Japanese legend about a dead bride. How The Bride was Created: Ancient Rites, Eerie Photos, and Uma Thurman. The Van Dort family
In the dark,
Outlines melt into darkness.
I search my lips for lips
I just understand that the wrong ones ...
("In the Dark", gr. "Leg Svelo")
The tractor bucket quivered for the last time and froze, sweeping away a layer of dug earth. And immediately the workers, who had stood calmly before and watched the digging process, began to make noise and talk excitedly. Something caught their attention there, at the bottom of the hole they had just dug.
I threw away my cigarette and climbed forward too. I saw some bones that clearly belonged to a person, surrounded by half-rotted rags and shards. But, no sooner had the work slowed down than an angry cry was heard from behind, from behind the backs:
- So why did you stop? Who allowed ?!
Oral Petr Belsky, our chief engineer. His eternally red, weather-beaten face with small, swollen fat, piggy eyes, expressed extreme displeasure. And the stiff mustache brush under the nose (I also call such mustache "driver's") bristled up indignantly.
- Pyotr Stepanovich, there is someone's remains! someone shyly objected. In my opinion, Boris is our mechanic. The engineer cautiously approached the edge of the pit, looked into it and grimaced contemptuously:
“I knew it, they weren't any remains. Just old bones! The horse must have died ...
- But, Pyotr Stepanich, look, the skull, it seems like a human. - did not calm down the mechanic. - Yes, and these rags ...
- And I tell you - horse! - stubbornly yelled the chief engineer, pointing his finger in the direction of the pit. - What am I, a horse from a man, I can't tell?
- Suddenly a grave, you never know? ...
- Baba beliefs. - he waved it off. And he yelled, addressing the workers already. - Did you want to stay without a bonus, parasites ?! Should I tell the director that the whole office has to sit without water for the second day because you got scared of some bones there?
- In short, pipes - lay, bones - throw away! he commanded. And without waiting for an answer, he walked away.
- Not in a Christian way ... - muttered a voice in the crowd.
- Aha, now expect trouble! - sadly assented to him another.
However, there were no daredevils to argue with the bossy tyrant. Sadly, people reached out to carry out the orders given. Everyone knew what kind of hand an engineer had. And the character is even harder. Will crush and not choke ...
... I am a security guard, and my name is Maxim. I'm 22 years old and I work for a communications company. And, like the proverbial decent shoemaker, two days ago our company was left without boots. I mean, without running water. Old pipes, laid underground, leaked somewhere and now a muddy brown slurry was flowing from the tap instead of water. Naturally, all this did not arouse enthusiasm among the authorities at all, and therefore it was decided to find and eliminate the gap. And so it happened that today we had to dig a hole with a tractor. And at the bottom there was an unexpected surprise in the form of bones ...
The workers fiddled for half a day, but they did everything as it should - they removed the old pipe, pitted, covered with rust and laid a new one, sparkling blue. They were afraid only to do anything with bones, so they left everything as it was. Having reasoned that it is unlikely that their stay there can seriously harm anything.
Evening came. There was no time left for digging the hole, so it was decided to postpone this task to the next day. At five o'clock, as it should be, the workers began to disperse to their homes, and by six the last people left the "office" building. But not the director. He worked late and only at the beginning of the eighth his Toyota started the engine and, flashing headlights, drove out the gate.
Closing them, I thought, looking into the yard. Usually the departure of the bosses meant the happiest moment. It was a certain line after which one can afford to relax a little and feel like the owner of all the property entrusted to the care. However, this was not the case today. Anxiety was in the air. The courtyard seemed deserted, as if the people from it had not gone home until morning, but fled, feeling the onset of a thunderstorm or great disaster. Having seen, with longing, the last ray of the setting sun, I pulled down my uniform cap and moved around.
... Our enterprise is quite small, and therefore there are not many buildings that are registered with it. An administrative building on two floors, a security guardhouse near the gate, designed to allow guests and cars to pass, several heated garages, where a change house is arranged for workers and equipment is stored. The courtyard, which is a square area twenty meters across, rolled into asphalt, at the far end of which there is a warehouse in the form of a hangar. That's all the farm ...
