The Gates of Hell, the Valley of Death and the Lake of Skeletons - on the eve of the Russian premiere of the thriller "Cure for Health", together with Twentieth Century Fox CIS, we have compiled a selection of the most mysterious places on Earth.
Hell Gate
"The Gates of Hell", "The Door to the Underworld" - this is the name of a gas crater near the village of Darvaza in Turkmenistan, which began to burn in 1971 and continues to do so to this day. Its diameter is about 60 meters and its depth is 20 meters. The crater was formed due to human intervention.
Until 1971, this area did not attract much attention and did not differ in any way from the surrounding landscape. But in 1971, geologists began to conduct research here and discovered a large amount of natural gas underground, so it was decided to start drilling an exploration well. This decision was not the most correct one, because there was a void underground, or, as geologists call it, a cavity. Drilling caused a collapse, resulting in a large hole filled with gas, into which both the drilling rig and all the equipment fell.
Photo: sunriseOdyssey / Flickr.com
During the collapse, no one was hurt, but the harmful gas, which was previously underground, began to seep out and could poison people and animals living nearby. In order to avoid this, geologists decided to set fire to the resulting crater. They expected that after a while the fire would subside, but 46 years have passed, and the crater is still burning.
Promotional video:
Death valley
If the "Gates of Hell" is the work of man, then the Valley of Death in Kamchatka was created by nature itself. She was discovered four years after the "door to the underworld" was opened in Turkmenistan. The two-kilometer valley, several hundred meters wide, killed all living things: from mice to bears. It took researchers about 10 years to prove that there is nothing supernatural in the valley, strewn with the corpses of crows, foxes, lynxes, eagles and other animals.
As in the case of the Gates of Hell, the cause of the death of living beings lies in the gas that is released from cracks in the earth's crust: hydrogen sulfide, carbon disulfide and carbon dioxide have a slow poisonous effect on living organisms.
Death Valley is located on the territory of the Kronotsky Biosphere Reserve at the foot of the Kikhpinych volcano.
Kronotsky Nature Reserve, Kamchatka. Photo: Denis Budkov
Hohenzollern Castle
The old German castle-fortress in Baden-Württemberg was for many decades the fiefdom of the Hohenzollern dynasty, which ruled until the end of the First World War. Today it is a popular attraction, which is visited by about 300 thousand tourists annually. The castle contains the crown of the last German emperor Wilhelm II and a letter from US President George Washington with gratitude to the descendant of the Hohenzollerns for helping the United States fight for independence.
Photo: A. Kniesel / commons.wikimedia.org
It seems that a beautiful castle, standing alone on a mountain at an altitude of 855 meters above sea level, stands out from the selection of the most mysterious places on Earth, but this is not entirely true. The medieval building and its surroundings have become a film set for the thriller "Cure for Health".
The film is set in an unusual wellness center, where the main character, Lockhart, a Wall Street broker, arrives. His goal is to bring back his boss, who, after becoming a patient of this wellness center, refuses to return to New York.
According to the film's production designer Eve Stewart, the main challenge was to contrast New York with its constant tension and a health resort with its peaceful atmosphere. “We wanted to create a striking contrast between the world of finance and the sun-drenched resort. Viewers need to understand why patients want to stay at the spa all the time. Initially, everything looks great, as if they are really relaxing there!"
But when the main character comes to this center, he notices that terrible things are happening against the background of an idyllic landscape in an old building. Confident that he will not stay here for long, Lockhart falls into the trap and himself becomes a patient of this health center.
In Russia, the premiere of "Medicines for Health" will take place on March 30, 2017. The film Gore Verbinski will be presented by 20th Century Fox.
Skeleton lake
At an altitude of 5 thousand meters, Lake Roopkund is located, which is also known as the "lake of skeletons". In the 19th century, there were rumors that the shores of Roopkund were strewn with human remains, but no one knew for sure. Evidence was found only in 1942, when a forest guard of the Nandadevi National Park, on the territory of which Lake Roopkund is located, discovered more than 500 skeletons near the reservoir. In addition to human remains, utensils and rings were also found. Using radiocarbon analysis, the researchers dated the finds to the 8th century AD.
Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
In 2004, an expedition was organized to the lake. A detailed study of the skeletons helped to find out that among the dead were people of different heights. The low ones were, most likely, local porters and guides, and the high ones were the brahmanas of the Chitpavan community of Maharashtra. Studies have shown that the cause of death was severe blows to the back of the head from a round object from above. These observations led to the conclusion that these people were victims of a rockfall.
Photo: Abhijeet Rane / Flickr.com
Only the purpose of their dangerous journey remains unknown. There is no historical evidence that trade routes ran through this area. The only clue is that the route of the pilgrims of the Nandadevi cult passed through Lake Roopkund, who went on pilgrimage every 12 years. Mount Nandadevi, at the foot of which various festivals are held, still has an important religious significance for the people of India.
Overton bridge
The history of Overton Bridge dates back to 1859, when James White, a retired lawyer and co-owner of J&J White Chemical Works, bought 2,000 acres of land to build a large mansion. The work was completed in the 1860s, and in 1862 the White family moved into a new home. In 1884, James White died and his son John decided to expand the property. He made an agreement with a local pastor and got neighboring lands. As a result, it turned out that the property was separated by a waterfall with a river, so John White decided to build a bridge. He invited the architect Henry Miller, who erected the Overton Bridge in 1895.
Until the middle of the last century, the structure did not attract special attention to itself, until the media learned about the strange behavior of dogs: animals came to a certain place on the bridge, jumped from it and crashed to death. More than 50 dogs have died in the past 50 years. Researchers studying the bridge were unable to find an answer to this reaction of animals. A case with unusual behavior of people was recorded in 1994. 32-year-old Kevin Moy threw his son (the baby was 2 weeks old) off the bridge because he was sure that his child was Satan.