THREE REAL-LIFE MYSTICAL HORROR STORIES THAT HAPPENED IN THE WOODS.

**This happened about two years ago in the spring when it had already warmed up. We got tired of sitting in the parking lot and drinking beer, so we decided to gather and go somewhere. We thought about the place for quite a long time, about two weeks, but we finally decided. There was a suggestion to go to Lytkarina, to the Brides' Glade, a rather notorious place where people often die in car accidents. But back then, it hadn't yet become so heavily rumored, so we had no fears in mind. The long-awaited day came, and we set off around 2:00 pm. The road didn't please us at all; there were monuments almost every 10 meters, and everywhere were signs indicating a dangerous road section. We turned off the highway and found a nice clearing right in the middle of the forest. We spread out, and everything was more or less normal: guitar, alcohol, fun. When it got dark, we were still having fun. We didn't even notice how the fog surrounded us and decided to take a walk to the Brides' Glade.**

**This is when things got creepy. Night, fog, and in the middle of all this, we noticed a strange fact: the bottles that newlyweds hang up were ringing so loudly it hurt our ears, but when you looked at them, they weren't moving, and there was no wind. We decided to return to those who stayed with our stuff, but it wasn't so easy. It was dark and foggy, and when we looked around, we saw strange silhouettes of people at the far end of the glade. They didn't pay any attention to us, even though we were being very noisy. When we got a bit closer, they just turned and walked into the forest, completely ignoring us. After a long time figuring out where to go, we noticed a faint glow where the strange group had been standing. They were strange not because they ignored us but because through the fog, we could see four people: one was clearly a girl in a white dress, two figures in dark suits, and one, probably also a girl, in a red evening dress. This scared us the most. They looked like a young couple having a wedding, but given the time, they clearly shouldn't have been there.**

**We calmed down a bit and decided to go in the opposite direction from where the strange group had stood. After some time, we ended up on the cursed road we had driven on. We quickly realized where we had left the others. We found the rest of the company and sat down, feeling defeated. Strangely and creepily, they had almost the same experience, except they stayed put. We didn't drink anymore, sitting quietly and clinging to each other until morning by the fire. In the morning, we quickly packed our things. Before that, we remembered the mysterious group and the glow we saw after they left. Gathering half the group, we went back to the glade. There we found a stump with two candles, a bottle of expensive champagne, and a note under the champagne that read, "Do not repeat your own or others' mistakes." After that, we quickly packed up and left, having had enough.**

**Something even more frightening happened: within a week, all 11 of us who were there had been in accidents, most of them serious, even those who didn't own cars. Our mutual friend Artyom, who was also there, died in a car accident with the taxi driver who was driving him. They didn't even open his coffin at the funeral. I strongly advise you not to go to the Brides' Glade in Lytkarina at night.**

**About a year ago in August, I was transporting goods to the districts of the Trans-Baikal Territory in my truck. This time it was the village of Baley. I took a friend three years younger than me, who was 17 at the time. He had relatives in Baley, so while we unloaded there, he stayed with them. But something unexpected happened: the timing chain broke, and of course, there were no suitable parts in the district center. So, we were stuck in the village for three days waiting for the needed part to be delivered. With nothing to do, and the entire village at a wedding for the third day, Sava and I decided to explore the surroundings, including the forests, where they said there were many abandoned places.**

**We walked through the forest, coming across the remains of the foundations of abandoned houses. It's a pity we didn't take any locals who could tell us about these places. Locals, for some reason, generally avoid the forest. There used to be many settlements there: some disappeared after the Civil War in the early 20th century, others in the middle. Some survived better, others worse. In the middle of the forest, we found the ruins of some kind of object, most likely a former labor camp. There was still the perimeter with barbed wire, a wooden tower, and other remnants.**

**While exploring, we heard a scream in the distance. We crouched down and decided to investigate. However, no matter how far we went, the scream seemed to change direction all the time. When we decided to take a break, we realized that we had wandered into the Dead Forest, as the locals call it. We had heard a lot about it but had no idea what it was. The sight was terrifying: the trees seemed neither dead nor alive, with eternally yellow leaves, neither falling nor blooming. There were no birds or sounds, just a deafening silence. The air was heavy, with a metallic taste, and it felt like time had stopped. We felt sleepy, our ears were ringing, and any external sound was extremely jarring. The strange scream seemed to come from nowhere, sometimes approaching, sometimes receding.**

**We decided we were having hallucinations. I closed my eyes and shook my head, but it didn't help. Then my nose started bleeding. Sava grabbed my elbow, and we headed back. We seemed to pass by the ruins of an old chapel. We were physically exhausted and barely standing when we returned to the village. We told the old-timers where we had been, including the Dead Forest. They immediately sent us to the bathhouse to wash off the heavy particles and made us drink iodine, just like Chernobyl victims. It turned out that the area had indeed been a village that was burned by Semenov's troops during the Civil War. During Stalin's time, it was a health resort with radon springs, and in Khrushchev's time, it became a storage site for radioactive waste. We were completely unprepared for such a place, without respirators or gas masks. Later, we decided to prepare better and go back with dosimeters. It turned out that the radiation level there was 300 times the norm, with no exclusion zone, just a Dead Forest as the locals call it. They say the voices are heard because of the oppressive silence. Maybe that's true.**

**I live in the small town of Krasnokamensk in the Trans-Baikal Territory. We have a group of hiking enthusiasts interested in local history and legends. One day we learned about a mystical place not far from the town—a glade where lightning constantly strikes, and the stones are all white, hence the name. Besides, those who decide to spend the night there are healed of ailments. Different people gave us the coordinates of the White Glade, but we couldn't find it. Once, a newcomer to our group told us a story. His father, a geologist by profession, went to nature to rest with friends. Deciding to walk alone, he soon noticed that he didn't recognize the area. At first, he was surprised, then worried. He hadn't gone far from his friends but couldn't determine where their camp was. Suddenly, he heard hoofbeats and saw several riders. When the men approached, the geologist saw that they were dressed very strangely. "Where is Dendal?" they asked. "There's no such village here," the geologist replied. "How can there be none? It should be behind that hill but with a different name," they said. The riders looked puzzled, whispered among themselves, and rode off approximately in the direction where the geologist had gotten lost.**

**It was late summer, a weekend, and the group was tight-knit. The driver, however, didn't fit in with our group. We invited him to join us at the common table, but he didn't. Well, fine, he didn't have to. Nobody noticed when he disappeared. We only saw him again when he came out of the bushes, all ruffled, agitated, and a little out of it. He ran to us and started telling his story incoherently. It turned out the driver had decided to go to the bushes, took the first path he saw, and walked what he thought was a short distance. He saw a clearing that seemed very cozy to him and sat on an absolutely white stone. Suddenly, he realized the surroundings had changed. He was sitting next to an extinguished fire and had no idea where he had come from or where to go back. He couldn't see the path. His head felt heavy, his vision was like a zoomed-in binocular, and he could see everything in great detail. What was happening scared him so much that he jumped up and ran in panic. Then he emerged onto a familiar clearing, saw his car and us, and somehow pulled himself together to tell us what had happened. The driver said he couldn't stay overnight because he was too scared. He came for us the next day but didn't even get out of the car to help pack the equipment. It was clear he was still shaken. We searched the area thoroughly, looking for the miraculous White Glade but never found it.**