The book is devoted to the study of the phenomenon of obsession in its Russian version. The genesis, semantics and pragmatics of mythological representations and practices associated with this phenomenon, their role in the lives of individuals and communities, as well as existing linguistic, historical, cultural, socio-anthropological and medical interpretations of the phenomenon of obsession are analyzed. The book is based on the results of field studies of the author 1999-2016. among the Old Believers-Bespopovites of the upper Kama; for comparison, data from other researchers are provided. The appendix publishes a new version of the structure of the Index of plots and motives of stories and beliefs about hiccups.