Nikolai Gogol is one of the most mysterious Russian writers. Mysticism permeates all of his work. In “Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka,” folk beliefs are intertwined with the author’s childhood visions, and behind the good-natured humor, the horror of otherworldly forces sometimes slips through. As Gogol argued, the story “Viy” “is a folk legend,” and he did not change anything in it. And although not a single legend with a similar plot has yet been found, the prototype of the fantastic underground spirit can be called the ruler of the underworld from Slavic mythology - the “iron” Niya. A new look at works known since school.