Goblins

Farie

Undead

Demons

Others

ABATWA
Said to be the tiniest creatures in human form that are in existence, these little people coexist peaceably with the ants in the anthills of Southern Africa and live on their foragings from the roots of grasses and other plants. Also being the shyest human form creatures on earth, they stay extremely elusive and are hardly ever seen. However, they may reveal themselves to children under the age of four, wizards and pregnant women. If a woman in her seventh month of pregnancy happens to see a male abatwa, it is a definite omen that she will give birth to a boy. Abatwa are perfect miniatures of the members of the African tribes of that region, and their clan and family structures are similar. However, their peaceful nature lets them live together with the ants in perfect harmony, with neither seeking to dominate the other.

ANA
From Gypsy legend, Ana is the extremely beautiful princess of the Keshalyi and lived in a palace in the rocky mountains until she was forced to marry the king of the Loçolico, the underground demon people. She bore him many terrifying children who cause the diseases that mankind must endure today. Finally, she gave birth to Poreskoro, the most terrifying of these demons, a horror with four dogs' heads, four cats' heads and a tail like a snake with a forked tongue. He causes the worst epidemics such as the plague and cholera, and all the most deadly parasitical diseases. Upon seeing his son, the king was so appalled that he granted Ana her freedom, on condition that all female keshalyi should be sent to the Loçolico upon reaching the age of 999 years. Now, Ana resides in an inaccessible castle amid high crags, and only very rarely shows herself, always in the shape of a golden toad.

ANGIAKS
An angiak was a child of the living dead in Eskimo lore. These are created during harsh times when a tribe’s elders take out an unwanted baby into the snow to die of exposure. Unless the tribe moves on to another hunting ground, they may soon find themselves haunted by this small, miserable ghost. Each night, it returns to strengthen itself by suckling at its mother's breast, and when it has gained enough strength, returns to wreak its revenge on the elders. If it is absolutely necessary to dispose of a child in this way, one must forego naming him before his death, as a human acquires a soul only after gaining a name.

ANKOUS
Much like the British Banshee, the ankou of Brittany in France is a tall, gaunt man who drives a cart drawn by a pale, bony horse, accompanied by two silent figures who walk behind him, all with bowed heads. They appear at dusk, and their footsteps make no sound on the ground as they pass. Their sight tells the person who sees them will know that either he or one he loves will soon die.

APSARAS
These predominantly female fairies are also known as sky dancers, and are much like Western angels. They bless men kindly at important stages of their lives, and are often seen at weddings. To those dying on battlefields, they appear as beautiful courtesans, offering delight in the world to come. They are said to live in fig trees, and sometimes (though very seldom) appear to scholars or scientists, seduce them and exhaust them, making sure that man does not venture into areas that the spirit world deems unfit for them.

ATUA
Polynesian ancestor spirits who are revered like gods, the atua are also known as the Nuku mai Tore, the People of the Other World. They fly and live in trees like birds, and have no death or old age. They are known to wander the island of Otea. A strange custom of theirs is to deliver children by cutting the child out of the mother's side, although when mortal men take atua wives, they usually encourage them to have the babies the human way.

BANNIK
The spirit of the bathhouse, the bannik flits amongst the dense steam of the sauna bath perfect cover for one of the typically elusive fairy folk. It lives in Russia and the Baltic countries, this being where sauna baths were first invented, and although sometimes glimpsed through the clouds of vapor, it is more often felt than seen, and its touch on one's naked back is a significant omen: one of good fortune if it is a caressing stroke, but one of ill luck if he scratches.

BANSHEES
The name of the banshee is derived from the Celtic for "woman of the Fairies". According to the Irish, to see one is to foresee one's own death. Her voice is usually heard wailing outside a family's ancestral home just prior to a person's death, and many tales have been told of banshees wailing outside someone's birthplace just as the person dies, far across the seas. Her lamentations are in an unintelligible language, and her cry is a blend of a wild goose's screech, an abandoned child's cries and a wolf's howl. She may appear with straggling black hair, one nostril, protruding teeth and eyes red from weeping, or as a pale, beautiful young woman wearing a grey cloak and a green gown, or as a hag in a shroud, but is usually seen in loose white drapery, mournfully wailing as the sun sets. A large number of them together portend the death of a great or holy person.

