Horror Stories from Chernobyl

On April 26, 1986, one of the most horrifying nuclear disasters of all time took place in Chernobyl, Ukraine which stunned the world forever. At 1:23 AM, the fourth reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded, killing many workers on the spot and releasing massive amounts of lethal radiation into the surrounding areas. It is said that at least 100,000 deaths can be linked to the Chernobyl disaster.

To this day, the catastrophe of Chernobyl is well-known as people remain fascinated by the ultra-radioactive horror story. However, under the surface of this tragic disaster, there are a number of terrifying stories of the Chernobyl zone which will send a chill down your spine. As you will find out below, some of these bizarre tales are truly frightening.

1. Black Bird of Chernobyl

In early April, before the disaster, several workers of the power plant started seeing a large, black, winged creature with red eyes. According to some reports, this bird-like creature looked like a headless man with a 20 feet wingspan. Many witnesses said that they started having terrible nightmares after seeing the creature and some even had face-to-face encounters with it. However, right after the disaster, not a single sighting of the creature was reported. This winged beast later became infamously known as the “Black Bird of Chernobyl”.

2. Screams From The Reactor

An American nuclear physicist, Andrei Kharsukov, visited the Chernobyl disaster site in 1997. He made his way into the number four reactor control room, where the blast occurred, and started to take the radiation readings. Suddenly, he heard someone screaming for help from the chamber. He darted upstairs to tell the others what happened, but the people there told him that he was actually the first person to enter the control room in three years! The only way to get inside the old reactor was through that door. If someone tried to sneak in while he was not looking, they would have set off an alarm when opened manually. Although the reactor door required a password and handprint, someone or something was inside. That very night, when they were having dinner, suddenly a flood light mysteriously turned on in the room of the installation, even though it was impossible for someone to be inside the facility.

3. Mutant Farm Animals

Right after the disaster, a lot of deformed and strange-looking creatures could be found around the Chernobyl zone. Cattle, pigs, and horses, born right after the mishap near the exclusion zone, suffered from severe mutations that made them look really frightening. Some of them had extra limbs, malformed faces, and strange skin colors.

4. Shadows of Missing People

On the walls of buildings in the exclusion zone of Chernobyl, you will find a series of creepy, shadowy figures. These silhouettes are painted by graffiti artists to represent the “ghosts” of missing residents who used to once live in the area. In one of the abandoned rooms, you can see the figure of a little girl in pigtails reaching for a light switch while in others, you can see silhouettes of people dancing. Very interestingly, these shadowy figures deeply resemble the “real” shadows in the buildings of Hiroshima as people’s bodies burnt to ashes and got stuck on the walls after the nuclear bombing.

5. Creepy Dolls

All around the abandoned area of Chernobyl, there are a bunch of creepy dolls lying around that look absolutely unsettling. You will find sinister-looking dolls sitting on top of the ruins of beds or smiling back at you from broken windows. As if the place did not feel haunted enough! The first impression of any visitor is that these dolls have been here from the day that the residents evacuated the town but the truth is that many tourists later placed these dolls over there to make the scene even more creepy. Nonetheless, these dolls are sure to make you shudder in horror when you see them among the debris of the deserted town.

While the Chernobyl disaster might be receding back into history, some of these terrifying accounts will continue to haunt our minds forever. So, the next time you look at a harmless, old crow chilling on your windowsill, look again! Are you sure it’s not the Black Bird of Chernobyl paying you a visit?

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Written by KAZI NIAZ AHMED (ABIR)