All entries
2,660 entries so far, best known first. 2,250 more are on the list to be written. Narrow by region, kind, purpose, practitioner, belief world, occasion or how alive it is.
RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
PurposeProtectionHealingSeeing and foretellingLuck and prosperityLove and attractionCursing and harmCleansing and purificationSpeaking with spirits and the deadChange and initiationBinding and oathsPower and authorityWonder and entertainment
WhoShamansFolk healersPriests and ritual specialistsWitches, sorcerers and cunning folkDiviners and readersMediums and the possessedCeremonial magicians and alchemistsHouseholds and ordinary peopleStage magiciansScholars and sceptics
BeliefHindu and TantricBuddhistJainMuslim and SufiJewishChristianSikhZoroastrianShinto and TaoistIndigenous and shamanicAfrican and Afro-diasporicPagan and NeopaganEsoteric and occultFolk and village customSecular and stageOther traditions
🇯🇵 JapanAkuma悪魔(あくま)
An evil spirit in Japanese folklore, later used for Satan in ChristianityBeing · Cursing and harm Historical
🇯🇵 JapanTesso鉄鼠
A Japanese yōkai born from a monk’s curse and the destructive power of ratsBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanKiyohime清姫
A Japanese folktale about a woman who becomes a serpent after being rejected by a monkFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanKeneō懸衣翁
A Japanese oni who judges souls by the weight of their clothes at the Sanzu RiverBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Shuten-dōji: Yoshitoshi, Public domain, source
- Ubume: Brigham Young University, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tesso: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source
- Kasha: Brigham Young University, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mogwai: Gisling, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Obake: Utagawa Kunisada (歌川国貞), Public domain, source
- Kiyohime: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Nine-tailed fox: Chen Menglei, Public domain, source
- Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source
- Tamamo-no-Mae: ウィキ太郎 Wiki Taro, Public domain, source
- Hannya: Daderot, Public domain, source
- Datsue-ba: Fred Cherrygarden, CC BY-SA 4.0, source