Necropolis near Dargavs, North Ossetia, Russia

Tale from the crypts. Necropolis of Dargavs

Be glad we're merely paying a virtual visit to this 'city of the dead' outside Dargavs, Russia. Folklore has it that if you set foot here, you won't escape with your life. Whatever the truth of the matter, this is certainly a dead-quiet village. These vaulted-roof huts are not homes, they're crypts.

If you were here, you might peer into the sole window of any of these huts and see the inhabitants, some entombed with their earthly possessions, others laid to rest in rowing boats to paddle into the afterlife. Many of the remains are preserved unsettlingly well - and there are plenty of them. In use from at least the 16th to 18th centuries, this necropolis is populated by about 10,000 departed souls.