Female spirit
This week I chose to read about Russian folklore. Many of the Russian folklore from the unTextbook surround the supernatural (i.e. ghosts, vampires, witches and warlocks) This is right up my alley because I am completely obsessed with the supernatural. I am not sure if I am a believer in ghosts per se, but I really want to. The story that took me the most was the first one in the collection. The story is about a the child of a husband and wife. When the wife dies the husband worries about how he will take care of the baby on his own. To aid his worries he hires an old woman to take care of the child. The old woman notices that the child is unruly during the day but at night can sleep soundly. When investigating one night she heard somebody walk into the nursery. After alerting the father, the townsfolk gathered to do a group investigation as to who was entertaining the child at night. Upon investigation the watched as the dead mother walked into the room and breastfeed the child. I like how the author described the townsfolk as "terror-struck". Unfortunately, in the end the child was dead upon discovery. In my opinion, I felt that the mother felt that if she could not have this private time with her child she would take him away from the wandering eyes. Therefore, by killing the baby, she could essentially be free to do as she desires. Be a mother. I think that if I was to retell this story I would definitely modernize it. Instead of the townsfolk I would write in paranormal investigators. I could try to spin it as if it was a group of investigators filming for a paranormal TV show, like the ones I'm so obsessed with.
Bibliography: "The Dead Mother", Russian Fairy Tales by W. R. S Ralston (1887)
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