For book/ebook authors, publishers, & self-publishers
J. Lee Choron's Page
Gifts Received
J. Lee Choron has not received any gifts yet
Profile Information
- Something About Me and My Book:
- TITLE: Footprints in the Snow: Tales of Haunted Russia
AUTHOR: James L. Choron
PUBLISHER: Zumaya Publications LLC
GENRE: Body/Mind/Spirit/Parapsychology/General
FORMAT: Trade paperback, perfect-bound, 260 ppl, $14.99 USD, Trim Size 5 X 8; ebook, $6.99
ISBN: 978-1-934135-06-8, paperback; 978-1-934135-07-5, ebook
RELEASE DATE: February 28, 2007
Available NOW from Amazon.com, Barnes&Noble, Ingrams or by special order from any
fine bookseller for $14.95 ($10.95 while the special introductory offer.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
She is Mother Russia, the largest nation in the world, and her turbulent history has left her filled with restless spirits. Footprints in the Snow is a collection of true and documented stories of the paranormal from Russia and Eastern Europe. Excerpts, in shorter and less detailed form, have been published in numerous Russian and English language publications, primarily through the Illya Resink Library Collection and in various local magazines and newspapers along with such prestigious US and UK publications such as "Fate" and "Phenomenon" Magazines..
Footprints in the Snow: True Stories of Haunted Russia is a reporter's view of documentable paranormal incidents. The stories are told through the eyes of a professional skeptic, one who does not “see ghosts behind every tree.” Statistically, more than 96% of all such stories turn out to be quite natural in origin. There are exceptions.
The stories in this collection have all been thoroughly investigated and documented. These are not the high profile cases you hear about all the time. Most of them are little known outside their immediate area and only by the people immediately involved. You will not find "Ivan the Terrible" or "the lost Princess Anastasia" in these pages. Those cases have been treated frequently enough already. What you will find are some documented and verifiable accounts of paranormal activity in this country that have, so far, defied any rational or normal explanation. They are interesting and informative reading and entertaining. These are true reports of actual happenings presented in a way that leaves it to the reader to decide the cause of these "footprints in the snow."
EXERPT:
My apartment building is located just across the street from an elementary school and kindergarten that have served our community for more than seventy years. Here in Russia, this isn’t unusual. The school was part of Lenin’s first Five-Year Plan, and was one of the more successful parts.
Late at night, long after the school is closed and completely empty, we can hear children laughing and playing in the playground. It lasts for about five minutes—a relatively long time; but when you look out the window you see nothing. There are no children there.
Everyone in the building is used to this. It happens several times a year, and it’s gone on for decade—at least fifty years— So has what follows.
After about five minutes, there is a high-pitched, screeching sound, followed by an explosion. Then sound of children playing turns to screams, and then stops.
Welcome to Russia, arguably the most haunted land on earth...
The stories that you are about to read in “Footprints in the Snow” have all been thoroughly investigated and documented. These are not the “high profile” cases that you hear about all the time. Most of them are little known outside their immediate area and by the people immediately involved. You will not find “Ivan the Terrible” or “The lost Princess Anastasia” in these pages. Those cases have been treated frequently enough already. What you will find are some documented and verifiable accounts of paranormal activity in this country that have, so far, defied any “rational” or “normal” explanation. I trust that you will also find this to be interesting and informative reading. Hopefully, it will also be entertaining.
Attend a quiet family picnic in the forest where a soldier of the Second World War lies in an in an unmarked grave and ill-repose – and cries out to a little child to find him. Stand in shock and awe as a tomb is opened after seventy-six years and the horrible cause of a woman’s nightmares is found. Watch as a little girl plays at the feet of her aging parents – half a century after her death and smile at the continuing presence of – in spirit – of “The Countess”, a little grey cat that never knew she was a cat. March stalwartly across the length of Russia – in the heart of winter – with the rag-tag but undefeated soldiers of the “Legion of the Damned”, as they try to shepherd their families to safety across the wild Ural Mountains – every winter for more than 175 years. These accounts are all -- each and every one -- true reports of actual happenings. It is up to the reader to decide the cause of these “footprints in the snow.”
