I invite you to discover the most notorious creatures of Slavic folklore.
Domovoi
The Domovoi represents a kind of beneficial spirit of the house, which protects the family,
and even helps with household chores, usually metamorphosing into the head of the family.
Sometimes he turns into a dog or a cat, and almost never shows his true face, being similar
to the bearded dwarfs in the stories.
Such a beneficial spirit asks just for harmony in the family.
If the environment upsets him, and something becomes wrong between the members of the family,
or even if a family member harms the pet, it can become harmful and he will manifest
like a poltergeist.
Kikimora
There are also less beneficial house spirits.
Kikimora is an evil spirit that enters the house through the keyhole and hides behind
the oven or in the basement.
A dirty house upsets her and she starts breaking dishes and making a lot of noises, especially
at night.
If the living space is impeccably clean, she takes care of the chickens in the yard, and
she even cleans the dishes.
But let's not praise her too much, because, during the night, Kikimora sits on the chest
of some of the inhabitants of the house and causes what is called: “sleep paralysis”.
Baba Yaga
If you are passionate about Slavic mythology, or if you read Russian stories as a child,
you will surely remember Baba Yaga, the witch who lives in the house perched on chicken
legs, and ornamented with human skulls.
The house has no windows or doors, and is surrounded by a fence made of human bones.
She only feeds on children and flies.
Although originally the name is unclear, as is the purpose, it is believed that “baba”
means "old woman" or "grandmother", and “yaga” means "snake" or "evil".
She usually appears in Russian folklore, as an old woman, or as a trio, of old weak sisters,
with iron teeth, and very long noses.
She is described in most stories as an old woman, with supernatural powers who lives
in the forest.
She usually holds a broom and flies in a huge mortar.
In some stories, Baba Yaga helps the main hero, but can temporarily prevent him from
achieving his goals.
Although it does not seem to attack or harass anyone unprovoked, it is usually enough to
disturb her by appearing unannounced at the door of her hut..
But most of the stories with Baba Yaga are not about her and they don't have her as the
main character.
In general, these are heroes who meet her on their pilgrimages.
Vodyanoy
The Vodyanoy is a kind of Slavic mermaid, only she does not live in the sea and is not
a beautiful woman.
He is a masculine spirit, similar to an old man, with a fish body and an ugly frog face.
He lives in the river and likes to be respected and called "grandfather".
If Vodyanoy gets upset he destroys the dams or the water mills.
He is also rumored to sometimes drown the unfortunates who see him, or capture him in
their fishing nets, by making them his slaves.
Rusalka
If we were talking about the grandfather mermaid, you should know that in the Slavic folklore
there is also a normal variant of mermaid.
Beautiful and young, with wild and red hair.
Rusalka is an evil spirit, which comes from a young woman who was killed or killed herself,
near a river.
Like mermaids, she lures beautiful young men into the turbulent waters, and then mercilessly
kills them!
It is said that if a Rusalka's hair dries completely, she will die.
Zmei
Zmei is a kind of multi-headed dragon from Slavic mythology.
It is said that the dragon burned whole cities with flames, frightened all the inhabitants,
and made them pay tribute to him.
Sometimes people were enslaved.
The power of a Zmei is in his heads, but often cutting off one head, brings the appearance
of two more.
So defeating such a dragon requires a lot of skill, intelligence, and strength.
A Zmei can be killed only if all his heads are cut off in one blow, or if a cut head
is instantly covered with ash.
Gamayun
The Gamayun is a fabulous creature, half-human, half-bird, and is related to the mermaid Rusalka.
She lives only on an island near Eden and represents supreme wisdom, as she knows everything
that happens in the world.
In many cases, she can also make prophecies about the future.
Being related to the mermaid, Gamayun also has the "bad habit" of seducing beautiful
young men, who are about to find their imminent end.
Bannik
It may sound surprising or a little strange, but there is a popular spirit in countries
like Russia and Ukraine, of the steam bath.
Bannik looks like an old man, but he has huge claws to tear the flesh of those who enjoy
a steam bath.
To be protected, people have learned to bring him offerings, which consist of soap and other
products used in the bathroom.
Because in the past many births took place in the steam bath, it was customary for the
midwife to throw stones in the corners of the room to drive Bannik away and save the
little one who would come into the world, from a terrible fate.
Leshy
He is an unfriendly giant, the spirit of the forest.
Leshy has no shadow, he wears his boots upside down but he can still reach an impressive
speed.
He has superhuman strength and feeds on human flesh.
He enjoys playing tricks on people, though when angered he can be treacherous.
He is seldom seen, but his voice can be heard in the forest laughing, whistling, or singing.
When the forest is damaged or destroyed, he suffers, and his screams are heard from a
distance of miles away.
Leshy also has the ability to bring rain and storms, and can easily destroy the camps of
those who cut the trees, or kill the animals of the forest.
These were the most popular creatures and monsters from Slavic mythology.
I hope that in the future I will make a separate video for at least some of the creatures found
in today's list.