1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,480 Speaker 1: Hey, everybody. Before we get started with this episode, we 2 00:00:02,600 --> 00:00:06,400 Speaker 1: have one last live show to announce for We will 3 00:00:06,440 --> 00:00:09,400 Speaker 1: be in New Orleans, Louisiana, at the National World War 4 00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:12,840 Speaker 1: Two Museum on Tuesday, November six. Okay, we know that 5 00:00:12,920 --> 00:00:16,320 Speaker 1: selection day, but we don't want coming to our show 6 00:00:16,360 --> 00:00:18,439 Speaker 1: to keep you from the polls. We are both going 7 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:20,720 Speaker 1: to vote early before we leave for New Orleans, and 8 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:23,759 Speaker 1: Louisiana offers early voting as well, so we encourage you 9 00:00:23,800 --> 00:00:26,120 Speaker 1: to do so. You can find out more about this 10 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:28,480 Speaker 1: show and get a link to buy tickets at missed 11 00:00:28,480 --> 00:00:34,479 Speaker 1: in History dot com slash tour. Welcome to Stuff You 12 00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:44,280 Speaker 1: Missed in History class from how Stuff Works dot com. Hello, 13 00:00:44,400 --> 00:00:46,959 Speaker 1: and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly Fry and I'm 14 00:00:47,040 --> 00:00:50,640 Speaker 1: Tracy Wilson. In the interest of a little Halloween fund 15 00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:52,600 Speaker 1: this year, I thought it might be interesting to look 16 00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:56,200 Speaker 1: at a couple of classic folklore figures. And these are 17 00:00:56,280 --> 00:00:59,120 Speaker 1: two entities with a number of similarities. So first, they're 18 00:00:59,120 --> 00:01:02,920 Speaker 1: both women. Uh. They are also both usually described as 19 00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:06,600 Speaker 1: crones or hags, and there is no clear origin point 20 00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:09,119 Speaker 1: for either of them. As a lot of folklore, they 21 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:11,120 Speaker 1: have been around for a long time and they have 22 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:15,320 Speaker 1: been hitting the written record at various points in time, 23 00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:18,720 Speaker 1: but their stories existed long before that. But they're also 24 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:22,160 Speaker 1: very different as well, because while both of these UH 25 00:01:22,280 --> 00:01:25,800 Speaker 1: figures are part of folkloric traditions, one they come from 26 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:29,240 Speaker 1: different parts of the world UH. And then the other 27 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:32,600 Speaker 1: is that one of them has actually a scientific explanation 28 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:35,200 Speaker 1: and the other does not, But it has a really 29 00:01:35,240 --> 00:01:39,000 Speaker 1: fantastic and colorful story that persists and has kind of 30 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:43,120 Speaker 1: spread far beyond her origins, and she's become almost like 31 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:46,200 Speaker 1: a modern fulk hero over a lot of culture she 32 00:01:46,319 --> 00:01:48,640 Speaker 1: was never part of to begin with. So we were 33 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:52,600 Speaker 1: talking about two spooky ladies. The first is Piece of 34 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:55,280 Speaker 1: Day that which hopefully I am not completely butchering that 35 00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:58,640 Speaker 1: it is Portuguese, not a language I am comfortable with UH. 36 00:01:58,680 --> 00:02:01,320 Speaker 1: And the other is Baba Yaga, both of whom would 37 00:02:01,320 --> 00:02:03,960 Speaker 1: make great last minute costume ideas if you're wondering. Also 38 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:06,400 Speaker 1: a note on Babba Yaga. I have heard some people 39 00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:09,520 Speaker 1: pronounce it baba yaga. It seems to be a little 40 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:12,560 Speaker 1: bit regional in how those play out. Babba Yaga flows 41 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:14,240 Speaker 1: a little more naturally for me, So that is what 42 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:16,560 Speaker 1: I am going with. If you prefer the other by 43 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:18,720 Speaker 1: all means you use it in your daily life. Please 44 00:02:18,720 --> 00:02:21,600 Speaker 1: don't be angry at me for not. This is like 45 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:26,520 Speaker 1: Crampus and Friends Halloween edition, yes, which is kind of 46 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:29,160 Speaker 1: funny because Crampas seems more like a Halloween figure. But 47 00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:35,240 Speaker 1: as part of our our winter holidays. Yep. So we're 48 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:37,880 Speaker 1: going to start with piece of data and there's a 49 00:02:37,919 --> 00:02:42,400 Speaker 1: modern sensationalized version of her that's really just terrifying. Starts 50 00:02:42,440 --> 00:02:45,560 Speaker 1: with tales that Warren against eating heavy meals before going 51 00:02:45,560 --> 00:02:48,680 Speaker 1: to bed and advise you never to sleep on your back, 52 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:51,880 Speaker 1: with results there are a lot more horrifying than if 53 00:02:51,919 --> 00:02:55,400 Speaker 1: you just eat well shrabbit before going to bed. I 54 00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:58,040 Speaker 1: did think about there's like there's like a rare bit 55 00:02:58,080 --> 00:03:02,600 Speaker 1: through line in our podcast lately. Yeah. Um, and this 56 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:04,600 Speaker 1: is because if you eat a big heavy meal before 57 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:06,360 Speaker 1: going to bed and then you sleep on your back, 58 00:03:06,440 --> 00:03:10,240 Speaker 1: then possibly Pisadra is this old hag with wild hair 59 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:12,280 Speaker 1: and claws and razor sharp teeth, and she's going to 60 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:14,480 Speaker 1: come visit you and sit on you in the night, 61 00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:17,360 Speaker 1: and if she does, you may very well not survive 62 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:21,760 Speaker 1: the visit. Pisadra will climb atop your chest or stomach 63 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:24,440 Speaker 1: and begin to torture you in your prone, in deeply 64 00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:27,800 Speaker 1: drowsy state. She may or may not laugh or giggle 65 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:30,680 Speaker 1: as she goes about her work, applying pressure to your 66 00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:34,560 Speaker 1: chest or stomach, possibly even stomping on it so that 67 00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:38,280 Speaker 1: you lose your ability to breathe and slowly die. So 68 00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:41,800 Speaker 1: maybe the most gruesome aspect of this attack is that 69 00:03:41,880 --> 00:03:45,240 Speaker 1: she wants her victims to be incapacitated, but she also 70 00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:47,880 Speaker 1: wants them to be awake, so you might try to 71 00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:50,440 Speaker 1: fight or scream, but your body won't respond to what 72 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:54,280 Speaker 1: you're doing. So, according to all these stories, when she 73 00:03:54,400 --> 00:03:58,200 Speaker 1: attacks in the night, her victims either die or remember 74 00:03:58,240 --> 00:04:02,360 Speaker 1: the events as a hazy nightmare. But while modern paranormal 75 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:05,600 Speaker 1: enthusiasts have kind of taken up the Pisada legend and 76 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:09,080 Speaker 1: run with it, its roots are actually in Brazilian folklore. 