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
54 creatures at 42 tradition locations · 0 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
- Bosnia Muslims (54)
- Bosnians (54)
- Bulgarians, Balkarians (54)
- Byelarusians, Belarusians (54)
- Croatians, Croats; Italians of Dalmatia (if the motif is absent among other Italians) (54)
- Czech, Czechs (54)
- Danes, Danish (1)
- Dutch, Flemish (1)
- Early Russian written sources (54)
- Eastern Ukrainians (54)
- England, British, Bretons (1)
- Faroe Islands (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 (2)
- 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)
- Icelanders (1)
- Kashubians (54)
- Macedonians, Balkarians (54)
- Northern Ukrainians (54)
- Norwegians (1)
- Poles (54)
- Russian Pomors ("seasiders"): Lower Pechora (54)
- Russian Pomors ('seasiders'): Terski Coast (Murmansk province) (54)
- Russian Pomors (“seasiders): Arkhangelsk province without its southern part (Shengur district and Konosha dstrict), Karelia White Sea coast (54)
- 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) (54)
- Russians: Novgorod and Pskov provinces (54)
- Russians: Olonets province/SE Karelia, Shengur district of Arkhangelsk province (54)
- 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) (54)
- Russians: Vologda province (incl. Belozersk, Kirillov and Cherepovets districts of form. Novgorod Province) (54)
- Rusyns, Hutsuls (54)
- Scandinavians: early written sources ("Edda"; Saxo Grammaticus etc.); Gothland picture stones; Ancient Germans (Late Bronze Age in Scandinavia) (1)
- Scotland, Scots, Picts, Scotti, Scottish (1)
- Serbs, Monte Negro, Balkarians (54)
- Slovakians, Slovaks (54)
- Slovenians, Slovenes (54)
- Sorbians (Luzhitsa Serbs) (54)
- Swedes (1)
- Terek Cossacks (54)
- Transylvanian Saksons (1)
- Western Ukrainians (54)
Browse the dictionary
54 matching entries
| Creature | Tradition | Description | Map locations |
|---|---|---|---|
| AlaSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Slavic | Bad weather demon. | 27 |
| AlkonostGiants, monsters and fabulous creatures (suggested) | Slavic | Angelic bird with human head and breasts. | 27 |
| Baba YagaSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Slavic | Forest spirit and hag | 27 |
| BannikSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Slavic | Bathhouse spirit | 27 |
| BaukGiants, monsters and fabulous creatures (suggested) | Slavic | Darkness beast | 27 |
| BerehyniaSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Slavic | Water spirit | 27 |
| BiesSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Slavic | Demon | 27 |
| BłudnikSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Slavic | Mischievous gnome | 27 |
| BoginkiSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Slavic | Nature spirit | 27 |
| BolotnikSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Slavic | Male swamp spirit | 27 |
| BozaloshtshSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Slavic | Death spirit | 27 |
| ChortSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Slavic | Malign spirit or demon | 27 |
| DolaSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Slavic | Tutelary and fate spirit | 27 |
| DomovoiSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Slavic | House spirit | 27 |
| DrekavacThe dead and disembodied souls (suggested) | Slavic | Restless ghost of an unbaptised child | 27 |
| DvorovoiSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Slavic | Courtyard spirit | 27 |
| FextThe dead and disembodied souls (suggested) | Slavic | Undead | 27 |
| GermanSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Slavic | Male spirit associated with bringing rain and hail | 27 |
| Jaud | Slavic | Vampirised premature baby | 27 |
| KikimoraSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Slavic | Female house spirit | 27 |
| KrasnoludekSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Slavic | Little people nature spirits | 27 |
| Lady middaySpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Slavic | Sunstroke spirit | 27 |
| LakanicaSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Slavic | Field spirit | 27 |
| LesziSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Slavic | Tree spirit | 27 |
| LikhoSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Slavic | One-eyed hag or goblin | 27 |
| MamunaSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Slavic | Demoness or fairy | 27 |
| Mare | Germanic and Slavic folklore | Malicious entity which causes or appears in bad dreams | 42 |
| MavkaSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Slavic | Female forest spirit | 27 |
| MoraSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested)The dead and disembodied souls (suggested) | Slavic | Disembodied spirit | 27 |
| MorenaSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Slavic | Winter spirit | 27 |
| NarecnitsiSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Slavic | Fate spirit | 27 |
| Nav'The dead and disembodied souls (suggested) | Slavic | Ghost | 27 |
| NocnitsaSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Slavic | Nightmare spirit | 27 |
| Odmience | Slavic | Changeling | 27 |
| OvinnikSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Slavic | Malevolent threshing house spirit | 27 |
| Plakavac | Slavic | Vampire created when a mother strangles her child | 27 |
| PsotnikSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Slavic | Mischievous spirit | 27 |
| RarógSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Slavic | Whirlwind spirit | 27 |
| RusalkaSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Slavic | Female water spirit | 27 |
| SamodivaSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Slavic | Nature spirit | 27 |
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 1.261028.1 (28 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.