She doesn’t fly — she rolls. And she bites.

In the whispering corners of Romanian folklore, where wolves howl and trees bend against the wind, there is an old woman feared above most others. Her name is Baba Cloanța, and though she may look like just another forest witch, she is something else entirely.

Wreathed in rags, hunched with age, and grinning with iron fangs, Baba Cloanța is a malevolent crone who rides not on a broomstick, but in a rickety wooden cart that moves on its own — pulled by unseen forces, creaking through the night.

She’s a tale mothers once whispered to naughty children. But also a figure rich in mythic symbolism — part witch, part forest guardian, part nightmare.

Who Is Baba Cloanța?

Baba Cloanța (pronounced Baba Clo-AN-tsa) is often described as:

• A hideous old woman, wrapped in tattered shawls

• With iron teeth or fangs, capable of tearing through flesh

• Surrounded by a foul smell and a cackling laugh

• Travelling in a haunted cart, pulled by magic or spirits

• Carrying a staff, switch, or bone tool, often used to curse or beat

While some say she is a solitary witch, others suggest she’s a fallen Iele or even a demonic version of Baba Dochia, twisted by bitterness and time.

She appears at night, especially near crossroads, in forests, or around children who stray too far from home.

Magical Powers

Baba Cloanța is not just a terrifying face — she’s a powerful magical entity:

• Shapeshifting: She can disguise herself as a harmless old woman or even as an animal.

• Spellcasting: She casts curses on homes, crops, or people who offend her.

• Control over animals: Especially wolves, crows, and rats.

• Stealing children: Like many old-world witches, she’s believed to lure or snatch disobedient children, hiding them in her cart.

• Death & disease: In some regions, she’s considered a harbinger of plague, famine, or bad luck.

The Cart: Her Signature Curse

Unlike Baba Yaga’s mortar and pestle or the broomsticks of Western witches, Baba Cloanța’s magical cart is her most iconic feature. It:

• Moves without horses

• Makes an eerie, creaking sound that warns of her coming

• Leaves no tracks, or only ones that circle back on themselves

• Sometimes floats or glides just above the ground

• Is said to contain bones, herbs, stolen goods — or children

Villagers believed that if you heard the cart but saw no one, you should stay silent, hide your eyes, and never answer a voice calling your name.

Symbolism: Fear of the Old, Wild, and Uncontrollable

Baba Cloanța is often interpreted as:

• A dark feminine archetype — representing fear of aging, wilderness, female rage, and mystery

• A guardian of forbidden knowledge — often found near magical herbs or sacred groves

• A moral warning — teaching children to obey rules, stay close to home, and respect the elderly

• A harbinger of imbalance — her arrival signals broken customs, curses, or forgotten traditions

Her iron teeth may symbolise a loss of humanity — or a return to primal, destructive instinct.

Folk Remedies and Protection

Villagers once took her seriously — and knew how to protect themselves:

• Sprinkle salt or millet at your doorstep to keep her away

• Hang garlic, herbs, or red thread by windows

• Avoid travelling alone after sunset, especially in winter

• Do not mock or mistreat elderly women, lest you provoke her wrath

• Offer bread or milk at crossroads to appease her spirit

Like many witches, she can be bargained with — but never trusted.

Baba Cloanța vs Baba Yaga

While comparisons to Russia’s Baba Yaga are inevitable, Baba Cloanța has a distinctly Romanian flavour:

Baba CloanțaBaba YagaRides a haunted wooden cartFlies in a mortar and pestleHas iron fangsHas iron teethOften maliciousAmbiguous: both helper and threatAssociated with Romanian curses and rural fearsRooted in Slavic moral tales and trials

Both are crones of the forest — but Cloanța is darker, colder, and more ghostly in nature.

The Crone at the Edge of the Firelight

Baba Cloanța represents everything we fear in the dark: age, decay, punishment, and wild magic. She is the snapping of old twigs in the woods. The squeal of an empty wheel turning. The curse that lingers when the light goes out.

And yet… she is also power. Memory. Boundary.

Every culture has a witch.
Romania’s witch has fangs — and a cart that never stops rolling.