Baba Yaga

A story from my childhood of when I met the Baba Yaga.

As a child growing up in Poland I learned lots of interesting things. Some stayed with me and others left only to be rediscovered later in life. When I was six or seven we lived fairly close to a large and crowded forest. When I was young my parents would tell me stories of the good and evil “monsters”. The scariest for me was the Baba Yaga. She’s an old witch who sits in her hut in the middle of the forest and spins thread. Some people say the tread is made out of bones or organs of the dead. Her hut is said to be made out of human parts and the fence surrounding her hut is made of bones and skulls. But the worst thing Baba Yaga does is devour children. I remember the time my parents left me home at night with a babysitter name Victoria. For the most part she seemed nice and a friendly person. As it got closer to my bed time she started telling me stories of Baba Yaga. Naturally I got scared and stayed by her side till she made me go to bed. I was lying in bed singing Polish lullaby’s in my head when I heard the front door open. I thought it could be my parents but they weren’t supposed to be home till morning. Could it be a friend of Victoria’s? I thought to myself. I’m naturally curious so I decided to go and check who it was. I tiptoed down the hall in my Barbie pajamas eager to see who would be waiting at the door. As I rounded the corner to the front room I suddenly felt fearful and wondered if I should go on. Before I could think I saw an old woman make her way across the floor gracefully. She turned to me and smiled. Her teeth were dark yellow and some were rotting out. Her nose was long and her face wrinkled. It felt like my heart had dropped and I was having a hard time breathing. A bandana covered her grey hair and the tip flew around loosely as she laughed maniacally. I remember screaming for Victoria and watching her come running down the hall in her pajamas. I turned around to show her the old woman but she was gone. I explained that I saw Baba Yaga and Victoria laughed at me. She gave me little comfort and went back to bed. I was intent on proving she was there so I searched around the spot she was standing. A single dirty plaid bandana laid on the floor in front of the door. To this day I still have the bandana tucked away in my old room. Every time I visit my parents in the old house I can hear Baba Yaga laughing at me from the front room. Some may chose not to believe this but I am certain I was visited by Baba Yaga.

Author's Note

Just thought I'd share a personal story with you guys. Hope you enjoyed.

Reviews

[Kyla H]

Hmm, this is very interesting! It's really intense how you saw such a thing, and have an object to prove it as well.