All entries

1,216 entries so far, best known first. 4,906 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

🇫🇷 FranceLady of the LakeDame du Lac A water spirit who raises knights and captures wizards in Arthurian talesFigure · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreLouisiana Voodoo An African diasporic religion practiced in Louisiana from the 18th to early 20th centuriesTradition · Healing · Protection 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 🇬🇧 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 🇩🇪 GermanyPhilipp Adolf von Ehrenberg A German prince-bishop who directed a massive witch-hunt in the 1620sFigure · Cursing and harm Historical 🇺🇸 United StatesPukwudgie A short forest spirit from Algonquian lore, known for mischief and danger.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇬🇧 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 🇬🇭 GhanaObayifo A vampire-creature of Ashanti folklore that glows at night and hunts for prey.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇲🇾 Malaysia and 1 moreOrang Minyak A slippery ghost from Malay folklore that abducts women and is covered in black grease.Being · Cursing and harm 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

🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreLa Llorona A vengeful ghost in Hispanic American folklore who mourns drowned children near water.Figure · Cursing and harm Living

🇩🇪 GermanyAlp A Germanic spirit that presses on sleepers and drinks milkBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇨🇱 ChileTrauco A small forest spirit from Chiloé mythology known for seducing women and causing pregnancyBeing · Love and attraction · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇬🇷 GreeceEpimenides of CreteἘπιμενίδης A semi-mythical Greek prophet and purifier from KnossosFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇮🇶 Iraq and 1 moreRabisu A wind spirit in Akkadian myth sent to correct human transgressionsBeing · Cursing and harm · Cleansing and purification Historical

🇸🇪 SwedenWitch trials in Denmark A history of legal executions and local panics against sorcery in early modern Denmark.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇳 India and 2 moreTrial by ordeal An ancient judicial test where guilt or innocence was decided by surviving a painful physical trial.Rite · Cursing and harm Historical 🇯🇵 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 🇬🇧 United KingdomWiccan Rede A moral guideline for Wiccans stating that actions should cause no harm.Text · Cursing and harm Living

🇵🇬 Papua New GuineaWitch-hunts in Papua New Guinea Violent attacks on people accused of sorcery, mainly women and girlsBelief · Cursing and harm Living 🇮🇳 IndiaPashupata Shaivismपाशुपत An early Hindu ascetic school focused on liberation through ritual and devotion to ShivaTradition · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical 🇮🇳 IndiaAlakshmiदेवी अलक्ष्मी A Hindu goddess of misfortune and the shadow opposite to LakshmiBeing · Cursing and harm Living

🇺🇸 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

🇮🇩 IndonesiaOgoh-ogohᬳᭀᬕᭀᬄ ᬳᭀᬕᭀᬄ Balinese sculptures paraded and burned to cleanse the environment before NyepiTradition · Cursing and harm · Cleansing and purification Living

🇮🇷 Iran and 1 moreJinnجِنّ Supernatural beings in Islamic and pre-Islamic Arabian belief, created from smokeless fire.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Living

🇮🇳 India and 4 moreTantraतन्त्र An esoteric yogic tradition from India focusing on ritual, mantra, and body-based spiritual practices.Tradition · Power and authority · Change and initiation 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

🇨🇬 Republic of the CongoNkisi Spirit containers and power figures from the Congo Basin used for justice and healingCharm · Protection · Healing Living 🇧🇷 Brazil and 1 moreQuimbanda An Afro-Brazilian religion focused on male and female street spirits for worldly mattersTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living

🇮🇪 Ireland and 4 moreTrial by combat A medieval legal practice where two disputants fought to settle a caseRite · 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

🇲🇾 Malaysia and 5 morePenanggalan A floating head with trailing organs from Malay folklore, said to hunt pregnant women and newborns.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary

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

🇮🇸 Iceland and 2 moreSeiðr A Norse magic of fate and spirit, practiced by seers and sorcerers in the Viking Age.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Revived

🇪🇬 EgyptCurse of the pharaohs A belief that disturbing ancient Egyptian tombs brings illness or death to the living.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical 🇲🇾 Malaysia and 1 moreBomohبوموه A Malay shaman and traditional healer who works with spirits, herbs, and geomancy.Tradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Living 🇳🇴 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 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreBugbear A medieval English creature used to frighten children into obedienceFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇭🇺 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

🇨🇳 China and 2 moreXiezhi獬豸 A one-horned beast from East Asia that separates the guilty from the innocentBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary

🇬🇧 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 🇳🇴 NorwayVardø witch trials A major Scandinavian persecution of women accused of sorcery in 17th-century NorwayBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇳🇿 New ZealandTaniwha Supernatural beings of Māori lore, acting as guardians or dangerous predators in water and earthBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Living

Photo credits on this page

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

Rabisu: editor Austen Henry Layard , drawing by L. Gruner, Public domain, source
Lady of the Lake: Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions, source
Crossroads (folklore): MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Trial by combat: Jörg Breu der Jüngere (died 1547), Paulus Hector Mair (died 1579), Public domain, source
Louisiana Voodoo: I cropped, original authors are Ridpath, John Clark, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Witch trials in early modern Scotland: Unknown author, Public domain, source
La Llorona: Melvin Callejas, Public domain, source
Alp: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
Trauco: Seo2 (Cristian), CC BY 2.0, source
Trial by ordeal: James Sibree, Public domain, source
Witch-hunts in Papua New Guinea: The original uploader was Dr. Blofeld at English Wikipedia ., Attribution, source
Ogoh-ogoh: Simondodit, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Jinn: VenusFeuerFalle, CC0, source
Tantra: William Clark, Public domain, source
Witch trials in the Holy Roman Empire: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Nkisi: MiddleOfAfrica, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Salem Witch Trials: unattributed, Public domain, source
Penanggalan: Hi I really try my best here, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Navagraha: Kiran891, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Seiðr: John Bauer, Public domain, 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
Taniwha: Pseudopanax at en.wikipedia, Public domain, source
Witch trials in Denmark: Rigsarkivet - Danish National Archives, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Satanic panic: Hartmann Schedel (1440-1514), Public domain, source
Xiezhi: Carty239 at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source

All entries

Photo credits on this page

The weekly digest