Slavic Water Spirits

Slavic Water Spirits gathers the paired male and female water dwelling entities of Slavic folklore. The rusalka is a female entity, often malicious toward humankind, closely associated with rivers and lakes, with counterparts across Europe such as the French Melusine and the Germanic Nixie. The vodyanoy is her male counterpart, a water spirit described in Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian and German sources under related names such as vodnik and Wassermann, typically appearing as a bald, pot bellied man wearing a hat and belt of reeds. Folklorists treat the two figures as a matched male and female pair within the same body of Slavic water lore, each guarding or haunting the rivers, lakes and streams of the tradition's home region.