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A fox-tailed barrel of facts
Kitsunes are well, simply foxes. There are actually two kinds of Kitsunes the first being a celestial, good natured Kitsune associated with Inari, the Shinto deity of ice. They say that Kitsunes were not Inari's servants but more like messengers of this god. They would make offerings in order to please Inari usually in temple only made for Kitsunes. It was said that these Kitsune were white in color.
The second was called nogitsune. Whereas the Inari Kitsunes were good natured, these Kitsunes were known only for their mischeivious nature.
Commons between the two
Kitsunes were able to grow additional tails every 1000 years up to a total of 9 tails. However, seeing a Kitsune may have been harder than just finding a fox in a village due to the fact that Kitsunes were able to change into a human form usually after 100 years. Before it is able to do so the fox must place reeds, a broad leaf, or a skull over its head. Not only was the kitsune able to change into human form but it is also said that it hides it tails. Other scholars suggest that the Kitsune lost its tails when in human form and instead gained a fine coat of hair, a fox-shaped shadow, or a reflection showing their true form.
Other supernatural abilities commonly attributed to the kitsune include possession, mouths or tails that generate fire or lightning, willful manifestation in the dreams of others, flight, invisibility, and the creation of illusions so elaborate as to be almost indistinguishable from reality. Some tales speak of kitsune with even greater powers, able to bend time and space, driving people mad, or take fantastic shapes such as a tree of incredible height or a second moon in the sky. Other kitsune have characteristics reminiscent of vampires or succubi and feed on the life or spirit of human beings, generally through sexual contact.
It was also said that Kitsunes were lived so close to villages that they would either spy on the humans or see how they were progressing through their lives.

Ok, enough facts, I want some fantasy
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 fox-fire 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.

A traditional game called kitsune-ken (fox-fist) references the kitsune's powers over human beings. The game is similar to rock, paper, scissors, but the three hand positions signify a fox, a hunter, and a village headman. The headman beats the hunter, whom he outranks; the hunter beats the fox, whom he shoots; the fox beats the headman, whom he bewitches.
It was also said that some Kitsunes were actually glowing. Several theories abound about this glowing, one is called the hashi no tama (Star Balls) these balls were usually used with the Inari Kitsunes and were kept, when not in human form or possesing a human, in their mouths.
Another beilef is that when the Kitsune changes back into its fox form it retains some of its magical energy is put into the hashi no tama, thus causing the glow to come forth from within the fox.