Ideas about a witch in the culture of Slavic peoples

The research discusses the ideas about a witch in the culture of Slavic peoples. The author analyzes the works of S.V. Maksimov, V.I. Dal, A.N. Afanasyev who have studied the witch’s image in the Slavic mythology in the 19th century. Folklore, stories of characters of the lower mythology are one of the main sources for studying views on witches. When analyzing such stories, one should take into account the following characteristics: witch’s name (reflects its activity), place of residence (near or far from a human), appearance, nature, magic activities, contact with the evil spirit, focus (not always negative), the origin of the force. There were no witches having similar characteristics in the Slavic demonology. The research reviews the types of Slavic witch identified by L. Vinogradova: woodland witch, Carpathian bosorka (bosorkanya), South Slavic vestica and Siberian witch.