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Urban development drives eeriness out of scary places
Legend has it that South Jakarta’s Casablanca tunnel was built on a graveyard and that to this day restless souls wander within it
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L
egend has it that South Jakarta’s Casablanca tunnel was built on a graveyard and that to this day restless souls wander within it. Passing through the tunnel used to give motorists a chill, but not anymore. The area has transformed into a bustling business district.
The tunnel is well lit and is often choked with traffic. Its once eerie atmosphere is hardly perceptible, particularly during rush hour when scores of street vendors pack into the tunnel, offering snacks to motorists stuck in traffic.
“As you can see, the tunnel is not creepy at all. It is well lit, very crowded and the traffic inside it is terrible. But when it was first constructed, the tunnel was quite dark and desolate. It was also surrounded by a cemetery, which made many drivers afraid to pass,” said Daud, a tour guide from Jakarta Mystery Tour, a company that guides curious observers through haunted places in Jakarta.
The tunnel was inaugurated in 1993 by then-Jakarta governor Soerjadi Soedirdja as the Rasuna Said underpass.
Some observers claim that the tunnel was not built on top of Menteng Pulo cemetery but next to it. Nonetheless, horror stories about the tunnel circulated like wildfire. Casablanca soon became known as one of the most haunted places in Jakarta and eventually inspired the 2007 horror movie Terowongan Casablanca (Casablanca Tunnel).
“There are many urban legends about the Casablanca tunnel. At night, it is said, the ghost of an old lady carrying a child wanders around the tunnels trying to stop passing cars. Locals say that a man once hanged himself near the tunnel. It is also said that as the developers were digging up graves to build the tunnel they found a body in pristine condition despite having been buried for hundreds of years. Rumor has it that it was because he practiced dark magic during his life,” Daud said.
The tunnel is a stark example of how rapid urban development and glaring city lights have dulled the spookiness of Jakarta’s famed urban legends.
Jakarta’s hustle and bustle has chased away the once chilling atmosphere of the legendary rumah kentang (potato house), in Prapanca, South Jakarta. The name comes from a story that passersby often smelled boiled potato wafting over from the vacant house at night.
Two other houses located in Bandung, West Java, and Kotabaru, Yogyakarta, have the same name because of similar phenomena.
The smell first occurred in Jakarta’s rumah kentang many years ago, after tragedy struck a family who lived in the house. A little boy was found dead after he accidentally fell into a large pot of boiling potatoes his mother was cooking.
Despite its reputation as one of the most haunted houses in Jakarta, the potato house itself looks like an ordinary house in an upper-class neighborhood. Painted white, it looks clean and well maintained even though it is currently empty. There is none of the eerie quietness typically found in a spooky place. A café, located a few steps away, blasts pop tunes across the neighborhood.
Despite the urban legend attached to it, people still rent the potato house from time to time, although none of them seem to stay for long, according to Daud.
The founder of the Indonesia Historia Community, Asep Kambali, said urban legends could have a positive or negative impact on an establishment.
“From a tourism perspective, urban legends and ghost stories increase the popularity of an establishment, meaning the place can be marketed as a tourism spot. But in the long run, the legend may cause disadvantages for the owners because they may struggle to sell the property,” Asep said.
While it remains unclear whether the potato house’s owner faces difficulty renting or selling the house, one thing is certain; the movie industry profits from the legend. Horror movie Rumah Kentang, directed by Jose Purnomo, was released in 2012. Another director, Rizal Mantovani, will present his own take in Rumah Kentang: The Beginning, which will appear in theaters next month.