I also do not have many responsibilities in it: to make sure that after the departure of the authorities, all offices in the administrative building are closed, no lights are on in them, and the vents on the windows (in case of sudden rain) are also tightly closed. For these purposes, the guards were given the keys to all the offices, a bunch of which was now pulling off my jacket pocket.
Walking around the first floor, I concluded that everything was in order. Then he climbed the stairs to another and entered the corridor, along which on both sides were closed doors of offices. And he immediately discovered that the first door on the left was ajar. There was a toilet.
Approaching it, I closed it and walked on, thinking about my own. But before he could take a few steps, he heard a sharp bang and, followed by it, the creak of the opening door. Looking around, I saw that the toilet door was open again. Feeling a slight chill run down my spine, I went up to her and looked inside.
White walls, mirrors, which reflected my physiognomy. Peace and order reigned there. Snorting at my own fright, I closed the door. But to prevent this from happening again, this time he locked it with a key. As they say, away from sin. He put the bundle back in his pocket and, whistling, left.
During the round, I did not notice anything remarkable, and therefore with peace of mind I went to the hut, where I turned on the TV. Actually, every two hours I was supposed to go out and bypass the asphalt patch of the yard. But today the football team for which I was rooting had an important match, so I decided that it would not be bad if I miss a couple of them and do not interrupt the pleasure of the match. Moreover, given my salary, this should have been fair.
The match turned out to be extremely lousy, if not worse. The players kicked the ball across the field with the speed of injured turtles and, it seems, with their own enthusiast. I had to get up early for work today, and quite a long time has passed since the morning. So it’s not surprising that my head was leaning more and more on my chest, and my mouth was opening in an energetic yawn. Finally, the dream finally overcame me ...
I do not know how long I slept, but I was awakened by a howl coming from outside. In the courtyard, someone was howling for a long time, and even so sadly, as if this living creature was on its deathbed. There was a hiss from the TV: the programs had ended long ago and gray lines of noise were creeping across the screen. Cursing, I pulled the plug out of the socket, stuck a cigarette in my teeth, and went outside to look at the source of the sound.
Night fell, but the full moon that had rolled into the sky was obscured by clouds, giving very little light. On the asphalt patch of the courtyard stood Lyme, our dog, which is a cross between a shepherd and a greyhound. While still small, she nailed to us and the workers (and the guards) fed her out of pity. Only the chief engineer disliked her. He literally hated dogs, as, indeed, the rest of the living creatures. Already several times he called in shooting specialists. But every time the workers hid Lyme and the "firing squad" had to leave with nothing.
And now the dog was standing a stone's throw from me and howling at dusk, addressing the administrative building. A terrible, dying howl.
- Lime, what are you doing? I called out to her. She looked back at me. The animal's eyes were goggled, and her body shook. Without taking her eyes off me, she raised her head to heaven and howled even more desperate, even more furious.
- What are you fooling about? Come on, get out of here! - I shouted at her, fearing that the inhabitants of the surrounding houses would hear this howl and start complaining to the chief engineer in the morning. Lyme looked at me again, this time with what seemed to me a reproachful look. And then she crawled under the gate and ran down the street, not stopping the "concert".
- What a fool! - I thought, after seeing the dog with a displeased look. Then he set fire to a cigarette forgotten in his teeth and, releasing smoke, tried to relax. Strange, my nerves tied like strings.
And then I forgot about everything. Because I saw something more remarkable. Namely: a light was on in the window of the director's office on the second floor. Against the background of the dark building, it looked very distinct. The owner of the office must have forgotten to turn off the lamps when he left, and I didn’t notice this during the evening round.
Cursing my own carelessness and remembering sayings about a bad head that haunts my legs, I went to the gatehouse for the keys and a powerful lantern ...
The administration building greeted me with silence and darkness. Climbing the stairs to the second floor, I walked down a long corridor, hearing the echo of the soles of my own boots echoing off the concrete slabs of the floor, ceiling and walls. The pale circle of the lantern seemed to me helpless and pitiful in this Kingdom of Darkness ...
And here is the director's door. Strangely, no light escaped from under her, which, of course, would be expected if he really stayed on. I clinked with a bunch of keys and found the one I needed. But then he stopped, wondering: what if the light was on for a reason, and then disappeared? What if, taking advantage of my temporary loss of vigilance, thieves entered the building? And, hearing footsteps, sat in the office, waiting for me to open the door a little to throw myself with a knife?
