Fire Serpent
The Fire Serpent is the embodiment of serpentine cunning and strength, flying over villages and penetrating the homes of lonely girls and women. If the Fire Serpent falls in love with a maiden, her arrogance is incurable forever. No one dares scold, speak frankly to, or offer drink to such a maiden. Everyone sees the Fire Serpent flying through the air, ablaze with an unquenchable fire, but not everyone knows that as soon as he settles in a hollow, he transforms into a young man of indescribable beauty. "Not loving, you will love; not praising, you will praise," say the old women about such a young man. He, the villain, knows how to deceive the soul of the Red girl with greetings; he pleases her, the destroyer, with the speech of a young swan; he plays with her, the heartless one, with a maiden's eager heart; he exhausts her, the insatiable one, in fiery embraces; he melts her, the barbarian, with red lips on honey, on sugar. The maiden blushes with a rosy dawn from his kisses, and she blooms like a red sun from his greetings. Without the Serpent, the maiden sits in sorrow, in despair; without him, she does not see the light of God; without him, she withers, she fades! In reality, the Fire Serpent has a round head, a humpback, and a long, very long tail - sometimes up to five fathoms. When he lands, he scatters sparks that fly out as if from a sieve; he flies so low that he is visible from the ground at no more than a fathom. He visits only women who have long and deeply missed their absent or deceased husbands. The visitor himself is invisible to outsiders, but his voice is heard in the house; he answers questions and begins to speak on his own. Furthermore, his visitations are noticeable because his lovers begin to prosper in the eyes of the people, while at the same time, every woman who has succumbed to the Serpent inevitably begins to fade and waste away (they say: the Midnight Visitor is sent); and some are tormented to the point of death or suicide (all cases of female suicides are attributed to the Fire Serpent).
However, there are ways to rid oneself of the Serpent's visits. A conscientious and modest woman will realize and turn to witches for advice, and they will show her how to recognize who visits at night: a real man or the unclean one. For this, they instruct the chosen one to sit at the table with the Fire Serpent and treat him with everything he brings and presents, then to drop something from the table and when picking it up, lean over and look: are there hooves instead of feet, can you see a tip of a tail between them? If it turns out that the visitor is indeed impure, in order to be rid of him, one must sit on the threshold, encircle oneself, comb the hair, and at the same time eat hemp. When the Serpent asks, "What are you eating?" one must answer: "Lice." This is so repugnant to him that he will strike or push away, but from that moment on, he will no longer fly.
For a maiden enchanted by the Serpent, there is a reliable way to rid herself of his fierce charm. In a moonless night, one must throw bitter herbs such as sheep sorrel, wormwood, iris, and valerian into a cauldron, then bathe in the decoction the next morning - and the Serpent will forever forget the way to her home. But remember: the herbs should only be collected during Rusalka week, neither earlier nor later.
There are widespread rumors that women give birth to children from Fire Serpents, but they are mostly short-lived (as they are born, so they pass away) or directly stillborn. Similarly, the birth of monsters is also attributed to the Serpent's involvement, and midwives, who came to deliver such children conceived from impure forces, tell that the babies are born dark-skinned, light, with a short tail and small horns: kikimoras. According to an old tale, there have been cases where a woman gave birth to twelve serpent offspring at once, who sucked the life out of the beauty that bore them to the white world until her death. The people have preserved in their tales a prophetic memory of such children as Tugarin Zmeyevich, who inherited many traits from his monstrous father.
The Revenge of the Fire Serpent
"Lipeckaya Nedelya", 17.09.2003, Lipetsk, issue 37, pp. 26-27
Throughout its two-thousand-year history, Christianity has never managed to overcome the people's belief in countless fantastical creatures inhabiting the forests, swamps, and abysses. Particularly frightening were the horrifying beings that came from cemeteries. There, not only vampires and werewolves resided, but also... fire serpents.
"The Fire Serpent had a round head, a humpbacked back, and a very long tail - sometimes up to five fathoms. Arriving at its place, it scattered sparks that flew out as if from a sieve, and it flew so low that it could be seen from the ground at no more than a fathom's height." This is how the fire cemetery visitor was described in the late 19th century in villages located in the Arkhangelsk province. No one saw the serpent fly from the cemetery, but the inhabitants of all nearby villages knew about it. That's why no one dared to approach the cemeteries at midnight. In the opinion of the people, it was unclean there. On a clear starry night, lightning bolts would flash on the cemetery, and the tops of trees were illuminated by a flickering reddish light.