77 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:14,160 Speaker 1: So if you go to an online dictionary, the name 78 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:19,160 Speaker 1: pizzada translates from Portuguese as stepping foot or tread or. 79 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:23,680 Speaker 1: Folklorist Luis de come out A Kascudo has also examined 80 00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:27,279 Speaker 1: and suggested some other linguistic roots for her name, including paso, 81 00:04:27,520 --> 00:04:31,720 Speaker 1: which means heavy, and the root of the Portuguese word padlo, 82 00:04:31,839 --> 00:04:35,520 Speaker 1: which means nightmare. Folklore based descriptions of the piece of 83 00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:38,320 Speaker 1: data cast her in a variety of ways, and even 84 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:40,800 Speaker 1: sometimes as a male figure, although it is much more 85 00:04:40,839 --> 00:04:44,920 Speaker 1: commonly a woman. In Saiata state of Brazil, along the 86 00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:49,240 Speaker 1: country's northeastern shore, this figure is always male and named Pisador, 87 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:52,160 Speaker 1: but in the female form she is often described as 88 00:04:52,200 --> 00:04:56,200 Speaker 1: an old old woman, often spind lee with long fingernails, 89 00:04:56,240 --> 00:04:59,920 Speaker 1: although there are also regional variations in which she takes 90 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:03,040 Speaker 1: on a more portly physicality, and the South France she 91 00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:06,479 Speaker 1: skill a river area near Brazil's eastern coast, the name 92 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:11,479 Speaker 1: is spelled differently. It becomes Pasaderra, with an e after 93 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:14,920 Speaker 1: the P instead of an eye after the P. This 94 00:05:15,080 --> 00:05:19,159 Speaker 1: version of the terrible nightmare visitor also is associated with 95 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:21,800 Speaker 1: a specific article of clothing, which is a red cap. 96 00:05:22,640 --> 00:05:24,880 Speaker 1: The cap is connected to her power, and according to 97 00:05:24,920 --> 00:05:27,599 Speaker 1: this version of the legend, it offers a way to 98 00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:32,200 Speaker 1: overcome her. If she attacks you in your sleep. If 99 00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:35,880 Speaker 1: you manage to snatch off the cap, her power and 100 00:05:35,960 --> 00:05:38,359 Speaker 1: strength will be diminished, and she'll be so desperate to 101 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:40,960 Speaker 1: get the cap back that she'll grant a wish in 102 00:05:41,080 --> 00:05:43,640 Speaker 1: order to get it back, so yeah, there's a way out. 103 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:47,640 Speaker 1: There's an escape clause. The legend is that she lurks 104 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:50,200 Speaker 1: on rooftops waiting for people to go to sleep, so 105 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:53,320 Speaker 1: then she can drop into their homes, often through chimneys, 106 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:55,960 Speaker 1: and then do her business of walking on their chests. 107 00:05:56,680 --> 00:05:59,320 Speaker 1: And at that point, the folklore version is pretty much 108 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:02,279 Speaker 1: like the version that gets repeated on modern sort of 109 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:06,120 Speaker 1: more sensationalized paranormal sites, she crushes the air out of 110 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:09,919 Speaker 1: her victim's lungs and they experience a slow, agonizing death, 111 00:06:10,440 --> 00:06:13,279 Speaker 1: or they are survived but left with a lingering sense 112 00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:18,800 Speaker 1: of terror. There's a Portuguese folkloric predecessor to the Piece 113 00:06:18,839 --> 00:06:21,839 Speaker 1: of d Era. She's a very similar behavior, but was 114 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:26,080 Speaker 1: a male friar figure called the handhol Fryer or little 115 00:06:26,080 --> 00:06:29,520 Speaker 1: handhold Fryer, as that name suggests. This legend was that 116 00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:32,640 Speaker 1: he could enter a sleeping person's room through the keyhole 117 00:06:33,240 --> 00:06:35,920 Speaker 1: and impede their ability to scream by placing a heavy 118 00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:39,799 Speaker 1: hand on their chest. This entity also shares the red 119 00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:44,080 Speaker 1: cap detail, and he only brings nightmares. When the person 120 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:47,320 Speaker 1: wakes up, he vanishes. Yeah, it's less of a fatal 121 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:50,480 Speaker 1: situation and more that he will just manifest really bad 122 00:06:50,560 --> 00:06:56,719 Speaker 1: dreams into your your subconscious. Brazil's native people's uh have 123 00:06:56,960 --> 00:07:00,719 Speaker 1: across different tribes their own different versions piece of data 124 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:05,040 Speaker 1: in their cultural mythology, although they go by slightly different names. 125 00:07:05,080 --> 00:07:07,840 Speaker 1: But all of the different monikers that go with this 126 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:12,400 Speaker 1: legend are associated with demons and nighttime, and the descriptions 127 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:16,520 Speaker 1: all follow this same general pattern of a scraggly woman 128 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:19,600 Speaker 1: with wild hair and long fingernails who comes to sit 129 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:23,360 Speaker 1: on a sleeper's chest or stomach. It's really hard to 130 00:07:23,440 --> 00:07:26,440 Speaker 1: trace the origin points of this myth and all the 131 00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:29,760 Speaker 1: related folkloric figures. They've all been part of an oral 132 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:33,320 Speaker 1: tradition and passed down through generations, shifting and adapting in 133 00:07:33,440 --> 00:07:36,680 Speaker 1: various communities and families. Yeah, just like if you have, 134 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:40,320 Speaker 1: like a family story you tell, it often changes from 135 00:07:40,360 --> 00:07:44,559 Speaker 1: generation to generation as people add their own details and bits, 136 