Quite recently, the correspondent of “NO” tried to uncover the secrets of the Napoleon kurgans near the village of Rasskazovka. But it turned out that there are many unusual places with a mystical flavor in the Troitsky and Novomoskovsky administrative areas. This time, in search of ghosts, we went to the Devyatovsky quarries in the Ryazanovskoye settlement.
Devyatovsky quarries, or Silicates, are a system of natural caves with a total length of about 11.5 kilometers. This place is especially popular among speleologists. The entrance is a hole in the ground on one side and a manhole with a special descent on the other. The cave is inhabited by bats that often fly through tunnels.
It would seem that “on paper” the Silicates is an ordinary tourist place, which will seem inconspicuous to those who like to tickle their nerves. But I was haunted by a story I came across on the net - about the ghost of a soldier who supposedly lives in caves.
During the Great Patriotic War, the quarries were equipped as a bomb shelter. But one day there was a landslide, and one Soviet soldier, at the cost of his own life, saved everyone who was there.
Both his relatives and fellow soldiers were looking for the hero's body, but all in vain. Since then, the ghost of a soldier has wandered the caves, warning tourists of imminent disaster.
Misha, Guardian of the Dungeon
"Silicates," read the red ink. I turned on the flashlight and examined the entrance to the caves. Grass rustled behind him. A mongrel was approaching me.
Promotional video:
- Hello! Where are you from here? - I patted the friendly dog behind the ear and began to descend into the cave. The dog suddenly piteously, as if dissuading me, whined.
- Quiet, kid, - I tried to calm the dog, although my own calmness vanished instantly. The idea of going on my own no longer seemed so correct. But I'm brave! But he took two steps forward - he literally became numb: it seemed that there, in the cold darkness, thousands of beetles were running along the walls. I froze … In the distance there was an echo of steps - slow, heavy … Or was it really just heard? And outside the dog did not stop barking. I turned sharply towards the exit and stumbled over a stone. Barely getting out into the light, he sat down right on the ground.
- No, without a guide, not here, - he said aloud to himself.
A few days later, I again stood at the entrance to the Silicates - however, on the other hand, and no longer alone, but in the company of a guide and experienced researchers.
“The Devyatovskaya system of quarries has been for many years,” guide Marat Barodsky began to tell during the gathering. - Its development began in the 60s of the XIX century.
But after the Great Patriotic War, it was abandoned.
“Not because of the ghost of a soldier? I asked impatiently.
“Quite possibly,” he chuckled. - Almost every cave or monument in Russia has a mystical history. The Devyatovsky quarries are no exception.
Having dressed warmly and having collected all the equipment necessary for the journey, we approached the descent into the bomb shelter - a tunnel with a ladder.
But Marat stopped everyone and asked to wait. An old friend of mine ran out of the thicket - that very dog.
- This is Misha. If he whines, we will have to cancel our excursion, - the guide unexpectedly seriously said. The dog greeted us and gave us the go-ahead to travel.
Welcome to the Silicates Downstairs, even a winter jacket and thermal underwear did not save from the piercing icy wind walking under the stone arches.
And I don’t want to see a ghost that doesn’t bode well. Photo: Roman Soldatov.
- And often Misha decides whether there will be a descent or not? I ask.
- Is always. Dogs feel impending landslides and disasters, and in caves, you know, this is not uncommon,”Marat explained and turned on the lighting by running the generator. It turned out that the cave is literally dotted with inscriptions, symbols and punctures - like wounds on stones. The participants turned on their lights and checked the equipment again.
- The road will take from six to eight hours, taking into account the stops, - Marat prepared us mentally. - Let's go almost 12 kilometers. Well, go ahead! The strange sounds coming from the tunnel made me feel uneasy. Either the wind is noisy, or some small animals, local inhabitants, are swarming in their holes … Or maybe it was we who, with our intrusion, disturbed someone who was sleeping peacefully, but now woke up and whispers, follows, watches us from thick blackness of the cold corridor … Goose bumps began to run down my spine and I believed in all the legends at once.