People saw the fire serpent, or, as it was more often called, the "flying," "raider," in different ways. Some spoke of a glowing round object surrounded by a halo of light, scattering sparks around itself. To others, it resembled a hot bundle, and to some, a burning mass of writhing ropes.
Circling above the forest, the serpent would slowly fly towards one of the nearby villages. To the very one that had recently buried a deceased. And sorrow awaited the family that had not managed or did not want to recite the prayer that shields a person from all uncleanness. The serpent would find this house, land on the roof, and disappear down the chimney. And then, something would inevitably happen in the dwelling marked by unclean force: livestock would fall ill, mysterious noises were heard every night, or sometimes a woman would become a witch.
But most often, the fire guest appeared to lonely women who had recently buried their husbands. The serpent only chose those who had long and deeply missed their lost loved ones. Here's how one resident of the Oryol province recounted the visitation of the fire serpent: "My old man passed away, and I was grieving deeply. I couldn't find peace. So I wandered around like a madwoman. One night, I was sitting by the window, lost in melancholy. Suddenly, it lit up; I thought it was a fire, so I went out to the yard. I saw my late husband standing before me, wearing his tall black hat that he always wore on holidays, new boots, a long coat, and a belt around his waist. Since then, he started visiting..."
The woman knew her husband had passed away, but the longing for her loved one made her deceive herself and believe that he was somehow miraculously alive.
The same thing happened when a mother lost her child. In the Vyatka region, a young woman's infant passed away. The mother grieved deeply. Day and night, she thought only of the child. That's when the fire serpent flew to her. It scattered into embers and transformed into the child. The mother heard a baby crying behind the door, went out to the porch, and found her baby there. She breastfed the child. The baby calmed down and fell asleep, and at sunrise - it vanished. The next night, the same thing happened, and then again and again.
But not only widows and mothers who had lost dear ones were visited by the fire serpent. A young woman's husband had been drafted into the army. She mourned and wept. One night, he appeared to her.
The wife was overjoyed. She set the table, poured vodka, and prepared snacks. After her husband had drunk and eaten, the wife began asking how he managed to return home. The husband replied that he had deserted his service, so he couldn't tell anyone about it. This went on for several days. At first, the wife was happy about her husband's appearance, but then she began to think. The husband would come at night, eat and drink, but in the morning, the food remained untouched.
Leftover food and drink from the nightly feasts are featured in many stories of visits by the fire serpent. And here's another interesting thing. The serpent turned human was only seen by the wife, mother, or fiancée. Other family members usually didn't notice anything and only wondered when they heard talks and sometimes a male voice coming from the cabin where a lonely woman lived.
Rumors circulate in the villages that women impregnated by fire serpents could give birth to children. However, these children were mostly short-lived ("born and died under the doorstep"). Midwives who took care of these children conceived by unclean forces say that the children were born dark, small, with short tails, and sometimes even with small horns.
Ufologists from the Logos club in Penza tried to understand these frightening tales. They found a zone in their region that met all ufological criteria for anomaly. The radiation levels here were significantly higher than normal, mutant plants were present, and the landscape itself was unusual: the terrain was deeply riveted, with reeds growing oddly not where they should be, near swamps and streams, but on the hilltops.
However, the main issue was, of course, not the appearance of the terrain. Here, strange glowing objects would often appear in the air, flying along the same route two to three times a week: from the cemetery to the village.
For three consecutive years, ufologists visited this area. They talked to the residents, observed and photographed the glowing phenomena, and listened attentively, free of bias, to the people's stories. They also noted their own observations.
It turned out that even a short stay in the anomalous zone affected people. Researchers started experiencing visual and auditory hallucinations, gradually increasing tension in their psychophysiological state. The zone had an even greater impact on the local residents. Here, strange individuals, resembling sorcerers and healers, were more commonly encountered than in other villages in the region. Over the years, people became more paranoid and superstitious. And in one of the villages, the mental strain caused by frequent anomalous occurrences reached such a high level that the residents were forced to leave it.