Nineteen years is a long time to spend in any country not one's own. In that time, Dr. Choron has learned a lot about life and living in Russia, especially about the Paranormal. In these pages the reader can literally hear the staccato notes played by the “Drummer Boy of Taratovka” as he warns his loved ones of fire – year after year after year. These pages take you on a visit the office and the home of one of the most blatantly evil men the world has ever seen where his presence is still felt half a century and more after his death and into the bowels of the most notorious prison that the world has ever seen – a place that Alexander Solsinitsyn called the “inner circle of hell.” Here, in “Footprints in the Snow” the reader can go along to the barricades during the “August Revolt” of 1991 and stand beside a man who has come there to fight for freedom for the second time in 100 years. He or she can know that love lasts forever as they walk down a quiet village street, smile and wave at the pretty little girl in the garden who will always and forever be a child or as you hear the story of the little boy who will never – ever – leave his mother and the teenage girl who is known as the “Angel of the Mourning.” Stand in a tiny cemetery and watch the little girl that a whole town calls “Our Little Hero” play at the feet of her parents… alongside her sixty-five year old grave – seen by all but those who love her most…
Enjoy your stay in paranormal Russia – live in buildings alongside men, women and children that have resided in the same apartment for five generations – and more -- and in some cases for centuries. Enjoy your stay in a hotel in which room service is provided by a pretty young maid – who was murdered ten years before your arrival and look out the window and see the young woman who has been standing on the platform waiting for the train – since a cold and windy night in the winter of 1972. Ask the neighbors about their daughter’s “invisible playmate”.
The reader can ride along with a young policeman as he follows a running ten-year-old child down the darkened streets of a small town in a desperate attempt to save an orphanage from fire – for the second time in fifty years. Visit the teachers of the “world’s oldest straight-A student.” Go on investigations with Major Maslov, the police prefect who is constantly called on when a case is “just a bit odd.” Or -- they can follow along as all of Russia watches on television, reads the papers and listens on the radio about the heroic trek of “the Legion of the Damned” as leave their bloody footprints indelibly imprinted in the snows of the Siberian wastes – year after year -- just as they have for almost two centuries…
Dr. J. Lee Choron is not a “parapsychologist, nor does his professional degree represent any paranormal pursuit or study. He is a PhD optical engineer and has spent a lifetime as a photo analyst, reporter and journalist. He is a “professional skeptic”. He is not a man who “sees ghosts” behind every tree or around every corner. He does not believe that everything that goes “bump” in the night is from “beyond”. He has investigated and documented these accounts thoroughly. The stories within the pages of “Footprints in the Snow” are taken from literally hundreds of stories concerning “hauntings” and “sightings” from all over the great land of the Tsars. They are largely unknown in the west, but they are the best – of the best. Dr. Choron is a collector of facts. He makes no judgment and no assumptions as to the causes of these incidents. The facts are here. It up to the reader to decide for themselves why there are so many “Footprints in the Snow.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Dr. James L. Choron is a journalist and writer living in Mamontovka, a suburb of Moscow. He has resided in the Russian Federation for more than sixteen years, and is a former senior executive with the Eastman Kodak Company. He is currently owner and Chief Executive Officer of Old Guard Productions, a company dealing in motion picture and television logistics and properties, and American Business Training, a company which deals with sales and customer service training for Russian companies seeking to introduce Western business practices and standards.
Born in Dallas, Texas, and raised in the small East Texas town of Center, Dr. Choron holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Stephen F. Austin State University and a masters and PhD from Moscow State University in the same subject as well as a graduate degree in optical engineering. A working journalist for slightly more than thirty-five years, he has columns in numerous publications in both Russia and the United States. He has numerous hobbies, primarily related to paranormal and historical research, both of which he has been involved for over twenty years. He has published a number of independent articles on paranormal encounters and activities and on historical topics, and is a staff member on several online publications and forums dealing with history and the paranormal.
DISCOUNT TERMS:
There is a 40% for distributor fulfillment, 50% for prepaid publisher fulfillment, 35% for consignment. Books, though listed as not returnable at Ingram, can be returned, if undamaged, to Zumaya for a refund. We encourage booksellers to only order as many copies as they honestly believe they can sell, though--otherwise, we being as resource-wasteful as the other guys.
