Urban Legends of Central Asia: The Global Allure of Supernatural Tales

Supernatural TV series coming out of the U.S. have captivated audiences with their blend of mystery, horror, and fantasy. Shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Stranger Things explore themes of good versus evil, the unknown, and human resilience in the face of extraordinary threats. Their storytelling and relatable characters have created devoted fan bases and influenced pop culture. This year marks the 20th anniversary of Supernatural, the television series that evolved into a global cult phenomenon over its 15-season run and was a hit in Kazakhstan. The show followed the Winchester brothers as they hunted ghosts, demons, and other preternatural beings, drawing on local legends and folklore. But tales of the uncanny are not exclusive to the American Midwest. Central Asia - and Almaty in particular - offers a rich tapestry of urban myths that could easily serve as material for a local paranormal series. Recent years have seen an explosion in the horror/paranormal genre across Central Asia, with domestic productions now outperforming foreign blockbusters at the box office in Kazakhstan, something which was unthinkable just a decade ago. The Hitchhiking Ghosts of Almaty One of the earliest episodes of Supernatural features a ghostly hitchhiker, an image that Almaty residents might find eerily familiar. “I often drive the Kapchagay highway past midnight,” said Vadim, a resident of a village north of Almaty. “A couple of times I’ve seen a figure in white, just like the one my grandfather used to talk about, the ghost of a girl thumbing for a ride. If you stop, she asks you to call her parents and gives you a city phone number. But it’s an old Soviet six-digit number. When people called, someone on the other end would say their daughter had died long ago.” In another variation, the phantom begins to flirt with the driver, until he looks down and sees that instead of feet, she has hooves. There are multiple versions of this legend. Another ghostly hitchhiker is said to haunt Zhandosov Street near a former fruit and vegetable factory, reportedly foretelling fatal accidents. A third ghost is rumored to dwell in a bank building at the intersection of Seyfullin and Shevchenko streets, which is allegedly constructed upon the grave of a woman who was murdered. This last tale, however, doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. The building once housed a design institute and later a high-end nightclub, hardly the kind of place a malevolent spirit would haunt. Local students and clubgoers have reported no paranormal activity. The Martyr of Baum Grove Baum Grove in Almaty has long been the subject of ghost stories, many centered on a buried treasure and the murder of an Orthodox bishop during the Russian Civil War. While the Soviet authorities never investigated the legend, literature offers a clue. In his 1925 novel Mutiny, Bolshevik writer Dmitry Furmanov recounted the extrajudicial killing of a bishop outside the city by drunken Red Army soldiers. Historical records confirm that on September 16, 1918, troops from Ivan Mamontov’s punitive detachment abducted Bishop...