| Šumske Dekle | |
|---|---|
 | |
| [[{{{map}}}|250px]] | |
| Background | |
| Type | Humanoid (Ved, Vedi) |
| First Sighting | 1870 |
| Last Sighting | In the time of WWI |
| Country | Croatia |
| Habitat | Woodlands; between Novigrad, Podravski and Ferdinandovac. |
| Possible Population | The whole species was probably wiped out by the war |
Šumske Dekle ("Forest Girls"), also known as Forest Maids and Woodland Lasses were wild women of Croatia (ved, vedi female) that were observed prior to World War I.
Description[]
They were covered with reddish or black hair, except for the face, which resembled a square elf-like head. They were a little shorter then humans, even though they were much stronger with longer arms and legs.
They never spoke with humans but they could be heard shrieking and screaming in the woods, which was probably their way of vocal/gestural communication.
Behaviour[]
According to the book Mysterious Creatures: Guide to Cryptozoology, the creatures emitted shrieks and screams, sometimes they visited houses or stables in search of warmth and food. They were said to harvest grain, bake bread and catch fish, and were allegedly able to breed with humans. When humans would leave food out for them they would return the favour by cleaning their houses, a habit shared with several creatures from the broader Slavic mythology.
They lived in woodlands, mostly between Novigrad, Podravski and Ferdinandovac in Croatia.
"Forest maid is a hairy woman who is always looking for warmth so she crawls among cattle, among the shepherds when they sleep in the hayloft, she is not malicious." - Legend of Croatian Fairies
Names[]
According to an article on Kryptozoologia.pl, outside of Croatia, Šumske Dekle had different names. In Bulgaria, they were called "Divi-te Zeni", in Slovenia "Divje Devojike", in Bohemia "Divozenky", in Serbia "Dwiwje Zony", and in Poland, "Dziwożony" and "Leśne Panie".
Significant Sightings[]
One winter around 1870 two brothers named Paurović were sleeping in their stable at Severovac, Croatia.
One of the two brothers woke up to find a hairy forest girl standing between them. He touched her, and she ran out the door. They chased her, but it was snowing so they couldn't catch her. "And how did the girl survive the heavy snow storm at the first place," the brothers wondered.
Second sighting takes place in Plava Šuma, where a man had a pig wheel. He killed pigs and went into woods to collect honey every fall. This time he sat under the hive and saw human footprints in the mud and said to himself "I need this honey for winter, I really hope no one steals it before me!", he turned around and then he saw her - hairy all over her body, only her eyes and mouth visible. Her long hairy arms dragged through the mud. The man was afraid of the creature, but snatched the pole and started beating her, stinging her as hard as an old man like him could.
The creature screamed and cover her eyes with her long hands; the man noticed that she did not sound like a man, and proclaimed "God, it is the forest maid (Šumska Dekla)!"; he instantly stopped beating her, and let her have some of his honey.
A few more sightings took place (mostly in Plava Šuma), but they stopped after World War I. Because their sightings stopped after this conflict, if Šumske Dekle really existed, the whole species could have been accidentally wiped out during the war.