VED'MA

VED'MA
"It is not for nothing that God has given each some special peculiarity; the learned maintain that every witch has a little tail."

"'Every old woman is a witch,' said a grey-headed Cossack quite seriously"

"But she looked quite blue, and her eyes sparkled like fiery coals. She seized the child, bit its throat, and began to suck its blood."

"He even thought he saw a tear roll from under the eyelash of her right eye, but when it was half-way down her cheek, he saw it was a drop of blood."
Nikolai Gogol, The Viy

"More often than not there was little to distinguish the born ved'ma (witch) physically  from ordinary women. Her supernatural provenance might, however, be revealed by a small, furry tail, which grew longer as she matured."
Elizabeth Warner, Russian Myths