Religious leaders have rallied to shut down a scheduled zombie walk in central Russia, saying that the event could be dangerous for children.
Young people dressed up in zombie costumes have spooked the residents of Perm every summer since at least 2010, but this year, local Orthodox Christian and Muslim leaders have raised objections.
A spokesman of the Russian Orthodox Church in Perm was cited as saying Tuesday that the zombie parade was detrimental to the psychological and moral health of children.
“Kids games should be directed at developing and forming values that are socially desirable,” Yury Kishchuk, a spokesman for the Perm archdiocese, told the V-kurse.ru news website.
He went on to say that the zombie parade is in violation of the federal law on “the protection of children from information that is harmful to their health and development.”
The head of Perm region’s Central Spiritual Board of Russian Muslims told the outlet that if zombie impersonators wanted to participate in the event, they should hold it at a private venue with an age restriction.
“We’re not protesting the parade itself,” imam Anvar Khazrat Ablayev was quoted as saying.
On Tuesday, organizer Artyom Feoktistov said this year’s zombie walk was canceled after a barrage of complaints.
“When people, in particular religious organizations and activists, hear the word zombie, they associate it with sin, death and lust,” Feoktistov wrote in a post on the VKontakte social media network.
“Can’t young people go out and have fun in the city?” he wrote.
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