Legends 89: Mother Dearest

Folklore is often about powerful beings that deserve our fear and respect. Which is why one big category of legends around the globe is about someone very close to home. Narrated and produced by Aaron Mahnke, with writing by Alex Robinson and research by Jamie Vargas. ————————— BUY EXHUMED TODAY: aaronmahnke.com/exhumed https://www.aaronmahnke.com/exhumed ————————— Lore Resources: Get Ad-Free Lore: lorepodcast.com/support https://www.lorepodcast.com/support Episode Music: lorepodcast.com/music https://www.lorepodcast.com/music Episode Sources: lorepodcast.com/sources https://www.lorepodcast.com/sources Official Lore Merchandise: lorepodcast.com/shop https://www.lorepodcast.com/shop ————————— Sponsors: Raycon: The Essential Open Earbuds are the perfect companion for your fall reset. Go to BuyRaycon.com/loreOPEN https://www.buyraycon.com/loreopen to get 20% off. Chime: Chime is banking done right. Open an account in 2 minutes at chime.com/lore https://www.chime.com/lore. Gusto: Online payroll and benefits software built for small businesses. Try Gusto today at Gusto.com/LORE https://www.gusto.com/lore, and get 3 months free when you run your first payroll. Square: Get up to $200 off Square hardware when you sign up at square.com/go/LORE https://www.square.com/go/lore! ————————— To report a concern regarding a radio-style, non-Aaron ad in this episode, reach out to ads @ lorepodcast.com with the name of the company or organization so we can look into it. To advertise on this podcast please email: [email protected]. Or go to: https://advertising.libsyn.com/lore ————————— ©2026 Aaron Mahnke. All rights reserved.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Aaron Mahnke?

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• 0:45Aaron Mahnke?

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• 1:48Aaron Mahnke?

  She was only 19, and she was going to die. It wasn't like she had a lot to live for, though. Up to this point, Maria had not been blessed with a happy life. Her childhood home had been so abusive that at a mere 15 years old, she had married a stranger just to escape her father's temper. But her gamble didn't pay off, and she found herself stuck under the thumb of a violent husband. Four years after they said their vows, Maria finally saved up enough money to buy a one-way ticket out of her tiny corner of hell. But before her ship could even pull out of the harbor, her husband found her. And judging by the speed at which he was running down the wharf, he would reach the boat well before it would set sail. Maria had limited options.

• 2:33Aaron Mahnke?

  She couldn't run, and she couldn't fight him off. And so she did the only thing that she could think of: She jumped into the sea. Now, this was Russia. The water was cold, cold enough to kill a fully grown woman within a matter of minutes. But Maria didn't care. She had quickly made her peace with death. When the other option was returning home with her husband, the choice was obvious. Within a few seconds, she lost consciousness, before waking up alive in the hospital. She was a survivor, even though she didn't want to be. But her tenacity would be the very thing that would end up saving her and the lives of so many others.

• 3:14Aaron Mahnke?

  It would take Maria many more years to escape the cycle of abuse. But when she finally did, she would become a legend: Maria Bachkareva, the leader of Russia's first-ever all-female infantry unit, the Battalion of Death. And Maria, who had known more pain at the hands of her family than any bullet could ever inflict, showed all of Russia exactly what women could do. I'm Aaron Mahnke, and this is Lore Legends.

• 3:57Aaron Mahnke?

  The men could not escape the village. They were completely trapped. But not by an army or a rockslide. No, they were trapped by a woman. And before you imagine an army of gals all kitted out for battle, think again. They were trapped by just one woman, standing against dozens of men. She didn't have any weapons either, just her body. But that was all she needed. The men weren't at risk of dying, at least not immediately. First, they would be seduced. One by one, they would give in to the beautiful temptress, allowing her to take them into her arms. Only when she was fully satisfied would she release them into the afterlife.

• 4:39Aaron Mahnke?

  But as safe as that first part might sound, the end of that relationship wasn't something that any of them would have wanted to stick around for. Death wouldn't come quickly for any of them. No, it would be long and bloody. None of them knew that, though. What they saw was the most beautiful woman in the world, and for some odd reason, she wanted them. How could they pass up such a golden opportunity? And so, completely taken in, they shuffled towards the seductress as if they were in a trance. But then, she shifted, and her skirts lifted just a few inches to reveal her feet. Feet that weren't human. They were camel hooves. And with that, the spell was broken. Instantly, they knew what she was and what she had come to do.

• 5:24Aaron Mahnke?

