Instruction
In the north of Moscow in Khovrino, an unfinished building has been standing for decades, resembling a ghost ship. It still inspires fear in the inhabitants of this Moscow region, since it has long had bad reputation. This building is unfinished. Its construction began in 1980, but was never completed. In the people, this unfinished building was called the Khovrinsky abandoned hospital and is one of the ten most scary places in the world! As soon as they do not call the Khovrinsky unfinished building: the house of horror, and the cradle of nightmares, and even the citadel of darkness.
According to urban legend, the construction of this hospital began on the bones, i.e. on the site where the old abandoned one once stood. Many people believe that this explains all the failures that accompanied the construction process. Old-timers generally say that earlier on the site of the Khovrinsky abandoned hospital there was a large bog. This is evidenced by the fact that at present the foundation of unfinished construction is sinking lower and lower into ground water. Building this architectural structure was suspended in 1985. Since the last builder left the territory of this building, the Khovrinsky hospital has been living some kind of life of its own, full of secrets and tragedies.
Another Russian legend is associated with a ghost train and, like the first, is urban. According to legend, every month in the Moscow metro some strange ghost train rushes along the rails at breakneck speed. According to eyewitnesses, sometimes he makes stops and opens the doors of his cars. People who claimed to have seen a sign are sure that the silhouette of a driver dressed in a pre-war construction uniform is clearly visible in his cabin, and all the other cars of this strange train are filled with the souls of builders.
To understand the meaning of this legend, it is necessary to remember exactly how the Moscow metro was built. Its construction began in the 40s of the last century. Old-timers say that it was exhausting and hard work for all those involved in the construction of the Metro Circle Line. The fact is that most of the builders were real prisoners, convicted of certain crimes of a political or criminal nature.
Moreover, the construction of this subway was marked by bloody events: at that time, many workers allegedly died on the site. The fact is that from time to time unstable structures collapsed on them, and some people were generally driven into ventilation shafts and walled up without investigation or trial. After some time, at the cost of many human casualties, the “bloody” subway was nevertheless completed. As a result, the legend of Russian ghost. Until now, people complain that sometimes the phantom of a rusty train supposedly scares them. Eyewitnesses say that this train always appears after midnight and only on the Circle Line.
English lore warns travelers against traveling alone in mountainous areas at dusk. If you believe, then the surroundings of Cornwall, which is considered the birthplace of King Arthur, Celtic traditions and ... giants, are especially dangerous!
In the middle of the 18th century, the inhabitants of the Cornish peninsula were seriously afraid of meeting with giant neighbors. Many ancient myths and legends tell about the sad fate of those who had a chance to face the giants.
There is a legend about a simple woman named Emma May, the wife of the farmer Richard May. One day, not waiting for her husband for dinner at the usual time, she decided to go in search of him, left the house and found herself in a dense fog. Since then, she has not been seen again, and although the villagers have repeatedly gone looking for her, Emma Mae seemed to have sunk into the ground. The peasants believed that she was kidnapped by giants, who, according to rumors, lived in the surrounding caves and killed late travelers or took them into slavery.
What secrets are kept by the seas and oceans
Many ancient myths and legends are composed about the sad fate of sailors who were swallowed up by the deep sea. Almost everyone has heard chilling stories about sirens calling ships to the reefs. The wild imagination of sailors gave rise to many superstitions, which eventually transformed into indestructible customs. In countries South-East Asia sailors still bring gifts to the gods in order to safely return from a journey. However, there was one captain (his name, alas, history has not preserved), who neglected the sacred traditions ...
... The elements raged, the crew of the ship was tired of fighting the elements, and nothing foreshadowed a successful outcome. Standing near the helm, through the curtain of rain, the captain saw a black figure that arose from him along right hand. The stranger asked what the captain was willing to give him in exchange for his salvation? The captain replied that he was ready to give all his gold, just to be in the port again. The black man laughed and said: “You did not want to bring gifts to the gods, but you are ready to give everything to the demon. you will be saved, but terrible curse you will carry as long as you live.
The legend tells that the captain returned safely from the voyage. But as soon as he crossed the threshold of his house, his wife died, who had been in bed for two months with a serious illness. The captain went to his friends, and a day later their house burned to the ground. Wherever the captain appeared, death pursued him everywhere. Tired of such a life, a year later he put a bullet in his forehead.
