A fictional creature from Slavic mythology invented by a well-known hoaxer
On the internet, one can find many mentions of Irka (or Irku) — a malevolent and cunning humanoid creature supposedly from Slavic mythology. Descriptions claim that Irka (Irku) lies in wait for lonely travelers at night, confuses their minds, and drains their life force. It is also said that a suicide might transform into an Irka after death.
Accounts filled with various details about Irka’s appearance and abilities often reference certain Slavic myths and legends. However, in reality, the only source of information about this creature is Yuri Mirolyubov’s book “Russian Pagan Folklore. Sketches of Everyday Life and Customs” (1953), which contains a small chapter devoted to Irka.
“Irka is not a devil, but a dark person. He is one of those who perhaps hanged himself, cut his own throat with a knife, or drowned. The night is his domain. At night, he walks all the roads, runs wherever he might meet someone, to drink the warmth of the living, in order to finish the life he left unfinished,” — Mirolyubov describes Irka.
Yuri Mirolyubov (1892–1970), who emigrated from the Russian Empire to Europe after the 1917 revolution and later moved to the United States in the 1950s, is best known for publishing the notorious text of the “Book of Veles” together with Alexander Kurenkov. Most likely, he himself was the author of this “ancient” collection of Slavic tales and myths, which upon examination turned out to be a crude forgery. Mirolyubov’s own books dedicated to the history, mythology, and beliefs of the Slavs are likewise not taken seriously in academic circles.
Thus, it can be stated with a high degree of certainty that Irka is not a genuinely sinister and dark creature feared by our ancestors, but merely the product of Mirolyubov’s imagination — one that successfully took root in modern folklore among other mythical beings.
