Spirits

Nian is the monster in a popular Chinese New Year origin tale. It is said to attack a village at the turn of the year and to fear red color, bright light, and loud noise. The story is popular today, but claims of a single ancient origin are hard to document. Nian in the surviving […]

A vetala is a spirit in South Asian literature that inhabits or animates a corpse. It is not a direct equivalent of the European vampire, and blood-drinking is not its defining feature. Vetala in the surviving tradition The best-known cycle is the Vetala Panchavimshati, or Twenty-Five Tales of the Vetala. King Vikramaditya repeatedly takes a

Onryō are vengeful spirits in Japanese religious history, literature, theater, and folklore. The term is associated with dead people whose anger or mistreatment is believed to bring calamity to the living. Onryō in the surviving tradition Early court traditions linked epidemics, storms, political disorder, and sudden death with powerful spirits. Ritual, memorialization, promotion in rank,

La Llorona, the Weeping Woman, is a widespread legend in Mexico, the United States, and other parts of Latin America. The story has many local versions and no single proven origin or real historical woman. La Llorona in the surviving tradition A common form tells of a mother who loses or kills her children and

Tokoloshe, also spelled tikoloshe, is a Southern African supernatural figure found especially in Zulu- and Xhosa-language traditions. Accounts vary, and describing it simply as an evil water spirit is misleading. The tokoloshe in the surviving tradition Stories may present the tokoloshe as a small, hairy, humanlike being, a witch’s familiar, a dangerous night visitor, or

The domovoi is a household spirit in East Slavic folklore. It is linked with the home, family continuity, livestock, and domestic order. Stories can make it protective, irritable, or dangerous when neglected. The domovoi in the surviving tradition The spirit is often imagined as an old, hairy man, sometimes resembling the male head of the

Yuki-onna, meaning snow woman, is a Japanese supernatural figure associated with winter weather. Regional stories give her different names, origins, and behavior. She is not a single national goddess of ice. Yuki-onna in the surviving tradition Some tales describe a pale woman who appears during snowstorms and kills travelers by freezing them or taking their

The dullahan is a headless supernatural rider in Irish folklore. Modern summaries often give it a single set of rules, but the surviving tradition includes variation in vehicle, appearance, actions, and name. The dullahan in the surviving tradition The figure may ride a black horse or drive a coach and carry its own head. Stories

The Gorgons are female figures in Greek myth whose gaze or severed head can turn viewers to stone. Hesiod names three sisters: Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa. Only Medusa is mortal. The Gorgons in the surviving tradition In the standard quest narrative, King Polydectes sends Perseus to obtain Medusa’s head. Athena and Hermes help him, and

The púca is a shape-changing being in Irish folklore, with related forms in other Gaelic and Celtic-language traditions. English spellings include pooka and phouka. Stories make it troublesome, helpful, frightening, or all three. The púca in the surviving tradition The púca often appears as a dark horse and carries a rider on a wild nighttime