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
🇫🇷 FranceMargot the fairy
Earthly fairies of Brittany known for dancing, building monuments, and testing human guests.Being · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Historical
🇲🇾 MalaysiaSang Sapurba
A legendary ancestor figure in Malay and Minangkabau royal genealogiesFigure · Power and authority Legendary
🇺🇸 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
🇹🇼 TaiwanMo-sin-a魔神仔
A short, furry forest demon from Taiwanese folklore said to lure travelers into the mountains.Being · Cursing and harm 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
🇰🇷 South KoreaSuunism수운교
A Korean ethnic religion focused on the Great Jade Emperor of Heaven and spiritual reconnection.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Living
🇺🇸 United StatesLava bear
A small bear from Oregon's lava beds once thought to be a unique speciesFigure Historical
🇷🇺 RussiaAbzar iyesiAbzar іyesi
A Turkic courtyard spirit that guards farmsteads and livestockBeing · Protection · Power and authority Legendary
🇵🇹 Portugal and 1 moreCabra cabriola
A fire-breathing goat bogeyman used to frighten children in Portuguese and Brazilian folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm Living
🇪🇬 EgyptPrima materia
The formless base of all matter in alchemyText · Change and initiation Historical
🇸🇪 SwedenYsätters-Kajsa
A wind-troll from Swedish folklore who danced with the gales of NärkeFigure · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreScyllaΣκύλλα
A sea monster from Greek tales who guards a perilous passage and devours sailors.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇻🇳 VietnamNghêNghê (猊)
A mythical guardian creature in Vietnamese architecture and art, blending lion and dog traitsFigure · Protection Historical
🇪🇸 SpainXana
A water spirit of Asturian myth who offers treasures or madness to those who hear her song.Being · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇸🇻 El SalvadorChasca
A spirit of the water in Salvadoran folklore who blesses respectful fishermenFigure · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇺🇸 United StatesHail Satan
A Satanic exclamation used as ritual greeting, rebel cry, and pop-culture punchlineBelief · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Living
🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreChink-a-chink
A close-up coin trick where objects appear to jump between locations until gathered togetherIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇿🇦 South AfricaAmadlozi
Ancestors of the Nguni people who guide and protect their descendantsBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka and 1 moreSanni Yakumaසන්නි යකුම
A traditional Sinhalese exorcism ritual featuring eighteen masked dances to banish illness-causing demons.Rite · Healing · Cursing and harm Living
🇲🇽 MexicoEntheogenics and the Maya
Hallucinogenic substances used by the Maya for spiritual rituals and healingTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Healing Historical
🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreVerliokaВерлиока
A cross-eyed monster from East Slavic folk talesFigure · Cursing and harm Historical
🇨🇳 ChinaAo鰲
A colossal sea turtle of Chinese myth whose legs support the skyBeing · Protection · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 1 moreIspolinисполин
A legendary giant from Bulgarian folklore, said to be the second generation of Earth's inhabitants.Figure Legendary
🇫🇯 FijiFlaming Teeth
A giant from Fijian myth whose burning teeth brought fire to humanityFigure · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇺🇸 United StatesBeaman Monster
A Missouri cryptid said to be a giant ape or wolf-like creature from the early 1900sBeing Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanTaka-Onna高女
A Japanese yokai of a tall woman said to spy on brothels from above.Being · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇷🇺 RussiaAiyАйыы (Ayıı)
Benevolent spirits of the Upper World in Yakut mythologyBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇨🇾 CyprusPyraustaπυραλλίς
A Cypriot mythic insect said to live within fire itselfBeing Legendary
🇫🇮 FinlandEtiäinen
A Finnish belief in a premonitory apparition that precedes a person's arrivalBelief · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreYom Hillulaיום הילולא
A joyous death anniversary for a saint in Jewish traditionRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇸🇪 Sweden and 1 moreStalloStállu
A large, clumsy creature from Sámi folklore that eats people and is often outwitted by humans.Being · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇯🇵 JapanShinigami死神
A Japanese spirit or deity associated with inviting humans toward deathBeing · Cursing and harm Historical
🇫🇮 Finland and 2 moreSaint Knut's Daytjugondag jul; nuutinpäivä
A January festival ending the Christmas season with tree removal and traditional visits.Rite · Cleansing and purification Living
🇨🇦 CanadaPinga
An Inuit goddess of the hunt and medicine who oversees caribou herds and souls.Being · Healing · Cursing and harm Historical
🇯🇵 JapanUmi zatō海座頭
A sea yōkai depicted as a giant blind musician that threatens shipsBeing · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇪 IrelandAbhean
A Tuatha Dé Danann poet said to have been killed in a disputeFigure Legendary
🇵🇭 Philippines and 3 moreMy Way killings
Fatal disputes in the Philippines sparked by singing Frank Sinatra's song at karaoke barsBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇯🇵 JapanShidaidaka次第高
A tall spirit in Japan that grows when you look up and shrinks when you look down.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanKuzunoha葛の葉
A kitsune spirit and mother of the famous onmyōji Abe no Seimei in Japanese folkloreFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇨🇳 ChinaLute
A sealing paste for alchemical vessels and a joining technique in potterySubstance · Protection · Power and authority Historical
🇦🇺 Australia and 1 moreVoldemort effect
A social pattern where naming a fear or problem makes it seem more powerfulBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇪 Ireland and 3 moreFairy path
An invisible route used by fairies, often straight and connecting sacred sitesBelief · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomCaoineag
A Highland spirit whose night cries signal impending death for a specific family lineBeing · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesShamanism among Alaska Natives
Traditional spiritual practices of Indigenous peoples in AlaskaTradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Fading
🇧🇷 Brazil and 2 moreCaiporaCaapora
A Brazilian forest spirit that guards game and tests hunters with bribes or terrorBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Living
🇩🇿 AlgeriaWezeeaوَزِيعَة
A Kabyle custom of communal slaughter and meat sharing for social solidarityRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Living
🇫🇮 FinlandAntero Vipunen
A buried giant in Finnish mythology who holds the magic words needed to build a boatFigure · Power and authority Legendary
🇷🇺 RussiaYhyakhЫһыах
A summer solstice festival of the Sakha people marking the new year and nature's returnTradition · Luck and prosperity · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Yhyakh: Humano92, Public domain, source
- Antero Vipunen: Schulllz, CC0, source
- Fairy path: Aviddoghug at English Wikipedia ( Original text: David Gough ), Public domain, source
- Shinigami: 日: Jnn, CC BY 2.1 jp, source
- Stallo: John Bauer, Public domain, source
- Yom Hillula: Jonathan Stein, Public domain, source
- Ao: David Jackson, CC BY-SA 2.0 uk, source
- Xana: John William Waterhouse, Public domain, source
- Nghê: Phương Huy, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Scylla: Unknown artist, Public domain, source
- Changeling: Henry Fuseli, Public domain, source
- Xtabay: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Lava bear: Guy M. Ingram, Public domain, source
- Chink-a-chink: Niklaus Gerber, CC BY 3.0, source
- Hail Satan: Paul Sableman, CC BY 2.0, source
- Sanni Yakuma: Michael Gunther, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ispolin: Joshua Davis, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Shidaidaka: by Reggaeman, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kuzunoha: Print artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi (歌川国芳) Print artist: Utagawa Hiroshige, Public domain, source
- Lute: Gremelm, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Voldemort effect: Shayan Barjesteh van Waalwijk van Doorn, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Shamanism among Alaska Natives: Balkanian`s word, Public domain, source