My throat was dry and my palms were sweating. And now what i can do? To call the police? And if there is no one there? And I just imagined the light? And then I will listen for half the night to obscenities and anecdotes about too vigilant and nervous guards, harassing law enforcement officers for any reason?
"Whatever happens", I decided, and exhaling, inserted the key into the keyhole. Then he turned it and opened the door, pulling it sharply towards him. And immediately he jumped back as quickly as possible, pouring a flashlight beam into the space ahead of him, exposing it like Han Solo - a blaster emitter.
But my precautions were in vain. The room was empty. The beam of the lantern snatched out a polished table, a tub with a palm tree standing next to it and a monitor screen, which was also not turned on. Having shone, cautiously, on both sides of the door and making sure that it was also empty, I entered the office and walked through it. The windows were intact and closed, all things were in their places. A clock ticked steadily over the table. I did not notice any disorder.
With a chuckle, I looked around the room again. Then he went out into the corridor and, locking the door, went back to the street, not forgetting to swear himself on the way with the very last words.
“But I still wanted to call the police, you moron! - I turned to myself. - Well, how would I explain all this to them ... " At this time, I went out onto the asphalt courtyard and, turning to the building, put a cigarette in my teeth, going to light it. However, the cigarette put in his mouth flew out from what he saw. The lights were on again in the windows on the second floor! And, this time, not one, but several at once! This time I didn’t wait long, but immediately rushed back, overwhelmed by a feeling of noble indignation towards those who arranged such fun for me. Well, I'll show them! All thoughts of my previous desire to call the police flew out of my head. The same thought thrashed incoherently: just to have time, just to have time! They will dance with me!...
This time I did not hide my own presence. On the contrary, as soon as he was on the second floor, he immediately turned on the light in the corridor. But before I had time to take a few steps forward, there was a heavy knocking behind me. I looked around. The corridor was separated from the landing by a massive door. And now it closed with a dull sound, separating and locking me, thus, inside the corridor. Frowning, I went back to her, but suddenly the lights in the hallway went out. Blinked, turned on again, and then turned off completely. And then there was laughter in the silence. Quiet, quiet, he seemed to mock me.
- What the ... - I drawled. - Who is there?
My own voice sounded thinner than a mosquito squeak and I cleared my throat. Shining to my right, I saw a handle protruding from the surface of the door. Suddenly she began to twitch, as if someone from inside was trying to open her. And immediately there was a dull knock, which happens when they try to write something on a typewriter. I shone a beam of a flashlight forward and an even greater shock attacked me. All the door handles in the hallway were twitching now, as if someone was trying to open them from the inside.
Frightened already, I rushed to the closed door leading to the landing. But it was locked and did not give in to my efforts, no matter how hard I hammered into it. As if in response to my futile attempts to open it, laughter was heard again. I looked around. The lantern in my hand trembled perceptibly and in its uneven beam I examined the corridor. He was quiet and calm again. The door handles froze.
After taking a few hesitant steps forward, I decided it was time to get out of here. Since it was no longer possible to get to the stairs the same way, I decided to enter the first room I came across. I took out the keys, but my hands were shaking so much that I dropped them, picked them up, went over, looking for the right one, inserted, turned, opened the door ...
They were there. There were three of them. They were skeletons in helmets. Their transparent, half-rotten flesh hung in rags and glowed in the darkness of the night. Old, decayed overalls covered their breasts, bare bones showing through the holes. They sat at a table, illuminated by a moonbeam, and played cards. When they saw me, they threw them on the table, turned their heads, grinning in rows of long white fangs. And then they jumped up and, with a disgruntled hiss, rushed to the door.
But I was quicker. I slammed the door in front of their very noses, turned the key and ran off down the corridor. The door I closed shook as if something heavy was pushing against it. Then there was a knock and again - a twitch of the handle.
There was a window at the end of the corridor. Confused, I decided to get out through it. But when I looked into it and saw what was waiting for me below, this desire was gone.
