ALEXEI MAXIM RUSSELL - Amazon S3...The Trasgu 87 The Boggart 109 Evil Spirits 121 Benign Spirits 136 Household Deities 141 Recommended Reading 146 & Alexei Maximm Russell* 4 INTRODUCTION

&m*The New Home

Owner's Guide to House Spirits

ALEXEI MAXIM RUSSELL

Copyright © 2014 Alexei Maxim Russell

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 1501037137ISBN-13: 978-1501037139

COVER DESIGN AND INTERIOR ILLUSTRATIONSALL CREATED BY ALEXEI MAXIM RUSSLL

ALL RIGHTS RESERVEDTHIS BOOK IS FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES

ONLY AND THE FACTUAL ACCURACY OFTHE CONTENTS ARE NOT GUARANTEED.

THE READER IS ADVISED THE CREATOR OF THISBOOK IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANYTHING

THAT MAY RESULT FROM FOLLOWINGTHE INSTRUCTIONS OR IMPLIED SUGGESTIONS

CONTAINED WITHIN THIS BOOK

Published by Why Not-World dot com

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction 4

The Brownie 6

The Domovoi 14

The Hobgoblin 24

The Hob 33

The Nisse 44

The Tonttu 54

The Garden Gnome 63

The Pixie 76

The Trasgu 87

The Boggart 109

Evil Spirits 121

Benign Spirits 136

Household Deities 141

Recommended Reading 146

Alexei Maxim Russell

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INTRODUCTION

So, you’ve bought a home. You’ve hung your hopes and

dreams on a piece of land and you’re dreaming of the

many happy years you will spend in this place, alongside

your nearest and dearest. Well, you’re not alone.

Thousands upon thousands of people are in your

situation, each and every year. And they all wish to make

their homes as safe and happy as possible. In fact, people

have felt just like you, for centuries and eons of human

history. For as long as human beings have had homes,

people have longed for their homes to be happy and safe

from harm. In the interest of helping the new homeowner

to achieve this ancient and time-honored dream, we

present this manual to house spirits.

House spirits come in all shapes and sizes. From the

magical energies of the curious brownies, to the stubborn

The New Home Owner's Guide to House Spirits

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protectiveness of the hearth-loving domovoi, to the

mischievous tantrums of the dreaded boggart, a knowledge

of house spirits can mean the difference between a happy

home and a home plagued with misfortune and bad

spirits. Through this book, you will learn about every

known form of house spirit, how to attract the good ones

and how to keep away the bad ones. You will also learn

how to avoid other varieties of evil spirits and how to expel

them, if they’ve already entered your home. If the new

homeowner faithfully reads this manual and applies its

lessons, they can take comfort in knowing that a safe and

happy home is not only a dream. It is sure to be a

wondrous reality.


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THE BROWNIE

The brownie is one

of the most

common house

spirits. They trace

their origins back to

the British Isles, but

they are not

confined to the UK

or Europe.

Brownies can live

anywhere, so long as a cozy, well-maintained home is

available. Brownies are very strongly home bodies, in

comparison to some of the other house spirits. They will

not venture outside, even in ideal weather. They avoid

sunlight and are most active at night. They have no voices

and will always move in complete silence.

Physical characteristics: Brownies are tiny flesh-colored


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creatures, with pugnacious faces, wide-set, segmented eyes

and large, pointy ears. They are completely without hair

and tend to wear crude clothing, made up from scraps of

material they have scavenged from around the home.

They are never more than 1 foot tall (30 cm) and children

average around 3 inches (7cm). As a result of their size

and stealth, they can hide in practically any nook and

cranny and are very hard to detect. They can be either

male or female, although it is very hard for the human eye

to differentiate between the two genders as they tend to

look and dress the same.

Special abilities: It is rumored that brownies have limited

magical powers, which allow them to make themselves

invisible or shrink to a small enough size so as to squeeze

through tiny holes in the walls or floor. They cannot

disguise their smell, however, and dogs and cats are always

aware of their presence. When a dog barks at an empty

corner at night or a cat runs around at night, apparently

chasing shadows, it may be a reaction to an invisible


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brownie. The human nose is not strong enough to pick up

a brownie scent, but exceptionally sensitive noses have

likened their scent to that of young piglets. Because they

are magical, long-lived creatures, they give off a positive

aura and their mere presence adds a positive aura to your

home. They do not seek to help humans, but they are

benign and gentle creatures, which will never harm

humans or animals and indirectly bless anything in their

presence. They are said to cause houseplants to flourish as

well. It is not commonly known if brownies actually tend

to houseplants, during the night, or if they merely affect

them positively by their very presence.

