Ghost's of Blue Bell Hill. Kent in the uk

 

 a man driving through Blue Bell Hill in 1992 saw a young girl appear and start running towards his vehicle.

The girl looked straight at him as the car hit her and then fell under his car. However, on the investigation, the man found that no one was there. Eighteen years before this incident there was a similar occurrence on that stretch of road. In 1974 a man saw a girl (about 10) who appeared in front of his car. He then found her lying on the road bleeding, so he carried her body to the roadside and covered her with a blanket. The shocked man then returned to the police and found the blanket but no girl.

Maurice Goodenough was driving on Blue Bell Hill between Maidstone and Chatham just after midnight in the very early hours of Saturday, 13 July 1974. A girl, about ten years old, wearing a white blouse, socks, and a skirt appeared from nowhere in Mr. Goodenough's headlights.

Despite braking as hard as possible and skidding, he felt the impact as the car hit the girl. When Mr. Goodenough jumped out he found the young girl lying on the road, bruised and bleeding, though not to an excessive degree. Afraid of what injuries she might have, Mr Goodenough carried the child to the side of the road, wrapped her in a blanket, and left her while he drove to the Rochester police station to seek help. The police joined him to return to the scene where they found only the blanket and no trace of the girl.

A tracker dog was called in to assist in the investigation but was unable to find a scent to follow; no bloodstains were found. Inquiries at local hospitals discovered no reports of anybody injured in the way described by Mr. Goodenough and Mr. Goode-nough's car was undamaged. If Mr. Goodenough described the incident accurately, and there is no reason to doubt that he did, then a supernatural explanation is not quite the only one possible, though we are still left with a mystery.

If the girl's injuries were not so serious she could have left the scene and gone home - it has even been speculated that she may have been on the run from the social services - but all of this is suspect in view of the fact that no one has been able to trace the girl in the time since. Blue Bell Hill has a high incidence of ghost and phantom hitchhiker legends though the report to the police station probably makes Mr. Goodenough's the most reliable report.

The search for the phantom hitchhiker's identity has thrown up a very specific if problematic candidate. On Friday 19 November 1965, around nine years before Mr. Goodenough's encounter, a Ford Cortina was in collision with a Jaguar on Blue Bell Hill.

The Cortina was occupied by four women, a 22-year-old girl who was to be married in Gillingham, Kent the following day, and her three hen-party companions. The bride-to-be died five days after the collision at West Kent Hospital, one of her companions was killed in the accident and a second died on admission to the hospital. The fourth was seriously injured.

Both the Jaguar's occupants survived. One of the three dead women is held to be the phantom hitchhiker, either the bride-to-be or, more often, one of her friends. Having been thwarted on the very eve of her wedding, perhaps the bride was not ready to die and is constantly trying to finish her journey.

It is obviously difficult to reconcile the figure of an adult woman with that of a ten-year-old girl; the bride-to-be may have been small, dressed in a young style, perhaps wearing white ankle socks, and in the panic of the crash, and in the darkness, may have been mistaken by the witness as being much younger than she was.

There are other, frustratingly uncorroborated, reports of sightings of the bride-to-be hitchhiker in the area on the anniversary of her crash.

The Haunted A229, Blue Bell Hill.

Although the paranormal and ghostly haunting history of Blue Bell Hill relates mainly to the stretch of the A229 (running between Rochester and Maidstone), the area itself is the location of many ghost sightings and unexplained events. These still continue despite many alterations to the area due to road and rail construction and other layout changes over the years. In fact, this construction and disturbance may be the trigger to some of the witnessed events

 

Probably the best-known vanishing hitchhiker story in the UK comes from Blue Bell Hill, near Rochester, Kent. One shaken witness went to the police after believing he had run over a young girl - on investigation of the scene of the 'accident', no body, blood, or evidence of any kind of impact could be found. On separate occasions, two families reported a terrifying old hag-like figure standing in front of their cars, causing them to stop sharply.

The lady vanishes. As if phantom women were not enough to keep the area on the paranormal map, Blue Bell Hill has a cryptozoological interest; a gorilla-like creature was spotted here, as was an ostrich which morphed into a large black cat before making its escape from inquisitive eyes.

There are many reports here of a phantom hitchhiker on the A229 south of Chatham. The reports began in 1968, and usually involved a young girl (possibly a bride-to-be or a bridesmaid who was killed at the foot of the hill in 1965), flagging down cars and asking for a lift.

Reports of phantom hitchhikers can be found throughout the world. These are apparitions that seem to haunt dark and lonely roads. Typically, they are usually seen by a lone motorist late at night, and are sometimes the cause of accidents as the unsuspecting motorist skids or swerves to avoid a figure in the road.

But when the frightened driver stops in a panic thinking that he has plowed into someone - there is no one to be seen!

At times a motorist will actually see what he considers to be a real person hitching a lift at the roadside. The driver stops to give the person a lift, only to discover later that he is alone in the car!

The most famous of phantom roadside ghosts in the UK - is the ghost of Blue Bell Hill in Kent. This ghost was reported to police three times within as many months by frightened motorists who thought that they had hit and killed someone out on the forlorn hillside. Details of this haunting have appeared in over 200 newspaper stories throughout the UK over the years.

The most famous encounter occurred in the early hours of the 13th of July 1974. Maurice Goodenough was driving to his home in Chatham when a figure suddenly appeared in front of his car. She appeared to be a young girl, about ten years old wearing a white blouse, skirt, and white ankle socks. Mr. Goodenough stamped on his brakes but he could not avoid hitting her, and the car struck her with a sickening force.

He brought the car to a skidding halt and rushed back to the small girl. He found her battered and bleeding at the roadside. But she appeared to be in better shape than he had first feared but aware that it might be dangerous to move her, he grabbed a blanket from his car to wrap her in whilst he went to fetch help.

He rushed to a nearby police station at Rochester, and police officers came back to the spot, marked by a now-empty blanket, but although they searched for hours with a tracker dog - they found nothing!

It was at first thought that perhaps another motorist may have picked her up, and local hospitals were questioned. They all reported they had had no accident admissions that night!

After the police inspected Mr. Goodenough's car and found no sign of damage they began to suspect that perhaps he had made the whole thing up or the phantom girl had been a product of an overtired mind playing tricks with shapes and shadows caught in the headlights.

However, one fact could not be disputed Mr. Goodenough was not the first motorist to have had the chilling experience of encountering a strange young girl on Blue Bell Hill. Nor, would he be the last

Bretby Business Park, Burton on Trent

 

Vanishing car headlights have been reported being seen approaching the exit gate at the Bretby Business Park

Former security guards have reported on several occasions sighting car headlights coming down an exit road from the Bretby Business Park and then vanishing into the night without a trace before reaching the exit gate.

Other security guards have reported hearing sounds of running showers and voices coming from one of the empty buildings on-site at the time.

Additional spooky reports include a security guard being approached by a young woman wearing a summer dress, (on a dark cold, and rainy night in winter) who said she was lost and wanted directions to Stapenhill. Later CCTV footage shows the security guard speaking and gesturing, but there is no image or trace of the woman.

Florida Haunted House

 

                                            Is a house in Florida haunted by a female ghost?

CASE DETAILS

 

If you happen to be in Lake Wales, Florida, there’s a house you might want to avoid. It’s a very ordinary-looking house, but as you can probably guess, appearances can be deceiving. In the fall of 1991, 19-year-old Alan Mann lived in the house with his parents. Alan worked nights, and during the day, he was often home alone—or so he thought

“I had the afternoon off. I’d come home and I guess it was about 3:00 o’clock in the afternoon, I’d finally gotten some sleep

Then, suddenly the image of a mysterious woman appeared before him.

Alan Mann claimed he saw a ghostly woman

“The figure turned away from the door like it was leaving. And by the time I got up and walked three paces to the door, I don’t know what happened, it just turned the corner and disappeared.”

She said a smoky figure sat on the sofa

Alan Mann said he looked high and low for the mysterious woman. But even though the doors were locked from the inside, she was nowhere to be found. He told his mother he thought he’d seen a ghost, but his mother refused to believe him. That was that until Alan got married, and his 16-year-old bride Linda moved into the house. Shortly after the wedding, Alan’s mother, Sandra, was watching TV with her new daughter-in-law. Sandra, the skeptic, was about to change her tune:

 

“I had my little dog Prince beside me. And he was on a pillow. And I looked down at the end of the couch and I saw this white smoky thing. And the first thing I thought was fire, and by that time, the dog had gotten up on his feet and then it just disappeared. And when Prince came back I said Prince… we’ve got company.

Their lamp mysteriously shot out flames

Even though Linda hadn’t seen the apparition, she was convinced the house was haunted. Determined to get the scoop, Linda enlisted a friend with an Ouija Board:

“The board talked real good with me. I believed in it. I’ve believed in that kind of stuff for a while. But I never come across it until then.”

According to Linda and Alan, the board spelled out the name “Kramer.” That was all the proof they needed. They had a ghost and her name was Kramer. Alan’s father David, however, wasn’t convinced:

 

Even though Linda hadn’t seen the apparition, she was convinced the house was haunted. Determined to get the scoop, Linda enlisted a friend with an Ouija Board:

“The board talked real good with me. I believed in it. I’ve believed in that kind of stuff for a while. But I never come across it until then.”

According to Linda and Alan, the board spelled out the name “Kramer.” That was all the proof they needed. They had a ghost and her name was Kramer. Alan’s father David, however, wasn’t convinced:

“I thought I was living with a bunch of flakes. I didn’t want to have anything to do with it. If it was a paranormal experience or something like that, I didn’t want to have to worry about that, I didn’t want to admit it.”

The Mann family tried to contact spirits

Linda and Alan, however, knew there was a ghost. But they weren’t prepared for what happened next. According to Alan, Linda suddenly attacked him in their bedroom:

 

“All of a sudden she just snapped. And she got this weird look. She pretty much attacked me. She was laughing. She had some weird laugh I had never heard. It didn’t even sound like her. She has this squeaky little giggle. And this was, almost an evil laugh.”

Linda had become, seemingly possessed and was holding down Alan. Alan remembers how forceful his wife became:

“I tried to get away and it made her get more violent. And she started putting more force on my arms. So I pushed against her. And I slammed her against the wall three times. And she released me. And she put her head on my shoulder again and started talking and picked up the conversation exactly where she left off before she snapped.”

 

Even stranger was the fact that Linda had no recollection of the events that took place:

 

“That’s not me. I don’t have an evil laugh. I don’t do the things that he says I do, that’s just not my type. I’m not that type of person. I just don’t remember.”

 

Suddenly, the harmless ghost had taken on a whole new personality that was difficult to ignore. Even David Mann took notice:

 

“I really got concerned. At that point, I said look, I’m going to get some help. Somebody somewhere can tell me what the heck is going on.”

 

A spiritualist told the Manns to pour salt all around the house. The Manns kept bags of salt under their beds and even tried a homegrown exorcism. But according to Sandra, nothing helped:

 

“Every time we tried something… it would settle down and then it would be stronger, you know there’d be more happenings.”

 

Then, the house began to smell and everyone in the family suffered from bad headaches. Some of the rooms even took on a deathly chill. And then, according to Sandra, the voices began:

 

“What we heard was like a whole mass of voices, dull, muttering. And one woman’s voice over the top of them. But yet you could not distinguish anything they were saying.”

Professionals were called in to investigate

David and Sandra tried to act blasé. But according to David, the ghost was not about to let them off the hook:

 

“I stopped right in the middle of the hall. I caught the smell again. And I didn’t have any explanation for it, it’s like you get an idea, a little voice inside your head, like your conscience or whatever it is. That little voice that you listen to. It said, ‘This is Isabella.’”

 

The Manns were spooked, especially Linda. She and Alan decided it was time to move out. Before long, word of the Manns’ plight reached “The Center for Paranormal Studies,” in Silver Springs, Florida. Armed with a truckload of electronic equipment, the Center’s three founders showed up at the Manns’ house. Andrew Nichols was one of the parapsychologists sent to study the Manns’ house:

 

“It definitely had an oppressive ambiance to it, almost a depressive type of feeling. After being in the house for several hours, we all began to experience headaches.”

 

According to Andrew, Linda and Alan’s old bedroom received the highest amount of paranormal activity:

 

“It was very, very high. So I thought it would be a good idea to start taking a series of photographs at that point.”

 

Andrew Nichols took two Polaroid shots, one during and one after the flux in paranormal activity. The second photograph was normal. But Andrew noticed something strange in the first:

 

“There was a vaguely humanoid shape in the forefront of the picture. It may be a reflection of some unusual environmental effect. It may be a strange artifact of the human psyche, or it may be a contact with a dimension of existence that’s beyond our imagination.”