00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:46,320 Speaker 1: or maybe forget parts of it, and the same thing 137 00:07:46,360 --> 00:07:49,840 Speaker 1: has happened with this. You may well have also heard 138 00:07:49,880 --> 00:07:52,880 Speaker 1: of other entities that are very similar to the piece 139 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:56,120 Speaker 1: of Detra in other cultures outside of Brazil, and even 140 00:07:56,200 --> 00:07:59,720 Speaker 1: within Brazil. As we mentioned, there are many versions, and 141 00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:02,400 Speaker 1: that's because they all really linked to this same fear 142 00:08:02,480 --> 00:08:05,800 Speaker 1: of powerlessness when we sleep. But even more than that, 143 00:08:05,840 --> 00:08:09,640 Speaker 1: they all seemed to be expressions of a really common phenomenon, 144 00:08:09,800 --> 00:08:13,400 Speaker 1: and that is sleep paralysis. I have an embarrassing story 145 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:16,080 Speaker 1: for you, Tracy. What is it one? Have you ever 146 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:20,480 Speaker 1: experienced sleep paralysis? Now? Well, I mean I not to 147 00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:22,760 Speaker 1: the extent that people who talk about like they're very 148 00:08:22,800 --> 00:08:28,760 Speaker 1: frightening events have. So I have on and off throughout 149 00:08:28,840 --> 00:08:31,080 Speaker 1: my life since I was five. That's the first time 150 00:08:31,080 --> 00:08:35,839 Speaker 1: I remember it happening, but I never told anybody about it, 151 00:08:35,920 --> 00:08:38,320 Speaker 1: and thought like this was my horrible secret. That was 152 00:08:38,400 --> 00:08:40,600 Speaker 1: like the portent of the day when I would just 153 00:08:40,640 --> 00:08:43,679 Speaker 1: go mad. Oh no, Like I remember when I was 154 00:08:43,800 --> 00:08:46,720 Speaker 1: five the first time, I was um my dad, whose 155 00:08:46,760 --> 00:08:49,200 Speaker 1: career Air Force, was away, and I was sleeping in 156 00:08:49,240 --> 00:08:51,520 Speaker 1: my parents bed with my mom, and I woke up 157 00:08:51,559 --> 00:08:53,720 Speaker 1: and I thought there was a ring of demons dancing 158 00:08:53,720 --> 00:08:55,600 Speaker 1: around the foot of the bed and I couldn't move 159 00:08:55,640 --> 00:08:58,080 Speaker 1: and they were basically threatening me and my mother and 160 00:08:58,120 --> 00:09:00,240 Speaker 1: it was very scary. Um. And this continue you to 161 00:09:00,280 --> 00:09:03,000 Speaker 1: iterate in various different versions throughout my life, and it 162 00:09:03,040 --> 00:09:06,040 Speaker 1: was not again I just thought like, well, I will 163 00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:08,200 Speaker 1: absolutely lose my mind one day, and this is just 164 00:09:08,280 --> 00:09:10,800 Speaker 1: the early stages of it. And it was kind of 165 00:09:10,800 --> 00:09:14,560 Speaker 1: my weird thing that was fearful in my life. And 166 00:09:14,559 --> 00:09:17,199 Speaker 1: it was not until I was I think thirty years 167 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:19,760 Speaker 1: old and in a car on the way to Disney 168 00:09:19,760 --> 00:09:22,840 Speaker 1: World with a friend where she started describing an episode 169 00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:25,440 Speaker 1: of sleep paralysis, and I was like, wait, that happens 170 00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:30,199 Speaker 1: to other people. So I'm completely embarrassed that I did 171 00:09:30,240 --> 00:09:32,200 Speaker 1: not know and did not even though I am a 172 00:09:32,240 --> 00:09:34,880 Speaker 1: person who loves to research things, I think to look 173 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:37,840 Speaker 1: up this thing, yeah, and see if it was common. 174 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:41,040 Speaker 1: It's so common, it happens just so many people. Yeah. Well, 175 00:09:41,040 --> 00:09:43,679 Speaker 1: and I like, I've had a couple of incidents in 176 00:09:43,720 --> 00:09:45,800 Speaker 1: my lifetime where I like, I had a really scary 177 00:09:46,080 --> 00:09:49,560 Speaker 1: dream and could not move, but like, not not to 178 00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:52,640 Speaker 1: the extent that like people who wind up going and 179 00:09:52,679 --> 00:09:57,479 Speaker 1: being diagnosed with any kind of sleep disorder have described. Yeah. 180 00:09:57,559 --> 00:09:59,160 Speaker 1: And one of the things I know I do is 181 00:09:59,320 --> 00:10:03,720 Speaker 1: I continually, even now, even though intellectually I know what's 182 00:10:03,720 --> 00:10:06,800 Speaker 1: going on, and sometimes I'm conscious enough to be like, oh, 183 00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:09,480 Speaker 1: this is happening, but I always have that moment in 184 00:10:09,559 --> 00:10:12,000 Speaker 1: my sleep where I try so hard to make a 185 00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:14,360 Speaker 1: noise that sometimes I make what is apparently a very 186 00:10:14,400 --> 00:10:17,640 Speaker 1: frightening noise. I only know because my husband is like, WHOA, 187 00:10:17,679 --> 00:10:24,320 Speaker 1: that's terrifying. I'm gonna have nightmares about that. So this 188 00:10:24,400 --> 00:10:28,200 Speaker 1: phenomenon that Holly has been experiencing was first described in 189 00:10:28,240 --> 00:10:34,000 Speaker 1: writing by Hippocrates circa four but people were surely experiencing 190 00:10:34,040 --> 00:10:38,280 Speaker 1: it way before that. It's been linked with sexuality and 191 00:10:38,320 --> 00:10:41,640 Speaker 1: with the concept of demons who paralyzed their victims and 192 00:10:41,800 --> 00:10:44,080 Speaker 1: raped them at various points in history, so like the 193 00:10:44,160 --> 00:10:47,319 Speaker 1: succubus and incubus, smiths are kind of tied in with it. 194 00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:52,760 Speaker 1: Over time, those associations have diminished, though, And coming up, 195 00:10:52,760 --> 00:10:54,600 Speaker 1: we're going to talk a little bit more about what 196 00:10:54,720 --> 00:10:58,000 Speaker 1: sleep paralysis actually is and sort of how it works, 197 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:00,360 Speaker 1: as much as we understand it. But first we're gonna 198 00:11:00,400 --> 00:11:11,120 Speaker 1: pause and have a quick sponsor break. So now, sleep 199 00:11:11,160 --> 00:11:15,400 Speaker 1: paralysis is recognized as a relatively harmless but very unsettling 200 00:11:15,440 --> 00:11:18,600 Speaker 1: sleep disorder. It can be linked to other things, but 201 00:11:18,679 --> 00:11:21,520 Speaker 1: it in and of itself is harmless. The exact nature 202 00:11:21,760 --> 00:11:25,680 Speaker 1: of how sleep paralysis happens is actually the subject of 203 00:11:25,760 --> 00:11:29,400 Speaker 1: ongoing study. It seems that the visions of demons or 204 00:11:29,480 --> 00:11:33,000 Speaker 1: evil presences, which are common in instances of sleep paralysis, 205 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:38,199 Speaker 1: are the result of hypnogogic or hypnopompic hallucinations. So hypnogogic 206 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:42,720 Speaker 1: hallucinations happen at the onset of sleep. Hypnopompic hallucinations happen 207 00:11:42,800 --> 00:11:45,120 Speaker 1: as a person is waking up, and it is likely 208 00:11:45,480 --> 00:11:47,960 Speaker 1: that this is because the the rem cycle of sleep 209 00:11:48,080 --> 00:11:51,120 Speaker 1: is disturbed and so that transition into or out of 210 00:11:51,160 --> 00:11:55,119 Speaker 1: it is jarred, and there is a normal brief paralysis 211 00:11:55,200 --> 00:11:57,240 Speaker 1: that does happen at those points of