How to attract: To attract a brownie, be certain to create a

cozy home, which is kept clean and well-dusted. Brownies

like cleanliness, but they will not clean houses themselves

and so they require good housekeeping to remain content

and healthy in your home. Warm colors and pleasing

odors help attract them, as well. The smell of good

cooking is said to be one of the best ways to attract them.


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Coziness is the main requirement for a brownie and so a

warm, well-insulated home is essential. A fireplace

(especially a traditional wood fireplace) will massively

increase the likelihood of attracting a brownie. There is

nothing a brownie loves more than to sit near the

remaining embers of a fireplace, after everyone else has

gone to bed and feast on some morsel you left on your

kitchen table. Christmas trees and beautiful works of art or

handicraft will also attract brownies, as they love homey

atmospheres and will spend long periods appreciating

works of art and examining curios in detail. They are very

curious and love contraptions of all kinds. Mechanical

contraptions, such as typewriters or old fashioned sewing

machines are among their favorite kind of toys and they

will often spend an entire night tinkering with them. The

more mature brownies may go so far as to disassemble

contraptions and reassemble them, out of curiosity about

how they work. This could lead to inconveniences, as

often a machine will not be properly put together again. If


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a mechanical contraption stops working, overnight, it is

sometimes the fault of a brownie. If you are a night owl,

try to keep to one room, so the brownies can travel

through the rest of the house at night. They will not come

out unless humans have gone to bed, so it is easier for

early sleepers to attract and retain a brownie. If humans

are awake and occupying the whole house, every single

night, then brownies may decide to leave. They also hate

late-night parties and loud noises. So, if you are prone to

party and blast blaring music all night, then brownies will

definitely not stick around. Lastly, in spite of your pet’s

tendency to detect and occasionally chase a brownie, the

presence of a dog or cat will actually increase the

likelihood of attracting a brownie. Any kind of pet will add

a cozy feeling to your home and this is important to a

brownie. Dogs, in particular, protect a home and make the

brownie feel safer. Cats, in turn, eliminate wild pests like

insects and mice, and so brownies appreciate their

presence. Brownies hate wild animals, but love


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domesticated ones. Brownies will often take food from

human larders and give them to domesticated pets, at

night. This is the most common way for a brownie to

befriend your pet, but it is rumored brownie magic

includes the ability to charm household pets. Once your

pet has been charmed by a brownie, it will treat it the same

as any other member of the household. Although it may

still, occasionally, chase it. Brownies do not form

attachments to humans, but can sometimes form a

relationship with your pet. They may, therefore,

sometimes encourage your pet to chase and play with

them.

Benefits: The main benefits of having a brownie in your

home has to do with good fortune and long life. Brownies

are not mere mortals. Their natural lifespan is 200 or 300

years and it is not unheard of for them to use their magical

abilities to live significantly longer. Something of their own

longevity and magical good fortune is said to rub off on a

household, as well as all the members of that household.


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So, by inviting a brownie into your home, you are lending

long life and a kind of magical bubble of sanctity and

protection around your home. Bad spirits and malevolent

beings, such as boggarts, will never enter a home with a

well-developed community of brownies in residence.

Risks: The only risk associated with brownies are the

tendency for food to vanish, for pets to keep you up at

night, chasing them, and for mechanical contraptions to

occasionally wind up non-functional. Especially interesting

curios have also been known to be over-handled and

dropped to the ground. The biggest risk by far, has to do

with removing brownies from your home. If the brownie is

ever driven out of the home, the loss of their positive,

magical aura in your home may cause a short period of ill

fortune to befall you or your household. If you intend to

drive out brownies, then it is very important to take good

care of your health and the safety of your home for a least

the next six months, following the brownie’s evacuation, to

avoid this period of possible bad luck. To remove a


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brownie from your home, you need only remove all

furniture from your home, all food from your kitchen and

turn the temperature down as low as possible. In such

conditions, brownies will vacate your home within two or

three nights. If you don’t want to go to that extent, simply

stop cleaning your home, and the filth will eventually drive

the brownies out. However, this could take as long as six

months, depending on how much the brownie likes living

with you. Most humans can’t endure six months of squalor

either, so it is better to go with the previously stated option

if you really want to remove the brownies from your

home. Unlike other house spirits, who can be politely

requested to leave the premises, there is no point in trying

to address brownies directly. They prefer not to associate

with humans. And that includes listening to them. They

will completely ignore anything you say.