 

 Two months later, after a visit from a local minister, the haunting appeared to stop. But David and Sandra decided to move out soon after. Was the house in Lake Wales haunted by the spirit of someone named Isabella Kramer? Although there are no records that such a person ever lived in that area, the Manns had all the proof they needed. cited they to move out soon after. Was the house in Lake Wales haunted by the spirit of someone named Isabella Kramer? Although there are no records that such a person ever lived in that area, the Manns ad all the proof they needed.

 

 

 

THE STOCKSBRIDGE HAUNTING, THE SCARIEST UK GHOST STORY EVER REPORTED

 

THE STOCKSBRIDGE HAUNTING

THE SCARIEST UK GHOST STORY EVER REPORTED

On September 11th, 1987, a well-respected police officer, PC Dick Ellis, and a former Special Constable, John Beet were two of a number of witnesses to see probably the scariest and most noticeably witnessed ghostly apparition ever to be reported in the UK.

The location – A616 bypass (under construction at the time by the McAlpine building company), Stocksbridge, near Sheffield. Situated in the north of England.

This ghost story is very vivid in my mind as I come from Sheffield and have driven over the bypass on several occasions, but more importantly – my sister used to work as a police officer in the same ‘Deepcar Police Station’ as PC Ellis. Although she never knew him, the story has always remained consistent.

…

Tuesday night, September 8th, 1987 – two security guards employed by McAlpine to patrol the bypass site and guard building materials telephoned their boss, Peter Owens in a frantic state.

Owens arrived at the site to find the two large men in a state of hysteria.

Owens then questioned the two men, who told him strange things had started around 12.30pm the night before.

They had been driving along Pearoyd Lane, near Stocksbridge steelworks, and were very surprised to see children playing near the half-constructed bypass at the side of a pylon and far away from the nearest houses.

They told Owens they had decided to investigate, therefore they parked their car and watched the children skipping about, but they were both puzzled by the children’s unusual and outdated clothing.

In an attempt to discover why the children were out so late, they got out of their land rover and proceeded in the children’s direction, only to find the children were now nowhere to be seen.

When they arrived at the spot where they had seen the children playing, they were puzzled to discover…there were absolutely no footprints in the mud.

They described to Owens how the following morning they were still more baffled than frightened as they relayed their story to the McAlpine builders and how this was heightened when they were then told by some of the men…they had heard children’s voices in the night as they rested in their caravans.

Owens was told how their bafflement turned into fear just before they phoned him. They went on to describe how they were driving, as usual, up Pearoyd Lane towards the site. Upon reaching it, they saw a large, dark figure of a monk on the partly constructed bridge. They then explained, as they drove towards the figure, that when the headlights reached the apparition, it disappeared.

After listening to the security guard’s story, Owens was convinced they were being truthful and called Deepcar Police Station. As you can imagine the police officer who took the call, PC Ellis laughed and suggested they call a priest instead as this was hardly a police matter. However, Ellis got a surprise later that day, when a priest called, Stuart Brindley phoned him at the station and asked if they could send someone to help him with two security guards at his church.

The priest went on to describe how the guards were demanding an exorcism of the Stocksbridge bypass site, but his main concern was for the men’s state of distress, which he had no control over.

The police station had no alternative but to investigate the guard’s story. Therefore, PC Ellis and Special Constable John Beet were commissioned to the job.

As Ellis and Beet drove towards the site on the 11th of September 1987 both of them were very skeptical about the story’s authenticity and believed that the security guards were being hysterical and attributed the saga as being one of the most hilarious they had ever heard.

The evening was quite warm, so Ellis and Beet sat in their car facing the bridge with the windows down. It wasn’t too long before they noticed ‘something’ moving on the bridge. Ellis climbed out of the car and ran to the bridge, where he found a piece of loose tarpaulin flapping around in the wind. Ellis went back to the car and they decided to wait a little longer before calling it a night.

PC Ellis commented to Beet how he had just had the oddest sensation as though someone had just walked over his grave. He asked Beet if he had felt anything. Then suddenly, Ellis felt a presence at his side. He turned his head sharply to find a dark, clothed torso pushed right up to his door. Ellis noticed the dark clothing had white ‘v-shaped material running down the chest.

Suddenly the apparition vanished and appeared at Beet’s side in an instant. Then it vanished again as Ellis stepped out of the car. He walked all around the car and looked underneath…nothing was there.

Ellis got back into the car and turned the ignition, but nothing happened… he tried again but still nothing. On the third attempt, the car started.

Ellis decided to drive to the construction area, where he pulled up and radioed the station to give their whereabouts. Suddenly, there was a loud bang on the back of the car, which Ellis later described as sounding like it had been hit with a baseball bat or pickaxe handle.

Beet sat rigid in the car as Ellis hesitantly climbed out. Again, there was nothing around – not a sound or sight of anything. Ellis rushed back and jumped in the car, just as the car was struck again. A booming noise reverberated as the car rocked up and down. Ellis frantically started the car, but again it was hit. Ellis put his foot down and raced back to Deepcar station.

They reported their findings to shocked colleagues, who wrote statements of their accounts. Both Ellis and Beet stated, that their fear was so intense, that they described it as; ’it was not that which one has when you are about to encounter danger – but worse, it was the kind where you have absolutely no control over…a feeling of ‘dread’.

Sleep Paralysis Demon or Ghost cause ?

 

IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT

Regardless of whether one accepts the medical explanation or the paranormal theory for this surprisingly common condition, there is no escaping the fact that it is a terrifying experience for the sufferer.

Sleep paralysis is closely related to the natural paralysis occurring in the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) state of sleep. The victim is fully conscious and alert, yet the body remains paralyzed. In this state, the brain is capable of manifesting intensely vivid hallucinations, which the body cannot react to. The understandable reaction to this scenario is fear and panic. To the sufferer, the experience is terrifyingly real. All the natural senses of the individual remain fully functioning, i.e. smell, taste, touch, hearing, and sight are all present and only add to the horror.

During REM sleep the body’s metabolism is slowed down, the heart rate is lowered, as too is blood pressure and respiratory rate. Along with this comes muscle paralysis; all these adaptations are a safety mechanism to prevent injury during the dreaming state. Without this natural defense, the individual could thrash out with limbs and enact their dreams.

With a reduced heartbeat and respiratory rate, the victim will experience the feeling of pressure on the chest wall and difficulty breathing. In this natural state of fear and panic, the victim may well interpret this sensation as some kind of weight on his/her chest.

Some victims of this horrifying condition are able to convince themselves that the experience was no more than a dream – a nightmare at worst. Others remain convinced they have been attacked by a supernatural entity. The latter are adamant their assailant is an external reality and not a product of their subconscious.
However, sleep specialists and psychologists dismiss this by explaining that thoughts, images, and sensations released from an individual’s subconscious are all ultimately alien to the individual. This area is a vast storeroom for random psychological phenomena, which the conscious brain either cannot or will not analyze and accept as reality. Hence, the victim concludes that all the hallucinatory elements of a sleep paralysis attack are received from an external source.

Throughout the world and the passing of time, the above physiological aspects of sleep paralysis have been and remain the same, regardless of the victim’s race, religion, or culture. It is the almost countless interpretations of these symptoms, which make sleep paralysis one of, if not the most common and feared paranormal phenomena.

It is beyond the scope and capability of this article and its author to cover all the physiological and psychological aspects of sleep paralysis. Therefore, I have elected to turn my attention to offering the reader a brief overview of the many variations and interpretations of the occult aspects of this fascinating and terrifying phenomenon.

THE DARKER SIDE OF THE NIGHT

Frank De Felitta’s novel, ‘The Entity’ which was later made into a very successful horror movie was in fact based on the alleged true story of Carlotta Moran, a young Californian woman. Her terrifying ordeal from the 1970s is supported by psychiatric reports and physical evidence in the form of bruises to her body. Some researchers claim that Carlotta was attacked by a non-physical male entity known as an Incubus, (female counterpart, Succubus).

There are several excellent books and papers available on sleep paralysis. ‘Creatures from Inner Space’ (Stan Gooch) and ‘The Flying Cow’ (Guy Lyon Playfair), and ‘The Terror that comes in the Night’ (David J. Hufford) are just three examples.

SLEEP PARALYSIS IN FOLKLORE:

The following list is a brief summary of various perceptions of sleep paralysis in some cultures throughout the world:

African culture describes sleep paralysis as ‘The Witch Riding Your Back’.

Cabbodian, Laitian, and Thai cultures believe sleep paralysis to be ‘Pee Umm’ and Khmout Sukkhot’. These describe dreams of ghostly figures holding down their victims, or merely being nearby. Both terms should not be confused with ‘Pee Khao’ and ‘Khamout Jool’ which refer to a ghost possession.

Hmong culture refers to sleep paralysis as ‘Dab Tsog’ or ‘Crushing demon’ In this instance the victim claims to see small child-sized entities sitting on their chests.

Many American Hmong, (mainly male) have died in their sleep, prompting the Centres for Disease Control to adopt the term, ‘Sudden Unexpected Nocturnal Death Syndrome’, or (SUNDS).

Vietnamese culture refers to sleep paralysis as ‘Ma De’, meaning (held down by a ghost, ‘Bong De’, (held down by a shadow’.

Chinese culture believes it to be, ‘Pinyin; GUI y ashen’ or ‘Pinyin GUI ya chan’. Translated: ‘Ghost pressing on the bed’.

Japanese culture, as ‘Kanashibari’, meaning (bound or fastened in metal).

Hungarian culture folklore refers to sleep paralysis as ‘Lidercnymias’. (Lideric pressing). Here the term can relate to a number of supernatural entities like ‘Lideric’ (Wraith). ‘Boszorkany’ (Witch). ‘Tinder’ (Fairy) or ‘Ordogszereto’ (Demon Lover). The word ‘Boszorkany’ stems from the Turkish root ‘Bas’ meaning (to press).

Icelandic culture refers to sleep paralysis as having a ‘Mara’ (Devil that sits on one’s chest at night).

Malta culture attributes sleep paralysis to an attack by the ‘Haddiela’ who is the wife of ‘Hares’. To help prevent such an attack Maltese people believe to rid themselves of Haddeila, they must place a piece of silverware or a knife under the pillow just before sleep.

Kurdish culture believes it to be ‘Mataka’. Kurdish people believe the form of a ghost or evil spirit visits them in the night and suffocates them if they have done something bad.

New Guinea culture, as ‘Suk Ninmyo’. Here the origin is from sacred trees that use human essence to sustain their lives. These trees feed on human essence during the night so as not to disturb the human’s daily life.

Turkish culture, as ‘Karabasan’, (The dark presser/assailer).

Mexican culture refers to sleep paralysis as ‘Se me Subio el Mureto’ (The dead person got on me).

Southern American culture refers to the phenomenon as a ‘hag’ and it is believed to be a sign of an approaching tragedy or accident.

Southwest Nigeria culture describes sleep paralysis as ‘Ogun Oru’ (Nocturnal Warfare).

Pakistani culture refers to the phenomenon as encounters with evil jinns and demons. They believe the experience to be the result of enemies performing black magic.

Korean culture, as ‘Ga-UI-nool-lim’ meaning (pressed by a nightmare).

Tamail and Sri Lankan cultures refer to sleep paralysis as ‘Amuku Be’ or Amuku Pei’ meaning (the ghost that forces one down).

Malay culture, as ‘Kena Tindih’ meaning (being pressed).

Newfoundland culture refers to the phenomenon as the ‘Old Hag’. It is believed that the Hag can be summoned to attack a third party, like a curse. Daviv J. Hufford stated in his 1982 book, ‘The Terror That Comes in the Night’ that believers call up the Hag by reciting the Lord's Prayer backward

Hooded Figures in Window

 

                           This photograph shows some peculiar hooded figures in the background.

Ghost in the window

This mysterious face appeared in the window in this late 1800's family photo. The face is said to be a relative of the family that had recently died. Seems they wanted inclusion in their family photo!

 

Ghost figure in the back ground

 

This is creepy this is a photo taken of two girls playing at a home, but what is the creepy figure in the background?

Ghost in Italian Castle 1980's

 

a ghost snapped in an Italian Castle in the 1980s, thought to be the ghost of Templars.

Ghostly face

 

      I don't know what more creepy the face in the background or the fuzzy face of the grandfather

This is a picture of someone's great-grandfather that dates back to the early 1900s and was taken to America, (the photo has always belonged to my family and has never been touched by strangers) I post it purely for curiosity because that face of discrete sizes that seems to blow in his ear has always intrigued me (I have yellowed the photo to make it more visible)

A GHOSTLY MIST

 

Taken by Marlena VanHesling of Vancouver Canada's'The Ghost Gang" ..... economist rising up out of a new plot and forming what appears to be a skull....and then fading away. There was No fog that night.

 Now I don't know what to make of this because it can be easily faked by a glass reflection, but what this is is spooky.

