Kytice is a collection of Czech and Slovak ballads by Karel Jaromir Erben, that have a very deep cultural meaning and are rooted in folklore and tradition. These aren’t just poems – they are very eerie short stories that talk about supernatural forces, fate and dark justice. Many Czech and Slovak children, including me, grow up hearing them, not really as bedtime tales but more as scary warnings. As I got older, they sometimes served as my own “Czech horror stories”. One of my favorite and most haunting tales, The Noonday Witch (Polednice), tells the story of a mother who is overwhelmed by her crying child. While she’s extremely frustrated, she calls upon the terrifying Noonday Witch (a supernatural being, believed to appear at midday to punish misbehaving children) to take him. But when the witch actually appears, creeping closer and closer the the child, the mother’s panic becomes deadly. By the time the father returns home at noon, the mother has collapsed – and the child lies lifeless in her arms, suffocated by her own grip, trying to save it from the evil witch.
“Come and get him, noon witch, come take him! I can bear no more!” And look, someone’s outside – a thumb is stealthily working the lock at the door.
A wild, thin face, small and brown, is hid beneath a wrinkled veil, a crutch, bent shanks, menacing frown, such a voice – like a maddened gale!
“Give me the child!” – “Oh Lord, oh Christ! Forgive the sinner her sin!” But death is near and breathing close at the sight of the noon witch’s grin.
At the table creeping quietly, a shadow, the witch, with fingers spread. Mama now can scarcely breathe, clutching the child with amrs of lead.
Her arms around him, she looks back, wild. The noon witch creeps up even nearer – woe, woe to the little child – the noon with is almost here.
(…)
Now listen – one, two, three, four… the bell is striking noon. The handle turns, and through the door Papa strides into the room.
Mama’s fallen by the door; the child rises and falls on her breath. As Papa lifts her from the floor he sees the child – squeezed to death.
I chose this story and paragraph not just because it’s my favorite one, but also because I really like Erben’s writing in poetic form and I believe that this passage depicts it beautifully. The writing makes the story easy to follow and gives it a very rhythmic flow. The short, intense lines build suspense and the entire tragedy is revealed in just one paragraph (this is not only the case in the Noonday Witch, but in most of the stories in the book), making it hit even harder. Despite being such a short story, The Noonday Witch also carries a deeper meaning beyond just misbehaving children. It talks about regret and death and shows how a single moment of frustration can lead to terrible and irreversible consequences. The mother’s words summoned something she never truly wanted, but now she has to deal with the consequences of her actions.