All entries

2,212 entries so far, best known first. 3,117 more are on the list to be written. Narrow by region, kind, purpose, practitioner, belief world, occasion or how alive it is.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

RegionSouth Asia Southeast Asia East Asia Central Asia and the Caucasus Middle East North Africa Sub-Saharan Africa Europe North America Latin America and the Caribbean Oceania

KindTradition Rite Charm Oracle Substance Being Figure Text Illusion Belief

PurposeProtection Healing Seeing and foretelling Luck and prosperity Love and attraction Cursing and harm Cleansing and purification Speaking with spirits and the dead Change and initiation Binding and oaths Power and authority Wonder and entertainment

WhoShamans Folk healers Priests and ritual specialists Witches, sorcerers and cunning folk Diviners and readers Mediums and the possessed Ceremonial magicians and alchemists Households and ordinary people Stage magicians Scholars and sceptics

BeliefHindu and Tantric Buddhist Jain Muslim and Sufi Jewish Christian Sikh Zoroastrian Shinto and Taoist Indigenous and shamanic African and Afro-diasporic Pagan and Neopagan Esoteric and occult Folk and village custom Secular and stage Other traditions

OccasionWeddings and betrothal Festivals Birth and childhood Death and remembrance Harvest, farming and weather New year Initiation and coming of age Illness and misfortune Journeys and voyages Everyday use

StandingLiving Revived Fading Historical Legendary Performed

OrderBest known A to Z Newest Living first

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreFengli风狸 / 風狸 A legendary flying mammal from Chinese lore, said to carry a magic wand and resist death.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇵🇾 ParaguayAo Ao A Guarani mythic beast that hunts humans and frightens children in ParaguayBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇺🇸 United StatesSnallygaster A bird-reptile chimera from Maryland folklore, once used to frighten children and later the subject of newspaper hoaxes.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇮🇹 ItalyAnguane Cloven-footed water nymphs from Northern Italian folklore who nurse infants with their backs.Being · Love and attraction · Healing Legendary

🇮🇳 IndiaDawon The lion mount of the goddess Durga in Hindu traditionBeing · Power and authority Legendary 🇷🇴 RomaniaCăpcăun A Romanian ogre with a dog head known for kidnapping children and eating peopleBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇮🇹 ItalyLariosauro A lake monster legend from Lake Como, Italy, born from newspaper hoaxes and misidentified animals.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇸🇾 SyriaOdontotyrannosόδοντοτύραννος A mythical three-horned beast from Alexander the Great's Indian campaignsFigure Legendary 🇷🇺 RussiaMoryanaМоря́на A female sea spirit in Slavic folklore who controls winds and calms stormsBeing · Power and authority Legendary 🇪🇸 SpainMinairó Tiny magical beings from the Pyrenees said to build stone piles and work fields.Being · Power and authority Legendary

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreShuihu水虎 A legendary water creature from Chinese folklore, later adopted into Japanese myth.Being · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreTarand A legendary reindeer-like creature said to change its hair colour like a chameleon.Being · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇨🇳 ChinaXirang息壤 A magical soil in Chinese mythology that expands to control flood watersSubstance · Protection Legendary

🇪🇪 EstoniaThe Dragon of the NorthPõhja konn A legendary frog-like monster from Estonian folklore, later reimagined as a cultural guardian.Figure · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary 🇹🇷 Turkey and 1 moreHortdan A restless spirit of the dead in Turkic folklore, often linked to vampire myths.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇮🇹 ItalySquasc A small, tawny creature from Eastern Lombardy folklore that frightens children and plays jokes on young girlsBeing · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment 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

🇨🇳 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 🇮🇹 ItalyMonacielloMunaciello A Neapolitan sprite linked to the city's underground waterways and hidden wealth.Figure · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇸🇪 SwedenAskafroa A Scandinavian tree spirit believed to guard the ash and demand appeasement.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary 🇲🇱 Mali and 4 moreKonrulQonrul A giant bird of Turkic myth that regenerates and aids heroesBeing · Power and authority Legendary

🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreWitege A Germanic legendary warrior who shifts from loyal companion to traitor in epic poems.Figure · Power and authority Legendary 🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreChuvash dragonВӗрӗҫӗлен A mythological serpent from Chuvash legends that can fly and breathe fire.Being · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇲🇽 MexicoWerejaguar A supernatural figure from Olmec art, blending human and jaguar traits.Being · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary

🇵🇾 ParaguayJasy Jatere A Guaraní spirit of the moon who guards yerba mate and enforces the siestaBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇦🇲 ArmeniaVishapվիշապ A water dragon of Armenian myth linked to storms and the sunBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary 🇲🇽 MexicoTlahuelpuchi A shape-shifting vampire witch from Tlaxcalan Nahua folklore that drains infants.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇬🇧 United KingdomLlamhigyn y Dŵr A winged frog-like creature blamed for harm to fishermen and livestock in Welsh folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm 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 🇮🇩 IndonesiaAbada A two-horned mythical beast from Central African and Southeast Asian loreBeing · Healing · Luck and prosperity Legendary

🇵🇹 PortugalEnchanted Mouramoura encantada A supernatural maiden from Portuguese and Galician folklore who guards treasures and ancient stones.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary 🇮🇪 IrelandGancanaghgean cánach A male Irish fairy known for seducing women and tricking humans.Being · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction Legendary

🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreSea Swine A mythical sea creature depicted with dragon feet and a navel eye in early mapsFigure · Wonder and entertainment 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 🇮🇳 IndiaEcheneis A legendary fish said to hold back ships and influence legal proceedingsBeing · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction Legendary

🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreSupernatural beings in Slavic religion Mythic entities of nature, death, and fate in Slavic folklore and belief.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇷🇺 RussiaAbzar iyesiAbzar іyesi A Turkic courtyard spirit that guards farmsteads and livestockBeing · Protection · Power and authority Legendary 🇨🇳 ChinaShangyang商羊 A mythical Chinese bird that predicts rain by dancing on one legBeing · Seeing and foretelling Legendary 🇯🇵 JapanKinoko木の子 A mountain spirit in Japan that looks like a small child and plays tricks on workers.Being 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 🇮🇳 IndiaBuru A fierce swamp creature from Apatani founding narrativesBeing Legendary 🇳🇿 New ZealandMoehau A New Zealand woodland creature said to be a wild man or an escaped pet.Being Legendary 🇮🇳 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 🇨🇦 CanadaQallupilluitᖃᓪᓗᐱᓪᓗᐃᑦ (Qalupalik) An Inuit water spirit said to snatch children near Arctic iceBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

Odontotyrannos: anonymous, London, England, 14th century, Public domain, source
Fengli: Anonymous (1603), Public domain, source
Supernatural beings in Slavic religion: Bartolomeo Giuliano, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Ao Ao: Cowboymax, CC0, source
Shuihu: Author: b. 1654, Public domain, source
Tarand: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
The Dragon of the North: Ivo Kruusamägi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Nine-headed bird: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Witege: Max Koch, (1859–1930), Public domain, source
Werejaguar: Ruben Charles, ( http://www.rubencharles.com ), CC BY 2.0, source
Sea Swine: Jacob van Maerlant, Public domain, source
Snallygaster: Tripodero, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Anguane: Elena Alexandrina Bednarik, Public domain, source
Jasy Jatere: Patty P, Public domain, source
Vishap: Kulttuurinavigaattori, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Dawon: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Lemminkäinen: Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Public domain, source
Enchanted Moura: Henrique José Teixeira Matos, Public domain, source

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Photo credits on this page

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