La Cacería Salvaje del rey Staj

A cursed legend in the lands of Belarus A gothic gem of Eastern European literature Andréi Beloretski, a 96-year-old ethnographer, recalls an experience he had in his youth, at the end of the 19th century. During his travels through Belarus, collecting legends and folk traditions, a stormy night leads him to an isolated old mansion inhabited by Nadezhda Yanóvskaya, the last descendant of a cursed lineage. Nadezhda confesses that her lineage has been doomed since an ancestor, Roman the Old, betrayed the mythical king Staj. Since then, supernatural creatures--the Little Man, the Blue Woman, and the dreaded Wild Hunt--have begun to appear in the surrounding area, heralding the final extinction of her bloodline. Convinced that he can break the spell, Beloretski decides to stay and face the mystery. What follows is an immersive tale where Belarusian oral tradition, Gothic horror, and romantic passion intertwine in an atmosphere charged with foreboding and dark beauty. The Wild Hunt of King Staj is a masterpiece by Uladzímir Karatkévich, an undisputed master of 20th-century Belarusian literature.