Ghost of former pub owner

 

Ghostly: Spooked pub-goers claim to have pictured the spirit (circled) they say has been haunting their local ale-house for years

He's (the) serving spirit! Pub regulars photograph generous ghost of former barman who keeps topping up their drinks.

Spooked pub-goers claim to have pictured the spirit they say has been haunting their local ale-house for years. Regulars at the Apsley House in Southsea, Hants, say a generous ghoul, believed to be the ghost of a former barman, keeps topping up their drinks. And at a recent retirement party for one of the staff, Paul Morgan finally photographed the mysterious phantom.

 Father-of-four Paul, 47, who was snapping with friend Gerry Goodwin, said: 'I was taking lots of photos with my iPhone because it was a fancy dress-themed party.

'I took a few of a group of friends and it was once I looked at them a while later I noticed something strange in the background

'I took two shots in a matter of seconds. You can't see anything strange at the first, then a face appears in the next.

'It is very weird. I showed my kids and they couldn't believe it. There was no one near at the time.'

Trade: The ghoul has not put regulars off from attending the Apsley House pub in Southsea, Hants.

Married Mr. Morgan, a regular for the popular pub's darts side, said none of the regulars have been put off going in for a drink after seeing the spooky snap.

Plumbing engineer Paul added: 'The ghost is famous around here now and the pub wouldn't be the same without him.'

Landlord Paul Wicks added they had nicknamed their ghostly regular Reedy - after actor and legendary drinker Oliver Reed. He has worked at the 1960s pub, formerly a Victorian girls' school, for 13 years.

Mr. Wicks, 51, said: 'People say they have seen the ghost at the bar and that they feel things - cold spots things like that. I am a skeptic but can't see any rhyme or reason for what is in that photo.

Paranormal power influencing kids to self-immolate

 

   A WEIRD PARANORMAL EVENT OF TWO GIRLS TELLING A GIRL TO POUR PETROL ON                                                     HERSELF & LIGHTING HERSELF UP!

Indore: A bizarre ghost story is in circulation in a part of old Indore after the parents of a 14-year-old girl, who was found with a 60 percent burn on Wednesday afternoon, told the police that two mysterious girls had asked their daughter to pour kerosene on self.

 Their neighbors are also attesting to the ghost story and claiming that around 20 girls died under similarly mysterious circumstances in the last few years. Goma Ki Phel and Kazi Ki Chawl, the two downtown localities in Indore, are agog with feverish rumors of paranormal power behind the death of Henna, who succumbed to burns in MY hospital.

Henna's father Abdul Razzaq and brother Feroz were shocked when the dying girl told them that two girls had come to her and asked her to douse herself with kerosene and accompany them. However, no one saw the mysterious girls entering in or going out of the house before or after the incident. They were also shocked as Henna was absolutely normal and had a meal with her family before she was found 100% burnt.

Investigating officer sub-inspector Qureshi told us the family members and neighbors stated that Henna had told them she was under influence of some paranormal power who asked her to commit suicide and she followed the order.

The police officer claimed similar incidents occurred in the past too where minor girls committed suicide by immolating inside their houses and they cited the same reason behind the extreme steps. Vimla Bai, who had taken Henna to hospital, claimed that she too had lost her son Dharmendra in similar grotesque circumstances.

He immolated himself inside the small house, the woman said. She also claimed before her death Henna told her about two girls who asked her to accompany them. Two years ago, a minor girl Aatesha, daughter of Atiq, was found with cent percent burns in the house. Atiq had then claimed that barring his daughter all the other items in the house were found intact. Besides, the reason behind her suicide is unclear to this date.

In her dying declaration, Aatesha had also told about some paranormal powers influencing her. Rafiq Khan, a resident of Kazi Ki Chawl claimed that family members do not get wind about the immolation of girls until they burn completely even in an adjacent room. A family after losing a school-going daughter had shifted from the locality before Aatesha’s death.

 

This story is weird, why would a 14-year-old girl allow two girls to tell her to pour petrol on herself & set herself alight there has to be some sort of demon influence or vengeful spirits motivated to take the life of others to satisfy their own vengeance. But it is still a mystery how this has happened to the other girls in the same way with two girls telling them to pour petrol on themselves & lighting them up after these two girls seem to disappear without a trace. very odd. Could it be demons, vengeful spirits, or just suicide, but remember the other girl's died in the same way to much of a coincidence to me, but what do you think?

The Brown Lady Ghost

 

This portrait of "The Brown Lady" ghost is arguably the most famous and well-regarded ghost photograph ever taken. The ghost is thought to be that of Lady Dorothy Townshend, wife of Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount of Raynham, and residents of Raynham Hall in Norfolk, England in the early 1700s. It was rumored that Dorothy, before her marriage to Charles, had been the mistress of Lord Wharton.

Charles suspected Dorothy of infidelity. Although according to legal records she died and was buried in 1726, it was suspected that the funeral was a sham and that Charles had locked his wife away in a remote corner of the house until her death many years later.

Dorothy's ghost is said to haunt the oak staircase and other areas of Raynham Hall. In the early 1800s, King George IV, while staying at Raynham, saw the figure of a woman in a brown dress standing beside his bed. She was seen again standing in the hall in 1835 by Colonel Loftus, who was visiting for the Christmas holidays.

He saw her again a week later and described her as wearing a brown satin dress, her skin glowing with a pale luminescence. It also seemed to him that her eyes had been gouged out. A few years later, Captain Frederick Marryat and two friends saw "the Brown Lady" gliding along an upstairs hallway, carrying a lantern. As she passed, Marryat said, she grinned at the men in a "diabolical manner." Marryat fired a pistol at the apparition, but the bullet simply passed through.

This famous photo was taken in September 1936 by Captain Provand and Indre Shira, two photographers who were assigned to photograph Raynham Hall for Country Life magazine. This is what happened, according to Shira:

"Captain Provand took one photograph while I flashed the light. He was focusing on another exposure; I was standing by his side just behind the camera with the flashlight pistol in my hand, looking directly up the staircase. All at once, I detected an ethereal veiled form coming slowly down the stairs. Rather excitedly, I called out sharply: 'Quick, quick, there's something.' I pressed the trigger of the flashlight pistol. After the flash and on closing the shutter, Captain Provand removed the focusing cloth from his head and turning to me said: 'What's all the excitement about?'"

Upon developing the film, the image of The Brown Lady ghost was seen for the first time. It was published in the December 16, 1936 issue of Country Life. The ghost has been seen occasionally since.

Haunting Classifications & Ghost Classifications

 

For centuries, people have believed in and both feared and respected the idea that we share our world with ghosts and that there are haunted places in our world. Although science hasn’t been able to deal effectively with the physical aspects and explain these in relation to ghosts, other unexplained entities, and haunted physical places, there are a few strides science has made which help us try to pinpoint what is going on during paranormal or unexplained events. For instance, through science, we can measure physical energies such as sound, magnet fields, heat, etc. Sometimes knowing levels of physical data that exist can help researchers rule out bad explanations – still, by these methods, we’re often left with just ‘no plausible explanation’ or explanations about what an event or thing is NOT, rather than what it is.

There are social and philosophical (including religions) sciences and principles which are used to study the paranormal, ghosts, hauntings, and mythologies surrounding creatures and deities many believe inhabit our world alongside the human race. In many non-scientific disciplines, there is still a set of theories that exist, all packed up and utilized with scientific methodology, and with these, some disciplines classify “haunting” into 7 broad category types

1. Residual Haunting - Echos of the past, non-intelligent unaware of the living - non-dangerous

    

2. Intelligent Haunting - Spirit that is aware of the living, interacts with you or objects - mild to moderate or sometimes dangerous  

3. Demonic Haunting - Something that was never human what we refer to as a demon, These non-human spirits are shape-shifters, they have been reported to disguise themselves as friendly and helpful human spirits in order to break the will of a person to possess or do harm to other - very dangerous

4. Demonic Human Haunting - Something that was human in a previous life who died & the spirit has become to earthbound & lacks the light & has become a darker spirit, can possess you in order to harm or use you to do harm - dangerous

5. Poltergeist Haunting - known as a trickest, can move heavy objects, break your will to possess you or do harm to you, has 5 levels of a poltergeist haunting - very dangerous

6. Portal Haunting - portal haunting is the doorway between our world & the dead where the spirit can enter freely to haunt your home or place - Can be dangerous at times to non-dangerous

7. Natural Haunt non-haunting is just imagination running wild because of certain things that happen that might look like a haunting.

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1. Residual haunting, the most common form of haunting, paranormal activity occurs because some event of magnificence or importance, usually violent or containing highly emotional reaction, has happened in the past. This usually turns out to be a death of a resident or frequent visitor to the location in question and often it has been a very violent (or tragic, such as with suicide) death. Regularly, paranormal experts explain the event is in or on some sort of “loop” whereby the event or impressions of the event occur over and over again, only not quite in the same way or with as much solidity and physical hold as when they happened originally. This effect is similar to when we rewind and replay audio or videotape - we can hear or view a recording over and over again but the data is still not the original music/filming - it's a copy. These looping events in a haunting usually occur in buildings, particularly in residential homes. Although many residual hauntings happen in very old homes, the same can happen in relatively new homes, as well. It is believed that often, the spirits are not aware of this looping effect or have no control over it – the loop of events just repeats over and over and over.

2. Intelligent hauntings are considered the second most common of type of haunting, however, it is commonly accepted that beings (entities, ghosts, etc) involved in these types are aware of their surroundings and also manipulate their surroundings at least minimally. These are the hauntings you hear about or experience whereby ghosts interact with objects and even with living people. People experiencing hauntings of the intelligent type often report noises when they aren’t causing any noise, objects moving, sounds of voices, sounds of footsteps, lights and other electrical items turning on or off by themselves, and strange situations with lights coming from no apparent source, batteries draining, etc. It is believed that in an intelligent haunting, the entity involved creates movement, noise, etc., to be noticed.

3. Demonic hauntings are almost always one of the more frightening and emotionally draining sorts of paranormal experiences but are actually recorded as being one of the most common hauntings. It might be that many people are so afraid of an experience of this sort that they don't wish to report it at all. An entity or force may have threatened them in such a way that they don't wish to engage with it further in any manner. Nor do they intend to draw more attention to it or draw other people/forces near to it - as might happen if they make an official report or call in a paranormal team. These things must be kept in mind when trying to calculate the actual number of paranormal happenings that occur each year - versus - how many incidents are actually and fully reported.

Demonic hauntings center on and weaken or alter a person’s emotions and mental state. It is felt that demonic entities weaken their victims in order to possess them and take over at least some of their faculties. These beings have the physical strength and in many cases, do physically assault those they are trying to affect or possess. One may or may not be able to physically see the entity responsible for an assault but the attack can be very serious and real nonetheless. Repulsive smells and scary noises are also signs that a haunting is of demonic nature, rather than of another type of haunting.

4. poltergeist activity is also one of the most dreaded of all types of haunting. Most poltergeist hauntings are believed to be caused by an angry entity or spirit. This anger may have no determined course (other than “to vent” and terrorize) and poltergeists are considered to be quite chaotic. Often, poltergeist hauntings attach to one person, though they can be attached very firmly to a location, too. The activity may include moving objects, slamming doors and cupboards, breaking of glass or glasses, and a variety of unusual noises. These surges of activity may happen only when a particular person is nearby that the poltergeist has attached to, depending on whether the haunting is generalized or specific to a certain person.

poltergeist classification hauntings

level 1 - Referred to as Senses Attack because in the early stages of a poltergeist the activity mainly revolves around the human body's basic six.

Cold spots - Strange noises - Odd odors and smells - Hearing footsteps - Unusual animal activity (dogs/cats running from rooms, etc) - Feelings of being watched

level 2 - This level is where the noises and smells begin to turn into something more direct. Everything is still at its basic level but turned up a few notches.

Whispers - Laughs or giggles - Moans or shrieking - Moving shadows - Breezes in closed areas - Visible clouds (base apparitions) - Strong static electricity. Marks on floors or walls, (Not Writings).

level 3 - At this stage, the poltergeist begins to make its presence felt. The difference is that in the first two levels it could be said that it was the mind playing tricks, but now, it's hard not to notice something real is happening. This is the level that the classic haunting falls into.

Lights and other electrical appliances turning ON/OFF - Unseen hands grabbing or touching people - Writings on walls or pattern markings - Doors that OPEN/CLOSE or LOCK/UNLOCK - Hearing voices or words clearly - Full apparitions or dark figures - Showing levels of communication with living people - Strange telephone calls.

level 4 - This is where an advanced poltergeist begins to gain momentum. Moving closer to the danger level and picking up a clearer consciousness. It may seem that it's only a harmless ghost being playful. However, if it is a poltergeist, it may be gathering knowledge of what the people around it consider frightening. At the next level, it will use the information gained here in a violent manner to create an atmosphere of absolute terror. Which it then will use to feed off of and build its own energy.

