Tradition: Russian Mythology
Alternative Names: Empty House Spirit, Kikimora
Category: House dweller

The Myth

Pustodomka is a malevolent household spirit associated with an empty house. In some regions of Russia, including Perm, Tomsk, and Arkhangelsk, the name refers to a kikimora living in an unoccupied building. Although sometimes described as an independent supernatural being, Pustodomka is particularly associated with the domestic spirit’s ability to interfere with human lives and influence their fate.

According to beliefs recorded in the Arkhangelsk region, Pustodomka has the same occupation as the kikimora: she spins the “threads of fate” belonging to people. A story from the Russian North describes an empty-headed woman who repeatedly promises to attend a gathering but continually forgets. When she finally arrives, the girls hosting the party decide to teach her a lesson.

The girls give the woman a pot, a ball of spun yarn, and a salt shaker, then tell her to place the pots on her head and spin. When she begins spinning, the girls put their own pots on their heads as well. Pustodomka enters the house carrying the spinning wheel of the moiritsy, the spinning women, and sits down to spin. Her wheel is so small that she can barely tighten the spindle. She then begins to speak, complaining that the girls have chopped at her with an axe, pricked her with needles, and placed her on the table. The table, the spinning wheel, and the salt shaker each speak in turn, describing how the girls have mistreated them despite their willingness to put up with everything.

The story ends with Pustodomka becoming angry and attacking the girls. She strikes them with the spinning wheel and the pot, causing the pot to break and the spinning wheel to roll away. She beats every girl she can reach before leaving. The girls, however, laugh at the incident, treating it as a humorous mishap rather than a tragedy.

This legend portrays Pustodomka as a strange and potentially dangerous spirit whose relationship with people can turn hostile. Her association with spinning and the threads of fate links her to the kikimora, while the story emphasizes her unpredictable behaviour and the mischief that can arise when humans encounter the supernatural.

Sources

“Pustodomka.” New Bestiary (Bestiary.us). https://www.bestiary.us/pustodomka

Tradition: Mari Mythology, Russian Mythology
Alternative Names: Agun-kugyza, Agun-kuguzya
Category: House dweller

The Myth

Agun Oza is a supernatural barn spirit in the folklore of the Mari people, described as a small animal-like creature with brightly glowing eyes. It lives in the barn, a place where sheaves, grain, and bread are dried, threshed, and stored. Although it is sometimes identified with the house spirit, known as the Pört oza, the source treats Agun Oza as a distinct being associated specifically with the barn.

Agun Oza plays a role in Christmas fortune-telling. In mythological tales, fortune-tellers visit the barn to learn what the coming year will bring. Agun Oza is believed to stroke the hands of those seeking predictions. If it strokes their hands with its bare paw, they will enjoy bread and prosperity throughout the year. If it strokes them with its furry paw, however, they will live in poverty. The spirit therefore determines whether the fortune-seeker can expect abundance or hardship.

The barn spirit dislikes lazy people and is said to frighten them. Its presence connects the prosperity of the household with the work performed in the barn, where grain and other essential foodstuffs are processed and preserved. Its role in fortune-telling makes it both a supernatural inhabitant of an agricultural building and an arbiter of future fortune.

According to Mari tradition, Agun Oza was appeased through an autumn sacrifice of a small animal. Parts of the sacrificed animal were buried beneath the barn. This offering reflects the importance attached to maintaining a relationship with the spirit that inhabited the place where the community’s grain and bread were prepared and stored.

Sources

“Agun-Oza.” New Bestiary (Bestiary.us). https://www.bestiary.us/agun-oza

Tradition: Russian Mythology
Alternative Names: Zhiroviy, Lizen, Lizun, Fat Devil
Category: House dweller

The Myth

The Zhirovik is a small household spirit in Slavic folklore, known for its mischievous behaviour and love of warmth. It prefers warm, enclosed places around the home, especially near the stove, in chimneys, or in underground spaces. Although it can cause trouble, it is not necessarily malicious: its pranks often arise from boredom or an unusual nature rather than a desire to harm people.

