50 Paranormal Creatures from Around the World

The world is full of creepy legends, and each country has its horrors. Many people in the U.S. have heard of the Bell Witch or Bloody Mary, but what about the Slavic witch with the chicken-leg house, or the levitating Asian ghost with dangling entrails? Here are 50 supernatural creatures from around the world and links to their respective Wikipedia pages. Which creature do you find the most terrifying?

1. Baba Yaga – “In Slavic folklore, Baba Yaga is a supernatural being who flies around in a mortar, wields a pestle, and dwells deep in the forest in a hut usually described as standing on chicken legs.”
2. Santa Compaña – “The Santa Compaña is a procession of the dead or souls in torment that wanders the path of a parish at midnight involved in white hooded cloaks.”
3. Deogen – “The Deogen, or The Eyes, is a ghost that is said to haunt the Sonian Forest in Belgium, often seen in fog form and followed by smaller shadow figures.”
4. Strigoi – “In Romanian mythology, strigoi are the troubled souls of the dead rising from the grave. Some of the properties of the strigoi include: the ability to transform into an animal, invisibility, and the propensity to drain the vitality of victims via blood loss.”
5. Shubin – “Shubin is the mythological spirit of the mines. The legend of Shubin is distributed mainly in the mining towns of Donbas, Ukraine. The spirit is usually good, but can be wicked.”
6. Bhoot – “The common word for ghosts in Bengali is bhoot. In Bengal, ghosts are believed to be the spirit after death of an unsatisfied human being or a soul of a person who dies in unnatural or abnormal circumstance.”
7. Will-o’the-wisp – “A will-o’-the-wisp is an atmospheric ghost light seen by travelers at night, especially over bogs, swamps, or marshes. It resembles a flickering lamp and is said to recede if approached, drawing travelers from the safe paths.”
8. La Llorona – “La Llorona, or The Weeping Woman, is a widespread legend throughout the region of Hispanic America.”
9. Teke Teke – “The ghost of a young woman, or school girl, who fell on a railway line and was cut in half by the oncoming train. Now a vengeful spirit, she travels on either her hands or elbows, making a scratching or ‘teke teke‘ sound.”
10. Nyai Roro Kidul – “A legendary Indonesian female spirit, Nyai Roro Kidul is said to drag swimmers to their death.”
11. Herne the Hunter – “In English folklore, Herne the Hunter is a ghost associated with Windsor Forest and Great Park in the English county of Berkshire. He has antlers upon his head.”
12. La Planchada – “La planchada is Spanish for ‘the ironed lady.’ Her ghost appears in many hospitals, though mainly in the metropolitan areas, especially in Mexico City.”
13. Sihuanaba – “The Sihuanaba is a supernatural character from Central American folklore. She lures men away into danger before revealing her face to be that of a horse or, alternatively, a skull.”
14. Mae Nak Phra Khanong – “Mae Nak is a well-known and popular Thai female ghost. According to local folklore, the story is based on actual events that took place during the early 19th century.”
15. Naiad – “In Greek mythology, the Naiads were a type of water nymph (female spirit) who presided over fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks, and other bodies of fresh water.”
16. Vodyanoy – “A male water spirit, vodyanoy is said to appear as a naked old man with a frog-like face, greenish beard, and long hair, with his body covered in algae and muck, usually covered in black fish scales.”
17. Chindi – “In Navajo religious belief, a chindi is the ghost left behind after a person dies, believed to leave the body with the decedent’s last breath. It is everything that was bad about the person.”
18. Ubume – “In Japanese folklore, an ubume is an old woman or crone, with a child in her arms, imploring the passerby to hold her infant, only to then disappear.”
19. Krasue – “The krasue manifests itself as a woman, usually young and beautiful, with her internal organs hanging down from the neck, trailing below the head.”
20. Lemures – “Lemures in Roman mythology are the wandering and vengeful spirits of those not afforded proper burial, funeral rites, or affectionate cult by the living.”
21. Patasola – “A female spirit from South America, patasola attracts men and lures them to the depths of the rain forest where she turns into a beast and devours the man.”
22. Jersey Devil – “The Jersey Devil is a legendary creature or cryptid said to inhabit the Pine Barrens of Southern New Jersey, United States.”
23. Wendigo – “A wendigo is a half-beast creature appearing in the legends of the Algonquian peoples along the Atlantic Coast and Great Lakes Regiaon of both the United States and Canada. It is particularly associated with cannibalism.”
