Hello! Today I wanted to show you my version of a Swamp Kikimora. There's many versions of Kikimora and you can read more about it HERE but today I only wanted to focus on the one that lives on swamps.
In ancient Slavic beliefs, the kikimora was a figure with a changing appearance. She could appear either as a young girl or as an elderly woman. Among her characteristic features were:
rough, coarse skin,
an unnaturally long nose,
chicken-like limbs instead of legs.
Kikimora usually became active after dusk. Interestingly, her aggression was not random. She harbored a particular hatred toward men, often making them the main targets of her malice.
At night, the kikimora became a true nuisance: she spun cobwebs, deliberately woke small children and newborns from sleep, destroyed household belongings, and tormented domestic animals - especially chickens. Because her greatest passion was sewing and spinning, the sound of a spinning wheel working in the darkness sent shivers down the spines of the household members. It was an unmistakable sign and a bad omen that the demon was lurking nearby.
The activities of the kikimora did not end at the threshold of the cottage. In Russian-language folklore, she also appeared as a wild being associated with forests and marshlands. In this form she was identified with the “leshachikha” - the wife of the powerful forest demon known as the leshiy.
The marsh kikimora posed a deadly threat to travelers and lost wanderers. Unlike demons such as the bies, she did not use brute force. Instead, she used her laughter as bait to disorient travelers, lure them off safe paths onto treacherous bogs, and drown them in the mud.
I'll be postin a video from this shoot soon!
Love, Erinthul.