All entries
2,261 entries so far, best known first. 3,022 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
🇦🇲 ArmeniaVishapվիշապ
A water dragon of Armenian myth linked to storms and the sunBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇸🇪 SwedenRå
Guardian spirits of nature in Scandinavian folkloreBeing · Protection Legendary
🇷🇺 RussiaPitsen
A shapeshifting forest spirit of the Siberian Tatars that brings luck or leads travelers astrayBeing · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇨🇳 China and 4 moreHuoshu火鼠
A legendary fire-resistant rat from Chinese folklore said to yield self-cleaning cloth.Being · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreWitege
A Germanic legendary warrior who shifts from loyal companion to traitor in epic poems.Figure · Power and authority 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
🇵🇾 ParaguayJasy Jatere
A Guaraní spirit of the moon who guards yerba mate and enforces the siestaBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity 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
🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreChuvash dragonВӗрӗҫӗлен
A mythological serpent from Chuvash legends that can fly and breathe fire.Being · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇫🇷 FranceYan-gant-y-tan
A Breton demon who carries five candles and is said to bring bad luck.Being · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇨🇳 ChinaBenzhuism本主教
The indigenous patron worship of the Bai people in Yunnan, ChinaTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇨🇳 ChinaNine-headed bird九頭鳥
A mythical creature from ancient China that became a symbol of deceit.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanOsakabehime刑部姫
A yōkai spirit said to inhabit Himeji Castle and reveal its fate.Being · Seeing and foretelling Legendary
🇮🇪 IrelandGancanaghgean cánach
A male Irish fairy known for seducing women and tricking humans.Being · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction Legendary
🇷🇺 RussiaAbzar iyesiAbzar іyesi
A Turkic courtyard spirit that guards farmsteads and livestockBeing · Protection · Power and authority Legendary
🇨🇦 CanadaQallupilluitᖃᓪᓗᐱᓪᓗᐃᑦ (Qalupalik)
An Inuit water spirit said to snatch children near Arctic iceBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇫🇮 Finland and 2 moreHaltija
A supernatural guardian of a specific place or animal species in Finnish and Baltic Finnic mythologyBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇲🇾 MalaysiaSang Sapurba
A legendary ancestor figure in Malay and Minangkabau royal genealogiesFigure · Power and authority Legendary
🇸🇧 Solomon IslandsAdaro
Ghosts and elemental spirits from Makira island in the Solomon IslandsBeing · Cursing and harm Historical
🇨🇳 ChinaShangyang商羊
A mythical Chinese bird that predicts rain by dancing on one legBeing · Seeing and foretelling Legendary
🇺🇸 United StatesLava bear
A small bear from Oregon's lava beds once thought to be a unique speciesFigure Historical
🇲🇲 MyanmarMythical creatures in Burmese folklore
A collection of spirits, beasts and hybrids from Myanmar's stories and playsBeing · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇫🇷 FranceMargot the fairy
Earthly fairies of Brittany known for dancing, building monuments, and testing human guests.Being · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇳 IndiaEcheneis
A legendary fish said to hold back ships and influence legal proceedingsBeing · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction Legendary
🇵🇭 PhilippinesTiyanak
A vampiric creature in Philippine mythology that mimics a baby to lure travelers.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇩 IndonesiaBarongᬩᬭᭀᬂ
A lion-like spirit king of Bali who battles the witch queen Rangda in dance and mythBeing · Protection Living
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreFengxi封豨
A two-headed boar monster and ancient rain deity from Chinese mythBeing · Cursing and harm · Seeing and foretelling Legendary
🇮🇪 IrelandLeabharcham
A nurse in the Ulster Cycle who raised Deirdre and delivered a tragic verdictFigure Legendary
🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreNew IsraelНовый Израиль
A Russian sectarian movement that established a farming commune in UruguayTradition Living
🇨🇳 ChinaPixiu貔貅
A winged lion-like creature from Chinese lore that guards wealth and wards off evil spirits.Being · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇳 IndiaPinglak
A lion from the Panchatantra whose friendship with a bull is destroyed by cunning advisorsFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇨🇱 Chile and 1 moreCuerotrülke wekufü
An aquatic creature from Mapuche and Chilote myth that drags victims into the depths.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreDokkaebi도깨비
A one-legged supernatural being from Korean folklore, often linked to household objects and magical items.Being · Wonder and entertainment · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇭🇺 Hungary and 1 moreSárkány
A winged reptilian beast from Hungarian folklore, linked to weather and literary heroes.Being · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇳🇴 NorwayDeildegast
A Norwegian ghost bound to boundary stones it moved in lifeBeing · Cursing and harm Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesBall-tailed cat
A North American fearsome critter with a heavy ball on its tail for striking preyBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇨🇳 ChinaPanhu盤瓠
A dragon-dog origin myth of the Yao and She peoples in ChinaFigure · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary
🇳🇿 New ZealandMoehau
A New Zealand woodland creature said to be a wild man or an escaped pet.Being Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanSakabashira逆柱
A reversed wooden pillar in Japanese folk belief, said to cause misfortune or ward off disasterBelief · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomPearlin Jean
A Scottish ghost said to haunt the ruins of Allanbank estate in BerwickshireBeing · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesKushtakaKóoshdaa káa
A shape-shifting creature from Tlingit mythology that can appear as an otter or human.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreKakuen玃猿 (Jué yuán)
A legendary ape-like creature from Chinese and Japanese folklore known for abducting humans.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇵🇹 Portugal and 1 moreCabra cabriola
A fire-breathing goat bogeyman used to frighten children in Portuguese and Brazilian folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm Living
🇮🇸 IcelandHjúki and Bil
A brother and sister pair from Norse mythology who follow the Moon across the skyFigure Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanShichinin misaki七人ミサキ
A group of seven vengeful ghosts from Japan that appear near water and kill those who see them.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇪 IrelandLúin of CeltcharLúin Celtchair
A fiery Irish spear that burned its wielder unless quenched in bloodCharm · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary
🇱🇨 Saint Lucia and 1 moreKélé
An Afro-Saint Lucian faith rooted in Yoruba traditions and secret practiceTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇵🇭 Philippines and 1 moreTaotao Monataotaomo'na
Ancestral spirits of the Mariana Islands who guard wild places and influence daily lifeBeing · 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.
- Changeling: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
- Lava bear: Guy M. Ingram, Public domain, source
- Scrofa semilanuta: M.casanova, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yan-gant-y-tan: Louis Le Breton, Public domain, source
- Benzhuism: G41rn8, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nine-headed bird: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Witege: Max Koch, (1859–1930), Public domain, source
- Mythical creatures in Burmese folklore: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Lúin of Celtchar: Harold Robert Millar, Public domain, source
- Barong: Skha, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pixiu: N509FZ, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sárkány: Albrecht Dürer, Public domain, source
- Jasy Jatere: Patty P, Public domain, source
- Vishap: Kulttuurinavigaattori, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lemminkäinen: Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Public domain, source
- Ball-tailed cat: Fearsome Critters, Written by Henry H. Tryon • Illustrated by Margaret, CC0, source
- Sakabashira: Unknown author, Public domain, source