For bulk and wholesale orders or special orders (including autographed copies) orders please contact Ms. Elizzbeth Burton at editorial@zumayapublications.com
"FOOTPRINTS IN THE SNOW" IS AVAILABLE IN THE US AND UK FROM: AMAZON, BARNES & NOBLE, LIGHTENING SOURCE/INGRAM, FICTION WISE OR FROM ANY FINE BOOKSELLER.
KEYWORDS:
Russia, ghost, ghosts, haunting, spirits, life after death, true ghost stories, James L. Choron, J.L. Choron, history, Russian history, paranormal
AUTHOR CONTACT INFORMATION:
You may contact the author, Dr. J. Lee Choron at Lord_Jim@mtu-net.ru. Your comments and feedback are always welcome. Dr. Choron is available for both print and electronic media interviews upon request
J. Lee Choron's Photos
Book Marketing Bestsellers
About
Recommended Website
Music
© 2024 Created by John Kremer.
Powered by
Comment Wall (5 comments)
You need to be a member of The Book Marketing Network to add comments!
Join The Book Marketing Network
You Were Created to Succeed!
Bert Martinez
www.bertmartinez.com
Capt Town is a beautiful place. No one will ever know how close I came to jumping ship when I was there. the only other place I've been that really tempted me was melbourne. I do wish I had had the chance to ssee more while I was in South Africa. I''ve always been fascinated b your country... all of Africa for that mattter. You are so lucky to live in such a magical place.
Jim
Thanks for the message - great to have you as a friend here.
Yes, Cape Town is a wonderful place...Africa is always worth a visit :0)
Best,
Susan
Our Little Hero
By
James L. Choron
Klyzma is one of the dozens of tiny villages that make up the region known as Podmoskovi, which literally means, "below Moscow" or "outside of Moscow". It is an old place, dating to the middle of the 15th century. In recent years, however, it has become, like all of the surrounding towns and villages, a "bedroom community" for the capitol, populated by mid and upper level business people and civil servants who don't mind the twenty minute commute in to Moscow, in exchange for peace and quiet and "good air". These "new people" reside side by side with families who have lived in Klyzma for generations some for centuries. In the mid forties, a period which many people refer to as the "late unpleasantness", Klyzma had other guests, who were not quite as welcome. The little town was part and parcel of a strip of land that changed hands between the Wehrmacht and the Red Army on a weekly, sometimes hourly basis. Like Mamontovka, Pushkina and Tratovka, it sits on the Ucha River. Its value to the warring armies resided in the fact that the village was located at a natural ford, a point on the river which was shallow enough to cross without a bridge.
Klyzma, like most of the other villages in this area has one main street, which is more-or-less paved, half a dozen tiny shops and kiosks, and about that many houses. It has a school that was built around the turn of the century, five or six apartment buildings which were constructed in the late forties and early fifties, and a cemetery, which sits off by itself on the western fringe of the village, surrounded by a grove of fir trees, and is connected to the town by a narrow, winding, one lane dirt road that leads ultimately to the village church.
Every afternoon, about sundown, if you pass the cemetery, you will see an elderly couple with a small girl standing in the cemetery. The old couple tends a tiny grave, surrounded by a wrought iron fence, while the child quietly plays in the snow or in the dirt depending on the season. They are there every day, rain or shine. It's a touching site; the old man and old woman appear to be in their late seventies the little girl, about six or seven. If you look closely, you will see that the man's left hand is stiff, and motionless, shrouded in single, black leather glove. The woman helps him lift things that his artificial limb can't manage.
The grave that they tend has a simple monument, one of the few which has no likeness of the deceased attached to it. Instead, it bears the simple inscription, "Cherkirova, Valentina Borisovna, 18 April, 1935 - 25 June, 1941". Beneath this line it says simply "Our Little Hero". Around the stone, hanging by a tattered red ribbon, hangs the solid gold star of the Order of Hero of the Soviet Union.
