After a long hiatus, we’re back with another urban legend. Today’s subject is the village known as “Üç Çatallı Gölge” (Three-Pronged Shadow) or “Üç Gölge Köyü” (Three Shadows Village)—a place said to be plagued by paranormal events, which also served as the inspiration for the film “Dabbe: Zehr-i Cin.” We’ll be examining the terrifying folkloric narratives that have formed around this village.

All of the stories we’ve covered so far—the haunted bathhouse in Eskişehir, Apartment No. 129 in Ankara (or Antalya, according to some accounts), and the haunted building in Antalya—each had their own distinctive characteristics. What sets Three Shadows Village apart from these other narratives is the sudden surge in stories about the village following the release of “Dabbe: Zehr-i Cin.” All the content produced about this topic on the internet, as well as certain news articles on media sites, date from after the film’s release. Let’s examine together what these narratives are, how they took shape, and what happened to the village after the film.

Separating Fact from Fiction

Although the village known as Three Shadows is thought to correspond to certain real-life settlements, this hasn’t been verified. These neighborhoods, contrary to what’s portrayed in the film, are neither desolate nor abandoned. Beyond a population decline due to rural-to-urban migration over the years, it’s not really possible to speak of any true desolation. However, thanks to the film’s influence, a legend has indeed emerged.

The Curse Narrative

The terrifying tale, as we’ve come to expect, is based on a djinn infestation in the village. Some versions of the narrative align with the film, centering on a dark pact made with djinn that cursed the village and caused it to lose its population over the years. According to the film’s version, the cause of the curse was wealthy families whose children had fallen ill with incurable diseases—they performed a ritual with the help of djinn to transfer the illnesses to the children of poor families, thus restoring their own children to health.

YouTubers who visit the village to document its condition and upload various videos to the internet have also helped popularize these narratives.

The Reality Behind the Legend

However, as we mentioned at the beginning, there doesn’t appear to be a strong, long-established legend that has been passed down through generations among the villagers. In fact, there are some news reports indicating that the villagers are disturbed by this situation and are not happy about their village being portrayed this way.

Since our goal isn’t to play Scooby-Doo and expose the truth behind the events, nor conversely to fan the flames and strengthen the belief that “there really is a djinn-infested village,” we’ve done what we always do: examined the folkloric horror elements in the narrative and explored which beliefs these elements developed around.