A ravine, as a rule, is a damp, musty, dark place. At the bottom of it, streams often beat and even rivulets flow. But this does not make him more attractive. Some invisible force drives a person up from here, to where there is fresh air, space and a feeling of protection from the Something that has settled down below
The ravine, which is located in the north of the Pskov region, in the Plyussky district, near the village of Lyady, is overgrown with ferns, the path to it is blocked by fallen trees. For a long time it has enjoyed the notorious reputation of being a prodigal place. Locals bypass the Devil's Ravine by the tenth road and try, just in case, not even to look in its direction.
Before the 1917 revolution, several peasants disappeared in its vicinity. Ten years later, a brigade of seven lumberjacks disappeared here without a trace. And in 1931 the families of nine local kulaks disappeared.
In 1974, in the Devil's Ravine, a large group of mushroom pickers from Leningrad, who did not heed the advice of old-timers, stupidly went into the ravine for a rich harvest of honey agarics. Two of them appeared on the outskirts of the village a week later. They were practically in a deranged state and could not really tell about where their five comrades disappeared, whom they could not find. And how many disappeared here one by one - and not to count!
Call of the Dead
A strange anomalous zone exists in the Tagai forest in the Mainsky district of the Ulyanovsk region. People here often lose their orientation, car engines stall, mobile phones turn off, camcorders and digital cameras do not work, and ordinary cameras click, but apart from blackness on the film, nothing happens.
In this forest, 13 kilometers from the village of Tagay, there is a no less anomalous ravine. “At first, you can't even see it with the eye,” says local historian Pavel Polovov. - At first you see in front of you only weeds of withered grass. Separate oaks, then withering aspens. But carried away, you suddenly seem to cross some line invisible to your eyes.
Now imagine: in a ravine around you, someone is talking quietly or music is playing. You look around - not a soul. Just take a step, and again someone is talking to you. Going further is curious, albeit scary."
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In the Istra district of the Moscow region, not far from Dedovsk, residents of nearby villages bypass another ravine, which they call rotten and blissful. It is unclear what deadly vibes it emits, but people who have decided to commit suicide are drawn here like a magnet.
Well, then the restless souls of suicides, according to the locals, roam the neighborhood, frightening the late travelers.
Another anomalous place in the Moscow region, in which ghosts are found, is located at the 47th kilometer of the Kaluga highway. At dusk, people often encounter all kinds of devilry here.
In the past, there was a deep and gloomy ravine here, compressed on both sides by forest. In the dark, in the vicinity, robber bands from among the local peasants hunted with complete impunity. They robbed and killed passing merchants. The most fierce was the gang led by the robber chieftain Stepan Khobotov. It is not known how this villain ended his life, but the ravine was popularly called Hobotovsky.
Now, with the onset of darkness, locals often observe how the ghosts of gloomy people move along the streets of their villages. Old-timers claim that these are the souls of merchants who once disappeared into a ravine, who, having not received proper Christian comfort, wander around the neighborhood in search of a priest who would perform a corresponding church ritual over their remains buried in the ground.
No less devilry is associated with the Sivin ravines in the Krasnoslobodsky district of Mordovia, which local residents consider a cursed place, since people here disappear without a trace. Since the beginning of the 18th century, when the Saransk-Krasnoslobodsk road was built in the vicinity, the Sivin ravines became famous as a robber's nest. The bandits robbed and killed passers-by and hid treasures here. This went on for almost two centuries.
In the 1870s, according to Krasnoslobodsk local lore experts, Sivin robbers robbed a wagon train that was carrying a soldier's salary to Siberia for several years - 20 barrels of gold coins! The robbers did not divide the booty, killed each other, and the gold disappeared somewhere in a ravine. Since then, they have been tirelessly looking for him here, but to no avail.
A full-flowing stream flows at the bottom of the ravine, but the water from it is not even used for livestock. “She is fat because she flows over the graves! There are so many robbers and innocent murdered here,”local residents say.
Underground bells ringing
In general, ravines in the past were often associated with robbers. The dashing people really liked to hide where, in theory, the place was only for evil spirits. However, over time, some ravines and valleys, which had a dark glory in the past, were "whitewashed" in the eyes of others.
So, since they started talking about an underground monastery in the Samara and Saratov provinces and thousands of pilgrims began to flock to the deserted, overgrown ravine, many miraculous and even paranormal phenomena were recorded in those places. The very name of the ravine - Vavilov dol - is associated with the name and black deeds of one of the most cruel atamans in the Volga region - a certain Vavila.
His gang, according to the researcher of anomalous phenomena S. Plotnikov, who visited here in 2004, settled during the reign of Emperor Peter I in a deep forest along the Bolshoi Irgiz River. The robbers plundered both merchants and local peasants indiscriminately. The audacity and scale of their actions forced the sovereign to send troops to those parts. Smoking robbers from their lairs, the soldiers set fire to the forest, chopped up most of the dashing people, and Vavila himself was captured, blinded, "so that he would not see any more roads or passers-by," and left to die alone with wild animals and forest fire.
