Centuries of folk storytelling created some frightening Serbian mythical creatures!
In old times, people gathered and told stories. It was one way to have fun and spend some time together after a long day of hard work.
Sometimes, these creatures from Serbian fairy tales are small and lovely, but more often, they are scary monsters that represent some danger.
When it comes to Serbian fairy tales, there are also knights, princes or other brave humans who would fight with these creatures and gain victory.
In this blog post, we will present some of the most famous Serbian mythical creatures.
#1 Serbian Mythical Creatures: Vile
In Serbian mythology, Vile or fairies are beautiful, supernatural beings similar to nymphs.
They are usually described as young women with long hair, often dressed in white, and they can have wings.
It is assumed that they are nature guardians and that they live in forests, mountains and near rivers.
Vile have magical abilities, and while they may help humans who respect them, they will punish those who offend them.
One of the most famous fairies in Serbian mythology is Vila Ravijojla. She helps Serbian hero Marko Kraljević in his many heroic tasks.
Serbian folk beliefs about Vile:
- Don’t cut trees or destroy nature in any manner, or you will make Vila angry.
- If you see vilino kolo (it is believed that fairies dance in a circle) and step on one, you can also be punished.
#2 Serbian Mythical Creatures: Aždaja
Aždaja is often translated as a dragon, but unlike domesticated dragons from TV series Game of Thrones or stories about Harry Potter, Serbian aždaja is a monstrous creature.
It is usually described as a huge winged snake-like monster with an odd number of heads.
In Serbian folk stories, they have three, seven, or nine heads. From their open jaws, they throw out flames and roar terribly.
They live in caves, mountain lakes, swamps, or deep waters and wait to attack people or animals.
Serbian folklore features many epic heroes, but one of the most famous dragon slayers is Sveti Đorđe (Saint George), who needs to defeat aždaja to save a village.
Another popular Serbian fairy tale about aždaja is Aždaja i carev sin (Dragon and tsar’s son). It is a Serbian fairy tale about how good conquers evil.
Disclaimer: There’s another mythical creature that can be mistakenly replaced with Aždaja called Ala.
Ale are also similar in appearance to dragons (although there are beliefs that they resemble a pale-faced man). They are invisible creatures that run quickly, bring storms, and eat crops in fields.
Now, when you hear the Serbian saying Proždrljiv si kao ala (= You’re voracious like Ala.), you will know what it stands for.
#3 Serbian Mythical Creatures: Vampir
In case you’re wondering, ‘Is it true that the word “vampire” comes from Serbian?’ – you’re in the right place!
Yes, the word vampire or Vampir comes from Serbian, and it’s the only Serbian word used worldwide.
The Serbian Vampire is perhaps the most well-known mythical creature from the region, inspiring countless horror stories worldwide.
Have you thought of the Twilight Saga?
Well, don’t.
Unlike the romanticized versions in modern media, Serbian vampires were far more terrifying.
These creatures are reanimated corpses that rise from their graves to drink human blood.
In Western Europe, the word vampire was first mentioned in the Austrian magazine ‘Vossische Zeitung’.
This magazine reported that a certain Petar Blagojević had died in the village of Kisiljevo, followed by ten more people in the next 24 hours. On their deathbed, people would say that they saw him and that he tried to strangle them.
The most famous Serbian vampire is Sava Savanović, a character from the story Posle devedeset godina (= After Ninety Years) by Serbian writer Milovan Glišić. The horror film Leptirica (= The Butterfly) was filmed based on this story.
Vampir also inspired the famous novel ‘Dracula’ by Abraham Stoker.
Serbian folk beliefs about Vampir:
- If you want to protect yourself from the bite of a vampire, you need to use a wooden stake to defend yourself. They also fear holy water and garlic.
#4 Serbian Mythical Creatures: Vukodlak
The Serbian word Vukodlak is deprived of the words vuk (= wolf) and dlaka (= hair). In English, it is translated as werewolf.
In Serbian folklore, a werewolf is a human in wolf form, a being who has transformed into a terrifying hybrid of man and wolf.
In fact, it is a demon with blood-red eyes and a body covered in wolf fur.
The main difference between a vampire and a werewolf is that a werewolf is a living human being with the ability to transform.
Serbian folk beliefs about Vukodlak:
- You can turn a werewolf back into a human if you touch it with some metal, such as iron, steel, or silver.
Do you want to find out more about creatures such as Vukodlak?
You can find more information in the book Slovenska mitologija by Nenad Gajić. Currently, there’s no translation into English, so maybe it’s time to start with Serbian online lessons?
#5 Serbian Mythical Creatures: Babaroga
The some-kind of the equivalent of this Serbian mythical creature in Western mythology is the Boogeyman.
Babaroga is a scary old lady with a horn on her head. The name Babaroga is derived from the Serbian words baba (= grandma) and rog (= horn).
In Serbian folk stories, she is described as a terrifying female being. She is hunched, ugly, and without teeth.
Serbian folk beliefs about Babaroga:
- She hides in dark places and only comes out at night. According to Serbian folk stories, this witch frightens and kidnaps naughty children.
The stories about Babaroga were told to frighten children, for example:
Ako ne budeš dobar, doći će Babaroga! (= If you are acting badly, Babaroga will come.)
Fortunately, fewer people today practice Babaroga stories to scare children. 🙂
In Slavic folklore, there’s an old witch similar to Babaroga called Baba Jaga. She is also a scary mythical creature that kidnaps, cooks, and eats children.
#6 Serbian Mythical Creatures: Noćna mora
Noćna Mora (besides, it can also mean a nightmare) is a mythical creature from Slavic mythology. She is some kind of demon that wanders at night, sits on the chests of sleeping people, and drinks their blood.
It can also appear in various small objects, such as hair or straw.
Mora has such outstanding abilities that it can slip even through a keyhole.
From the most common belief, More are witches’ daughters. After they get married, they become witches themselves.
Serbian beliefs about Noćna Mora:
- If you place a broom across your doorway, you can drive away Mora, because they hate obstacles.
The Bottom Line
Serbian mythology is full of scary and mystical beings.
If you like horror stories, it will be interesting for you to start searching for these Serbian folk stories.
But if you would rather read stories with happy endings, then you should search for Serbian fairy tales. Many of them are saved from oblivion because Vuk Stefanović Karadžić travelled through Serbia and wrote down folk stories from older people. Some of the most popular Serbian fairy tales are:
- Zlatna jabuka i devet paunica
- Devojka cara nadmudrila
- Baš-čelik
- Čardak ni na nebu ni na zemlji
So, do you want to enjoy Serbian literature as natives do? Schedule your Serbian online lessons!
Notes & References:
- This article contains AI-generated images.
- Вампир — Википедија
