Folklore Forensics
Folklore Forensics is a solo, narrative-driven podcast where myth meets true crime. Each episode reinvestigates mythology and folklore from around the world as unresolved cases—reconstructing timelines, examining motive, and analyzing the evidence hidden within the myth.
From familiar gods to lesser-known folktales, these stories are put under the same scrutiny as modern crimes. What details were exaggerated? What facts were lost to time? And what truths might still be buried beneath centuries of storytelling?
You’ve heard the story. Now hear the case.
Folklore Forensics presents narrative reconstructions inspired by myth, legend, and historical context, examined through an investigative lens.
Folklore Forensics
The Baba Yaga Cannibal Killings (Case File #117)
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Deep in Russian forests, in times of famine and social upheaval, children sent to gather food or seek help from distant relatives frequently vanished without trace. Local accounts attributed these disappearances to a cannibalistic witch living in a mobile dwelling. Modern forensic analysis suggests these cases may involve a combination of exposure deaths, predation by desperate hermits or outcasts, and the deliberate abandonment of children by families unable to feed them—with the Baba Yaga legend providing psychological cover for both perpetrators and survivors.
Content warning: child harm, violence, and disturbing material. Listener discretion advised.
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Folklore Forensics is written and hosted by Danielle Christmas and produced by Audio Ellis.
Follow the show on Instagram @folkloreforensics
Case suggestions and research inquiries: folkloreforensicspod@gmail.com