The continuation of the story about the Fire Serpents can be read here:
The Fire Serpent is the embodiment of serpentine cunning and strength, flying over villages and penetrating the homes of lonely girls and women. If the Fire Serpent falls in love with a maiden, her arrogance is incurable forever. No one dares scold, speak frankly to, or offer drink to such a maiden. Everyone sees the Fire Serpent flying through the air, ablaze with an unquenchable fire, but not everyone knows that as soon as he settles in a hollow, he transforms into a young man of indescribable beauty. "Not loving, you will love; not praising, you will praise," say the old women about such a young man. He, the villain, knows how to deceive the soul of the Red girl with greetings; he pleases her, the destroyer, with the speech of a young swan; he plays with her, the heartless one, with a maiden's eager heart; he exhausts her, the insatiable one, in fiery embraces; he melts her, the barbarian, with red lips on honey, on sugar. The maiden blushes with a rosy dawn from his kisses, and she blooms like a red sun from his greetings. Without the Serpent, the maiden sits in sorrow, in despair; without him, she does not see the light of God; without him, she withers, she fades! In reality, the Fire Serpent has a round head, a humpback, and a long, very long tail - sometimes up to five fathoms. When he lands, he scatters sparks that fly out as if from a sieve; he flies so low that he is visible from the ground at no more than a fathom. He visits only women who have long and deeply missed their absent or deceased husbands. The visitor himself is invisible to outsiders, but his voice is heard in the house; he answers questions and begins to speak on his own. Furthermore, his visitations are noticeable because his lovers begin to prosper in the eyes of the people, while at the same time, every woman who has succumbed to the Serpent inevitably begins to fade and waste away (they say: the Midnight Visitor is sent); and some are tormented to the point of death or suicide (all cases of female suicides are attributed to the Fire Serpent).
However, there are ways to rid oneself of the Serpent's visits. A conscientious and modest woman will realize and turn to witches for advice, and they will show her how to recognize who visits at night: a real man or the unclean one. For this, they instruct the chosen one to sit at the table with the Fire Serpent and treat him with everything he brings and presents, then to drop something from the table and when picking it up, lean over and look: are there hooves instead of feet, can you see a tip of a tail between them? If it turns out that the visitor is indeed impure, in order to be rid of him, one must sit on the threshold, encircle oneself, comb the hair, and at the same time eat hemp. When the Serpent asks, "What are you eating?" one must answer: "Lice." This is so repugnant to him that he will strike or push away, but from that moment on, he will no longer fly.
For a maiden enchanted by the Serpent, there is a reliable way to rid herself of his fierce charm. In a moonless night, one must throw bitter herbs such as sheep sorrel, wormwood, iris, and valerian into a cauldron, then bathe in the decoction the next morning - and the Serpent will forever forget the way to her home. But remember: the herbs should only be collected during Rusalka week, neither earlier nor later.
There are widespread rumors that women give birth to children from Fire Serpents, but they are mostly short-lived (as they are born, so they pass away) or directly stillborn. Similarly, the birth of monsters is also attributed to the Serpent's involvement, and midwives, who came to deliver such children conceived from impure forces, tell that the babies are born dark-skinned, light, with a short tail and small horns: kikimoras. According to an old tale, there have been cases where a woman gave birth to twelve serpent offspring at once, who sucked the life out of the beauty that bore them to the white world until her death. The people have preserved in their tales a prophetic memory of such children as Tugarin Zmeyevich, who inherited many traits from his monstrous father.
The Revenge of the Fire Serpent
"Lipeckaya Nedelya", 17.09.2003, Lipetsk, issue 37, pp. 26-27
Throughout its two-thousand-year history, Christianity has never managed to overcome the people's belief in countless fantastical creatures inhabiting the forests, swamps, and abysses. Particularly frightening were the horrifying beings that came from cemeteries. There, not only vampires and werewolves resided, but also... fire serpents.
"The Fire Serpent had a round head, a humpbacked back, and a very long tail - sometimes up to five fathoms. Arriving at its place, it scattered sparks that flew out as if from a sieve, and it flew so low that it could be seen from the ground at no more than a fathom's height." This is how the fire cemetery visitor was described in the late 19th century in villages located in the Arkhangelsk province. No one saw the serpent fly from the cemetery, but the inhabitants of all nearby villages knew about it. That's why no one dared to approach the cemeteries at midnight. In the opinion of the people, it was unclean there. On a clear starry night, lightning bolts would flash on the cemetery, and the tops of trees were illuminated by a flickering reddish light.