The medal does not belong to little Valentina, but it should. It was won by her father, the man. Boris Cherkirov was foreman of the Klyzma Tractor Factory in the wartime years. Because of his missing left hand lost in an accident in the factory, several years before the war, he was not called into the Red Army when the German's invaded Russian in May of 1941. Instead, he and his wife, who also worked in the factory, stayed at their posts, and with the rest of those who were either too old, too young or too lame, kept the factory going producing tank motors instead of tractors.
Little Valentina was gathering berries on the outskirts of the village, one afternoon in late June, when she heard a strange sound. It sounded like the tractors that her daddy's factory made, only lots of them… dozens, maybe even a hundred. She had never seen so many tractors before, so she climbed up on a small hill to take a look. Tanks. The first wave of the mighty German juggernaut was advancing toward Klyzma, and the ford of the Ucha river as part of their attempt to encircle Moscow.
Valentina, of course, did not know this, but she knew what a tank was. She had seen them in the parades that her father had taken her to in Moscow on Revolution Day. She also knew that her country was at "war" although she really didn't understand exactly what "war" was. She saw the black crosses on the sides of the tanks, and knew, from what her father had told her, that they were German the "Nimitzim" and she knew exactly what to do. Her daddy had told her. She had to let the village know that they were coming.
The village of Klyzma, like all villages in the area, had an old, hand cranked siren, mounted on a short platform that was used to summon the fire brigade, when there was a blaze in the tiny town. It could be heard all over the surrounding area, and was never used, except in an emergency.
Valentina jumped up from where she was and ran to the platform, which was in the center of the village. She climbed quickly up the steps, and then, with all of her baby strength, swung down on the rusty carank. At first it moved slowly. She hung there, in the air, for a split second, her tiny feet not quite touching the ground… The crank handle was above her head, and it took all of her weight to get it to move at all. Finally… slowly… the crank began to swing, and the siren began to let our it's low, mournful cry. In the factory, on the other side of the village, Boris, his wife, and the rest of the workers heard the sound, dropped what they were doing and ran to investigate.
Once out of the factory, the rumble of the tank motors was unmistakable. While Boris and most of the workers ran to get the weapons that the Government had left for them for just such an emergency Valentina's mother desperately cranked at the single telephone in the factory to summon help.
The first 75mm shell struck the signal tower just as Boris and his workers came into view. At the time, they had no idea who was giving the alarm. No body was ever found. Grimly, they dug in, and fought off the Germans until the Red Air Force came to the rescue with a flight of "Stormovik" dive bombers. It was only a company, thank God. They were able to hold.
In the confusion, no one thought to look for little Valentina. It was simply assumed that she had hidden somewhere, as she had been taught to do, and would come home as soon as she saw that it was safe.
It was not until the next day that they discovered who had sounded the alert, and in doing so, saved the village. In the ashes and rubble of the shell l crater that had once been the signal tower, a stunned father found his little girl's pail and one of her tiny shoes.
Boris Cherkirov won the Order of Hero of the Soviet Union that day, for his part in leading his factory workers in their dogged defense of Klyzma. After the war was over, He quietly hung the medal around his only child's headstone.
Sit and watch as the old couple tends the grave. Watch closely as the little girl who is with them plays at their feet. Then when they go, watch little Valentina wave goodbye to her parents, and slowly vanish into the mist that forms around her tiny grave. You see, the Cherkirov's can't see her. They don't know that she's there, but everyone else does.
Over the years, dozens of people have seen the Chirkirov family, including little Valentina, as they cluster around the tiny grave in Klyzma. Interestingly enough, in this country, people are far more open to discussing such things than they are in the West, and there is a far higher incidence of those who are willing to believe that such things not only happen, but are the “natural order of things”.
I first became aware of this story when the person who took the only, to our knowledge, existing photograph of Valentina Cherkirova, after her death, presented both the print and the negative to several friends of his who worked, at the time, for the Eastman Kodak Overseas Division, with Kodak A. O., in Moscow. His name is Alexander A. Savinov, and since his retirement from the Army several years ago, he is “moonlighting” as Transportation Director for the Moscow Kodak Warehouse.
