All entries
2,161 entries so far, best known first. 3,219 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
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 3 moreSandpainting
A ritual art of pouring colored sand to create temporary images for healing or spiritual teachingTradition 路 Healing 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚚馃嚘 CanadaNanabozho釗囜搰釔翅敁
A shapeshifting spirit and trickster in Anishinaabe storytelling from North AmericaBeing 路 Cursing and harm 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesNavajo medicine
Traditional healing practices of the Navajo people focused on restoring harmonyTradition 路 Healing 路 Protection Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 5 moreNight hag
A supernatural being believed to sit on sleepers and cause paralysisBeing 路 Cursing and harm Legendary
馃嚠馃嚦 IndiaStreet magic
Public performance of illusions for passersby, from traditional busking to impromptu guerrilla tricksIllusion 路 Wonder and entertainment Living
馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt and 2 moreCups and balls
A classic stage illusion where objects vanish and reappear under inverted coversIllusion 路 Wonder and entertainment Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesThe Long Lost FriendDer lange verborgene Freund
A Pennsylvania German grimoire of folk remedies and magical charms published in 1820.Text 路 Healing 路 Protection Historical
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesSawing a lady in half (sample)
A famous stage effect, described without its method.Illusion 路 Wonder and entertainment Performed
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 2 moreSpiritualism
A nineteenth-century religious movement focused on communicating with the dead.Tradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesBloody Mary
A mirror ritual to summon a spirit that reveals the future or brings harmBelief 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesJersey Devil
A legendary creature from South Jersey folklore said to inhabit the Pine Barrens.Being 路 Wonder and entertainment Legendary
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesCurse of Tippecanoe
An urban legend linking US presidential deaths to election years ending in zero.Belief 路 Cursing and harm Fading
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesKennedy curse
A pattern of tragedies linked to the American Kennedy familyBelief 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚠馃嚦 India and 1 moreNeotantra啶ㄠさ啶むえ啷嵿い啷嵿ぐ (navatantra)
A Western movement blending Tantra with modern views on sacred sexualityTradition 路 Love and attraction 路 Change and initiation Living
馃嚚馃嚘 CanadaSpoon bending
A magic trick and paranormal claim involving the deformation of metal cutleryBelief 路 Wonder and entertainment 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 1 moreBarnstar
A painted or carved star used to decorate barns in parts of the United States and Canada.Charm 路 Luck and prosperity 路 Wonder and entertainment Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 5 moreNeoshamanism
A modern spiritual movement adapting shamanic techniques for Western seekers outside their traditional cultures.Tradition 路 Healing 路 Change and initiation Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesCurse of the Bambino
A sports superstition linking a long championship drought to a player saleBelief 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesBed of nails
A wooden platform studded with nails used in magic acts and physics demonstrationsIllusion 路 Wonder and entertainment Performed
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 2 moreRougarou
A lycanthrope legend from French-speaking communities in North AmericaBeing 路 Cursing and harm Legendary
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesFeri Tradition
An American ecstatic witchcraft tradition founded on the West Coast in the mid-twentieth century.Tradition 路 Power and authority 路 Change and initiation Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 1 moreJinx
A curse or attribute believed to attract bad luckBelief 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 5 moreNeoshamanism
A modern spiritual practice adapting shamanic techniques for Western seekersTradition 路 Healing 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesRed Ghost
A legendary red camel with a skeleton rider from Arizona frontier folkloreFigure 路 Wonder and entertainment Legendary
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 5 moreFriday the 13th
A Western superstition marking a specific calendar date as unluckyBelief 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesExorcism of Roland Doe
A 1940s American case of alleged demonic possession and the exorcisms performed on the boyRite 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesHot foil trick
A stage illusion where foil heats and burns in a volunteer's handIllusion 路 Wonder and entertainment Historical
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 1 moreCurse of 1940
A superstition explaining a long championship drought for the New York RangersBelief 路 Luck and prosperity Historical
馃嚘馃嚭 Australia and 2 moreTheatrical superstitions
Beliefs and rituals among actors to avoid bad luck and ward off spiritsBelief 路 Protection 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 1 moreFinancial astrology
