The Drosoulites of Frangokastello
In late May, near dawn, people on the coast at Frangokastello in Crete report shadowy columns of men moving from the monastery of Agios Charalambos towards the fortress, where Greek rebels were massacred in May 1828.
1828 CE · 35.18, 24.23 · status: disputed
The account
Hatzimichalis Dalianis and several hundred Cretan and Epirote fighters were killed by an Ottoman army at Frangokastello on 17–18 May 1828. The figures, called 'Drosoulites' ('dew men') because they appear with the morning dew, are said to march for a few minutes and fade into the sea. Accounts mention them being seen by locals and by soldiers, including Turkish troops in the 19th century.
The sceptical view
Proposed explanations are atmospheric: a mirage of distant objects across the Libyan Sea, or mist forming over the warm plain at dawn. No film or systematic observation has settled it.