This time i want to introduce you to Baba Yaga. Baba Yaga is a legendary figure in the slavic folklore. She appeared in many folktales, for example in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and many more.
Because of the variety of tales about Baba Yaga there are many different versions of here origin, appearence and behavior. But most of them are pretty similar. In the following text I tried to combine most of the traditional facts about her.
It is said that Baba Yaga is a trio of three sister who all have the same name according to some tales. It is also said that she may is the grandmother of the devils. Which would also mean that she apperantly has children. Besides that its also written that some people saw her living together with her beautiful daughter Marinka.
Baba Yaga is mostly described as an old ugly woman with a huge distored nose and long sharp teeth. But she also has the ability to turn into a beautiful woman with the help of a magic potion.
She lives deep in a woods in a hut which stand on chicken legs. So she is also able to move with her house through the woods. It is said that the hut doesnt have any windows or doors and that the door can only be revealed by a magic speel. The fence outside of her house is made out of human bones and decorated with skulls.
In most tales it is said that Baba Yaga flies around in a giant mortar and uses a big pestle as a rudder. Also she has a broom which she uses to cover up her tracks.
Her personality is also describe different in many tales. So it cant be sad that she is generally evil. There are stories that describe her as a child eating or kidnapping monster but also some where she helps people out of their misery.
Baba Yaga also appeared in some movies like for example "Frosty" from 1964 but also she had modern appearances like in "Hellboy – Call of Darkness" (2019) or "Baba Yaga" also from 2019. Besides movies she was an endboss in the "Rise of the Tomb Raider" video game.
Here is the poem i wrote about her. I tried to get a bit from everything about her inside the poem, hope you enjoy.
Baba Yaga
You may heard horrible stories about me,
Are you scared and wanna flee?
They call me Baba Yaga,
you might read about me in an old saga.
My appearance may differ - being seen as an ugly old woman with razor sharp teeth and a long deformed nose,
or being disguised as a pretty woman that lures man into traps looking beautiful like a summer rose.
I fly around in my giant mortar and guide the way with my pestle,
skim my way through the woods wilder than the devil.
Some say i'm a cannibal or even the devils mother,
they say i hunt peoples souls and make them suffer.
My hut where i live stands on giant chicken legs and i can move whenever i want,
decoration on my garden fence are old skulls i flaunt.
My door is hidden and magically sealed,
only with the right verse it will be revealed.
So if you dare come visit me I live deep inside the forest,
come inside my hut and see what i have in storage.
Knowledge and power from long forgotten ages,
many forgotten books with black magic pages.
You seek for wisdom and i can answer you wise,
but dont forget that everything in life has a price...
Some may say i did evil and some may say i did good,
why dont you find out - and visit me deep in the wood...
Sources:
https://russiapedia.rt.com/of-russian-origin/baba-yaga/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baba_Yaga
https://wiki.yoga-vidya.de/Baba_Jaga