All entries
2,000 entries so far, best known first. 3,529 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
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreCacodemonκακοδαίμων (kakodaimōn)
An ancient Greek evil spirit, depicted as a horned youth and used in literature and games.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇺🇸 United StatesHodag
A fabricated American cryptid from Wisconsin folklore and tall talesFigure · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇪🇪 EstoniaVanapaganVanatühi
A giant farmer and underworld figure from Estonian folklore who is often outwitted.Figure · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇸 Iceland and 2 moreFur-bearing troutLoðsilungur
A legendary fish with a coat of fur, found in North American and Icelandic tall tales.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇮🇪 IrelandMerrowmurúch
A sea creature from Irish folklore, known for its magical cap and singing voice.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanShikome黄泉醜女 (Yomotsu-shikome)
A hag from the Japanese underworld who pursued Izanagi after he shamed Izanami.Figure · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇷🇺 Russia and 7 moreOgnyena MariaОгнена Марија
A Slavic fire goddess linked to lightning, rain, and seasonal fire bansFigure · Protection · Healing Living
🇳🇿 New ZealandPania
A sea maiden from Māori legend who became a symbol for Napier, New Zealand.Figure Legendary
🇷🇺 RussiaTriple-headed eagle
A heraldic and mythological bird with three heads, appearing in Russian symbolism and European manuscripts.Being · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇪 IrelandFour Treasures of the Tuatha Dé DanannCeithre Bhua na Tuath Dé Danann
Four magical items brought to Ireland by the mythological Tuatha Dé DanannFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreFearsome critters
Tall tale animals from North American logging camps used to jest and explain the wild.Figure · Wonder and entertainment · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇨🇳 ChinaKui夔 (kuí)
A one-legged mountain spirit and ancient music master from Chinese mythologyBeing · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇮🇹 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
🇬🇪 GeorgiaOchokochiოჩოკოჩი
A Georgian mythic figure who kills travelers and chases the Queen of the ForestFigure Legendary
🇦🇲 Armenia and 2 moreAzhdahakԱժդահակ
A dragon-like demon of Armenian and Iranian myth, imprisoned in a mountain until the end of time.Figure · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇳 IndiaKeibu Keioiba
A tiger-headed man from Manipur folklore who was once a priestFigure · Cursing and harm 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
🇮🇹 ItalyLariosauro
A lake monster legend from Lake Como, Italy, born from newspaper hoaxes and misidentified animals.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇸🇾 SyriaOdontotyrannosόδοντοτύραννος
A mythical three-horned beast from Alexander the Great's Indian campaignsFigure Legendary
🇪🇪 EstoniaThe Dragon of the NorthPõhja konn
A legendary frog-like monster from Estonian folklore, later reimagined as a cultural guardian.Figure · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary
🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreWitege
A Germanic legendary warrior who shifts from loyal companion to traitor in epic poems.Figure · Power and authority Legendary
🇮🇹 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
🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreLemminkäinen
A shaman-hero of Finnish and Karelian myth who dies and is resurrected by his motherFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇺🇸 United StatesLava bear
A small bear from Oregon's lava beds once thought to be a unique speciesFigure Historical
🇲🇾 MalaysiaSang Sapurba
A legendary ancestor figure in Malay and Minangkabau royal genealogiesFigure · Power and authority Legendary
🇮🇪 IrelandLeabharcham
A nurse in the Ulster Cycle who raised Deirdre and delivered a tragic verdictFigure Legendary
🇮🇳 IndiaPinglak
A lion from the Panchatantra whose friendship with a bull is destroyed by cunning advisorsFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreSea Swine
A mythical sea creature depicted with dragon feet and a navel eye in early mapsFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇮🇸 IcelandHjúki and Bil
A brother and sister pair from Norse mythology who follow the Moon across the skyFigure Legendary
🇨🇳 ChinaPanhu盤瓠
A dragon-dog origin myth of the Yao and She peoples in ChinaFigure · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary
🇪🇸 SpainGatipedro
A horned cat from Galicia that makes children wet their bedsFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇱🇹 Lithuania and 2 moreEglė the Queen of SerpentsEglė žalčių karalienė
A Lithuanian folk tale about a woman who marries a serpent king and turns her family into trees.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇬🇱 Greenland and 2 moreThe Goose Wife
A circumpolar myth of a hunter and a woman who sheds her bird skinFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇪🇸 SpainGuañameñe
A Guanche prophet and the highest priestly rank in pre-conquest TenerifeFigure · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomJoan the Wad
A Cornish pixie queen linked to fire and fortuneFigure · Luck and prosperity · Protection Legendary
🇫🇷 FranceTempestarii
Medieval figures accused of controlling storms and the beliefs surrounding them.Belief · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇮🇪 IrelandChildren of LirOidheadh chloinne Lir
An Irish myth about four siblings transformed into swans by a jealous stepmotherFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇮🇳 IndiaHenjunaha and LairoulembiHensunaha Lailoulempi
A Meitei epic of lovers who die and return from the underworld through devotion.Figure · Love and attraction Legendary
🇬🇧 United KingdomNine sorceressesnaw chwaer
A group of nine magical women in Welsh and Arthurian legendFigure · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇮🇹 ItalySatyress
A female mythological creature with a human upper body and goat lower half, invented by later artists.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreRighteous Priest
A messianic priestly figure in Jewish eschatology, identified with Shem and Melchizedek.Figure · Power and authority Historical
🇫🇮 FinlandAntero Vipunen
A buried giant in Finnish mythology who holds the magic words needed to build a boatFigure · Power and authority Legendary
🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreVerliokaВерлиока
A cross-eyed monster from East Slavic folk talesFigure · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomNanny Rutt
A cautionary figure from Lincolnshire folklore who lures girls into the woodsFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇸🇻 El SalvadorChasca
A spirit of the water in Salvadoran folklore who blesses respectful fishermenFigure · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇫🇮 FinlandAjatar
An evil female spirit of Finnish folklore associated with serpents and diseaseFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇫🇯 FijiFlaming Teeth
A giant from Fijian myth whose burning teeth brought fire to humanityFigure · Cursing and harm · 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.
- Hodag: Gourami Watcher, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ognyena Maria: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Keibu Keioiba: Haoreima, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Triple-headed eagle: Неизвестный автор. (фото обложки сборника: Александр Храмов), Public domain, source
- Fengli: Anonymous (1603), Public domain, source
- Gatipedro: Dende, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Eglė the Queen of Serpents: Huw, CC BY 2.0, source
- Children of Lir: John Duncan, Public domain, source
- Satyress: art_traveller, CC BY-SA 2.0 uk, source
- Antero Vipunen: Schulllz, CC0, source
- Cacodemon: Louis Le Breton, Public domain, source
- Shikome: Raita Futo, CC BY 2.0, source
- Vanapagan: Kristjan Raud, Public domain, source
- Fur-bearing trout: Samantha Marx, CC BY 2.0, source
- Merrow: Andreas F. Borchert, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pania: Summer Skyes 11, CC BY 2.0, source
- Fearsome critters: Coert Du Bois, Public domain, source
- Kui: Dave Pape, Public domain, source
- Four Treasures of the Tuatha Dé Danann: spud murphy, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Odontotyrannos: anonymous, London, England, 14th century, Public domain, source
- The Dragon of the North: Ivo Kruusamägi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Scrofa semilanuta: M.casanova, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lemminkäinen: Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Public domain, source
- Witege: Max Koch, (1859–1930), Public domain, source
- Lava bear: Guy M. Ingram, Public domain, source
- Sea Swine: Jacob van Maerlant, Public domain, source