Mysterious bogs pose lethal danger to Russian mushroom-pickers

Mysterious bogs pose lethal danger to Russian mushroom-pickers
11/21/2005 11:07
Bogs can hide more than one monster inside its limitless vastness

Naked dead bodies are found every year in the dense forests north of Saint Petersburg. The bodies have no evidence of violent death. The police are in confusion. Some blame evil spirits.

A small piece of land on the Vepskaya Heights has claimed 16 people who died in mysterious circumstances since 1993. But the casualty list is reportedly longer because some bodies have never been retrieved.

Let us assume that somebody has been killing people for years now. But why does a perpetrator (several perpetrators) disrobe the victims without taking any valuables? A serial killer does not fit in either. It is hard to imagine a mentally violent person lying in wait for locals (most of them are in their advanced age). An explanation should be found for the very long breaks between the attacks. You can only run into a person in a place like that because it is a forest, it is not an amusement park.

Anatoly Boitsev, a local police chief, suggested that we talk to local residents. We followed his advice. We visited local schools, markets, stores, and three villages. The locals stick to the only version of the events. The version looks absolutely incredible. So better skip it for awhile.

http://english.pravda.ru/science/19/94/378/16500_snake.html