They stood on the asphalt of the yard and waited for me. There were at least several dozen of them. Skeletons like the ones I saw in the office. At the sight of my pale face peeping out from the second floor, they began to whistle, hoot and wave their hands in greeting. The full moon finally came out from behind the clouds and flooded the courtyard, making it possible to clearly see this terrifying sight.
I looked around the corridor behind me again. Yes, no doubt it was scary here, but not as scary as outside. Feeling like a grain trapped between a rock and a hard place, I couldn't think of anything better than staying where I was. And, grouped near the window, watch the ghosts. Moreover, those spirits that were in the building, it seems, could not pass through the closed door.
Meanwhile, events on the street were gaining momentum. There was a sound in the air. It was like a groan or gnash with which air bursts out of a permanently sealed and then opened grave. A cloud floated from the side of the hole dug during the day. It lay on the ground and resembled fog. At the sight of him, the ghosts burst into a cheering roar and parted to the sides, letting in.
The cloud stopped in the center of the crowd and the Bride stepped out of it. A transparent white dress flowed over her body. The head was decorated with a wreath of withered roses. His dark hair pushed out from under the cape, splattering over his shoulders in a wave. And the face ... the face of this Bride was the face of a skeleton that had been lying in the grave for decades. A bare skull bared its bared teeth from under empty eye sockets.
The Lady looked around. And immediately the spirits who stood around pointed to her ... me. They stretched out their arms and clearly pointed towards the window behind which I was hiding, being neither alive nor dead from this sight. The Dead Bride lifted her head ... And I immediately sat down so as not to catch her eye. For some reason, it seemed to me important. An imperative shout was heard from the street.
There was silence for a minute. And then...
Ghosts began to appear in the corridor. They floated right out of doors or walls. Apparently, the order given by the Bride untied their hands. If they didn’t play an incomprehensible game with me from the very beginning. Moreover, they arrived here clearly for my soul ...
It became dangerous to be further down the corridor. Oh no! I won't give up so easily! I lowered the bolt securing the window sashes and opened them. There was no one below - not a crowd of ghosts, not even the terrible Lady, their leader. Seeing the cornice running along the wall just below the window, I climbed onto it, feeling the fresh night breeze blowing around my neck and took a couple of steps, stepping over my heels and holding onto all possible protrusions with my fingers. At that moment, I was seized by such a strong desire to get away that I did not even pay attention to the height at which I was.
Already the corner of the building. I got up with my back to him and looked around the entire courtyard, along with its buildings. And in the sky ... A light streak was growing on the horizon. It was the sun rising! Never before had I been so happy about short summer nights and was ready to kiss whoever invented them. I was sure that the sun's rays would scatter the gathered evil spirits. And he must have been right in his guess, since at that moment all the spirits in the building howled in their voices.
"Howl, wolves, - I thought maliciously. - a couple more minutes and you will be left with your nose!...
I already thought that I had managed to get out of the prepared trap. But then suddenly she rose from below. A huge figure flew up right in front of me, the dead face of the terrible Bride was close to mine. The empty eye sockets blazed yellow fire from under the forehead bones. I heard the ghost laugh triumphantly.
- No no! - I shouted in horror, having already understood what she was going to do next. But the Bride grabbed my jacket on my chest with her bony fingers and pulled me forward. My legs broke down and slipped off the cornice. We flew down. I managed to see a black funnel leading into the bowels of the earth and the fire of an underground flame bursting out. And what I was and what everything was has ceased to be ...
The next day, a local newspaper in the section on incidents came out with the following article: “A strange incident happened yesterday on the outskirts of our city. it howled, knocked, hooted and laughed there. It got to the point that the frightened townspeople began to imagine some luminous figures similar to ghosts flying around the buildings. And one of them was especially distinguished by the fact that he wore a white dress and looked like The bride.
Many old residents probably remember this legend about the Mordovian tribe that once lived in these places. And then, at the time of the general imposition of the Christian faith, it was allegedly almost completely destroyed. Especially got to the men who did not want to recognize the new gods and were considered seedlings of heresy. Almost all of them were killed.
Among the dead was the fiance of the girl about whom the legend is composed. Not a simple Mordvinka, but a daughter of the largest family, she could not withstand the grief that fell on her overnight, and fell ill. Later, her relatives buried her with all due honors. However, many said that before her death, the girl cursed everyone who was involved in the murder of her fiancé and promised that, despite their efforts, she would not be left alone.