Flying objects - Moving objects - Objects disappearing and reappearing elsewhere - shaking furniture - Fire starting - Appearing as frightening entities - Pushing or shaking people - creating visions or illusions - speaking in ordering tones - People feel dizzy, nausea or sick to the stomach. Windows, mirrors, or other household objects breaking for no reason - Levitation.

level 5 - At this level, the poltergeist is at its highest energy point and should be considered dangerous. Violent and/or threatening actions begin at this stage. The time frame here, and all stages listed, will vary determining on the poltergeist. It could end in days, months, or years. After this stage, the poltergeist will go dormant and then begin this cycle over again starting.

Dangerous activity - Biting - Slapping or punching - rape - Animating objects - Possessions - Use of household electrical systems to cause harm - Fires and burning - Blood on walls, floors, ceilings - Attacked by unseen forces - held down - Hair pulled - Flying knives or sharp objects - Heavy objects falling - Threatening writings or visual signs.

Portal haunting is generally considered a newer classification of haunting. Though many paranormal experts may believe in the other forms of haunting, not all belief in portal hauntings. Those that do believe these are a valid and specific form of haunting think these are from an entity moving about between dimensions or worlds via a door or portal opening someplace where dimensions or worlds meet. With portal hauntings, there may be orbs, mists, lights, shadows, and even creatures involved. Often, when the details of haunting don’t fit closely with the features usually found in other classifications, the haunting is said to be a portal haunting.

Personally, I object to this stuffing of an unexplained haunting into a category that seems convenient when classification becomes difficult, but this is just my amateur opinion. It seems valid to me that we will learn to classify happenings better in the future or have to construct an additional category for other unexplained events.

Natural Haunt A natural haunt is an initially unexplained phenomenon that occurs and that upon investigation is found to be caused by natural occurrences. For example, lights flickering that are caused by a loose connection or faulty wiring, noises that are found to be caused by pipes, animals, tree limbs, etc., apparitions that are found to be caused by mirrors, lighting, reflections, etc. It’s the easiest to determine and explain to the client, but most times leaves the client feeling foolish. In these cases, it helps to be understanding of the clients' feelings and reassuring that they do not need to feel foolish. Natural Haunts happen to everyone at some point.

ORBS
Orbs are believed (by many) to be ghosts in the form of balls of light. They are life forms that travel in groups and are believed to be the human soul or life force of those that once inhabited a physical body here on earth. Psychics claim to talk to them on a regular basis, and ghost hunters encounter them quite frequently. It is said that they are those spirits that have willingly stayed behind because they feel bound to their previous life or previous location for whatever reason. Because of this obsession, they tend to become similar to psychotic human beings. It should be said that the majority of us when we die proceed gladly and willingly to the next level of existence after saying our quiet good-byes, which means we're off to the spirit world. Then again, as stated, a select few elect to stay behind because of a refusal to move on. Apparently the longer they stay behind, the harder it is to find their way to the next level, which again, is the spirit world. To me, I cant classify orbs as haunting because there to easily mistaken as being dust or water droplets in the air.

    

                                                     Ghost Lights

 Ghost lights are glowing lights frequently seen at haunting sites. The lights have been sited on every continent other than Antarctica and come in almost every color imaginable. They can be stationary, and move slowly. or dart around erratically. They have been known by various names including spook lights, corpse candles, jack-o-lanterns, will-o’-the-wisp, and many more.

Folklore attributes the phenomenon to fairies, ghosts,s or other elemental spirits. There are various legends to explain the lights. Ignis Fatuus as they were called in medieval times literally means ‘foolish Fire’. These were thought to be mischievous spirits playing tricks on travelers tempting them to ‘foolishly’ follow them off the path and get lost.

Most legends typically explain the lights as the ghost of souls who cannot rest. The typical reason given for the unrest is some grievous sin like suicide or murder. Another reason for the unrest is that something is wrong done to the deceased remains uncorrected.

In Sweden, the lights are unbaptized souls trying to lead travelers to water. It is believed the ghost wishes to be baptized and thus released from this world. This particular lore explains why the lights are commonly seen in marshes and around bodies of water.

Apparition disembodied spirits

They show up in forms from transparent to solid human forms & wear the clothing of their period . Some may appear faint & disfigured as in being incomplete. There are 4 classifications of the apparition.

1. partial - Apparition that shows up incompletely having no legs for example.

2. invisible - these are to the naked eye, but will show up on film when photographed.

3. Visible - these are visible to the naked eye. usually transparent in nature.

4. Solid - appear very solid, witness commonly mistake them for real people, until they disappear before their eyes.  

In addition to these types each class of apparition:

Type 1 - historical - they are typical of haunting older buildings & appear in solid forms acting naturally.

Type 2 - Recurring - ghosts that occur in regular cycles over a period of time.

Type 3 - Modern - Spirit of present-day ghosts are relatively new looking & sounding like modern people.  

Type 4 - Crisis & Family Apparition.

Vortex spirits

A tornado-like mass of air, water, or energy that spins around very fast, creating a vacuum to pull objects into its empty center. It can vary in size and length when moving. They are readily confused with a speeding orb when they slow down and take on this straight & narrow look.

As with other apparitions, there is no real consensus about the nature of the vortex. Some claim it is a former resident of the home or a visiting relative. Others believe it serves as a vehicle to transport spirits in the shape of orbs from their realm to ours. In supernatural studies, a vortex is an energy mass that is a temporary opening to the other side, this can be the result of spirit energy in motion.

Shadow spirits

Shadow ghosts appear as a shadow of sorts. They look a bit like Ecto-mist but are dark gray to black in color. There are actually three separate types and we list them all in the classes below. In photographs, it's easy to confuse them with natural shadows, so be careful with your analysis. They are usually extremely sneaky and evasive. When they are spotted it's usually out of the corner of your eye or as they are darting through a wall. They can also be spotted as a reflection in shiny objects and mirrors. As for photography, They are one of the rarest ghost types to be captured on film. Birds and cats are especially sensitive to them.

Type A - Appear as a small dark misty cloud and are almost always under two feet in length, but can hover or float up to 8 feet high.

Type B -Appear as a huge glob of thick cloudy mass. They typically range from 2 to 8 feet in height.

Type C -

Appear in human form and some may be seen wearing a hat. They typically appear up to 8 feet in height.

 

Ectoplasm 

Ectoplasm is said to be formed by physical mediums when in a trance state. This material is excreted as a gauze-like substance from orifices on the medium's body and spiritual entities are said to drape this substance over their nonphysical body, enabling them to interact in the physical and real universe. According to mediums, the ectoplasm can not occur in light conditions as the ectoplasmic substance would disintegrate.

The psychical researcher Gustav Geley defined ectoplasm as being “very variable in appearance, being sometimes vaporous, sometimes a plastic paste, sometimes a bundle of fine threads, or a membrane with swellings or fringes, or a fine fabric-like tissue”. Arthur Conan Doyle described ectoplasm as “a viscous, gelatinous substance which appeared to differ from every known form of matter in that it could solidify and be used for material purposes”.

Although the term is widespread in popular culture, the physical existence of ectoplasm is not accepted by science. Some tested samples purported to be ectoplasm have been found to be various non-paranormal substances. Other researchers have duplicated, with non-supernatural materials, the photographic effects sometimes said to prove the existence of ectoplasm.

THE DYATLOV PASS ACCIDENT / ATTACK

A Group of Skiers Found Dead of Unknown Supernatural Cause's

Mount Kholat Syakhl gets its name from the local Mansi language. Literally it means the Mountain of the Dead. According to the legend 9 Mansi hunters stayed here over night during their hunting trip. The next morning all nine were found dead by their friends. None of them showed any signs of violent death. Thus the mountain became regarded as haunted. Local native tribes avoided the peak and never ventured here. It could be regarded as a cute local legend.

However increased active exploration of the region in the second half of the twentieth century supported the grim name of the mountain. To this day people die here. The cause of death often escapes rational explanation. Mysterious number nine seems to haunt tourists, geologists and all those who dared to visit this place. The most famous accident happened here in 1959 then nine young men and women died under strange circumstances. The pass to Mount Kholat Syakhl became known as Dyatlov Pass after their leader Igor Dyatlov. Today you can get here by foot, helicopter and even a car.

Dyatlov Group Incident

The story starts in January 1959 in Sverdlovsk that is currently known as Ekaterinburg. Several students from Ural Polytechnical Institute (Уральский Политехнический Институт, УПИ) currently known as Ural State Technical Institute intended to climb Mount Otorten (Отортен). In Mansi language this name means "don't go there". The whole ski track was about 350 km in length and was performed to commemorate 21st Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The group of Dyatlov initially consisted of 10 people.

However one of them, Yuriy Udin, got sick so he was not capable to do the climb. Yuriy stayed in the base camp. Thus only nine people started the accent to the mountain Kholat Syakhl through a nameless pass that later will become known as a Dyatlov Pass. Toward the end of same February group failed to communicate.

A rescue party made up from local authorities as well as student volunteers repeated the path taken by the group and found the last base of the tourists including 5 out of 9 bodies. Cameras were found at the site of the tents that they abandoned. Pictures clearly show high morale, relaxed atmosphere in a group and good preparedness for the harsh winter of the region.

History of the Victim skiers. 

Igor Dyatlov

(Игорь Дятлов), the group's leader. He was born in 1937. A student of the 5Th Faculty of Radio Engineering UPI university. A talented engineer designed and assembled a radio during his 2ND year, that was used during hikes in 1956 in Sayan Mountains. He also designed a small stove that was used since 1958 by Dyatlov himself. It was taken during the last trip since it proved its functionality.

People who knew Igor described him as a thoughtful man who never rushed with his decisions. He courted Zina Kolmogorova who also took part of the hike. Apparently she liked him as well. Igor Dyatlov was one of the most experienced athletes in the group who also traced the path of the group.

Semen "Alexander" ZolotarevСемен "Александр" Золотарёв)- He was born in 1921. He was the oldest and also the most mysterious member of the group. A native of North Caucasian Kuban Cossacks he survived the Great Patriotic War serving from October 1941 till May 1946. Survival rate for generation born in 1921- 22 was 3% so Semen Zolotarev was very very lucky man. 

Additionally his real name was Semen while everyone called him "Sasha" or "Alexander". There is no credible evidence of why he chose to introduce himself by a different name. It is known that he joined a Communist party after the war. In April 1946 Zolotarev transferred to Leningrad Military Engineering University. Later he transferred to Mink Institute of Physical Education (GIFKB).

In the yearly 50's he worked as a guide for tourist base of "Artybash" in Altai in South Siberia. Although his carrier might seem usual it is hard to explain certain points in his biography. 

He could have stayed in the army, but left it. He could have stayed and work as a tourist guide at one tourist base and yet he moves across the country repeatedly without explanation. Additionally being a Cossack from the South it is highly unusual that he never got married, never had any kids and had numerous strange tattoos that he hid under his clothing. 

These tattoos included his birth year "1921", a military slogan as well as letter Г+С+П=Д. The last was common among Soviet soldiers who served together for a long time. Russian letter "Д" stands for "дружба" or "friendship". Three letters were first letters of the three soldiers. "С" stood for "Семен" or "Semen" in Russian. Others two names are unknown. We can only make guesses.

Lyudmila Dubinina

  born in 1938 she was a third year student in UPI university in Engineering and Economics Major. She was active in tourist club, liked to sing and take pictures. Many of the pictures of the last trip were done by her.

During an expedition to the Eastern Sayan Mountains in 1957 she received an accidental gunshot from another tourist who was cleaning a rifle. She endured a painful injury courageously. During long and very painful transportation she did not complain and even felt sorry for causing too many troubles to the group.

Nicolai Thibeaux-Brignolle

born in 1934 he graduated in 1958 with major in Civil Engineering from UPI University. He was son of a French Communist who was executed during Stalin years. He himself was born in concentration camp for political prisoners.

His friends liked him for his energy, good sense of humor and generally friendly open character. Nicolai promised his mother that this would be his last hiking trip.

Alexander Kolevatov

 born in 1934, he was a 4th year student at a Physics Major in UPI University. Priory to moving to Sverdlovsk he finished Sverdlovsk Mining and Metallurgy College majoring in metallurgy of heavy nonferrous metals.

He distinguished himself as a good student and moved to Moscow to work in secret institute of the Ministry of Medium Machine Building that was called merely by its serial number of I 3394. Later he moved to Research Institut.

Yuri Krivonischenko

(Юрий Кривонищенко)- born in 1935 he graduated from UPI University in 1959. While working in Chelyabinsk- 40 a secret nuclear facility he experienced a disaster that became known as Kushtumkoy Accident. On September 29, 1957 plutonium plant experienced radioactive leak.

