also: にんこ
noun
fox spirit that possesses people
A type of fox spirit (kitsune) believed to possess humans, especially associated with the Chūgoku region of Japan. Often linked to folk beliefs about spirit possession and illness.
中国地方では、人狐が人に憑くと信じられていた。
In the Chūgoku region, it was believed that a hitogitsune would possess people.
彼女の奇妙な行動は、人狐の仕業だと言う者もいた。
Some said her strange behavior was the work of a hitogitsune.
狐憑き refers broadly to fox possession or a person possessed by a fox, while 人狐 specifically denotes the fox spirit itself that does the possessing, particularly in Chūgoku folklore.
Compound of 人 (hito, 'person') and 狐 (kitsune, 'fox'), with rendaku voicing. The reading にんこ uses the on'yomi of both characters. The term likely originated in regional folklore to describe a fox spirit that attaches itself to humans.