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.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

RegionSouth Asia Southeast Asia East Asia Central Asia and the Caucasus Middle East North Africa Sub-Saharan Africa Europe North America Latin America and the Caribbean Oceania

KindTradition Rite Charm Oracle Substance Being Figure Text Illusion Belief

PurposeProtection Healing Seeing and foretelling Luck and prosperity Love and attraction Cursing and harm Cleansing and purification Speaking with spirits and the dead Change and initiation Binding and oaths Power and authority Wonder and entertainment

WhoShamans Folk healers Priests and ritual specialists Witches, sorcerers and cunning folk Diviners and readers Mediums and the possessed Ceremonial magicians and alchemists Households and ordinary people Stage magicians Scholars and sceptics

BeliefHindu and Tantric Buddhist Jain Muslim and Sufi Jewish Christian Sikh Zoroastrian Shinto and Taoist Indigenous and shamanic African and Afro-diasporic Pagan and Neopagan Esoteric and occult Folk and village custom Secular and stage Other traditions

OccasionWeddings and betrothal Festivals Birth and childhood Death and remembrance Harvest, farming and weather New year Initiation and coming of age Illness and misfortune Journeys and voyages Everyday use

StandingLiving Revived Fading Historical Legendary Performed

OrderBest known A to Z Newest Living first

🇯🇵 JapanKitsunebi狐火 Atmospheric ghost lights in Japanese folklore, often linked to foxes and natural phenomena.Belief · Wonder and entertainment · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇯🇵 JapanHyakumonogatari Kaidankai百物語怪談会 An Edo period Japanese parlour game where ghost stories extinguish candles one by oneRite · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇯🇵 JapanKappa河童 A river-dwelling yōkai known for its head dish and love of cucumbersBeing · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇯🇵 Japan and 2 moreTanabataたなばた (七夕) A Japanese celebration of star-crossed lovers and written wishesTradition · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇯🇵 JapanNurarihyon滑瓢 or ぬらりひょん A slippery Japanese monster that slips away and haunts homes in folklore and pop culture.Being · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreLuoshu Square洛書 An ancient Chinese three-by-three magic square linked to geomancy and numerologyTradition · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇯🇵 JapanNoppera-bōのっぺらぼう A faceless spirit from Japanese folklore that mimics human appearanceBeing · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇯🇵 JapanGazu Hyakki Yagyō画図百鬼夜行 A 1776 Japanese woodblock book of yōkai illustrations by Toriyama SekienText · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇯🇵 JapanAosaginohi青鷺火 A Japanese will-o'-the-wisp attributed to the glowing flight of herons at nightBelief · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇨🇳 ChinaKui夔 (kuí) A one-legged mountain spirit and ancient music master from Chinese mythologyBeing · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇨🇳 China and 2 moreShen蜃 A sea creature from Chinese mythology said to create mirages through shape-shiftingBeing · 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 🇨🇳 China and 4 moreHuoshu火鼠 A legendary fire-resistant rat from Chinese folklore said to yield self-cleaning cloth.Being · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreDokkaebi도깨비 A one-legged supernatural being from Korean folklore, often linked to household objects and magical items.Being · Wonder and entertainment · Luck and prosperity Legendary 🇹🇼 TaiwanLui-kong-tsiau雷公鳥 A Taiwanese thunder-creature said to summon storms from treetopsBeing · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇯🇵 JapanOshiroibabā白粉ばばあ A yōkai old woman from Nara folklore linked to white powder and mirrors.Being · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇯🇵 JapanTōfu-kozō豆腐小僧 A Japanese yōkai depicted as a child carrying a tray of tofu, popular in Edo period literature.Being · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇯🇵 JapanTsuchinokoツチノコ A snake-like cryptid from Japanese folklore said to roll like a wheelBeing · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreBake-danuki化け狸 A shape-shifting raccoon dog spirit from Japanese folklore known for pranks and illusions.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary 🇯🇵 JapanKotobuki寿 A Japanese chimera combining features of all twelve Chinese zodiac animalsBeing · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇯🇵 Japan and 3 moreThoughtography念写 A claimed psychic ability to imprint mental images directly onto photographic film.Belief · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇨🇳 ChinaLuduan甪端 A mythical Chinese creature said to speak every language and travel vast distances in a single dayBeing · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇯🇵 JapanShiranui不知火 Atmospheric ghost lights of the Yatsushiro and Ariake Seas in JapanBelief · Wonder and entertainment · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇯🇵 JapanYamabiko山彦 A mountain spirit believed to be the voice behind echoes in Japanese folklore.Being · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇯🇵 JapanTaka-Onna高女 A Japanese yokai of a tall woman said to spy on brothels from above.Being · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇨🇳 ChinaAo鰲 A colossal sea turtle of Chinese myth whose legs support the skyBeing · Protection · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇯🇵 JapanEhon Hyaku Monogatari絵本百物語 An 1841 Japanese picture book of yōkai: ghosts, monsters and spirits named and drawnText · Wonder and entertainment Historical

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

Ehon Hyaku Monogatari: Takehara Shunsen (竹原春泉), Public domain, source
Nurarihyon: Brigham Young University, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Aosaginohi: Koikawa Harumachi ja:恋川春町 (1744-1789), Public domain, source
Tanabata: Laika ac, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Fengli: Anonymous (1603), Public domain, source
Kitsunebi: Abasaa, Public domain, source
Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source
Kodama: Toriyama Sekien, Public domain, source
Bake-danuki: Poposhka at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
Kui: Dave Pape, Public domain, source
Kappa: Unknown author, CC0, source
Luduan: Gisling, CC BY 2.5, source
Luoshu Square: An unknown Tibetan artist, Public domain, source
Noppera-bō: 芥川龍之介, Public domain, source
Yamabiko: Brigham Young University, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Ao: David Jackson, CC BY-SA 2.0 uk, source

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Photo credits on this page

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