Rick Callaway stumbled across
this interesting item at an estate sale. At first it appeared to be a well preserved photographer's case from sometime in the 1960s. But the storage box had a false bottom covering an intriguing collection of documents and photographs involving the
Dyatlov Pass incident of 1959.
The documents raise a lot of questions. Who would collect something like this, and why was it hidden? Is the presence of nuclear survival materials in the box relevant to the reported radiation found during the investigation? How did the material make it's way from the Soviet Union to the United States?
Though this is the real thing, a prop/document set that's this enigmatic would be a really interesting project!
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting. I've been looking at the photos closely for something that would give it away as a prop recreation. Thoughts?
ReplyDeleteYou see, this is what a good prop does: it gets you involved in researching something that you didn’t know before. Google the Dylatlov Pass Incident and see what you turn up. Metafiction of this type works because it is grounded in verifiable facts, but leads you farther afield than you expected. Two thumbs up for this project. BTW there is also a 2013 movie by the same name (which I have not seen).
ReplyDeleteTo calm you down, cracked.com has an explanation for it all, but don’t go to the link until you enjoy all the other sites devoted to this mystery. As for me, I’m still on hold with Mulder. http://www.cracked.com/article_16671_6-famous-unsolved-mysteries-with-really-obvious-solutions.html
I will quibble that the map isn't a Russian map.
ReplyDeleteMan. Am I a sucker or what?
ReplyDeleteI researched a lot on the incident some month ago...really interesting as said before...
ReplyDeleteThe fotos seem quite "new" to me...no dents/damage to the edges at all, but besides that, the portrait in the greyish passport (http://chawedrosin.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/dyatlov-5.jpg) looks really off...
I have no problem with the map not being Soviet. In the USSR all maps were controlled items, especially topographical maps. If you note, the camera is a US Kodak and the instructions are in English. If you follow the internal logic, a westerner owns the suitcase with western items difficult to get in the USSR: camera, film, maps -- enough to get you shot. I'm old enough to remember the Cold War clearly and was in W Germany when the wall came down. The DDR (perhaps even more draconian than the USSR) regime melted away. The Soviets pulled out and the USSR collapsed. If this kit dates to 1960, then most of the stuff in there dates properly. I'm not sure why the Surviving Nuclear Attack book would be in the set.
ReplyDeleteMan that makes me want to run a Cthulhu game set there now.
ReplyDeleteHOAX!
ReplyDelete