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We are sure that many of you still believe in unicorns. It seems wonderful to imagine that they still exist somewhere, and we just haven’t found them yet. However, even the myth about such a magical creature has a very prosaic and even somewhat frightening explanation.

If you feel like website If you are very skeptical and no longer believe in magic, then at the end of the article a real miracle awaits you!

Great Flood

Scientists believe that the legend of the Great Flood is based on the memory of major flood, the epicenter of which was Mesopotamia. At the beginning of the last century, during excavations of the tombs of Ur, a layer of clay was found that separated two cultural layers. Only a catastrophic flood of the Tigris and Euphrates could lead to the appearance of such a phenomenon.

According to other estimates, 10–15 thousand years BC. e. An incredible flood happened in the Caspian Sea, which spilled over an area of ​​about 1 million square meters. km. The version was confirmed after scientists found it on the territory Western Siberia sea ​​shells, the closest distribution area of ​​which is in the Caspian Sea. This flood was so powerful that there was a huge waterfall on the Bosphorus, through which approximately 40 cubic meters were poured per day. km of water (200 times the volume of water passing through Niagara Falls). There was a flow of this power for at least 300 days.

This version seems crazy, but in this case, ancient people cannot be accused of exaggerating events!

Giants

In modern Ireland, legends are still told about people of gigantic stature who can create an island simply by throwing a handful of earth into the sea. Endocrinologist Martha Korbonitz came up with the idea that ancient legends could have a scientific basis. Incredibly, the researchers found what they were looking for. A huge number of people in Ireland have mutations in the AIP gene. It was these mutations that caused the development of acromegaly and gigantism. If in the UK the mutation carrier is 1 in 2,000 people, then in the province of Mid-Ulster it is every 150th.

One of the famous Irish giants was Charles Byrne (1761–1783), his height was over 230 cm.

Legends, of course, endow giants with enormous power, but in reality, not everything is so rosy. People with acromegaly and gigantism often suffer from cardiovascular diseases, vision problems and frequent joint pain. Without treatment, many giants may not live to see 30 years of age.

Werewolves

The legend about werewolves has several origins. Firstly, people's lives have always been connected with the forest. Rock paintings of hybrids of humans and animals have reached us from ancient times. People wanted to be stronger, they chose a totem animal and wore its skin. These beliefs were also the basis for the narcotic drugs that warriors took before battle and imagined themselves to be invincible wolves.

Secondly, the belief in the existence of werewolves was also supported by the presence in people of such a genetic disease as hypertrichosis- excessive growth of hair on the body and face, which was called “werewolf syndrome.” It was only in 1963 that doctor Lee Illis gave the disease a medical basis. In addition to the genetic disease, there was also a mental disease known as lycanthropy, during attacks of which people lose their minds and lose human qualities, considering themselves wolves. In addition, there is an exacerbation of the disease during certain lunar phases.

By the way, the wolf from the world famous “Little Red Riding Hood”, according to, was none other than a werewolf. And he didn’t eat the grandmother, but fed it to her granddaughter.

Vampires

The theory about the connection between dinosaur and dragon bones is confirmed in Mongolia. There's different geographical names the word "dragon" is present. This is due to the fact that in some areas of the Gobi Desert, dinosaur bones can be easily found by anyone because they lie on the surface of the earth's layers. There are many of them even now, so much so that excavations are carried out illegally all the time.
An important detail: in Africa there are no such myths, as well as access to dinosaur remains.

However, why in human consciousness Do dragons appear in the form of reptiles, with scales and claws? This question is explained by the observant nature of people. Appearance skeleton similar to the bones of modern lizards, snakes, crocodiles. These animals were enlarged many times - and the result was a dragon. And, by the way, it is lizards and snakes that sometimes develop not one, but two heads, just like some fairy-tale dragons.

Centaurs

The image of a centaur was known back in the 2nd millennium BC. e. It supposedly originated in Greece as the fruit of the imagination of representatives of civilized peoples who did not yet know horse riding, who first encountered the horse riders of certain northern nomadic tribes: Scythians, Kassites or Taurians. This explains the ferocious temperament of the centaurs. The nomads actually lived in the saddle, skillfully shot with a bow and rode very quickly. The hyperbolic fear of the farmer, who first saw a man who rode so skillfully in the saddle, could well turn into a story about a hybrid of a man and a horse.

By ancient Greek legend, under the palace of King Minos there was a huge labyrinth in which a formidable monster, the half-bull, half-man Minotaur, was imprisoned. The thirst for blood torments the monster so much that its roar shakes the earth.

