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
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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
30 creatures at 47 tradition locations · 18 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
- Akan, Ashanti, Akwapim; Ga (Accra), Kra, Twi (Chwi, Chi) (1)
- Ancient Greece (5)
- Aztec; Aztec and Teotihuacan iconography (1)
- Basques (1)
- Bosnia Muslims (2)
- Bosnians (2)
- Bulgarians, Balkarians (2)
- Byelarusians, Belarusians (2)
- Canada (1)
- Central Yakuts (Sakha) (1)
- Croatians, Croats; Italians of Dalmatia (if the motif is absent among other Italians) (2)
- Czech, Czechs (2)
- Dolgans (1)
- Early Russian written sources (2)
- Eastern Ukrainians (2)
- Europe (1)
- Finland (1)
- Finns (1)
- Greece (5)
- Greeks (modern), Balkarians (5)
- Greeks of Cyprus (5)
- Guyana (1)
- Hungarians (1)
- Hungary (1)
- Japan (13)
- Japan (13)
- Japan AD 700-1700 (13)
- Japanese folklore outside of Ryukyu (13)
- Kashubians (2)
- Macedonians, Balkarians (2)
- Malay; Temuan (incl Mantra or Mentra), Jakun (Moken) (2)
- Nigeria (2)
- Nigeria (2)
- Northeastern Yakuts (Sakha): Yana, Indigirka and Kolyma Basins (1)
- Northern Ryukyu Islands (with southern Kyusyu in case of absence across the rest of Japan (13)
- Northern Ukrainians (2)
- Northwestern Yakuts (Sakha): Yessey, Anabar, Olenyok and Lower Lena Basins (1)
- Poles (2)
- Russian Pomors ("seasiders"): Lower Pechora (2)
- Russian Pomors ('seasiders'): Terski Coast (Murmansk province) (2)
- Russian Pomors (“seasiders): Arkhangelsk province without its southern part (Shengur district and Konosha dstrict), Karelia White Sea coast (2)
- 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) (2)
- Russians: Novgorod and Pskov provinces (2)
- Russians: Olonets province/SE Karelia, Shengur district of Arkhangelsk province (2)
- 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) (2)
- Russians: Vologda province (incl. Belozersk, Kirillov and Cherepovets districts of form. Novgorod Province) (2)
- Rusyns, Hutsuls (2)
- Serbs, Monte Negro, Balkarians (2)
- Slovakians, Slovaks (2)
- Slovenians, Slovenes (2)
- Sorbians (Luzhitsa Serbs) (2)
- Southern and Central; Ryukyu Islands: Yaeyama, Miyako, Okinawa (13)
- Terek Cossacks (2)
- Western Ukrainians (2)
- Western Yakuts (Sakha): Olekma and Vilyuy Basins (1)
Browse the dictionary
48 matching entries
| Creature | Tradition | Description | Map locations |
|---|---|---|---|
| ObakeSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Japanese | Shapeshifting spirits | 5 |
| Obariyon | Japanese | Spook which rides piggyback on a human victim and becomes unbearably heavy | 5 |
| ObayifoSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Ashanti | Vampiric possession spirit | 1 |
| Obia | West Africa | Gigantic animal that serves witches | — |
| OceanidSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Greek | Nymph daughters of Oceanus | 3 |
| OdeiSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Basque | Storm spirit | 1 |
| Odin | Norse mythology | King of Asgard | — |
| Odmience | Slavic | Changeling | 27 |
| OgGiants, monsters and fabulous creatures (suggested) | Jewish | Giant king of the Amorites | — |
| OgopogoGiants, monsters and fabulous creatures (suggested) | Canadian | Canadian Lake Monster | — |
| OgreGiants, monsters and fabulous creatures (suggested) | Medieval folklore | Large, grotesque humanoid | — |
| OgunDivine and sacred beings (suggested) | Nigeria | Iron god for the Yoruba people (South Western Nigeria) | 1 |
| OiwaThe dead and disembodied souls (suggested) | Japanese | Ghost of a woman with a distorted face who was murdered by her husband | 5 |
| OjáncanuGiants, monsters and fabulous creatures (suggested) | Cantabrian | Giant cyclops who embodies evil. | — |
| ŌkamiAnimals (suggested)Spirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Japanese | Spirit wolf of powerful | 5 |
| OkikuSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Japanese | Spirit of a plate-counting servant girl, associated with the "Okiku-Mushi" worm | 5 |
| ÖksököAnimals (suggested) | Yakut/Dolgan | Two or three-headed eagle | 5 |
| ŌkubiSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Japanese | Death spirit | 5 |
| Okuri-inuAnimals (suggested) | Japanese | Dog or wolf that follows travelers at night, similar to the Black dog of English folklore | 5 |
| Ole-Higue | Guyanese | Vampiric hag who takes the form of a fireball at night | — |
| ŌmukadeGiants, monsters and fabulous creatures (suggested) | Japanese | Giant, human-eating centipede that lives in the mountains | 5 |
| OniSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Japanese | Large, grotesque humanoid demon, usually having red skin and horns | 5 |
| Onibi | Japanese | Spectral fire | 5 |
| OnikumaAnimals (suggested)Giants, monsters and fabulous creatures (suggested) | Japanese | Bear monster with enormous strength that walks upright | 5 |
| OnmorakiAnimals (suggested)Spirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Japanese | Bird-demon created from the spirits of freshly dead corpses | 5 |
| OnocentaurGiants, monsters and fabulous creatures (suggested) | Medieval Bestiaries | Human-donkey hybrid | — |
| OnoskelisSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Greek | Shapeshifting demon | 3 |
| OnryōThe dead and disembodied souls (suggested) | Japanese | Vengeful ghost that manifests in a physical rather than a spectral form | 5 |
| OnzaAnimals (suggested) | Aztec and Latin American folklore | Wild cat, possibly a subspecies of cougar | 1 |
| Oozlum birdAnimals (suggested) | Unknown origin | Bird that flies backwards | — |
| OphiotaurusGiants, monsters and fabulous creatures (suggested) | Greek | Bull-serpent hybrid | 3 |
| OpinicusGiants, monsters and fabulous creatures (suggested) | Heraldic | Lion-eagle hybrid, similar to a griffin, but with leonine forelimbs | — |
| Opiyel GuabironAnimals (suggested)Divine and sacred beings (suggested) | Taíno | A dog-shaped god that watched over the dead | — |
| Orang BunianSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Malay | Forest spirit | 1 |
| Orang Minyak | Malay | Spectral rapist | 1 |
| OrcGiants, monsters and fabulous creatures (suggested) | Italian Renaissance | Sea monster, based on ancient Greek Cetus, from Orlando Furioso by Ludovico Ariosto | — |
| ÖrdögSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Hungarian | Shapeshifting demon | 1 |
| OreadSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Greek | Mountain nymph | 3 |
| OrkSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Tyrolean | Little people and house spirits | — |
| OrobasSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | European | Horse-headed, honest oracle classed as a demon | — |
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How to cite: Fielder-White, Jonathan (2026). The Folklore Database. Citation version 1.261028.1 (28 October 2026). https://folkloredatabase.com.
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