All entries
1,335 entries so far, best known first. 4,747 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
🇬🇷 GreeceCirceΚίρκη
A Greek goddess and witch known for turning men into beasts with her potionsBeing · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction Legendary
🇬🇧 United KingdomBideford witch trial
The final English hangings for witchcraft in 1682.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇨🇳 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
🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreObsidian
Volcanic glass used for sharp tools, mirrors, and ritual divinationSubstance · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇬🇧 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
🇿🇦 South AfricaSympathetic magic
A magical principle based on imitation and contact to influence the worldTradition · Protection · Healing 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
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreBaba YagaБаба Яга
A Slavic witch who lives in a turning hut and flies in a mortarFigure · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary
🇬🇭 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
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreJiang Ziya姜子牙
A historical strategist and war god who helped establish the Zhou dynastyFigure · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Historical
🇿🇦 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
🇷🇺 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
🇲🇽 Mexico and 2 moreChild sacrifice
The ritual killing of children to appease deities or restore cosmic order in ancient culturesRite · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇮🇳 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
🇳🇱 NetherlandsCornelius Loos
A Catholic priest who publicly opposed the European witch trials of the late 1500s.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇸🇪 SwedenWitch trials in Denmark
A history of legal executions and local panics against sorcery in early modern Denmark.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇧🇷 Brazil and 2 moreMapinguari
A hairy Amazonian monster with a belly mouth and backwards feetBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇿🇦 South AfricaGrootslang
A legendary serpent from South Africa said to guard diamonds in a deep cave.Being · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanOni鬼（おに）
A horned demon of Japanese folklore known for strength and evil deedsBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇵🇪 Peru and 1 moreChullachaqui
A one-footed forest spirit of the Amazon that lures or challenges humansBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary
🇮🇹 ItalyWitch trials in Italy
Historic legal proceedings against alleged witches across Italian states from the 14th to 18th centuries.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomBoggart
A malevolent household spirit from northern English folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreFuath
A class of malevolent water spirits in Scottish and Irish folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇬🇧 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
🇮🇳 IndiaPashupata Shaivismपाशुपत
An early Hindu ascetic school focused on liberation through ritual and devotion to ShivaTradition · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreYoginiयोगिनी
A female master of yoga and tantra, or a fierce goddess aspect in Indian temples.Tradition · Power and authority · Protection 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
🇯🇵 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
🇯🇵 JapanInugami犬神
A Japanese spirit of dog possession and folk sorceryBelief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority 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
🇮🇱 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
🇬🇧 United KingdomSpectral evidence
Court testimony based on visions of spirits during historical witch trialsBelief · 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
🇯🇵 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
🇺🇸 United StatesDeliverance ministry
A Christian practice to remove evil spirits believed to cause personal afflictionRite · Cursing and harm · Cleansing and purification Living
🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreUpiórупіор
A demonic spirit from Slavic and Turkic folklore that is believed to return from the dead to feed on the living.Being · Cursing and harm Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreSixth and Seventh Books of Moses
A grimoire claiming to reveal the hidden spells of Moses for controlling spirits and natureText · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇪🇸 SpainDirectorium Inquisitorum
A 14th-century manual for inquisitors on heresy, magic, and trial procedureText · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical
🇩🇪 GermanyMalleus Maleficarum
A 15th-century manual on witchcraft written by Heinrich KramerText · Cursing and harm · Binding and oaths 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 Kingdom and 2 moreWitch bottle
A container filled with personal items and sharp objects to trap harmful magicCharm · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Spirit possession: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Mapinguari: Lauro Iyambae (@Aptix_4p0clix), CC0, source
- Witch trials in early modern Scotland: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Bideford witch trial: Totnesmartin, Public domain, source
- Taniwha: Pseudopanax at en.wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Obsidian: Krassotkin, CC0, source
- Sympathetic magic: Marie-Lan Nguyen, CC BY 2.5, source
- Baba Yaga: Ivan Bilibin, Public domain, source
- Witchcraft in Ghana: SALTN, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Child sacrifice: Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Public domain, source
- Witch trials in Denmark: Rigsarkivet - Danish National Archives, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Grootslang: Jeff McArthur (Guategeek), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Oni: Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎 (1760-1849), Public domain, source
- Chullachaqui: LLs, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yogini: Soumendra Barik, CC BY-SA 3.0, 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
- Xiezhi: Carty239 at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source
- Hyakki Yagyō: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Upiór: Віщун, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Directorium Inquisitorum: Nicolás Eymerich, Public domain, source
- Malleus Maleficarum: Johann Jakob Wick, Public domain, source
- Witch bottle: British Museum, Daniel Pett, 2004-10-25 15:27:22, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Jiang Ziya: Wang Qi, Public domain, source
- Circe: Wright Barker, Public domain, source
- Lady Midday: Віщун, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Boggart: Katolophyromai, CC BY-SA 4.0, source