sleep. But in 212 00:11:57,280 --> 00:12:00,840 Speaker 1: the case of sleep paralysis, the sleeper achieves a level 213 00:12:00,880 --> 00:12:03,200 Speaker 1: of consciousness during those times, and that is why the 214 00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:07,320 Speaker 1: brain puts together these very scary possibilities. There's probably a 215 00:12:07,320 --> 00:12:11,720 Speaker 1: genetic predisposition to experiencing sleep paralysis, and all kinds of 216 00:12:11,760 --> 00:12:16,920 Speaker 1: stressors can trigger these experiences. Anxiety, jet lag, post traumatic 217 00:12:16,960 --> 00:12:22,000 Speaker 1: stress disorder. Even just routine life changes like changing jobs 218 00:12:22,120 --> 00:12:26,000 Speaker 1: or moving to a new place can contribute to all 219 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:30,760 Speaker 1: kinds of sleep disorders, including sleep paralysis. Sleep deprivation can 220 00:12:30,840 --> 00:12:33,440 Speaker 1: also cause the shift into ram sleep to happen at 221 00:12:33,440 --> 00:12:36,560 Speaker 1: an abnormal rate, which can lead to sleep paralysis. It's 222 00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:40,400 Speaker 1: also really, really common. Between twenty five and fifty percent 223 00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:44,400 Speaker 1: of Americans are estimated to have sleep paralysis. Yeah, and 224 00:12:44,480 --> 00:12:47,400 Speaker 1: this science is all, like I said, still being studied. 225 00:12:47,520 --> 00:12:49,160 Speaker 1: There was one thing I looked at that said, well, 226 00:12:49,240 --> 00:12:50,959 Speaker 1: for a long time, we thought it was more common 227 00:12:50,960 --> 00:12:53,320 Speaker 1: in women than men, but then we did this other 228 00:12:53,360 --> 00:12:56,040 Speaker 1: sample group and that didn't pan out at all. So 229 00:12:56,080 --> 00:12:59,720 Speaker 1: they're still figuring out, like exactly what the sort of 230 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:03,680 Speaker 1: classic person who might get sleep paralysis is. Because some 231 00:13:03,720 --> 00:13:06,040 Speaker 1: people will have it just once or twice in their lives. 232 00:13:06,040 --> 00:13:08,640 Speaker 1: Other people like me have it all the time. It's 233 00:13:08,679 --> 00:13:11,439 Speaker 1: just a weird thing. We don't know. Uh. But sleep 234 00:13:11,480 --> 00:13:14,280 Speaker 1: medicine as a field, which is really what I'm getting at, 235 00:13:14,400 --> 00:13:18,400 Speaker 1: is still relatively young. Researchers have only been truly digging 236 00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:20,480 Speaker 1: into the science of sleep cycles for less than a 237 00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:24,320 Speaker 1: hundred years, so for centuries, people have been trying to 238 00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:28,280 Speaker 1: explain these weird, scary moments of feeling intensely that something 239 00:13:28,840 --> 00:13:31,840 Speaker 1: some creature had crawled atop them as they slept and 240 00:13:31,880 --> 00:13:35,600 Speaker 1: paralyzed them, forcing awaking nightmare upon them which they had 241 00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:39,800 Speaker 1: no power to combat or even scream about. While Hippocrates 242 00:13:39,880 --> 00:13:43,000 Speaker 1: wrote a description of what really seems like sleep paralysis 243 00:13:43,040 --> 00:13:46,240 Speaker 1: way back in the fifth century BC. It wasn't until 244 00:13:46,240 --> 00:13:49,360 Speaker 1: the sixteen hundreds that the disorder was written about medically 245 00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:53,440 Speaker 1: as a diagnosis. That honor goes to Dutch physician and 246 00:13:53,480 --> 00:13:57,320 Speaker 1: anatomus Icebrand von diamer Brook, who was treating a woman 247 00:13:57,400 --> 00:14:01,280 Speaker 1: who had these recurring nightmares. Was not all that long 248 00:14:01,360 --> 00:14:04,680 Speaker 1: after the word nightmare became more associated with the general 249 00:14:04,760 --> 00:14:08,840 Speaker 1: umbrella of bad dreams, because before the four hundreds, the 250 00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:11,120 Speaker 1: word more conveyed the idea that a witch or a 251 00:14:11,160 --> 00:14:13,840 Speaker 1: demon had come to the sleeper in the night. Yeah, 252 00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:15,600 Speaker 1: that's one of those things that gets cited as a 253 00:14:15,640 --> 00:14:21,440 Speaker 1: problematic aspect in untangling historical instances of sleep paralysis because 254 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:24,840 Speaker 1: the word nightmare has shifted meanings and in this sort 255 00:14:24,840 --> 00:14:29,760 Speaker 1: of several hundred year period it was getting used both ways. Um, 256 00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:32,440 Speaker 1: so that makes it a little tricky. And even though 257 00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:36,520 Speaker 1: we have had sleep science working on explaining sleep sleep paralysis, 258 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:40,040 Speaker 1: the experience is so intense and it feels so very 259 00:14:40,120 --> 00:14:43,040 Speaker 1: real to many people that they still seek other explanations. 260 00:14:43,360 --> 00:14:45,480 Speaker 1: I mean, it really does sometimes feel like there is 261 00:14:45,520 --> 00:14:48,920 Speaker 1: a person over you, and it is hard to accept 262 00:14:48,920 --> 00:14:51,480 Speaker 1: that your brain has just made this up. Um and 263 00:14:51,480 --> 00:14:53,400 Speaker 1: this is likely at the heart of a number of 264 00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:56,600 Speaker 1: alien abduction stories. A lot of sleep researchers talk about this. 265 00:14:57,400 --> 00:15:00,960 Speaker 1: Many people who experienced sleep paralysis report feeling as though 266 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:04,240 Speaker 1: their bodies have been dragged or even carried through the air. 267 00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:07,400 Speaker 1: Those are sensations that are also common in abduction stories, 268 00:15:07,400 --> 00:15:09,960 Speaker 1: so there is some research going on to link exactly 269 00:15:09,960 --> 00:15:13,000 Speaker 1: how those work together. So if you don't want to 270 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:16,560 Speaker 1: be visited by piece of data this Halloween season or anytime, 271 00:15:17,280 --> 00:15:19,640 Speaker 1: make sure you get plenty of sleep on a regular schedule, 272 00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:22,320 Speaker 1: and don't sleep on your back. That's not just a 273 00:15:22,320 --> 00:15:25,960 Speaker 1: piece of folklore. Sleep scientists caution against sleeping on your 274 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:29,200 Speaker 1: back as well as do people who have to sleep 275 00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:35,680 Speaker 1: in the same room as snores. Of course, you can 276 00:15:35,680 --> 00:15:38,160 Speaker 1: always take your chances though, that you'll somehow manage to 277 00:15:38,200 --> 00:15:40,520 Speaker 1: steal her cap if you happen to be visited by 278 00:15:40,560 --> 00:15:42,840 Speaker 1: one of the ones that has went on. Yeah, and 279 00:15:42,840 --> 00:15:45,320 Speaker 1: then you can get a wish. I'm waiting. I'm waiting 280 00:15:45,320 --> 00:15:47,720 Speaker 1: for you, piece of data. I want that cap and 281 00:15:47,760 --> 00:15:49,280 Speaker 1: it's going to happen again, so I may as well 282 00:15:49,280 --> 00:15:52,040 Speaker 1: think about it that way. Just plant plant, train your 283 00:15:52,040 --> 00:15:54,880 Speaker 1: brain for some cap snatching. I'm gonna do it. Maybe 284 00:15:54,920 --> 