The Zhirovik is particularly fond of food and domestic comfort. It may linger around food being prepared, lick pancakes and fritters left unattended, and poke around unwashed dishes at night. It is also associated with underground corners of the household, including the golbets, a partition or space behind the stove. Its love of warmth and food makes it a familiar presence in the domestic world, where it can be both an amusing nuisance and an unsettling companion.

Like other Slavic household spirits, the Zhirovik resembles a brownie: an invisible guardian of the home that can influence the household’s comfort and prosperity. In some traditions, a brownie may be described as a permanent inhabitant of a house who enjoys contentment and abundance, while in others it can bring misfortune when neglected or living in unsuitable conditions. The Zhirovik’s violent or troublesome nature is said to emerge particularly when it inhabits empty mansions.

Despite its reputation as a troublemaker, the Zhirovik is also a spirit of warmth and domestic life. Its fondness for food, hot places, and the quiet corners of a house reflects the belief that homes are inhabited by unseen beings whose habits and moods can affect the people living there.

Sources

“Zhirovik.” New Bestiary (Bestiary.us). https://www.bestiary.us/zhirovik

Tradition: Russian Mythology
Alternative Names: None recorded
Category: House dweller

The Myth

Zharenitsa is an evil spirit in the folklore of the Russian North, believed to live in the hearth near the bottom of the stove. It appears as a fiery glow, described as blazing and glowing within the hearth. Its exact shape and other physical features are not described in the available accounts.

Zharenitsa was used to frighten small children and keep them away from the stove. Adults warned children about the spirit to prevent them from climbing into the hearth and getting burned. Its association with fire made it a threatening presence in the home, turning the dangerous heat of the stove into a supernatural warning.

Unlike the Zharenik and Zharenitsa figures associated with midday heat in the Vologda region’s fields and gardens, this Zharenitsa belongs to the domestic folklore of the Russian North. Here, the spirit is specifically connected with the stove and the danger of household fires.

Sources

“Zharenitsa.” New Bestiary (Bestiary.us). https://www.bestiary.us/zharenitsa

Tradition: Russian Mythology
Alternative Names: Zharenitsa
Category: House dweller

The Myth

Zharenik is a spirit associated with pea fields and vegetable gardens in the Vologda region of Russia. Its female counterpart, Zharenitsa, is believed to inhabit the same places. Both spirits personify the intense midday heat during the summer, particularly when peas and other crops are ripening. Their appearance is not described in the available folklore accounts.

Zharenik and Zharenitsa belong to the category of midday spirits believed to inhabit fields during the hottest part of the day. Their presence was associated with the summer heat, when the ripening crops required protection and fieldwork could be uncomfortable. Although little is known about their nature, they formed part of the supernatural beliefs surrounding rural life and agriculture.

According to a local tradition, these spirits were used to frighten children away from pea fields. A flying pan and a frying pan were employed to scare children so that they would not pick peas from the crops. Another belief tells of a girl weeding a vegetable garden who sees a fried egg between the garden beds. Such stories reflect the association of these spirits with gardens, fieldwork, and the dangers or peculiarities of the summer midday heat.

Sources

“Zharenik.” New Bestiary (Bestiary.us). https://www.bestiary.us/zharenik/ru

Tradition: Mari Mythology, Russian Mythology
Alternative Names: Idym oza
Category: House dweller

The Myth

The Idym Oza is the guardian spirit of the threshing floor and barn in Mari folklore. It is usually invisible, but may appear as a man dressed in traditional white Mari clothing or, in some accounts, as a black figure. The spirit watches over barns where grain and bread are dried, threshed, and stored, ensuring that everything remains in order.

The Idym Oza is said to appear around midnight, carrying a broom as it walks through the barn and inspects the premises. It checks that the work area is tidy and that the stored grain is properly cared for before disappearing. People who encounter the spirit should not disturb it or interfere with its duties. In traditional accounts, it is important to ask the barn guardian’s permission before spending the night in the barn. Those who forget may be frightened by strange noises, footsteps, or other disturbances, and the spirit may prevent them from sleeping.

