Category: folklore

Baba Yaga

In the deep, dark forests of Russia, where danger lurks in the liminal spaces, you might just find the unusual abode of one of folklore’s most fascinating characters: the incomparable Baba Yaga. With her hooked nose, her bedraggled hair and her wrinkled skin, this hag of hags appears in her strange mode of transport, ready to aid or to hinder, depending on how much you keep your wits about you. With roots in the early Slavic pantheon of gods and goddesses, Baba Yaga has changed through the centuries, playing different roles for different listeners, and slowly crystallising into the ultimate fairy tale witch.

Arm yourself with your magic charms and keep your tongue sharp as we cross the threshold into the domain of talking creatures and mystical powers to stoke the fires and spin a tale or two of Baba Yaga.

Medea

It’s finally time, Deviants! This fortnight, we journeyed way, way back to visit the figure who started it all, the original Deviant Woman – the witch, the slayer, the mean mother you don’t want to cross – Medea! From her mythological beginnings as Jason’s right-hand-woman to her titular role at the centre of Euripides’ famous drama, Medea remains one of Greek mythology’s most infamous and intriguing figures. After supporting Jason through his conquests with the Argonauts (and saving his life on multiple occasions!) Medea was betrayed in the most awful way, and her method of revenge is one that has seen her labelled a madwoman, a fiend, and a wicked and monstrous mother. But is it really that simple?

We’re joined by Let’s Talk About Myths, Baby’s fabulous host Liv to dive into all things monsters, betrayal, rage and revenge. So grab your poisons, your favourite coronet and climb aboard your dragon chariot, and join us as we break down one of our all time favourite Deviant Women, Medea!

Pamela Colman Smith

Famous today as the overlooked illustrator of the influential Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot Deck, in her own time Pamela Colman Smith was something of an enigma. Known for her lively and enchanting Jamaican folklore performances, her publishing press and literary magazine, and for her extraordinary miniature theatre, Pamela – Pixie to her friends – wove magical worlds where women had agency and gender was fluid. But she was also a woman cloaked in mystery, and who was often Othered by her contemporaries. Join us, together with PCS scholar Elizabeth Foley O’Connor, as we travel from England to Jamaica, New York and Cornwall, tracing this elusive and enigmatic woman. 

La Llorona

Along the rivers and waterways of Mexico, a woman’s cries can be heard in the night. Punished for the crime of infanticide, La Llorona wanders in the dark for eternity, ready to snatch away unsuspecting children. But while her story makes for perfect horror film fare, there is more to her than meets the eye. With echoes of the Aztec goddess Cihuacóatl, her significance as a symbol of women’s agency and power has been reclaimed in modern feminist reimaginings of La Llorona lore. So turn the lights down low as we prepare for a ghost story that reveals much more about prescribed gender roles than Hollywood would like us to think…