Yuri Or George Krivonishenko was among the people who was sent to clean it up. His body will wear clothes that have traces of radioactivity that some trace to this particular event. However being an engineer Yuri had more knowledge about radioactivity than most people at the time and it is highly unlikely that he kept any of the clothes that he was wearing two years prior to the trip

Rustem Slobodin

born in 1936 he graduated from UPI University in 1959. He was a very athletic man, honest and descent, although quiet at times. He liked to play mandolin that he often took during long hiking trips. His father was a professor at another Sverdlovsk University.

Although Rustem was ethnically Russian his father gave him a traditional Tatar name following a popular fashion of international friendship of all men. This was USSR after all with its own ideology.

Yuri Doroshenko

Born in 1938 he was a student of the same UPI university. He was involved in a relationship with Zina Kolmogorova and even went to met her parents in Kamensk- Urals. Although they broke up he kept a good relationship with Zina Kolmogorova and Igor Dyatlov

Zinaida Kolmogorova

born in 1937, she was 4th year student at UPI University at Radio Engineering Major. She was an experienced hiker who had her share of difficulties. During one of her trips she was bitten by a viper. Despite pain and suffering that this bite caused her she refused lighten her load, unwilling to cause hardship to others.

Dyatlov Group Diary

 

Original diary of the group was discovered in the tent. We kept it as it was in the original form. You can make a psychological portrait of the people who wrote it. It is short and some of its sentences apparently made short on purpose to keep to the point. We didn't add anything. The sentences and events behind them apparently meant more for the people who were describing them. They did not see much point in writing out the whole experience. Just few words to remember.

 

January 23, 1959

Now we are sitting in the room 531, or rather of course do not sit, but rather frantically shoving into backpacks any oatmeal, cans, canned meat. Zavchoz (head of provision distribution) stands and makes sure everything is included.
Where are my felt boots? Y.K (Yuri Krivonischenko) Can we play mandolin on the train? Of course! We forgot the salt! 3kg (kilograms) Igor! Where are you? Where is Doroshenko? Why did he take 20 packs? Give me 15 kopecks. Spring balance, spring balance.

Where is spring balance. Can't fit it. Damn. Who has the knife? Yura drove it to the station. Slave Khalizov has arrived. Hallo, Hallo! Luda is counting the money. The room is an artistic mess. And here we are on the train.

We sang all the songs that we know, learned new ones, everyone goes to sleep at 3 (am). I wonder what awaits us in this trip? What will be new? The boys solemnly swore not to smoke the entire trip. I wonder how much they have will power, if they can get by without cigarettes? Everyone is sleeping and Ural taiga is spread in all directions.

Zoya Kolmogorova

(23 January- The group leaves Sverdlovsk (Yekaterinburg today))

 

 January 24

(7am) We arrived in Serov (town). We traveled with a group of Blinov. They have... things for hunting and other accessories. At the station we were met with "hospitality". They didn't allow us into the building. The policeman stares at us suspiciously. There is no crime or violation, as under communism.

Yuri Krivonischenko started to sing a song and a cop grabbed him and took him away. Sergeant explained that the rules of Section 3 prohibited all activity that would disturb the peace of passengers. It is perhaps the only train station where the songs are forbidden. Finally everything is settled with the law. Going to Ivdel from Serov at 6:30pm. We were welcomed warmly in school near the railway station. Zavchos, who is also a janitor, heated water for us, gave us everything she could to help us during our track.

We are free all day. I wanted to go to the city, visit nature museum or take a trip to a factory, but too much time is taken by distribution of equipment and training. 12:00pm In the interval between 1st and 2ND shifts in school we organized a meeting with the students. Small room is cramped with all the kids that are curious. Zolotarev: "Kids, now we'll tell you... Tourism is, makes it possible to..." Everyone is sitting, quiet, worried.

 Z. Kolmogorova: Tra- ta- ta- ta. What's your name? Where were you before? And she went on and on. There was no end of questions toward Zina. We had to explain every detail to the kids, from torches to setting up tents. We spent 2 hours lecturing and kids did not want to let us go.

They sang songs to each other. At the station we saw the whole school. In the end, when we were leaving, the kids yelled and cried, asking Zina to remain with them. They promised to listen to her and study well. On a train station some young alcoholic accused us of stealing his wallet from a pocket.

For the second time the police is on the scene. Debate- talk about love thanks to provocation by Z. Kolmogorova. Songs, revision, Dubinina under the seat, garlic bread without water and we arrived in Ivdel around 12am. Large waiting room. Total freedom of action. Took turns all night to keep stuff safe. Bus to Vijay leaves early in the morning.

Night of 25th January- the Dyatlov Group arrives in Ivdel that is located 340 km North of starting point)

January 26

We slept in so- called hotel. Two people per bed. Sasha K. (Alexander Kolevatov) and Krivoy (Yuri Krivonischenko) slept on the floor between beds. Woke up at 9am. Everyone sleep well despite the fact we did not completely close the small window and room got a bit cold. Outside temperature is -17C. We did not boil in the morning, wood is moist, in the evening it took us 6 hours to boil water.

Went to lunch in the dining room. Had some goulash and tea. Then they served tea Igor Dyatlov spoke with a smile: "If the tea is cold, then go out and drink it on the street, it will be hot". The original though. Agreed to go to 41 by car. We left only at 13:10 (1:10pm). Froze while riding on top of GAZ- 63. While traveling sang songs, discussed various topics, including love, friendship and problems of cure for cancer.

41st settlement they met us friendly, gave us a private room in the hostel. Talked with the local workers. I remembered particularly the red- bearded man. The Beard as his friends call him. Ognev, old friend, described by Lyuba Dubinina in her private diary. Cooked lunch, then ate and now resting.

Half of the group is watching movie, another is sitting on backpacks doing their things. Rustik (Rustem Slobodin) is playing his mandolin, while talking with Nicky, and I am going to deal with adjusting the equipment.
On 26th January- the group leaves Ivdel and get a ride with GAZ 63 to the 41st Kvartal (Quarter
January 27th 1959

The weather is good, the wind is blowing in the back. Guys agreed wit the locals and horse with drive us to Second Severniy settlement. From 41st settlement it will be about 24 km. We helped grandfather Slava to unload hay from a carriage and waited for the horse (she went to get more hay and wood). We waited until 4:00. Boys started rewriting some song. One guy san beautifully.

We heard a number of illegal prison songs (Article 58 counter- revolutionary crimes). Ognev told Igor how to find the house in which we can spend the night. We bought four loaves of bread and went there at 4:00. Soft warm bread. Ate 2 pieces. Horse is slow. What a pleasure to go without backpacks. We covered 8 km in 2 hours. (River Ushma). It gets darker. All the delay due to a horse.

Yuri Yudin is riding with us. He suddenly fell ill and he can't continue with the track. He wants to gather few local minerals for the University and return. Second Severny (Northern) is an abandoned village of geologists with total of 2025 houses. Only one is suitable for living. In complete darkness we found a village and the house.

We started a fire. Several people pierced their hands with old nails. Everything is good. Then the horse came. We were talking and throwing jokes till 3 o'clock in the morning.

Doroshenko

27th January- Dyatlov group leaves Vizhay and set on a trip to Mount Otorten

January 28

We were awaken by Yurka Kri and Sasha Kolevatov. Weather is perfect. It is only -8C outside. After breakfast, some of the guys headed by Yury Yudin, our well- known geologist, went to look for local minerals. They didn't find anything except pyrite and quartz veins in the rock.

Spend some time with skis, fixed and adjusted the mounting. Yuri Yudin now goes back home. It is a pity, of course, that he leaves us. Especially for me and Zina, but nothing can be done about it.

Luda Dubinina

28th January- Yuri Yudin departs from a Second Severniy (Northern) village. Few picture of the village are below. Another depressing abandoned place on vast stretches of Siberia. Some of the houses ("izba" in Russian) are abandoned and began to fall apart.

We go up the river Lozva. We take turns to head the group for about 10 minutes. Depth of snow cover is significantly less than last year. Often we have to stop and scrape the wet, melting snow from skis. Yurka Kri is behind and makes sketches of the route.

We pass few cliffs on the right bank of Lozva river. Overall the terrain becomes flatter. We stop at 5:30pm. Today we spend our first night in the tent. The guys are busy with the stove. With some thing completed and others not, we sit for a dinner. After dinner we sit around the campfire and sing beautiful songs. Zina even tries to learn how to play mandolin under guidance of our musician Rustik (Rustem Slobodin).

Then again and again we resume our discussions, mostly about love. Someone comes up with an idea that we need a special notebook for ideas that we might come up with. Once we are done we are making our way inside the tent. No body wants to sleep by the stove and we agree that Yurka Kri will sleep there.

Yuri moves to the second compartment with terrible cursing and accusation that we betrayed him. We can't fall asleep for awhile and arguing about something.

 

January 29th 1959

Second day of our trip. We made our way from Lozvy river to river Auspii. We walked along a Mansi (native Siberian tribe in the Urals) trail. The weather is -13C. The wind is weak. We often find ice on the Lozvy river. That is it.

Nick Thibault

January 30, 1959

Diary is written on the cold on the go. Today is a third cold night on the shore of Auspii river. The stove does a great job. Some (Thibaut and Krivonischenko) think we need to construct steam heat in the ten. The curtains hung in the tent are quiet justified. We get up at 8:30am.

After breakfast we walk along the Auspii river, but again these ice dams do not allow us to move forward. Let's go to the shore of the sledge- deer trail. In the middle of the road the discovered markings left by the Mansi (below left photo, these markings simply tell how many local hunters passed through this area and the family clan to which they belong). Mansi, Mansi, Mansi.

This words is repeated more often in our conversations. Mansi are people of the north. Very interesting and unique people that inhabit the North Polar Urals, closed to the Tyumen region. They have a written language and leave characteristic signs on forest trees.

Janaury 30th 1959

Weather: temperature in the morning is between -17 C and -13C during the day and -26C at night. The wind is strong, south- west and snow begins to fall. The clouds are think. The temperature characteristic of the Northern Urals. Mansi signs tell about animals they saw, resting stops and other things. It is particularly interesting to solve its meaning for the tourists as well as historians. Deer trail is over.

The forest gradually thins out and gets shorter. Lots of dwarf birches and pines. It is impossible to walk on the river. It is not frozen. We have to look for solid ground. Day wore on and we started to look for a place for bivouac. That's the stop for the night. Strong west wind. It knocks the snows off the cedar and pine trees, creating the impression of the falling snow.

As always we start a fire and put a tent on the spruce branches. We are warmed by the fire and go to sleep.

January 31, 1959

Today the weather is a bit worse than the wind (west), snow (probably from pines) because the sky is perfectly clear. Came out relatively early (around 10am). Took the same beaten Mansi trail. So far we walked along the Mansi trail, which was passed by a deer hunter not long ago.

We met his resting stop yesterday, apparently. Today was surprisingly good accommodations for the tent, air is warm and dry, despite the low temperature of -18C to -24C. The walking is especially hard today. Visibility is very low. We walk for 1.52 km (1 mile) per hour. We are forced to find new methods of clearing the path for the skis.

The first member leaves his bag on the ground and walks forward, then he returns, rests for 10- 15 minutes with the group Thus we have a non- stop paving of the trail. It is especially hard for the second to move down the new trail with full gear on the back. We gradually leave the Auspii valley, the rise is continuous, but quiet smooth. We spend a night at the forest boundary.

Wind is western, warm, penetrating. Snow- free spaces. We can't leave any of our provision to ease the ascend to the mountains. About 4pm. We must choose the place for the tent. Wind, some snow. Snow cover is 1.22 meters thick. Tired and exhausted we started to prepare the platform for the tent.

Firewood is not enough. We didn't dig a hole for a fire. Too tired for that. We had supper right in the tent. It is hard to imagine such a comfort somewhere on the ridge, with a piercing wind, hundreds kilometers away from human settlements.

Igor Dyatlov (last record in the diary) This was the last written words of group before they died. 

 

(31st January- Dyatlov group leaves some of their gear in a forest on a platform set high above ground (known as "labaz" or camp base).)

 

(1st February- The group leaves on the last day of their trip. They start out fairly late and walk for only 2.5 miles. They set a tent around 5pm on a slope of Kholat Syakhl just 10 miles from the Mount Otorten.

They eat their last dinner between 6- 7pm. Subsequent investigation showed that one or two of the members left the tent to urinate outside of the tent. Since Semen Zolotarev and Nicolai Thibeaux-Brignolle were better dressed it was suggested that it was the two men who left their shelter before Something happened.)

The last pictures of the group that were made on February 1st, 1959. Records show that the sun set behind horizon at 5:02pm on this date. Pictures were made just before the night descended on the mountain. Judging by photos they are well equipped by well protected. At least by the standards of that time. Low visibility due to wind and snow is an important aspect, since this could significantly impact the movement of the group.

