So after a year there’s Christmas again and we bring you an overview of devil's DVDs that should not be missing in your collection.
Devils! Without realizing it, we have learned from many of you that devil's fairy tales are a mystery to you. Who are these typically Czech devils? Why do they look the way they look? And why are these devils scaring children?
Lots of questions and we have simple answers.
The devil is in the Slavic folklore a traditional fairy tale creature. Unlike theological devils, fairy tale devils have certain features and may not always have a purely negative character. Often they are more human rather than evil characters, and they are funny in their foolishness.
If a child asked the Czech people who the fairy tale devils are and what they look like, we would probably answer something like:
They are scary beings, which are all dirty from ash, soot and coal, because it is so dirty in hell, as they have to constantly keep their fire burning to keep the hell hot. They have horns, tail and hoof. They live in hell that is underground or in rocks where they watch misbehaving people on earth. Their boss is Lucifer which is the smartest of all the devils.
Scaring children
Unlike our neighbours from Austria, where the devil is Krampus, in the Czech Republic devils look rather nice and children are afraid of them only if they know that they misbehaved. We can see them on streets on St. Nicholas Day. The St. Nicholas Day has been celebrated for centuries in the Czech lands. St. Nicholas together with an angel and a devil visits children in their homes and gives them sweets, depending on whether the children behaved good or not. In earlier times, the good children got fruits and nuts and the naughty ones coal or potatoes. Nowadays it is more symbolic than scary and children get fruits, nuts and various kinds of sweets. Although this tradition may sound a little drastic to people of other cultures, in fact it is a rather peaceful celebration with a mysterious, supernatural atmosphere.
And now we get to the most beautiful fairy tales
The Devil's Bride/Certova nevesta - a beautiful fairy tale with English audio
In a kingdom where the king only hunts in a forest, an impatient queen prays to Saint Kryspina for a baby. When she runs out of patience, she turns to a devil living nearby in an old, crumbled mill, and a little princess Stepanka is born shortly after that. The little princess grows up alongside Stepan, a queen's maid’s son, and they fall in love with each other over time. When it becomes clear that the queen has signed a contract with the devil and the princess is to become Luciper's bride on her eighteenth birthday. The king wants to prevent it from happening and organizes a ball where Stepanka is going to be engaged to a prince from another country in order to escape her destiny. One of the suitors is Luciper, whom Stepanka refuses. He curses her into a ghost that appears every night on the terraces of the castle. Stepan decides to rescue her and begins to fight hell. With his enormous courage and unstoppable love, he finishes three tasks that the devil gives him. In his last task, thanks to his cleverness, he overcomes even Luciper himself and frees beloved Stepanka from the power of hell. Both of them have a beautiful and fairytale life.
The Magic Quill/Certi brko - a latest fairy tale from the devilish environment with English subtitles
The story takes us to the town Pytlov at the foot of the Pervidle hill. Local people are usually craftsmen and peasants and they live an ordinary life. They may not even know that all their offenses and wrongdoings are being carefully monitored by the local hell office. Sins are written fairly and unmistakably by the devil's Magic Quill. One day the Quill stops working and therefore Lucifer sends there a confused devil Bonifac, for whom it is an opportunity to show off. Unfortunately, after he comes to the town, he gets robbed of the Magic Quill. The plot is then taken care of. The town of Pytlov is lead by local sly cheaters and slackers, who eventually manage to imprison Lucifer. Now it is on Bonifac to find the best qualities in himself so he could free Pytlov and Lucifer and also got the heart of the beautiful Marketa.
Hell with Princess/Peklo s princeznou - a beautiful fairy tale with English subtitles
What happens if royal children refuse arranged marriage? What happens when King Bedrich threatens to start a war and King Leopold invents a false hell with false devils? Will there be a wedding? Or a war? There will be a lot of fun and a beautiful love story that is stronger than hell itself.
Give the Devil His Due/S certy nejsou zerty Remastered - classic Czech fairy tale with English subtitles
Miller Macha and his son Petr lived happily. After the miller's wedding with a castle cook Dorotka, everyone was doing very badly in the mill. The miller soon died and Petr remains in the mill with an evil stepmother who wants everything for herself. He has no idea, however, that in dark caves there is the Infernal Kingdom, where the prince of hell, Lucifer, reigns.
Playing with the davil, Spiel mit dem Teufel/Hratky s certem - a classic Czech fairy tale with English subtitles
The retired soldier goes to hell to save souls of two foolish girls who, in desire for a groom, carelessly succumbed evil’s luring.
Other fairy tales with devils: Angel of The Lord/Andel pane, Angel of the Lord 2/Andel Pane 2, Goblins and Good Luck 2 / Z pekla stesti 2, The Princess from the Mill/Princezna ze mlejna 1/2, The horned Love/Laska rohata, The Devil Knows Why/Cert vi proc.