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Peshtor: A Sacred Place of the Oyat Veps
In the lands of the Middle Veps, in the chambers of the Vepsian Forest, one kilometre from the bank of the beautiful Oyat River and 300 kilometres from Saint Petersburg, there is an unusual place called Peshtor—which t...
Lake Vodlozero
During the very first cast of the seine net each year, the artel fishermen would take off their caps and bow low to the lake, while the headman dropped a silver rouble into the kneyá (the net’s pocket) as an offering t...
The dead Bridegroom: Scary stories of Russian folklore
This happened before the Revolution, during the time of the first war. I know about it from my parents, and villagers spoke of it long before that.
The Mill and the Miller in Russian Folk Tradition
In Russian folk belief, a mill is regarded as an accursed place, akin to an abandoned house or a bathhouse. It is a boundary between worlds — the human and the non-human, the watery realm — and any mill, especially an ...
A Journey to the Archetype
An experienced researcher — one who knows exactly what he is seeking — will unmistakably recognize this conifer-covered hill from many kilometers away, rising above the surrounding land. We already knew in advance what...
Dvórovushka
Dvorovushka — a household spirit dwelling in the farmyard or in the livestock buildings.
It's a long and thorny path to where the Fairy Tale still lives...
... or a journey from autumn to winter in one day.
Sandarmokh: The Karelian Execution Ground
In the spring of 2020, while you, the reader, were gathering dust in your apartment under the grip of quasi-quarantine, Northern Metaphysics visited the Karelian forest clearing with the strangely jaunty name of Sandar...