The folklore of the Slavs often reflects their
ancestors’ anxieties about evil, the unknown,
and the dangers of the forest. There are many
tales of witches, who were believed to be
sinister women living in these forests, and
who preyed on innocent people, or upset
family relationships or the social order.Foremost among such evil characters is Bába
Yagá, a witch who appears in Russian legends,
and in similar tales found across Central
Europe, where her name varies slightly.
However, her rapacious appetite for the flesh
of young children stays consistent, though
many of her victims manage to outwit her.Legends of the Witch
Horror house
Bába Yagá’s house had a pair
of hen legs at its base with
which it could run around
and chase people at the
witch’s command.Roses for wishes
Some legends of Bába Yagá say that
the witch could grant people their
wishes if she were offered roses,
although most stories warn that
it was still risky to trust the witch.CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPEBába Yagá
The wicked old witch would use her mortar and pestle to
travel in the forest, where she would hide among the trees,
waiting to ambush unwary victims that walked past her.BÁBA YAGÁ
The witch called Bába Yagá was depicted in stories as a
wrinkled old woman sitting quietly on a wooden bench
or keeping warm by her stove. When travelling, she
would step into a large mortar and push herself through
the sky with a pestle, starting violent storms as she flew.
She specially looked out for young children, whom she
liked to capture and eat. Some people believed that the
witch could turn people to stone with her gaze, turning
them back into flesh at her home to feed on them. Bába
Yagá used the bones left over after her feedings to build
a gruesome and enchanted house for herself, which terrified
people for miles around. Even its fence was decorated
with the skulls of the children she had killed, and she
would light these skulls up like lanterns.74