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THE DOMOVOI

The domovoi is

common in Eastern

Europe, but can

technically live any

place. They require a

hearth, however. If

you do not have a

fireplace, a warm oven

or another area of

constant warmth, then

a domovoi will not come. Their main requirements are

this central area of warmth and a warm family

environment. They tend to stick to the home, but will

occasionally venture out to front porches, back decks or

any area near the home.

Physical characteristics: Domovois vary in appearance, but

generally resemble bearded old men. They usually look


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like small, hunched old men with long gray beards, but

can sometimes appear younger. Their facial characteristics

are as varied as the human face. They are always about

one third the size of a regular human being, with elongated

arms and short stubby legs. They do not wear clothes, as a

rule, but are covered head to toe in hair. This hair can

literally be any color, but the older domovoi tend to have

grizzled gray or white hair. Unlike other house spirits,

domovois always appear to be male. Whether female

domovois exist or whether the female exactly resembles

the male is unknown.

Special abilities: The domovois have many magical

abilities. Of all the house spirits, the domovois brings with

them one of the greatest amounts of magic. The only

more magical being is the hob. Domovois tend to spend

most of their time cleaning and maintaining the house or

sitting by the hearth, holding their knees and thinking

about the house. They are utterly devoted to the house

and so they are a wonderful spirit for any home owner.


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They have the power to detect threats to the home and

will find ways to warn a homeowner if danger is near.

They will also actively keep away lesser demons and evil

spirits by casting protective spells on the corners of your

dwelling. They are obsessed with home security and will

go out of their way to keep a home safe. They have been

known to extinguish fires and remove flood waters by their

mastery of elemental magic. Their magical abilities are

mostly related to protection spells and manipulation of the

elements of fire, water, wind and earth. They use this

elemental magic to create food and water and they use

wind and earth magic to levitate, make themselves invisible

and to strengthen your home’s foundation. They have

been known to do such varied things as create food for

poor families, provide water during droughts and use their

magic to paralyze intruders. Because they have the ability

to create food and water, they do not scavenge or steal

food the way other house spirits do. If anything, they will

add food to your larder, if it seems too empty to them.


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The most common food they create is a form of

sweetbread. One of their most unusual abilities is to shrink

themselves. It achieves this feat by not drinking water for

long periods. This dehydration will cause it to shrink to

the size of a house fly. A domovoi will be able to hide for

long periods in this shrunken form and often does so

when it feels the house is in so much danger that it must

protect itself. Sometimes renovations, natural disasters or

severe damage to the house will cause this shrinking

reaction in a domovoi. While shrunken, their powers are

greatly reduced and they will mostly just observe.

How to attract: To attract a domovoi, you need to have

some kind of hearth. A fireplace or a traditional wood

burning stove are ideal devices for attracting domovois.

The reason why they have tended to live in eastern

European countries is because these countries have

traditionally had massive clay wood-burning stoves in their

kitchens. This is the perfect kind of warm hearth-like

object, which a domovoi would love. It can sit on this clay


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oven or beside it and be at the very heart of hearth and

home, which is where it most wants to be. A constantly

warm oven in the kitchen will do, but a wood fireplace is

even better. Domovois don’t require perfectly clean

homes because they will simply tidy up a dirty home. But

it needs to be a comfortable place; a cozy and snug

sanctuary. More importantly than this, they need to be

certain that kind and gentle people live there, who have

warm and loving relations. They are very discriminating

when seeking a home and will only consent to live with a

family if they like the human beings who live there. Even

one nasty human can turn a domovoi away. They are

discriminating when choosing a home but very territorial

when they have finally chosen a home. If a domovoi is

already in residence and a new, nasty human moves in,

this may offend them. They may try to scare the new

human away or even use violence to remove the offensive

person. Apart from these points, you can increase your

chances of attracting a domovoi by having a beautiful


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garden, hand painted walls or anything else which shows

the domovoi that you value your home and are willing to

put time into making it more beautiful and welcoming. If a

house looks loved, a domovoi will feel welcome.