BAOBAN SITH
An evil female spirit of the Scottish Highlands, her wails pierce the countryside for miles around and she enjoys drinking the blood of young men abroad at night. She first appears as a raven or crow, then as a beautiful maid in a green dress and a plaid sash. If she appears at your fireside, you will recognize her from her feet: they will be hooves.

BARBEGAZI
The gnomes of a mountainous region from France to Switzerland, their name means "frozen beards" and tend to hibernate during the warmer months, emerging only after the first heavy snowfalls of winter and only seen when the temperature is below zero degrees. They never venture beyond the tree line of the mountains, and those brought below by mountaineers only survive a few hours. Their feet are large, and their hair and beards resemble thick clumps of icicles, though beneath the ice real hair is present. Their large feet give them the advantages of both skis and the snowshoes, allowing them to run at great speeds across the snow, and can be used as spades if they are stuck and need to dig their way out. They are generally thought to be beneficent towards humans, and will help those dying of cold and hoot to warn mountaineers of avalanches, although they quite enjoy these, and ride them down the mountainside.

BARGUESTS
Fanged, clawed, and with pointed fangs and blood red eyes, the barguest enjoys frightening naughty children; a well-behaved one is less at risk. They are most common in the north of England, where they pass along the streets at night scaring people awake with their horrible shrieks.

BEAN-NIGHES
Ghosts of women who died in childbirth, these Scottish Banshees eternally wash the grave-clothes of one who is about to die. Anyone brave enough to approach one and suckle from her wizened breast will gain a wish, although he is more likely to be struck down with terror.

BELAS
In Indonesia, very old and big trees are said to house spirits, and before chopping a tree down, a farmer should politely ask it to move to another tree, bringing it food. If displeased, belas can cause illness or appear in dreams. In such a case, a priestess can be asked to indicate the bela who is causing this.

BENDITH Y YAMAU
A stunted and ugly clan of Welsh fairies who steal not only newborn babies, but walking, talking children as well, substituting one of their ugly children, the crimbils, for the child. It is possible to get one's child back from the bendith y mamau with the help of a witch. However, when the child returns he remembers nothing of the experience except a notion of sweet music.

BERGMONCKS
Rather like South European Moniacellos , these large, pale monks of Germany ward off travelers venturing too close to mines rich with lodes of gold. They are thought to be the ghosts of good friars who hid golden candlesticks and chalices from marauders during the religious wars.

BODACHS
These malicious house spirits of the Scottish Highlands have the form of a shriveled old man who lives up the chimney in the daytime and comes out at night to punish naughty children, tweaking their toes, ears and noses, pulling their eyelids open and staring into their eyes, and inflicting horrid nightmares. If the child's behavior improves the bodach will leave him alone, but it is wise to put a pinch of salt in the fire as well, to keep the bodach in his lair.

BOGEYMEN
These mischievous but fairly harmless spirits of the earth like to live in dark, cluttered places such as cupboards, cellars, barns, lofts, hollow trees, abandoned mine workings, hillside caves and crevices, and old houses. They cause all the creaks and thumps in these houses, and also pull bedclothes off sleepers at night or cause uneasiness by hovering behind someone's back. It is useless to try to turn round in time to see one, and not really worth one's while, either, as all he looks like is a large puff of dust. However, looking through a knothole in a wooden partition, one may catch the dull fleeting gleam of the bogeyman's eye before he has time to slip away.

BOGGARTS
Malicious household spirits of Scotland and Lanchashire, these little creatures are dark and hairy with meddling fingers, clumsy feet and simple minds; they have long yellow teeth and dress in tattered clothing. After dark, they may tip over milk jugs, break the cords of window sashes, put hens off laying, frighten cats, cause dogs to bark senselessly, slam doors, leave taps running, block gutters, blow out candles, and awaken sleeping babies by tweaking their noses. Attempts to try and escape from a boggart infested home are usually fruitless, as the creature tends to hear about it and will travel along with the family to the new house.

BOGIES
Mischievous, evil natured who are thought to steal infants for the Devil to torment in Hell. The Scots say one can repel them only by holding an open bible in their faces. They can change shape at will, most assuming icy fingers and yellow, glowing eyes, or black dogs lurking by lonely roads or tree trunks. They like to leap on a victim's back clasping their hard hands over the person's eyes, or play similar practical jokes, and may be even more malicious towards thieves, liars and murderers, as they hate to see injustice.

