Russian Ghost Mythology

Kormos

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Tradition: Turkic Mythology, Russian Mythology
Alternative Names: Kormoz, Körmöz, Körmös, Alban, Chahik, Ozor
Category: Ghost

The Myth

Kormos are supernatural spirits associated with the dead and the underworld in Turkic mythology. They may appear in a humanlike form, but some have disturbing features, including extremely long hair, elongated claws, and inverted eyes and feet. The souls of people who committed suicide are known as Alban, while other Kormos are associated with those who died through accidents or with the spirits of ancestors. After death, a person’s soul may become a Kormos and continue to exist as a spirit.

Kormos are divided according to their nature and the realm in which they dwell. Some are benevolent spirits who help and protect humanity under the command of Ülgen, while others are demonic beings controlled by Erlik, the ruler associated with the underworld of Tamag. These hostile spirits may harm the living or attempt to capture their souls. Other Kormos are neither entirely good nor evil and wander the earth in a miserable, restless state. Their chief is known as Körmös Khan or Kürmez Han.

The spirits are associated with three realms: the earth, the underground world of Tamag, and the heavenly realm of Uçmag. Even a demonic Kormos may have the possibility of escaping its torment and ascending to Uçmag if the good within its soul outweighs its evil. Kormos are especially associated with sunrise and sunset, times believed to be dangerous because the spirits may capture human souls. People are therefore warned against remaining awake during these periods. Through their different forms and destinies, Kormos represent the uncertain fate of the dead, whose souls may become protectors, malevolent demons, or restless wanderers.

Sources

“Kormos.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 15, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kormos

Uryak

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Tradition: Tatar Mythology, Bashkir Mythology, Russian Mythology
Alternative Names: Örek, Örak, Эрак
Category: Ghost

The Myth

The Uryak is the ghost of a person who died a violent death, appearing in places where blood has been spilled. It may take the form of a human figure or a haystack-like shape, swaying and moving forward as it travels. Some accounts describe it as a strange, indistinct creature that can transform into a cloud. Although it is generally not considered directly harmful to people, its appearance is deeply frightening, particularly when encountered alone at night. The Uryak is associated with the graves of those who died violently and is believed to appear at the very place where a person’s life ended.

The Uryak is said to have a distinctive heart-rending cry that draws attention to its presence. People who encounter it may become terrified, confused, or even lose the use of their limbs. In Tatar tradition, a person who sees the spirit from a distance may hear its mournful cries and attempt to avoid it. If the Uryak approaches someone and refuses to leave them alone, the traditional way to drive it away is to address it with foul language. Bashkir accounts also describe the Örak as a terrifying apparition that may appear as a very tall, thin man in a white robe. It can frighten people into delirium, disability, or madness, and is sometimes said to visit murderers, knock on their doors, and torment them.

The Uryak can also appear in deceptive forms. One Tatar tale tells of a woman riding along a forest path who encounters a man dressed in white standing on a bridge. As she approaches, he transforms into a round ball of fire, rolls toward her cart, and becomes a little girl who climbs aboard. The frightened woman tries prayers and religious invocations to make the strange child leave, but the girl refuses and begins striking her with a stick while shouting obscenities. After a long struggle, the woman abandons the cart and flees, while the girl continues following her. Only when the woman remembers that a horse must be harnessed head-on to a cart does she escape the apparition. The strange girl immediately disappears, and the woman returns safely to her village. Such encounters portray the Uryak as a restless and uncanny spirit whose appearances are linked to violent death, fear, and places marked by bloodshed.

Sources

“Уряк (Uryak).” New Bestiary (Bestiary.us). https://www.bestiary.us/uryak

Maniac

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Tradition / Region: Russian Mythology
Alternative names: Manya
Category: Ghost

The Myth

The Maniac is a ghostly being of Russian folklore associated with evil spirits and uncanny apparitions. It is an elusive creature with no fixed form, appearing as a phantom, vision, or wandering spectre.

In northern Russia, northeastern regions, and Siberia, the Maniac often takes the shape of a frail old woman. Such apparitions were especially known by the name Manya, and people regarded them as ghosts rather than living beings.

In central and southwestern Russia, however, the Maniac was believed to appear in a different form. It manifested as a fiery spirit resembling a falling star streaking across the night sky. These celestial apparitions were considered sinister omens.

According to popular belief, anyone who witnessed such a falling star invited misfortune upon themselves. The sight foretold inevitable death, either for the observer or for a member of their family. Because of this, experienced people avoided looking at shooting stars and regarded those who casually remarked, “A maniac has flown,” with suspicion and unease.

Another tradition held that Maniacs appeared to women harvesting grain in the fields on the feast day of Saints Kirik and Julitta, celebrated on July 28. These apparitions were vague and shadowy, more like haunting visions than physical beings.

Known variously as ghosts, spirits, and ill-omened phantoms, the Maniac was feared not for violence but for the doom and death believed to follow in its wake. Whether appearing as an old woman or as a blazing star falling from heaven, it remained one of the unsettling spectres of Russian folk belief.

Sources

Bestiary.us. (n.d.). Manjak. In New Bestiary: Encyclopedia of Imaginary Beings. Retrieved June 20, 2026, from https://www.bestiary.us/manjak

Igosha

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Tradition / Region: Russian Mythology
Category: Ghost

The Myth

Igosha is a spirit found in Russian folk belief, understood as the soul of a stillborn baby or a child who died before baptism. It is described as an armless and legless creature, sometimes invisible, sometimes imagined as a small, malformed being. Because it died without baptism, the igosha is believed to be unable to find rest.

According to belief, stillborn or unbaptized children often remained close to the place where they were buried—frequently under the floor of the house, near the hut, or within the household space itself. Over time, such spirits could become domestic beings, lingering inside the home and wandering through it at night.

The igosha behaves much like other house spirits such as the brownie or kikimora. It plays pranks, causes disturbances, and brings mischief, especially if it is ignored or disrespected. People believed that if the household failed to acknowledge the igosha—by not leaving a spoon, a piece of bread, or other small offerings—it would become more troublesome. In some traditions, people would throw a mitten or hat out the window as a gesture of recognition, treating the igosha as a house spirit rather than denying its presence.

One belief says that the kikimora feeds the igosha wolfberries, which the spirit can eat without choking, reinforcing its non-human nature. The igosha is often described as incomplete or unfinished, reflecting the idea that it barely entered the world before dying. Its lack of arms and legs is sometimes interpreted as a sign of this incompleteness or as a hint of a snake-like nature.

Information about igosha is rare, and the belief appears only sporadically in folklore records. The figure later inspired the literary fairy tale “Igosha” by V. F. Odoevsky, published in 1833, which drew directly on these traditional ideas of an unbaptized, restless child-spirit haunting the domestic space.