Resources · Creatures, spirits & other beings
Folklore Dictionary
Meet the beings of folklore: explore their names, descriptions and associated traditions, from familiar creatures to less familiar inhabitants of the otherworld.
1,598 reference entries · Browse A–Z or explore by place
Explore by place
Creature coverage
Zoom or move the map, then choose “Filter to this area” to list creatures with a tradition location in that view. You can combine this with a character family or a search term.
Creatures associated with a tradition
36 creatures at 65 tradition locations · 34 without tradition coordinates
Markers use tradition coordinates linked through source names, recorded aliases, language groups or reviewed associations. Language-group links show cultural context, rather than verified creature occurrences in every tradition. Creatures sharing a location are grouped; select a marker to see their names. Counts cover all matching entries across every results page.
Use the location filter or the list below to browse associated places.
Browse associated places without the map
- Ancient Egypt, Egyptian (1)
- Ancient Greece (4)
- Basques (2)
- Bosnia Muslims (1)
- Bosnians (1)
- Bulgarians, Balkarians (1)
- Byelarusians, Belarusians (1)
- China (2)
- Croatians, Croats; Italians of Dalmatia (if the motif is absent among other Italians) (1)
- Czech, Czechs (1)
- Danes, Danish (3)
- Dutch, Flemish (1)
- Early Russian written sources (1)
- Eastern Ukrainians (1)
- Egypt (1)
- England (3)
- England, British, Bretons (4)
- Faroe Islands (3)
- Five Nations Iroquois (Seneca, Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga) (1)
- France (1)
- France (1)
- Frisians (1)
- Germans: North (Low- and Central German dialects): Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg, Pommern, Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony, incl East Frisia and Oldenburg), Nordrhein-Westfalen, Hessen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Thüringen, Saxony-Anhalt, Sachsen, Brandenburg, Rügen (1)
- Germans: Northeast (Brandenburg, Meklenburg, Rügen, Pommern, Silesia, Posen) (1)
- Germans: South (Upper German dialects): Alsace (Elsass), Baden-Württemberg, Bawaria, Swabia, Switzerland, Bohemia, Sudeten, Austria (1)
- Germans – Southwest: Alsace (Elsass), Baden-Württemberg, Swabia, Switzerland (1)
- Greece (4)
- Greeks (modern), Balkarians (4)
- Greeks of Cyprus (4)
- Hittite, Hurrit (1)
- Icelanders (3)
- Iranian literary tradition (including Avesta, Pahlevi scripts, Sah-nameh, Marzban-nameh); Zoroastrians of Iran, Indian Parsees, Zoroastrianism (1)
- Ireland (1)
- Ireland (1)
- Japan (5)
- Japan (5)
- Japan AD 700-1700 (5)
- Japanese folklore outside of Ryukyu (5)
- Kashubians (1)
- Korea (1)
- Koreans (1)
- Macedonians, Balkarians (1)
- Mapuche (1)
- Nepal (1)
- Nepali; Tharu (1)
- Northern Ryukyu Islands (with southern Kyusyu in case of absence across the rest of Japan (5)
- Northern Ukrainians (1)
- Norwegians (3)
- People's Republic of China (2)
- Poles (1)
- Russia (2)
- Russian Federation (2)
- Russian Pomors ("seasiders"): Lower Pechora (1)
- Russian Pomors ('seasiders'): Terski Coast (Murmansk province) (1)
- Russian Pomors (“seasiders): Arkhangelsk province without its southern part (Shengur district and Konosha dstrict), Karelia White Sea coast (1)
- Russians: Central part of ethnic territory as in A.D. 1500 (Tver, Yaroslavl, Moscow, Kostroma, Vladimir, Ivanovo, Nizhny Novgorod, Ryazan, Tula, Kaluga, Smolensk provinces; in case of absence in other areas also Russians in Vyatka, Perm, Kazan provinces) (1)
- Russians: Novgorod and Pskov provinces (1)
- Russians: Olonets province/SE Karelia, Shengur district of Arkhangelsk province (1)
- Russians: Southern part of ethnic territory as in A.D. 1500 (Belgorod, Voronezh, Tambov, Penza, Lipetsk, Orel, Kursk, Bryansk provinces; in case of absence in other areas also Russians in Samara, Simbirsk and Saratov provinces) (1)
- Russians: Vologda province (incl. Belozersk, Kirillov and Cherepovets districts of form. Novgorod Province) (1)
- Rusyns, Hutsuls (1)
- Scandinavia (1)
- Scandinavians: early written sources ("Edda"; Saxo Grammaticus etc.); Gothland picture stones; Ancient Germans (Late Bronze Age in Scandinavia) (3)
- Scotland, Scots, Picts, Scotti, Scottish (4)
- Serbs, Monte Negro, Balkarians (1)
- Slovakians, Slovaks (1)
- Slovenians, Slovenes (1)
- Sorbians (Luzhitsa Serbs) (1)
- South Africa (1)
- South Africa (1)
- Southern and Central; Ryukyu Islands: Yaeyama, Miyako, Okinawa (5)
- Swedes (3)
- Terek Cossacks (1)
- Transylvanian Saksons (1)
- Wales (2)
- Western Ukrainians (1)
Browse the dictionary
70 matching entries
| Creature | Tradition | Description | Map locations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold-digging antGiants, monsters and fabulous creatures (suggested) | Medieval Bestiaries | Dog-sized ant that digs for gold in sandy areas | — |
| GoldhornGiants, monsters and fabulous creatures (suggested) | Not specified | A description has not yet been recorded. | — |
