In Slavic mythology, notsnitsa (Belarusian: начніца, romanized: načnica,1 Polish: nocnica, płaczka,234 Bulgarian: горска майка, ношно, romanized: gorska majka, nošno, Serbian: шумска маjка, бабице, ноћнице, romanized: šumska majka, babice, noćnice,5 Croatian: mrake, vidine, Slovene: nočnine, mračnine, Ukrainian: нічниця, romanized: nichnytsia,6 Russian: ночница, romanized: nochnitsa7), often referred in plural, is a nightmare spirit or demon that torments people and especially children at night.
Other names for notsnitsa in East Slavic languages include kriksy, plaksy, plachky, plaksivicy, kriksy-varaksy, kriksy-plaksy, night hag, night maiden.7
by Snapper2001 October 02, 2022