The Meaning Behind John Wick's Baba Yaga Nickname Explained

Though John Wick might be terrifying in his own right, he's got nothing on the bizarre and nightmarish stories of Baba Yaga. The witch is said to keep her collection of human skulls on a fence as a warning to any unlucky enough to stumble upon her lair, but if she's looking for you, she has no shortage of terrifying ways to track you down.

Baba Yaga has a flying kettle that she can use to stalk her victims from above, and she is also said to have a flying mortar that she can pilot with a magical pestle. If you think that's as weird as it gets, then hold on to your flying kettles because Baba Yaga also lives in a hut that can run around the woods she inhabits on giant chicken legs.

While that might sound absolutely bonkers, you have to admit that the prospect of being chased through the forest by a cottage on bird legs is admittedly pretty frightening. However, there are less outwardly strange aspects of Baba Yaga that might help to explain why John Wick is known by this name in the criminal underworld.