All entries

811 entries so far, best known first. 5,568 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

🇪🇬 EgyptCurse A spoken wish for misfortune to befall a person or placeBelief · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreCrossroads (folklore) A junction between worlds where spirits are met and deals are madeBelief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Cursing and harm Living 🇯🇵 JapanKitsunetsuki狐憑き A Japanese folk belief in which a fox spirit enters and controls a human host.Belief · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇺🇦 Ukraine and 5 moreMugwortчорнобиль (chornóbyl') An aromatic herb used in folk medicine, cooking, and magical protection across Eurasia.Substance · Protection · Healing Living

🇸🇪 SwedenTorsåker witch trials The largest mass execution of witches in Swedish history, carried out in a single day.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇵🇱 PolandWitch trials in Poland A historical record of sorcery prosecutions and executions in Poland from the 15th to the 19th century.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇷🇺 RussiaBlack magic Magic traditionally defined by malevolent intent and selfish purposesBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomSamlesbury witches Three Lancashire women acquitted in a 1612 trial linked to anti-Catholic propagandaBelief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomPaisley witches A 1697 Scottish witch trial ending in mass execution after a child's illness sparked local panic.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomWitch trials in early modern Scotland A period of judicial persecution where thousands were executed for alleged sorcery and diabolic pactsBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇵🇬 Papua New GuineaWitch-hunts in Papua New Guinea Violent attacks on people accused of sorcery, mainly women and girlsBelief · Cursing and harm Living

🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreWitch trials in the Holy Roman Empire A wave of executions across Central Europe between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇺🇸 United StatesSalem Witch Trials A colonial legal crisis where over two hundred people faced accusations of sorcery in Massachusetts.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreNavagrahaनवग्रह A group of nine celestial deities in Hinduism that govern fate and astrologyTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇪🇬 EgyptCurse of the pharaohs A belief that disturbing ancient Egyptian tombs brings illness or death to the living.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇳🇴 NorwayWitch trials in Norway A wave of executions and legal persecution for sorcery in early modern Norway.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇸🇪 SwedenMora witch trial A 1669 Swedish mass execution driven by child testimony and European hysteriaBelief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇭🇺 Hungary and 1 moreWitch trials in Hungary A centuries-long series of persecutions for sorcery that ended with imperial decree.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇳🇱 NetherlandsWitch trials in the Netherlands A historical record of prosecutions and executions for sorcery in the Dutch Republic.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇫🇷 FranceWitch trials in France A fragmented history of legal persecution for sorcery across French regions and centuries.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomBideford witch trial The final English hangings for witchcraft in 1682.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇸🇸 South Sudan and 1 moreAzande witchcraft A Zande belief that certain people harm others by an inherited power, judged by oraclesBelief · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Living 🇨🇳 ChinaGu蛊 A venom-based poison and black magic practice from south ChinaSubstance · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇩🇪 GermanyPied Piper of Hamelinder Rattenfänger von Hameln A medieval legend about a piper who leads children away from the town of HamelinFigure · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇬🇧 United KingdomWitch trials in England A historical period of legal persecution for alleged sorcery in England from the 15th to the 18th centuryBelief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇪🇪 Estonia and 1 moreWitch trials in Latvia and Estonia Early modern persecutions of sorcery and paganism by Baltic German authoritiesBelief · Cursing and harm · Cleansing and purification Historical

🇬🇭 GhanaWitchcraft in Ghana Beliefs in harmful magic and the social violence that follows accusations in GhanaBelief · Cursing and harm Living 🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreWitch trials in Finland A historical record of legal persecution for magic in a region where men were common targets.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the CongoKindoki A belief in spirit possession that leads to abuse and abandonment in the Congo regionBelief · Cursing and harm Living 🇿🇦 South Africa and 5 moreMurder for body parts The killing of people to harvest body parts for traditional medicine or the illegal organ trade.Belief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living

🇮🇳 India and 5 moreSpirit possession A global belief that spirits or demons can take control of a person's body and mindBelief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living

🇸🇪 SwedenWitch trials in Denmark A history of legal executions and local panics against sorcery in early modern Denmark.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomBlack Shuck A ghostly black dog from East Anglia folklore, often seen as a death omen or a terrifying apparition.Belief · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇮🇳 India and 1 moreDaayanदायन A vengeful female spirit from Indian folklore, often blamed for misfortune and witchcraft accusations.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Living

🇮🇳 IndiaWitch-hunts in India Violent persecution of people accused of witchcraft, mostly women, in rural IndiaBelief · Cursing and harm Living

🇯🇵 JapanInugami犬神 A Japanese spirit of dog possession and folk sorceryBelief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇱 IsraelNumber of the beastἈριθμὸς τοῦ θηρίου A biblical number linked to a prophetic figure and interpreted through ancient letter values.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇺🇸 United States and 7 moreSatanic panic A moral panic over unsubstantiated claims of Satanic cults abusing children in the late twentieth centuryBelief · Cursing and harm 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

🇯🇵 JapanHyakki Yagyō百鬼夜行 A Japanese folklore concept of a night parade of supernatural creaturesBelief · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreBelialבְּלִיַּעַל A Hebrew term for worthlessness that evolved into a demon of darkness in Jewish and Christian texts.Being · Cursing and harm Historical 🇮🇹 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 🇼🇸 Samoa and 1 moreAitu A Polynesian term for spirits, ghosts, or calamityBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇵🇹 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

🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreLady MiddayPoludnitsa A Slavic noon spirit who watches over fields and punishes those who work during the hottest hours.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreWill-o'-the-wisp A ghostly light in folklore that guides or misleads travellers over marshes and bogs.Belief · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇬🇧 United KingdomBarghest A mythical black dog from Northern England that foretells death and haunts the countryside.Being · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇯🇲 Jamaica and 5 moreObeah A Caribbean tradition of ritual healing and spell-casting with African rootsTradition · Protection · Healing Living

Photo credits on this page

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

Crossroads (folklore): MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Mugwort: Prahlad balaji, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Torsåker witch trials: Y-näsmannen, CC0, source
Black magic: https://www.flickr.com/photos/eliogarcia/ (nick in flickr:creo que soy, CC BY 2.0, source
Samlesbury witches: Tom Oates, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Witch trials in early modern Scotland: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Witch-hunts in Papua New Guinea: The original uploader was Dr. Blofeld at English Wikipedia ., Attribution, source
Witch trials in the Holy Roman Empire: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Salem Witch Trials: unattributed, Public domain, source
Navagraha: Kiran891, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Curse of the pharaohs: Jerzy Strzelecki, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Mora witch trial: Unknown author Unknown author contemporary artist, Public domain, source
Witch trials in the Netherlands: Mathje1963, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Witch trials in France: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Bideford witch trial: Totnesmartin, Public domain, source
Azande witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Pied Piper of Hamelin: Edmund Evans, Public domain, source
Witchcraft in Ghana: SALTN, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Curse: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source
Spirit possession: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Witch trials in Denmark: Rigsarkivet - Danish National Archives, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Witch-hunts in India: Granger, Public domain, source
Inugami: Sawaki Suushi (佐脇嵩之, Japanese, *1707, †1772), Public domain, source
Number of the beast: William Blake, Public domain, source
Satanic panic: Hartmann Schedel (1440-1514), Public domain, source
Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source
Hyakki Yagyō: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Coco: Francisco de Goya, CC0, source
Lady Midday: Віщун, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Will-o'-the-wisp: Hermann Hendrich, Public domain, source
Obeah: Various, published by David Nutt, Public domain, source

All entries

Photo credits on this page

The weekly digest