BOKWUS
A fearsome spirit in the great North Western American forests of spruce, larch and fir. Although his evil, aquiline face with totemic war paint is only glimpsed as he peeps quickly behind the trunk of a tree, Native American hunters are very conscious of his presence. He is most dangerous on the tree-lined edges of rivers, as he will push fishermen off the banks into the water here. After this, he takes the soul of the drowned person to his home in the forest. What he does with him there is uncertain.

BRAGS
These mischievous Goblins from the north of England can change their shape, and though usually equine, also take the form of a cow with a white flag around its neck, an ass, or if it suits their mood, a naked man flapping a white sheet, a chanting girl, or a giant, white singing cat. They live in rivers and lakes, and the aim of their transmutations is to lure passers by into the water for amusement.

BRAHMADAITYAS
Like Brahma, the Hindu creator of the universe, these benign ghosts of Brahmin priests had four faces and four hands. They guard their master against Shiva the destroyer, and although they are kind towards humans, should one chop down the palm in which one of them lives, the offender's neck will be snapped like a twig.

BROLLACHANS
These Scottish brownies are gentle natured and helpful around the house. They are very dark with long, strong arms and shapeless bodies covered with hair, and occasionally, goats' shanks and hooves. They rarely speak, but when frightened may bleat like a goat.

BROWNIES
These cheerful and helpful house spirits of Scotland are devoid of mischief and prefer to live in harmony with mortals, doing their housework, guiding their cows back to the farmyard and ushering their hens back to their roosts. Although small and hairy with flat faces and pinhole nostrils, their happy smiles and extrovert characters soon create a feeling of goodwill for mortals, and only people with similar natures will be able to see brownies. As these are mostly children, brownies love to play with children, telling them stories and teaching them to make daisy chains and wildflower posies. The presence of brownies is enough to reverse the negative effects of any Goblins around. Still, leaving gifts out for them is unwise, as they dislike this and may not return to help the family again.

CAIRN MAIDEN
Appearing at harvest time, this beautiful, golden haired girl watches the harvesters swinging their scythes through the open corn and, towards the close of day, appears in the path of the lad who looks the most handsome and virile. On and on she lures him, enticing him to cut every sheaf left in the meadow until midnight, when he becomes faint with exhaustion. Then, she faces him, and saying that her own sickle needs sharpening, neatly slices off his head.

CAO GUO JIU
Always shown in court dress with his emblem, the castanets, Cao Guo Jiu loved secret learnings and spurned his honors and riches. One of the Chinese Ba Xian , he is also the patron saint of actors and actresses.

CENTAURS
These Greek beings each with the head, torsos and arms of a man and the body of a horse descend from the first king of Thessaly and the cloud Nephele, and hold allegiance only to Eros, god of love, and Dionysius, god of wine. They are handsome and sensual, delighting in drunken brawls, and are often warlike, using clubs made from young pine trees, spears and arrows. An exception is Chiron, a studious, wise centaur who tutored many Greek heroes and can now be seen in the heavens as the constellation Sagittarius.

CHANG ER
In ancient China, Chang Er was the wife of the archer Hou Yi, who received the herb of immortality from the gods after shooting down nine of the ten suns that were stifling the world with their heat. She consumed the herb and ascended to the moon, where she still lives in the Palace of the Far Reaching Cold, accompanied by her maids, two children, and a hare which grinds cinnamon tree bark, which confers immortality

CLURICAUNS
These Irish fairies look after inns, keeping mainly to the wine cellars and resembling miniature innkeepers with their of stockings, silver buckled shoes, white shirts and aprons, and red caps. In a well-run establishment, the cluricaun will only take his fair share of food and drink, but in a badly run inn, he will gobble the food and swallow the drink in such quantities that the landlord will soon be put out of business. A cluricaun may also steal from the cellar of man who is fond of wine, and if he drinks too much the house will never be free of the sound of breaking bottles, drunken shouts and songs, and general tumult as he blunders around the cellar. If this should happen, the homeowner should simply cut off the cluricaun's supply of drink. After a while, he will seek more hospitable quarters, and become another drinker's problem. In England, they are known as buttery spirits.

CURURIPUR
A powerful South American spirit who owned the jungle and, being a great friend of the tortoises, would not hesitate to bring destruction upon a tortoise hunter. With red eyes, swollen knees and feet turned back to front to fool people who sought to escape him by looking at his footprints, he could also be identified by the calabashes he wore around his neck and on his legs, producing a "te wo yi' sound when clashing.

