Spirits. Russia

In December 1913, the provincial newspaper "Saratovsky Leaf" reported on a mysterious incident in Kamyshin. The correspondent of the publication in the category "County pictures" published a note under the intriguing title "Someone in white".

"In Kamyshin, a strange creature appeared, apparently of unearthly origin: either a Martian, or Beelzebub!" - the newspaper reports. Immediately calling the creature "someone in white", the correspondent departed from previous versions and referred to the opinion of the Kamyshans themselves, writing: "Many claim that this is a real witch who can turn into a pig, then a toad, and disappears only from a backhand blow with an aspen stake."

According to the publication, the creature at night dresses in a long, white hoodie, stands on high stilts and walks through the streets, causing terror to passers-by. This leads to the fact that the residents are agitated, frightened, and the maids have stopped listening to the owners and refuse to go out at night on errands. It would seem that the smartest people-deputies, as they were then called "vowels", also did not attend Duma meetings.

"And even the cinemas were emptied...", - the correspondent reports.

Kamyshans tell about the adventures of "white" the most diverse things: for example, " last night a high school student met with him, who fell ill with a nervous breakdown from fear; today they sent several townsfolk to the hospital, one of whom, when meeting with "white", lost his tongue, and the other lost both legs." At the same time, the creature, as the correspondent states, "was not seen only by night guards and non-commissioned officers." These are police officers.

But the Kamyshans are not such as to lock themselves up and sit quietly. On December 12, the good news spread through the city: the witch ("white") was killed, or at least shot and brought to the fire yard. She lies there in a white robe, stretched out the entire length of the courtyard...

To the fire yard (today the corner of Gorokhovskaya and Sovetskaya streets), a string of people were drawn "to see the murdered ghost, which kept them in fear for a whole week." But everyone was disappointed: there was no witch.

"Nevertheless, the fear has passed. Kamyshin residents came to their senses, " the correspondent concluded his note.