Folksburywoods Story Blog

I love Baba Yaga. My Russian history professor shared her love for the witch as an undergraduate.

Years later, I started reading everything about the Wild Witch of the East.

Andreas Johns’s book opened my eyes to the complexities of Baba Yaga and her many names.

When I started the story blog, I wrote a few tales based on known tales of the witch. I continued exploring how she was woven into Slavic folklore and folklife.

I was unhappy to rewrite traditional Yaga tales, so I created the enigmatic character – Mörken the Dark One.

Mörken, with his Troth minions, offered a fresh look at Baba Yaga and her servants.

My upcoming book, The Seven Tasks of Baba Yaga, is a collection of short stories in which I return to the old woman in her original form.

In the West, Baba Yaga has been co-opted for her radical feminism.

I grew up with a Great-Grandmother from the old country. I learned that some things are to be left alone. “There is no need to modernize them. They serve us as they are,” she would say.

“Boy! What are you doing? Behave, or you be in trouble,” the old crone would say to me. She was not a lovable granny, and for that, I am grateful.

Her gnarled fingers and gaunt face served me well. I never crossed her and always did what she said.

She died when she was in her 90s and fought with everyone until her dying breath. When I imagine Baba Yaga, I remember “the crone” and am inspired.

Truth be told, people like Helen Pinter are almost gone. They were born in a time of superstition and the Kiser. Back then, the evil eye was as powerful as an atomic bomb.

The old ways have faded and no longer shape our lives; that’s good if you are a witch. For the children whose imaginations come from digital media, the Baba Yagas of the world now have soft, round faces.

As I said before, I love Baba Yaga. She will always be the scary old witch who likes to eat children, and this remains true no matter what Disney tries to do to her.