Eerie for Thoughts: Rasputin

Hello Everyone,

I decided to take a little break from the normal topic of Haunted Places in Arizona this week and focus on a particular character in history that many of us have heard of. This Russian man was famous both in his life and of course after death. Which makes Rasputin an eerie character in my view. But perhaps it’s just the rumors.

Rasputin:

Born in 1869 in Siberia of the Russian Empire, Rasputin was brought up as a mere peasant in his youth. After journeying to a monastery he later started gaining some influential aspects among the people. Perhaps this is where we got the nicknames like, “The Mad Monk,” and other similar names. Of course the ‘mad’ part would come later in life.

Although many people are not aware, he had a family. Daughters grew to very old ages and even migrated to the United States and became citizens. Although there life was also in some disruption following Rasputin’s death they still lived full lives, at least most of his kin.

Rasputin had his major rise to fame after befriending a Tsar and other political members of the Russian Empire. He was known as a healer, and a spiritualist among many. The truth of the matter was that he was trying to help people seek salvation from God from within and not through the churches. However, later in life this seemed to change as what he seemed to deem “not spiritually fitting” became his way of life.

Being close to royalty he was monitored and under constant surveillance. His lifestyle was recorded and documented to some extent, at least what they saw. The people watching him didn’t do much help when his first assassination attempt came from a 33 year old woman who successfully stabbed him in the stomach. He survived and continued to live a sexually promiscuous life and become a drunk. At least many say this.

During WWI his influences in the Russian Empire were eventually deemed bad by the people and his popularity turned sour among them and among the noblemen that once looked to him.

So in 1916 a group of these noblemen decided it would be best to end the reign of Rasputin. He was assassinated in 1916.

The Eerie Part:

Not only does Rasputin live on for the mysterious nature of his life, check it out there is a lot of interesting more detailed stuff, he had a very interesting and disturbing death. A lot of rumors are speculated around his assassination and the process but I choose the one that I find the most eerie.

The assassination by the noblemen occurred one night when Rasputin was invited over to a late night meeting. He was offered cakes to eat but at first refused. He later enjoyed them but after several hours he was unaffected by the cyanide that the men laced the little cakes with. He was then offered wine which was also laced. Still no impact as the mysterious “mad Monk” powered through the poison.

Eventually one the men retrieved a gun and told Rasputin to look at the crucifix hanging on the wall and was told to say his prayers. Then he was shot in the chest.

After this the story gets real crazy. He was then left to die as the other men wore parts of his clothes and returned to his home. This was to deter the monitors stationed around his house and make them believe that Rasputin had in fact returned home that night. Safe and sound.

While they were away and the last man was watching over Rasputin’s body, or they returned, the stories vary, Rasputin got up and attacked one of the men. He managed to escape outside where he was shot again and fell into a snowbank. Perhaps this is where the third of his gunshot wounds came from. One was a close range, almost execution style, wound to the head.

From this point he was wrapped up and dumped into the river to drown. In case he was still alive.

They later took the body and buried it near Tsarskoye Selo but it doesn’t end there. A few years after the Russian Revolution a group of Frenchman were working in the area and came across the body.  They were given orders to burn the body.

Upon lighting the body on fire the observers stated that the body rose up in the flames like it was sitting up. One last attempt to escape the clutches of death perhaps. Or perhaps it was that the untrained people in charge of burning Rasputin’s body forgot to cut certain ‘key’ tendons on the body. These tighten up from the heat and can make bodies do different and even eerie things.

I like to think that Rasputin kept trying to fight his assassins, even years later. I wonder what and how deep into the spiritual realms he in fact did reach. Both in life and after death.

Thanks for Reading,

Joshua Crane Dowidat

 

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grigori_Rasputin

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