After last week’s return to spirits with the Polewik/Polevik, this Slavic Saturday we’re talking about one of the most fearsome demons in Slavic mythology: Both a literal and metaphorical nightmare, the Zmora (also known as the Mora, Kikimora, Mare, Mopa, Кикимора, демон, Кікімара).
(June 2021 Updated) Note: If you enjoy Slavic mythology, check out A Dagger in the Winds, the first book in my Slavic fantasy series called The Frostmarked Chronicles. You can also join my monthly newsletter for updates and free novellas (such as the prequel, The Rider in the Night) set in the world of the series.
A Nightmare by Many Names
Regional variation is a strong factor for many characters in Slavic myth, and the Zmora is no exception. From its different names among East Slavs (Kikimora), South Slavs (Mora), and West Slavs (Zmora or Mora) to the demon’s roles shifting by country, everyone has their own stories about the Zmora.
This isn’t a surprise when you realize that the word “nightmare” itself has a version of this demon’s name within it (Mare). Similar demons exist in other mythologies as well. And one commonality connects them all: sleep – or rather, the lack of it.
Sleep paralysis is an affliction that exists beyond myths. When one experiences it, there are often psychological effects, and Zmory were the Slavs’ explanation of the shadowed beasts people saw during these scary nights. They would sit on their victim’s chest and draw away either their strength or blood, and come morning, would flee when the victim awoke. In the worst cases, that person never woke again.
Like most demons, Zmory were considered people who lived or died unnaturally. Zmory, specifically, were the undead souls of wicked women, people (typically women) who were wronged and have returned to punish the person who wronged them, as well as those with unibrows (in some regions), a virgin woman who was betrothed to a man who then married someone else, or the child of a woman who walked between two other pregnant women.
The Kikimora variant was often considered different, often as a nefarious spirit of the house (often abandoned ones) that opposed the Domovoy/Domowik. Within Russia, stories ranged from them acting like the demonic Zmora to them helping with household chores if they were pleased with the home’s occupants.
Zmory were also believed to mess with the horses in the stables as well, taking them for long moonlight rides and draining their strength. It then left the drained horse back in the stables. Other livestock could also be impacted with plague from the demon.
Another note that you may have noticed by the similar names: the demon is often connected to Morana/Marzanna (goddess of winter, pestilence, and death). Sometimes they’re considered to be the goddess, other times they are servants of her.
Appearance
Appearances varied for the Zmora, but typically, it was pictured as a dark creature in a human-like form. Sometimes zombie-like, other times more a black void or vampirish, the Zmora took on the form of whatever its victim’s nightmare was. Kikimory, on the other hand, tend to appear as old women or crones.
To complicate things further, Zmory are shape-shifters like many demons (and gods) in Slavic mythology. They can be animals like cats, martens, frogs, mice, and even inanimate objects like straw (which some regions consider part of their appearance) or thread.
Regardless of appearance, though, Zmory are always described as terrifying (the occasional friendly Kikimora excluded). They were not something you ever wanted to see at night, if ever.
How to Protect Yourself
It’s always good fun to see how the folktales say to protect yourself from demons, and the Zmora is no different – especially since it can break in through a hole even as small as a keyhole.
It was believed in Poland that you could capture and kill a Zmora by approaching the afflicted person with an empty bottle. Without alerting the demon, you must sweep it over the victim and then cover the bottle, trapping the nightmare within. Then, you throw the bottle into the fire to slay it forever.
You could also trick the Zmora by placing straw in your bed, which it will believe to be you while you sleep elsewhere. Other protections also included wearing a leather belt from one’s wedding in sleep, sleeping with a scythe, placing a crossed ax and broom on the home’s threshold, or nailing a bird of prey to the house door. More boringly, you can also just sleep on your stomach, since they can’t sit on your chest then.
To protect the stables, one can create a chalk circle around them as well as plaster foul-smelling substances on the horses. Red ribbons were also believed to be protective, either for the home or in a horse’s mane.
In The Frostmarked Chronicles
In my own stories, Zmory make an early and frightening appearance (as well as later ones). As demons in service of the winter and death goddess, Marzanna, they are a lurking threat to both Wacław and Otylia – the story’s protagonists. Wacław, particularly, encounters one in book 1, A Dagger in the Winds, and the resulting fight will change his live and his soul forever.
That’s all for this week’s Slavic Saturday. Be sure to keep a lookout for more posts next week, and if you haven’t seen the full series of posts, be sure to check them out.
*As always just a quick disclaimer. Slavic mythology is broad and not written in many if any primary sources, so there’s a variety of interpretations. The interpretations I’m using here are from the sources I’ve found to be reliable.