The dark underworld of Hades
Since we are talking about otherworldly demons dooming a stumbled person to eternal torment, one cannot help but recall Hades, the ruler of the underworld of darkness and horror. The River Styx flows through the bottomless abyss, taking the souls of the dead deeper and deeper into the earth, and Hades looks at all this from his golden throne.
Hades is not alone in his underworld, the gods of dreams live there, sending people and creepy nightmares and happy dreams. In ancient myths and legends, it is said that the monstrous Lamia, a ghost with donkey legs, wanders in the kingdom of Hades. Lamia kidnaps newborns so that if the house in which the mother and the baby lives is cursed by an unholy person.
At the throne of Hades stands the young and beautiful god of sleep, Hypnos, whose power no one can resist. On his wings, he silently hovers above the ground and pours his sleeping pill from a golden horn. Hypnos can send sweet visions, but it can also send you into eternal sleep.
The pharaoh who violated the will of the gods
As ancient myths and legends tell, Egypt underwent disasters during the reign of the pharaohs Khafre and Khufu - slaves worked day and night, all temples were closed, free citizens were also persecuted. But here they were replaced by the pharaoh Menkaura and he decided to free the exhausted people. The inhabitants of Egypt began to work in their fields, the temples began to work again, the living conditions of the people improved. Everyone glorified the good and just pharaoh.
Time passed, and Menkaure was struck by terrible blows of fate - his beloved daughter died and the lord was predicted that he had only seven years left to live. Pharaoh was perplexed - why did his grandfather and father, who oppressed the people and did not honor the gods, live to a ripe old age, and he must die? Finally, the pharaoh decided to send a messenger to the famous oracle. ancient myth- the legend of Pharaoh Menkaure - tells about the answer given to the ruler.
“The life of Pharaoh Menkaure was shortened only because he did not understand his destiny. One hundred and fifty years Egypt was destined to suffer disasters, Khafre and Khufu understood this, but Menkaure did not. And the gods kept their word, on the appointed day the pharaoh left the sublunar world.
Almost all ancient myths and legends (however, like many legends of the new formation) contain a rational grain. An inquisitive mind will always be able to penetrate the veil of allegories and discern the meaning hidden in seemingly fantastic stories. And how to use the acquired knowledge is already a personal matter for everyone.
Greece and myths- the concept is inseparable. It seems that everything in this country - every plant, river or mountain - has its own fairy tale passed down from generation to generation. And this is no coincidence, since the myths in allegorical form reflect the whole structure of the world and the philosophy of life of the ancient Greeks.
And the name Hellas () itself also has a mythological origin, because. the progenitor of all Hellenes (Greeks) is considered the mythical patriarch Hellenes. The names of the mountain ranges that cross Greece, the seas washing its shores, the islands scattered in these seas, lakes and rivers are associated with myths. As well as the names of regions, cities and villages. About some stories that I really want to believe, I will tell you. It should be added that there are so many myths that even for the same toponym there are several versions. Because myths are oral creativity, and have come down to us already recorded by ancient writers and historians, the most famous of which is Homer. I'll start with the name Balkan Peninsula on which Greece is located. The current "Balkans" is of Turkish origin, meaning simply "mountain range". But earlier the peninsula was named after Aemos, the son of the god Boreas and the nymph Orithinas. The sister and at the same time the wife of Amos was called Rhodope. Their love was so strong that they addressed each other by the names of the supreme gods, Zeus and Hera. For their insolence, they were punished by turning into mountains.
The history of the origin of the toponym Peloponnese, a peninsula on a peninsula, no less brutal. According to legend, the ruler of this part of Greece was Pelops, the son of Tantalus, in early years offered by the bloodthirsty father as a supper to the gods. But the gods did not begin to eat his body, and, having resurrected the young man, they left him on Olympus. And Tantalus was doomed to eternal (tantalic) torment. Further, Pelops himself descends to live with people, or is forced to flee, but later becomes the king of Olympia, Arcadia and the entire peninsula, which was named after him. By the way, his descendant was the famous Homeric king Agamemnon, the leader of the troops that besieged Troy.