 Hypothermia and confusion can set it much quicker in these conditions. Disorientation on familiar terrain can happen very quickly and might result in death of a an unlucky victim. Nevertheless Igor Dyatlov and his group set up a tent on a empty slope of the Kholat Syakhl mountain. Some searchers testified that there was no firewood present. Although other witnesses claim to see a wooden log abandoned in the tent.

Whatever might be the case the tourists chose to sleep in the cold conditions. Later finding showed that they started their dinner when something happened. This "something" still has people puzzled to this day.

The investigation Discovery

Dyatlov group Tent after attack inside the tent

The tent was cut from the inside out as they tryed to escape the tent from something that attacked them.

Initially the officials were hesitant to sound an alarm about tourists when they missed their day they were supposed to call. from Vizhay Group of Blinov that was mentioned in the Dyatlov diary on January 24th returned in the middle of February and reported a heavy snowstorm in the area of the Kholat Syakhl and future Dyatlov Pass.

 In light of this information it was assumed that tourists are spending these extra days somewhere in the safety. Risking lives to make extra miles do get back at the due date made no sense. Head of sport club of UPI, Lev Semenovich Gordo, even lied about receiving a telegram from Dyatlov about the delay to calm parents of Dubinina and Kolevatov. 

He assumed that in few days the group of Igor Dyatlov is going to make it anyway. Relatives eventually forced to organize a search party by complaining to the local head of the Communist party. Negative publicity was unwanted and actions had to be taken. The head of the military department of UPI, Colonel Georgy Semenovich Ortyukov, took charge of search and rescue party. Many of students volunteered to find look for their lost friends. 

Several rescue parties were sent to the region on 21st of February. One of these groups were headed by Blinov and another Sogrin. Both groups just returned from their trips and knew the conditions of the region. Another group of Vladislav Karelin was in the area and joined the search effort. Planes took off from Ivdel airport to search for the group from the air.

On February 22nd several prison guards from the IvdelLAG under leadership of captain A.A. Chernischev and another 7 officers of MVD (cops) under command of leutenant Potapov have joined the search.

 Another three groups were formed in UPI from student volunteers under leadership of Oleg Grebennik, Moises Akselrod and Boris Slobcov. Additionally local mansi hunters volunteered to help and look for the vanished group. Moscow sent several specialists including E.P. Maslenikov, Baskin, Bardin and Schulzhenko.

On February 23rd group of Boris Slobcov was dropped near mount Otarten, a final destination for Dyatlov. The next day on February 24th they reached the mountain and came to conclusion that tourists never made it this far. Students did not find any records, flags or anything else that would indicate recent visit of a group.

On February 25th Boris Slobcov and his group finally discovered the trail of skis that he assumed to be that of Dyatlov. The next day on February 26th they discovered the tent on the slope of Kholat Syakhl. Ironically Slobcov was among those who actually helped to construct the tent three years earlier from two tents, making it longer and larger. He recognized it immediately. 

Unfortunately no one expected to find the tourists dead so there was no attempt to preserve or record the footprints of people around the Dyatlov Pass. To this day there has been a discussion of exactly how many people were in this pass on that fateful day. 

However judging by words of the people involved in the search and who took the lower right picture there were definitely 8- 9 tracks of footprints left by tourists who wore almost no footwear. 

Their feet pressed the snow and this left a characteristic "columns" of pressed snow with a footprint on top. Members of the group walked in a single file with a tall men walking in the back. His footprints partially covered footprints of his friends who walked in front of him. Overall the path gave an impression of organized and uneventful descent down the slope of the mountain. 

Several trails would deviate from the general direction, but then rejoin the group. Other footprints were also discovered and photographed. It is hard to say if these were left by someone else or rescuers themselves.

The first thing that the rescue party discovered was a tourist tent with the stove that the Dyatlov made by himself. For reasons that are were never answered, the sides of the tent were cut by the tourists. Judging by the number of cuts they were made from inside.

It is hard to explain why they chose this strange exit for leaving the tent completely ignoring the entrance. Many of the members were not fully clothed then this happened. Yet, warm clothes, shoes, sweaters, knives and anything that could keep them warm and help survive in Siberian wilderness were abandoned. In fact most of the footwear and clothes were stacked in the middle and edges of the tent.

Additionally Boris Slobcov discovered a flash light of Chinese production on the roof of the tent. It laid on a snow cover 5-10 cm in thickness and had no snow on top. He turned on the flashlight. It was in working condition. Students retrieved three photo cameras from the tent, group diary, some alcohol and few minor things.

They hurried down the mountain to the campsite that was already established at the base of the mountain. Several mansi natives joined the group. Additionally Egor Semenovich Nevolin, a radioman, joined the search party. At 6pm they radioed back about their discovery on the last campsite of the Dyatlov group.

UPI informed them that a large search group with will be delivered by a helicopter to their location. They would also deliver two large military tents for better comfort and security. A detective would join the search and rescue effort with Colonel Ortyukov as well.

Several members started cooking dinner while every one else attempted to find clues about the direction of future searches. They found 710 rubles and railroad tickets for the whole group. Most took this as a sign of a good omen. They assumed that criminals were not involved since they would steal everything of value.

During dinner Boris Slobcov raised a toast for the health of his friends and expressed hope that they will be found soon. One of the locals, Ivan Paschin, was less optimistic about prospects of finding everyone alive and suggested that they should probably drink for the dead rather than the living. It was a big mistake.

Students took these words as offensive and almost beat up the local for his pessimism. Still no one could believe in the possibility that that group of young women and men can simply perish like that in Siberian Taiga.

27th February- The next morning Yury Koptelov and Michael Scharavin went to look for a new place for a campsite. They explored the valley of the Lozva river when a tall cedar attracted their attention. A fairly even and large area near this cedar could provide the search party a better view of the mountain and surrounding locations. Both men approached the cedar and stopped.

Two bodies lay in the snow and remains of the fire were visible near by. Bodies were carefully laid side by side. Snow wasn't very deep in this location due to constant blow of the wind so it became very clear that they found two bodies of the missing group.

The first thing that stroke the searching group was the cloths of the dead. They had no shoes and were almost completely naked. Some theories later will blame this on "paradoxical undressing", but we will see later that it had nothing to do with the mental condition of the tourists. Prosecutor of Ivdel, Vasily Ivanovich Tempalov, discovered another body just 400 meters from the cedar. The body of a man laid on the back with his head pointing in the direction of the tent. Students quickly recognized Igor Dyatlov, the head of the group.

Mansi hunters with their dogs started to explore the mountain side and quickly discovered the body of Kholmogorova about 500 meters from Dyatlov group. The position of her body pointed in the direction of the tent. It became evident that both tourists actually tried to make way from the tall cedar back to the tent, but didn't make it all the way.

Meanwhile the contents of the tent from the Dyatlov group were removed. This happened chaotically, without any order, photos or even presence of anyone from the law. Students simply removed the objects and attempted to organize belongings by name. We can understand their honest desire to return these things to families of the dead, however in doing so they undermined any research in this area.

We have only few testimonies from the people who undertook these actions. Some of them were conflicting and thus more confusing. They discovered that the group was apparently was about to have their dinner. A self made newspaper "Evening Otorten" was also found here. The date was marked as 1st February 1959. One of the unusual and unexpected findings was a skiing pole that with clear cutting marks. Tourists didn't have any extra poles. It is unclear why someone in the right mind would damage the pole on purpose.

Among other things tourists also left their footwear. Many had two pairs, one for the actual hike and another, softer one, were used in the tent to keep warm at night. Both pairs were found abandoned. This could be explained that whatever forced them out of the tent came in the time then everyone was changing and preparing for a sleep. Additionally the tent contained several knives and hatchets. These were abandoned too for some reason, although some tourists had knives with them when they left.

Next week of search did not yield any results. Only thing that was found was another Chinese flash light in the valley of Lozva valley. The batteries were dead, but the flash light was in "on" position. On March 2nd three students and two Mansi hunters discovered a camp base in the Auspiya valley.

Tourists left some of their food provision and gear to lighten the load (55 kg in total). Additionally there were mandolin of Rustem Slobodin, few clothes, ski shoes and a pair of skis. On the way back tourists intended to retrieve these things. None of these things were taken however.

On March 3rd many of the students returned home, since they had to return to their studies. Moscow specialists also left. Their report is somewhat short and inconclusive. They could not explain the reason why would several normal people would abandon the tent in the middle of the night without shoes and little protection from the wind.

On March 5th the body of Rustem Slobodin was recovered. He was discovered on the same general line from a cedar to a tent. His position was in between bodies of Dyatlov (180 meters away) and Kholmogorova (150 meters).

He was the only member of the group that fell while fairly warm. The head from his body melted the snow that subsequently froze forming a frozen bed underneath the dead body. His watches recorded 8:45.

The cedar had its lower branches cut. Later inspection showed that part of human skin and blood was still lodged in the bark crevices. Bodies of both tourists were laying side by side near an extinguished fire. Part of their clothes were carefully cut off. Pants of Yuri Krivonishenko were left in place.

They showed certain degree of radioactivity. After initial discovery of five bodies remaining four tourists were found almost half a mile away in May of the same year. This group managed to dig a den in the snow to keep themselves warm.

These bodies had broken ribs, broken skull and in case of Lyudmila Dubinina a missing tongue. Above you see a tent that belonged to the group.

Judging by the type of helicopters and their markings there were at least three machines involved in search and rescue efforts. This included at least one civilian (bottom left picture) and at least two military helicopters.

Soviet Union rarely showed so much dedication in search of common tourists. Some explain this care as ties to KGB of one or more members from the Dyatlov group. However another explanation might lie in the fact that climb of Mount Otorten was devoted to Communist Congress in Moscow. Obviously it had certain degree of political motivation for the officials to spare no costs in searches.

Investigation Findings
Judging by the remains near the bodies it was concluded that young men and women managed to start a fire, but failed to sustain it for extended period of time. However no one could explain why bodies showed so many fractures, internal bleeding, burned parts of the body.

Another perplexity and mystery were added by a fact that two of the sweaters showed increased radiation levels. A fact that no one could explain fifty years ago and to this day remains a mystery. Several witnesses and family members reported strange discoloration on the bodies of the victims.

 One of the family members compared their skin color to those of the people of African descent. Additionally the group was missing at least one camera and a diary of Kolevatov. Yury Yudin testifies that he led a detailed description in his own blog in addition to the diary that was a group diary.

It went missing either on the mountain or from evidence room. Either way no one remembered seeing it. The den was made by surviving four members of the Dyatlov group 70- 75 meters from the cedar in a ravine that was hidden from cold winds. It was probably an idea of Zolotarev.

It was a common way to survive winters at the front and given the circumstances it offered the best chance for survival for those who remained behind waiting in hope that their three friends will make it to the top of the mountain. It further undermines the theory of paradox undressing.

The group clearly realized their threats and did everything they could to preserve themselves. Cedar branches were brought here and laid out to minimize contact of human bodies and cold snow underneath. Furthermore Ludmila Dubinina had sweater and pants of Krivonischenko.

Both as it turned out had radiation present on them. However the strangeness of the case was not resolved. In fact it became more weird. All, but three members had significant damage to their bones. They were crushed with immense force.

Doctors compared the extend of the damage to being hit by a car. A second thing that is striking about the den is that bodies were actually found few feet from their improvised shelter in the deep part of the ravine on the area of only 4 square meters. Some of the clothes that were taken from bodies left underneath the cedar tree were placed on the cedar branches, but apparently they were not used.

Medical Autopsy of the bodies

Autopsy of first four bodies (Doroshenko, Krivonischenko, Dyatlov, Kholmogorova) was performed in a village of Vizhai on March 4th, 1959 by Boris Alekseevich Vozrojdenniy (ironically his last name means "reborn" in Russian, interesting choice of profession).

He recorded damages and clothing that the victims wore at the time of their discovery. Autopsy of Rustem Slobodin who was found on the 5th of March was performed on 8th of March.

Yuri Doroshenko

Yury Doroshenko is one of the two tourists that were found under a cedar. He was most sturdy and tallest member of the group at a height of 180 cm. He was wearing a vest and a shirt, short sleeve shirt, knit pants and shorts over pants. On his feet a pair of wool socks. Pants had tears inside of the thighs. Additionally the left foot had burnt socks (marked by 13). No footwear.

- ear, nose and lips are covered by blood (marked by 2)

- right armpit has a bruise 2cm*1.5 cm (3)

- inner surface of the right shoulder has two abrasions 2cm*1.5cm with no bleeding in the tissues, two cuts on the skin (5)

- in the upper third of right forearm brown- red bruises with size 4*1cm, 2.5*1.5cm, 5*5cm (6)

- fingers on both hands have torn skin (9 and 10)

- bruised skin in the upper third of both legs (11)

- signs of frostbite on face and ears

- on the right cheek, foamy gray fluid discharges from the mouth

Amount of urine was 150 grams. Foamy grey fluid that was found on the right cheek of the deceased gave some doctors a reason to think that before death someone or something was pressing on his chest cavity. Discharges were quiet common during forceful interrogation by the NKVD (Stalin's Secret Police) and Special Forces. This could also be a reason of a nasty fall from a tree. Nevertheless this aspect was ignored in the final papers. Cause of death: hypothermia.

