The Last Molfar: Bestiary - Nichnytsia

The Last Molfar bestiary update. This time we present you Nichnytsia (Ukrainian ‘nich’ ‘ніч’ = night. Night hag / night maiden). Some lore:
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Nichnytsia is a night demon that drains the life force out of sleeping people, instilling doubt, inducing nightmares, and driving people to madness. She primarily preys on children, drawn by their vitality reserves. Nichnytsia breastfeeds babies and poisons them with her black milk, causing constant crying and sickness. The victim gradually begins to fade, eyes become glassy as if covered with a white fog – this means that the soul has already moved to the netherworld of dark spirits, from where it can only be returned by a complex ritual and a molfar spell.

Witches who did not have children became Nichnytsias after death. They were usually buried in oak coffins, with heads tied crisscrossed in red ribbons, similar to Motanka dolls. Some people kept a stuffed doll in their houses and believed that Nichnytsia would mistake it as her child, leaving residents untouched.