The Idym Oza was treated with respect, particularly during the harvest season. At the beginning of threshing, families performed sacrificial rites to honour the barn’s guardian and secure a successful harvest. A priest might bring porridge to the barn and recite prayers asking the spirit to preserve the grain, assist with threshing, and protect the flax and hemp. The barn owner was also expected to maintain the building and remember the spirit with appropriate offerings.

Neglecting these customs was believed to bring misfortune. Some traditions tell of barns destroyed by fire after sacred prohibitions were violated, with the destruction interpreted as punishment from higher powers. Over time, these beliefs began to fade as barns changed and modern technology became widespread. Electric lighting and other changes were said to have made the Idym Oza invisible or driven it away, although the barn and its guardian retained an important place in Mari cultural memory.

The Idym Oza reflects the traditional importance of the barn as more than a place to store and process crops. It was a shared space where people worked together and depended on the harvest for their livelihood. Respecting its guardian was therefore part of maintaining order, protecting grain, and ensuring the well-being of the household and community.

Sources

“Idym Oza.” New Bestiary (Bestiary.us). https://www.bestiary.us/idym-oza

Tradition: Russian Mythology
Alternative Names: Golbetsnik
Category: House dweller

The Myth

Golbeshnik is a household spirit in Russian folklore, a type of brownie responsible for the home. Unlike spirits associated with fields or forests, Golbeshnik inhabits a specific part of the traditional Russian hut: the space beneath the stove. More precisely, it lives inside the wooden framework of the stove, on the side facing the underground space beneath the house.

Golbeshnik is associated with the golbets, a partition or wooden structure located behind the stove. This area was considered a favourite place for the spirit to dwell. Its name derives from this part of the house, reflecting the close connection between the being and its particular domestic habitat.

As a type of domovoy, Golbeshnik belongs to the tradition of household spirits that inhabit human dwellings. The available account identifies it as a spirit in charge of the household, although it provides no further details about its appearance, temperament, or specific activities.

Sources

“Golbeshnik.” New Bestiary (Bestiary.us). https://www.bestiary.us/golbeshnik

Tradition: Ket Mythology, Siberian Mythology, Russian Mythology
Alternative Names: Alelas (plural)
Category: House dweller

The Myth

Alel is a female household spirit in Ket mythology, the patron and guardian of the home, family, and hearth. She protects the household against troubles, illnesses, and evil spirits, helping to preserve the family’s health, wealth, and well-being. Alel is considered an indispensable companion of every Ket family, and traditional beliefs hold that a family cannot exist without her.

Alel is usually represented as a small wooden female figure dressed in animal skins, rags, or traditional clothing. She may be depicted as a wooden humanoid doll with a large head, arms, legs, and eyes made of beads, buttons, or seed heads. Her face and body are carefully carved from a single piece of wood. Some figures wear simple garments, while others are dressed in traditional clothing made from cloth and reindeer skin, sometimes decorated with fur or beadwork.

Every Ket family traditionally keeps one or more Alelas inside the house. These figures are carefully preserved and passed down from one generation to the next. If the family line is broken, the Alel may lose its image. The figures are dressed and cared for because they are believed to protect the household and help its members in everyday life. They assist with household work, protect family wealth and health, and help care for children and livestock, including reindeer and dogs.

Alel figures are often placed in a special birch-bark container inside the house. When a family moves, the Alelas are carried in sledges containing household goods. They are treated with particular care, and their clothing is regularly maintained. Their fur garments may be decorated with bead embroidery, and they can wear beaded headbands, necklaces, and boots. Some traditions prescribe rubbing their mouths with fish oil and reindeer blood. Neglecting these figures is believed to leave the family without constant, dependable helpers and may bring misfortune.

Alel is also associated with Ket shamanic rituals. Shamans may use the figures in practices connected with fortune-telling, while the functions of the shaman and the Alel as human and supernatural guardians overlap. Both are understood to help protect people from misfortune and maintain the well-being of the community. Through their enduring presence in the home, the Alelas represent the close relationship between family life, ancestral tradition, and spiritual protection in Ket culture.

Sources

“Aljel.” New Bestiary (Bestiary.us). https://www.bestiary.us/aljel