George (Yuri) Krivonischenko

His body was the second discovered underneath the cedar. He was dressed in shirts, long sleeved shirt, swimming pants, pants and torn sock on his left leg. He had no footwear.

- bruises on the forehead 0.3*1.8cm and a bruise around left temporal bone 

- diffuse bleeding in the right temporal and occipital region due to damage to temporalis muscle 

- tip of the nose is missing 

- frostbitten ears 

- bruises on the right side of the chest 7*2cm and 2*1.2cm 

- bruises on hands 

- detachment of the epidermis on the back of his left hand at width of 2cm 

- portion of the epidermis from the right hand is found in the mouth of the deceased

- bruises on the thighs (8-11) with minor scratches

- bruise on his left buttock 10*3cm 

- abrasions on the outer side of the left size 6*2cm and 4*5 cm 

- bruises on the left leg 2*1, 2*1.5 and 3*1.3 cm 

- burn on the left leg 10*4 cm 

The amount of urine in the bladder was 500 grams. Cause of death: hypothermia. He froze to death. The presence of skin between his teeth that was torn from his hands might suggest that Krivonischenko tried to stay on the cedar as long as he could. Some theories speculate it was a result of his dedication to cut as many tree branches as he could. Others claim something on the ground kept him on a tree.

The first two bodies of (Doroshenko and Krivonischenko) that were found from the Dyatlov Incident showed an expected pattern of death. They froze to death. Their clothes were removed by their friends. It might sound bad, but this is the reality of Siberia. If you can't keep yourself warm, you will die quickly. One of the most common myths that surround these deaths is a theory of so- called "paradoxical undressing".

This theory ignores the fact that the bodies were undressed after they died and it was done by other members with a help of a knife in some cases. Different articles of clothing were simply cut from the dead bodies or taken off and used by other members of a group. These tourists clearly showed logical will to live. There was no state of panic and there was no illogical actions. Bodies were carefully and respectfully laid side by side and their possessions were divide among the survivors.

Zinaida Kolmogorova

Zinaida was better dressed than bodies underneath the cedar. She had two hats, long sleeved shirt, sweater, another shirt and a sweater with torn cuffs. It was unclear whether she cut them off or they were torn by another person. She also had trousers, cotton athletic pants, ski pants with three small holes on the bottom. She also had three pairs of socks. No footwear and a military mask.

- swelling of meninges (important feature of hypothermia)

- frostbites on the phalanges of fingers 

- numerous bruises on hands and palms 

- a long bruise that encircled her on the right side, 29* 6cm 

Amount of urine in bladder is 300 g. Her cause of death was proclaimed as a hypothermia due to violent accident. Further studies proved that she was not sexually active at the time of her death.


Igor Dyatlov

The head of the deceased was bare. He had unbuttoned fur coat with pockets, a sweater, long sleeved shirt, ski pants over his pants. Footwear was absent. He had only one pair of socks, woolen on the right, cotton on the left. It is hard to explain this uneven distribution.

It could be that he had two socks on one foot and later took it off to protect the other bare foot. It might have been someone else's sock who simply gave it away to protect a friend from a certain death. He had a pocket knife and a photo of Zina Kolmogorova.

The clock on the hand showed 5:31
- minor abrasions on the forehead
- abrasions above the left eyebrow of brown- red color
- brown- red abrasions on both cheeks
- dried blood on lips
- lower jaw had a missing incisor, the mucosa was intact that suggest the tooth was lost long before the final trip
- on the lower third of the right forearm and the palm surface many small scratches of dark red coloration
- metacarpophalangeal joints on the right hand had brown red bruises. This is common injury in hand to hand fights. To get a better idea of the injuries just make a fist. This is the part of the hand which you use to hit someone.
- brownish- purple bruises on the left hand, also superficial wounds on the 2nd and 5th finger
- bruised knees without bleeding into the underlying tissues
- on the lower third of the right leg bruising
- both ankles had abrasions, bright red, size 1*0.5 cm and 3.0*2.5 cm. Hemorrhage into the underlying tissue

There were no internal injuries. Amount of urine in the bladder about one liter. The cause of death was hypothermia. Later Yury Yudin will testify that the long sleeved shirt found on the body of Igor Dyatlov was his. But he gave it to Doroshenko then he was departing. It would be logical to assume that Dyatlov got it from a frozen body of the Doroshenko after he had died.

Rustem Slobodin

Rustem wore a long sleeve shirt, another shirt, sweater, two pairs of pants, four pairs of socks. Unlike previous bodies he wore one boot on his right leg. His watches stopped at 8:45am. His pockets had 310 rubles and a passport. Additionally searchers discovered a knife, pen, pencil, comb and a match box with a single sock.

- minor brownish red abrasions on the forehead, two scratches are 1.5 cm long at the distance of 0.3 cm between them

- brownish red bruise on the upper eyelid of the right eye with hemorrhage into the underlying tissues 

- traces of blood discharge from the nose 

- swollen lips

- swelling and a lot of small abrasions of irregular shape on the right half of the face 

- abrasions on the left side of the face 

- epidermis is torn from the right forearm 

- bruises in the metacarpophalangeal joints on both hands. Similar bruises are common in hand to hand combat 

- brown cherry bruises on the medial aspect of the left arm and left palm

- bruises on the left tibia in dimensions at 2.5* 1.5 cm 

Fracture of the frontal bone and hemorrhages (shaded areas) in the temporalis muscle that were found on the skull of Rustem Slobodin. Boris Alekseevich Vozrojdenniy suggested that this could be done with some foreign blunt object.

Medical autopsy further states that Slobodin probably suffered loss of coordination due to initial shock right after the blow that could speed up his death from hypothermia. However the conclusion is predictably careful. Death of Rustem Slobodin is judged as a result from hypothermia.

All bruises and scratches were blamed on last minute agony. Although it is still somewhat unclear how did he manage to harm his exterior hands and legs. When the person falls even in an irrational state it is usually the palms that suffer the most as well as medial aspects of the legs.

Injury to the head are less common, especially bilateral ones. It is also usual to harm the face and sides of the skull while the back of the head has no damage. In case of Slobodin body we see the opposite. His injury pattern is a reverse of what we would usually see in injuries suffered by a freezing man in the last minutes of his or her life.

 It looks as if Rustem fell repeatedly on his face as he was walking down the mountain. And every time he fell he managed to hit the sides of the his head.

It is unusual to see in a man who was probably in a better physical shape than anyone in the group. Even a long ski trip could hardly be responsible for this alleged "clumsiness

The remaining four bodies were inspected on May 9th, 1959. Their bodies were found several months after their deaths by a Mansi native Kurikov with his dog.


Ludmila Dubinina

Ludmila wore a short sleeve shirt, long sleeve shirt, and two sweaters. The body was covered by underwear, long socks, two pairs of pants. External pair was badly damaged by fire and subsequently ripped. She also wore a small hat and two pairs of warm sock. A third sock was not paired.

Ludmila apparently in the last attempt to preserve her feet took off her sweater and cut it in two pieces. One half she rapped around her left foot. Another half she left or dropped unintentionally on the snow.

- tongue is missing

- soft tissues are missing around eyes, eyebrows, and left temporal area, bone is partially exposed 

- eyes are missing 

- nose cartilages are broken and flattened 

- 2, 3, 4, 5 ribs are broken on the right side, two fracture lines are visible 

- 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 ribs are broken on the right side, two fracture lines are visible 

- soft tissues of the upper lip are missing, teeth and and upper jaw is exposed

- massive hemorrhage in the heart's right atrium

- bruise in the middle left thigh, size 10*5cm 

- damaged tissues around left temporal bone, size 4*4cm 

 Occasionally you hear claims that the tongue was ripped, or eaten, or whatnot. The medical records simply that "the tongue is missing". Vozrojdenniy describes missing hypoglossal muscle as well as muscles of the floor of the mouth. That is it. There is no explanation, theories, condition of the surrounding tissues. It looks weird especially given the fact previous bodies had more detailed autopsies.

 There is no credible explanation for this vague statement. Although it is mentioned that the stomach contained about 100 g of coagulated blood. It is used by some as an indication that the heart was beating and the blood was flowing when tongue was removed from a mouth.

The cause of death is stated as hemorrhage into right atrium of the heart, multiple fractured ribs and internal bleeding.

Semen Zolotarev

- eye balls are missing
- missing soft tissues around left eye brow, size 7*6cm, bone is exposed
- flair chest, broken 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 ribs on the right side, two fracture lines
- open wound on the right side with exposed bone, 8*6cm in size

Both Zolotarev and Dubinina have an interesting pattern of injuries. They are very similar in direction and force despite difference in shape, height and body composition of the two. This would suggest that whatever caused these injuries was not a single uniform event.

Aleksandr Kolevatov

- lack of soft tissues around eyes, eyebrows are missing, skull bones are exposed

- broken nose 

- open wound behind ear, size 3*1.5cm 

- deformed neck

Nikolay Thibeaux-Brignolle

- multiple fractures to the temporal bone, with extensions to the frontal and sphenoid bones , the close up of the fractures to the skull is shown below

- bruise on the upper lip on the left side 

- hemorrhage on the lower forearm, size 10*12cm 

Vozrojdenniy, who undertook the autopsy, excluded accidental fall on the rock as a possible cause for such a massive and unusual fracture. Some theorized that the shape might be due to pressure applied during alleged avalanche that hit unsuspected tourists while they slept in the tent.

If Nikolay slept on a camera this sudden increase in pressure could leave a mark on his head, however the shape of the lens is round and the damage would have a more round shape. Another reason why some specialists refused this theory is a massive hemorrhage that would make Thibeaux- Brignolle unable to move on his own and leave the site of the tent.

There was no signs of dragging on the snow and foot prints suggest that everyone in the group moved on their own two feet

Summary

Tent is ripped from the inside. Initially the fact was overlooked, but a woman who worked for the police department laundry services clearly identified that the damage came from the inside. Further expertise proved her hypothesis to be correct.

Nine tourist leave the tent with little clothes while outside temperature dipped to -30°C (-22°F). Most of them lacked proper footwear. Warm clothes, boots are left inside the abandoned tent.

 Survivors go to extreme lengths to preserve themselves in their harsh conditions. They even cut the clothes of their dead friends to protect themselves. They even dig a den that does not save them. Thus the theory of "paradox undressing" has no support in the available facts.

One of the poles show signs of damage made by the knife.

Presence of radiation on the cloths that were worn by one of the members of the group (George (Yuri) Krivonischenko).

Kolevatov kept a personal diary. Yuriy Yudin, the only survivor of the group, testified that it was with him on the last trip. The diary went missing.

Judging by the pictures of the group at least one of the cameras went missing.

Strange unidentified cloth "obmotki", an old school version of socks, was found near the bodies.

Missing tongue. Cause is unknown. What makes the fact more mysterious is lack of coherent explanation or description of the damage. Autopsy doesn't mention the state or nature of the surrounding tissues.

The bodies of the dead tourists show signs of unexplained damages including broken ribs, scrapes and etc.

Semen Zolotarev introduces himself as "Alexander" to the group. In fact common memorial to the group lists his name incorrectly.

Semen Zolotarev and George (Yuri) Krivonischenko are buried separately from the rest of the group on a cemetery that is officially closed for several years.

Money, food, valuables likes watches, alcohol and blankets remain in place.

                             Theories

Several theories arose in the last decades concerning the case of Dyatlov Pass accident

Criminals

Siberia at the time of the tragedy was still a land of Gulag. Many political prisoners were released in 1953- 56, but criminals were still behind bars. Many small concentration camps were dispersed all over the region. The closest was Ivlag situated just few miles from a site of a tragedy.

 Although it is true that there were no escapes around the time of the tragedy it doesn't mean that it never happened before. History knows many examples then prisoners would escape and go into hiding for years and even decades at a time. They could have easily missed death of Stalin in 1953 and subsequent amnesty to all political prisoners.

Young tourists could be taken for unwanted witnesses and subsequently killed. If you take in consideration that many of the political prisoners came straight from the fronts of the World War II it is plausible that these people knew how to kill and were open to the idea. Furthermore Yury Yudin discovered a piece of clothing that did not belong to any of the members of the group.

This "obmotki" is a wide piece of clothing that are wrapped around feet or legs to keep them warm. They have distinct shape and made from a particular material. They were widely used among the soldiers in the 40's and later among the prisoners of Stalin's concentration camps.

