The Legend of Baba Yaga

Move over Grandma, there's a new bitch on the block!   Old ladies are sweet and unassuming, right? WRONG. Across the centuries elderly women have appeared in folklore and fairytales as menacing hags who deal in trickery and evil schemes. Look no further than the classic figure of "The Witch", a black magic wielding villain traditionally depicted as a decrepit old woman who is hideous in both appearance and nature. Sometimes these evil grannies even practice cannibalism, like in the tale of 'Hansel and Gretel'.  But what is it about old ladies that scare us so much? Why do our fairytales demonize GILFs? And where did this negative archetype come from? In this minisode we'll ruminate on these kinds of questions as we look at the legend of "Baba Yaga", a supernatural hag from early eastern European folklore who is the epitome of that old witchy archetype.  WARNING: this minisode includes discussions of murder, vulvas, and houses with chicken legs. -----------   *JOIN OUR PATREON*   Thanks for listening! We are now available wherever you listen to podcasts! If you enjoyed this, be sure to stay in the loop by following us on Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube. And don't forget to leave us a review on iTunes!    Want in on the fun? Email us your questions and topics to [email protected] and we'll TALK ABOUT THEM IN A FUTURE EPISODE! Email not your thing? Message us on social media, or RT us @IdiotsAccord.    (Intro/Outro music by Visager)    SEE YOU IN TIME!