The island of Crete, where the monster lived, is very interesting for its seismic activity. Part of the island is on the continent called Aegean plate, and the other part - on oceanic Nubian plate, which moves directly under the island. This geological phenomenon is called a subduction zone. It is in these areas that it is observed increased risk earthquakes. In Crete, the situation is further aggravated by the fact that the African Plate is pressing on the oceanic Nubian Plate (and just imagine how huge it is), and a phenomenal thing happens: under the interaction of the plates, the island is simply pushed to the surface. Since the emergence of civilization, Crete has experienced several such rises, some of them up to 9 meters. It is not surprising that ancient people thought that a furious monster lived in the depths, because every earthquake was accompanied by terrible destruction.

Cyclops

IN ancient greek mythology The Cyclops are a group of characters, in different versions they are divine beings (children of Gaia and Uranus) or a separate people. Most a prominent representative There was Poseidon's son Polyphemus, whom Odysseus deprived of his only eye. The Scythian people of the Arimaspians were also considered one-eyed.

As for the scientific basis for these myths, in 1914, paleontologist Otenio Abel suggested that the ancient finds of dwarf elephant skulls became the reason for the birth of the myth of the Cyclops, since the central nasal opening can easily be mistaken for a giant eye socket. It is curious that these elephants were found precisely on the Mediterranean islands of Cyprus, Malta, and Crete.

Sodom and Gomorrah

We don’t know about you, but we always thought that Sodom and Gomorrah are a very large-scale myth and rather some kind of personification of vicious cities. However, this is quite a historical fact.

Excavations have been underway at Tell el-Hammam in Jordan for a decade now. ancient city. Archaeologists are confident that they have found the biblical Sodom. The approximate location of the city has always been known - the Bible described the “Sodom Pentate City” in the Jordan Valley. However, its exact location has always raised questions.

In 2006, excavations began, and scientists found a large ancient settlement surrounded by a powerful rampart. According to researchers, people lived here between 3500 and 1540 BC. e. There is no other option for the name of the city, otherwise the mention of such a large settlement would have remained in written sources.

Kraken

The Kraken is a legendary mythical sea monster of gigantic size, a cephalopod, known from descriptions of sailors. The first extensive description was made by Eric Pontoppidan - he wrote that the kraken is an animal “the size of a floating island.” According to him, the monster is capable of grabbing a large ship with its tentacles and dragging it to the bottom, but the whirlpool that occurs when the kraken quickly sinks to the bottom is much more dangerous. It turns out that a sad end is inevitable - both when the monster attacks and when it runs away from you. Really creepy!

The rationale for the myth of the “creepy monster” is simple: Giant squids still exist today and reach 16 meters in length.

When it comes to unicorns, we immediately imagine a graceful creature with a rainbow horn in its forehead. Interestingly, they are found in the legends and myths of many cultures. The very first images were found in India and are over 4,000 years old. Later the myth spread across the continent and reached Ancient Rome, where they were considered absolutely real animals.

The main “candidate” for the role of the prototype of the unicorn is Elasmotherium - rhinoceroses of the Eurasian steppes, living in glacial period . Elasmotherium somewhat resembled a horse (albeit at a stretch) with an extremely long horn in its forehead. It became extinct at the same time as the main megafauna. However, according to the materials of the Swedish Encyclopedia and the arguments of researcher Willie Ley, individual representatives could still exist quite long time in order to get into the legends.

Bonus: Moses' Trail

Surely each of us has heard about the story from the Bible, which tells how the sea parted before Moses. But few people know that such a phenomenon can be seen near the island of Chindo in South Korea. Here the waters between the islands part for an hour, revealing a wide and long road! Scientists explain this miracle by the difference in the timing of low and high tides.

Of course, many tourists come there - in addition to simple walks, they have the opportunity to see the marine inhabitants who remained on the opened land. The amazing thing about the Moses Trail is that it leads from the mainland to the island.

Disputes between supporters of the theory of creationism and evolutionary theory continue to this day. However, unlike the theory of evolution, creationism includes not one, but hundreds various theories(if not more).

The Myth of Pan-gu

The Chinese have their own ideas about how the world came into being. The most popular myth is the myth of Pan-gu, the giant man. The plot is as follows: at the dawn of time, Heaven and Earth were so close to each other that they merged into a single black mass.
According to legend, this mass was an egg, and Pan-gu lived inside it, and lived for a long time - many millions of years. But one fine day he got tired of such a life, and, swinging a heavy ax, Pan-gu got out of his egg, splitting it into two parts. These parts later became Heaven and Earth. He was of unimaginable height - about fifty kilometers in length, which, by the standards of the ancient Chinese, was the distance between Heaven and Earth.
Unfortunately for Pan-gu and fortunately for us, the colossus was mortal and, like all mortals, died. And then Pan-gu decomposed. But not the way we do it. Pan-gu decomposed in a really cool way: his voice turned into thunder, his skin and bones became the earth's surface, and his head became the Cosmos. Thus, his death gave life to our world.

