The Domovoi

...From Orel Province

"My very own father told me the following story shortly before his death: 'I don't believe in devils...and I don't stand in fear of them. However, my dear son, I shall soon die. Last night just after I lay down but before I fell asleep, someone came up to me. I heard his steps clearly and suddenly he placed his cold hand to my lips, and I also clearly felt the touch of the hand of the unknown person who had come in.' Indeed, somewhat later, my father died from a blow."

- A. I. Ivanov, "Verovaniia krest'ian Orlovskoi gub." pp 86-87

Olga and the Domovoi

An old maid from Vologda named Olga used to be visited in bed by the domovoi and each time he came to her, he would braid her hair. "If you ever unbraid and comb your hair, Olga, I'll smother you" he told her. So Olga lived with her hair unwashed and uncombed until the age of 35.

Well, they say there is someone for everyone and finally came the eve of Olga's wedding. The unmarried girls of the village took Olga out to the bathhouse, where they bathed her and combed out her hair. It took a long time, but they finally managed to make it shine like silk. The next morning, when they came to awaken her for the ceremony, they found her dead and black with suffocation.

The Two Domovye

Upon moving into a new home, a peasant called for a domovoi to move in with him. Unbeknownst to him, his wife had invited the old domovoi when she brought the coals from the old fire. Because of this, two domovye came to live with them. Every night the two would argue and scuffle and there was moaning everwhere. The peasant and his wife could get no rest.

One night, the woman went into the hallway and shouted, "Let ours beat the intruder" while beating the walls with a broom. Her domovoi chased out the other and there was once again peace in the home. A little while later in the forest, the peasant was followed by a cat that circled him making loud noise. He knew it to be the domovoi that he had mistakenly invited.

1st Illustration is by Boris Zabirokhin and is from
Vlasova, M. Novaia ABEVEGA russkikh sveverii. SPb: Severo Zapad, 1997

2nd Illustration is from a "gaming" manual.

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