So now, if someone disturbs the ashes of this very Bride, then she will wander around in search of a future husband. And if she meets a living person, then she will take him with her to the grave. However, if there is no one on her way, then at dawn, with the crowing of roosters, she will disappear ...
Fairy tale or not, but one person after that night really disappeared. It turned out to be Maksim Romanov, a security guard of the very company, on the territory of which residents observed the frightening phenomena that we wrote about above. The things belonging to the guard remained in place, but he himself seemed to fall through the ground. Chief engineer of the enterprise, P.S. Belsky put it this way about the disappearance:
- And what will you take from them? They only know how to drink and sleep. Surely, he rushed to Moscow to work or started drinking prematurely. Coming soon, you'll see!
The investigation into the disappearance is leaning towards the same version. However, we leave the final decision of this mysterious story to the judgment of our readers ... "
Reading time: 2 minutes
Every year my friends and I go further from the city in search of new places for fishing. And one of these places turned out to be very dangerous and mysterious. I must say that our company is motley: Max is a lawyer, Antokha is a builder, Semyon is a programmer, and I am a doctor. Such a composition even to the ends of the world. But that summer it brought us into a small farm of 30 houses. Actually, we would not have noticed it if it had not been for Anton's cry in the middle of the road:
- Roll up!
Max with fright hit the brakes, Sema poked his forehead into the front seat, winced:
- Are you crazy?
- Roll, I say, there is such a beauty!
Max did not understand, snorted in displeasure, but listened.
The domina, which Anton noticed, was impressive: a solid log cabin with a tall, sharp roof, admittedly painted, peeling porch and fancy shutters.
- Look! Well this is a masterpiece of architecture! - Antokh sat down with delight, running around the house and photographing him with a smartphone.
We also admired, but not so violently.
- Carved shutters! Vintage! They are at least 200 years old! Handmade work, jewelry straight! How did it survive ... Oh, it's a pity not to go inside.
The house was locked and looked uninhabited. I began to yawn, Sema, as always, buried himself in the phone, and Max crawled into the thick grass. It was he who discovered the river down the slope and a great place to rest. We set up a tent, made a fire and took out fishing rods. What a bite went! Just have time to throw the bait.
Farmstead houses were visible about a kilometer away, but we did not want to disturb the locals, and there was no need to. But they themselves did not go unnoticed. I undertook to cook the fish soup, seasoning it to my taste. I salted, tasted and shuddered: an old man with a sparse gray beard, but a lively and inquisitive gaze, sat down next to him. Where did he come from?
He sniffed at the bowler hat and grunted approvingly:
- Not everyone puts wild garlic in their ears. Not everyone will find it in the grass!
I took it for praise.
- The expanse is here for you!
The old man laughed:
- Look! Urban, but you understand!
- Childhood was rustic.
Then the guys returned with the catch. We met.
My grandfather introduced himself as Afanasy Savelich, said that before the farm was a big village, the villagers lived richly. And then everyone began to disperse, as the dashing times came ...
- And whose house is it? - Anton asked curiously.
The old man chewed on a blade of grass:
- So the landowner is. Only the landowner has been gone for a long time.
- With history mean? - Max supported the conversation.
And then! It was built by Fyodor the Wet, a self-taught house from God, the house has been standing for two centuries already, neither revolution nor war is anything to him, and there they have been a library, an orphanage, and a general store.
- And now?
- It's empty now. Nobody lingers there long. But the home of many more of you will outlive.
- The skill is unique! - Antokha sighed.
- Of course. The landowner built it for his daughter as a dowry, but it was not useful ..
I smelled an interesting story and offered the old man to dine with us - the ear was ready. Everyone reached out for their plates. I will not brag, but I am a master of cooking. We ate slowly savoring fresh sweet fish. It was already getting dark. Sema even forgot about his phone, but quickly remembered when his plate was empty and went to load it into the car.
- And why was the dowry for the landowner's daughter not useful? - I reminded.
- Duc she died ahead of time.
- What did you die of? If you were young, - I insisted.
- So young people die, if death comes to them at someone else's call ...