CYOERAETHS
The Welsh counterparts of Banshees, these horrible weeping women with emaciated faces and black teeth announce the approach of death. Their groans are like those of sick people about to die, only much louder. One may amble along a beach on lonely, stormy nights carrying an inextinguishable candle and crying into the wind before a shipwreck, her candle lighting the way for pallbearers. At night, they may also splash in streams and lakes at night in order to warn passers by of the danger.

 DAMA DAGENDA
Jungle spirits of Papua New Guinea, the dama dagenda resent intrusion into their jungle habitat and will inflict painful sores and ulcers upon those who dare to intrude. They understand the languages of all the human tribes in the region, but it will be useless to plead them for guidance, as they will simply ignore you. However, if you can learn a language that they do not understand, you should sing or talk loudly to yourself in this language as you walk along, as the spirits will waste time trying to decipher your gibberish and by the time they catch on to the fact that you have tricked them, you will already be beyond their reach.

DAMES BLANCHES
Literally white ladies, these Fées lurk in narrow places such as ravines, fords and bridges in Normandy, France. They have beautiful faces with hypnotic eyes, but often also possess physical flaws such as snakes' tails or birds' feet, and keep their garments white by meticulously washing them in streams every evening. Travelers cannot avoid them in these places. The dame blanche will ask the traveler to join her in a dance or to hand her a plank. If he does so, she will make him many courtesies, then vanish, but if not, she will fling him into a ditch full of briars, or give him over to her evil spirits to torment.

DEEVS
These cruel demon fairies can be compared with the evil Jinn of the Arabs, and were part of the pre Islamic Persian faith of Zoroastrianism. They live in Jinnestân, in the mountains of Kâf, which are made of green chrysolite, the color of which the sky reflects. They are two thousand miles high, and surround the flat disc of the earth with the ocean flowing around them. Their capital is Ahermanabâd (Aherman's city) and there the Deev monarch, Arzshenk, resides in a splendid enchanted palace. They are constantly battling the Peries, and at times, heroes have led battles against them. Like the peries, they are greatly superior to man, and have much longer lifespans (although they are mortal in the end), but share human emotions and sensitivities in their natures. However, they are known to detest perfume, which is the food of the peries.

DOMOVOI
Slavic spirits of the home, the domovoi are active at night, when, like British Brownies , they complete unfinished household chores. They live beneath the stove or in the cellar, and when a family moves into a house, they should put a slice of bread beneath the stove in order to attract a domovoi. If the family wants their domovoi to serve them well, they should treat them with great respect and leave offerings of fine food out for them. However, if this practice of payment is discontinued, they will use their nights to smash the household's crockery and upset its pets. Although the domovoi are seldom seen, they are generally considered to be small, grey bearded men covered with tangled hair. Their female counterparts, the kikimora (sometimes said to be their wives) are small with long hair. The sight of a domovoi is an omen of great misfortune, and the sound of his sobbing foretells a death in the family.

DRACS
In Arles, an area in South France, the dracs are said to sometimes take the forms of golden rings or cups floating on rivers, and when bathers try to take these the dracs seize them and drag them to the river bottom, where they usually eat them. They can also take on human form, and live in the caverns of the rivers. Sometimes they abduct suckling women to act as wet nurses for them, and when these women return after seven years, they are unharmed by can hardly be recognized. These women will be able to see them if they rub the grease of the dracs' food into their eyes, but if the dracs discover they have done this, they will promptly blind the woman in whichever eye has this power of second sight.

DRYADS
The Nymphs of the woods, the dryads live in trees and will die when their tree dies naturally or is destroyed. Some of them are Artemis' attendants, and some follow Dionysius in his drunken reveries. One dryad, Syrinx, was chased by the faun like god, Pan, and upon reaching a lake, called upon the Limniads for help. They changed her into some reeds, but Pan used these reeds to make the syrinx, more commonly known as the panpipes, which he continues to play merrily through the hills.

DUENDES
These house spirits of Spain resemble frail old men, and wore long comical hats without brims, like many of the clergy. They have been thought to be fallen angels. When buying things at the market, they pay with fairy money, which turns insubstantial in a matter of hours.

