The Slavic Myths

As night draws in, a werewolf stalks the hills,
a rusalka emerges from a shimmering lake,
and the feathers of a firebird glow, flicker, and burst into flames …

Slavic cultures are far-ranging, yet they are connected by tales of adventure and magic with deep roots in a common lore. In this collection of Slavic myths, Noah Charney and Svetlana Slapšak expertly weave together a retelling of the ancient stories with nuanced analysis that not only illuminates their place at the heart of Slavic tradition but also draws out the universalities that cut across cultures in the stories we tell ourselves.

Within the myths we find a cast of characters to rival Greek and Roman mythology, from the divine lovers Rozanica and Rod, who created the world, to the supreme god Perun, who summons the power of storms to hurl lightning bolts from the sky. Here are the origins of the vampire and the werewolf, and the sinister veštica, or witch—the most famous of whom, Baba Yaga, prowls the plains in her chicken-footed house, spoiling crops and stealing children.