Chernobog and Belobog

Armenian duality

Scandinavian myth of the ice giant

Greek myth about marbles

Slender Man, or Slenderman

According to legend, the Slender Man is a tall, thin man dressed in a black suit with a white shirt and black tie. He has long thin arms and legs, and his face is completely featureless.

His arms can stretch, and tentacles grow from his back.

When the Slender Man appears, his victim loses memory, experiences insomnia, paranoia, a coughing fit, and blood flows from the nose.

If Slenderman is spotted in the area, it means that children will soon disappear. He lures them into the forest, deprives them of their minds and takes them away with him. Those children who were carried away by the Slender Man were never seen again.

In 1983, 14 children disappeared in Stirling City, USA. Their disappearance was linked to the Slender Man. Later, in the city library they found a photograph taken by an unknown photographer that day, and it allegedly showed a monster.

Both girls ended up in a psychiatric hospital: one for 25 years, the other for 40.

Black Dog of Meriden

The Meriden Black Dog, from the U.S. state of Connecticut, is a small ghost dog that leaves no marks and makes no sounds. According to legend, if you see the Black Dog three times, you will die. It appears silently, leaves no traces (even in the snow), and then just as suddenly disappears.

In the early 1900s, geologist Pynchon explored a Meriden mountain called West Peak. One day he saw a black dog among the trees. As Pynchon turned to head home, the dog disappeared into the trees.

The second time the scientist saw a black dog a few years later in the same place. One of his friends, with whom he was climbing the mountain that day, said that he had already seen the dog twice.

They wandered around and finally came to the top. But the enemy was waiting for them. The black dog stood in front. Pynchon only turned away for a second when he suddenly heard a terrible scream. His friend fell and hit the rocks.

In Meriden, local residents told Pynchon about the legend of the Black Dog, but he did not believe it. Several years passed, the geologist decided to visit the same mountain. He left his apartment at dawn and never returned. His dead body was later found at the bottom of a ravine.

Pisadeira

In Brazil there is a legend about a scary woman named Pisadeira. It comes to men who are afraid, or to those who have eaten a heavy dinner and lie down on their backs - in this position, Pisadeira’s victim is practically unable to escape.

Pisadeira is a bony and thin creature, she has short lower limbs and long dirty hair, a hooked nose, reddish eyes, thin lips, sharp teeth with a greenish coating. Her long fingers have wide yellow nails. But even more frightening is the laughter and mocking giggle of the monster. If a person hears characteristic laughter at night, it means that Pisadeira will soon come to him. It is the creepy laughter that precedes her appearance.

The monster tortures its victim until she suffocates from fright, but Pisadeira can also leave a person, having had enough of fear.

Phantom of Benito Juarez Park in Mexico

In the small Mexican town of Jaral del Progreso there is Benito Juarez Park. This is one of the city's attractions, but the park was laid out on the site of an old cemetery, so a bad reputation has spread about it. The city authorities landscaped the square as best as possible. They installed benches and paved paths so that people could enjoy the beauty of nature. However, local residents believed that the authorities had awakened local spirits and a curse was placed on the place.

Every evening in the park someone destroyed the benches and disappeared. Authorities then hired security guards to patrol the area at night.

And then one evening the guard began duty. At first everything was calm. The riots began when the park was covered in thick fog. The security guard heard a woman scream and went to check what had happened. When he reached the place, standing in front of him was an elderly woman dressed in White dress. The watchman followed her, and she began to destroy and throw benches.

When the guard approached her, he saw that the woman had no legs, she was floating in the air. Suddenly the old woman pounced on him and began beating him furiously. The guard managed to escape, and the next morning he told about what he saw. Shortly after this incident, he fell ill with a mysterious illness and died. The city authorities forbade talking about this story in the media, but the rumor still spread throughout the city; no one else wanted to be on duty at night.

Locals called the ghost the phantom of the park.

Girl from the closet

One day, a 57-year-old Japanese man noticed that someone was rearranging things in his house, food was disappearing from the refrigerator, and strange noises woke him up at night. The man decided that he was going crazy because he lived all alone. Both the windows and doors in his house were always closed.

One day he decided to take action and installed hidden cameras in all the rooms.

