A duppy is a type of ghost or spirit native to Jamaican folklore. Duppies, while ghosts, have much in common with European shapeshifters and roadside tricksters. They have a physical body, like to hide in dark places to then jump on their unsuspecting victims, like to play tricks on people. However, instead of crossroads and woods, Jamaican duppies preferred to hide in bamboo thickets and cottonwood groves, as many of them also feed on bamboo.

Duppies are nocturnal beings, appearing from se...

The Furry Hand (La Mano Peluda, which can also be translated as the Hairy Hand) is a Latin American legend, better known in South America, particularly, Colombia.

This legend is used to scare children into staying in their bed after the lights are off. However, not even in your bed at home were you safe, because The Furry Hand was always there just waiting for you to step out of bed after bedtime.

Legend has it, originally the hand had belonged to a man who was killed during the inquisition for p...

Onryō (vengeful spirit, sometimes translated as wrathful spirit) are extremely malevolent and bloodthirsty spirits. However, they have a set goal and –usually— will only harm those who have wronged them. Nonetheless, some  powerful and angry Onryōs linger and continue hurting people even after they have achieved their revenge.

There are many examples of Onryō vengeance. One of them is the story of a samurai who promised his dying wife that he would never remarry. He...

In Japanese folklore, the Nyoijizai is a spirit that has the ability to scratch that itchy spot on your back which you can't just seem to reach, no matter how hard you try. Its name, Nyoijizai, is a pun meaning both “free staff” and “exactly as you please.”

Nyoijizai is a kind of priest’s staff (a bit like a wizard staff) that has turned into a yokai (or supernatural monster) after serving its master (the priest) for many many years.

It bears a very strong resemblance to a mago-no-te, a backscratc...

A representative of Swedish folklore, the Tomte is a well known character in Scandinavia.

The Swedish word Tomte roughly corresponds to gnome or elf.

The Tomte is small, about the size of a seven-year-old boy, has a long grey snowy beard and an old wrinkled face. He wears grey clothes and a pointed red hat, and lives on haylofts and barns, looking after the farm and the animals. Tomtes are shy and often move invisible but it is of utmost importance to treat the Tomte well. If so, he will help the...

In Norse mythology, the Nisse are mischievous domestic sprites responsible for the protection and welfare of the farmstead and its buildings.

Similar to the Tomte of Sweden and the Brownies of Great Britain, the Nisse is a small boy or a small man dressed in gray clothes and a red cap; the crown of his head remains always moist, and his hands lack thumbs. Lingering about the farmsteads, he makes himself most useful so long as he is well treated; but if he takes umbrage at his hosts, he is capabl...

A völva or volva, from the Old Norse and Icelandic respectively, sometimes anglicized vala, is a female shaman and seer in Norse tradition and a recurring motif in Norse mythology, as shown in the following extract from the Snorri Sturluson (Old Norse work of literature written in Iceland in the early 13th century), Prose Edda

“Then came the völva Gróa there, wife of Aurvandil the Bold, and she sang her spells over Thor until the piece of stone loosened from his flesh. After Thor noticed this, he...

Brownies are supernatural beings, dwarf-like in stature but powerfully built, that can be found on the moors or with a particular family. Brownies are vitally important to the Celtic folklore and the Scottish people, and also relevant in English folklore.

Harmless but often mischievous, they tend to amuse themselves by hurling stones at homes and engaging in other ghostly behavior. Although they are by nature troublemakers, their presence is a sign of good fortune and their withdrawal is an omen...

In Mexican folklore, Chaneque or Chanekeh are legendary creatures associated with elemental forces and particular places. These creatures were first described by the Aztec (i.e., Ohuican Chaneque). Mentions of these creatures are common within the Mexica Mythology, while in Mayan folkloric tradition (Yucatán Peninsula), these elementals are known as Aluxob.

Traditionally, they are conceived as small, sprite-like beings, elemental forces, and guardians of nature. However, nowadays, Chaneque are mo...

The boggart is a household spirit or hobgoblin (i.e., mischievous imp) of the English Folklore that can take numerous forms. The form it chooses depends of his mischievous intentions, however, whichever form they take, it is only rarely that they materialize, and therefore only specific boggarts will have a description.

Two rules of thumb –to remember if one suspects to be in the presence of a boggart— are never to up set a boggart, and to be specially weary of boggarts that can take human shape,...