00:15:56,720 Speaker 1: if I could train one of the cats to help me, 285 00:15:56,880 --> 00:15:59,440 Speaker 1: and that would really help out. Here's an interesting thing 286 00:15:59,480 --> 00:16:03,560 Speaker 1: I will as an aside, nobody really cares. Since having cats, 287 00:16:04,040 --> 00:16:06,680 Speaker 1: the instances have gone down, and I wonder if my 288 00:16:06,760 --> 00:16:09,400 Speaker 1: brain is trying to process something like that, and they're like, no, 289 00:16:09,480 --> 00:16:13,480 Speaker 1: it's just a cat on you. I don't know, but 290 00:16:13,560 --> 00:16:17,000 Speaker 1: they've helped um. So we're gonna switch gears now and 291 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:19,760 Speaker 1: talk about Bobba Yaga. And if you saw Aunt Man 292 00:16:19,760 --> 00:16:22,840 Speaker 1: in the Wasp, you have heard of Bobba Yaga, or 293 00:16:22,880 --> 00:16:25,480 Speaker 1: perhaps you recall that that was John Wick's nickname in 294 00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:27,800 Speaker 1: the film of that same name, because he was so 295 00:16:27,840 --> 00:16:31,560 Speaker 1: intensely brutal, and that is a characteristic of Bobba Yaga, 296 00:16:32,160 --> 00:16:34,200 Speaker 1: and the Bobba Yaga legend is of course played for 297 00:16:34,280 --> 00:16:36,920 Speaker 1: laughs in the first film and to invoke fear in 298 00:16:36,960 --> 00:16:40,000 Speaker 1: the second. Those two ideas might seem at odds, but 299 00:16:40,080 --> 00:16:43,440 Speaker 1: the tradition and lore around this figure are extremely fluid, 300 00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:45,840 Speaker 1: so it's kind of not that weird. So much like 301 00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:47,600 Speaker 1: a lot of the figures we've talked about in our 302 00:16:47,640 --> 00:16:50,440 Speaker 1: Crampus and Friends holiday episodes that I referenced at the 303 00:16:50,440 --> 00:16:53,320 Speaker 1: top of the show. Bobby Yaga has been used to 304 00:16:53,680 --> 00:16:58,160 Speaker 1: scare children into behaving well, into staying in bed at night, 305 00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:01,280 Speaker 1: but her identity has a lot of facets that can't 306 00:17:01,320 --> 00:17:05,240 Speaker 1: really be characterized in that way. Additionally, because of her 307 00:17:05,320 --> 00:17:09,040 Speaker 1: inconsistent nature and this vast array of portrayals that she's had, 308 00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:13,280 Speaker 1: Bobby Yaga has influenced and inspired a lot of different 309 00:17:13,280 --> 00:17:16,240 Speaker 1: types of art. Her origins are really murky, but she's 310 00:17:16,280 --> 00:17:19,880 Speaker 1: born out of Slavic folklore. She's unrelated to any other 311 00:17:19,920 --> 00:17:23,720 Speaker 1: belief system. She's not a demon or a spirit associated 312 00:17:23,720 --> 00:17:26,760 Speaker 1: with any religion. She's not a witch exactly, although she 313 00:17:26,840 --> 00:17:31,560 Speaker 1: certainly has some supernatural abilities and can command elements. It's 314 00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:34,040 Speaker 1: pretty easy to draw a line to some pagan roots. 315 00:17:34,040 --> 00:17:37,280 Speaker 1: But Bobby Yaga's story is really its own story. She's 316 00:17:37,320 --> 00:17:40,280 Speaker 1: just Bi Yaga, and there are aspects of the Bobby 317 00:17:40,359 --> 00:17:44,120 Speaker 1: Yaga character that do persist across most of her iterations. 318 00:17:44,760 --> 00:17:47,399 Speaker 1: One is that she lives in a house that has legs. 319 00:17:47,600 --> 00:17:50,919 Speaker 1: I love this so much. Those legs look like chicken legs, 320 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:53,320 Speaker 1: and the house can rise up and travel around or 321 00:17:53,400 --> 00:17:56,000 Speaker 1: spin by walking on them. It's a lot like Howell's 322 00:17:56,000 --> 00:18:00,360 Speaker 1: moving castle uh and when offense is mentioned around the home. 323 00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:02,800 Speaker 1: It is made of human bones, and it sometimes has 324 00:18:02,800 --> 00:18:06,040 Speaker 1: skulls on top of the posts. Bobba Yaga is an 325 00:18:06,040 --> 00:18:09,600 Speaker 1: old woman like Pizzadela, with a long hooked nose, but 326 00:18:09,680 --> 00:18:13,320 Speaker 1: she has iron teeth, and she has also pretty consistently 327 00:18:13,440 --> 00:18:16,919 Speaker 1: a cannibal in some cases, though, Bobby Yaga is noted 328 00:18:16,920 --> 00:18:19,760 Speaker 1: for her wisdom and her knowledge, so much so that 329 00:18:19,800 --> 00:18:22,520 Speaker 1: people are said to go looking for that house on 330 00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:25,919 Speaker 1: chicken legs so they can ask her questions. It's always 331 00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:29,960 Speaker 1: a dangerous proposition, though, because she may decide to eat 332 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:34,119 Speaker 1: you instead of answering your questions. She asks people questions 333 00:18:34,119 --> 00:18:36,720 Speaker 1: to test them, and the penalty for the wrong answer 334 00:18:36,840 --> 00:18:40,159 Speaker 1: is death. When she travels, she flies in a mortar 335 00:18:40,480 --> 00:18:43,359 Speaker 1: or sometimes in a kettle made of iron. She carries 336 00:18:43,400 --> 00:18:46,399 Speaker 1: a pestle both to steer and to use as a weapon, 337 00:18:46,880 --> 00:18:49,320 Speaker 1: and she has a broom that she uses to erase 338 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:52,080 Speaker 1: all traces of her as she goes. And there are 339 00:18:52,240 --> 00:18:55,119 Speaker 1: some murkier aspects of her lower most of which have 340 00:18:55,200 --> 00:18:58,600 Speaker 1: no explanation. So, for example, she can have daughters that 341 00:18:58,800 --> 00:19:00,840 Speaker 1: there is no father involved. We don't know how she 342 00:19:00,920 --> 00:19:05,320 Speaker 1: procreates um, and these daughters are really almost like minions 343 00:19:05,440 --> 00:19:09,000 Speaker 1: rather than like her beloved offspring. She can also transform 344 00:19:09,080 --> 00:19:12,360 Speaker 1: into other shapes, such as a tornado like whirlwind. When 345 00:19:12,359 --> 00:19:14,320 Speaker 1: she wants to kidnap children to eat, you can just 346 00:19:14,359 --> 00:19:17,040 Speaker 1: spin up and snatch them that way. And she is 347 00:19:17,080 --> 00:19:19,840 Speaker 1: also sort of a mother figure to the forest who 348 00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:23,359 Speaker 1: is respected by animals. And she sometimes even takes on 349 00:19:23,400 --> 00:19:26,400 Speaker 1: a sort of mother Earth cast in various stories, and 350 00:19:26,520 --> 00:19:29,760 Speaker 1: she's the guardian of the water of life. In some 351 00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:33,280 Speaker 1: versions of her tail, she travels alongside death and eats 352 00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:37,520 Speaker 1: the souls of the recently deceased. To further complicate things, 353 00:19:37,560 --> 00:19:41,280 Speaker 1: Bobby Yaga is sometimes described as one of three sisters, 354 00:19:41,280 --> 00:19:44,240 Speaker 1: but all three sisters are also named Baba Yaga. This 355 00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:47,679 Speaker 1: might be a way to reconcile these various different aspects. 356 00:19:48,160 --> 00:19:51,520 Speaker 1: There's also a Bobby Yaga mythology in which she's definitely 357 00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:55,920 Speaker 1: a guiding entity, teaching manners by rewarding the people who 358 00:19:55,920 --> 00:19:59,760 Speaker 1: behave properly and with respect. Yeah, even in the ones 359 00:19:59,800 --> 00:20:03,239 Speaker 1: way where she is characterized as pretty evil, there's a 360 00:20:03,240 --> 00:20:06,040 Speaker 1: lot about like the rules of engagement with her about 361 00:20:06,359 --> 00:20:08,600 Speaker 1: you can only ask me a certain number of questions. 