 Kitsune are often presented as tricksters , with motives that vary from mischief to malevolence . Stories tell of kitsune playing tricks on overly proud samurai , greedy merchants , and boastful commoners , while the crueler ones abuse poor tradesmen and farmers or devout Buddhist monks . Their victims are usually men ; women are possessed instead . For example , kitsune are thought to employ their kitsunebi to lead travelers astray in the manner of a will o ' the wisp . Another tactic is for the kitsune to confuse its target with illusions or visions . Other common goals of trickster kitsune include seduction , theft of food , humiliation of the prideful , or vengeance for a perceived slight . 
