All entries
2,106 entries so far, best known first. 3,323 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
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreSolar Lodge
A California-based magical order active in the 1960s, known for its A∴A∴ curriculum and legal troubles.Tradition · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreBooks of secrets
Early modern European compilations of recipes and formulae framed as hidden knowledgeText · Power and authority Historical
🇯🇵 JapanKyōka Hyaku Monogatari狂歌百物語
An 1853 Japanese picture book pairing yōkai illustrations with humorous kyōka poetryText · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreOrder of Nine Angles
A British Satanic network linked to neo-Nazism and violent extremismTradition · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living
🇱🇷 LiberiaMaryland ritual killings
A 1970s Liberian case of ritual murders and the public executions that followedBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreDream questionShe'elat Halom
A Jewish divination practice seeking prophetic answers through dreamsOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreGiants (esotericism)
Spiritual beings linked to lost continents and root races in occult literatureBeing · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇷🇸 Serbia and 3 moreBožićБожић
A Slavic figure linked to the new year and spring, whose name now marks ChristmasFigure · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreHaunted doll
A doll claimed to be haunted or possessed, often linked to film and urban legend.Belief · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇬🇧 United KingdomCurse of Scotland
A nickname for a playing card linked to bad luck and Scottish historyBelief · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇷 IranPersian mysticism
A spiritual tradition in Iran blending ancient beliefs with Sufi practice and poetic thought.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living
🇾🇪 YemenʿAnāqأناق بنت آدم
A monstrous daughter of Adam in Islamic extra-Quranic traditionFigure · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇭 GhanaAmokye
Guardian of the entrance to Asamando in Akan and Ashanti beliefBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreGold of Tolosa
A legendary treasure hoard seized by Rome and lost to historyBelief · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceDaimonδαίμων
A Greek spirit or divine force that mediates between gods and humansBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptAkhty
A rarely attested ancient Egyptian deity linked to the ibis and the evening horizon.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreGrim Reaper
A hooded skeleton with a scythe, representing death in Western art and story.Figure · Cursing and harm Historical
🇫🇷 FranceLoudun possessionsaffaire des possédées de Loudun
A 17th-century witchcraft trial in France involving alleged demonic possession by Ursuline nuns.Belief · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyAlchemical DoorPorta Alchemica
A Roman gate covered in alchemical symbols and legends of transmutationCharm · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyShe-wolf (Roman mythology)lupa
The mythical wolf that nursed Rome's founders and became the city's enduring symbolFigure · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomTam Lin
A Scottish ballad about a fairy knight rescued by his mortal lover on Hallowe'enFigure · Love and attraction · Cursing and harm Historical
🇨🇦 CanadaOak Island mystery
A centuries-old legend of buried treasure and unexplained engineering on a Canadian island.Belief · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇳 IndiaAbhijñāअभिज्ञा
A set of special insights and powers in Buddhist meditation.Belief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyGli ExperimentiGli Experimenti de la Ex.ma S.r Caterina da Furlj Matre de lo inllux.mo S.r Giouanni de Medici
A 16th-century manuscript of alchemical, medicinal, and cosmetic recipes by Caterina SforzaText · Healing · Power and authority Historical
🇰🇷 South KoreaSeolmundae Halmang설문대할망
A giant creator figure from Jeju Island who shaped the land and its volcanoes.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇱 IsraelPulsa diNuraפולסא דנורא
A Kabbalistic curse invoking destroying angels to block forgiveness and cause deathRite · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇪 IrelandTailteann GamesÁenach Tailteann
Ancient Irish funeral games and assemblies held in County Meath to honor the dead.Rite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreCurse of Ham
A biblical story used to justify slavery and racial discriminationBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreDamnation
A state of divine punishment or separation from the sacred after deathBelief · Cursing and harm Living
🇬🇷 GreeceMoiraiΜοίρες
Greek personifications of destiny who spin, measure, and cut the thread of life.Being · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceSacred mysteriesμυστήριον
Secret ceremonies and divine doctrines held to exceed human reasonBelief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living
🇮🇳 IndiaKhongjomnubi NonggarolKhongchomnupi Nongkalol
A Meitei puya with two stories of transformation and ascent to the sky.Text · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreAirship of Clonmacnoise
A medieval Irish legend of a ship in the sky and its anchorBelief · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇸 IcelandYule catJólakötturinn
A giant feline from Icelandic folklore that threatens those without new Christmas clothesFigure · Cursing and harm Living
🇮🇪 IrelandJack O'The Lantern
An Irish folktale about a deceitful man condemned to wander with a carved lanternFigure · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesZelph
A figure identified by Joseph Smith as a buried warrior in IllinoisFigure · Power and authority Historical
🇯🇵 Japan and 3 moreThoughtography念写
A claimed psychic ability to imprint mental images directly onto photographic film.Belief · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreTelekinesis
A purported psychic ability to move objects with the mind aloneBelief · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreRemote viewing
A claimed psychic ability to perceive distant targets without using the sensesBelief · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇫🇷 France and 4 moreEctoplasm
A substance said to be excreted by mediums during séances, later exposed as common household materials.Substance · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptEgyptian days
Medieval calendar days believed to bring bad luck for new ventures and medical proceduresBelief · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreMaternal impression
A discredited theory that a mother's shock or thoughts can mark her unborn childBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreLock of hair
A piece of human hair kept for symbolic, sentimental, or superstitious reasons.Substance · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreGargoylegargouille
A carved stone waterspout shaped like a creature, used on Gothic buildings to shed rainwaterCharm · Protection · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇸🇪 SwedenSaleby Runestone
A Swedish memorial stone raised by a husband for his wife, featuring an ancient curse.Text · Protection Historical
🇨🇳 ChinaPill of Immortality仙丹
A legendary substance sought by Chinese alchemists to grant eternal lifeSubstance · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇪 IrelandLatoon fairy bush
A whitethorn tree in County Clare saved from a motorway by folkloric warnings of misfortuneBelief · Protection Living
🇩🇪 GermanyBuch der heiligen Dreifaltigkeit
A 15th-century German alchemical treatise that aligns chemical work with Christian theology.Text · Change and initiation Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreOrder of Nine Angles
A British Satanic network linked to neo-Nazism and violent extremismTradition · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living
🇱🇷 LiberiaMaryland ritual killings
A 1970s Liberian case of ritual murders and the public executions that followedBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreDream questionShe'elat Halom
A Jewish divination practice seeking prophetic answers through dreamsOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreGiants (esotericism)
Spiritual beings linked to lost continents and root races in occult literatureBeing · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇷🇸 Serbia and 3 moreBožićБожић
A Slavic figure linked to the new year and spring, whose name now marks ChristmasFigure · Luck and prosperity · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreHaunted doll
A doll claimed to be haunted or possessed, often linked to film and urban legend.Belief · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇬🇧 United KingdomCurse of Scotland
A nickname for a playing card linked to bad luck and Scottish historyBelief · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇷 IranPersian mysticism
A spiritual tradition in Iran blending ancient beliefs with Sufi practice and poetic thought.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living
🇾🇪 YemenʿAnāqأناق بنت آدم
A monstrous daughter of Adam in Islamic extra-Quranic traditionFigure · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇭 GhanaAmokye
Guardian of the entrance to Asamando in Akan and Ashanti beliefBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreGold of Tolosa
A legendary treasure hoard seized by Rome and lost to historyBelief · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceDaimonδαίμων
A Greek spirit or divine force that mediates between gods and humansBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptAkhty
A rarely attested ancient Egyptian deity linked to the ibis and the evening horizon.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreGrim Reaper
A hooded skeleton with a scythe, representing death in Western art and story.Figure · Cursing and harm Historical
🇫🇷 FranceLoudun possessionsaffaire des possédées de Loudun
A 17th-century witchcraft trial in France involving alleged demonic possession by Ursuline nuns.Belief · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyAlchemical DoorPorta Alchemica
A Roman gate covered in alchemical symbols and legends of transmutationCharm · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyShe-wolf (Roman mythology)lupa
The mythical wolf that nursed Rome's founders and became the city's enduring symbolFigure · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomTam Lin
A Scottish ballad about a fairy knight rescued by his mortal lover on Hallowe'enFigure · Love and attraction · Cursing and harm Historical
🇨🇦 CanadaOak Island mystery
A centuries-old legend of buried treasure and unexplained engineering on a Canadian island.Belief · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇳 IndiaAbhijñāअभिज्ञा
A set of special insights and powers in Buddhist meditation.Belief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyGli ExperimentiGli Experimenti de la Ex.ma S.r Caterina da Furlj Matre de lo inllux.mo S.r Giouanni de Medici
A 16th-century manuscript of alchemical, medicinal, and cosmetic recipes by Caterina SforzaText · Healing · Power and authority Historical
🇰🇷 South KoreaSeolmundae Halmang설문대할망
A giant creator figure from Jeju Island who shaped the land and its volcanoes.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇱 IsraelPulsa diNuraפולסא דנורא
