All entries
2,683 entries so far, best known first. 2,203 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
🇷🇺 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
🇷🇴 Romania and 1 moreMoroi
A Romanian phantom that drains the living, linked to strigoi and unbaptised infants.Figure · Cursing and harm 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 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
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreBugbear
A medieval English creature used to frighten children into obedienceFigure · 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
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreYue Lao月下老人
The Chinese deity of marriage who binds destined couples with red cordsBeing · Love and attraction · Binding and oaths Legendary
🇨🇴 Colombia and 1 moreTunda
A shapeshifting entity from the Pacific coast of Colombia and Ecuador that lures people into the forest.Figure · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇩 IndonesiaRangdaᬭᬗ᭄ᬤ
A Balinese demon queen who leads witches in an eternal battle against good.Being · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreMorgause
A legendary queen of Orkney and sister to King Arthur in British mythFigure · Power and authority Legendary
🇸🇪 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
🇬🇷 GreeceBaba Yaga (sample)Баба-яга
A witch of Slavic tales who lives in a hut on legs.Figure · Change and initiation Legendary
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreBigfoot
A large, hairy humanoid creature of North American folklore and cryptozoologyFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇫🇷 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
🇷🇺 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
🇨🇳 ChinaKui夔 (kuí)
A one-legged mountain spirit and ancient music master from Chinese mythologyBeing · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreFengli风狸 / 風狸
A legendary flying mammal from Chinese lore, said to carry a magic wand and resist death.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇮🇹 ItalyMonacielloMunaciello
A Neapolitan sprite linked to the city's underground waterways and hidden wealth.Figure · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇨🇳 ChinaPanhu盤瓠
A dragon-dog origin myth of the Yao and She peoples in ChinaFigure · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary
🇲🇾 MalaysiaSang Sapurba
A legendary ancestor figure in Malay and Minangkabau royal genealogiesFigure · Power and authority Legendary
🇸🇪 SwedenYsätters-Kajsa
A wind-troll from Swedish folklore who danced with the gales of NärkeFigure · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇦🇱 AlbaniaBardha
An Albanian mythological figure of good luck and fateFigure · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇫🇮 FinlandAjatar
An evil female spirit of Finnish folklore associated with serpents and diseaseFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇵🇱 Poland and 1 morePan Twardowski
A Polish sorcerer who bargained with the Devil and ended up on the MoonFigure · Power and authority Legendary
🇮🇪 IrelandChildren of LirOidheadh chloinne Lir
An Irish myth about four siblings transformed into swans by a jealous stepmotherFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇺🇸 United StatesMoll Dyer
A Maryland folktale about a woman accused of witchcraft and her cursed stoneFigure · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanAmabieアマビエ
A prophetic sea creature from Japan that wards off disease with its imageFigure · Protection · Seeing and foretelling Legendary
🇬🇧 United KingdomJoan the Wad
A Cornish pixie queen linked to fire and fortuneFigure · Luck and prosperity · Protection Legendary
🇪🇸 SpainWitches of Anaga
A Tenerife legend of women who danced at covens in the Anaga mountainsBelief · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇩 IndonesiaNini Pelet
A West Javanese sorceress legend linked to Mount Ciremai and the origin of the word for love charmsFigure · Love and attraction · Power and authority Legendary
🇬🇹 Guatemala and 1 moreEl Sombrerón
A tall, hat-wearing figure from Guatemalan legend who courts young women and haunts neighborhoods at dusk.Figure · Love and attraction · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 1 moreIspolinисполин
A legendary giant from Bulgarian folklore, said to be the second generation of Earth's inhabitants.Figure Legendary
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreFlying Africans
A legend of enslaved people returning to Africa by magic flightFigure · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary
🇮🇩 IndonesiaKeong Emas
A Javanese legend about a princess turned into a golden snailFigure · Love and attraction Legendary
🇨🇳 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
🇧🇷 BrazilMãe-do-Ouro
A Brazilian spirit that appears as a woman or fireball to mark forbidden gold sitesFigure · Protection Legendary
🇸🇪 SwedenKnights of Ålleberg
Swedish ghost story about sleeping warriors in a mountainFigure · Power and authority Legendary
🇷🇺 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
🇧🇷 BrazilRomãozinho
A cursed immortal boy from Brazilian folklore who never grows and causes mischief.Figure · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇬🇧 United KingdomTom Thumb
A tiny English folk hero who outwits giants and serves King ArthurFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇪🇬 EgyptSoul Collector
A mythical figure said to gather, guide, or judge the spirits of those who have passed away.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreNis PukNiß Puk
A legendary household spirit from Northern Germany and Denmark that helps or torments its owner.Being · Luck and prosperity · Protection Legendary
🇨🇴 Colombia and 1 moreLa Bolefuego
A fiery apparition from the Llanos that hunts travelers and avoids prayer.Figure · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇨🇳 ChinaInterconnected-arm gibbon通臂猿
A mythical primate with linked arms that can extend one limb by pulling in the other.Figure · Power and authority Legendary
🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreKuma LisaКума Лиса
A trickster fox from Slavic folklore who outwits other animalsFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Lady of the Lake: Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions, source
- Tom Thumb: Leutemann or Offterdinger , photo by Harke, Public domain, source
- Flying Africans: Matthew T Rader, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bigfoot: Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin, Public domain, source
- Rangda: Boy Lawson, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Seiðr: John Bauer, Public domain, source
- Fengli: Anonymous (1603), Public domain, source
- Morgause: H. S. Campbell, Public domain, source
- Knights of Ålleberg: Photograph: Nasko, Public domain, source
- Pan Twardowski: Pit1233, 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
- Yue Lao: 仔仔好帥, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Children of Lir: John Duncan, Public domain, source
- Moll Dyer: Dougtone, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Amabie: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Kui: Dave Pape, Public domain, source
- Witches of Anaga: User:Beneharo Hdez., CC BY 3.0, source
- Jenny Greenteeth: Jayan.thanal, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ispolin: Joshua Davis, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Keong Emas: Post of Indonesia, 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
- Melusine: GilPe, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Baba Yaga: Ivan Bilibin, Public domain, source
- Nis Puk: R2D3LA, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Interconnected-arm gibbon: Xuande Emperor, Public domain, source