At this point Max turned on with his lawyer's ability to understand allegories:
- Vasya, Afanasy Savelich is trying to tell you that they killed her.
I frowned:
- Why not say it directly?
The old man smiled:
- That's why you are!
- He's a doctor, that's why he makes a mistake! - Max laughed.
- We respect Dokhturov! the old man replied seriously. “But we don't have them left on the farm, we ourselves are treated with herbs.”
And why did they kill the girl? - Max directed the old man in the right direction of the conversation.
Afanasy Savelich cleared his throat, sighed sadly:
- Martha was beautiful, stately, proud. Her father raised her alone, loved her, indulged in everything. She chose the groom herself, according to her heart. The father did not resist, although the richer guys wooed. They began to prepare for the wedding. The landowner was in a hurry to finish building the house in order to feast in it. But two days before the wedding, Martha and her fiance disappeared. They searched for the whole village ...
Our narrator fell silent, pensively - peering into the darkness.
Found it? - I could not resist.
The old man nodded in agreement.
- Found in the river. Upstream. Death was cruel. They outraged, mutilated, thrown into the water.
- Who? The groom? - Max's internal lawyer turned on again.
- The guy was never found. But no one thought of him. He could not do this, he blew dust from Martha ...
- And where did it go?
The old man waved his hand vaguely.
- Look around, the forests and the fields, if you bury them, no one will find, and you yourself will forget where you hid, they used to say, from the neighboring village they saw strangers passing by, but this is nonsense ...
- Why?
The old man did not have time to answer. It seemed to me that someone was calling, and I interrupted:
- Do you hear?
Nobody heard anything.
- And where is Semyon? - for some reason I was worried.
“Probably fell asleep in the car,” Anton replied, dozing all this time.
But I again heard that someone was crying. I jumped up and ran to the car. Sema was not there. Began to call, does not respond. They seized the logs burning from the fire, divided them and went to look. I went down to the river. Silence. The water spreads like a black surface. I walked along the coast, again some strange sound - either crying, or a call. I don’t believe in devilry, after all, a medic, but then I got scared. And when the shadow flashed, my nerves lost. Is it a ghost?
He backed away. I stepped on a stick. She cracked loudly. I came to myself from a sharp sound. I bent down to rinse my face to the water and saw something white near the reeds ... A shirt? Sema! Shouted at the top of his lungs:
- This way! Found.
And into the water. Pulled out. I pump it out. The guys are standing nearby. The old man hobbled. And Sema does not show signs of life. I pump faster: two clicks per second, thirty per minute. Lord, how much has passed ...
- Suddenly late ...
Do not think, do!
Finally he coughed! I breathed a sigh of relief. We all returned to the fire together. When Sema came to himself, he said that he had put the phone on charging in the car, and suddenly someone called him. I decided the wind was playing pranks. Suddenly again some sound, similar to crying. I went to him to the river - suddenly what kid decided to swim? Nobody. I wanted to go back, but caught on to something, my head was spinning. Fell. Then Semyon did not remember anything .. The old man grunted:
- Did you hear the call and cry? This is Martha looking for her bridegroom. A dead bride. The restless soul is waiting for its beloved, apparently, it did not find it in heaven, and it jokes among the living. At this point, a lot of people have sunk into the water.
Semyon, not understanding, goggled. Max and Anton sat in silence, their heads bowed. Fatigue came over me, I wanted to sleep, and common sense resisted believing in old man's tales.
- You scared us with your tales, Afanasy Savelich.
- Oh, they are not mine, the local people. I'll go. You get better, boy, - the old man got up and patted Semyon on the shoulder. - Yes, eat more, it hurts thin, so my head was spinning from our clean air and herbs of odors. Be!
- Maybe we should see you off, but how will you go alone in the dark? - I started.
“Don’t get confused yourself, but I’ll come here with my eyes closed.”
In the morning we decided to interrupt our fishing voyage and return home, out of harm's way.
I insisted that Semyon do a tomography of the head. It turned out: a couple of months ago in the gym, he hit an iron bar, a hematoma formed, and against its background, overwork and excess oxygen led to fainting. Seemingly a simple explanation. But I am haunted by the thought: I didn’t beat my head against anything, but I heard that cry too. And what would have happened if I had come to the river at night?
