history & documentation
The Leshy or Lyeshy (Belor: лясу́н Lyasun, лесаві́к Lesovik; Ukr. лісови́к Lisovik; Pol: Laskowiec) is a forest spirit, widely known among Russians (especially in the North), and to a lesser extent representations about him...
The Latin term genius loci literally means “the spirit of the place”. In Roman mythology, the spirit originally meant a guardian spirit (genius), who was often depicted in the form of a snake. In...
The Haselwurm and the Tatzelwurm or Stollenwurm are a strange creatures which dwell in a foggy way between spirit beings from folklore and cryptozoological rarities. The weirdest thing about the creature is the fact...
In Ashkenazic Jewish folklore a Dybbuk (Yiddish: דָּבַק, dāḇaq) is an evil spirit which enters into a living person, cleaves to his soul, causes mental illness, talks through his mouth, and represents a separate...
A Huldra or Hulder is a seductive – usually female – forest creature found in Scandinavian folklore. Her name derives from a root meaning “covered” or “secret”. In Norwegian folklore, she is known as...
The Huldufólk (“hidden people”), also called Högfolk is a mythical race of Elves in Icelandic and Faroese folklore. They are supernatural beings that live in nature. They look and behave similarly to humans, but...
Witch bottles were originally created for Apotropaic magic (protection or defense magic) and began as countermagical devices used as protection against other witchcraft and black magical attacks. Apotropaic magic has always been one of...
In the United States, the celebration of Halloween made its appearance mainly in the second half of the 19th century, when large groups of Irish and Scottish immigrants entered the country. During this time,...
An authenticated Vampire story by the famous occultist Dr. Franz Hartmann was first published as a true account on vampirism in THE OCCULT REVIEW, London, September 1909 – whose founder and editor was an...
The Aitvaras or Aitvars is a nature spirit in Baltic, especially Lithuanian, folklore and mythology. Several folklorists and micro-historians such as Wilhelm Mannhardt, W. R. S. Ralston, Claude Lecouteux, and others have pointed out...