  Even so, her influence was too powerful. At any moment, they could be pulled back under. And so they did the only thing they could think of to jumpstart their fear: They set their turbines on fire. The men in this little Moroccan village had just barely survived an encounter with a djinn. In fact, she's one of the only djinn's in history that has been given a name. They call her Aisha Khandisha, and she is quite literally a man-eater. In more modern versions of this legend, it's said that she grabs her victim's attention by posing as a hitchhiker. In older stories, though, she usually starts the hunt by waiting for men beside a body of water.

• 6:07Aaron Mahnke?

  Traditionally, that's her closest association. In fact, some scholars believe that she may have actually evolved from folklore about the Berber water spirits. More often than not, when she's trying to capture a man, she looks like a beautiful young woman. Sometimes, she even has the voice and face of her victim's lover. No matter what, though, she always wears a long robe that conceals her hooves. You see, only her top half resembles that of a human woman. From the waist down, she has the legs of a camel, or sometimes a donkey. And despite the fact that she's a shapeshifter who can switch between a wide array of identities, from an ogre to a wasp, she never seems to become fully human.

• 6:51Aaron Mahnke?

  Usually, though, men don't see her animal half until it's too late. In some versions of her legend, she kills them as soon as they get within reach, wrapping her long body around them like a boa constrictor. In others, she tortures them first. Her interactions with men almost always result in their death. Some say that she drains them of their blood until they're dried out like a corn husk. Others claim that she takes it one step further and devours their souls. Death isn't always her intended outcome, though. Sometimes, she possesses their bodies or even breaks their minds. If they're lucky, she might decide to add them to her harem, demanding their obedience and unwavering devotion.

• 7:35Aaron Mahnke?

  They'll eventually displease her, though, and she'll go right back to snacking on souls. They say that the best way to keep Aisha Khandisha away is to use steel. Djinn are afraid of that cold, hard metal, so they won't go near it. If you suspect the woman approaching you is an evil seductress, they say that your best option is to plunge a steel knife into the ground to ward her off. Or, in a pinch, you could follow in the footsteps of those villagers and set your hat on fire. Whichever method you prefer, though, you'll be free, and your soul will stay intact.

• 8:24Aaron Mahnke?

  Pregnancy is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it's the closest thing we have to actual magic. One human body grows another, quite literally creating life. On the other hand, though, both pregnancy and the postpartum phase are the single most vulnerable times in a woman's life. The woman's and the baby's health are both suspended on a tightrope. One tiny move in the wrong direction, and the results could be catastrophic. There are a lot of real physical and mental pitfalls along the path of motherhood. But for those who are curious, ancient folklore provides one of the most frightening risks of all. Because according to one legend, both mother and child could be attacked by Al-Kharchi.

• 9:08Aaron Mahnke?

  This demonic entity dates back to pre-Islamic Turkish shamanism, and can be found in folklore from across the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Caucasus region. Every area, though, has her own name for her. The Armenians call her Alk, and Afghans call her Hal. In Turkey, though, she's called Al-Kharchi, which means Scarlet Woman. The legend makes it clear that she's a nasty creature, both inside and out. No matter where the story comes from, most people seem to agree that she is hideous, with thinning hair and an unnaturally tall form. According to folklore from Iran, she has a nose made of clay jutting from her red face. Other traditions claim that she has fangs and long dangling breasts that she throws

• 9:52Aaron Mahnke?

  over her shoulder when she runs. Now, there's no general consensus on what exactly she is. The Scarlet Woman has been called a demon, a witch, and even a vampire. But she is most commonly believed to be an evil spirit of some kind. And despite her folkloric label of female, she is anything but a girl's girl. You see, she has one purpose, and one purpose only: to stop the reproduction of the human race. To accomplish this monumental task, she preys on pregnant women, working to cause miscarriages. She sometimes also strikes after the baby is born, swapping out the infant with an imp, like Irish folklore about changelings.

• 10:35Aaron Mahnke?

