VODYANOI

 VODYANOI

"All these monsters stared about seeking him, but they could not find him, since he was protected by his sacred circle."

Nikolai Gogol, The Viy

"In appearance, the vodyanoi resembled a repulsive old man with hirsute body and long, matter hair and beard. It was frequently suggested that, like the devils in Russian icons, he looked black or that is body-hair was black. Some physical details, on the other hand, suggested the influence of the watery milieu in which he lived. Thus, his hair might be green or he might have webbed feet, a fishy tail, scaly skin. "
Elizabeth Warner, Russian Myths 

"This is the name of a dangerous water being in the folklore and traditions of Russia. The Vodianoi, also called Vodyanoi, Vodyanoy or Vodnik, is variously described as an old man with a blue face, white beard and green hair; an old man covered in scales or fur with huge paws, glowing eyes, horns and a tail; or entirely as a grotesque fish."

Carol Rose, Giants, Monsters and Dragons

PALESMURT

PALESMURT

"Devilish laughter broke out all around him. 

Hideous monsters galloped in herds before him."

Nikolai Gogol, A Terrible Vengeance

"This is the name of a curious humanoid monster in the folklore of the Volga region of Russia. The Palesmurt is described as looking like a human but having only one half of the body, one arm and hand, one leg and foot and a head with only one eye. This horrific being trapped unwary travelers in his territory and choked them to death."

Carol Rose, Giants, Monsters and Dragons

DOMOVOI

DOMOVOI

"He had not the courage to look at them; he only saw one uncouth monster standing by the wall, with long, shaggy hair and two flaming eyes."

Nikolai Gogol, The Viy

"A few sources note that the spirit had tiny horns and a tail or horse ears;"
Linda J. Ivantis, Russian Folk Beliefs

"Commonly, it was said that he resembled a dwarf-like old man, with tangled locks and a shaggy beard that hid his face, apart from a pair of bright eyes, and soft fur that covered his body, including the palms of his hands and soles of his feet. Hirsuteness was a characteristic feature of demonic beings in general and may be connected with the pictorial representation of devils in icons."
Elizabeth Warner, Russian Myths

KOLDUN

KOLDUN

"But when the Captain lifted up the icons, at once the Cossack's face completely changed: his nose grew longer and twisted to one side, his rolling eyes turned from brown to green, his lips turned blue, his chin quivered and grew pointed like a spear, a 
tusk peeped out of his mouth, a hump appeared behind his head, and the Cossack turned into an old man. "

Nikolai Gogol, A Terrible Vengeance

"As a priest intoned 'Christ has arisen' for the first time during the procession around the church, the wizards would be revealed to the holder of the egg with their backs to the altar (and complete with devilish horns)."

Elizabeth Warner, Russian Myths

NIXIE

NIXIE
"He saw a water-nixie rise from a bed of tall reeds; she turned to him, and her face was clearly visible, and she sang a song which penetrated his soul; then she approached him and nearly reached the surface of the water, on which she burst into 

laughter and again disappeared."

 Nikolai Gogol, The Viy

"The females are described as being beautiful women above the waist and having the tail of a fish in the manner of a mermaid, but the nix usually inhabits freshwater."

"However, in the Slavic mythology of eastern Europe, the female beings are described as resembling the Siren of classical mythology, with the torso and head of a woman but the legs and wings of a birds." 

Carol Rose, Giants, Monsters and Dragons 

BLADDER DEMON

BLADDER DEMON

"Over him something hung in the air which looked like a gigantic bladder covered with countless crabs’ claws and scorpions’ stings, and with black clods of earth hanging from it."

Nikolai Gogol, The Viy

RUSALKA

RUSALKA

"Maidens who have lost their souls rise up one after the other from the depths of the Dnieper, their green tresses stream over their shoulders, the water drips splashing to the ground from their long hair;"

Nikolai Golgol, A Terrible Vengeance

"'Look, look!' She said quickly, 'she is here, she is on the bank, playing games among my maidens, bathing herself in the moonlight. She is sly and cunning, she has taken the form of a drowned maiden;'"

"But they were pale; their bodies looked as thought molded out of transparent clouds, and it seemd as though the moonlight shone through them."

Nikolai Gogol, A May Night

"Descriptions of rusalki from all over Russia present them as attractive young women, insubstantial beauties with delicate, pale faces and translucent skin, an indication both of their ghostly nature and of their long residence deep under the waters of river or lake, far from the light of the sun. The rusalki often had green hair, like the water weeds and the grasses along the river banks where they frolicked on moonlit nights. More significantly, the rusalka wore her hair unbraided and uncovered, a state that the Russians associated with the supernatural -witches did not cover their hair either - or with liminality, for a bride's hair was unbraided on the eve or her marriage as was the hair of a dead woman in her coffin."

Elizabeth Warner, Russian Myths

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

CHORT

CHORT

"How could anyone let a devil into a tavern? Why, thank God, he has claws on his paws and horns on his head."

"But the pigs with legs as long as stilts climbed in at the windows and so revived him in an instant with a three-thonged whip, making him skip higher than this ceiling."

"The rest of the sentence died away on the speaker's lips: there was a loud rattle at the window, the panes fell tinkling on the floor, and a frightening pig's snout peered in through the window, roll it its eyes as though asking, "What are you doing here, folks?'"

Nikolai Gogol, The Fair At Sorochintsy

 

"In pre-Christian central and eastern Europe, the chort was a demon used to personify evil forces. He would be pictured as walking on two legs in an erect position, but with horns, hooves, a tail and often the bottom half of a goat. Sometimes he would have a pig face. Chorts would often live in hollow willow trunks or abandoned buildings, like mills. It’s the pre-Christian, pre-gentrified version of a savage, country-style devil. 

Luiza Oleszczuk, European Folklore Rife With Halloween Costume Inspiration

LESHII

 

LESHII
"Those forests on this hill are not forests: they are the hair that covers the shaggy head of the wood demon."
Nikolai Gogol, A Terrible Vengeance

"Even today, no Russian living at the forest's edge will take the forest for granted."

"Many stories about him stress his affinity with the vegetation of the forest. His skin might be gnarled like the bark of a tree, his hair and beard green as grass."

"Iconographic influences may be detected in some descriptions of the leshii's appearance, which endow him with a shaggy body, cloven hooves, a tail and horns."
 Elizabeth Warner, Russian Myths