People saw the fire serpent, or, as it was more often called, the "flying," "raider," in different ways. Some spoke of a glowing round object surrounded by a halo of light, scattering sparks around itself. To others, it resembled a hot bundle, and to some, a burning mass of writhing ropes.
Circling above the forest, the serpent would slowly fly towards one of the nearby villages. To the very one that had recently buried a deceased. And sorrow awaited the family that had not managed or did not want to recite the prayer that shields a person from all uncleanness. The serpent would find this house, land on the roof, and disappear down the chimney. And then, something would inevitably happen in the dwelling marked by unclean force: livestock would fall ill, mysterious noises were heard every night, or sometimes a woman would become a witch.
But most often, the fire guest appeared to lonely women who had recently buried their husbands. The serpent only chose those who had long and deeply missed their lost loved ones. Here's how one resident of the Oryol province recounted the visitation of the fire serpent: "My old man passed away, and I was grieving deeply. I couldn't find peace. So I wandered around like a madwoman. One night, I was sitting by the window, lost in melancholy. Suddenly, it lit up; I thought it was a fire, so I went out to the yard. I saw my late husband standing before me, wearing his tall black hat that he always wore on holidays, new boots, a long coat, and a belt around his waist. Since then, he started visiting..."
The woman knew her husband had passed away, but the longing for her loved one made her deceive herself and believe that he was somehow miraculously alive.
The same thing happened when a mother lost her child. In the Vyatka region, a young woman's infant passed away. The mother grieved deeply. Day and night, she thought only of the child. That's when the fire serpent flew to her. It scattered into embers and transformed into the child. The mother heard a baby crying behind the door, went out to the porch, and found her baby there. She breastfed the child. The baby calmed down and fell asleep, and at sunrise - it vanished. The next night, the same thing happened, and then again and again.
But not only widows and mothers who had lost dear ones were visited by the fire serpent. A young woman's husband had been drafted into the army. She mourned and wept. One night, he appeared to her.
The wife was overjoyed. She set the table, poured vodka, and prepared snacks. After her husband had drunk and eaten, the wife began asking how he managed to return home. The husband replied that he had deserted his service, so he couldn't tell anyone about it. This went on for several days. At first, the wife was happy about her husband's appearance, but then she began to think. The husband would come at night, eat and drink, but in the morning, the food remained untouched.
Leftover food and drink from the nightly feasts are featured in many stories of visits by the fire serpent. And here's another interesting thing. The serpent turned human was only seen by the wife, mother, or fiancée. Other family members usually didn't notice anything and only wondered when they heard talks and sometimes a male voice coming from the cabin where a lonely woman lived.
Rumors circulate in the villages that women impregnated by fire serpents could give birth to children. However, these children were mostly short-lived ("born and died under the doorstep"). Midwives who took care of these children conceived by unclean forces say that the children were born dark, small, with short tails, and sometimes even with small horns.
Ufologists from the Logos club in Penza tried to understand these frightening tales. They found a zone in their region that met all ufological criteria for anomaly. The radiation levels here were significantly higher than normal, mutant plants were present, and the landscape itself was unusual: the terrain was deeply riveted, with reeds growing oddly not where they should be, near swamps and streams, but on the hilltops.
However, the main issue was, of course, not the appearance of the terrain. Here, strange glowing objects would often appear in the air, flying along the same route two to three times a week: from the cemetery to the village.
For three consecutive years, ufologists visited this area. They talked to the residents, observed and photographed the glowing phenomena, and listened attentively, free of bias, to the people's stories. They also noted their own observations.
It turned out that even a short stay in the anomalous zone affected people. Researchers started experiencing visual and auditory hallucinations, gradually increasing tension in their psychophysiological state. The zone had an even greater impact on the local residents. Here, strange individuals, resembling sorcerers and healers, were more commonly encountered than in other villages in the region. Over the years, people became more paranoid and superstitious. And in one of the villages, the mental strain caused by frequent anomalous occurrences reached such a high level that the residents were forced to leave it.
The continuation of the story about the Fire Serpents can be read here:
