In Slavic mythology, the Bannik is a spirit of a bathhouse. Typically, descriptions of him include small stature, nude, long beard, and body covered in birch leaves from well used bath brooms. According to many stories, he can also change his shape and can show up as a local to someone who happens upon him or even as a stone or coal in the oven that heats the bathhouse. Slavic bathhouses have an exterior changing room and an interior steam room, much like saunas. The bathhouse, a place where wom ... (Read More)