  Her most common MO, however, is to murder the pregnant mother while she's in labor. Using her magic, the Scarlet Woman paralyzes the mother while she's giving birth. Then she steals the woman's heart, lungs, and liver. Of course, there's almost never any evidence of her crimes. In fact, the bodies that she leaves behind are said to be bloodless, with no visible proof that the organs have been ripped out. All that's left is a cold, stiff corpse and a baby that will never be born. While the Scarlet Woman gets the most enjoyment from attacking women as they're giving birth, she isn't all that picky. Legends say that she's willing to call on her victims up to forty days after the birth,

• 11:18Aaron Mahnke?

  meaning that postpartum mothers are at just as much risk of having their liver stolen as pregnant women are. Of course, if you're worried about getting a visit from the Scarlet Woman, there are some precautions you can take. The easiest one would be to wear red as often as possible, especially while giving birth. You can also drink red liquids, sleep under a red blanket, and wear a red turban on your head. Ironically, despite the fact that the Scarlet Woman is known to always wear red, the color seems to repel her. Your doctor may not appreciate it, but if you want an extra layer of protection, you could also bring an eagle into the delivery room to guard against malevolent spirits. Or, since the Scarlet Woman often strikes at night,

• 12:01Aaron Mahnke?

  you could just stay awake for days and days after you give birth. Although, to be fair, new moms rarely get all the sleep they need, anyway. And look, pregnancy has never been easy. In our modern age of medicine, I think it's natural for us to forget just how dangerous it actually was for a very long time. Before the Industrial Revolution, for example, more than 1% of pregnancies ended in the mother's death, which is fifty times higher than it is today. Our ancestors were far more intimate with death than we ever have been. Women and babies alike died during pregnancy. They died while giving birth, and their bodies often gave out soon after labor, unable to heal after going through such a traumatic ordeal.

• 12:45Aaron Mahnke?

  The truth is, they didn't need a real Scarlet Woman to deliver death. It was already happening far too often on its own. In the end, the folklore of the Scarlet Woman did something more helpful. It provided an explanation for the tragedies that they saw every single day. It put a face on all that death and gave communities someone to blame, which, at its heart, is exactly what folklore is for.

• 13:23Aaron Mahnke?

  Throughout history, women have been associated with life. And it makes sense, right? They're the reason that we're all alive in the first place. And I know what you're thinking. So far today, we haven't actually talked much about life-giving women. There's been a lot more blood than birth. But here's the thing. Up until fairly recently, life and death have been intertwined with one another. Babies would be born, and then they would die. Women would become mothers, and then they too would be gone. People used to be a lot more comfortable with death rushing in on the heels of life. It was just the way things were. The circle of life still existed, it was just a lot smaller. And women were a vital part of each process, too. Obviously, they gave birth to newborns, but when it came to death,

• 14:06Aaron Mahnke?

  they were also the ones who usually took the reins. For most of history, it was women who took watch by the sickbed, women who prepared corpses for burial. And with all that being said, we can't have a conversation about the women of folklore without dipping our toes into mythology. And there's one goddess in particular who embodies every facet of womanhood. Her name is Coatluique, which is, by the way, one of the best names you'll probably ever hear. In the Nowatla language, it means "she of the serpent's skirt", and as the name implies, she wore a skirt made of snakes, which complemented her double serpent head beautifully. The cherry on top was a necklace made of human hands, hearts, and skulls.

• 14:49Aaron Mahnke?

  But despite what you may assume, she was not, in fact, a goddess of fashion. Instead, Coatluique had two roles. First, she was the Aztec goddess of fertility and childbirth, where her job was to nurture humanity so that we could continue to reproduce. But on the flip side, she also represented death and warfare. Everything from natural disasters to human conflict fell under her control. Basically, she gave birth to us, and then she devoured us. Oh, and by the way, I mean that quite literally. The Aztecs believed that she used disasters as an opportunity to eat humans. Now, despite her terrifying reputation, she was considered to be neither good nor bad.

• 15:31Aaron Mahnke?

  She was simply an unknowable, all-powerful goddess who embodied both life and death. To that end, she was considered to be the patron goddess of women who died during childbirth. She herself had had too many children, the most famous of which was Huetsi Lepactli, the Aztec god of warfare and the sun. His birth story is actually the most well-known myth about Coatluique. According to a legend that was recorded by a Franciscan priest in the 16th century, the goddess was sweeping her temple when, for some reason, a flurry of feathers descended upon her. But Coatluique had no time for mysterious feathers to make a mess of her freshly cleaned floor. So she picked them up, wadded them into a ball,

• 16:14Aaron Mahnke?

  and held the feathers at her waist until she finished sweeping. By the time she finished, though, they had disappeared, and now she was pregnant. When they heard the news, her four hundred other children were furious. They believed that she had dishonored their entire family by laying with a strange man. Of course, they didn't believe her feather story. Even within the shaky confines of mythology, that explanation made no sense. So her children plotted to kill her. But as soon as they attacked, Huetsi Lepactli emerged from her womb, fully formed and armed to the teeth. He defeated all four hundred of his siblings with ease and flung his eldest sister into the sky where she became the moon. Then he chopped the others into tiny pieces and threw them into the sky as well,

• 16:59Aaron Mahnke?

  creating the stars. Coatluique's connection to these heavenly bodies put her into a class of deities called the Tzitzinmimé, all of whom are related to the stars. They were also all considered to be incredibly dangerous. You see, Coatluique wasn't the only one who liked to eat her worshippers. In fact, all of her compatriots were known to descend upon the earth to devour its inhabitants together. It was, at its essence, a violent family outing. But despite their penchant for death, they were all still connected to life in some way, because you couldn't have one without the other. And ironically, they collectively served as the patron deities of the midwives.

