The Strange Case of Tattarisuo

EMILIA UKKONEN digs up a forgotten story from Finland’s troubled 20th century history and recounts a grim tale of severed limbs, black magic, mystical visions and a circle of grave-robbing witches…

The most gruesome case in Finland’s history began on Tuesday 19 August 1930, when 14-year-old Leo Löfman found a human hand in a spring. The boy had been picking berries in Tattarisuo, a marshy, unpopulated area on the outskirts of Helsinki. He had thrown a stick into the water for his dog to fetch; the dog instead found a severed hand beneath a stone. Officers at the nearby Malmi police station initially doubted the shaken teenager’s sensational claim. Eventually, three policemen agreed to go with Löfman to investigate. When they reached the scene, they saw that his story was true: in a wide pool, a hand was floating on the surface of the clear water. The officers determined that it was a right hand that had once belonged to a…

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Fortean Times (Digital) - 1 Issue, 454

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