Russia is the birthplace of swamps, nowhere else in such a large number. And those who live in such places have certain character traits.
The Cherepovets swamps are a poorly explored area in the Vologda Oblast. Today this area is considered an anomalous zone. Here people are mysteriously missing, suicides are frequent, and a large number of people with mental disorders live in nearby villages.
According to statistics, in the settlements located near the Cherepovets swamps, the number of suicides is five times higher than the average in Russia, and the number of crimes exceeds the Russian average by almost ten times. It is not surprising that the old swamp was overgrown with its own myths and legends.
“Hundreds of years ago, people began to disappear on one of the Belozersk roads - mostly merchants from other regions. People, having left one city, did not reach the purpose of their trip. At first, this was attributed to the tricks of the robbers. However, over time, this version was discarded. Once local men combed the surrounding area and found an abandoned cart on the bank of the swamp. There were no horses, no merchants, no guards, but the goods were untouched. There was also no sign of a struggle. Nobody came back from the swamps. Said in the notes of Pavel Gryaznov
One person managed to return. This happened in the middle of the 16th century - the merchant disappeared for 12 years. After showing up many years later, the merchant said that he had taken the goods for sale, but for some inexplicable reason he suddenly turned to the swamp. Having approached the edge of the swamp, he was seized by an incomprehensible terrible fear. Such fear that I wanted to drown myself in a swamp. Retaining a small particle of consciousness, he rushed from this place into the forest. The merchant did not even realize that he had lived in the forest for 12 years.
Local residents reacted to the merchant with distrust, however, he showed the place where he was staying. His words were confirmed: on the bank of the swamp they found a rotten cart and a skeleton of a horse with goods.
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If you believe the ancient Slavic myths, then an evil spirit - kikimora - lives in the Cherepovets swamps. This spirit prefers not to show itself to people, but only screams in a vile voice. The swamp kikimora drags the gaping traveler into the bog. Our ancestors believed that only witches and sorcerers could walk there fearlessly.
The doctor Gryaznov wrote in 1879
“The spirit appeared in the swamps a long time ago. No one knows where it came from. Maybe this spirit was generated by the dense nature, and possibly human sins. All the best people leave Cherepovets and the surrounding villages, and in the worst case they die here. I took samples of peat from this mysterious swamp. I sent samples to Petersburg for analysis. In addition to plant residues, the peat also contains traces of highly organized life, unknown to the science of life."
