Kikimora

There are two different kinds of Kikimoras. The one that comes from the forest is married to the Domovoi. The other one comes from the swamp (Russian: кики́мора боло́тная) and is married to Leshy. It is said that she can be identified by her wet footprints. When home builders wanted to cause harm to someone buying a house, they would bring in Kikimora. Once she is inside, it is difficult to get her to leave.

The swamp Kikimora was usually described as a small, ugly, hunchbacked, thin, and scruffy old woman with pointed nose and disheveled hair. She was said to use moss and grass as her clothes. It was believed that she frightens people, knocks travelers off the road or even drowns them. She also kidnaps children.

There is a Russian bylichka about one swamp Kikimora, who loved to brew beer. Her name was Baba Bolotnitsa (Russian: Ба́ба-боло́тница). When she was brewing beer, fog rose over the river (or swamp).

When the house is in order, Kikimora looks after the chickens and housework. If not, she whistles, breaks dishes, and makes noises at night. She also comes out at night to spin thread.

Features and behaviours

It is a common belief that mora enters the room through the keyhole, sits on the chest of the sleepers and tries to strangle them (hence moriti, "to torture", "to bother", "to strangle"). To repel moras, children are advised to look at the window or to turn the pillow and make a sign of cross on it (prekrstiti jastuk); in the early 19th century, Vuk Karadžić mentions that people would repel moras by leaving a broom upside down behind the door, or putting their belt on top of their sheets, or saying an elaborate prayer poem before they go to sleep.

There are two different kinds of Kikimoras. The one that comes from the forest is married to the Domovoi. The other one comes from the swamp (Russian: кики́мора боло́тная) and is married to Leshy. It is said that she can be identified by her wet footprints.

Kikimora (Russian: кики́мора, IPA: [kʲɪˈkʲimərə]) is a legendary creature, a female house spirit in Slavic mythology. Her role in the house is usually juxtaposed with that of the domovoy, where one of them is considered a "bad" spirit, and the other, a "good" one. When the kikimora inhabits a house, she lives behind the stove or in the cellar, and usually produces noises similar to those made by the mice in order to obtain food. Kikimory (in plural) were the first traditional explanation for sleep paralysis in Russian folklore.