Who does not remember the story of the mysterious creature from the Scottish Loch Ness, which thundered all over the world in the last century?
But in Lake Adovoy, in the Gainsky region of the Perm region, there is also an incomprehensible creature of gigantic proportions. And its existence is confirmed by numerous evidences …
Who would doubt that there are many mysterious bodies of water in Russia! In any case, much more than in comparatively tiny Scotland. For example, Lake Adovo in the Urals, in the north of the Perm Territory. Nobody knows the origin of this name, maybe that is why a variety of legends go about it. Although the lake is full of fish, locals are afraid to go fishing. Why? Because they do not want to become the prey of a mysterious creature.
Abyssal Beast
They began to talk about the monster in the middle of the last century. It was then that the local residents began to notice some large animal in the lake, which, when trying to look at it better, immediately went under the water. Old-timers said that from time to time a fish disappeared in the lake for some unknown reason, as if someone had destroyed it all: there are a lot of fry near the shore, but there are no large fish - catch it, don't catch it - at all.
Hunters' dogs, having escaped and lost their way in the vicinity of the lake, always disappeared without a trace. It was said that they were swallowed by this water beast. One farmer from a village near the lake said that he and his son went fishing every day. Of course, they heard about the monster, but did not see it. One old man once told them that early in the morning he and his wife were at the lake on some business. And suddenly the head of some animal on a long neck appeared from the water. It appeared - and then disappeared.
“You never know what the old people can imagine,” thought the farmer and fearlessly set off with his son to fish. And suddenly one morning
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from the fog appeared something like an animal with a long neck - that is how the old man described it. It happened in 1997. The fishermen were seriously scared and quickly started the engine. At the same time, they managed to see how the long-necked creature slowly went under the water. Since then, they began to be afraid to swim in the middle of the lake, and they fished in shallow water.
Perhaps the locals have too much imagination, but they are ready to tell many stories about this underwater monster, and each describes it in his own way. Someone says that it looks like a reptile, someone - that it looks like a terrible mutant fish. They agree only on one thing - that the monster is very large and very dangerous. Therefore, even when the lake freezes over, the locals cut an ice hole to … feed the monster. They believe that in this way you can appease him so that he does not attack people. By the way, the locals are Perm Komi, in which pagan beliefs are still strong.
And not only people are afraid of this lake. The animals also seem to feel that it is dangerous here, and in every possible way bypass this place. So, a colony of swans, which are found here, always hugs the shore, and other waterfowl rarely swim or sit in the central part of the reservoir. In 2002, the Cosmopoisk group, known for their cryptological research, visited Lake Hell, but found nothing and nobody. True, she did not submerge under water and was skeptical in advance. Other scientists and journalists also came, but the monster never seemed to anyone.
Vakul or Kul?
According to Ivan Podyukov, Doctor of Philology, Professor of the Perm State Pedagogical University, Adovo Lake is one of the most mythologized objects of the Perm Territory. Because the legends associated with this lake cannot be counted. So, one of them says that when the famous hero of the Permian-Komi epic Pera the hero fought with the water - Vakul, he allegedly threw him into this lake. And since mythological heroes do not die, the wakul periodically reminds of himself.
Perhaps the name of the lake comes from the large number of snakes that live here. In the form of a snake, according to the beliefs of the Permian Komi, another bad spirit could appear - Omol, who did evil. So the lake became Hellish - because of the large number of evil spirits living here.
According to another legend, Kul lives in the lake - a bad god in the form of a pike, which drags hunters and fishermen to hell. To appease him, before hunting and fishing, the locals always presented him with various gifts.
One old woman, in all seriousness, told Professor Podyukov that a pike lived in the lake - "it's really big!" With his tail, he said, as he waved - and overturns the boat with the men.
By the way, among the Finno-Ugric peoples, which include the Permian Komi, pike was considered the totemic ancestor. In ancient times, it was not even eaten - it was considered a great sin. Of course, how can you eat a god, even if he is evil?
There is another legend: God flew across the sky with a sack, where he had collected evil spirits, and suddenly over the Hell's Lake, he broke, and all the devils fell out. Now the lake is boiling and teeming with them.
And also, they say, there is a beautiful lake mermaid. She goes to a green island and lures fishermen and tourists. And supposedly after meeting with her, no one remains alive.
It is also rumored that during the baptism of these lands, all rebellious pagan aborigines were herded to death in the waters of this lake. And any place where many people died is considered bad, disastrous.
Local residents tell another story. As if in the old days there was a rumor around the area that there was either a chest or a barrel of gold in this lake. Without figuring out where this wealth could have come from in the middle of a deaf forest reservoir (although it is quite possible that this wealth was hidden here by robbers who robbed merchant ships in the upper reaches of the Kama), all selfish people from all over the region came here. And then it turned out that it was impossible to get to the middle of the lake just like that - in a small dugout boat it would instantly turn over. This means we need a more reliable ship. The hunters for gold built strong boats and rushed to the middle of the lake, arguing over who should throw the net first. They argued, argued, and fought. They grabbed each other by the beards, by the hair, and everyone fell overboard.
One of the modern horror stories of Lake Adova says that allegedly local residents observed helicopters that dropped containers with radioactive waste into the lake.
Portal to another world
Despite the marshy, swampy shores, the water in the lake is clear as glass. This reservoir is considered a natural monument. Here you can still find the Kli-Kun swan, which was listed in the Red Book, deer, squirrels, hares, bears can be found here, you can also find traces of a wild reindeer. And nearby, several families of beavers settled again, which were ousted from here many years ago.
It would seem that the lake is like a lake, from above it looks like an egg. Its area is about four square kilometers, its depth is 5-6 meters. Still, you can't call it ordinary, even if there is no local "Nessie" there. For example, sometimes the water in the lake begins to make a lot of noise, boil, and rise with a dome. Perhaps this is due to some geological processes, or maybe there are other reasons.
Once it was decided to conduct underwater research here, as a result of which several scuba divers almost died: they began to be sucked into some kind of funnel and deeper into the bottom cavity. Moscow scientists ringed fish, and not one or two, released it into one body of water, and caught it with seines in a completely different one. Then a version was put forward about the underwater communication of this lake with the neighboring lakes of the Gainsky region of the Perm region.
It also remains unclear where so many legends about Hell's Lake came from. Maybe the locals, who are not too sociable by nature, just wanted to scare away crowds of curious people? Although getting to these parts of impenetrable forests and swamps has always been difficult.
The Adovo Lake gained particular fame after its description in the novel by Alexei Ivanov (a native of Perm) "The Heart of Parma". The peasant Niphont from this novel dives into the lake for precious artifacts, but finds nothing of value. According to the novel, shamans performed various rituals on Lake Hell and threw silver dishes into the water. However, in reality, no major archaeological discoveries have been made here. Be that as it may, Adovo Lake continues to attract crowds of tourists. Especially lovers of mysticism like to relax here, claiming that there is some kind of special energy and a portal to the other world.
Irina SMIRNOVA