THERE are many supernatural or weird creatures in folklore that are represented by strange and feared entities that live in the wilderness or deep in the woods. Whether they are real or imaginary it is indeed a mystery but nevertheless, these creatures exist in legends and stories in every part of the world.

Sometimes these unusual beings are believed to be purely evil while some at other time are believed to be a puzzling combination of both. The interesting part about the legends regarding these creatures such as spirits or mythical entities, is that there is a moral or reason for the creature or the story itself. Such is the legend of “Baba Yaga”, a wild old woman from the world of spirits. She is a witch-like creature in Russian folklore.

In Slavic (regions of Eastern and Central Europe, the Balkans, Central Asia and North Asia) stories of ancient times, she is shown as a nature spirit, commanding other spirits with her magic and is to be respected as much as the natural world around her. It is said that parents used the stories about this feared witch of the wilderness, to scare children from going too far from home while they were away from their families and also to instil an awareness regarding the natural world as being worthy of awe and respect.

There are several versions of Baba Yaga’s behaviour and character in the mythical stories that differ from culture to culture. Some tales speak of her helpful nature towards individuals who approach her with respect and “good preparation”, meaning that one should know the correct answers to her questions and behaves accordingly, (talk about perfect homework)!

On the other hand, if you ask too many questions or the wrong questions, she can be quite dangerous and punish or capture you. But having a pure heart, faith and respecting her as an elder and wise entity, the meeting might prove beneficial.

In some Slavic and Polish literature, the name also depicts an old, grandmother type of person. Maybe that’s how she wants to be treated! Russian folktales speak of Baba Yaga as an old and wrinkled woman flying around in a mortar and using a pestle as her rudder and a branch of the silver birch tree used as a broom to remove her tracks.

However, the most interesting thing is her house or the place where she lived. It is said to be a hut or log cabin that stands on chicken legs used as stilts. The front door has a keyhole that is like a mouth with sharp teeth and the fence around the house is made with poles which have human skulls as a finishing touch! Just one pole is left without a skull, giving the onlooker the impression that the missing skull might be of the person approaching her. There is also a legend that states that the house has no door but when these magical words are used, “Turn your back to the forest and your front to me”, voila! The door is visible.

There are also servants inside her house, but they are invisible and if one dares to ask about them, beware she might resort to fatal violence. So sensitive!

Some folktales speak about Baba Yaga as being helpful and guides people who are on a quest or need guidance. While in some stories she is shown as an evil old woman who kidnaps children and threatens to eat them. In one of the tales about her, written by Ivan Bilibin, titled Vasilissa the Beautiful, the young woman of the story is enslaved by Baba Yaga when she is sent on an errand to meet her. Luckily, the old hag’s servants, a dog, a cat, a tree and a gate set the young woman free; all this is because the girl had treated the servants with kindness.

The Polish version of Baba Yaga’s interesting residence is supposed to stand on only one chicken leg. However, her cabin is quite similar to the traditional storehouses which were built in order to store grain and foodstuff by the hunter-gatherer tribes who were often away on their travels and had to keep the animals from getting into their storehouses. But the base of the hut stood on trunks or stumps of trees grown closely. The huts did not have any windows or doors and the entrance was through a trapdoor in the centre.

In one version she has three riders on horses around her house. One is white depicting day, one is black as night and the third is red depicting the Sun. All over Russia, folktales of Baba Yaga are found in several legends. But what is interesting here is, was she a made up nature spirit to instil wisdom and fear or does the legend of Baba Yaga have any truth in it? Beware!