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
27 creatures at 43 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 (1)
- Bosnians (1)
- Bulgarians, Balkarians (1)
- Byelarusians, Belarusians (1)
- Croatians, Croats; Italians of Dalmatia (if the motif is absent among other Italians) (1)
- Czech, Czechs (1)
- Danes, Danish (27)
- Denmark (1)
- Dutch, Flemish (12)
- Early Russian written sources (1)
- Eastern Ukrainians (1)
- England (1)
- England, British, Bretons (13)
- Faroe Islands (26)
- Frisians (12)
- 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 (12)
- Germans: Northeast (Brandenburg, Meklenburg, Rügen, Pommern, Silesia, Posen) (12)
- Germans: South (Upper German dialects): Alsace (Elsass), Baden-Württemberg, Bawaria, Swabia, Switzerland, Bohemia, Sudeten, Austria (12)
- Germans – Southwest: Alsace (Elsass), Baden-Württemberg, Swabia, Switzerland (12)
- Icelanders (26)
- Kashubians (1)
- Macedonians, Balkarians (1)
- Northern Ukrainians (1)
- Norwegians (26)
- Poles (1)
- 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 (11)
- Scandinavians: early written sources ("Edda"; Saxo Grammaticus etc.); Gothland picture stones; Ancient Germans (Late Bronze Age in Scandinavia) (26)
- Scotland, Scots, Picts, Scotti, Scottish (12)
- Serbs, Monte Negro, Balkarians (1)
- Slovakians, Slovaks (1)
- Slovenians, Slovenes (1)
- Sorbians (Luzhitsa Serbs) (1)
- Swedes (26)
- Terek Cossacks (1)
- Transylvanian Saksons (12)
- Western Ukrainians (1)
Browse the dictionary
27 matching entries
| Creature | Tradition | Description | Map locations |
|---|---|---|---|
| AskefrueSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Germanic | Female tree spirit. | 15 |
| BysenSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Scandinavian | Diminutive forest spirit | 6 |
| Church grimSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Germanic | Guardian spirit | 15 |
| DwarfSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Germanic | Little people nature spirits | 15 |
| ElfSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Germanic | Nature and fertility spirit | 15 |
| FafnirSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Germanic mythology | Dwarf who was cursed and turned into a dragon. He was later slain by Sigurd in the Saga of Nibelung. | 15 |
| FiredrakeGiants, monsters and fabulous creatures (suggested) | Germanic | Dragon | 15 |
| Fylgja | Scandinavian | Animal familiar | 6 |
| GjengangerThe dead and disembodied souls (suggested) | Scandinavian | Corporeal ghost | 6 |
| GrimSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | English and Scandinavian | Tutelary spirits of churches | 8 |
| GulonGiants, monsters and fabulous creatures (suggested) | Germanic | Gluttonous dog-cat-fox hybrid | 15 |
| HamingjaSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Scandinavian | personal protection spirit | 6 |
| HulderSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Scandinavian | forest spirit | 6 |
| KajsaSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Scandinavian | Wind spirit | 6 |
| KofewaltSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Germanic | House spirit | 15 |
| KrakenGiants, monsters and fabulous creatures (suggested) | Scandinavian | Sea monster | 6 |
| LindwormGiants, monsters and fabulous creatures (suggested) | Germanic | Dragon | 15 |
| MaraSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Scandinavian folklore | Female night-demon | 6 |
| Mare | Germanic and Slavic folklore | Malicious entity which causes or appears in bad dreams | 42 |
| MylingThe dead and disembodied souls (suggested) | Scandinavian folklore | Ghosts of unbaptized children | 6 |
| NeckSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Germanic mythology | Female water spirit | 15 |
| NisseSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Scandinavian | House spirit | 6 |
| NixSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Germanic | Female water spirit | 15 |
| SkogsråSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Scandinavian | Forest spirit | 6 |
| TomteSpirits and otherworld peoples (suggested) | Scandinavian | House spirit | 6 |
| ValravnAnimals (suggested) | Danish | Supernatural raven | 1 |
| Vardøger | Scandinavian | Ghostly double | 6 |
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.