Baba Yaga as depicted by Ivan Bilibin (1902)
Originally from Hungarian lore Baba Yaga ("old woman Yaga" or "old woman Jadwiga") was a kind and benevolent jinni; over time her stories changed and she became a cannibalistic old crone or witch, small and ugly; in some stories Baba Yaga was a race of evil jinn and not an individual. The name and character of Baba Yaga appeared in a number of eastern European and Slavic myths.
As an evil individual, Baba Yaga is described as being old, short, skinny, and ugly with particularly distorted and large nose and long, crooked teeth. Her behavior has earned her the reputation of being the Devil's own grandmother.
In instances where Baba Yaga was a jinn race rather than a singular individual, such as in the tale of "The Feather of Finist the Flacon," the hero was met by not one but three baba yagas. In these instances, the baba yagas were commonly benevolent, gifting the hero with both advice and magical presents he would later need to succeed in his quest.
Baba Yaga, as a character, was hardly set in her way; she was used seemingly to fulfill a storyteller's need. There were numerous stories of her kidnapping children and threatening to eat them; in fact, many versions of cruel and evil witches living in houses of cake and candy were named Baba Yaga. In some stories heroes would make the brave and dangerous decision to seek out Baba Yaga for advice or assistance in completing a quest; in these stories there was always an emphasis placed on the hero's level of politeness, his need for proper preparation, and purity of his spirit. Sometimes she played the role of an antagonist while other times she was a necessary source of guidance. No matter what role she was fulfilling, she drove a hard bargain, and was the one who sets the conditions and terms of the agreement; it mattered not to her if the hero accepted or refused the deal. All of her verbal contracts allowed her the right to eat anyone who was later unable or unwilling to fulfill their end of the deal.
By use of a gigantic mortar Baba Yaga could fly amazingly fast through the forest steering by use of the accompanying pestle in her right hand while with her left she uses her magical broom made out of silver birch to sweep away any sign of her having passed through the area. As she traveled it was believed a host of spirits trail behind her.