Due to his artificial hand and arm, Boris Cherkirov cannot drive an automobile. His wife, Victoria, never learned how to drive. While they never miss a day, rain, shine, sleet or snow, visiting their daughter, the now elderly couple either walk the three kilometers to the cemetery, or depend on the kindness of neighbors to give them a ride. On one of these occasions, in the spring of 1950, Savanov, who lives in the same building with the couple, drove them out to the graveyard. As they were leaving, the small FED camera that was dangling from Sasha’s (the Russian nickname for Alexander) belt accidentally discharged and took a single photo of the entire Cherkirov family… including little Valentina, as she stood by her neat, well-groomed little grave and waved goodbye to her mother and father. When the roll of film was developed, Savanov was shocked. He had not seen Valentina, nor had her parents, but… there she was on film. Savanov has never shown this photo to the Cherkirov family, feeling that the sight of their daughter’s spirit, owing to the fact that they, themselves, are unaware of her presence and cannot see her, would be far too traumatic an experience for the couple. He has kept this photo to himself, now, for almost sixty years.
In May 1995, on the 50th Anniversary of VE Day, a group of us were sitting around the Kodak office at the Mosfilm Studio, discussing events of the war. Sasha reached into his pocket and produced not only the photo but the complete roll of negatives, then told us all the story of Valentina Cherkirov. Walter Martinovich, David Nunley and Myself, all of us senior executives with the Eastman Kodak Overseas Division, simply gaped in amazement as we not only heard this wonderful story, but saw the evidence. He then reached into his pants pocket and produced a battered FED camera… which was still quite serviceable. As a result of having not only the camera which took the photo, and both the photo and the negative, Walter Martinovich, who was then supervising the Kodak Professional Division, asked Savanov if he would mind having the (in our opinion, extremely unusual) photo and negatives analyzed for flaws or tampering. Savanov agreed, and the photo and negative set was then turned over to Arkadi Kashin, who was senior laboratory technician for the Kodak Professional Laboratory at the time. In two days, Kashin returned the photo and negatives to us with the following report:
Date of Analysis: 09 May, 1995:
Subject: Amphorous Anomaly present in both print and negative.
Result of Analysis: The anomaly present in this photograph corresponds exactly to a similar anomaly present in the negative. This negative is in the seventh (7) position on a roll of twelve (12) exposures. No other photo in the sequence shows any sign of anomaly. A thorough analysis of the anomaly in both positive and negative indicates a semi-transparent object, approximately one meter, two centimeters (1. 2 meters) in height, in the approximate shape of a human child. It is recognizable as the figure of a small girl, dress in the type of shroud used for burial in the early to mid 1940s. This anomaly is solidly within the focal range of the camera and is clearly a part of the target area. There is no indication of any tampering with either positive or negative, and no other frame in the film sequence shows any similar (or other) anomaly. An examination of the photoaparat used in making this photo reveals no flaw or defect. The photoaparat in question is of fixed focus design, and incapable of being deliberately tampered with to produce such an effect with a living subject as the target.
Conclusion: While it is impossible to state with any certainty the exact nature of this anomaly, it is possible to state that it is not the result of any form of tampering, or any known defect of film or photo apparatus. Likewise, it is also impossible for this image to be the result of any photographer’s error or deliberate act such as improper focus.
(Signed)
Arkadi M. Kashin
Senior Engineer (Photo Analysis)
Kodak Professional Laboratory
Moscow, Russia
Nor was that the end…
Arkadi Kashin, not satisfied with his own results, turned his findings, the negatives, print and camera over to a friend (who must remain nameless) who is employed in the same capacity with a very large Government Photo Analysis Laboratory (which likewise, due to the sensitivity of it’s usual work, must remain nameless). The results were identical.
After hearing this, I, and several other members of our local Paranormal Investigative Society, “Angels of the Battlefield” made the 20 minute commuter train ride to Kylzma and ran a field investigation on the area. This included interviewing some two dozen locals, who all reported having seen the little girl’s spirit at one time or another, over a period of almost fifty-five years. One witness, Mrs. Elena Vorishilov, has seen the anomaly dozens of times, beginning almost immediately after the burial of the child’s remains. Likewise, Major Evgeni Popov the local Militia (Police) Commandant, has a small file box literally stuffed with reports of sightings that date back to the days of his predecessors, and continues to gather files today.
