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

🇮🇳 IndiaPinglak A lion from the Panchatantra whose friendship with a bull is destroyed by cunning advisorsFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇳🇿 New ZealandMoehau A New Zealand woodland creature said to be a wild man or an escaped pet.Being Legendary

🇮🇪 IrelandLúin of CeltcharLúin Celtchair A fiery Irish spear that burned its wielder unless quenched in bloodCharm · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary 🇨🇳 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 🇨🇳 ChinaPanhu盤瓠 A dragon-dog origin myth of the Yao and She peoples in ChinaFigure · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary 🇲🇾 MalaysiaSang Sapurba A legendary ancestor figure in Malay and Minangkabau royal genealogiesFigure · Power and authority 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 🇮🇸 IcelandHjúki and Bil A brother and sister pair from Norse mythology who follow the Moon across the skyFigure 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

🇮🇪 IrelandDevil Whale A giant sea creature mistaken for an island that drags sailors to the deepBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇮🇳 IndiaEcheneis A legendary fish said to hold back ships and influence legal proceedingsBeing · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction 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 🇺🇸 United StatesBeaman Monster A Missouri cryptid said to be a giant ape or wolf-like creature from the early 1900sBeing Legendary 🇳🇿 New ZealandKumi Lizard A legendary reptile from New Zealand folklore, said to be a giant monitor lizard.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 2 moreMama D'Leau A river spirit of the Caribbean islands who protects aquatic life and heals people.Being · Healing · Protection Legendary 🇵🇭 PhilippinesMandurugo A shapeshifting spirit from Philippine folklore that feeds on human bloodBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇦🇺 AustraliaMungoon-Galimangun.gaali A giant goanna from Australian Aboriginal folklore who lost his venom to a black snakeFigure Legendary 🇺🇸 United StatesAlfred Bulltop Stormalong A giant sailor from New England tall tales and sea shantiesFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary 🇨🇴 Colombia and 1 moreLa Bolefuego A fiery apparition from the Llanos that hunts travelers and avoids prayer.Figure · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇬🇷 GreeceAloadaeἈλωάδαι (Aloadai) Twin giants of Thessaly who challenged the gods and built mountains to reach Olympus.Being Legendary 🇮🇪 IrelandSleih beggey Manx fairies and little people of the Isle of ManBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇪🇬 EgyptSoul Collector A mythical figure said to gather, guide, or judge the spirits of those who have passed away.Being · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary 🇷🇺 RussiaMeduzaМедуза A Russian mythic figure with a woman's head and a serpent body, linked to trickery.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇲🇽 MexicoTlanchana A water spirit of the Matlatzinca people, born from an Otomi goddess.Being · Seeing and foretelling Legendary

🇮🇳 IndiaDaityaदैत्याः A race of asuras in Hindu mythology descended from Kashyapa and DitiBeing Legendary

🇬🇧 United KingdomTom Thumb A tiny English folk hero who outwits giants and serves King ArthurFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇦🇹 Austria and 3 moreSalige Frau A blissful Alpine spirit who guides farmers and guards mountain gameFigure · Protection · Healing Legendary

🇨🇳 ChinaInterconnected-arm gibbon通臂猿 A mythical primate with linked arms that can extend one limb by pulling in the other.Figure · Power and authority Legendary 🇮🇪 IrelandDeath coachcóiste bodhar A spectral carriage that signals an unavoidable death in European folkloreBelief · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇬🇷 GreecePolemosΠόλεμος A Greek spirit of war and the personification of conflictBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇨🇾 CyprusPyraustaπυραλλίς A Cypriot mythic insect said to live within fire itselfBeing Legendary

🇬🇧 United KingdomTom Hickathrift A legendary giant-slayer of East Anglian folklore with prodigious strengthFigure Legendary 🇳🇿 New ZealandMaero A wild supernatural people of New Zealand forests and mountainsBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇳🇴 Norway and 1 moreBödvar BjarkiBöðvarr Bjarki A Norse hero who fights as a bear and appears in legends of King Hrolf KrakiFigure · Power and authority Legendary

🇮🇳 India and 2 moreAiravataऐरावत A pristine white mythic elephant that carries the king of gods and controls the rains.Being · Power and authority · Protection Legendary

🇫🇮 FinlandAntero Vipunen A buried giant in Finnish mythology who holds the magic words needed to build a boatFigure · Power and authority Legendary

🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreBalakבָּלָק A biblical king who sought a sorcerer's curse against the IsraelitesFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇬🇱 GreenlandIdlirvirissong A sky spirit who tests the dead with a dance and punishes laughter by disembowelling them.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇺🇸 United StatesBell Witch A Tennessee legend of a shapeshifting spirit that tormented the Bell family in the early nineteenth century.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇬🇧 United KingdomPiers Shonks A legendary knight who slew a dragon and cheated the Devil in HertfordshireFigure · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary

🇬🇷 GreeceEurynomosΕὐρύνομος An ancient Greek underworld spirit said to strip corpses down to bone.Being Legendary

🇷🇸 Serbia and 1 moreVampire pumpkins and watermelons A Balkan folk tale about ground fruit that turns into vampires.Belief · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇯🇵 JapanAzukihakari小豆はかり A Japanese yōkai known only for the sound of red beans rattling in a house.Being Legendary

🇨🇳 China and 2 moreThree-legged crow三足烏 A mythological bird representing the sun in East Asian traditionsFigure · Power and authority · Luck and prosperity Legendary 🇯🇵 JapanŌnyūdō大僧正 A giant monk spirit in Japanese folklore, ranging from helpful helpers to menacing shadows.Being · Cursing and harm · Healing Legendary 🇨🇳 ChinaHuodou祸斗 A fire-spitting dog from southern Chinese folklore that signals disasterBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇨🇳 ChinaNine-Eared Hound九耳犬 A legendary dog from Leizhou Peninsula mythology that predicts prey and discovers the Thunder GodBeing · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Legendary 🇯🇵 JapanMakuragaeshi枕返し A Japanese spirit that flips pillows and turns sleepers upside downBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary

Photo credits on this page

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

Three-legged crow: Jinsha Site Museum. Original author: ancient Shu people., Public domain, source
Antero Vipunen: Schulllz, CC0, source
Hecate: Henryk Siemiradzki, Public domain, source
Devil Whale: Edmund Dulac, Public domain, source
Lúin of Celtchar: Harold Robert Millar, Public domain, source
Aloadae: No machine-readable author provided. Antars~commonswiki assumed (based, Public domain, source
Daitya: Unknown author, CC0, source
Tom Thumb: Leutemann or Offterdinger , photo by Harke, Public domain, source
Salige Frau: various, Public domain, source
Interconnected-arm gibbon: Xuande Emperor, Public domain, source
Tom Hickathrift: John D. Batten, Public domain, source
Bödvar Bjarki: Louis Moe, Public domain, source
Airavata: Unknown, India, Rajasthan, Amber, South Asia, Public domain, source
Balak: Philip De Vere, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Bell Witch: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Piers Shonks: William Blyth Gerish, Public domain, source
Vampire pumpkins and watermelons: The original uploader was Ke4roh at English Wikipedia ., Public domain, source
Nine-Eared Hound: User:Vmenkov, CC BY-SA 3.0, source

All entries

Photo credits on this page

The weekly digest