• 17:55Aaron Mahnke?

  Being a woman is, as it always has been, a matter of life and death. We cannot have one without the other. It's a strange yin and yang situation, one which the pre-Columbian Mesoamericans understood all too well. And Coatluique was just one of many examples of goddesses who were both nurturing and bloodthirsty. And it's probably fair to say that that isn't a concept that we're particularly comfortable with today. Not many of us would want to worship a mother who slaughtered her own children. But the Aztecs, well, they had no problem with it. The Spaniards, on the other hand, did. In 1790, they unearthed the first statue of Coatluique they had ever seen. And as soon as they laid eyes on it, they said that it was hideous.

• 18:38Aaron Mahnke?

  Instead of a human head, two gigantic rattlesnake heads stared back at them. She had multiple breasts, a skirt made of snakes, and monstrously long claws that they later learned were used for ripping apart corpses. For the Spanish, all of that was just too much. They had spent decades trying to convert the Mesoamericans to Catholicism, and now there was a five-foot-tall heathen behemoth in the middle of Mexico City. In their eyes, she was an affront to everything they believed. And so, they buried her. Coatluique's statue wouldn't be found again until 1824. Thankfully, the team that uncovered her the second time were a bit more academically minded than their predecessors,

• 19:22Aaron Mahnke?

  and they put her on display at the Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico. But then, something strange began to happen. Locals, who were generations removed from the Spanish conquest, actually recognized her and started to leave offerings at her feet. In response, the goddess statue was moved to the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City, where she still resides to this day. Despite her years underground, it seems that she's become one of the most significant Aztec statues in history. After all, you can't expect everyone to not recognize their mother.

• 20:12Aaron Mahnke?

  It's often said that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. But if you dig deep enough into folklore, you might be more inclined to say that hell hath no fury like a woman, full stop. In fact, in some cases, hell is right where a woman wants to be. And I've saved one last story that will hopefully explain exactly what I mean. Stick around through this brief sponsor break to hear all about it. This episode was made possible by Square, and they've got big news. Square has launched a wave of innovative new tools to help local businesses run faster, smarter, and more profitably. And it's all built for businesses like yours. Whether you're starting fresh or scaling fast, Square helps you keep up and get ahead.

• 20:54Aaron Mahnke?

  And right now, listeners can get up to $200 off Square hardware when you sign up at square.com/go/lor. Visit Square to get started because the right tools make all the difference. I do a lot of live events, and I've been bringing my Square tools with me for almost a decade now. And looking around, so many of my other fellow authors and speakers are doing the same thing. It's easy to use for both me and my fans, and that's probably why I see it in so many other businesses during my travels. Square brings payments, point-of-sale inventory, staffing, and online sales together in one system, so business owners don't have to juggle a bunch of different tools. It's built to support different kinds of businesses, not force everyone into the same mold. Square launched its most powerful tools yet, designed to give local businesses a competitive edge without the complexity.

• 21:38Aaron Mahnke?

  If you're ready to sell smarter, run faster, and stress less, right now you can get up to $200 off Square hardware at square.com/go/lor. That's S-Q-U-A-R-E dot com slash G-O slash lore. Run your business smarter with Square. Get started today. This message is sponsored by Raycon. There's something about the start of fall that always puts me in reset mode. I'm cleaning out the old, getting organized, and making room for routines that help me feel my best. And one thing that's become part of that reset is Raycon's Essential Open Earbuds. I've been using mine all summer when I'm out for a hike or a mountain bike ride. Trust me, the open ear design is perfect for those activities because it lets me stay aware of my surroundings, you know, just in case someone younger and faster zooms

• 22:23Aaron Mahnke?

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• 23:07Aaron Mahnke?

