Scary People: Grigori Rasputin

Scary People: Grigori Rasputin

If you're a fan of the Darkhorse Comics iconic hero, Hellboy, then you would know the name Rasputin really well. In the comic book, Rasputin is an occultist who is an accomplice of the devil himself. He is then contacted by the Nazi's to lead an occult method to end the war. You may be asking yourself, what in the heck does this have to do with Scary People if he's some comic book villain? The scary part is that he's a real person. Just like the last Scary People edition, Vlad Dracula III, who influenced countless books and movies, Rasputin has had the same effect.

*Please note that some of the history of Rasputin's life is a bit sketchy and scattered, but all of it is a good read non-the-less.

Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin was born on January 10th 1869 (some reports say 1872) to a peasant father in Pokrovskoye, Siberia. He left his home and went to the Middle East and Greece where he made a profit by claiming that he could heal the sick and made some more money by claims of also being a fortune teller. Was this true? Well, try this story on for size.

The story goes that when he moved to Saint Petersburg in 1903, Rasputin met the Bishop of Saratov by the name of Hermogen. The Bishop was so impressed with Rasputin's acclaimed powers to heal that he introduced him to the Tsar, Nicholas II, and his wife, Alexandra. The Tsar had one lone son by the name of Alexis who suffered from the disease haemophilia (a disease where bleeding occurs and it take a long time for the blood to clot). The family kept this secret as they feared that if the people knew they wouldn't accept him as their Tsar when the time came. In 1908, Rasputin was called to the royal palace because Alexis took a turn for the worse, and Rasputin was claimed to have stopped the blood using his powers. After that, he became apart of the royal entourage.

Reportedly after this, Rasputin made his healing abilities like a public business, where anyone can get help from him. From plebian to nobility, there was no restriction from the "mad monk." However, there were those around him who didn't believe in his "special powers" and thought he was just a fraud. They would start rumors, such as him have a sexual relationship to the Tsar's wife. Of course, if this is true is up to anyone's interpretation, but all reports of this were dropped by Nicholas as Rasputin was seen as a huge influence to them.

The trust in Grigori was so beneficial that Alexandra even trusted him with making up strategies for the Russians in the first World War. These, however, were proven not to be beneficial. But the Tsar still trusted him and went as far as to appoint him in charge while he went to take personal control of his army. However, there were those, most notably Felix Yusupov (related to the Tsar by marriage to his niece), believed that Rasputin and the Tsarina were in pay by the German enemy. He took the matter in his own hands by planning Rasputin's assassination and invited him over for a false dinner that should of ended deadly without a hitch.

It ended, but not as easy as Felix thought it would. First he gave him wine and cakes that were poisoned, but Rasputin seemed immune to the poison. Felix then panicked and shot him in the heart, but Rasputin still managed to escape through the courtyard where he was shot again by another conspirator, Vladimir Purishkevich. Just as a precaution, they took his body to the Neva river and dropped him through a hole where his body was later found washed up on the Neva banks. It took poison, two shots, and then finally drowning to kill this man. Was he just tough or was there something more about him?

Resources:

http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/rasputin.htm
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/RUSrasputin.htm

Have a haunting day my fellow Graveyard Disciples!

James Paradie is a paranormal columnist as well as a paranormal investigator who has been seen in such newspapers as the Northcountry News, Littleton Record, the White Mountain Shopper, and the Trendy Times. His stories can also been seen on paranormalnews.com and mostlyghosts.com where he is a regular contributor.