Compendium 3
of the
Spirit Beings in European Folklore
-series offers an overview of the mysterious, sometimes beautiful and often shadowy entities of the Slavic countries, the Balkans, the Carpathians, Albania, Georgia, and the Turkish and Romani peoples. Many types of
Vampires
and vampiric
Revenants
are included - in their original state and purged of later applied disinformation. The undead are prominent in the folklore of Eastern Europe and Albania. Also typical are farm- and household-spirits such as the
Domovoy
, water-spirits and forest demons like the Russian
Leshy
, the
Chuhaister
, or the evil Polish
Belt
, who like the Ukrainian
Blud
, leads travelers off their path until they are lost in the deepest part of the forest. Unique is the Russian
Bannik
or spirit of the bathhouse. Amongst the Slavs, some 'demons', like the
Boginka
for example, originally belonged to the pre-Christian pantheon. Eastern Europe, in contrast to its returning dead, is rich in seductive female spirits such as the Romanian
Iele
, the Russian
Russalka
Vila
of the Eastern and Southern Slavs and the Bulgarian
Samodiva
. Via the Balkans, Greek influences entered Slavic culture, while there are also spirits that intersect Germanic and Nordic folklore.
discusses 255 spirit beings in detail, including their alternative names, with additional references to related or subordinate beings and a unique selection of illustrations.