Witches, vampires and ghosts are Halloween classics. But Slavic mytho-logical creatures can be just as scary. The Kyiv Post offers five authentic Slavic evil spirits that can make a catchy Halloween costume.
Kikimora
A girl drowned in a swamp becomes a kikimora, an evil spirit who dwells in a forest or bog and lures her victims into impenetrable thickets and swamps. She has a pointed nose and long disheveled hair, and her back is crooked. Her skin is as green as the swamp where kikimora spends most of her time. To dress as a kikimora, wear dark-green rags. Marsh and forest plants are kikimora’s usual accessories, but their imitations will do too.
Vodyanyk
Riding a catfish or sitting on a bank and combing long green hair are the favorite activities of vodyanyk, a spirit of rivers and lakes. Vodyanyks capture random passers and drags them into the water. Vodyanyk is believed to look like a hideous old man with a bright-green moustache. His fat body is enmeshed with duckweed and ooze. He is dripping water and sometimes is pictured with a fish tail.
Koshchiy
Koshchiy or Koshchiy the Immortal is the supreme dark god who rules all the evil spirits and bodies of dead people. He lives in a palace built of gemstones. Koshchiy rides a horse that is half-dead. His preferred activity is kidnapping young women and taking them to his underworld kingdom. Koshchiy is believed to be looking old and very skinny, with a long grey hair and a skull instead of face.
Baba Yaha
Baba Yaha is probably the most well-known creature in Eastern European mythology. She is a malicious old woman who resides deep in a forest in a hut that stands on a huge chicken leg. She eats human flesh. Little children are believed to be her favorite delicacy. She flies in a big mortar bowl and uses a broom to steer it. Baba Yaha looks like a witch – a crooked old lady with a hooked nose – but doesn’t wear a black robe, preferring a shaggy dress and a head scarf. Iron teeth will complete this Halloween look.
Mavka
The ghosts of the unbaptized children or virgin girls who die unnatural tragic death were believed to become mavkas and live in forests, caves and fields. Where a mavka walks, flowers grow. Mavka looks like a beautiful girl dressed in transparent clothes – or wearing no clothes at all. She decorates her beautiful long hair with flower wreaths and entraps men with her seductive voice. Those who fall for her get tickled to death.
Kyiv Post staff writer Nataliya Trach can be reached at [email protected]