DUERGAR
The dwarfs of the Norse, they live in the rocks and hills and are brilliant metallurgists, and are smiths for the gods. They were once the maggots in the giant Ymir's flesh, and became the duergar when he died. They became the partakers of human knowledge, and although they resemble man in most ways except for their short legs, long arms that almost reach the ground when they are upright, and grumpy dispositions, as well as the fact that they turn into stone when sunlight shines on them.

DWARFS
The Finns only believe in a branch of this class of little folk, who seem to be, like Gnomes, spirits of the earth. The main difference between them is that while gnomes have no obvious physical defects, dwarfs have twisted bodies, big heads and gnarled faces. Although they usually live underground, they may emerge to the surface for special occasions. If they choose to celebrate these in men's homes, then the householder and his family are always welcome to join in the festivities, and a rejection of one of their invitations will be taken as an insult and will bring ill fortune upon the family. Dwarfs are particularly skilful at mining, metallurgy and metalworking. They will sometimes trade their crafts for human goods, or help miners locate ore, and have a strong ability to foretell the future, although they do not usually use this to help mankind. In Finland, they sometimes invite mortals to their magnificent underground kingdom, where they are sumptuously entertained and given plenty of brandy, tobacco, and suchlike things.

DWARFS
There is a branch of the dwarf family that lives on the Isle of Rügen, and it is divided into the White, the Brown and the Black dwarfs. White dwarfs are delicate and beautiful, and have innocent and gentle dispositions. During winter, they stay in their homes in the hills making works of gold and silver too delicate for mortals to discern, although they remain above ground for the rest of the year, in the sunshine and starlight enjoying uninterrupted revelry. Sometimes they just sit and gaze at budding or blossoming, plants; sometimes they dance to sweet and delicate music in the grass, the hills, the brooks and the springs, bewildering travelers unable to see them. When humans can see them, they are usually in the forms of multi-colored birds, butterflies, or snow-white doves. Brown dwarfs, less than eighteen inches high, wear little brown coats, jackets and caps, their caps with a silver bell on the top. Their shoes are black with red strings, although they wear glass ones to dance. They are very handsome, with clear, light colored eyes and small, beautiful hands and feet, and are cheerful and good-natured, though at times roguish. They are also skilful with gold and silver. At night, they may come out and dance by the light of the moon and stars, and may come into houses, invisible (except to others wearing similar caps) and shifting their shape to slip through the keyholes. They may leave presents behind for the children, but have a habit of capturing children in their cradles and forcing them to work for them for fifty years. They may also plague lazy servants with nightmares, biting them like fleas and scratching and tearing at them like cats or dogs. They also frighten people at night in the shapes of owls, thieves or their lovers, and will lead them astray in bogs and marshes; sometimes even leading them to the people they are running from. The black dwarves are ugly with weeping eyes, and wear black jackets and caps. They excel at working steel, which they shape into swords and shields, which they may sell to humans. Interested buyers should sit beneath an elder tree in the summer, as they often linger here. They are mischievous, malicious and unsociable, keeping mostly to their homes in the hills and never wandering far from them in the daytime. They have no music or dancing, only howling and whimpering, causing the strange noises in the forests that humans hear.

EKIMMU
One of the uttuku, evil or vengeful spirits of the ancient Assyrians, the ekimmu appeared wailing and crying outside a home to signal an impending death, much like a British Banshee.

ELLEFOLK
These folk live in the moors of Denmark. The elleman is an old man with a low crowned cap on his head, while the ellewoman is young with a fair and attractive appearance, but hollow in the back and with a cow's tail, and of course, heartless. Young men should beware of her, as she possesses a string instrument that she used to ravish their hearts, and can be seen lightly and gracefully dancing by moonlight, tempting men to join them. If he refuses to the latter proposition, the ellewoman may inflict a sickness upon him. The elleman is also dangerous, as he will breathe upon those who come too close to him while he sunbathes, producing sickness and pestilence. If an animal comes to graze on a hill where an elleman has spat or done worse, it will be attacked by the disease. Cattle may also contract this by mixing with the ellefolk's cattle, which are large, blue, and survive on dew. However, if a farmer is uneasy about letting his livestock feed upon a hill, he need only ask the ellefolk if it is safe to do this, and if he is not prevented from doing so, he can put his mind at rest. They tend to steal dough and other food from mortals, and are believed to be the descendants of Adam and Lilith, his first wife.