But the heart of the robber, as tradition says, was touched by the grace of God. In a ravine near a stream Vavila dug a cave and dedicated the rest of his life to repentance, crying and prayers.
Hearing about the hermit, seekers of a strict life began to flock to him. This is how the cave monastery arose. It seems that Vavila also laid an underground temple, connected by secret passages with the catacombs of the monastery. In 1929, units of the OGPU came to Vavilov Dol. The church and the entrances to the cave monastery were blown up, and the monks and elders were shot.
After that, among the Volga residents, Vavilov Dol acquired the fame of a place of witchcraft. Over the burial of Elder Babila, which is called today "the tomb of the unknown monk", more than once they saw the radiance, from the ground heard the singing of an invisible choir, the ringing of bells. And in the walls of the ravine, they noticed cracks from which light streamed and the smell of incense was heard.
"Is it true that bells can be heard from under the ground?" - Plotnikov asked the next pilgrims to the holy place.
“Of course,” one of them confirmed. - In the place where the church stood. You put your ear to the ground at night and you hear the ringing of bells. But, probably, not everyone is given. The church has gone underground with its bells, and when the end of the world approaches, it will rise from the earth and pray for salvation in it. This is one of those invisible churches that are hidden for a time."
Many locals saw a strange door in the side of the ravine. But it is believed that it is revealed only to the righteous.
Having already returned to Samara, S. Plotnikov got acquainted with the results of the expedition to Vavilov dol of specialists from the non-governmental research organization "Avesta". They noted that the ravine is replete with karst gaps and is heavily covered with windbreaks, which complicates the search for traces of underground "intelligent life". At about midnight, two members of the expedition immediately saw several lights on the hard-to-reach slopes of the ravine, similar to the beams of a flashlight, erupting from the depths of a cave that was not visible to the eye. Then it was noticed how far ahead, on the opposite rocky slope of the ravine, as if a door had opened to a brightly lit room.
There was no doubt that it was exactly the door: even with the naked eye, and even more so through binoculars in the illuminated rectangle, the contours of the doorframe and even the door hinges were clearly visible. The next day, already in the light of the sun, having carefully examined those slopes, the experts found nothing. The riddle remained a mystery.
Hairy people from the past
On the southern outskirts of Moscow, there is the famous Golosov ravine, full of mysticism and unsolvable mysteries to this day. Historians of the capital have found in the archives a document dated 1621, which tells about the appearance of a small equestrian detachment of Tatars from a thick greenish fog almost at the very gates of one of the royal palaces, armed with outdated weapons and in the same outdated clothes! The riders, who were immediately tied up, told the investigators that they were the warriors of Khan Devlet-Giray, who attacked Moscow fifty years ago! Departing from pursuit, the detachment descended into a ravine shrouded in fog. It seemed to them that they rode on horseback for only a few minutes, and "emerged" in the next century! What happened in the future with newcomers from the past, the ancient chronicle does not report.
In the 19th century, cases of mysterious disappearance of residents from neighboring villages were repeatedly noted in the Voice Ravine. In particular, historians claim that the documents of the police department of the Moscow province speak of two peasants, Arkhip Kuzmin and Ivan Bochkarev, who went missing in 1810 and suddenly appeared 21 years later!
The friends allegedly said that they were returning home from a neighboring village at night and decided to go through the Voice Ravine, although this place was considered "unclean". At the bottom of the valley a thick fog swirled, in which suddenly appeared some kind of "corridor, flooded with whitish light"! The men pushed in there and met people overgrown with wool. They explained with signs that the guests had fallen into another world and it would not be easy to go back, but they would try to help. A few minutes later, fog began to swirl around again, and the peasants continued on their way. And when they came to their native village, they saw their wives and children aged twenty years and hardly recognized them.
We saw "hairy people" in the Voice Ravine both before and after the events described, and the last time was in the mid-1920s.
Modern scientists have recorded at the bottom of the ravine a rather large fault in the earth's crust, through which powerful radiation comes out. Perhaps this is precisely why the numerous anomalies occurring here are connected.
However, the appearance in our world of the same "hairy people" is not necessarily associated only with the mysteries of time and space.
In the Kuzhenersky district of the Mari El Republic, near the village of Nursola, there is a famous ravine - Ovda-korem (river witches). According to local researcher Alexander Gennadiev, it was here, according to legend, that ovds lived - forest creatures covered with wool and with their feet turned back. Ovdy women had such huge breasts that they had to throw them on their backs. The favorite entertainment of the OVD is riding at night on horses stolen from local residents, and they sat on the horse in a very peculiar way - together, with their backs to each other. In the morning, the owners found the animals driven and wet with sweat.