One of the most beautiful islands in Greece Kerkyra(or Corfu) It has romantic story the origin of its name: Poseidon, the god of the seas, fell in love with the young beauty Korkyra, the daughter of Asop and the nymph Metope, kidnapped her and hid her on a hitherto unknown island, which he named after her. Korkyra eventually turned into Kerkyra. Another story about lovers remained in the myths of the island Rhodes. This name was borne by the daughter of Poseidon and Amphitrite (or Aphrodite), who was the beloved of the sun god Helios. It was on this newly born island of foam that the nymph Rhodes was married to her beloved.
origin of name the Aegean sea many are known for their good Soviet cartoon. The story is this: Theseus, the son of the Athenian king Aegeus, went to Crete to fight the monster there - the Minotaur. In case of victory, he promised his father to raise white sails on his ship, and in case of defeat, black ones. With the help of the Cretan princess, he slew the Minotaur, and went home, forgetting to change the sails. Seeing his son's mourning ship in the distance, Aegeus, out of grief, threw himself off a cliff into the sea, which was named after him.
ionian sea bears the name of the princess and at the same time the priestess Io, who was seduced by the supreme god Zeus. However, his wife Hera decided to take revenge on the girl by turning her into a white cow and then killing her with the hands of the giant Argos. With the help of the god Hermes, Io managed to escape. She found refuge and human form in Egypt, for which she had to cross the sea, which is called the Ionian.
myths Ancient Greece they also tell about the origin of the universe, the attitude to the divine and human passions. For us, they are of interest, primarily because they give us an understanding of how European culture was formed.
Urban legends are often compelling stories containing many folklore elements, and they quickly spread in society. The stories are told in a dramatic way, as if true stories related to real people- although in fact they may be 100% fictional.
Local touches are often added to the legend, so it is rather strange to hear the same story in different versions in different countries. Urban legends often carry a warning or some sort of meaning that motivates society to keep and spread them. One thing is certain - some of these creepy urban legends have kept a lot of people awake. Below are ten of the best urban legends:
10 Choking Doberman
This urban legend comes from Sydney, Australia and tells the story of a Doberman who choked on something. One night married couple went out for a walk and to sit in a restaurant, when they returned home, they saw their dog suffocating in the living room. The man panicked and fainted, and the wife decided to call her old friend, the vet, and arranged to bring the dog to the veterinary clinic.
After she took the dog to the clinic, she decided to return home and help her husband go to bed. It takes her a while to do this, and in the meantime, the phone rang. The vet screams hysterically into the phone that they need to get out of their house quickly. Without realizing what's going on, the couple leaves the house as soon as possible.
As they descend the stairs, several policemen run towards them. When the woman asks what happened, one of the policemen replies that their dog choked on the man's finger. In their house, most likely there is still a robber. Soon, former owner finger was found unconscious in the couple's bedroom.
9 Suicidal Guy 
This story, also known as "The Death of a Boyfriend", is told in many ways and is considered a generalized warning not to stray too far from the safety of your home. Our version will focus on Paris in the 1960s. A girl and her boyfriend (both college students) kiss in his car. They parked near the forest of Rambouillet so that no one could see them. When they finished, the guy got out of the car to take a breath. fresh air and smoke a cigarette while the girl waits for him in the safety of the car.
After she waited five minutes, the girl got out of the car to find her boyfriend. Suddenly she sees a man hiding in the shade of a tree. Frightened, she gets back into the car to leave as soon as possible - but as she got in, she heard a very soft creak, followed by several more creaks.
This goes on for a few seconds, but the girl eventually decides that she has no other choice and decides to leave. She presses the gas pedal, but cannot go anywhere - someone has tied a cable from the bumper of the car to a tree growing nearby.
As a result, the girl presses the gas pedal again and hears a loud scream. She gets out of the car and finds her boyfriend hanging from a tree. As it turned out, the creaking sounds were made by his shoes dragging along the roof of the car.
8. Woman with a torn mouth 
In Japan and China, there is a legend about the girl Kuchisake-Onna, also known as the woman with the torn mouth. Some say she was the wife of a samurai. One day, she cheated on her husband with a young and handsome man. When her husband returned, he discovered her betrayal, and in a rage, he took his sword and cut her mouth from ear to ear.
Some say that the woman was cursed - she will never die, and still walks the world so that people can see the terrible scar on her face and pity her. Some claim that they saw a beautiful young girl who asked them: "Am I beautiful?" And when they answered positively, she tore off her mask and showed a terrible wound. Then she repeated her question - and anyone who stopped considering her beautiful was waiting for a tragic death.
There are two morals in this story: it costs nothing to give a compliment, and honesty is not the best approach in all situations.
7. Bridge of the crying child
According to this legend, a couple was driving home from church with their child and arguing about something. It was raining heavily, and soon they had to cross a flooded bridge. As soon as they entered the bridge, it turned out that there was much more water than they thought, and the car got stuck - they decided that they needed to go for help. The woman waited, but got out of the car for a reason that can only be guessed at.
