The Black Volga
In Poland and the Soviet Union, children were warned of a black car that drove the streets stealing children.
What was reported
The Black Volga was an urban legend of the 1960s and 70s in Poland, the Soviet Union and other countries of the Eastern Bloc. A black GAZ-21 Volga, the car of officials and the secret police, was said to cruise the streets abducting children, its driver variously described as a priest, a nun, a vampire or the Devil.
Parents and teachers passed on the warning, and some people claimed to have seen the car.
Explanations offered
No such case was ever confirmed. Folklorists see the legend as a mix of fear of the unaccountable power of officials, who really did drive black Volgas, and older tales of child-stealers. Versions with other cars appeared in other countries.
- When
- 1960s–1970s
- Where
- Warsaw, Poland
- Witnesses
- Children and parents across Eastern Europe
- Status
- Urban legend
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