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
75 creatures at 94 tradition locations · 59 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
- Albania (2)
- Albanians, Balkarians (2)
- Anatolia Turks (1)
- Ancient Egypt, Egyptian (1)
- Ancient Greece (6)
- Astrakhan Tatars, Karagash Nogai (1)
- Azeris (Azerbaijanis) (1)
- Bashkirs (1)
- Batak (Toba, Dairi) (1)
- Bosnia Muslims (8)
- Bosnians (8)
- Brazil (1)
- Bulgarians, Balkarians (8)
- Byelarusians, Belarusians (8)
- Central Tibetans (Yu Tsang, incl. Sikkim Tibetans, Tichurong of NW Nepal) (1)
- Central Yakuts (Sakha) (1)
- Cherokee (1)
- China (5)
- Choctaw, Chicasaw (1)
- Chulym Turks (1)
- Chuvash (1)
- Crimean Tatars, Karaims (1)
- Croatians, Croats; Italians of Dalmatia (if the motif is absent among other Italians) (8)
- Czech, Czechs (8)
- Danes, Danish (1)
- Dolgans (1)
- Early Russian written sources (8)
- Eastern Ukrainians (8)
- Egypt (1)
- England (3)
- England, British, Bretons (3)
- Faroe Islands (2)
- Finland (1)
- Finns (1)
- Gagauz (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 (2)
- Greece (6)
- Greeks (modern), Balkarians (6)
- Greeks of Cyprus (6)
- Hittite, Hurrit (2)
- Icelanders (2)
- Indonesia (1)
- Ireland (2)
- Japan (31)
- Japan (31)
- Japan AD 700-1700 (31)
- Japanese folklore outside of Ryukyu (31)
- Karachays, Balkar (1)
- Kara Kalpak (1)
- Kashubians (8)
- Kazakh (1)
- Kazan (Middle Volga) Tatars (1)
- Khakas (1)
- Khwarezm Uzbek; Turkic written tradition from Kök Orda (1)
- Kirghiz (1)
- Kumyk, Terekemen (1)
- Macedonians, Balkarians (8)
- Nogai (1)
- Northeastern Yakuts (Sakha): Yana, Indigirka and Kolyma Basins (1)
- Northern Altai: Chelkan, Kumanda, Tubalar, Altaians (1)
- Northern Ryukyu Islands (with southern Kyusyu in case of absence across the rest of Japan (31)
- Northern Ukrainians (8)
- Northwestern Yakuts (Sakha): Yessey, Anabar, Olenyok and Lower Lena Basins (1)
- Norwegians (1)
- People's Republic of China (5)
- Persians (2)
- Philippines (3)
- Philippines (3)
- Poland (1)
- Poles (9)
- Romania (3)
- Russian Pomors ("seasiders"): Lower Pechora (8)
- Russian Pomors ('seasiders'): Terski Coast (Murmansk province) (8)
- Russian Pomors (“seasiders): Arkhangelsk province without its southern part (Shengur district and Konosha dstrict), Karelia White Sea coast (8)
- 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) (8)
- Russians: Novgorod and Pskov provinces (8)
- Russians: Olonets province/SE Karelia, Shengur district of Arkhangelsk province (8)
- 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) (8)
- Russians: Vologda province (incl. Belozersk, Kirillov and Cherepovets districts of form. Novgorod Province) (8)
- Rusyns, Hutsuls (8)
- Salars (1)
- Scandinavia (1)
- Scandinavians: early written sources ("Edda"; Saxo Grammaticus etc.); Gothland picture stones; Ancient Germans (Late Bronze Age in Scandinavia) (1)
- Scotland, Scots, Picts, Scotti, Scottish (3)
- Serbs, Monte Negro, Balkarians (8)
- Shor (1)
- Siberian Tatars (1)
- Slovakians, Slovaks (8)
- Slovenians, Slovenes (8)
- Sorbians (Luzhitsa Serbs) (8)
- Southern Altai: Altai proper (Altai-Kiji), Telengit, Altaians (1)
- Southern and Central; Ryukyu Islands: Yaeyama, Miyako, Okinawa (31)
- Stavropol Turkmen (recent migrants from Mangyshlak Peninsular) (1)
- Swedes (1)
- Terek Cossacks (8)
- Tofa (Karagas) (1)
- Trinidad and Tobago (1)
- Turkmen (1)
- Tuvinians of Monglian Altai (1)
- Tuvinians of Tuva, Tuvans (1)
- Uyghur (1)
- Uzbek (1)
- Venezuela (1)
- Venezuela (1)
- Western Ukrainians (8)
- Western Yakuts (Sakha): Olekma and Vilyuy Basins (1)
- Yugur (Sarïg Yogïr, Yellow Uyghur) (1)
Browse the dictionary
134 matching entries
| Creature | Tradition | Description | Map locations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunakake-babaSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Japanese | Sand-throwing hag | 5 |
| Sundel BolongThe dead and disembodied souls (suggested) | Indonesian mythology | ghost of a woman with beautiful long black hair and a long white dress known for a large hole on its back. | — |
| SunekosuriSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Japanese | Small dog- or cat-like creature that rubs against a person's legs at night | 5 |
| Sun WukongDivine and sacred beings (suggested)Giants, monsters and fabulous creatures (suggested) | Not specified | A description has not yet been recorded. | — |
| ŞüräleSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Turkic | Forest spirit | 35 |
| SurmaGiants, monsters and fabulous creatures (suggested) | Finnish | Hellhound | 1 |
| SuzakuDivine and sacred beings (suggested) | Japanese | Japanese version of the Chinese Vermillion Bird | 5 |
| SvaðilfariAnimals (suggested) | Norse | Unnatural strong horse, father of Sleipnir | — |
| SvartálfarSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Norse | Cavern spirits; the Black Elves | — |
| Swan maidenSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Worldwide | Swan-human shapeshifter | — |
| SylphSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Alchemy | Air elemental | — |
| SylvanSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Medieval folklore | Forest spirit | — |
| SyrbotaeGiants, monsters and fabulous creatures (suggested) | Medieval Bestiaries | African giant | — |
| SyrictæGiants, monsters and fabulous creatures (suggested) | Medieval Bestiaries | Reptilian humanoid | — |
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.