The shikigami is among the smallest of the oni. As a race, there is little commonality of features between one shikigami and the next. Their skin color varies wildly and garishly, as does their hair coloration. They tend to have large eyes, large noses and big ears, but even these features are not universal and some shikigami are more bestial in appearance than others of their ilk. Despite their diverse looks, in terms of personality, one shikigami is much like the next. They are simple, possessed of a crude humor and delight in causing small miseries. A shikigami, left to its own devices, frequently takes to haunting a locale, playing obnoxious and mean-spirited pranks upon those it encounters.

Shikigami are rarely encountered as independent agents. More often than not, they are conscripted into serving other, more powerful creatures. This includes other oni, but shikigami are also frequently compelled into service as familiars for onmyoji wizards.