As she turned away from the car, she suddenly heard her baby crying loudly. She returned to the car to find that her child had been swept away by the water. According to the same legend, if you are on the same bridge, you can still hear the cry of a child there (the location of the bridge, of course, is unknown).
6Zanfretta Alien Abduction 
The story of the kidnapping of Fortunato Zanfretta has become one of Italy's most famous urban legends over the past few decades.
According to his own stories (originally made under hypnosis), Zanfretta was abducted by aliens Dragos (Dragos) from the planet Teetonia (Teetonia), and for several years (1978-1981) he was repeatedly abducted several times by the same group from another planet. No matter how terrifying and creepy this story may sound, given the words of Zanfretta, uttered by him during a hypnosis session, one can regard the intentions of the aliens from an optimistic point of view:
“I know that you want to fly more often… no, you can't fly to Earth, people will be scared of how you look. You cannot become our friends. Please fly away."
Zahnfretta has perhaps provided more details about his alien abduction than any other person in history - his detailed accounts may make even the most ardent skeptic wonder if there is some truth in it. To this day, the Zanfretta case remains one of the most interesting and mysterious X-Files.
5. White Death
This story is about a little girl from Scotland who hated life so much that she wanted to destroy everything connected with it. Finally, she decided to commit suicide, and her family soon discovered what she had done.
By a terrible coincidence, all members of her family died a few days later, and their limbs were torn off. Legend says that when you learn about the White Death, the ghost of a little girl may find you and knock on your door many times. Each knock gets louder until the man opens the door, at which point she kills him so that he won't tell anyone else about her existence. Her main task is to make sure that no one knows about it.
Like most urban legends, this story is most likely the product of the wild imagination of modern Aesop.
4. Black Volga
According to rumors, on the streets of Warsaw in the 1960s, a black Volga was often noticed - in which people who abducted children sat. According to legend (no doubt aided by Western propaganda), Soviet officers rode the black Volga around Moscow in the mid-1930s, kidnapping young, pretty girls to satisfy the sexual needs of high-ranking Soviet comrades. According to other versions of this legend, vampires, mystical priests, satanists, human traffickers, and even Satan himself sat in the Volga.
By different versions legend, children were kidnapped to use their blood as a treatment for rich people from all over the world suffering from leukemia. Naturally, none of these versions has not been confirmed.
3. Greek soldier
This lesser-known legend tells of a soldier from Greece who, after World War II, returned home to marry his fiancee. Unfortunately for him, he was captured by his compatriots with enemy political opinions, he was tortured for five weeks, after which he was killed. In the early 1950s, mostly in northern and central Greece, stories were circulating about an attractive uniformed Greek soldier who would appear and disappear quickly, seducing beautiful widows and virgins with the sole purpose of giving them a child.
Five weeks after the child was born, the man disappeared forever - leaving a note on the table in which he explained that he was returning from the world of the dead so that he would have sons who could avenge his murder.
2 Elisa Day
AT medieval Europe there lived a young girl named Eliza Day, whose beauty was like wild roses growing by the river - bloody and red. One day a young man came to town and instantly fell in love with Eliza. They met for three days. On the first day he came to her house. On the second day, he brought her one red rose and asked her to meet where wild roses grow. On the third day, he took her to the river, where he killed her. The terrible man waited until she turned away from him, then took a stone and, whispering "All beauty must die", killed her with one blow to the head. He put a rose in her teeth and pushed the body into the river. Some people claim to have seen her ghost wandering along the riverbank, with a single rose in her hand, and blood streaming from her head.
Kylie Minogue and Nick Cave have a very beautiful song on the topic of this legend - " Where the Wild Roses Grow":
1. Well to hell
In 1989, Russian scientists drilled a well in Siberia about 14.5 kilometers deep. The drill fell into a cavity in the earth's crust, and scientists lowered several devices into it to figure out what was the matter. The temperature there exceeded 1000 degrees Celsius, but the real shock was what they heard on the tape.
Before the microphone melted, only 17 terrifying seconds of sound were recorded. Many of the scientists, convinced that they had heard the cries of the damned from hell, quit their jobs - or at least that's what the story says. Those who remained were shocked even more that same night. A jet of luminescent gas shot out from the well, turning into the form of a giant winged demon, and then the words "I won" could be read in the lights. Although on this moment this story is considered fiction, and there are many people who believe that this actually happened - the urban legend "The Well to Hell" is told to this day.
