In the early seventies of the last century Tomsk regional ethnographer Sergey Baranov has arrived in structure of ethnographic expeditions in a small village Orekhovka, located 230 kilometers from the regional center, and a well-known fact that since the middle of XVIII century here settled a runaway old-believers.

The horror of the burned village

The expedition Baranova wrote down ancient old believers ' songs, rituals and tales, the most interesting and incredible was the legend of the river, the ghouls. One veteran of Orekhovka Yegor S. Melnikov told Sergey that forty years ago in the village on the opposite Bank of the river Libel-ka, whose names are now nobody remembers, with the local cemetery got into the habit of walking upyr, who turned the villagers in their bloodthirsty relatives. Having learned about this horror nearby village orehovoe began to think about whether or not to stay far away from the native village. However, Ded Egor S., which the villagers called a witch doctor, in one of the quiet summer evenings went to the neighbouring village. The same night the glow of the fire engulfed the opposite shore of the White-coat...

According to Yegor S., until the morning from a terrible village came the eerie, a horrific howl, which ended with the first cries orekhovskaya cocks...

Witch doctor is not returned to the Orekhovka, Kanev in oblivion with Zarechnyj ghouls, which until recently no one heard. But according to Melnikov, in the last two years this evil again wound up in their territories, and even if three of his fellow villagers were killed because of this satanic offspring...

Then the sheep did not believe in the real existence of evil, adequately estimating a story told by an old man Melnikov, only from ethnographic point of view. However, colorful story Yegor S. produced by Sergei strong impression, and the next few years, the local actively collected legends and traditions about the mythological ghouls, which is rich Siberian land.

Ghouls in myths and legends

Soon Baranov learned that among Siberian old believers mysterious vampire, devouring human innards, plays a more important place than bloodsucker-vampire or a ghoul from the Hungarians, the Celts, British or Germans. Until the beginning of XX century in Siberia and the Urals vampires feared more than mermaids, water, chisig and other undead in abundance used to inhabit the land. Local beliefs, who came together with immigrants from Ukraine and South of Russia, represent ghouls the armies of Satan, which gives the bodies of dead people incredible strength and forces them to do the bloody evil.

Fortunately, not every dead person gets under black flags this terrible armies. Chances to become after death in ghoul have much of murderers, sorcerers and suicide, as well as in people who died without a Church penance or devotees of the Church anathematized. For this reason, in ancient times those of the dead were not buried in the General cemetery, as the energy of many bodies lying in the ground, nourishes potential ghouls mystical power by which they arise from the tomb.

However, in this horrible creature could turn and people, not stained with life terrible sins. In the case of desecration of his grave for forty days after the burial and bite accident during life or after death of another vampire. In Ukraine even in the beginning of the last century there were sorcerers and witches, possessing special knowledge, allowing them to turn a deceased person obedient to their will vampire. For this reason, in Ruthenia were frequent cases when the villagers burned witches, considering that with his death dies and he created the ghoul.

To become, as it is considered, in vampire can a dead man through whom jumped black cat or a tomb which, during the carrying out of the house accidentally struck against the door-post. In this case the deceased was supposed to tie the hands and double his burial in the Church...

Classification of evil

Researchers myths and paranormal claim that ghouls are divided into several types, which differ very specific features. The most common in Eastern Europe and the TRANS-Urals is the so-called eater, or a scavenger. This entity is reborn from improperly buried person, or of men that had been attacked by a vampire. It is believed that the Ogre is green, covered stinking slime, and the fingers of his hands grow long hooked claws. The main goal of the vampire-cannibal - dine fresh human meat, and he'd never eat it until the end. Thus it reproduces itself like ghouls. However, this kind of evil are not above using the corpses of dead people and animals.

Water kind of ghoul is Macedon - the man who died on Board the ship and dropped into the water without proper burial rituals. Water ghoul has webbed feet, covered with green slime, like algae, and drinking human blood.

A Celtic for many centuries were known brugi. They called wizards or witches, when life used special magic elixirs that after physical death gave life to their bodies. Unlike other Nations, the Celts respected by Bruja and considered them as spirits-keepers of their villages.

A special kind of ghouls - the two-ha - was distributed in Transylvania and Western Ukraine. It was believed that stryga results from the defilement of a female grave, and then faithful to the earth the body is forced to wander the world in a different form. It can be seen in the form of an old woman to poor women, the huge bird with a human head and a lonely wolf.

To kill difficult, but...

Not having a noticeable wit and vivacity, ghouls endowed with incredible physical strength. They are able to break wooden and metal barriers and destroy the wall. A well known case when in 1956 in the settlement Cheremkhovo, near Irkutsk, like being broke the wall, lined with lime brick...

The danger most vampires is that they look very similar to ordinary people. Here are just burning a devilish fire eye, earthy colors hands Yes putrid odor emanating from them, can issue this evil. Ghouls rarely attack on a group of people, but a lonely traveler, caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, practically there is no salvation. No bullet or a knife or a club ghoul not to kill.

Siberian old believers are sure that even garlic, so effective in fighting vampires and ghouls, not causes, bat serious harm. Not as effective as it could be, and is the cross, which only causes bat considerable suffering, but does not stop in his thirst tasted human flesh.

However, in most cultures, mythology which there is this creature, trouble-free way of dealing with him is an aspen stake, stuck in the chest undead, and fire, cleansing our world from this satanic evil.

The Holy water spilt on the ground, prospan millet, red-hot coals and even ash is also able to stop a vampire. To save might and magic circle, drawn by a man around.

The most powerful vampires in the full-moon night, but with the first rooster screaming, announcing the approach of dawn, this evil is trying to quickly hide in their coffins-shelters...

Twelve years later, Sergey Baranov came again in the Orekhovka and to his horror saw instead groomed villages, whose inhabitants are so many told him about the mysterious local ghouls, old overgrown with weeds ashes. In the neighbouring village of one of the old women reluctantly told the man that five years ago in the Orekhovka, which by that time had left almost all of the people, and started is some devilry, and soon, the reason for which the village was burned to ashes.