Results for "evil"
60 entries found.
- Grand Bazaar and the evil eye Place
- Appalachian folk magic Place
- White and black magic Concept
- Moral panic Concept
- Ayin hara Concept
- Mal de ojo Concept
- Nazar and evil-eye beads Concept
- Mano cornuta and corna Concept
🇹🇷 Turkey and 5 moreEvil eye
A curse caused by an envious look and the charms used to block itBelief · Protection · Cursing and harm Living
🇬🇧 United KingdomEvil eye bead (sample)Nazar boncuğu
A blue glass bead hung to turn aside envy.Charm · Protection Living
🇬🇧 United KingdomJohn Nevil Maskelyne
A Victorian magician who exposed fraud and invented the pay toiletIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesJersey Devil
A legendary creature from South Jersey folklore said to inhabit the Pine Barrens.Being · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇮🇪 IrelandDevil Whale
A giant sea creature mistaken for an island that drags sailors to the deepBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreDevil's Footprints
A 1855 English mystery of hoof-like tracks appearing across snow-covered landscapesBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇸 Iceland and 3 moreDeal with the Devil
A cultural trope of trading one's soul for worldly favours in exchange for demonic aidBelief · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Historical
🇫🇷 France and 4 moreRobert the Devil
A medieval legend of a knight born to Satan who seeks redemptionFigure · Cursing and harm · Change and initiation Legendary
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreChinese dragon龍
A legendary water deity and imperial symbol in East Asian cultureBeing · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreNazar battuनज़र बट्टू / نظر بٹو
A charm or deliberate flaw used in South Asia to ward off the evil eye.Charm · Protection Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreJet
A black gemstone carved into amulets and mourning jewellery for centuriesCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇸🇪 SwedenWitch trials in Denmark
A history of legal executions and local panics against sorcery in early modern Denmark.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇨🇳 ChinaPixiu貔貅
A winged Chinese creature that guards wealth and wards off evil spiritsFigure · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreAdder stone
A naturally perforated stone used as a protective talisman in European folkloreCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreConcealed shoes
Shoes hidden in building structures as folk charms for protection and fertilityCharm · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreWitch bottle
A container filled with personal items and sharp objects to trap harmful magicCharm · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomWitch trials in early modern Scotland
A period of judicial persecution where thousands were executed for alleged sorcery and diabolic pactsBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇵🇾 Paraguay and 3 moreGuarani mythology
The oral traditions of the Tupi-Guarani peoples regarding gods, spirits and creationTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇪🇬 EgyptLucifer
A Latin name for the planet Venus that became an epithet for the Devil in Christian traditionFigure · Cursing and harm Historical
🇷🇺 RussiaBlack magic
Magic traditionally defined by malevolent intent and selfish purposesBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyCornicello
A twisted horn charm worn in Italy to ward off the evil eye and invite luck.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreMyomancy
A divination practice that reads omens in the actions of rats and miceOracle · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreDurga Pujaদুর্গাপূজা
A ten-day autumn festival honouring the goddess Durga and her victory over evil.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreKnocking on wood
A gesture of tapping wood to ward off bad luck or prevent tempting fateBelief · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreHoliहोली
A Hindu spring festival marked by coloured powders and bonfires to celebrate love and virtue.Tradition · Love and attraction · Cursing and harm Living
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreBhairavaभैरव
A fierce manifestation of Shiva and a Buddhist protector deity worshipped across South and East Asia.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Living
🇮🇶 Iraq and 1 morePazuzu𒀭𒅆𒊒𒍪𒍪 (pà.zu.zu)
A Mesopotamian wind demon and protective amulet against child-harming spiritsBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇶 Iraq and 1 moreRabisu
A wind spirit in Akkadian myth sent to correct human transgressionsBeing · Cursing and harm · Cleansing and purification Historical
🇮🇱 IsraelRed stringחוט השני
A scarlet wool bracelet worn to ward off the evil eye and bring good luckCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇩🇪 Germany and 7 moreWalpurgis NightWalpurgisnacht
A spring vigil marking the eve of Saint Walpurga's feast day with bonfires and student festivalsRite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia and 5 moreIslamic exorcismرقية
A rite to expel spirits through Quranic recitation and negotiationRite · Healing · Cleansing and purification Living
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreFaust
A German legend of a scholar who trades his soul for knowledge and pleasureFigure · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇬🇧 United KingdomBoggart
A malevolent household spirit from northern English folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreChurch grim
A guardian spirit of Christian churchyards, often appearing as a black dog or lamb.Being · Protection Historical
🇦🇺 AustraliaMokoi
An evil spirit in Yolngu mythology that kills sorcerers and kidnaps childrenBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇨🇱 Chile and 1 moreCultrunkultrung
A ceremonial drum central to Mapuche spiritual practice and identity in Chile and ArgentinaTradition · Healing · Protection Living
🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreLikhoЛихо
A Slavic spirit of bad luck and misfortune, often depicted as a one-eyed creature.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇷 Iran and 2 moreDivدیو
Monstrous creatures of Persian and West Asian lore, later adapted into Islamic and regional mythologiesBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreEight Immortals八仙
Eight legendary Taoist figures of China, each with a power and a vesselFigure · Protection · Healing Living
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreWitch's mark
A bodily mark believed to prove a pact with the Devil during early modern witch trialsBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreMenshen門神
