The Broken Ghost is a very interesting and mysterious atmospheric phenomenon that is observed mainly in the mountains. If someone is on a peak or ridge, and the sun is shining on him at that time, then the person's shadow can be thrown onto clouds or fog located on the side opposite to the sun. The shadow always seems incredibly large and is often surrounded by a multi-colored circle - the so-called gloria.
The silhouette can move, and not only due to the movement of the individual, but also due to fluctuations in the density of water in the air and the movement of cloud layers. A similar phenomenon was described by the English writer Mine Reed in his famous novel The Headless Horseman.
Such amazing shadows can be observed in many parts of the world, for example, in the Crimean Mountains and the Caucasus, but the phenomenon got its name in honor of the Brocken peak in the German Harz mountains, where these ghosts are most often observed. Brocken, by the way, has long been considered a place where witches annually celebrate Walpurgis Night, therefore, in the old days, the appearance of mysterious figures was associated with the activities of sorcerers and magicians.
The height of the peak reaches almost one thousand two hundred meters, while the average annual temperature here is less than three degrees Celsius, which creates extremely favorable weather conditions for the appearance of phantoms - fogs are observed on the mountain for almost three hundred days a year.
How does the Broken ghost appear?
The Brocken ghost occurs when the sun is shining on the climber, while there is fog or cloudiness in the mountains.
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A human shadow travels through the fog, taking on the angular and bizarre outlines of perspective. There can be many kilometers between a person and the clouds, so the shadow is huge in size, and its proportions often change, for example, arms or legs lengthen. Falling on water droplets scattered through the air, the shadow can take on a three-dimensional appearance, instilling real mystical fear in observers.
As a rule, the Broken ghost is surrounded by rainbow rings. This is due to the diffraction of light - the sun's rays are refracted in water droplets, scattering into the colors of the rainbow.
It is noteworthy that not only people can cast such a shadow, but also animals, trees, structures and even entire mountains. This phenomenon is sometimes observed from an airplane window. If the aircraft is between the sun and clouds, then its shadow, framed by gloria, can be clearly visible below.
The semblance of a Broken ghost can be seen if you turn on the headlights of a car on a foggy night and stand in front of them. A large and voluminous human shadow is clearly visible in the fog.
How was the Broken ghost treated before?
The Broken ghost has been known since time immemorial.
For example, there is a medieval German legend about a shepherd who, fleeing from robbers, rushed up the mountain. Once on the saving ridge of stones, he stopped to rest and noticed something under the clouds that made him shake with fear. Above the slope, which went down, stood, without touching the ground, a huge dark man, slightly obscured by fog. His feet plunged into swirling clouds.
The man was surrounded by a halo similar to the iconographic halo of a saint. It seemed that the giant was much higher than the church in which the shepherd prayed on Sundays. The startled shepherd raised his hand and waved at the giant. He suddenly waved back. The shepherd was more frightened than before and stepped back. The dark silhouette disappeared in the mist.
Now we perfectly understand that in this legend the medieval Germans described an optical phantom, although they did not understand its nature.
In the seventeenth century, Brocken Peak attracted the attention of German priests. The clergy considered that unthinkable devilry was taking place on Broken, and they strictly forbade their fellow countrymen to climb the mountains. However, as soon as the ban came into force, the gigantic human shadows ceased to appear to the Germans. It's not hard to guess why.
And no mysticism at all?
Any specialist will confirm to you that Broken ghosts are real, but they will certainly explain the phenomenon in the same way as we did above. But is this phenomenon really limited to the banal play of shadows and dispersion of light?
In the summer of 2004, an Italian tourist, Andres Marchetti, visited Brocken and reported a strange sighting after that. According to the traveler, he climbed alone to the pointed peak of the mountain and saw from there not one, but two human figures in the fog. The Italian thought that his shadow had somehow split in two in the haze, and began to make various movements to test his guess: jump up, raise his arms up. Nevertheless, the second shadow surprisingly did not move, although it was located very close to the first, as if someone else was next to Marchetti. The confused Andres spent an hour looking around and even shouting to an unknown person, but he never found anyone there.
And in the fall of 2008, residents of the resort town of Clausthal-Zellerfeld, located at the foot of the Brocken, noticed a huge silhouette in the fog above, looking like a writhing snake or some kind of creepy tentacle. Of course, the surprised Germans asked a logical question: what could be on the mountain and cast such a shadow into the fog?..