362 00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:11,720 Speaker 1: If you know too many things in this life, you've 363 00:20:11,760 --> 00:20:15,639 Speaker 1: become old. This has also led to one sort of 364 00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:18,840 Speaker 1: spinoff of her tail that whenever she answers someone's question, 365 00:20:19,240 --> 00:20:21,520 Speaker 1: it ages her, So that's why she's so careful about 366 00:20:21,560 --> 00:20:25,600 Speaker 1: testing them before she will answer questions. Knowledge is power, 367 00:20:25,640 --> 00:20:29,480 Speaker 1: but apparently also ages you. Uh And. One of the 368 00:20:29,520 --> 00:20:31,879 Speaker 1: sources that I came across while I was looking at 369 00:20:31,920 --> 00:20:35,480 Speaker 1: Boba Yaga was a translation of assorted Russian folk tales, 370 00:20:35,520 --> 00:20:38,840 Speaker 1: and Boba Yaga appears in many of them. So when 371 00:20:38,880 --> 00:20:40,800 Speaker 1: we come back from a quick sponsor break, we are 372 00:20:40,800 --> 00:20:43,320 Speaker 1: going to share two of those stories, because one shows 373 00:20:43,359 --> 00:20:46,840 Speaker 1: her dangerous nature and one shows her more helpful nature, 374 00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:57,159 Speaker 1: although she is also scary in it. So in the 375 00:20:57,200 --> 00:20:59,240 Speaker 1: first of the stories that we will share from this 376 00:20:59,480 --> 00:21:03,680 Speaker 1: uh sh And folk tale book, Bobby Yaga features in it, 377 00:21:03,720 --> 00:21:06,360 Speaker 1: but it starts with forty one brothers. They have their 378 00:21:06,359 --> 00:21:08,840 Speaker 1: own weird backstory. They were hatched from eggs by a 379 00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:11,560 Speaker 1: childless couple. One of the things I love about old 380 00:21:11,560 --> 00:21:14,119 Speaker 1: folk tales is how completely wonderfully weird they often are, 381 00:21:14,200 --> 00:21:17,040 Speaker 1: and this one delivers. But they go out into the 382 00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:20,560 Speaker 1: world to search for forty one sisters to marry, and 383 00:21:20,560 --> 00:21:23,119 Speaker 1: in their travels they come across the home of Bobby 384 00:21:23,200 --> 00:21:25,439 Speaker 1: Yaga and they tie their horses outside and kind of 385 00:21:25,480 --> 00:21:28,880 Speaker 1: expect some hospitality, and she is really angry that they 386 00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:30,760 Speaker 1: presumed that they could just stop at her house, but 387 00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:33,159 Speaker 1: she does give them food and drink, and then she 388 00:21:33,240 --> 00:21:36,680 Speaker 1: brings forth forty one daughters for them to marry. One 389 00:21:36,720 --> 00:21:39,360 Speaker 1: of the brothers gets a tip from his own mystical 390 00:21:39,480 --> 00:21:42,320 Speaker 1: helper figure that's on a journey with them. He says 391 00:21:42,359 --> 00:21:45,520 Speaker 1: that all the brothers should switch their clothes with their 392 00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:48,959 Speaker 1: bribes before going to bed. Then at midnight, Bobby Yaga 393 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:52,359 Speaker 1: calls all the servants of her house to decapitate the 394 00:21:52,440 --> 00:21:57,400 Speaker 1: uninvited guests, but the servants kill Bobby Yaga's daughters because 395 00:21:57,440 --> 00:22:00,120 Speaker 1: of this whole clothing change, and the forty one brothers 396 00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:03,600 Speaker 1: put their bride's heads on steaks and then place those 397 00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:07,560 Speaker 1: around Bobby Yaga's home. She's so angry she starts chasing 398 00:22:07,560 --> 00:22:10,359 Speaker 1: the men with a fiery shield that burns everything that 399 00:22:10,440 --> 00:22:13,240 Speaker 1: she turns it to. One of the brothers in this 400 00:22:13,359 --> 00:22:16,520 Speaker 1: story had stolen Bobby AGA's handkerchief, which was magical, and 401 00:22:16,600 --> 00:22:19,159 Speaker 1: used it to make a bridge over water and away 402 00:22:19,160 --> 00:22:21,720 Speaker 1: from the spire and then get rid of the bridge 403 00:22:21,720 --> 00:22:24,520 Speaker 1: so that Bobby Iaga couldn't pursue them. Yeah, and that's 404 00:22:24,520 --> 00:22:27,600 Speaker 1: how the story ends, like, Yeah, we tricked Bobby Yaga 405 00:22:27,760 --> 00:22:31,200 Speaker 1: and all her daughters are dead. Hooray we beat the 406 00:22:31,240 --> 00:22:35,480 Speaker 1: witch heg Um, which is kind of weird. Again, folklore 407 00:22:35,560 --> 00:22:38,800 Speaker 1: has some really great weirdness in it. But the other 408 00:22:38,920 --> 00:22:41,560 Speaker 1: story that we will talk about is really the most 409 00:22:41,600 --> 00:22:43,880 Speaker 1: famous of all the Bobba Yaga stories, and it's called 410 00:22:43,920 --> 00:22:47,159 Speaker 1: Vasilisa the Fair and it has some parallels to the 411 00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:51,840 Speaker 1: Cinderella story, particularly that the fair maiden Vasilissa was forced 412 00:22:51,880 --> 00:22:54,920 Speaker 1: to endure terrible treatment at the hands of her stepmother 413 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:58,800 Speaker 1: and step sisters, who all envy her grace and beauty. 414 00:22:58,920 --> 00:23:02,640 Speaker 1: And Vasilisa had the help of a doll, however, which 415 00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:04,879 Speaker 1: was given to her by her mother before she died. 416 00:23:05,400 --> 00:23:08,679 Speaker 1: So Vasilisa fed her doll and told it all her troubles, 417 00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:10,560 Speaker 1: and then in return, the doll did a lot of 418 00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:14,360 Speaker 1: her chores for her. While Vasilisa's father was traveling, her 419 00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:16,840 Speaker 1: stepmother sent her into the forest to the place where 420 00:23:16,840 --> 00:23:20,440 Speaker 1: Bobby Yaga's hut was, hoping that Vasilisa would be snatched 421 00:23:20,520 --> 00:23:24,800 Speaker 1: up and devoured, but the doll helped guide Vasilisa's path 422 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:27,400 Speaker 1: kept her from getting too close to Bobby Yaga's hut. 423 00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:32,720 Speaker 1: The story specifically mentioned the bone and skull fence. One night, 424 00:23:32,720 --> 00:23:34,400 Speaker 1: when all the candles of the house had gone out, 425 00:23:34,440 --> 00:23:38,280 Speaker 1: the evil step sisters sent Vasilisa specifically to Bobby Yaga 426 00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:41,920 Speaker 1: to ask for light. She was scared, but her doll 427 00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:43,840 Speaker 1: told her that if she carried her on the trip, 428 00:23:44,040 --> 00:23:46,280 Speaker 1: If she took the doll, she would be safe. So 429 00:23:46,359 --> 00:23:48,919 Speaker 1: on the way to Baba Yaga's hut, she was passed 430 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:51,879 Speaker 1: first by a white horse with a horseman all in white, 431 00:23:52,280 --> 00:23:54,440 Speaker 1: and then a red horse and a horseman all in red, 432 00:23:55,040 --> 00:23:57,160 Speaker 1: and then as she approached the hut, a black horse 433 00:23:57,240 --> 00:24:00,000 Speaker 1: with a horseman clad entirely in black. Later in the story, 434 00:24:00,119 --> 00:24:03,400 Speaker 1: she finds out that this is like the different phases 435 00:24:03,400 --> 00:24:06,160 Speaker 1: of the day, which Bobby Yaga has some control over. 436 00:24:06,720 --> 00:24:09,560 Speaker 1: But this third horseman vanished as he approached the door. 437 00:24:09,640 --> 00:24:12,880 Speaker 1: Vasilisa saw this because she was also coming upon the hunt. Finally, 438 00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:17,320 Speaker 1: so Vasi Lisa heard Bobby Yaga traveling toward her hut 439 00:24:17,359 --> 00:24:20,959 Speaker 1: from the woods, flying in her mortar, and she was terrified, 440 00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:24,119 Speaker 1: but told Bobby Yaga her stepsisters had sent her to 441 00:24:24,160 --> 00:24:28,560 Speaker 1: ask for fire, and surprisingly Bobby Iaga was receptive to this. 442 00:24:28,800 --> 00:24:31,080 Speaker 1: The terms were that the girl had to stay and 443 00:24:31,160 --> 00:24:33,520 Speaker 1: do work to get the fire, and if she failed 444 00:24:33,560 --> 00:24:35,960 Speaker 1: in the tasks that she was given, she would be eaten. 