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
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreFairy
A European spirit with magical powers and human form found in folklore and artBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇸 Iceland and 1 moreHidden-folkhuldufólk
Supernatural beings in Nordic folklore who live in a parallel world within the landscape.Being · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreEaster Bunny
A German folkloric hare that judges children and delivers colored eggs for EasterBeing · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇬🇷 Greece and 4 moreTutelary deity
A guardian spirit or god assigned to protect a specific place, person, or group.Being · Protection Living
🇵🇱 Poland and 1 moreBishop-fish
A legendary sea creature said to gesture like a cleric before vanishingBeing · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇫🇷 FranceTitivillus
A medieval demon who collects scribal errors and liturgical mistakes in a sack.Being · Cursing and harm Historical
🇪🇸 SpainCatalina Lercaro
A ghost story from Tenerife about a woman who took her own life on her wedding dayBeing Living
🇬🇷 GreeceGelloΓελλώ
A Greek demon of infancy and a class of beings blamed for infant death.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreSaint Michael
A Christian archangel who defends the faithful and weighs soulsBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Living
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreDusios
A Gaulish spirit type later classified as an incubus demon by early Christian writersBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇪 IrelandDevil Whale
A giant sea creature mistaken for an island that drags sailors to the deepBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 morePsychopomp
A spirit or creature that guides the dead to the afterlifeBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇷🇺 RussiaAlkonostАлконост
A woman-faced bird of Russian folklore whose song makes listeners forget everythingBeing · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Legendary
🇷🇴 RomaniaNosferatu
A word for 'vampire' made famous by Dracula, whose true origin is still unsettledBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary
🇯🇵 Japan and 5 moreMythic humanoids
Creatures that blend human and animal traits across global folkloreBeing · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇫🇷 France and 2 moreTarasqueTarasca
A mythical beast from Provence tamed by Saint Martha and paraded in festivalsBeing · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇮🇹 ItalyDoñas de fuera
Sicilian fairies said to carry chosen women by night to a field at BeneventoBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreAos Sí
Irish supernatural beings linked to ancient gods and burial moundsBeing · Protection Living
🇵🇹 PortugalAngel of PortugalAnjo de Portugal
A guardian spirit of Portugal, celebrated on June 10 and linked to the Fátima visions.Being · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇸 Iceland and 3 moreElf
A supernatural person of Germanic lore, linked to illness, beauty and magicBeing · 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.
- Elf: Martin Brandenburg, Public domain, source
- Alkonost: Viktor Vasnetsov, Public domain, source
- Fairy: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
- Tutelary deity: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Easter Bunny: Dr. Bernd Gross, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gello: Filippino Lippi, Public domain, source
- Dusios: Eric Hunt, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Tarasque: Olivier, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Saint Michael: Francesco Botticini, Public domain, source
- Titivillus: Andrewrabbott, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Catalina Lercaro: tivity.es, CC BY 3.0, source
- Devil Whale: Edmund Dulac, Public domain, source
- Bishop-fish: photo by Sean Linehan, NOS, NGS National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin, Public domain, source
- Tuatha Dé Danann: John Duncan, Public domain, source
- Hidden-folk: Schorle, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Angel of Portugal: Daderot, Public domain, source
- Psychopomp: Unknown author, CC BY 2.5, source