Vasily Gurikhin, 42 years old
"And" The Queen of Spades: Black Rite».
How did Svyatoslav get the idea to take on such a popular topic for modern Russian cinema - a wedding (“ Bitterly!», « The best day», « Classmates") - and turn it into horror?
The director recalls:
“It all started with a small note, it seems, in the magazine“ Around the World ”about several strange wedding rituals and ceremonies: the groom was taking his bride to a distant province to acquaint the family, and these relatives turned out to be, to put it mildly, strange people. A group of producers got interested in the idea, they approached me with a proposal to write a script, but this line seemed not fun enough to me. The amazing and frightening ritual of photographing the dead, which has existed since the middle of the 19th century, pushed us to develop the story somewhat, and from here, in fact, our dead bride appeared. "
The picture refers viewers to the terrible traditions and rituals that were popular in the 19th century, but which, as it turns out, have not lost their relevance today.
According to the plot, the main character - Nastya - her beloved Ivan takes her to her hometown to meet relatives. At first, the happy girl does not notice the strangeness of those around her, creepy photographs and conversations about the mysterious pre-wedding ceremony, but when Ivan disappears, the bride realizes that she has made a mistake and will face difficult trials.
The custom of photographing the dead dates back to the early 19th century. For those who did not have the opportunity to order a portrait, photography was the only (and more convenient) way to immortalize the deceased.
Not only old people were photographed dead, but also children and adolescents, whose lives were taken away by diseases and disasters. With the help of special tripods, the deceased was given (or at least tried to give) a relaxed pose, and if the desired effect could not be achieved, the illusion of deep sleep was created.
It was also generally accepted to photograph the whole family or next of kin with the deceased. But photographers left special “symbols” next to the dead: an inverted rose in their hands, or, for example, a clock on which the time of death was frozen.
“At that time, for a girl, a wedding was practically equal to a transition to another world, another state. She seemed to be “dying” for her family and her former life. There were many beliefs associated, for example, with the death of the bride during the wedding, when she was considered the most vulnerable to the "other world". Such brides turned into various demonic entities. It was on the basis of such beliefs that we built the plot, in consultation with researchers in this field, ”
— notes the producerVladislav Severtsev .
The creators of the tape decided to combine strange customs with the eternal theme of marriage and a variety of wedding rituals, which were very popular among the ancient Russian peoples. The dark story set forth in the horror film "The Bride" covers several time periods - from Russia in the 19th century to the present day.
The first trailer for The Bride shows a rather atmospheric old house:
In order to create a reliable visual series of the two eras, the shooting took place in a real house in the Stroganovs' estate near Moscow, where the decorators combined the interior that remained from the noble times and gloomy landscapes.
“Of course, we wanted a bigger and more spacious building for filming purposes. And the number of rooms and their sizes initially did not suit us very much, so we had to redo something. In addition to the fact that inside we redecorated the estate for the period of time that we needed, it was, in fact, restored by us. In Soviet times, it was converted into a hotel with all the appropriate attitude to floors and walls. We put the building in order, renovated it, and then "aged" a little. Some of the filming also took place around the building in the adjacent park, ”
- says the director of the tape.
Of course, home restoration was not the only challenge during filming. Actors are a very superstitious people and many do not agree to act in a coffin, because this is a bad omen. The main character is played by the actress Victoria Agalakova, for whom this work will be her debut in the lead role in full meter and it is not surprising that the girl was very worried on the set. However, Svyatoslav reassured the actress, recalling that for filming “ Kill Bill»Quentin Tarantino practically buried Uma Thurman in a coffin.
“The picture aroused great interest in international markets, as with the classic suspense structure of the plot, it carries the uniqueness of the theme associated with old Russian traditions. The teaser trailer of the film has already received more than 2 million views on YouTube alone, which underlines the keen viewers' interest in the topic, ”22 December 2016
For a long time, even when I was a teenager, my grandmother told me this mystical story. Then I was very scared, although, even now, many years later, I remember her with a shudder.
Perhaps it will seem to someone that there is no mysticism here, but I think it could not be done without it. Grandmother talked about her friend, named Nikolai. Young, he served in the navy, his part settled close to the farm, where, I must say, wealthy people lived.