The next day he looked at the footage. In the footage, an unknown woman crawled out of the Japanese man's cupboard. The man assumed that she was a robber. But police said no one broke the locks.

After a thorough search, the woman was found in a small locker. As it turned out, she lived in a Japanese man’s house for a year.

Maryland Goat Man

For many residents of the United States, Prince George's County in the American state of Maryland is associated with a bloodthirsty monster called the Goat Man.

According to legend, the monster used to be an ordinary goat breeder. One day his wife became seriously ill, and he had to work tirelessly to help his beloved. But the cruel teenagers decided to play a trick on the poor guy and poisoned all his goats. The family was left without their only source of income, and the woman died.

Grief turned the farmer into a terrible monster, he ran into the forest and began killing everyone who crossed his path.

According to another version, the goat man - scientific experiment mad scientist Dr. Fletcher. Local residents believe that in agricultural scientific center districts conducted prohibited experiments on animals. Once, through an experiment, a scientist created a half-man, half-goat. The researchers decided to keep him alive for study. But the creature grew up and turned into a cruel monster. He killed several scientists and escaped from the center.

Whether this is true or a myth, strange events took place in the area in the 50s of the 20th century. In 1958, residents found a German shepherd dead: the dog had been torn to shreds, but its meat had not been eaten.

In the spring of 1961, two students were found dead in the northeastern Maryland town of Bowie. The girl and the boy went into the forest at night. In the morning, a local hunter found a car with broken windows and many deep scratches on the body. The teenagers' bodies, mutilated beyond recognition, were found in the back seat. The criminal was never found.

In 2011, the American horror film "Deadly Detour" was released, inspired by the Maryland monster.

According to Irish folklore, the banshee is a spirit from other world. She appears in the form of an ugly woman to the relatives and friends of the one who is about to die. It is believed that if a banshee cried loudly enough before her death, then in the next world her screams will be several times worse.

Banshees look like scary screaming women, old women with flowing gray hair, a scary wrinkled face and skeletal thinness.

The legend of an American girl who took revenge on her lover

In the USA there is a terrible legend about a girl who took revenge on her lover for unrequited love. In the small town of Stahl, Texas, there once stood a small church surrounded by graves. Next to the church there was a cellar, which was very difficult to find, as it was overgrown with grass.

The priest's daughter fell madly in love with a neighbor boy, but he broke her heart by choosing another girl. They got married, his chosen one became pregnant. Soon after the birth of the child, the priest's daughter visited the couple. They greeted her cordially, but the girl herself looked at their child with hatred.

The priest's daughter suddenly attacked her parents and cut both their throats, then she dragged their bodies to the hill where the church stood. She left the dead in the cellar and placed the living child between them.

The priest's daughter closed the door to the cellar and soon died. The bodies in the cellar could not be found for three weeks.

Many believe that the voice of a crying child can still be heard near the church at night.

Corpse house in Mexico

In the Mexican city of Monterey there is a famous legend about an abandoned building called the "corpse house." The strange structure was built in the 1970s, but no one has ever lived in the building.

From the street, the house looks like a structure made of concrete pipes. According to legend, the house was built by a wealthy couple who had a sick, paralyzed daughter. My father wanted to build a special house that would be suitable for people with disabilities. The design of the house included ramps that led from one floor to another.

The family began construction. One day the girl wanted to look at the house. She began to ride on the ramps, her parents were distracted for just a moment, when suddenly she wheelchair flew down the ramp. The girl could not stop, as a result she flew out the window and fell to her death.

Years later, the unfinished building was put up for sale. But no one wanted to buy it for a long time. One day there were clients. They came to see the building with their little son. While the couple were examining the situation, the boy went upstairs, and a few minutes later they heard him scream. On the top floor he was fighting with a little girl. An unknown person grabbed their son and threw him out the window. The boy died, the girl could not be found.

After this story, the authorities fenced off the area.

In 1941, a certain Mary Shaw performed with her Billy doll in one of the theaters in the American city of Ravens Fair. One day one of the spectators - a little boy - called the woman a liar. He saw the woman's lips move as Billy spoke. A few weeks later, the unfortunate critic disappeared.

Residents of the city and the boy's parents blamed the ventriloquist for his disappearance. Mary Shaw was soon found dead. According to local legend, the Eshen family (the boy’s relatives) committed lynching against the woman. They burst into the dressing room, forced Shaw to scream, and then ripped out her tongue.

Before her death, the woman wished that all her dolls be buried with her, there were 101 of them.

After the ventriloquist's funeral at Raven's Fair, massacres. And the victims of crimes were those people who raised their hands on the Show. They, like Mary, had their tongues pulled out.