A Kabbalistic curse invoking destroying angels to block forgiveness and cause deathRite · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇪 IrelandTailteann GamesÁenach Tailteann
Ancient Irish funeral games and assemblies held in County Meath to honor the dead.Rite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreCurse of Ham
A biblical story used to justify slavery and racial discriminationBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreDamnation
A state of divine punishment or separation from the sacred after deathBelief · Cursing and harm Living
🇬🇷 GreeceMoiraiΜοίρες
Greek personifications of destiny who spin, measure, and cut the thread of life.Being · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceSacred mysteriesμυστήριον
Secret ceremonies and divine doctrines held to exceed human reasonBelief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living
🇮🇳 IndiaKhongjomnubi NonggarolKhongchomnupi Nongkalol
A Meitei puya with two stories of transformation and ascent to the sky.Text · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreAirship of Clonmacnoise
A medieval Irish legend of a ship in the sky and its anchorBelief · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇸 IcelandYule catJólakötturinn
A giant feline from Icelandic folklore that threatens those without new Christmas clothesFigure · Cursing and harm Living
🇮🇪 IrelandJack O'The Lantern
An Irish folktale about a deceitful man condemned to wander with a carved lanternFigure · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesZelph
A figure identified by Joseph Smith as a buried warrior in IllinoisFigure · Power and authority Historical
🇯🇵 Japan and 3 moreThoughtography念写
A claimed psychic ability to imprint mental images directly onto photographic film.Belief · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreTelekinesis
A purported psychic ability to move objects with the mind aloneBelief · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreRemote viewing
A claimed psychic ability to perceive distant targets without using the sensesBelief · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇫🇷 France and 4 moreEctoplasm
A substance said to be excreted by mediums during séances, later exposed as common household materials.Substance · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptEgyptian days
Medieval calendar days believed to bring bad luck for new ventures and medical proceduresBelief · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreMaternal impression
A discredited theory that a mother's shock or thoughts can mark her unborn childBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreLock of hair
A piece of human hair kept for symbolic, sentimental, or superstitious reasons.Substance · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreGargoylegargouille
A carved stone waterspout shaped like a creature, used on Gothic buildings to shed rainwaterCharm · Protection · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇸🇪 SwedenSaleby Runestone
A Swedish memorial stone raised by a husband for his wife, featuring an ancient curse.Text · Protection Historical
🇨🇳 ChinaPill of Immortality仙丹
A legendary substance sought by Chinese alchemists to grant eternal lifeSubstance · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇪 IrelandLatoon fairy bush
A whitethorn tree in County Clare saved from a motorway by folkloric warnings of misfortuneBelief · Protection Living
🇩🇪 GermanyBuch der heiligen Dreifaltigkeit
A 15th-century German alchemical treatise that aligns chemical work with Christian theology.Text · Change and initiation Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Zelph: HotWheels53, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mediumship: Harvey Metcalfe, Public domain, source
- Wolves in folklore, religion and mythology: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Order of Nine Angles: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Maryland ritual killings: Fred van der Kraaij, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Giants (esotericism): Athanasius Kircher, Public domain, source
- Haunted doll: Cayobo, CC BY 1.0, source
- Curse of Scotland: James Gillray (died 1815), Public domain, source
- Gold of Tolosa: AchilleT, Public domain, source
- Daimon: François-André Vincent, Public domain, source
- Akhty: Rémih, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Grim Reaper: Jaroslav A. Polák, CC BY 4.0, source
- Loudun possessions: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Alchemical Door: Sailko, CC BY 2.5, source
- Tam Lin: Richard Webb, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Oak Island mystery: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Abhijñā: Gryffindor, Public domain, source
- Gli Experimenti: Mattman723, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tailteann Games: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Curse of Ham: Ксенофонтов Иван Степанович. Ksenofóntov Iván Stepánovich (1817-1875), Public domain, source
- Damnation: Didier Descouens, Public domain, source
- Moirai: John Melhuish Strudwick, Public domain, source
- Sacred mysteries: Johannes Hopffe, Public domain, source
- Airship of Clonmacnoise: Joseph Mischyshyn, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Yule cat: Christine Rondeau, CC BY 2.0, source
- Jack O'The Lantern: Bodrugan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Telekinesis: Strobridge Lithographing Co., Public domain, source
- Egyptian days: Unknown Unknown (Paris scriptorium), Public domain, source
- Lock of hair: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Gargoyle: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Saleby Runestone: Berig, CC BY-SA 3.0, source