So, such a terrible story happened there. The daughter of a very rich man decided to marry a young, handsome guy. They bought everything for the bride - jewelry, shoes, a veil, but the girl could not find a dress for herself. And in the evening, a knock on the door, a woman stands on the threshold. The people, the owners were polite, invited her into the house, asked why she had come.
A stranger answered them that she wanted to sell a wedding dress. Her daughter turned out to be little, because the groom bought without her knowledge, but they do not accept it back. Parents doubted, and when the woman got the outfit out of the bag, the girl gasped. This is exactly what she dreamed of. The most curious thing is that the price for it turned out to be low.
And so, before the wedding, the bride goes to bed, and in the morning, they cannot wake her up. The lifeless body was examined by doctors, and death was pronounced.
The parents were horrified with grief, the groom was all “black”, but nothing could be done. The most mysterious thing was that not a single doctor could tell from what the young girl died. The family refused to do an autopsy. And now, instead of a magnificent wedding, tragedy came to the house. On the day of the funeral, the failed bride was dressed in a wedding dress, the one that was bought from an unknown woman, put on all the jewelry, shoes and a veil. The girl lay as if she were alive, and the grief of her parents was impossible to describe in words.
It was decided to place the coffin in which the body rested in the family crypt.
A week has passed since the funeral. Nikolai, who served in the navy and was near the farm, was given a leave of absence. He knew about the story that happened, and now an idea crept into his head and his colleagues, who went on leave with him, to push the contents of the crypt, to remove expensive jewelry from the deceased. We thought about it and went. One was left at the entrance, the rest went inside. The lid of the coffin was opened - the bride lies as if alive. They began to take off the jewelry, and the girl suddenly opens her eyes and hugs one of the robbers with her hand. The peasants screamed, they were seized by animal horror, and such that they grew to the place.
And the girl got out of her crypt and went home. Everyone who saw her fell into a stupor - the deceased was walking around the farm. Everything turned out to be very simple, on the night before the wedding, the young lady fell into a lethargic sleep, and the pulse in this state is very difficult to feel and the heartbeat too.
The story is very strange, because the dress that the strange woman sold turned out to be her deceased daughter. The girl did not live to see her wedding, she was caught from the river.
The legend of the Dead Bride, or the Wedding of the Ghosts at Windeck Castle, is closely related to the history of the Baden Region, a vast region whose center is Baden-Baden. Around Baden-Baden there is a so-called Nature Trail (Naturpfad) - a tourist route with a length of about 40 km.You can read about the journey along this path incycle "Panoramic road around Baden-Baden" consisting of five parts. This is truly a real "fairy tale road". It passes through four ancient knightly castles, a medieval monastery, through gorges and hills, past waterfalls and even Celtic sanctuaries. This whole area bears echoes of legends, legends, fairy tales that have come down to us from ancient times. Even the art of music remained indifferent to these places. Carl Maria von Weber's romantic opera The Free Shooter takes place in the Wolf's Gorge near Baden-Baden. The legend about the Pulpit of the Angel and the Pulpit of the Devil is associated with the same gorge, which can be read Not far from the "Nature Trail" are the ruins of the Windek castle with its legend about the Dead Bride, a scene from which we can see on one of the frescoes of the Drinking Pavilion (Trinkhalle) Baden-Baden.
Alexander Dumas, the father, who made a great trip along the Rhine in 1838, did not leave his attention to this legend either. Later he included it in his brilliant adaptation in the novel "Otho the Archer", a fragment of which is given below.
WEDDING OF GHOSTS (DEAD BRIDE)
Black forest
From the cycle "Legends of Baden-Baden"
Neu-Windeck Castle has been abandoned for many centuries. No one lives in it, because it is gloomy and eerie there, and people from neighboring villages, who accidentally got to these places, swore that they saw and heard something there that does not belong to the world of the living ...
One day the young knight Kurt von Stein found himself far from home. He rode at night through a thicket. The places were unfamiliar to him, and the night was stormy: it was raining heavily and a stormy wind was blowing. Suddenly he heard midnight strike somewhere, and saw a castle in front of him, surrounded by a wall with high battlements. He galloped towards him, trying to hide there from the storm.