The local mythology usually describes evil spirits, which the Yakuts call Abases, not as corporeal beings, but as vague figures and silhouettes that suddenly appear and dissolve in the darkness. Nevertheless, the story that we offer you (by the way, very popular among the local population) tells how an evil and insidious spirit took on not just material, but human form.
Hunter Brothers
The story will again be about two brothers who lived in Yakutia in Soviet times. The oldest of them was about thirty, the youngest about twenty-five. Being professional hunters, in the beginning of autumn the men set off for a month or two to shoot game in the depths of the forests - where people had not yet had time to scare away animals and birds. The brothers arranged joint long trips before, and therefore they were savvy in this matter and the dense wilderness was a second home for them.
Our heroes settled in a forest near a river that did not have a name at that time. They built temporary housing, lit a homemade stove. Following the age-old Yakut tradition, they made an offering to the spirit of fire in the form of food and alcohol, so that all the spirits living in these places would show favor to them. After that, the brothers got down to business. There was surprisingly a lot of game in the forest, and in just a couple of days the hunters shot more than they planned to catch in two weeks. They rubbed their hands contentedly, anticipating the solid profit they would receive by handing over all this stuff to the collection point.
Uninvited guest
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It happened when the first snowfall began. In the evening, the brothers dined in their warm hut. Suddenly there was a crunching sound outside, as if someone were walking in the snow. The hunters grabbed their guns: what if it's a bear? However, it soon became clear that the steps are human. Someone approached the dwelling and in a woman's voice said: "Lord, how cold it is!" Well, the brothers were surprised: where would someone come from, especially a woman?
Meanwhile, there was a knock on the door. Then it opened and a young woman entered the hut, dressed in expensive, albeit old-fashioned, clothes. Seeing the people, the stranger was delighted and said that she lived in a nearby village. Having gone for a walk in the forest, she got lost and wandered in the thicket all day. I was already scared that she would freeze, but luckily I came across this housing …
The brothers looked at each other: they knew the area well and were convinced that there were no villages nearby. But the guest aroused sincere sympathy, she was shivering from the cold and was hungry. The hunters politely sat the stranger at the table, poured her hot soup and tea. The woman began to eat, along the way talking about herself, about her relatives and how rashly she acted, going alone for a walk in the dense forest.
The older brother listened to this story with genuine interest and nodded, while the younger one looked at the woman with distrust and even suspicion. She could not, in his opinion, make such a long journey from the nearest village in a day. Seizing the moment, he left the hut and looked around at dusk. A chain of traces did lead to their homes. The young hunter followed them and after a while went straight to the bank of the river, which had not yet had time to be covered with ice. Did the woman cross the river? In that case, she should have come to them soaking wet!..
Sinister temptress
The younger brother's suspicions grew by the minute. He remembered stories that came down from his ancestors about incredibly powerful evil spirits who live in the wilds of the forest and sometimes attack those who, without asking, poke into their possessions. The young man decided, imperceptibly from the woman, to tell his brother about this, and only then to act according to the situation.
Returning to the hut, he saw that the elder brother and the guest had already uncorked a bottle of alcohol and were communicating, not hiding mutual sympathy. There was nothing surprising in this, since the man was not married, and the stranger turned out to be very pretty and, apparently, wanted to reward the owner for the hospitality shown.
Interrupting their conversation, the younger brother said that their hunting equipment was getting wet under the snow outside and should be removed. "So take it away yourself," the elder replied reasonably and continued courting his lady. She suddenly threw such a venomous, clearly unfeminine and even inhuman look at the young man that his soul went into his heels.
The "third extra" went outside again, sorted out the equipment, and when he returned back, he realized that the communication of the couple in love was approaching an intimate ending. When the older brother went outside out of small need, the younger still caught him and told about the footprints coming out of the river, about the terrible gaze of the guest, and in general that the story told by the stranger was absolutely implausible. The older brother, who had already gotten drunk enough, did not believe it, he pressed the younger one against the wall and muttered: “If you interfere, I'll kick it in the face and throw it out in the cold.”
The man and woman fenced off with a screen in the corner of the hut and turned off the lights. The younger brother imperceptibly loaded the double-barreled gun and put it under his blanket - he was so frightened by the piercing gaze of the stranger. He was going to stay awake to come to his brother's aid if necessary, but soon he dozed off unnoticed.
Terrible death
At night, the young man woke up from some incomprehensible sound. The coals in the stove were still smoldering, so not much time had passed.
A strange sound, coming from the corner behind the screen, was like a grinding in half with a chomp. Not understanding anything, the guy listened intently and suddenly caught the muffled groan of his brother. He grabbed the gun, jumped out of bed and, pulling back the screen, saw a real nightmare.
A black figure, not in any way reminiscent of a woman, with huge, half-face eyes burning with yellow fire, bit into the victim's neck, and the mysterious sound was nothing more than the gnashing of her teeth on the unfortunate's neck. The man barely audible moaned.
The young hunter hesitated for no more than a second. Throwing up a double-barreled gun, he almost point-blank shot in the "face" of a terrible creature. There was a shrill screech. The monster jumped off its victim and, hissing: “We should have finished you off first,” rushed to the exit. The guy fired a second shot of shot in his back - and the disgusting thing screamed again. Having broken down the door, she ran into the forest, towards the river.
Left alone with his older brother, the younger tried to help him, but it was too late. The unfortunate man's head turned out to be almost separated from the body (it's amazing how he could make any sounds at all), the whole bed was soaked in blood …
Until dawn, the young hunter sat near the dead man, holding a gun at the ready, and with the first rays of the sun rushed to his village, where he told about what had happened. Then he, accompanied by fellow villagers, returned and took the body of his brother. The hut where the tragedy happened was broken. The river, near which she stood, has since been called Abasy-Yurege, which in Russian means "The River of Evil Spirits." It is strongly advised not to appear in its surroundings even today.