Benefits: A domovoi offers more benefit than most house

spirits and so it is worth attracting one, if you can. Not only

do they clean and maintain houses, but they also spend

every moment protecting your home from danger and

negative beings. The domovois are thought to be

completely immortal and undying. That, along with their

very magical nature can lend a lot of positive energy to

your home. People with a happy domovoi in their house

will tend to have excellent health and extremely good

luck—particularly with love, health, family and financial

security. Prosperity, harmony and creature comforts are

things which follow the domovois everywhere they go.

People with a domovoi will always thrive. And, unlike

other house spirits, they will treat the human beings in

their home with the same loving concern as they do the


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house. They want your home to be a positive, happy

place, with harmonious relationships. So, much like they

do with your home, they will sometimes cast spells to

protect the people who inhabit it, as well. They will want

to ensure everyone in the home is safe, provided for and

living in as warm and loving a home as possible. All

interpersonal relationships improve when a happy

domovoi is present, because they will use their magic to

create positive atmospheres. They may even cast a charm

spell on a human, when they are angry or argumentative,

in order to calm them down, soften their heart and restore

harmony to the home.

Risks: The domovois offer a lot to a home-owner, but they

also come with relatively large risks. If the human beings

in the home do something to offend them, they can

become angry, resentful and even violent. An angry

domovoi is a very nasty thing and so great care must be

taken when choosing to attract a domovoi to your home.

You can avoid offending a domovoi by always showing


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respect for the home. Do not damage the home or

vandalize it; do not make a mess or intentionally create

disorder. Even excessively loud music or disorderly

behavior within the house can greatly disturb a domovoi.

They are not at all compatible with noisy late night parties

and may become offended by them. Many homeowners

have found their domovoi angered by renovation projects.

They will not always realize the good intentions of

renovations and will assume you are merely destroying

their precious house. They may become indignant and

seek revenge for the perceived insult to their beloved

domicile. To avoid this kind of situation, try to address the

domovoi directly, offering it a calm and thorough

explanation of what you will be doing. Then apologize to

both the domovoi and the house for what you are about to

do, explaining that it is for the good of the house. Given

this kind of reverence and consideration to the domovoi

and the house, the domovoi should be placated and

should let you renovate without interruption. Another sure


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way to offend a domovoi is by causing undue discord with

your family. People who physically or emotionally assault

their loved ones, through a lot of yelling and violence are

sure to infuriate a domovoi. It will try its best to charm the

offender with magic, in order to soothe the bad feelings

and re-establish family harmony. But, if the abuser’s inner

demons are too powerful for the domovoi to soothe with

magic, it will develop a passionate hatred for the abuser

and will change its strategy. Angry domovois have been

known to hurl objects at offenders, scream loudly in their

ears and pull violently on their hair or beards. Domovois

have even been rumored to poison the food or drink of

domestic abusers or cast curses on them, which have been

known to bring sickness or death to the abuser. When

angered to the point of absolute frustration and fury,

domovois have been known to burn houses down to the

ground. To remove a domovoi from your house is very

hard and this is the risk you take, when seeking to attract

one. There is no guaranteed method to remove a


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domovoi and it is recommended you simply move to a

new home. As they are attracted to hearths and warmth,

you can try to remove the hearth and keep temperatures

low. But if a domovoi is already offended, this will

probably cause it to get even angrier and become even

more troublesome. If a domovoi becomes a problem,

however, it is likely your fault. Domovois are not

malicious beings and if you simply correct the behavior

which has offended them, it will eventually calm down and

forgive you for your transgression.


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THE HOBGOBLIN

The hobgoblins

originate from

Germany and Austria,

but they can live in

practically any

environment or climate.

They are even more

common than

brownies, but occupy

less homes than

brownies because they tend to live outdoors. When they

do live in homes, however, they are very quick to adapt.

Hobgoblins are probably the most adaptable house spirits,

able to quickly adjust to any conditions. They are

consummate scavengers and great survivors.

Physical Characteristics: Hobgoblins are about 1 foot tall

(30cm) in their natural form. They are exceedingly ugly,

Documents

ALEXEI MAXIM RUSSELL - Amazon S3...The Trasgu 87 The Boggart 109 Evil Spirits 121 Benign Spirits 136 Household Deities 141 Recommended Reading 146 & Alexei Maximm Russell* 4 INTRODUCTION