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
🇯🇵 JapanŌkuninushi大国主神
A Japanese kami of the earth, nation-building, and protective magic.Being · Protection · Healing Living
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreQilin麒麟
A legendary chimerical creature from Chinese mythology that signals the arrival or death of a sage.Being · Power and authority Legendary
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreJiangshi殭屍
A Chinese corpse said to rise and hop, feared for its strengthBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanMiko巫女
A Shinto shrine priestess and traditional female medium in JapanTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living
🇯🇵 JapanTsukumogami付喪神
Household objects that gain a spirit after reaching their hundredth year in Japanese folklore.Being · Cursing and harm Historical
🇨🇳 ChinaLan Caihe藍采和
An ambiguous Taoist immortal known for a flower basket and wandering songsBeing · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanKodama木霊
A tree spirit in Japanese folklore that brings misfortune if the host tree is harmedBeing · Cursing and harm Living
🇯🇵 JapanKami神
Spirits and deities of Shinto, found in nature, ancestors, and placesBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreDongyue Dadi東嶽大帝
The Chinese mountain god of Mount Tai who rules lifespans and underworld recordsBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇨🇳 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
🇯🇵 JapanShikigami式神
A conjured spirit from Japanese Onmyōdō, often bound to paper or animal form.Being · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Historical
🇯🇵 JapanKuda-gitsune管狐 (kuda-gitsune)
A small spirit kept in a tube or sleeve to aid fortune-telling and cursing in Japanese folklore.Being · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇨🇳 China and 4 moreKitchen God灶君
The Chinese hearth deity who reports domestic conduct to the Jade EmperorBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇯🇵 JapanTengu天狗
Japanese mountain spirits that evolved from ominous birds into protective forest guardians.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanKitsuneきつね
A Japanese fox spirit known for shapeshifting and trickeryBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanYōkai妖怪
A vast class of supernatural spirits and entities in Japanese folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇯🇵 JapanOni鬼（おに）
A horned demon of Japanese folklore known for strength and evil deedsBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇨🇳 ChinaJin Chan金蟾
A three-legged toad charm used in feng shui to attract wealth and guard against bad luckBeing · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living
🇹🇼 Taiwan and 1 moreOng Yah王爺 (Ông-iâ)
Royal Lord deities of Fujian and Taiwan who tour the land, driving out diseaseBeing · Protection · Healing Living
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreMoon rabbit月兔 (yuètù)
A mythical figure seen in lunar markings, pounding elixirs or rice cakes across Asia and the Americas.Being · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇯🇵 JapanNamazu鯰
A giant catfish myth believed to cause earthquakes in JapanBeing Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanGashadokuroがしゃどくろ
A giant skeleton spirit born from the bones of those who died in war or famine.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanRaijū雷獣
A Japanese lightning creature that sleeps in navels and falls from stormsBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreQianliyan千里眼
A Chinese sea and door god with clairvoyant sight, guardian of the sea goddess MazuBeing · Protection Living
🇯🇵 JapanMazoku魔族
Supernatural beings in Japanese myth and fantasy, often evil.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanOsakabehime刑部姫
A yōkai spirit said to inhabit Himeji Castle and reveal its fate.Being · Seeing and foretelling Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanGagoze元興寺の鬼
A yōkai of Nara said to be a lightning child or a monk demon from Gangō-jiBeing · Cursing and harm Historical
🇯🇵 JapanTsurubebi釣瓶火
A hanging fire spirit from Japanese folklore, linked to trees and mountain paths.Being · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇯🇵 JapanTaka-nyūdō高入道
A towering monk spirit of Shikoku that grows when stared at and vanishes with a chant.Being · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇨🇳 ChinaAo鰲
A colossal sea turtle of Chinese myth whose legs support the skyBeing · Protection · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanShinigami死神
A Japanese spirit or deity associated with inviting humans toward deathBeing · Cursing and harm Historical
🇯🇵 JapanOtoroshiおとろし
A Japanese yōkai with blue skin and tusks that guards temple gates and punishes the wicked.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanReikon霊魂
The Shinto soul: it joins the ancestors after funeral rites, or haunts as a yūreiBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Cursing and harm Living
🇯🇵 JapanHitotsume-nyūdō独眼僧
A one-eyed Japanese monk spirit from folklore and legendBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanMononoke物の怪
A Japanese term for spirits believed to cause illness and misfortune through possession or curses.Being · Cursing and harm · Healing Historical
🇯🇵 JapanMakuragaeshi枕返し
A Japanese spirit that flips pillows and turns sleepers upside downBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanAkashita赤舌
A red-tongued beast from Edo-period scrolls, tied to water and bad daysBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanHachiman八幡神
A Japanese deity of war and the imperial family, worshipped as both kami and bodhisattva.Being · Protection · Power and authority Living
🇯🇵 JapanŌnyūdō大僧正
A giant monk spirit in Japanese folklore, ranging from helpful helpers to menacing shadows.Being · Cursing and harm · Healing Legendary
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Curse: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source
- Ōkuninushi: Yashima Gakutei, CC0, source
- Akashita: Brigham Young University, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hachiman: SLIMHANNYA, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Qilin: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Qianliyan: 玄史生, CC0, source
- Ong Yah: Suzuki1314 at Chinese Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Namazu: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Jiangshi: Dick Thomas Johnson, CC BY 2.0, source
- Miko: Chris Gladis, Flickr user MShades, CC BY 2.0, source
- Jin Chan: Tristanb, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Moon rabbit: An artist, Public domain, source
- Tsukumogami: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Shinigami: 日: Jnn, CC BY 2.1 jp, source
- Lan Caihe: Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions, source
- Kodama: Toriyama Sekien, Public domain, source
- Kami: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hitotsume-nyūdō: Kashiwa Seiho (柏正甫), Public domain, source
- Dongyue Dadi: H2v5o68z, CC0, source
- Gagoze: Brigham Young University, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yue Lao: 仔仔好帥, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Gashadokuro: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Kitsune: Yoshitoshi, Public domain, source
- Yōkai: Kyosai Kawanabe (河鍋 暁斎), Public domain, source
- Oni: Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎 (1760-1849), Public domain, source
- Otoroshi: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Mononoke: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Taka-nyūdō: Hayami Shungyōsai (速水春暁斎, Japanese, *1767, †1823), Public domain, source
- Ao: David Jackson, CC BY-SA 2.0 uk, source