One of my favourite kids books. "Instruction manual for defence and protection against Ale and Bauci" (basically spooky things). The book is based on actual Serbian folklore rastkociric.com/filestore/pdf/… @MagicalEurope @FolkloreThurs @TheSacredIsle @FolkTaleProject @FolkloreSociety 
I will translate each page, which contains the description of the spooky thing, how it affects people and how to defend against it, over next couple of weeks and will attach it to this thread
Avet. A thin shadowy ugly being with bulging eyes. Lives in abandoned houses where it strangles its victims. It hates light, especially sunlight. Cross also helps, garlic too, and spells @MagicalEurope @FolkloreThurs @TheSacredIsle @FolkTaleProject @FolkloreSociety
Ala. Huge monster related to Dragon. It devours crops and destroys what it can't eat by summoning hail storms. Countermeasures: Don't mud water. When you spot storm clouds, lay a table in front of the house with bread, knife and and axe with blades pointing up @MagicalEurope
Anatema. Accursed being with big head, small eyes and small sharp teeth like teeth on a sickle. Its causes fear, sucks your energy out and then devours you. It can turn man into a woman and the other way round. Defence: cross and prayers. Also knocking three times on a stone.
Babaroga. Scarecrow in a shape of an ugly old woman with black broken teeth and a horn in the middle of her forehead. Used for scaring little children. It snatches naughty little children and takes them to her den. Countermeasure: Don't show fear 🙂 @MagicalEurope @FolkloreThurs
Bauk. A spooky thing which scares both children and adults. I hides in dark corners where it stalks its victims which (it is mistakenly believed) will grab and devour. It can be chased away by shouting, banging and bright light @FolkloreThurs @TheSacredIsle @FolkloreSociety
Beda (poverty). Supernatural being of a pitiful appearance. Travels around the world, visits people, attacks and tortures them. It is said: "Beda follows a man from his birth to his death" and "Beda found him". Defence: enough money, luck and brains @TheSacredIsle @FolkloreThurs
Bes (Rage) also Rabies (Rabies is "Besnilo" in Serbian meaning Rage). Invisible (or barely visible) evil spirit. It enters people or animals which after that go crazy. Defence: Don't spin well on Sunday. Don't spit into fire @TheSacredIsle @FolkloreThurs @FolkTaleProject
Vada. Cave spirit with frightening appearance. It scares people who visit caves. The fear it induces it so strong it freezes the bone marrow. Countermeasures: Strong light and warm clothes @TheSacredIsle @FolkloreThurs @FolkTaleProject
Vampir. A corpse which "gets possessed by some evil spirit" and gets out of the grave to torment the living and suck their blood. Countermeasures: cross, garlic and fire. Prayer also helps. Vampir is afraid of sharp metal things. Hawthorn stake is the only thing that can kill it
Vampirić (little vampire). Every vampire has one (or several) butterflies (moths???) which come out of its mouth while he is being killed (destroyed). If they manage to escape, they will continue to cause harm to people. Make sure you catch and kill all of them @FolkloreThurs
Vodenjak (Water demon). It is believed that it is a drowned person which somehow came back to life. It snatches people who enter rivers or lakes, pulls them in and drowns them. Be careful when crossing rivers and when in a boat, don't stick hands in the water @FolkloreThurs
Vrkolak. Flying ravenous beast. Likes devouring the sun. Defence: During solar eclipses, bang metal objects related to the house hearth (cauldrons, chains, grills, andirons...) very loudly...@MagicalEurope @TheSacredIsle @FolkloreThurs
Gvozdenzuba (Ironteeth woman). A hag used for scaring little children, especially the ones spinning wool. She carries around a cauldron full of hot coals and burns fingers of children who don't spin wool properly. Countermeasures: spin wool properly and behave 🙂 @FolkloreThurs
Gvozdenzuba is one of the incarnations of Baba Yaga, an interesting Hag character from Slavic mythology en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baba_Yaga
Karakondžula. Black wraith with red eyes and long arms. It hides next to the the doorstep. If someone leaves the house after dark, it throws a sack over his head, jumps on him and rides him all night until the first rooster call. Defence: Spindle, salt and bread @FolkloreThurs
Kemza. Water demon from river Sava, near Sabac. Looks like a man with a snake tail. It gets swimmers into whirlpools where it coils around them and drowns them. Countermeasure: cross yourself if you want to drink water from the river. May god help the swimmers 🙂 @MagicalEurope
Madjionik. A small being which carries with it all the things needed for casting evil spells: needles without eyes, grey hair, nails, black wool. It casts evil spells to harm people. Defence: A priest's prayer will break the spell and recover object used to cast it @FolkloreThurs
Mračnik (The dark one). A type of flying demon, similar to a vampire. Flies around at night belching fire, burning fields and poisoning water. Dogs are the first to sense it. Defence: keep blackthorn thorn stuck in your clothes and a 4 leaf clover in your shoe #FolkloreThursday
Nav. A soul of a dead unbaptised child enters a bird and becomes a "nav". It screeches during the night most commonly making crying sounds. It can make breastfeeding mothers go dry. Crossing yourself and saying "I baptise myself" makes it disappear. @TheSacredIsle @FolkloreThurs
@TheSacredIsle @FolkloreThurs This is very interesting. Slavic word Nav denote the souls of the dead in Slavic mythology. The singular form (Nav or Nawia) is also used as a name for an underworld. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nav_(Slav… @FolkloreThurs
@TheSacredIsle @FolkloreThurs In Slavic mythology, souls of the dead entered birds who brought them to irij, paradise. Birds then brought the souls back when they were ready to be reborn. It is interesting that only the souls of unbaptised (still pagan) children become "nav" 🙂 @FolkloreThurs @TheSacredIsle
@TheSacredIsle @FolkloreThurs What is even more interesting is that in Irish the word for saint is "naomh" which is pronounced like "n(i)ev" and which comes from Old Irish noíb (noeb) meaning sacred, holy. teanglann.ie/en/fuaim/naomh en.wiktionary.org/wiki/naomh @TheSacredIsle @FolkloreThurs @iar_ie @duchas_ie
@TheSacredIsle @FolkloreThurs @iar_ie @duchas_ie And that in Irish the word for heaven (where saints (naomh) go) is "neamh" which is pronounced like "nav" 🙂and which comes from PIE "*nébʰos." meaning sky which is in Slavic "nebo" 🙂teanglann.ie/en/fuaim/neamh en.wiktionary.org/wiki/neamh @duchas_ie @iar_ie @TheSacredIsle @FolkloreThurs
@TheSacredIsle @FolkloreThurs @iar_ie @duchas_ie So in Slavic languages the dead, (navi) go to underworld, old pagan heaven probably, (nav) and in Irish language saints (niev) go to haven (nav)...
@TheSacredIsle @FolkloreThurs Todorci. Evil riders with white cloaks. Ride on First Saturday of lent and trample everyone they encounter on the road. Especially those who light fires outside and spill water on roads. Don't travel that night put sharp things on windowsill, rub kids with garlic @MagicalEurope