445 00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:40,080 Speaker 1: So for several days, she's given a series of tasks 446 00:24:40,119 --> 00:24:42,280 Speaker 1: to do every day while Boba Yaga is out flying 447 00:24:42,320 --> 00:24:45,640 Speaker 1: around doing her Bobby Yaga things, uh and each day 448 00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:49,160 Speaker 1: the task list lengthened, but Vasilisa was able to get 449 00:24:49,160 --> 00:24:52,800 Speaker 1: everything done thanks to her doll. And this seemed completely 450 00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:57,520 Speaker 1: impossible to Bobby Yaga, and so she questioned Vasilisa about 451 00:24:57,560 --> 00:25:00,600 Speaker 1: how she was managing to do all this, and Vasilisa 452 00:25:00,680 --> 00:25:03,480 Speaker 1: told Bobba Yaga that it was through her mother's blessing. 453 00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:07,320 Speaker 1: This led to the old Hags saying that Vasilisa had 454 00:25:07,359 --> 00:25:10,520 Speaker 1: to leave as quote, no one blessed may stay with me, 455 00:25:11,080 --> 00:25:13,159 Speaker 1: and so she sent the girl on her way with 456 00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:16,119 Speaker 1: a skull with burning eyes. This was her means of 457 00:25:16,160 --> 00:25:19,160 Speaker 1: bringing fire back to her house, but when she got 458 00:25:19,160 --> 00:25:22,920 Speaker 1: the skull home, it's fire burned the stepmother and step sisters. 459 00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:26,000 Speaker 1: So the story goes on from there, although Bobby Yaga 460 00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:29,960 Speaker 1: is no longer in it. Basilisa's fate continues to improve, though. 461 00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:32,160 Speaker 1: She ends up married to the Tsar and her father 462 00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:36,120 Speaker 1: lives with her and they're all happy again. I love 463 00:25:36,160 --> 00:25:40,560 Speaker 1: the weirdness of Okay, there's like a whole spinning of 464 00:25:40,640 --> 00:25:43,320 Speaker 1: flax in there. There are If you look at many 465 00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:46,159 Speaker 1: Bobba Yaga stories, you start to see ingredients that we 466 00:25:46,240 --> 00:25:48,800 Speaker 1: know from all of the various fairy tales we have 467 00:25:48,840 --> 00:25:51,520 Speaker 1: seen from various cultures. There are just those consistent things 468 00:25:51,520 --> 00:25:54,760 Speaker 1: that happen. There's even some great beanstock stuff. And sometimes 469 00:25:54,760 --> 00:25:57,480 Speaker 1: Bobby Yaga does the fi fi faux FuMB that we 470 00:25:57,600 --> 00:25:59,439 Speaker 1: at least that grew up in the United States in 471 00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:02,399 Speaker 1: the second half of the twentieth century got in our 472 00:26:02,480 --> 00:26:06,280 Speaker 1: our jack and the bean stock version. Uh and so uh. 473 00:26:06,320 --> 00:26:08,400 Speaker 1: The other thing I wanted to talk about is some art. 474 00:26:08,680 --> 00:26:11,119 Speaker 1: So while there are many works of art based on 475 00:26:11,160 --> 00:26:14,760 Speaker 1: both Pizza Data and Baba Yaga, Baba Yaga also inspired 476 00:26:14,800 --> 00:26:18,840 Speaker 1: the composer Modesk Masursky when he wrote the ten Movement 477 00:26:18,960 --> 00:26:23,040 Speaker 1: musical composition Pictures at an exhibition. He included one segment 478 00:26:23,160 --> 00:26:26,119 Speaker 1: that's the ninth of them, titled The Hut on Hen's Legs, 479 00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:29,919 Speaker 1: which is a musical personification of Bobba Yaga hunting for 480 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:34,119 Speaker 1: a human snack. Pictures that an exhibition is actually structured 481 00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:36,679 Speaker 1: around the idea that each movement of the piece is 482 00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:39,240 Speaker 1: based on a piece of art by Russian artist and 483 00:26:39,359 --> 00:26:42,840 Speaker 1: architect Victor Hartman. So really this is a double dose 484 00:26:42,960 --> 00:26:45,880 Speaker 1: of art inspired by the Bobba Yaga legend. That whole 485 00:26:45,880 --> 00:26:49,040 Speaker 1: thing has its own story of Victor Hartman died rather 486 00:26:49,080 --> 00:26:51,399 Speaker 1: suddenly when I think he was thirty nine, and so 487 00:26:51,480 --> 00:26:54,440 Speaker 1: Masursky was friends with him, and it was very troubling, 488 00:26:54,440 --> 00:26:56,399 Speaker 1: and that was kind of what led to this this 489 00:26:56,440 --> 00:26:59,480 Speaker 1: piece being done. You have probably heard this piece, whether 490 00:26:59,560 --> 00:27:01,720 Speaker 1: you know it or not, because it is probably the 491 00:27:01,760 --> 00:27:05,440 Speaker 1: most famous of Masursky's pieces, and people will often play 492 00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:09,760 Speaker 1: it in concert, and it's lovely. The heartmon painting of 493 00:27:09,800 --> 00:27:13,200 Speaker 1: Baba Yaga's Hut is not like any of the others 494 00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:15,800 Speaker 1: I have ever seen. It's done in as though. The 495 00:27:15,880 --> 00:27:19,080 Speaker 1: hut is in the style of an ornate Russian clock, 496 00:27:19,200 --> 00:27:21,240 Speaker 1: so it is a lot more quaint and a lot 497 00:27:21,320 --> 00:27:24,880 Speaker 1: less sinister than Bobba Yaga's House is normally depicted. So 498 00:27:25,440 --> 00:27:27,040 Speaker 1: if you find yourself in front of a hut with 499 00:27:27,160 --> 00:27:32,040 Speaker 1: chicken legs late at night, tread carefully, be polite. You 500 00:27:32,119 --> 00:27:35,480 Speaker 1: don't want to get eaten by Bobba Yaga. I want 501 00:27:35,520 --> 00:27:42,040 Speaker 1: to maybe make friends with Bobba Yaga and hang out. Yeah. Um, 502 00:27:42,080 --> 00:27:45,880 Speaker 1: Back in my college days, many many years ago, um, 503 00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:49,720 Speaker 1: like I read a number of sort of feminist analyzes 504 00:27:49,960 --> 00:27:56,760 Speaker 1: of various scary hag and crone and which myths um, 505 00:27:56,840 --> 00:27:59,639 Speaker 1: with Baba Yaga being one of them, um, and and 506 00:27:59,720 --> 00:28:02,399 Speaker 1: like reading it as more of like this was a 507 00:28:02,520 --> 00:28:08,679 Speaker 1: powerful woman figure that people were scared of. Yeah, I 508 00:28:08,680 --> 00:28:11,760 Speaker 1: mean I think, uh, even with piece of Daila, right, 509 00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:16,280 Speaker 1: It's interesting that the male version of her doesn't kill