  Go to buyraycon.com/loropen to get 20% off. And my thanks to Raycon for sponsoring this episode. This episode was made possible by Gusto. Can we be honest? There's probably one task on your to-do list that you consistently push to next week because it's just so tedious. And for a lot of business owners, that's payroll. But Gusto is here to take that entirely off your plate, so it becomes the easy part of your job instead of the dreaded one. Now, look, for me, I have an entire team of people who work for me at Grim and Mild, and I get to pay them every single month, which is amazing, trust me. But it also pulls me out of my creative flow, which isn't ideal. Thankfully, Gusto makes that complex task something that I can do in literally 60 seconds

• 23:51Aaron Mahnke?

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• 24:36Aaron Mahnke?

  Try Gusto today at gusto.com/lor and get three months free when you run your first payroll. That's three months of free payroll at gusto.com/lor. One more time, gusto.com/lor. This episode was made possible by Chime. So, let's be honest, everyone hates bank fees, right? It seems like someone else is just trying to take my money, and that's not a good feeling. And that's where Chime comes in. Chime is changing the way people bank. They're not like traditional old banks who charge fees and gatekeep perks and rewards. Chime offers the most rewarding fee-free banking, all with no overdraft fees, no monthly fees, and no minimum balance fees.

• 25:17Aaron Mahnke?

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• 26:13Aaron Mahnke?

  The first woman gave birth to death. At least, that's the lesson that we learned from Maori mythology. But I might be getting ahead of myself, so let's back up just a bit. You see, in one of the Maori tales, the creator god Tane shaped the world's very first woman out of the soil. And then, evidently pleased with what he saw, he married her. Together, the couple had a baby girl named Hainae Nuitipo, who would be known as the goddess of dawn. She hatched from an egg right alongside her twin brother, who became the god of birds. Now, according to the legend, she truly was as lovely as the morning sunrise, and because of that, she could have any man she wanted. But her heart was quickly captured by a god named Tane.

• 26:55Aaron Mahnke?

  Now, if you're thinking that that name sounds familiar, then you would be right. Tane was the god of all creation, and, as we've just learned, her father. He must have been a deadbeat of a dad, because Hainae Nuitipo had no idea that he was related to her. So, when he asked her to marry him, she said yes. And the couple had several children together, and as far as we know, they were blissfully happy as well. But that happiness shattered when, one day, she asked Tane if he knew who her father was. At first, he just laughed, but that laughter put her on edge, and so she asked again, and again, and she asked over and over until he finally admitted that her father was him. In all her life, Hainae Nuitipo had never known such shame.

• 27:39Aaron Mahnke?

  Unable to face the rest of the cosmology, she fled to the underworld. Or at least, that's one version of the story. In a different one, she was so ashamed that she took her own life. No matter what method she went with, Hainae Nuitipo eventually ended up six feet under. Disregarding all warnings from the underworld's guardians, she ran deeper into the bowels of the earth, sobbing as she went. And she might have descended through the underworld for the rest of her immortal life if Tane hadn't appeared in front of her. Her father/husband tried to convince her to return to the world of the living, but she refused. Instead, she told him that she would stay in the underworld to receive her children

• 28:20Aaron Mahnke?

  after they died, and, most importantly, to stay away from him. From that point on, she remained in the land of the dead. Eventually, she welcomed her children and all the generations who came after them. To this day, the Maori believe that it is she who nurtures them and keeps them safe in the afterlife. For them, she doesn't just represent physical death, she's also a symbol of the preservation of spiritual life. It's thanks to her love and care that souls are happy in the underworld. It's a mission that she's devoted herself to for thousands upon thousands of years, as if by working hard enough, she could prevent any of her descendants from feeling anything

• 29:00Aaron Mahnke?

  close to the pain that she herself once felt. This episode of Lore Legends was produced by me, Aaron Mahnke, with writing by Alex Robinson and research by Jamie Vargas. My brand-new history book, Exhumed, is finally here. It's in hardcover ebook and an audiobook version narrated by me. Exhumed explores the strange and twisted roots of the New England vampire panic and its star player Mercy Brown, who longtime lore fans will recognize from episode one.

• 29:42Aaron Mahnke?

  Grab your copy today over at aaronmahnke.com/exhumed. Don't like hearing ads on lore? Well, there's a paid version available on Apple Podcasts and Patreon that is 100% ad-free. Subscribers also get weekly mini-bonus episodes called Lore Bites, and Patreon members specifically get discounts on lore merch and access to my inbox. Learn more about how you can support the show over at lorepodcast.com/support. And you can follow us on social media platforms like YouTube Threads, Blue Sky, and Instagram. Just search for Lore Podcast, all one word, and then click that follow button. And when you do, say hi. I like it when people say hi. And as always, thanks for listening.