Lobasta

Creatures from Slavic mythology (in particular, the territories of the present Astrakhan, Samara regions, in the regions of the Middle Volga).

The word itself is probably a corruption of "albasta", from the beliefs of the Turkic peoples. This is the most dangerous kind of mermaids, who appear in the form of half-dead decrepit old women. She is usually described as: an unnaturally large woman, with an ugly bloated, abstract figure and huge breasts hanging down to her knees. On her head she has a shock of dirty yellow hair, reaching to the ground, and not rarely and completely hiding the outlines of the creature.

She does not speak human language and only howls softly and wistfully. It lives near rivers, swamps and lakes, which makes it related to such characters as vodyanitsy and boggies. Due to the fact that it is a water character, it moves slowly on land.

She is the leader of mermaids and other aquatic creatures of Slavic folklore. Her task is the death of a person who has fallen into her clutches (more often a pregnant woman or a small child).