Scattered throughout the territory of Russia are old landowners' estates, which in the times of the USSR performed a variety of functions - there were warehouses, paramedics posts, and even stables. The families of the first owners were scattered by the fire of the revolution, and sometimes no one even knows their names. But the residents, whose houses are located not far from these estates, are well aware of their history, and with the names of the ghosts who allegedly chose the estates as their home.
Ghost of the Count
James Daniel Bruce, better known in Russia under the name of Yakov Vilimovich Bruce, at one time pretty much frightened the peasants by the very mention of him. And what about - a sorcerer-warlock! I almost ate children for breakfast! It was impossible for the peasants to understand the refined Bryusov occupations, not to comprehend the scientific activity to which the count enthusiastically indulged in the Glinka estate near Moscow.
The Russified Scots liked the life in solitude, and the peasants discussed every day all the new events taking place in the estate: either a fire dragon bound with iron would fly in at night, and then almost until dawn he cuts the count on it in the clouds, or in the midst of summer of heat, the eccentric wizard will freeze the backyard pond, and the guests cheerfully ride around on the ice surface on skates. The earth is full of rumors, and with the light hand of the inhabitants of the village of Glinkovo, giant dolls walked on the estate almost every night and huge mechanical birds flew. True legends circulated about the Glinka dungeons - where else, if not in the basements of your own estate, to stage unnatural experiments and engage in sorcery? And, of course, Jacob Bruce kept numerous magical attributes there. As a man to the core in love with science and experiment,Bruce simply could not just leave the place, which for many years turned into his laboratory. That is why he lingered there even after his death: there are rumors that an associate of Peter I still wanders around his beloved estate, checking its safety.
Memory of a gypsy
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The Rodnevo mansion is located in the Podolsk region near Moscow. It once belonged to Dmitry Filippov, the son of Ivan Maksimovich, a clever man who established the family's bakery business so that their products were famous for half the country. There was even a case when the elder Filippov sold a bun with a cockroach baked in it to Governor-General Zakrevsky. The general was furious, but the baker quickly got out of it, declaring that it was only raisins. Since then, cakes with raisins have become popular in Moscow, and Zakrevsky was among the regular customers.
When the business was inherited by Dmitry, she appeared. It was difficult not to fall in love with a beautiful gypsy woman, and Filippov was no exception. Soon the girl settled in Rodnevo.
There could be no question of any official relationship, but everything suited the lovers. Until the ardor of Dmitry has dried up. He appeared less and less in the mansion, not at all caring about the psychological state of the girl who was still waiting for him in the empty estate. Finally, her patience came to an end - Aza (they say that was her name) threw herself from the tower. The man's reaction remained in history, as well as the opinion of others about the incident. Subsequently, a medical facility was located in Rodnevo for some time: both patients and doctors often mentioned a translucent figure in wide skirts strolling through the manor park.
Ghosts of the princess
Her Imperial Highness, Princess Eugenia, received a gift from her uncle - the village of Ramon, located in the Voronezh region. The princess decided to fashion a candy from the gift, and zealously set to work: through her efforts, a seedy village turned into a quite prosperous settlement. Here, by order of Oldenburgskaya, a castle in the English style was laid, which was built in the period from 1883 to 1887.
Evgenia Maximilianovna suffered from hemophilia - the princess did not clot. Unlucky - usually a woman is just a carrier, and the disease manifests itself in the male line. Evgenia was treated by the most venerable doctors of that time, trying to save the Oldenburg family from this scourge, but alas, no one helped her. And then, according to legend, the princess turned to the sorcerer. And then the story gets two sequels. According to the first option, both Eugene herself and her entire family were cursed for the fact that in an attempt to get rid of the disease, the woman turned to black magic, and bathed in the blood of babies (it is corny, but words cannot be thrown out of the legend). The second option is more mundane: for his services, the sorcerer demanded neither more nor less - the favor of the crowned person. Evgenia complained to her husband. And he either drove the sorcerer into the swamps,and pinned him to the bumps with an aspen stake, or he fabricated a case, where he attributed the "innocently killed babies" - in both cases the sorcerer sends terrible curses to the whole family. Well, of course, it becomes a permanent inhabitant of the surroundings in the form of an ephemeral entity.
Another Ramon ghost is Barbara. During her lifetime, the girl served Eugene, in other words, she was one of the courtyard girls. And once in winter, noble guests arrived in Ramon, or rather, they were just arriving. Varvara was ordered to meet those arriving with a loaf, but apparently they were delayed, and the frost was so fierce - Varvara stood outside for a long time, and as a result fell ill. The disease burned down a healthy peasant woman in a few days, and since then the girl's ghost has wandered around the Oldenburgsky palace.
The legend did not pass Eugene herself - it was believed that in the basements of the castle she kept an eternally hungry bear, to which she periodically fed especially guilty serfs, and after death she was forced to huddle in cold and damp rooms. For me, this is doubtful - it is usually believed that the ghost of a person settles where he died, and the princess died in France, where after long trips around the world caused by the revolution, she came to permanent residence.
Classics of the genre
Probably, not only in Russia, but all over the world there is the following scenario associated with a ghost. Usually the heroine of the story is a young girl who, because of unhappy love, decides to drown herself in a nearby lake, which she manages to do. And then the restless spirit decides that it would be necessary to take revenge on the ex-beloved, but either over the years the face dear to her heart has been forgotten, or the girl, who is crazed with insatiable resentment, decides to take revenge on everyone at once (maybe she will get the right one), but only starts the ghost of mischief.
There is a similar story in Yaroslavl: as if the ghost of the family's daughter, Lydia, lives there in the former estate of the Kokovtsevs. According to a local horror story, a charming girl comes to the souls of young guys, and drags them to her lake. And sometimes he just comes to his old house for sweets (the first floor of the mansion is residential, there is a communal apartment).
The daughter of the manufacturer
In the late 1880s, the name of the Oshurkov merchants thundered in Yekaterinburg. Their company had many factories and factories, and, in addition, the brothers were engaged in gold mining and shipping. Things were going excellently, and the Oshurkovs did not need anything.
But, apparently, there was still a shortage in something - most likely, something that could not be bought. This especially affected Antonina, the daughter of a merchant - otherwise why would her ghost frighten the workers who later worked on the estate? Either he will pour cold in a warm room, then in a grave voice he will order them to leave and not show themselves again. It is believed that Antonina died young: she was destroyed by illness. What kept the girl's spirit in this world is not clear.
Awkward guest
Once a relative came to Vasily Popov Jr. at his estate in Zaporozhye. Vasilievka, named after the state councilor, Popov Sr., was not a particularly hospitable place.
Rumor has it that Elena Rutishvili, a princess from Georgia, when inspecting the turrets, stumbled awkwardly, climbing one of them, and fell down. Having received serious injuries, the woman could not get out and soon died. The new inhabitants of Vasilyevka hear the rustle of a rich dress, sighs and steps. On the territory of the estate there is a museum "Popov's Estate" - its watchwoman told that with her own eyes (albeit asleep) she saw a woman with typical Georgian features, who, noticing the close attention of the sleepy guard of museum relics, disappeared into thin air with a sigh.
A purely personal opinion: there is no smoke without fire. Another question - are these really those whose names they were christened by? Or something else? Or maybe it really was just imaginary? Be that as it may, legends of ghosts in castles and abandoned estates have become an integral part of folklore, becoming one of its many genres.