Tradition: Belarusian mythology
Alternative Names: Volosen, Volosenya, Valasen, Valasenytsa
Category: Demon
The Myth
Volosen is a supernatural being in Belarusian mythology that can appear in different forms. As a skin demon, it is associated with a purulent abscess that appears on the skin, most often on a finger. The Volosen is imagined as something unclean and otherworldly, associated with strange or misplaced hair.
The hair connected with Volosen may be hair that has remained in a river for three years, hair from a tangled or misplaced bundle, or simply a strand of hair carried away by a bird for its nest. Such supernatural hair was considered the cause of the skin disease. Lithuanians called this kind of hair “devil’s hair,” while Russians called it “zmeevets.”
A Volosen could be driven away through ritual treatment. One method involved pouring hot water through the ears of corn onto the affected area while reciting a special formula. Twisted hairs were also sought on ears of corn. Another method involved taking a bird’s nest full of hair, boiling it, and washing the affected area with the resulting liquid for three days until sunrise.
Another treatment involved melting wax in an old clay pot, adding lard and butter, mixing everything together, and pouring it into cold water. If the mixture spread quickly, it was applied to the affected area until the hair disappeared.
Volosen could also appear as a household evil spirit. In this form, it was described as a small, upright creature covered in thick, dark, long fur. It had large hands with seven fingers, each ending in a long nail. The Volosen scratched people’s faces and tickled their noses.
It was particularly troublesome to women and girls, whom it grabbed by the chest and hair. It could fall onto them with its shaggy body, ruffle their hair, and frighten children by buzzing in their ears or tickling their heels.
In some Belarusian folklore, Volosenya is therefore both a skin disease and a household spirit, ranging from something resembling an abscess on a person’s finger to a small hairy creature that torments people in their homes.
Sources
“Волосень (Volosen).” New Bestiary (Bestiary.us). Accessed September 9, 2026. https://www.bestiary.us/volosen