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
🇨🇭 Switzerland and 5 moreWerewolf
A figure in folklore who transforms into a wolf or hybrid beastFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇫🇷 FranceLady of the LakeDame du Lac
A water spirit who raises knights and captures wizards in Arthurian talesFigure · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇷🇴 Romania and 1 moreMoroi
A Romanian phantom that drains the living, linked to strigoi and unbaptised infants.Figure · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇬🇧 United KingdomCeridwenCerridwen
A Welsh enchantress and modern goddess of poetic inspiration and transformation.Being · Change and initiation Revived
🇬🇧 United KingdomMother Shipton
An English prophetess and herbalist from folklore, known for predictions printed long after her death.Figure · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreBogeyman
A mythical creature used across cultures to frighten children into obedienceFigure · Cursing and harm Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreBugbear
A medieval English creature used to frighten children into obedienceFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇹 ItalyWitches of Benevento
A medieval Italian legend of witches gathering under a walnut treeBelief · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreMorgause
A legendary queen of Orkney and sister to King Arthur in British mythFigure · Power and authority Legendary
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreKrampus
A horned Alpine figure who punishes misbehaving children on KrampusnachtFigure · Cursing and harm Living
🇬🇧 United KingdomAgnes Sampson
A Scottish healer executed for witchcraft during the North Berwick trials.Figure Historical
🇸🇪 Sweden and 2 moreFreyja
Norse goddess of love, war, and seiðr magic who rides a chariot pulled by catsBeing · Love and attraction · Seeing and foretelling Legendary
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreJack
A trickster hero from English folklore who outwits giants and oppressorsFigure · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreAradia
A figure of Italian folklore and modern pagan witchcraft, seen as a teacher of magic and liberation.Figure · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Revived
🇮🇹 ItalyBefana
An Italian witch-like figure who delivers gifts on Epiphany EveFigure · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇵🇹 Portugal and 5 moreCocoCoca
A monster used to frighten children into obedience across the Iberian world and Latin America.Figure · Cursing and harm · Binding and oaths Living
🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreHaruspex
A diviner who read the will of gods by inspecting animal entrailsFigure · Seeing and foretelling · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreFirebird
A glowing bird of Slavic folklore that brings both fortune and peril to those who seek itFigure · Wonder and entertainment · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇧🇷 Brazil and 5 moreWhite Lady
A female ghost in white clothing linked to tragedy and omens across many culturesFigure · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Legendary
🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreBaba Yaga
A complex Slavic witch figure who lives in a moving hut and flies in a mortar.Figure · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary
🇮🇪 IrelandBodach
A Gaelic trickster figure used to frighten children and warn of deathFigure · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceBaba Yaga (sample)Баба-яга
A witch of Slavic tales who lives in a hut on legs.Figure · Change and initiation Legendary
🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreSampo
A magical mill or world pillar in Finnish and Estonian mythology that produces wealth.Figure · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Historical
🇳🇱 Netherlands and 3 morePig-faced women
A European legend of a woman with the face of a pig, and the charms used to break her curseFigure · Change and initiation Historical
🇫🇷 France and 2 moreMelusineMélusine
A water spirit of French and Luxembourgish lore, known for her serpent form and the castles she built.Figure · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Legendary
🇸🇮 Slovenia and 5 moreVesnaВесна
A Slavic personification of spring and youth, known in myth and languageFigure · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇪 Ireland and 4 moreFairy Queen
A female ruler of fairies found in folklore, literature, and witchcraft trials across Europe.Figure · Power and authority Historical
🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreBabayБабай
A night spirit in Slavic folklore used to frighten children into sleepingFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreJenny Greenteeth
A river-hag from English folklore used to warn children away from dangerous watersFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇪 IrelandMerrowmurúch
A sea creature from Irish folklore, known for its magical cap and singing voice.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇷🇺 Russia and 12 moreOgnyena MariaОгнена Марија
A Slavic fire goddess linked to lightning, rain, and seasonal fire bansFigure · Protection · Healing Living
🇷🇺 RussiaTriple-headed eagle