Our first stop is the Pillars of Hercules. Huge columns of natural origin are located here.
Largely due to them, the ceiling did not collapse in so many years. As I examined the columns, there was a persistent feeling that someone was looking at me from the back of the room. I pointed the lantern, hoping to make sure: it was imagined, but, as according to the law of meanness, at that moment it went out. I hit him lightly.
The light came on again. Nobody. But by that moment I no longer felt the look at myself. What was it? Soldier? A fantasy played out? The group has already moved forward. You can't lag behind. And again those same sounds … Steps.
I tried not to turn around.
- Tell me, have you seen ghosts in the cave? - I asked the guide curiously.
- I have been doing speleology for 12 years already, and over the years I have seen everything, - Marat answered calmly. “But seeing the ghost of a soldier is a bad sign. According to legend, he is shown only before something bad happens.
As it turned out, wandering through the Devyatovsky caves is not an exercise for the faint of heart.
Everyone fall to the ground
We entered a huge room with a high ceiling. It looked like a tomb; huge slabs stood against the walls of the cave. Is someone buried here? Nobody warned me about this.
“This is the Tomb. The plates, as you might have guessed, are artificial, - said Marat. - True, who made them and why is still not clear. But this is where we will stop for a halt.
I began to examine the slabs in an attempt to find at least some inscription to understand why they were. After all, eating next to ancient graves is not a pleasant experience.
- Maybe let's go a little further? - What are you? We've been walking for three hours already.
I looked at my watch in bewilderment.
- Yes. Time flows in a very different way underground. But if we do not rest now, we will collapse from fatigue.
While we were eating, I decided to check the time again. An unpleasant surprise awaited me - the clock stopped, although it was completely new. The lantern began to fail again. But this time the whole group.
Marat got up to remove the rubbish, but the wall lights, which work from the generator at the entrance to the caves, immediately turned off. There was a deathly silence in the air for a moment.
- Everyone fall to the ground! - shouted the guide.
A flock of bats flew over us.
Way through the darkness
The road further seemed endless.
We walked slowly, and then someone touched me. I turned around sharply, but no one was there.
… It turned out that I stood there for a couple of minutes. All this time the group went forward.
“So I’ve come for you,” I whispered.
I was guided by the echo of the receding footsteps of the satellites. But he was at a dead end.
Panic horror began to spread through my body. Run! How I did not hit my head on the protruding stones - I still don't understand. But luck came to an end. I stumbled, could not stay on my feet and flew with a full run into the blackness. A lantern shattered with a plaintive crack a few meters from me …
As it turned out, wandering through the Devyatovsky caves is not an exercise for the faint of heart.
Male intuition
The light brought me to my senses.
- Where have you disappeared? And the lantern was broken. I was looking for you for about an hour, - said the guide. - There seems to be no concussion.
We went through several rooms. My head was spinning. I did not understand where and how long I sat without light.
- How did you find me? - The dog whined. She stood exactly where you stayed. Only on the surface.
We came to the very manhole where I was during my first unsuccessful acquaintance with the Devyatovskie caves. I turned back … and saw a silhouette in military uniform …
- You shouldn't stay, - the guide hastened.
We reached the Silikatnaya station, where we said goodbye to each other. Marat turned to me and said that for the first time he almost lost a member of the expedition.
“Believe it or not, I think I saw someone's silhouette there…” I admitted. - Is the legend about the soldier not just a story to scare people? Marat looked at me carefully.
There was not a hint of a grin in his gaze.
“You better trust your intuition, you know,” he advised. - Who knows how this story could end. Legends, too, are not taken from the void. The soldier you may have seen once saved many people. It turns out that you too.
***
PS I have been thinking about the Devyatovskie caves and their keeper for a long time. Perhaps some secrets should remain unsolved. The main thing I have learned is to pay attention to the signs that fate sends.
Roman Soldatov