Leshy

Leshy

An illustration, 1906
Grouping	Fairy Spirit Relict hominid
Country	Slavic Europe
Habitat	Forests

The Leshy (Russian: Ле́ший; IPA: [ˈlʲeʂɨj]; literally, "[he] from the forest") is the tutelary spirit of the forests in Slavic folklore. The plural form in Russian is лешие, which can be leshiye (retaining the stress on the first syllable).

Leshiye are masculine and humanoid in shape, are able to assume any likeness and can change in size and height. In some accounts, the leshy is described as having a wife (leshachikha/leszachka/lesovikha) and children (leshonki/leszonky). Because of his propensity to lead travelers astray and abduct children, which he shares with Chort, or "The Black One," the Leshy is believed by some to be evil. Others view him as more of a temperamental being like a fairy.

The Leshy is known by a variety of names and spellings including the following:

Main name variations:

Euphemistic titles: