Also known as Ala, these are weather Demons from Bulgarian Folklore who conjure terrible storms to attack villages and towns.
The Hala is capable of creating and using bad weather to destroy crops. She can create whirlwinds strong enough to life you off your feet, or hailstones large enough to crush apples on contact. Whenever crops fail and fields die, if it wasn't dragons, it was probably her doing.
There are many Hala's that can be found in Bulgaria, from great lakes to old rotten trees you can always find one if you look hard enough.
No Cruetly Too Small
Renowned for their terrible appetites. Hala delights in eating children, the crops she steals and even when hungry enough, will try to take a bite out of the sun and moon causing Eclipses.
Hala from the Lekovac region were described as carrying around giant wooden spoons to fill their mouths with. And another man who kept a Hala in his stables was said to drink 30 Litres of milk a day.
But, none of this can really fill her stomach, so she takes as much as she can, from whole vineyards to the contents of an old woman's vegetable patch. The amount doesn't matter, only that you don't have it.
We can even see this in a popular Bulgarian Fairytale, The Three Brothers & The Golden Apple. Where in, a Hala chooses to steal the single source of wealth from a poor family.
A magical tree that will produce a single Apple made of pure gold once every year. And without fail the Hala waits until the family guarding it have fallen asleep, and pluck it for herself.
Later on, the hero finds himself in the Underworld. Which has now become barren and dead after the Hala used her magic to block the streams and cause a terrible drought. Everything from the kingdoms found there to Giant Eagles starved because she wanted it to.
Starved, because her hunger knows no end.
Formless Hate
The Hala themselves can take on many forms, to a point where it's easy to confuse them with other dragons like the Lamia. What we do know about her, is that she wears a heavy robe that looks like stormclouds, that allow her to shapeshift into many forms.
Some of the most notable are giant animals like Bulls and Ravens, Giant Serpents with six wing and twelve tails, or even the simple form of a toothless old lady. She may even appear in something as mundane as a fog rolling across the landscape, slowly something anything she comes into contact with.
Hope Snatcher
As deadly as Hala is, her presence is worse. Just being around her can cause, sickness, ill fortune and even madness in some individuals. If a Hala stays in your village you may start to see your elderly fade away, your children lose the spark in their eyes and loved ones growing to despise each other. She radiates negativity and sadness in a way not many other things can.
Even in death, it is not the end, swarms of flies will hang around her body preventing anyone from approaching her corpse. And any who dare step close find themselves struck with a terrible sickness. Only saints and other Holy men can unbound her from the earth and cleanse the lands she tears apart.
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