No body knows how it got here and no body knows how it disappeared from the evidence room. But it did. This was debunked

Special forces:

Soviet

Another theory blamed the deaths of tourists on Soviet special forces that simply got rid of unwanted witnesses. People who oppose this scenario point out that none of the rescuers even reported any unusual footprints.

Since most of the members of the group had no footwear on one or both legs, their prints were easily recognizable and distinguishable. However the footprints were never closely examined. No one expected to find the tourists' bodies and missing this key proof is plausible.

 It is true that government officials were more or less aware of a general route that the group will undertake, but accidents do happen. Soviet Union was still trying out its R- 12 rockets that they adopted in March 1959. Not all launches were successful.

And Soviet engineers certainly did not want to scream about their failures. Furthermore the home town of students Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg) was encircled by several units of anti- aircraft rockets. Let's not forget that through much of the 50's Soviet army was basically defenseless against American spy planes.

The first success actually happened a year later in May of 1959 then Soviet rockets shot down U2 spy plane piloted by Francis Gary Powers just 67 km (43 mi) west of Sverdlovsk. Soviet intelligence still keeps many of its secrets and hasn't revealed any information on the events that took part in February of 1959.

Western

Now it might seem like implausible and outright dumb, but it has right to be told anyway. This theory is based on the fact that American and Western spies had hard time working in Soviet Union in the 50's. Stalin's secret police followed every foreigner that set foot in Russia. So the only way to deliver any information that was crucial was through illegal spy system.

This ring of Soviet nationals willing to work for capitalists was especially essential in remote regions of the Soviet Union where nuclear industry was being expanded and developed. Obviously the foreigners were not allowed even close to these sites.

So Western intelligence agencies attempted to get Soviet citizens to do all the work for them. There they would pick up needed information that they would deliver back by all means possible. The race for nuclear weapons put greater pressure on the CIA since there was no quick way to proof or disprove that certain site was working for nuclear enrichment.

The only way to verify possible site was by delivering any object that contained radioactive material. For example Tomsk- 7 was correctly identified as a site of Soviet nuclear enrichment program by a single ski hat in 1955. It sound absurd now, but in a state of fear and paranoia this was the only way to spy on Soviet Union. Russians were not stupid either.

They repeatedly fooled Western by radioactive- tainted material from places that had nothing to do with it. This brings us to so called theory of Western intelligence involvement. According to this theory two or more members of the Dyatlov group were hired by the KGB to deliver fake proof of radioactive tainted clothes. The rest of the group was probably unaware of the real purpose of their journey.

Zolotarev and Krivonischenko might have been the best candidates for this delivery. Krivonischenko worked for a closed facility that was involved in the development of the Soviet nuclear capability. It would be logical to assume that a young and promising student was approached at some point by agents of the Western intelligence agency.

 If he was "touched" by the spies he might have reported this to an "osobist", a KGB agent working on the site. This would make Krivonischenko a pawn in a false delivery of radioactive material. But he needed a man who could spot him in a difficult situation.

Many supporters of this theory point to Zolotarev as a possible second agent.

He had an experience in a war. He presented himself under a different name to a group. If we look at his official biography it becomes stranger. He mentions serving in the military engineer unit. They usually were first to clear enemy defenses and fell an easy prey to hostile fire.

Their losses were simply horrific. Some units lost up to 80% of the their soldiers in just few days of battle for Konigsberg and Berlin. They were offered metal breast plates to reduce casualty rate, but it had little effect in an overall picture. These were basically suicidal units. And Zolotarev managed to serve in one. But here is where normalcy of his resume ends.

We start to get peculiarities and questions about his previous life.

He joined the army in October of 1941, but reached the frontlines on May 10th of 1942. In the time then officers were trained for only 3 months and solders got only few days (if they got lucky) of basic training, Zolotarev get full 6 months. He should have been rushed to the front and killed like 97% of all men born with him in the same year. But this does not happen. Furthermore we know that he received 4 medals.

This is a lot for a Soviet soldier. Most did not live that long or did not fit the qualifications to receive one. In Soviet Union there were multiple reasons for nor receiving a medal. This included nationality for example. Beginning from 1944 Chechens were not granted any signs of distinction. Chechen families were deported to Kazakhstan beginning on February 23rd, 1944. Giving medals to their sons, brothers and fathers would raise too many question on a legitimacy of such harsh treatment.

Another reasons why you couldn't get distinguished by the government was your social background and the region of the country. Zolotarev was a Cossack (a Russian subculture of professional soldiers/ peasants from the Southern Russia) and he was son of a doctor. Cossacks were too religious and too independent and automatically raised eyebrows in Kremlin.

This automatically reduced his chanced to receive any medals. And yet he managed to pull through. He mentions four signs of distinction in his official biography- resume, but he doesn't describe the circumstances or even location of military actions which yearned him these distinctions. The official biography had its guidelines and were very important before someone would get hired on a job.

You had to write down the exact number of the medal in an official document. If you didn't, the paper would be returned to you with subsequent inquiry with the army. You didn't want to lie about receiving military distinction without actually earning them.

This could result in very serious consequences for Semen "Alexander" Zolotarev. And what do we see? Serial numbers are not mentioned, units are not mentioned, location is not mentioned and yet the paper is accepted and filed despite numerous omissions on behalf of Semen Zolotarev. It would be logical to assume that inquiry that was started might have been cancelled due to KGB involvement.

As you might remember Krivonischenko gets arrested for singing and pretending to beg for money. He gets arrested, but than immediately let go. Some might see a normal person who didn't want to cancel the trip for a minor transgression. Or it might have been a planned excuse to leave the group and accept radioactively stained clothes. As I mentioned before Krivonischenko was present at Kushtumkoy Accident two years earlier then radiactivity leaked.

However being a young professional he certainly would not keep any of the old clothes. Even helicopter pilots refused to fly bodies when they heard that radioactivity was present. So it would be illogical to suggest that Krivonischenko could keep his clothes all that time. The rest of the trip was planned out. Somewhere along the way they were supposed to met "lost tourists" and share clothes as a token of good will.

Then they would depart. Something went terribly wrong and these "tourists" simply killed the whole group. This would explain why someone cut from inside of the tent. The recipients of dangerous cargo needed a simple view of the mountain slope while they were searching for any evidence of their presence. As you remember Kolevatov diary and a third camera went missing and there is still no answer of its whereabouts.

 That would also explain the deaths of first five members. Special forces simply left them to die in the cold to hide their presence. As it was mentioned earlier tourists had at least two pairs of footwear. One was used for a trail and another was used during cold nights.

Most of the members had nothing on their feet except for socks. Minor injuries could be overlooked and deaths could easily be ignored. However something went wrong and instead of freezing to death the remaining tourists showed stamina and a will to live.

 Thus the special forces unit descended down the mountain and killed the remaining group in a state of panic and furious anger. They retreated a missing camera, Kolevatov's diary and left clothes since it became evident it was a set up. Although seemingly an improbable course history of KGB- CIA relations knows of such "deliveries" made by KGB to fool their American and British partners.This was debunked

Mansi natives

In the course of investigation local Mansi tribes also appeared as suspects. Some even remembered a story from the 30's then a woman geologist ventured into sacred lands of this proud unconquered nation. She was subsequently tied and thrown in the lake. Common journal that was found in the tent also talked about the Mansi.

However this theory was abandoned for the lack of evidence or any possible witnesses. Furthermore Kholat Syakhl was never a sacred place. It was feared and it was avoided, but no one considered it important for the beliefs of the native people. If the Mansi were involved in the murder of the tourists they would probably steal many valuable possession that are so important to survival in the harsh climate of Sibiria.This was debunked

Avalanche

Danger of avalanche in the region is quiet common. The Kholat Syakhl mountain is not very tall and it is certainly not very steep. Furthermore the opponents of this theory suggest that tourist diaries report a fairly thin snow cover. However these facts doesn't exclude the possibility of a small avalanche.

A portion of the upper layer of snow could simply shift and role over the tourists as a slab of snow. This could damage the tent and create havoc among tourists who were suddenly trapped underneath several feet of snow.

It would certainly explain why the tent was cut from inside. Further retreat would be necessary if the tourists were worried a second avalanche can strike again. According to the supporters of this theory Dyatlov Group tried to make their way back to the Auspiya river and instead made a fatal mistake by descending into a valley of the Lozva river.

After 4 weeks the snow that was rushed down the slope of the mountain was simply blown off by the strong winds that are common in the region. This would erase all signs of a natural disaster.

However this theory has its gaps. From what we can tell from the naked footprints left by the group everyone seemed to descent with relative ease. It is highly unlikely that three people with broken ribs and flail chest would be transportable at all.

And here we see several badly damaged men and a woman walk without problems or even help from any of the members of the group. Secondly these men and women were experienced and well trained. They knew that chances of freezing to death is more likely than getting killed by an avalanche. Although the removal of the damaged tent from an exposed mountain side was out of the question, they had to retrieve all their warm clothes.

And finally if you see on the pictures on February 1st on the left and February 26th (according to Vadim Brusnicin who is sitting on a slope of the mountain with his back toward the camera man) on the right you can see part of the tourist gear that kept its vertical position on the slope weeks after the tragedy stroke.

Furthermore the entrance of the tent is clearly elevated. Only the middle portion collapse probably due to hasty escape or weigh of snow simply collecting here. This was all debunked.

conspiracy theorists

Occasionally some of the conspiracy theorists claim that UFO scared the group away. Although seemingly incredible this claim might have some base to it. About the same time Soviet armed forces did launch several rockets from Baykanur base.

Although military claimed the rockets landed in the north Ural mountains, several geologists 70 km from the mountains saw some glowing and pulsating orbits flying in the direction of the Kholat Syakhl on a day of tragedy (evening of Febrauary 1st). As part of technological theory there have been suggestions that an infrasound might have been responsible for sudden unpleasant feelings among the tourists.

Lev Ivanov, a man who was in charge of the investigation at the Dyatlov Pass, lived a long life. In the early 1990's in an interview to a local journalist he made a statement that during his investigation he and E.P. Maslenikov both noticed that the pines in the forest were burned at the top.

He also claims that A.P. Kirilenko, member of the Soviet Congress, along with his advisor A.F. Ashtokin forced Ivanov to take out any reference to the unknown flying objects or other strange phenomena. This included pictures of flying spheres drawn by the Mansi hunters and other testimonies.

It is true that Soviet Union experienced a boom of interest on everything unknown. Skeptic might also add that Ivanov gave this interview to make some money. However we have to mention that Kirilenko became obsessed with UFO theme. Starting in the early 60's he filed several requests to gain access to the KGB archives.

We don't know what was found in the documents, but it is undeniably strange that a political figure in USSR paid such interest in this subject. UFO was not investigated by the official science so it deemed as a pseudo- religious phenomena. Atheist Soviet Union obviously prohibited any interest in the subject, especially among members of the highest legislative body in the country.

These are only few of the theories. Many are more bizarre, strange and quiet frankly dumb ideas that circulate out there. Some blame the spirits others blame the paradoxical undressing that lead to hypothermia. All these theories ignore the fact that only two bodies showed signs of undressing after they left the tent. And it was the first two bodies found under the cedar.

Their clothes were removed after they died. We can assume the bodies were beginning to show first signs of rigor mortis or stiffness after death. The clothes of dead victims were cut off and later found near the bodies in the den. This proves that people were aware of the danger of hypothermia and tried everything they could to save themselves.

Why did they leave the tent with all the clothes and boots inside is still a mystery. Many theories surfaced in the past decades. Few of these, however, explain a wide range of physical injuries that the group experienced. So there is no much point in mentioning them.

Unfortunately these were not the last victims of the Kholat Syakhl. From 1960-61 several airplane crashes took away lives of nine pilots and geologists who were sent here. For a time flights were totally canceled in the region. Among more recent victims of the mountain was a crash of Mi-8 in 2009.

Pilots ignored long standing unofficial no- fly zone. Fortunately they survived the cash, but they couldn't explain why their helicopter went down so quickly and without any warning. Tourists today repeat the track of the Dyatlov group, but none of groups ever contain 9 people.

In the early 2000's a group of 9 tourists under supervision of rescue crew repeated the same descent down the slope of Kholat Syakhl. Despite snow cover and night time none of the participants got any significant bruises or cuts. Those who observed the students did not report any difficulty in locating members on the mountain side. None of the group members were lost and vocal/ eye contact was constant between group members at all times.

This only adds to the mystery of what really happened on Kholat Syakhl that day. The case of Dyatlov Pass deaths remains open.

The whole mystery surrounding these deaths, to what made them force themself to cut there way through the tent to get out & run into the freezing cold of winter with no protective clothing & the bizarre injuries they had with no force trauma to the skin.

The case was left as cause of death by a unknown paranormal forces to this day.

What are your theories on this when most of the obvious answer were debunked, it a cold chilling event that's unexplained.