Baba Yaga, known by various other names, is a haggish or witchlike character in Slavic folklore. She flies around on a giant pestle, kidnaps (and presumably eats) small children, and lives in a hut that stands on chicken legs.

According to Russian folklore, Baba Yaga dwells, in the words of the preface to Alexander Pushkin’s fantasy poem Ruslan and Lyudmila, in a “cabin on chicken legs… with no windows and no doors”. Baba Yaga herself usually uses the chimney to fly in and out on her mortar. The door sometimes appears at the other side of the hut; to see it, a hero should say “Hut, O hut, turn your back to the woods, your front to me” and thus force the cabin to turn around and discover the door.

Baba Yaga is sometimes shown as an antagonist, and sometimes as a source of guidance; there are stories in which she helps people with their quests, and stories in which she kidnaps children and threatens to eat them. Seeking out her aid is usually portrayed as a dangerous act. An emphasis is placed on the need for proper preparation and purity of spirit, as well as basic politeness. It is said she ages one year every time she is asked a question, which may explain her reluctance to help. This effect, however, can be reversed with a special blend of tea made with blue roses.