Bulgarian, Macedonian, and Serbian demonology tell us of a species of Aerial Devil known as ala. Demons of bad weather, ale, as they are collectively called, destroy and loot crops from the fields, send hail storms to destroy orchards and vineyards, and uproot trees. The ale also have the ability to cause crops not to ripen and remove the fertility from the land. Their favorite prey, however, is children and ale will use the elements to kill them if at all possible. In addition to their wanton destruction of food stock, the very presence of the ala is enough to cause a decline in a person's mental and physical health. After a person is weakened in such a way, an ala will possess their body.
Descriptions of this species of demon vary greatly and various sources claim that an ala looks like a wind, a female dragon, a large-mouthed human-or snakelike monster, an invisible being, a large creature of indistinguishable form, a large winged creature with a swordlike tail, a large creature with a horse head, and a snake body, a raven, and a three-headed snake. Perhaps the confusion over their natural appearance can be explained by the demons' ability to shape-shift; they are well known to assume the form of animals and humans.
Extremely gluttonous, even for a demon, the ala's attempt to devour the moon and sun is made evident by periodic eclipses. When not consuming or destroying, ale are said to live in the clouds, gigantic trees, inhospitable mountain caves, lakes, remove places, and springs. To prevent being attacked by an ala, one must approach it with respect and trust. If one should win the favor of an ala, the demon will look after him, making him wealthy and seeing to his personal protection, even going as far as to save his life if necessary. For those not blessed, magical herbs called ala's herbs can be placed in the field where the plow turns around to prevent hailstorms from destroying crops.
The natural enemies of ale are dragons and eagles; Christianized tales tell of dragons and the saints fighting together against ale. There are also tales of humanlike ale that are strikingly similar to the Russian tale of Babba Yaga.