This text is an attempt to analyse the ways of existence of heroes “living differently” – ghosts, phantoms, those invisible in the works of Elena Dolgopyat. In her works, the line between life and death becomes blurred: a hero who rose from the grave may turn out to be more alive than a man who did not die but exists in a sense of nonsense. He may also not notice his own death. The impure force functions in the world and is presented on a par with living characters, which is a characteristic feature of magical realism. The writer presents the non‑living, drawing on Slavic folklore tradition, as I try to show. I also juxtapose Dolgopyat’s stories with Alexander Etkind’s research on memory and trauma in Russian culture, considering them to be their exemplification.