Do you know why a dog, the Chow Chow breed, blue tongue? If such a question were asked to a resident Ancient China, he would not hesitate to answer. There is an interesting Chinese legend, which reads: “In very ancient times, when God had already created the Earth and populated it with animals, birds, insects, fish, he was engaged in the distribution of stars in the sky. During this work, quite by accident, a piece of the sky fell off from him and fell to the Earth. All the animals and birds, in horror, fled to the sides and hid in secluded places. And only the most courageous Chow-Chow dog was not afraid to approach the fragment of the sky, sniff it and lightly lick it with its tongue. Since then, the Chow Chow dog, and all of its descendants, has had a blue tongue." Thanks to this beautiful legend, Chow Chow, and today, is called "the dog that licked the sky."
The Austrian city of Salzburg is known not only for its picturesque surroundings, famous resorts, but also for many historical sights. And, perhaps, the main one is the Mirabell Palace with a complex of fabulous gardens. The pink stone from which the palace is built gives it lightness and airiness. Of course, this is a wonderful creation of architecture, but it is not considered the main highlight, but, namely, the Mirabell Gardens. Fountains, a garden of dwarfs, stone lions, trees and flower beds - very bizarre forms, elegant balustrades, a theater with hedges - it's impossible to describe everything. This must be seen. The real pride of Austria.
Venice - a city shrouded in a light haze, seems almost ephemeral and exists only in our imagination. But still, you can see it not only in pictures and in the movies, it actually exists with all its squares, canals, bridges, cathedrals. I think that everyone who was not there dreams of making romantic trip to Venice to catch the mysterious and mysterious essence this unusual and magnificent city. One of the main symbols of the city is considered to be a gondola. Perhaps someone noticed that they are all the same color and, like black swans, cut through the waters of the canals of Venice. There is a legend that answers the question: Why are all the Venetian gondolas in the "city of love" black?
Salzburg is one of the most beautiful and unusual cities in Austria. Located at the very foot of the Alps, literally 5 kilometers from the border with Germany. The very name of the city is associated with a nearby salt deposit. It has been mined since time immemorial. According to legend, the fortress was built here to control the export of salt. So the name Salzburg, which means Salt Fortress, appeared.
If someone has ever been to Krakow, they will never forget the charming atmosphere of this city. Complicated story, unique culture, unique architecture make Krakow a real paradise for poets, musicians, artists and just for any person. The city covered with legends gladly reveals its secrets to everyone who visits it. If you were not lucky enough to visit there, then I strongly advise you to read the book by N.G. Frolova "Old Krakow". One of the parts of this book is called "Characters of the City Spectacle". Whoever does not participate in this eternal Krakow performance: musicians, poets, warriors, kings, artists, adventurers...
For the first time this monument appeared in St. Petersburg in 1999 on Malaya Sadovaya Street 3. The work of the sculptor V.A. Sivakov. The exact name"Monument stray dog Gavryusha". But as soon as he was not called and the monument good dog, and Gavryusha, and even just Nyusha. After sitting there for 8 years, the dog gave birth to either a rumor or a legend. Teenagers really liked the dog. And so they came up with the idea that if you write a wish to a dog, then it will definitely come true. Since then, the courtyard on Malaya Sadovaya, where the dog stood, has become a place of pilgrimage for tourists and residents of the city.
Saint John of Nepomuk is one of the most revered Czech saints in Prague. Considered the patron saint of Prague and the entire Czech Republic. He lived in the XIV century, during the reign of King Wenceslas IV and was a priest. What Jan of Nepomuk did wrong to the king is not exactly known, but one of the most plausible assumptions is as follows. Being the queen's confessor, he refused to reveal the secret of his wife's confession to Wenceslas IV. For what, after long tortures and torments. the king ordered his execution. The priest was put in a sack and thrown from the Charles Bridge into the Vltava.
Charles Bridge is one of the main attractions of Prague. It was built by order of King Charles IV in 1357. For five centuries it was the only bridge across the Vltava. Later in XVII century it began to be decorated with sculptures, the number of which reached 30. So the bridge turned into a real one art gallery under open sky. Nowadays, the bridge is pedestrian and it was chosen by artists, souvenir sellers, Street musicians and of course tourists. Many legends of Old Prague are connected with the Charles Bridge. Here is one of them.