A heraldic and mythological bird with three heads, appearing in Russian symbolism and European manuscripts.Being · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreCola Pesce
An Italian merman legend about a boy cursed by his mother to live in the seaFigure · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyScrofa semilanuta
A legendary sow seen in a dream that became the ancient emblem of Milan.Figure · Wonder and entertainment · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyMonacielloMunaciello
A Neapolitan sprite linked to the city's underground waterways and hidden wealth.Figure · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreLutzelfrau
A German Alpine witch who brings fruit or punishes childrenFigure · Protection · Cursing and harm Living
🇪🇸 SpainWitches of Anaga
A Tenerife legend of women who danced at covens in the Anaga mountainsBelief · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇵🇹 Portugal and 5 moreWilgefortisVilgeforte
A bearded female martyr folk saint known for relieving women from unwanted marriages and tribulationsFigure · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 1 moreIspolinисполин
A legendary giant from Bulgarian folklore, said to be the second generation of Earth's inhabitants.Figure Legendary
🇳🇱 Netherlands and 3 moreZwarte Piet
A companion of Saint Nicholas in Low Countries folklore, now the subject of major cultural debate.Figure · Luck and prosperity Living
🇬🇧 United KingdomQueen of Elphame
The elfin queen of Faerie from Lowland Scotland and Northern England folkloreFigure · Cursing and harm · Healing Historical
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreSwan maiden
A folk motif where a man steals a bird-woman's feather cloak to force marriage.Figure · Love and attraction · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇫🇮 Finland and 2 moreTietäjä
A traditional Finnic healer and sage whose power came from memorised spells and deep knowledge.Figure · Healing · Protection Historical
🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreAlatyrАлатырь
A sacred mythological stone in Russian folklore, said to be the center of the world.Figure · Healing · Power and authority Legendary
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreGrim Reaper
A hooded skeleton with a scythe, representing death in Western art and story.Figure · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomTom Thumb
A tiny English folk hero who outwits giants and serves King ArthurFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇷🇸 Serbia and 3 moreBožićБожић
A Slavic figure linked to the new year and spring, whose name now marks ChristmasFigure · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇸 IcelandYule catJólakötturinn
A giant feline from Icelandic folklore that threatens those without new Christmas clothesFigure · Cursing and harm Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Bogeyman: Francisco Goya, Public domain, source
- Lady of the Lake: Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions, source
- Haruspicy: Lokilech, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ceridwen: Chris Denny, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Mother Shipton: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Tom Thumb: Leutemann or Offterdinger , photo by Harke, Public domain, source
- Yule cat: Christine Rondeau, CC BY 2.0, source
- Seiðr: John Bauer, Public domain, source
- Fairy: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
- Vesna: Viktor Vasnetsov, Public domain, source
- Scrofa semilanuta: M.casanova, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Witches of Benevento: Guglielmo della Porta, CC0, source
- Pig-faced women: DubhEire, CC0, source
- Morgause: H. S. Campbell, Public domain, source
- Sampo: Väinö Blomstedt, Public domain, source
- Krampus: Naturpuur, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Agnes Sampson: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Merrow: Andreas F. Borchert, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Artes prohibitae: engraved by Ames of Bristol (according to Fincham, Artists and engrave, Public domain, source
- Jack: Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions, source
- Befana: El Ágora, Public domain, source
- Coco: Francisco de Goya, CC0, source
- Lutzelfrau: Karel Rozum, Public domain, source
- Witches of Anaga: User:Beneharo Hdez., CC BY 3.0, source
- Jenny Greenteeth: Jayan.thanal, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Wilgefortis: Hieronymus Bosch, Public domain, source
- Ispolin: Joshua Davis, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Zwarte Piet: The illustrator is Daan Hoeksma, who died in 1935. The author is liste, Public domain, source
- Swan maiden: Walter Crane, Public domain, source
- Babay: Kyoukaa, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Alatyr: М. Порсина (M. Porsina), CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Firebird: Philippe Giabbanelli, CC BY 3.0, source
- Werewolf: Mont Sudbury, Public domain, source
- Ognyena Maria: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Melusine: GilPe, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Baba Yaga: Ivan Bilibin, Public domain, source
- Triple-headed eagle: Неизвестный автор. (фото обложки сборника: Александр Храмов), Public domain, source
- Tietäjä: Robert Wilhelm Ekman, Public domain, source
- Grim Reaper: Jaroslav A. Polák, CC BY 4.0, source