5 Creepiest Baba Yaga Stories From Slavic Folklore

• "Baba Yaga is a figure in Slavic folklore often depicted as a jealous, cunning, and malevolent witch who hunts and eats children, lives in a house made of bones and burning skulls, and flies around forests in a giant pestle and mortar."
• "She first appeared in Slavic literature in the 18th century, with different versions emphasizing her as a humanlike figure or a trickster, and various countries have their own tales of her."
• "In one version, she plots to kill a new wife by making her milk bears, shear wolves, and retrieve a reed for weaving, but ultimately saves her by showing kindness and using a magical forest to escape."
• "Another version tells of a couple who collect eggs to hatch sons, but one son is weaker and plans to thwart his mother-in-law's scheme by swapping nightclothes with brides, leading to the death of his stepmother and sisters."
• "A spin on Cinderella, 'Vasilisa the Beautiful,' shows Vasilisa being trapped by Baba Yaga but using her magic doll to survive and escape, only to be burned by the fire she started."
• "In another tale, Prince Ivan is tricked into becoming stone by Baba Yaga, but is able to save himself by revealing her trick and bringing her back to life."
• "A final story involves four friends encountering Baba Yaga, who attacks one and then turns herself to stone, which is later ground up and scattered in her garden."

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