Mythology in Romania: Exploring Beliefs about Witchcraft and the Devil

An old Romanian proverb says: Do not speak badly of the Devil because you cannot know to whom you will belong. According to popular Romanian mythology, it is not considered difficult to establish a connection with the Devil. He can appear quickly, happy with the availability of the person who wishes to be initiated into the secrets of witchcraft. Those who wanted to contact the Devil used to go to a crossroad where they called his name or they yelled out loud “Hey! Hey! Hey!” and the Devil was said to come to them. In other cases, staying in an unclean place was sufficient in order to obtain the infernal aid.

Ancient legends say that there was once a woman who wanted to become a witch, so she went to the river where she waited until midnight. At that time, the Devil came out of the water and asked her why she was sitting there. The woman replied that she wanted to be made a witch, so the Devil told her the necessary condition. She had to agree to dance with him during each full moon. Legend has it that the woman accepted and she was made a witch.