They say that even relatively recently - in the 50s of the last century - at the bottom of the ravine, round, about half a meter in diameter, entrances to the underground dwellings of the police station were found, and at the very beginning of the sixties the ovds moved from here, went away from civilization, into the forest jungle of the Kirov region …
“Researchers at first treated these stories with skepticism, until they heard from the Kirov region about cases of meetings with a yeti - a mysterious Bigfoot. We organized an expedition in his footsteps and came to the conclusion that the Yeti sites were very reminiscent of everything connected with the Mari ovds …"
Famous Ovda-korem and a place called Kamai-sanga, where at certain times of the day you can observe mirages. The most famous of them is described as follows: in the middle of the old town square there is a cart, and next to it is a girl. What kind of city is depicted on the volumetric "hologram" from the past is not clear.
Fear evil spirits
Since the ravine, according to ancient beliefs, is a place where evil spirits live, certain precautions should be taken when descending into it. It is not recommended to quickly run into the ravine - this can lead to severe liver and kidney disease. If you fell into a ravine, you need to get up from your left foot, shake yourself off, and say loudly: “Devils, fathers, go to the huts. Chur, you to the sky, me to the ground!"
A resident of the Ulyanovsk region, Yevgeny Fedorov, told the local newspaper "Breath of the Earth" about what he had to face twice when driving through a ravine located in the Radishchevsky district.
“Not so long ago I returned from the dacha by bicycle in the evening,” says Fedorov. “About halfway the road went downhill. And then I suddenly felt that someone from behind jumped onto the trunk. My heart fluttered. The bike rushes swiftly into the pitch darkness. I'm afraid to turn my head and try to figure out who my passenger is.
I passed the ravine. Further, the country road went up. I think: if the unknown passenger does not jump, then I will not master the ascent. Meanwhile, the mysterious "passenger", as if overhearing my thoughts, jumped off. It seemed to me that he even grunted. After that my bike went uphill with renewed vigor. It became clear that the creature behind my shoulders was helping me, puffing with zeal.
I'm driving on. Less than a couple of minutes later, again someone sat down with a crunch in the back seat. Even my knees cramped from fear. I pedal with all my might, I want to get off the lane onto the main road, where there are electric lights. I jumped out onto the asphalt. At the first lamp I stopped to catch my breath and look around. I looked. There is nobody!
The next Sunday, in the same hollow, everything repeated itself: an unknown creature jumped onto the trunk, and in the lowland, puffing on my back, devilry helped the rider to climb the hill. At this point I could not bear it, I looked around. And what? Nobody! Although I clearly feel someone's help. I still can't figure out what that would mean?"
In the Samara region, in the area of the Frozen ravine, there is an ice-free Mermaid Creek, where its own evil spirits live. Legend has it that once upon a time seven mermaids appeared here at night, who lured travelers and fishermen into the caves. But one holy old man heard the cry of a mermaid and cursed this place. At the same moment, the shores with caves settled, the mermaids disappeared and a thick fog fell over the creek. Since then, people have avoided this place.
The enchanted ravine brings back youth
The ravine, which is located in the north of the Pskov region, in the Plyussky district, near the village of Lyady, is overgrown with ferns, the path to it is blocked by fallen trees. For a long time it has enjoyed the notorious reputation of being a prodigal place. Locals bypass the Devil's Ravine by the tenth road and try, just in case, not even to look in its direction.
Before the 1917 revolution, several peasants disappeared in its vicinity. Ten years later, a brigade of seven lumberjacks disappeared here without a trace. And in 1931 the families of nine local kulaks disappeared.
In 1974, in the Devil's Ravine, a large group of mushroom pickers from Leningrad, who did not heed the advice of old-timers, stupidly went into the ravine for a rich harvest of honey agarics. Two of them appeared on the outskirts of the village a week later. They were practically in a deranged state and could not really tell about where their five comrades disappeared, whom they could not find. And how many disappeared here one by one - and not to count!
The last anomalous case, as reported by the local and central press, was recorded in the vicinity of the ravine several years ago, when a group of visitors went again to pick mushrooms and returned without their friend.
They began to search for him on the third day, when the hope that he would get out of the forest on his own had already evaporated. But repeated combing through the forest and ravine did not bring any result. Not even the dogs took the trail! Only seven days later, a local resident accidentally discovered an exhausted mushroom picker in the bushes on the edge of the Devil's Ravine.
But, fortunately, not all anomalous ravines have exclusively negative energy. In the Zemetchinsky district of the Penza region there is an ancient ravine, over which a fireball periodically appears. If at this moment you are near and ask him about the most intimate, he will fulfill this desire.
In the Pushkin district of the Moscow region, not far from the village of Komyagino, there is an equally magical ravine. Local residents assure that the elderly woman who descended into it will noticeably rejuvenate in a few days.
However, it is rather difficult to find this ravine: no one knows its exact location, since it moves from place to place …