Historical practices

Documented in the past; no continuous living tradition today.

Living
Revived
Fading
Historical
Legendary
Performed

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

OrderBest known A to Z Newest Living first

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreVault protector coin鎮庫錢 (zhèn kù qián) Large Chinese numismatic charms cast to guard mint treasuries and attract wealth.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇰🇷 South KoreaDongti동티 Divine punishment in Korean mythology, often manifesting as sudden illness or death.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇯🇵 JapanNurikabe塗り壁 A spirit that manifests as an invisible wall to block travelers at nightBeing · Cursing and harm Historical

🇯🇵 JapanAosaginohi青鷺火 A Japanese will-o'-the-wisp attributed to the glowing flight of herons at nightBelief · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreMogwai魔鬼 A Chinese term for demons and evil spirits, borrowed from Sanskrit lore through Buddhism.Being · Cursing and harm Historical

🇯🇵 JapanUwanうわん A Japanese yōkai with an unknown identity and a loud voiceBeing Historical

🇯🇵 JapanAkuma悪魔（あくま） An evil spirit in Japanese folklore, later used for Satan in ChristianityBeing · Cursing and harm Historical

🇰🇷 South KoreaKorean virgin ghost처녀귀신 (cheonyeo-gwisin) A spirit of an unmarried woman who died with resentment in Korean folklore.Being · Cursing and harm · Binding and oaths Historical

🇯🇵 JapanSakabashira逆柱 A reversed wooden pillar in Japanese folk belief, said to cause misfortune or ward off disasterBelief · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical

🇨🇳 ChinaShi尸 A living descendant who sat in place of a dead ancestor during ancient Chinese ritualsRite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇯🇵 JapanTōfu-kozō豆腐小僧 A Japanese yōkai depicted as a child carrying a tray of tofu, popular in Edo period literature.Being · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇯🇵 JapanDatsue-ba奪衣婆 A Japanese underworld figure who strips clothes from spirits at the river of deathBeing · Cursing and harm Historical 🇨🇳 ChinaChinese sorcery scares A series of moral panics in Imperial China driven by fears of magical harm and hair cuttingBelief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical

🇯🇵 JapanDaigensuihō大元帥法 An Esoteric Shingon Buddhist rite for military defense and cursing enemiesRite · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical 🇯🇵 JapanAyakashi妖 Water spirits and ghost lights in Japanese folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇯🇵 JapanKyōka Hyaku Monogatari狂歌百物語 An 1853 Japanese picture book pairing yōkai illustrations with humorous kyōka poetryText · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreVerliokaВерлиока A cross-eyed monster from East Slavic folk talesFigure · Cursing and harm Historical 🇰🇷 South KoreaSeolmundae Halmang설문대할망 A giant creator figure from Jeju Island who shaped the land and its volcanoes.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇯🇵 JapanHashihime橋姫 A Japanese bridge spirit linked to jealousy and demonic transformation in folklore and Noh theatre.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical 🇯🇵 Japan and 3 moreThoughtography念写 A claimed psychic ability to imprint mental images directly onto photographic film.Belief · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇨🇳 ChinaPill of Immortality仙丹 A legendary substance sought by Chinese alchemists to grant eternal lifeSubstance · Power and authority Historical 🇯🇵 JapanTosa Obake Zōshi土佐お化け草紙 An Edo-period illustrated scroll of yōkai tales from Tosa ProvinceText · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇯🇵 JapanShinigami死神 A Japanese spirit or deity associated with inviting humans toward deathBeing · Cursing and harm Historical 🇯🇵 JapanYosuzume夜雀 A Japanese mountain spirit that appears as a bird or butterfly and signals the presence of wolves.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical 🇯🇵 JapanUmi zatō海座頭 A sea yōkai depicted as a giant blind musician that threatens shipsBeing · Cursing and harm Historical

🇯🇵 JapanKamikiri髪切り A Japanese yōkai blamed for the sudden disappearance of human hairBeing · Cursing and harm Historical 🇨🇳 ChinaChinese creation myths A collection of ancient Chinese stories explaining how the universe and humanity beganBelief · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇨🇳 ChinaMien shiang面相 A Chinese practice of reading character and fate through facial featuresBelief · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Historical

🇨🇳 ChinaReligion of the Shang dynasty The spiritual system of ancient China's second dynasty, centred on ancestor worship and oracle bone divination.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇯🇵 JapanYamajijii山爺 A one-eyed mountain spirit from Shikoku folklore known for its thunderous voice and unpredictable nature.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical 🇨🇳 ChinaKing Wen sequence文王卦序 The oldest arrangement of the sixty-four hexagrams in the I ChingText · Seeing and foretelling Historical 🇯🇵 JapanTaka-Onna高女 A Japanese yokai of a tall woman said to spy on brothels from above.Being · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇨🇳 ChinaLute A sealing paste for alchemical vessels and a joining technique in potterySubstance · Protection · Power and authority Historical

🇯🇵 JapanGoryō御霊 A Japanese belief in appeasing vengeful spirits through Shinto shrinesBelief · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇯🇵 JapanJanjanbiじゃんじゃん火 Atmospheric ghost lights from Nara Prefecture, said to be the spirits of lovers or a wronged commander.Belief Historical 🇯🇵 JapanHōko這子 A Japanese soft doll used as a protective talisman for mothers and childrenCharm · Protection Historical 🇯🇵 JapanNoderabō野寺坊 A Japanese yōkai of abandoned temples and broken vowsBeing · Cursing and harm Historical 🇯🇵 JapanShiranui不知火 Atmospheric ghost lights of the Yatsushiro and Ariake Seas in JapanBelief · Wonder and entertainment · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇨🇳 China and 1 moreLegend of the White Snake白蛇傳 A Chinese folktale about a snake spirit who becomes human to love a mortal manFigure · Love and attraction · Cursing and harm Historical

Photo credits on this page

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

Vault protector coin: 风之清扬, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Aosaginohi: Koikawa Harumachi ja:恋川春町 (1744-1789), Public domain, source
Obake: Utagawa Kunisada (歌川国貞), Public domain, source
Korean virgin ghost: 국립국어원, CC BY-SA 2.0 kr, source
Shinigami: 日: Jnn, CC BY 2.1 jp, source
Datsue-ba: Fred Cherrygarden, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Nurikabe: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
Uwan: Sawaki Sūshi (佐脇嵩之, Japanase, *1707, †1772), Public domain, source
Mogwai: Gisling, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Daigensuihō: Kamakura-period artist; photo by Kudo Risaburo (工藤利三郎), Public domain, source
Kamikiri: Sawaki Suushi (佐脇嵩之, Japanese, *1707, †1772), Public domain, source
Religion of the Shang dynasty: Unknown author, CC0, source
Lute: Gremelm, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Goryō: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839–1892), Public domain, source
Shi: Jason Zou, Public domain, source
Legend of the White Snake: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Sakabashira: Unknown author, Public domain, source

Historical practices

Photo credits on this page

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