Most people here in Russia are not shy about talking about this kind of occurrence, but they are reluctant to be placed in a "document". It's an attitudinal thing that goes back to the Soviet days. That's one of the reasons that I usually use only first and middle names in my accounts that eventually see publication. This is a rare case. Phenomena Magazine is not published in Russia and the use of names would not compromise any of my sources. But… if I ever should compromise any of them, some of my sources, some of my very best sources, would dry up. Savanov and his wife are different; they have seen this particular anomaly on several occasions, as regularly takes the family in question to the cemetery in bad weather. Sasha certainly does not mind talking at all, since it would be highly unlikely for the family to see the article in the first place.
I will state, in conclusion that I myself have seen this particular anomaly on two separate ocasssions other than those mentioned herein, and add the following.
----- Original Message -----
From: Walter N. Martinovich
To: James L. Choron
Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2005 10:48 PM
Subject: Re: Verification...
Jim, it’s a pleasure to verify this article and the events that you describe. Since I've been following this since the very beginning, I think I can say that I've been completely amazed by it from the start. There is no doubt in my mind, based on the results of three different clinical examinations of the photograph and negative, that the account you present is true. Since I am personally acquainted with all of the principals to the article and the events, I can further attest that in my opinion, all of the events related here are true. Please feel free to relay these comments to any and all interested parties. All the best, Walter N. Martinovich General Manager ZAO Rhombus Moscow, Russia P.S. I'm glad to see that this story has a chance of being heard outside of Russia. Given the situation in the world today, a story like this has more meaning than it otherwise would.
Wally
On 5 January, 2005, the original (1950s) photograph and negative which shows little Valentina waving goodbye to her parents, was once again submitted to a complete analysis at the newly opened CGPL (Centralnaya Gosodarstoni Photographiski Laboratory), which is a governmental agency charged with the evaluation of "questionable" photographs, usually in regard to those belonging to the military, weather bureau, space program or other governmental entities. The results of that analysis were completely in keeping with earlier test results obtained by the Eastman Kodak (Kodak AO) Professional Laboratory in Moscow and those of the previously mentioned governmental organization which examined the material. After four days of comprehensive study, the GPL report reads, in part: "This photograph and its negative represent the presence of an anomaly of an unknown nature which is completely integrated in the target area of the photograph. There is no possible question of any known type of interference or tampering with either photograph or negative". The final report is issued and signed by Dr. Vassili N. Shukanov, General Director of the laboratory. The Cherkirovs are getting older, now. They never had other children. Most of those who are familiar with the story truly believe that this phenomenon demonstrates that little Valentina is simply waiting… That the appearances will stop once the family is all together again… Maybe it’s just a Russian superstition… Maybe… Here in Russia, there is a saying… “Hope dies last”… There is always hope… One day, Boris, Victoria and their beloved Valentina will all be together again… One day, they will once again be a happy little family… Boris is almost 88 years old now. Victoria is not far behind him. It won’t be long… not too much longer at all... Then, if the guesses, assumptions and hopes are right… they will all be happy again…
POST SCRIPT:
Boris Cherkirov passed away on 28 December, 2004. His funeral was held three days later, in accordance with the traditions of his faith, on New Years Eve, in Klyzma, at the Russian Orthodox Church overlooking the little cemetery where little Valentina rests. He is buried beside his beloved daughter. Mrs. Viktoria Cherkirova is now 86 years of age, and in frail but good health. She still visits her family at the cemetery daily. General (Ret.) Alexander Savanov, Walter N. Martinovich and myself attended both the funeral and interment. On 10 January, 2005, the citizens of Klyzma led by Mayor Sergei K. Molodov succeeded in having a belated "Hero of the Russian Federation" medal awarded in the name of Valentina Borisovna Chikirova. It will be hung, in a formal ceremony, on 9 May, 2005 (Victory Day). At this time, both medals, Valentina's and her father's, along with a small brass plaque detailing the circumstances, will be permanently mounted on a small monument set between their two headstones.
only just found out about this great site. This looks like a fine community of [eeople and I'm looking forward to knowing and I'm lookingforward to knowing and becoming friends with everyone.
Lee