Reader’s Digest India – July 2019

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surviving skier (who died in 2013 at
age 75), “it would be, ‘What really
happened to my friends that night?’”
Their memory, at least, lives on at
the spot where they died. It is now
called the Dyatlov Pass.

Brain-sickness epiDemic

Living Statues

From 1917 to 1928, half a million
people were afflicted with a ghastly
condition that could be part of the

plot line of a horror film. The

victims—very much alive and

conscious—found themselves

in inexplicably frozen states,

their static bodies prisons for

their minds.

Encephalitis lethargica

(EL), aka 'the sleeping sickness',

first appeared in Europe and quickly

spread around the world, reaching

epidemic levels in North America,

Europe, and India by 1919. About

a third of those stricken with the

illness died. Of the survivors, nearly

half eventually found themselves

unable to physically interact with

the world around them, all the while

fully aware of their surroundings.

Though occasionally capable of

limited speech, eye motion and even

Sixty years ago, 10 Russian

hikers (1) set out on a 21‑day

winter trek. Nine were never

seen alive again (2). The

circumstances leading to

their deaths remain a

mystery—odd, since the

group photographed much

of the journey (3). Some

think the government is

covering up radiation from

an atomic blast (4); others

blame Bigfoot. Today, a

memorial stands at the

friends’ last campsite (5).

Dyatlov Pass

Cover Story