people, 510 00:28:17,119 --> 00:28:20,320 Speaker 1: he just brings them nightmares, but once that transitioned to 511 00:28:20,400 --> 00:28:24,000 Speaker 1: became a woman figure, she was much more deadly. It's 512 00:28:24,040 --> 00:28:26,160 Speaker 1: just kind of an interesting thing to note. But yeah, 513 00:28:26,200 --> 00:28:29,280 Speaker 1: Baba Yaga is is um one of those ones that 514 00:28:29,359 --> 00:28:31,720 Speaker 1: is very fascinating. And because frankly, her name is fun 515 00:28:31,760 --> 00:28:33,679 Speaker 1: to say, I think people really latch onto it and 516 00:28:33,720 --> 00:28:36,359 Speaker 1: love it. But I would just like to show up 517 00:28:36,359 --> 00:28:39,840 Speaker 1: at her house and be like, hey, friend, do you 518 00:28:39,920 --> 00:28:41,600 Speaker 1: want to hang out and I'll do your hair like 519 00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:44,160 Speaker 1: I don't know. She just needs a manicure and to 520 00:28:44,240 --> 00:28:49,040 Speaker 1: hang out and have somebody actually talked to her. UM. 521 00:28:49,080 --> 00:28:51,640 Speaker 1: I am doing a little bit of a mail bag 522 00:28:51,720 --> 00:28:53,800 Speaker 1: roundup of postcards because we've gotten a lot of them 523 00:28:53,880 --> 00:28:56,479 Speaker 1: lately and I've been letting the pile stack up. And 524 00:28:56,520 --> 00:28:58,240 Speaker 1: one of these is one of my favorite postcards we've 525 00:28:58,280 --> 00:29:00,600 Speaker 1: ever gotten because of the message on it. The first 526 00:29:00,600 --> 00:29:02,720 Speaker 1: one is from our listener. I think it is a Cody. 527 00:29:02,800 --> 00:29:05,960 Speaker 1: This is another victim of the mail service stamps. He 528 00:29:06,040 --> 00:29:08,400 Speaker 1: has been traveling and he went to India and he 529 00:29:08,440 --> 00:29:10,680 Speaker 1: wanted to send us a postcard from India, but did 530 00:29:10,720 --> 00:29:14,280 Speaker 1: not find any postcards. Apparently India does not sell them. 531 00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:16,240 Speaker 1: I don't. I don't know that from personal experience, so 532 00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:18,960 Speaker 1: I'm trusting you on this one, Cody. So he ended 533 00:29:19,040 --> 00:29:21,640 Speaker 1: up going to Dubai later and sent us a postcard 534 00:29:21,640 --> 00:29:23,640 Speaker 1: from there to tell us about his travels. Thank you 535 00:29:23,720 --> 00:29:27,360 Speaker 1: so much. Um. Another one is from our listener. I 536 00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:30,040 Speaker 1: think it is Dina or Dinah. She went to the 537 00:29:30,040 --> 00:29:34,040 Speaker 1: Tenement Museum, which is amazing, and she said I finally 538 00:29:34,080 --> 00:29:36,120 Speaker 1: made it after hearing about it on the podcast. Thanks 539 00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:39,000 Speaker 1: for introducing so many great and interesting topics. She also 540 00:29:39,040 --> 00:29:41,760 Speaker 1: sends us a suggestion. I'm so glad she went that 541 00:29:41,880 --> 00:29:44,840 Speaker 1: museum is amazing. Everybody who goes to New York should 542 00:29:44,840 --> 00:29:47,520 Speaker 1: go there if they get a moment. We also got 543 00:29:48,320 --> 00:29:52,280 Speaker 1: uh one from Janine and this is about our A 544 00:29:52,360 --> 00:29:55,200 Speaker 1: C episode. She said, Hi, ladies, I'm so excited to 545 00:29:55,240 --> 00:29:57,720 Speaker 1: finally have something interesting to contribute. I listened to the 546 00:29:57,720 --> 00:30:00,960 Speaker 1: A C episode yesterday and immediately thought of this step well. 547 00:30:01,080 --> 00:30:04,000 Speaker 1: In a tiny ancient village in India, the people would 548 00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:05,880 Speaker 1: climb down these steps to get water and then come 549 00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:08,160 Speaker 1: back up again. There are thirty five hundred steps and 550 00:30:08,160 --> 00:30:10,520 Speaker 1: it was built a thousand years ago. It's incredible and 551 00:30:10,520 --> 00:30:13,360 Speaker 1: it looks like an Escher painting, except that it makes sense. 552 00:30:14,120 --> 00:30:16,920 Speaker 1: She took her eighty year old grandmother to view this 553 00:30:17,040 --> 00:30:19,280 Speaker 1: step well last fall, and she sent this one of 554 00:30:19,280 --> 00:30:22,800 Speaker 1: her pictures from the trip, and it is very beautiful. 555 00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:26,280 Speaker 1: She has a good eye for composition. Uh. Next one 556 00:30:26,560 --> 00:30:30,120 Speaker 1: is uh a Niagara Falls one, and this is another. 557 00:30:30,200 --> 00:30:32,479 Speaker 1: It's a cute picture from Niagara Falls. It is from 558 00:30:32,520 --> 00:30:37,040 Speaker 1: I think our listener Claren. Maybe UH. If I get 559 00:30:37,080 --> 00:30:40,920 Speaker 1: your name wrong, I'm very apologetic. Uh. She she visited. 560 00:30:40,920 --> 00:30:43,520 Speaker 1: I think it's as she visited Niagara Falls and was 561 00:30:43,600 --> 00:30:46,920 Speaker 1: completely amazed by it. Uh. And of course she says, 562 00:30:46,960 --> 00:30:49,400 Speaker 1: I had to revisit the episode on Annie Edson Taylor 563 00:30:49,480 --> 00:30:52,840 Speaker 1: when I detoured up to Niagara. The falls are breathtaking 564 00:30:52,840 --> 00:30:55,200 Speaker 1: and I cannot imagine a sixty three year old woman 565 00:30:55,200 --> 00:30:57,840 Speaker 1: going over them in a barrel. Uh. Yeah, me either, 566 00:30:58,480 --> 00:31:00,600 Speaker 1: but I am terrified of such thing. And this is 567 00:31:00,840 --> 00:31:03,120 Speaker 1: one of my favorite postcards we've ever gotten. It is 568 00:31:03,160 --> 00:31:05,440 Speaker 1: from our listener Paula, and you will hear why it 569 00:31:05,520 --> 00:31:07,280 Speaker 1: is one of my favorites. It's just a beautiful postcard. 570 00:31:07,280 --> 00:31:10,960 Speaker 1: It's a picture of Paris around nine. So, Paula writes 571 00:31:11,040 --> 00:31:13,080 Speaker 1: Holly and Tracy, I love the podcast. I wanted to 572 00:31:13,080 --> 00:31:16,000 Speaker 1: send you a postcard to celebrate my first international trip. 573 00:31:16,320 --> 00:31:18,960 Speaker 1: Y Uh. Your show made me want to go out 574 00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:21,120 Speaker 1: and see the world and make my own history. That 575 00:31:21,240 --> 00:31:24,000 Speaker 1: is amazing. This postcard delights me. I'm gonna keep this 576 00:31:24,040 --> 00:31:26,560 Speaker 1: one forever. Um, So thank you, Paula. Thank you everyone 577 00:31:26,560 --> 00:31:28,440 Speaker 1: who writes us postcards. I wish we could read them 578 00:31:28,440 --> 00:31:30,360 Speaker 1: all and we can't. But once in a while I 579 00:31:30,360 --> 00:31:32,760 Speaker 1: will continue to try to buzz through a few. If 580 00:31:32,800 --> 00:31:34,000 Speaker 1: you would like to write to us, you can do 581 00:31:34,080 --> 00:31:36,680 Speaker 1: so at History podcast at House of works dot com. 582 00:31:36,720 --> 00:31:39,880 Speaker 1: We are also at missed in History pretty much anywhere 583 00:31:39,880 --> 00:31:41,960 Speaker 1: on social media. You can also go to miss in 584 00:31:42,040 --> 00:31:44,200 Speaker 1: history dot com to visit our website. We're all of 585 00:31:44,240 --> 00:31:47,400 Speaker 1: the episodes that have ever happened to exist in an 586 00:31:47,480 --> 00:31:49,600 Speaker 1: archive form, and we invite you to come and hang 587 00:31:49,600 --> 00:31:52,200 Speaker 1: out at missed in history dot com and subscribe to 588 00:31:52,240 --> 00:31:55,920 Speaker 1: the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, or wherever 589 00:31:56,000 --> 00:32:03,320 Speaker 1: it is you listen. For more on this and thousands 590 00:32:03,360 --> 00:32:11,680 Speaker 1: of other topics, visit how staff works dot com