| GolemPersonified nature and animated objects (suggested) | Jewish | Animated construct | — |
| GorgadesGiants, monsters and fabulous creatures (suggested) | Medieval Bestiary | Hairy humanoid | — |
| GorgonGiants, monsters and fabulous creatures (suggested) | Greek | Fanged, snake-haired humanoids that turn anyone who sees them into stone | 3 |
| GoryōThe dead and disembodied souls (suggested) | Japanese | Vengeful ghosts, usually of martyrs | 5 |
| GrassmanGiants, monsters and fabulous creatures (suggested) | Ohio, USA | Ape-like cryptid | — |
| GremlinSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Folklore | Creatures that sabotage airplanes | — |
| GriffinGiants, monsters and fabulous creatures (suggested) | Heraldic | Lion-eagle hybrid | — |
| GrigoriDivine and sacred beings (suggested) | Christian, Jewish, and Islamic mythology | Fallen angels, father of Nephilim | — |
| GrimSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | English and Scandinavian | Tutelary spirits of churches | 8 |
| Grim ReaperPersonified nature and animated objects (suggested) | Worldwide | Death angel often thought to be God's/Satan's assistant | — |
| GrindylowSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | English | Malevolent water spirit | 2 |
| GrootslangGiants, monsters and fabulous creatures (suggested) | South Africa | Large snake often associated with diamonds | 1 |
| Ground SharkAnimals (suggested) | Not specified | Man-eating mystery shark of the Timor Sea | — |
| GualichuSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Mapuche | Malevolent spirit | 1 |
| Guardian angelDivine and sacred beings (suggested) | Christian, Jewish, and Islamic belief | Subclassification of angels that guard and protect a specific person or living being | — |
| Gud-elimGiants, monsters and fabulous creatures (suggested) | Akkadian | Human-bull hybrid | — |
| GuhinSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Japanese | Anthropomorphic bird | 5 |
| Gui PoThe dead and disembodied souls (suggested) | Chinese | Ghost that manifests as an old woman | 1 |
| Gui ShuPersonified nature and animated objects (suggested) | Chinese | Ghostly tree that confuses travelers by moving | 1 |
| GulonGiants, monsters and fabulous creatures (suggested) | Germanic | Gluttonous dog-cat-fox hybrid | 15 |
| GumihoSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Korean | Demonic fox with thousands of tails believed to possess an army of spirits and magic in its tails | 1 |
| GurangatchGiants, monsters and fabulous creatures (suggested) | Australian Aboriginal | An enormous reptile-fish whose movements carved out the landscape south of the Blue Mountains | — |
| GurumapaSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Nepalese | Child-eating demon | 1 |
| GwyllgiGiants, monsters and fabulous creatures (suggested) | Welsh | Black dog | 1 |
| GwyllionSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Welsh | Malevolent spirit | 1 |
| GyascutusGiants, monsters and fabulous creatures (suggested) | American folklore | Four-legged herbivore | — |
| GytrashSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Lincolnshire and Yorkshire | Black dog | — |
| GyūkiGiants, monsters and fabulous creatures (suggested) | Japanese | Bull-headed monster | 5 |
If you wish to get access to data for projects and research, then please contact us, we do our best to help
How to cite: Fielder-White, Jonathan (2026). The Folklore Database. Citation version 1.261029.1 (29 October 2026). https://folkloredatabase.com.
0009-0006-1672-4451
The citation version records the access date and does not identify an archived database snapshot.
Please cite the relevant sources, catalogues, and classification systems, including the Folklore Database, Berezkin-Duvakin Catalogue, ATU, Thompson, alongside the page accessed and the last time accessed. Please respect copyright and licences.
Editorial annotations and database enhancements © Jonathan Fielder-White licensed under CC BY 4.0. Berezkin-Duvakin derived narrative and metadata licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Full rights information can be found here.
Rights in original software, interface design and other protected material not expressly licensed for reuse are reserved to their respective rights holders.
Text and data mining: For protected material not offered under a Creative Commons or other reuse licence, the Folklore Database reserves the rights it holds in automated extraction, dataset creation and AI training, to the extent permitted by law. This reservation does not restrict uses permitted by the applicable Creative Commons or other licence, public-domain status, or statutory exceptions and limitations. Third-party material retains its own terms. Please contact us for help identifying the applicable sources, licences and attribution for bulk research access.
Designed and Developed by Jonathan Fielder-White.
© 2024–2026 Crecganford / Jonathan Fielder-White. Rights reserved except where licensed or otherwise stated.