12 Fantasy Books Inspired By Eastern European Legends
Where Magic Rises from Frost, Forest, and Forgotten Folklore
There’s something hauntingly beautiful about the legends of Eastern Europe. They whisper through snow-dusted pines and echo in the cracks of ancient castles. They live in the flutter of a firebird’s wing, in the soft rustle of a witch’s cloak, in lullabies passed down through generations. These myths—dark, wild, and unflinchingly honest—aren’t here to comfort. They’re here to enchant, to test, and to transform.
In recent years, fantasy authors have drawn deeply from this well of Slavic, Baltic, and Balkan myth, weaving tales of chilling winters, Baba Yagas, cursed tsars, and iron-toothed forests. These aren’t your usual fairy tales. These are stories where magic has teeth, where beauty is laced with danger, and where heroines must face down both beasts and destiny.
Here are 12 spellbinding fantasy books inspired by Eastern European legends that will wrap you in a velvet cloak of myth, then drag you into the woods before you realize you’ve gone too deep.
1. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
❄️ A frostbitten fairy tale steeped in Russian folklore and fierce femininity.
Vasilisa Petrovna has always seen the spirits of her forested homeland—but as Christianity rises and old ways are forgotten, dark forces awaken. Only Vasya can stand between her people and a chilling fate.
Why you’ll love it: Lush prose, wintry magic, and a heroine who defies the world’s expectations to become her own legend.
2. Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente
🖤 A surreal, Soviet-era love story between a girl and the King of Death.
Koschei the Deathless—immortal, cruel, inhuman—falls for Marya Morevna, a girl caught between myth and revolution. Their romance spirals through war, folklore, and the blurred line between fantasy and history.
Why you’ll love it: Dark, poetic, and strange in the most seductive way. Valente’s writing reads like a spell cast in moonlight.
3. Uprooted by Naomi Novik
🌲 A twisted forest, a reluctant witch, and the power of stories to shape magic.
Inspired by Polish and Slavic folklore, this standalone fantasy follows Agnieszka, a village girl chosen by the Dragon—a cold wizard—to train in magic. But the real enemy is the sentient, corrupted Wood creeping ever closer.
Why you’ll love it: Beautifully written, brimming with folklore, and filled with an earthy, feminine kind of power.
4. The Wolf and the Watchman by Niklas Natt och Dag
⚖️ While more historical than fantasy, this atmospheric mystery in 18th-century Stockholm is soaked in Gothic horror and dark folklore.
A mutilated body is found in a city of shadows and secrets. As the mystery unfolds, so does a portrait of a society steeped in superstition, decay, and the echoes of old Scandinavian tales.
Why you’ll love it: Grim, hypnotic, and drenched in the eerie tones of Nordic noir with folkloric undertones.
5. Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan
🩸 Magic fed by blood. A war that never ends. Saints and monsters in disguise.
In a world inspired by Polish and Russian folklore, a girl can speak to the gods, a prince hides monstrous power, and a boy is a living weapon. Together, they might save—or destroy—their war-torn world.
Why you’ll love it: It’s messy, moody, and deliciously dark—perfect for readers who like their fantasy kissed with blood and betrayal.
6. The Witch and the Tsar by Olesya Salnikova Gilmore
👑 Baba Yaga as you’ve never seen her—a woman, a healer, a survivor.
This historical fantasy reimagines Baba Yaga as a misunderstood immortal forced to confront Ivan the Terrible’s rise to power. Set in a world where gods walk the earth, it’s a tale of identity, exile, and resilience.
Why you’ll love it: A fierce retelling that turns an infamous crone into a tragic, powerful heroine of her own epic.
7. Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
💰 What if Rumpelstiltskin was born in the heart of a Jewish folk tale, stitched with snow and shadow?
Miryem, a moneylender’s daughter, dares to turn silver into gold—and catches the attention of the Staryk, a cruel race of frost-bound fae. With interwoven narratives and three powerful women, the tale shimmers with Eastern European flavor.
Why you’ll love it: Wintry, brilliant, and sharp as an icicle to the heart.
8. The House With Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson
🏚️ A tender, whimsical retelling of Baba Yaga’s legacy—for younger readers and dreamers of all ages.
Marinka lives in a house that walks on chicken legs and guides souls to the afterlife. But she longs for friendship and a different path—one that might defy her grandmother’s death-bound destiny.
Why you’ll love it: It’s sweet, strange, and full of soul. Perfect for fans of Studio Ghibli and folklore with a heartbeat.
9. Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao
💀 While inspired by East Asian legends, this dark fairytale shares the tone and tragic arc of Eastern European villain origin myths.
Xifeng is destined to be Empress—but only if she embraces the dark power within her. This origin story of an evil queen is laced with fate, ambition, and the kind of moral ambiguity Slavic legends love to explore.
Why you’ll love it: It’s haunting, lush, and seductive—a fairytale villain’s path to power wrapped in poison and beauty.
10. The Sisters of the Winter Wood by Rena Rossner
🍎 A fairytale steeped in Jewish folklore and Slavic mythology, set in a world teetering on the edge of darkness.
Two sisters—one who can turn into a bear, the other into a swan—must navigate family secrets, blossoming desire, and the looming threat of violence against their people in a mystical Ukrainian forest.
Why you’ll love it: Lyrical, haunting, and deeply rooted in both myth and memory.
11. Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones
🎼 The Goblin King waits beneath the earth—and he wants more than just music.
Inspired by the Germanic and Eastern European ballads of the Erlkönig, this dark romance follows a girl who descends into the underworld to save her sister and discovers a love that may cost her everything.
Why you’ll love it: Romantic, tragic, and intoxicating, like a song you hum long after it’s gone.
12. Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott
🌿 A sentient house on chicken legs. A traveling show. A war between memory and myth.
When two estranged siblings inherit a house that walks on its own, they’re swept into a journey across America with roots buried in Jewish and Eastern European folklore. Thistlefoot remembers—and it’s coming for vengeance.
Why you’ll love it: Weird, lyrical, and hauntingly original. A tale of family, folklore, and the stories that follow us through time.
Final Word:
Eastern European legends are not just stories—they’re spells. These books will sweep you into snow-drifted forests, tangled superstitions, and magic older than memory. They are woven from sorrow and strength, from the echoes of lullabies and the crackle of witchfire.
Ready to step into the woods? Just don’t stray from the path…
