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It turned out that this was the first visit where someone in the crew had brought video equipment, and Agafia would later tell my grandfather that she thought t

by scoot 14y ago

It turned out that this was the first visit where someone in the crew had brought video equipment, and Agafia would later tell my grandfather that she thought this thing would 'steal her soul.' Sorry? It might as well have been a log on his shoulder. Now, if it was viewing video of herself on this camera that brought a look of "pure terror" to her face (that you can't get out of your mind to this day, no less) I could begin to understand, but if she was watching a video replay on the camera, then how was it being recorded? With no prior knowledge of video or photography what basis would she have for belief that the random equipment on a videographers shoulder would "steal her soul"?

callmevlad 14y ago
The video was shot on approach to her home/shack from the helicopter (which was a ways off). I called my dad to see if he can locate the video somehow (my grandfather passed away several months ago), and I'm trying to find the book he wrote which touches on this experience. This is vague recollection at this point, but I do believe that the family did have knowledge of photography (my grandfather visited her 10+ years after this family became 'famous' through Russian press) and the father did not approve of their pictures being taken at first. I can see how that, combined with their deeply religious and isolated world view, could have been a cause for her superstition.
Klinky 14y ago
The concept of photography stealing your soul is not unique to this instance. Many cultures felt this way about photography. http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/8380/did-some-cultures-believe-that-photography-can-steal-your-soul http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/8380/did-some-cu...
beemoe 14y ago
>"With no prior knowledge of video" Not so fast, if you read the article: "...the sin of television, which they encountered at the geologists' camp, proved irresistible for them..." I agree that the account in the comments here did not give sufficient detail to determine if she had reason to connect something on a man's shoulder with the images she had seen in the television earlier, but she had some sort of prior exposure to video.

by scoot 14y ago

callmevlad 14y ago

The video was shot on approach to her home/shack from the helicopter (which was a ways off). I called my dad to see if he can locate the video somehow (my grandfather passed away several months ago), and I'm trying to find the book he wrote which touches on this experience. This is vague recollection at this point, but I do believe that the family did have knowledge of photography (my grandfather visited her 10+ years after this family became 'famous' through Russian press) and the father did not approve of their pictures being taken at first. I can see how that, combined with their deeply religious and isolated world view, could have been a cause for her superstition.

Klinky 14y ago

The concept of photography stealing your soul is not unique to this instance. Many cultures felt this way about photography. http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/8380/did-some-cultures-believe-that-photography-can-steal-your-soul http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/8380/did-some-cu...

beemoe 14y ago

>"With no prior knowledge of video" Not so fast, if you read the article: "...the sin of television, which they encountered at the geologists' camp, proved irresistible for them..." I agree that the account in the comments here did not give sufficient detail to determine if she had reason to connect something on a man's shoulder with the images she had seen in the television earlier, but she had some sort of prior exposure to video.