Iza Forestspirit Stories

I was hoping to writing something spooky for the Halloween season this year. Sadly I was really busy at the time, so I decided to share it with you today instead. As mentioned previously my latest WIP, the Gothic horror novella ‘Reign in Hell: A Gothic Romance’ takes its inspiration from Dante’s ‘Inferno’, the Bible, Neil Gaiman’s and Mike Carey’s Lucifer series plus various myths and folktales. It’s also the first of my works to feature references to Slavic folklore.

One of the characters who the protagonists encounter during the quest through the Nine Circles of Hell is a witch named Baba Yaga. For those unfamiliar with the name, this creature bears a strong resemblance to the cannibal witch in the Hansel and Gretel fairytale by the brothers Grimm. I’ve kept the main aspects of her appearance and that of her creepy home, but I’ve made two significant changes with my take on the evil witch. In ‘Reign in Hell: A Gothic Romance’, Baba isn’t just a witch but also a lilim who feeds on human blood rather than consuming human flesh. There’s another monster in her realm who eats the humans once they’ve been drained of blood. Also, she’s not alone but lives with her family, a coven made up of her four daughters and eight granddaughters.

Each member of this coven is inspired by a demon or other supernatural being from Slavic folklore. For example, her daughters names are: Rusulka (inspired by the water spirit who drowns people), Kikimora (inspired by a malevolent house spirit associated with nightmares), Kuga (inspired by the goddess of plague) and Blednica (inspired by Błędnica, a female forest demon). Baba Yaga also mentions the male members of her family who are either deceased or trapped in western Hell. These are: Rokita, her mate and the father of her children and her two son in laws Chort and Boruta, the mates of her daughters Kuga and Rusulka. These demons are named after the trickster demons that feature in Slavic folktales. Chort is “czart” in Polish. Rather than a specific character, the term refers to a species of devils who trick humans into selling their souls in exchange for wealth, power or the completion of a task.