Thread by @FemboyFolklore

The Carpathian Mountains are a European mountain range full of myths and folklore, most notably from Romanians and Hutsul people (between Romania and Ukraine). I'm going to share with you a few of these legends and myths today! #FaustianFriday 1/

A 16th century legend said dwarves in the Carpathian Mountains had cursed the ore to make miners contract a fatal respiratory illness termed "the mountain disease". They discovered later that the culprit was the radioactive pitchblende produced from mining. #FaustianFriday 2/

The Carpathian Mountains are also the home of two Romanian legends of the same name, Baba Dochia, used to explain the Babele rock formation. The legends concern a woman named Baba Dochia who is very different in both stories. #FaustianFriday 3/

In the first story, Baba Dochia was an old woman, frozen as a result of sending her daughter-in-law to pick berries in Winter. The distraught daughter-in-law was visited by God, who gave her berries. Baba Dochia, thinking it was Spring, went out and froze. #FaustianFriday 4/

In the second story, Baba Dochia is a young beautiful woman who caught the eye of the brutal Roman Emperor Trajan, who destroyed her city and forced her father to kill himself. Desperate not to marry Trajan, she asked the god Zalmoxis to turn her to stone. #FaustianFriday 5/

Many Romanians believe that beings called the Solomonari live in the Carpathian Mountains. They are wizards who control the weather, ride dragons, may be taught by the Devil, and disguise themselves as beggars and dole out reward and punishment. #FaustianFriday 6/

The Hutsul have their own weather controlling individuals in the Carpathian Mountains, the Molfares, who can speak to animals, dissolve clouds, bring thunder, predict the future, heal people, and levitate. These are humans who serve a "witch doctor" type role. #FaustianFriday 7/

Another Hutsul legend concerns Chugaister (the Woodman). This is a benevolent entity who loves to sing and dance, and invites visitors to join him. He protects herdmen in exchange for food offerings. Chugaister lives in the forest of the Carpathian Mountains. #FaustianFriday 8/

Another Hutsul legend surrounds a glacial lake in the Carpathians, Lake Nesamovyte. Its bottom is said to be a frozen mirror where the souls of sinners go. This mirrored lake bottom is also said to bring fearsome storms. #FaustianFriday 9/

Bram Stoker's famous vampire, Dracula, also deserves an honorable mention here as his castle was located on a Carpathian mountaintop in the famed book. #FaustianFriday 10/

Image credits:
1- ©LorikNov/WikiCommons
2- Poetic Edda poem Völuspá (1895) by Lorenz Frølich
3- oldeuropeanculture.blogspot.com
4- https://t.co/bn0xhdwG3o
5- universdecopil.ro
6- unknown
7- Green Ukraine
8- deviantart.com/flaielis/art/C…
9- Dook International
10- Alex Ross

@threadreaderapp unroll pls