A practice linking planetary positions to stock market trendsBelief 路 Seeing and foretelling 路 Luck and prosperity Fading
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesThe Gray Man
A coastal ghost from South Carolina said to warn of hurricanesBeing 路 Protection Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesLemon pig
A carved fruit figure made for amusement and later linked to New Year luckCharm 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesOinomancy
A divination method that reads the future in wine patterns and sedimentOracle 路 Seeing and foretelling Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesDavid Copperfield's laser illusion
A stage trick where a magician appears to be sliced by a beam of light and reassembled.Illusion 路 Wonder and entertainment Historical
馃嚚馃嚘 CanadaWechuge
A man-eating spirit from Athabaskan legend born of taboo and excessive powerBeing 路 Cursing and harm Legendary
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 5 moreFriday the 13th
A Western superstition that a specific calendar alignment brings misfortuneBelief 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 1 moreBigfoot
A large, hairy humanoid creature of North American folklore and cryptozoologyFigure 路 Wonder and entertainment Legendary
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesMothman
A humanoid cryptid from West Virginia folklore, linked to large birds and a bridge collapse.Being 路 Seeing and foretelling Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 4 moreTooth fairy
A childhood figure who exchanges lost baby teeth for gifts or coins.Figure 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 1 moreNew Thought
A spiritual philosophy linking mental states to physical health and prosperityTradition 路 Healing 路 Luck and prosperity Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 4 moreAMORCAntiquus Mysticusque Ordo Rosae Crucis
A US-based Rosicrucian order with global lodges and a focus on correspondence study.Tradition 路 Change and initiation 路 Power and authority Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 2 moreBlack Hebrew Israelites
A religious movement claiming African Americans are descendants of ancient IsraelitesTradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚝馃嚠 Finland and 1 moreHiisi
A Finnic spirit of sacred places that evolved into a demonic giant in folkloreBeing 路 Cursing and harm 路 Power and authority Historical
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesSkunk ape
A large, hairy humanoid cryptid said to live in Florida swamps and forestsFigure 路 Wonder and entertainment Legendary
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesFive-Percent Nation
A New York movement teaching that Black people are the original gods and earth of civilizationTradition 路 Power and authority 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesGoatman
A goat-human hybrid blamed for dog deaths in Maryland woodsBeing 路 Cursing and harm Legendary
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesLoveland frog
A legendary humanoid creature sighted in Ohio, often linked to urban folklore and local tourism.Figure 路 Wonder and entertainment Legendary
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesAshtar
A channeled extraterrestrial figure central to mid-century American ufology and New Age spiritualityBeing 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Seeing and foretelling Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Jersey Devil: Dystopiamatt, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kennedy curse: Walt Cisco, Dallas Morning News, Public domain, source
- Street magic: Hieronymus Bosch and workshop / Workshop of Hieronymus Bosch / After H, Public domain, source
- Spoon bending: Sgerbic, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Barnstar: Una Smith, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Skunk ape: MikesMegapixels, CC BY 3.0, source
- Bigfoot: Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin, Public domain, source
- Curse of the Bambino: National Photo Company, Public domain, source
- Neoshamanism: Carptrash, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Curse of Tippecanoe: Albert Gallatin Hoit, Public domain, source
- Bed of nails: Herbert Ponting, Public domain, source
- Sandpainting: Mnolf, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Nanabozho: D. Gordon E. Robertson, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Navajo medicine: Edward S. Curtis, Public domain, source
- Night hag: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
- Friday the 13th: Leonardo da Vinci, Public domain, source
- Lemon pig: GenesisNZ, CC0, source
- Curse of 1940: Trophy: Unknown Photo: Alexey Chernyadyev Derivative work: J . delanoy, CC BY 3.0, source
- Spiritualism: Rossington, W. W. and Garrett, J. Ellwood, Public domain, source
- Black Hebrew Israelites: Elvert Barnes, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Mothman: Tim Bertelink, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tooth fairy: Eden, CC BY 2.0, source
- Goatman: Jack Boucher, Public domain, source
- Loveland frog: Tim Bertelink, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ashtar: Evedawn99, Public domain, source
- Rougarou: XxxJohnDoExxxx, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- The Gray Man: Phoebe, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- New Thought: Nyttend, Public domain, source