THE KIKIMORA

The Kikimora is a female house spirit with dominion over spinning, weaving and needlework. There is not one Kikimora but many and she may appear as a simple house spider. Theoretically, every household may have one. She may or may not be married to the Domovoi, the Russian male house spirit. If she’s happy with the family with whom she lives, then she’ll serve as their guardian tending family chickens and helping with housework and needlework.
But beware if she’s unhappy! The Kikimora will create havoc. She Demonstrates displeasure by moving objects around and causing significant items to go missing. She also throws things; sometimes aiming at people. Her aim is allegedly quite good. All though she is reputedly very small, based on the weight of the items she is describing as throwing, the Kikimora is very powerful.
The Kikimora is not an innately malicious spirit. She can be helpful. She possesses powerful psychic talents and will warn her family of impending disaster and the arrival of enemies. However, she can be a difficult and challenging spirit to work with and keep happy. The ethymology of her name suggests that Kikimora wasn´t invented or known only by Slavs. Closest ancestor of word “Kikimora” seems to be the old finnish word for bogey – „kikke mörkö“. This suggests the spirits were present in more than one culture in some form or another, and many stories traveled up and down the Volga river...
In his poem “Kikimora”, Russian composer Anatol Liadov (1855–1914) describes this house spirit as a tiny brown witch with a thimble-sized head and a body no wider than a straw. She spends her first seven years living in a magician’s mountain cave where she sleeps in a crystal cradle and is regaled with fairy tales by the magician’s cat. Only after seven years, does she leave the cave to go live among people.
The Kikimora is usually described as a small woman with long flowing hair wearing traditional Russian folk costume. She may have chicken feet. She is most frequently witnessed combing her hair.