Guardian figures pasted to doors in Chinese folk religion to protect homes from evil.Belief · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇩 IndonesiaBarongᬩᬭᭀᬂ
A lion-like spirit king of Balinese mythology who battles the witch-queen Rangda in ritual dance.Being · Protection · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreMetamorphosis
A stage illusion where a magician and assistant instantly swap places inside a locked container.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇬🇧 United KingdomWitch ball
A glass sphere hung in windows to trap spirits and ward off evilCharm · Protection Historical
🇳🇴 NorwayVardø witch trials
A major Scandinavian persecution of women accused of sorcery in 17th-century NorwayBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreFig sign
A hand gesture used to ward off the evil eye or as an insult in many culturesBelief · Protection · Cursing and harm Living
🇹🇿 TanzaniaPopobawa
A shapeshifting spirit of Zanzibar blamed for night attacks and mass panicBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇮🇷 Iran and 3 moreIranian folkloreفولکلور ایرانی
The oral legends, heroes, and spirits of Greater IranTradition · Protection · Seeing and foretelling Living
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreSatanism
A modern set of beliefs using the figure of Satan as a symbol or deity.Tradition · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Living
🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 5 moreKukeriкукери
A costumed ritual in Bulgaria to chase away evil spirits and welcome springRite · Protection · Cursing and harm Living
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreDzi beadགཟི། (gzi)
An agate amulet worn in the Himalayas for protection against the evil eye.Charm · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 4 moreBudaቡዳ
An Ethiopian and Eritrean belief in the evil eye and hyena transformationBelief · Cursing and harm · Protection Living
🇯🇵 JapanSetsubun節分
A Japanese seasonal rite to drive away bad luck and welcome spring with roasted beansRite · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the CongoKindoki
A belief in spirit possession that leads to abuse and abandonment in the Congo regionBelief · Cursing and harm Living
🇧🇯 Benin and 2 morePapa Legba
A loa who stands at the crossroads and opens the gate between people and spiritsBeing · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreKolamகோலம்
A daily geometric floor drawing made with rice flour at the home entrance in South IndiaTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreJangseung장승
Wooden or stone poles that guard Korean villages and temples from evil spiritsTradition · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇬🇧 United KingdomBlack Shuck
A ghostly black dog from East Anglia folklore, often seen as a death omen or a terrifying apparition.Belief · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇪🇸 Spain and 6 moreBurning of Judas
An Easter rite where an effigy of the betrayer is destroyed by fire or other meansRite · Cursing and harm · Cleansing and purification Living
🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreSt John's Eve
A Christian vigil marked by bonfires and plant gathering on the summer solstice eveRite · Protection · 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.
- Jersey Devil: Dystopiamatt, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kolam: mckaysavage, CC BY 2.0, source
- Holi: Jitenderasingh, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Robert the Devil: Gustave Doré, Public domain, source
- Rabisu: editor Austen Henry Layard , drawing by L. Gruner, Public domain, source
- Black magic: https://www.flickr.com/photos/eliogarcia/ (nick in flickr:creo que soy, CC BY 2.0, source
- Eight Immortals: Fanghong, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- North Berwick witch trials: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Witch trials in Denmark: Rigsarkivet - Danish National Archives, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Knocking on wood: The White House, Public domain, source
- Setsubun: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Nazar battu: Wiki-uk, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Red string: Mx. Granger, CC0, source
- Walpurgis Night: Luis Ricardo Falero, Public domain, source
- Church grim: Inès Lee, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Boggart: Katolophyromai, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Likho: Mhapon, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Div: Unknown Calligrapher, Public domain, source
- Lucifer: Gustave Doré, Public domain, source
- Witch's mark: T. H. Matteson, Public domain, source
- Menshen: Taiwankengo, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Barong: Michael Gunther, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Witch ball: John W. Schulze, CC BY 2.0, source
- Fig sign: Harald the Bard, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Durga Puja: Subhrajyoti07, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Iranian folklore: Hossein Mirkamali, CC BY 4.0, source
- Satanism: Alexandre Cabanel, Public domain, source
- Kukeri: Nenko Lazarov, CC BY 2.5, source
- Dzi bead: Benjwong, Public domain, source
- Buda: Aberdeen Bestiary, Public domain, source
- Pixiu: Sol lc, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jangseung: Yoshiaki Sano, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Burning of Judas: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Faust: Earthsphere, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Cultrun: Universidad Nacional de La Plata, CC BY 3.0, source
- Bhairava: Saankav, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Adder stone: Ansgar Koreng, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
- Cornicello: Antonio Cavallo, Public domain, source
- Devil Whale: Edmund Dulac, Public domain, source
- Devil's Footprints: John Good, Public domain, source
- Jet: Thmsfrst, Public domain, source
- Deal with the Devil: Christoph, Public domain, source
- Concealed shoes: Edmund Patrick, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Myomancy: Rasbak, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- St John's Eve: Jules Breton, Public domain, source
- Islamic exorcism: Unknown Calligrapher, Public domain, source
- John Nevil Maskelyne: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Witch bottle: British Museum, Daniel Pett, 2004-10-25 15:27:22, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Evil eye: FocalPoint, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chinese dragon: Unknown author, CC0, source