnest, blowing snow pellets that painfully cut open areas of the body. Visibility deteriorates. But I remain optimistic. I make sure that no one lags behind, everyone must stick together.
We approach the shelter and crowd into the vestibule. There's already a damn carousel outside the door. I'm afraid it will cover the path, and I will be severely punished for my self-confidence. A couple of minutes of rest and out. Again I go, slowly, first. Both up and down I put the leader at the back, explaining to him what he should do if someone lags behind or feels unwell.
I’m walking along the path, it’s barely visible. Suddenly I fall waist deep. A loud sob of horror rang like a funeral bell for me. “Well, there you go!” The group stands still, with tension, fear and question in their eyes. I get out on my own and calm the group down.
- It's OK. Happens. There are cracks everywhere on the glacier.
I feel it myself: I’ve gone to the left. The rule of the right leg applies, it is stronger. I turn a little to the right and move on. The group is on edge. Although I try to calm them down, I feel they are tense and scared. I walk about thirty meters and again fall more than waist-deep. Stops at the edge of an ice crack - a backpack, I always walk and ride with a backpack: warm clothes, a snack.
Everyone understands that we are lost. The path is not visible, the storm is raging. They help me get out. I looked down: the crack was widening, it was dark below. I calmly explain: yes, we got lost, but it’s okay, worse things have happened. Everyone behaves courageously. Only one girl asks in a trembling voice: “Eduard Alexandrovich, will we get out?” At another time, such a question would have brought a smile, but not now.
I make changes in the group: “Everyone should walk ten meters behind me. If I fall through and it’s not possible to pull me out, continue moving slowly and carefully, immediately go to the rescuers below.” We’ve been walking for about an hour, I feel the “barrels” close. Suddenly I see in the white silence a man moving in front of me. Every now and then some unsteady, ghostly white figure flashes through the horizontally flying snow. Who is this? I'm going after her. Suddenly, a loud female scream from behind in the group sobers me up. Ten meters behind me, as I instructed, was a thin girl, followed by a large young man - the head of the group. The girl is there, the headman is gone. There is a black hole in the snow; most likely, he fell into an ice crack. The Elbrus Maiden stands next to the crack and looks piercingly at me, seemingly with tension and mockery. I recognized her immediately. The winterer at Shelter 11, Orest Dubinyak, told me about her: a long white dress on a slender, thin body, without a headdress, long black hair fluttering in the wind. On weak legs, having overcome the attack of mystical horror, I go to the hole. "Here you go. This is my first corpse. Over several years of a high-level sports career - one fracture away, everyone is alive and well, and here on a simple route... Eh... And all this girl. Damn it." I approach, raise my head, the Elbrus Virgin is not there. Disappeared. I look into this damn hole, and there, on a snow cushion, half a meter from the edge of the crack, our elder stands alive and well and smiles. I have no words. Instant relief, joy fills me. I give him my hand and pull him out. I concentrate once again, remembering the slopes of the mountain. Yes, we went left. Further to the left is the bend of the glacier and, accordingly, there is a zone of cracks that can be deep.
- Well, comrades, let's crawl.
I still remember the situation and smile. We lie down and crawl on our bellies, not on our knees and palms, but on our bellies, pressing our whole body against the hard crust. This way the specific load on the snow is less. I can imagine if someone saw us crawling along the glacier, what would they think. I no longer remember about the Elbrus Maiden. You need to save yourself, and not think about ghosts. We crawled thirty meters. A gust of wind mixed up the clouds, a little relief opened up, and I quickly made up my mind. "Barrels" are very close. There should be no cracks in front and down to the left. We get up and after 10-15 minutes our adventure ends happily. They didn’t skimp on the tea leaves. After hot sweet tea, everyone relaxed and memories of our extreme, successfully ending adventure began to flow: “And I... And you... And we...”. But everything could have been completely different.
So, based on the tragic history that actually happened in distant years and constantly occurring incidents, a true legend was born, which climbers, willy-nilly, had to reckon with.
For about 30 years now, no one has met the Elbrus Maiden. Maybe she was forbidden to appear in the other world in her former life and destroy people, maybe the portal through which she got into our reality disappeared. One way or another, people have not stopped dying, but the reasons are completely different, they fit into the laws of our reality.
Eduard Ionikh
Guide, International class instructor in sports tourism
