In Greece, in the southern part of Crete, there is a castle and the eponymous village of Frangokastelo. No more than two hundred local people live in the village. But every year in May, a huge number of tourists come here. All of them want to see with their own eyes a scientifically inexplicable phenomenon. At dawn with high humidity - when dew falls - the shadows of riders appear here. Therefore, they are also called "dew people".
Frangokastelo is a fortress built in 1371-1374 by the Venetians as a defensive point from pirates - and named the Castle of St. Nikita. However, the locals gave a different name - Frangokastelo, which means "the castle of foreigners". There is a legend that explains why the castle took so long to build. The fact is that the locals were not very happy about the idea of a castle, so every night they destroyed everything that the Venetians managed to build in a day. However, this did not last long - until the instigators of the action were seized and hanged.
Another legend that made this castle a world famous, tells about the attempt of the local population to make Crete independent from foreign oppression. The wealthy merchant Hajimikhalis Dalianis left his business, armed the detachment at his own expense and occupied the castle of Frangokastelo. But on May 17, 1827, Turkish soldiers of the army of Mustafa Pasha came here and severely strangled the rebellion - absolutely all 335 rebels were killed. They were not even allowed to bury them; bodies were simply thrown off the walls.
It is this legend that many associate with an amazing phenomenon that can be seen every year in May. At dawn, a shadow appears between the mountains and the castle - a column of soldiers in uniform and with weapons is marching in formation. The vision can last up to ten minutes, then it disappears. The phenomenon can be seen at a distance of one kilometer. When you try to get closer, the "dew people" disappear.
The phenomenon has been documented many times, scientists have tried to find an explanation. It turned out that the warriors who appear near the castle walls in the form of shadows carry spears, short swords and round Greek-style shields as weapons. However, those brave soldiers who fought for the independence of Crete with the Turks fought with firearms. The great-grandson of that same General Hajimikhalis Dalianis was present three times when the shadows appeared. He came to the conclusion that these shadows have nothing to do with the soldiers of his great-grandfather or the Turks - the weapons, the speed of the march and the size of the soldiers are different.
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Later, another theory was put forward about the annual shadow phenomenon taking place near the Frangokastelo castle. It was suggested that this could be a mirage that reflects the maneuvers of soldiers in Libya, taking place on the other side of the Mediterranean Sea. But this version was criticized by scientists, who noted that the source of the mirage cannot be located further than the horizon line. And the appearance of the "dew people" did not at all correspond to the equipment of modern soldiers.
Another version is that vision is simply a projection of the shadows of mountain peaks, which is formed by the light from the rising sun. But this version was not taken seriously, since the vision began to be noticed only at the beginning of the 20th century, and the sun and mountains, of course, have been here for a long time. In addition, the actions of the shadow warriors are always different and never repeated: either they pass in a continuous close formation, then in the form of thin chains, sometimes there are horsemen among them, and sometimes only infantry. And local residents report that sometimes some even hear the clang of weapons, noise from voices and footsteps near the vision.