A Study of Household Spirits of Eastern Europe EBOOK

Kikimora
Do you hear creaking, scratching sounds coming from the walls and floors, or the clatter of pots at night? Are objects not where you placed them the day before? Has yarn become tangled and a garment’s stitches pulled out? All these may be signs a Kikimora lives in your house. This female spirit causes havoc from dusk until dawn. As daylight approaches, she slips away—afraid of the light—and becomes invisible, hiding in crevices behind a hearth or stove, or in the cellar or attic, or perhaps even under floorboards.
The Kikimora prefers to live in an occupied residence, although she also has been known to dwell in abandoned buildings, taverns, bathhouses, threshing floors, hen houses, and stables. You’re certain to find her inhabiting “unclean” or “cursed” places such as a building set by a crossroads or fork or near a cemetery, in a house that has burned, or one where a person committed suicide.
Stand back, Superman. A Kikimora has some super powers of her own: she can become invisible, run fast, and see long distances. She’s restless, constantly on the move and jumping around making noises. You’ll find that she’s most active spinning during times people are forbidden to spin: midnight, Fridays, Christmas Eve, and other special occasions.

Variations of the Spirit
In olden days, the Kikimora predominantly occupied homes, and this chapter will concentrate on her in this capacity. Variations of the Kikimora living in fields, forests (Leschikha), or swamps (Bolotnik) are more prevalent today, and they deserve a brief mention here.
Stories advise you to avoid walking in a pea field in the summer or you may meet a Kikimora carrying a pan large enough to fry you on—because that is her intent if she catches you. You should skirt the woods as well. It’s there that the Kikimora Leschikha, along with her partner-in-crime Leshy, carries unsuspecting or lost people off into the forest—never to be seen again. And if you happen to stroll along a marshy area, beware of the Kikimora often called a Bolotnik, a creature who frightens passersby and kidnaps children. This spirit wraps herself in moss like a fur coat and weaves forest grass through her hair instead of ribbons. If she happens to feel lonely and enters your home, she’ll leave a trail of wet footprints wherever she’s wandered during the night.
The Kikimora has been associated with the witch Baba Yaga, who also has a link to chickens. In addition, she’s been credited with being the mother or sister of a Rusalka (mermaid), the “hostess” for a Vodyanoy or Vodnik (water creatures), and having a connection with marsh witches, werewolf shifters, spirits causing hysteria and fever, and the personification of various diseases. She travels from one place to another in folklore, much more than other spirits and creatures who stay in their designated area.