On February 2, 1959, nine hikers were found dead near the mountain Kholat Syakl in the Ural region of Russia. The mountain pass where the hikers lost their lives was named the Dyatlov Pass, after the group’s leader, Igor Dyatlov. After worldwide coverage, speculation, investigation, and half a century later and we still have no idea what happened to those hikers outside of a nebulous “death by compelling natural force.”

I’ve been fascinated by this ever since I used it as the topic for a high school essay. I love a good mystery, and since this one raises more questions than it does answers, it’s an ideal source for a bit of scary storytelling. Thanks to the wondrous world of video games, we’ll soon be given the chance to experience it firsthand in the upcoming indie horror game, Kholat.



We don’t know much about this yet, but the source material alone has my attention. If you’d like to learn more about Kholat or keep up-to-date on any future updates, you can follow it on Steam Greenlight.