24. Kallikantzaros – “A malevolent goblin in Southeastern European and Anatolian folklore, the kallikantzaros or its equivalents are believed to dwell underground but come to the surface during the twelve days of Christmas.”
25. Banshee – “In legend, a banshee is a fairy woman who begins to wail if someone is about to die.”
26. Estries – “Estries are female vampires of Jewish folklore that were believed to prey on Hebrew citizens, particularly men.”
27. Hell hound – “A supernatural dog in folklore, the hell hound has mangled black fur, glowing red eyes, super strength or speed, and phantom characteristics.”
28. Kelpie – “Kelpie, or water kelpie, is the Scots name given to a shape-shifting water spirit inhabiting the lochs and pools of Scotland.”
29. Bloody Mary – “Bloody Mary is a ghost said to appear in mirrors when a person repeats her name in front of the mirror and turn three times.”
30. Jinn – “Mentioned frequently in the Quran and other Islamic texts, the jinn are made of a smokeless and scorching fire and inhabit an unseen world, another universe beyond the known universe.”
31. Dybbuk – “In Jewish mythology, a dybbuk is a malicious possessing spirit believed to be the dislocated soul of a dead person.”
32. Bélmez Faces – “The faces of Bélmez is an alleged paranormal phenomenon in a private house in Spain which started in 1971 when residents claimed images of faces appeared in the concrete floor of the house.”
33. Incubus – “An incubus is a demon in male form who, according to mythological and legendary traditions, lies upon sleepers, especially women, in order to engage in sexual activity with them. Its female counterpart is the succubus.”
34. Hungry ghost – “Hungry ghost is a concept in Chinese Buddhism and Chinese traditional religion representing beings who are driven by intense emotional needs in an animalistic way.”
35. Buckriders – “According to Dutch folklore, the buckriders were ghosts or ‘devils,’ who rode through the sky on the back of flying goats provided to them by Satan.”
36. Resurrection Mary – “Resurrection Mary is a well-known Chicago-area ghost story. Of the ‘vanishing hitchhiker’ type, the story takes place outside Resurrection Cemetery in Justice, Illinois.”
37. Pig-Faced Women – “Stories of pig-faced women originated roughly simultaneously in Holland, England, and France in the late 1630s. The stories told of a wealthy woman whose body was of normal human appearance, but whose face was that of a pig.”
38. Domovoi – “A domovoi or domovoy is a protective house spirit in Slavic folklore.”
39. Bell Witch – “The Bell Witch is a poltergeist legend from Southern folklore, centered on the 19th-century Bell family of Adams, Tennessee.”
40. Bluecap– “A bluecap is a mythical fairy or ghost in English folklore that inhabits mines and appears as a small blue flame. If miners treat them with respect, the bluecaps lead them to rich deposits of minerals.”
41. Saci – “Best known in Brazilian folklore, saci is a one-legged black or mulatto youngster with holes in the palms of his hands who smokes a pipe and wears a magical red cap that enables him to disappear and reappear wherever he wishes.”
42. Krampus – “In German-speaking Alpine folklore, krampus is a horned, anthropomorphic figure that punishes children during the Christmas season who had misbehaved.”
43. Ghoul – “A ghoul is a monster or evil spirit in Arabian mythology, associated with graveyards and consuming human flesh.”
44. Kappa – “Japan’s kappa are usually seen as mischievous troublemakers or trickster figures. Their pranks range from looking up women’s kimonos, to drowning people and animals, kidnapping children, and raping women.”
45. Poltergeist – “In folklore and parapsychology, a poltergeist (German for “noisy ghost”) is a type of ghost or other supernatural being supposedly responsible for physical disturbances, such as loud noises and objects being moved or destroyed.”
46. Tikoloshe – “In Zulu mythology, tikoloshe is a dwarf-like water sprite. It is considered a mischievous and evil spirit that can become invisible by drinking water.”
47. Egg ghost – “A kind of Korean ghost, an egg ghost doesn’t have arms, legs, or a head, or even eyes, a nose, or a mouth. Legend says that when a person sees an egg ghost, he or she will die.”
48. Nang Tani – “A female spirit of Thai folklore, nang tani appears as a young woman that haunts wild banana trees.”
49. Matagot – “A matagot is, according to some oral traditions of southern France, a spirit under the form of an animal, mostly undetermined, frequently a black cat, generally evil, but sometimes helpful.”
50. Hairy Hands – “The hairy hands is a ghost story that built up around a stretch of road in Dartmoor, United Kingdom, which was purported to have seen an unusually high number of motor vehicle accidents during the early 20th century.”