ELLYON
Welsh elves, tiny with thin high-pitched voices, they sup on toadstools and fairy butter (a yellow fungus found in the roots of old trees). Well intentioned towards mortals, they sweep and clean the kitchen and tidy the shelves cheerfully each evening, dancing and talking all the while, but will vanish for good if the householder tries to spy on them during this time.

ELVES
Called the huldrafolk by the Norwegians, the elves perpetuate the whole of Scandinavia and are classified into the White and Black Elves, being good and evil respectively. White elves dwell in the air, and make dance in the grass or sit in the leaves of trees, while black enjoy inflicting sickness and injury on mankind. An intermediate class of Högfolk or hill people also exists, and their singing can be heard from out of the hills at night, especially during summer. This music is in the minor key, and is a dull and mournful sound. However, they also know of a tune known as the Elf King's Tune, which can make everything and anything (including inanimate objects) within earshot, dance. The dancing can then only be stopped by playing the tune backwards or by cutting the strings of the fiddle on which it is played. Black elves often live under the houses of mankind, being sportive and mischievous and often imitating the actions of men. They love cleanliness, and will reward the neatest servants, but will punish those who will not listen to their requests. Elves enjoy dancing in the meadows, and the touch of their feet helps grass to grow, thus producing a ring of brighter green in the grass of meadows and woods. Mortals will be able to see them if they go to a center of a circle at midnight, and though it need not be exactly midnight, it should be quite some time before cockcrow, as this is when they will vanish. However, not all people can see them, and you are only assured of this ability if you were born on a Sunday or have had the gift of this sight bestowed upon you.

ELVES OF LIGHT
A tiny people in the legends of the Alongquins, they live in the forest and enjoy dancing. Their Queen is summer, a tiny but exquisitely beautiful creature who was once captured by the god Glooskap, who kept her in a moose hide as he entered the wigwam of the giant Winter. Her very presence caused Winter to melt away and spring to come, woke the elves in the earth that had been hidden in the winter.

EMPUSAE
In their natural state, the empusae of Greece have the head and the breasts of a girl but the body and legs of a donkey. However, this does not deter them from seducing and murdering lone male travelers in the forms of beautiful maidens. They wait silently by the roadside for their victims, and if asked to speak, reply with a loud bray.

ÉTAIN
A lovely member of the Tuatha de Danaan in Irish mythology, her jealous rival turned her into a fly, and she was blown by the winds for seven years until she was blown into the Great Hall of Inver Cechmaine and was swallowed by the wife of that nobleman, and was reborn nine months later, again with the name Étain and growing to be an exquisitely beautiful woman. All the while, her lover King Midhir of the Fairy Hill knew where she was, and eventually reclaimed his lost bride with the aid of fairy magic and wisdom.

FADAS
These were phantom lovers of men in North France. If their amours married others, the fadas ensured that he would die before consummating his marriage. If he did not, the lovers would inevitably drift apart anyway with the men losing their purpose of life without the fadas. Fadas were often worshipped with sacrifices, and were said to bring fertility. On 31st December, the fadas would enter the houses of their worshippers bearing good luck in their right hands and bad luck in their left hands. The rooms would have been cleansed with the doors and windows left open and a white cloth on the table. Also on the table would be a vessel full of water or wine, a cup, some food, and a lighted candle or a wax taper in the center. Families who left good food for the fadas would receive good fortune, while those who gave them poor food would receive the opposite. Fadas were only occasionally said to be miniscule like British Fairies.

FAIRIES
Fairies occupy the whole of Britain, save the counties of Devon, Cornwall and Somerset. They usually assume the forms of perfect miniature humans, and are able to increase and decrease their size at will., and may sometimes even appear the height of a human adult. They possess the inborn characteristic of glamour, which enables the fairy to remain invisible to humans while actually occupying a parallel dimension running beside ours and to reveal themselves when they please. It also enables them to make themselves totally irresistible to any human, putting him or her at their beck and call, and to cast their various bewitchments on humans, as well as bestowing gifts on human children. It is also possible to see a fairy during a full moon at Midsummer Eve, or by looking at them through a hole in a stone that has been bored naturally by erosion. Fairies usually dress in green with red caps each ornamented with a white feather, and live inside hollow hills or great mounds of earth known as barrows. A king and queen govern each tribe of fairies, and the entire race is under the command of King Oberon and Queen Titania (or Queen Mab, according to other sources). They rule from the fairy kingdom of Hy Brasil. Their currency is fairy gold, which has the displeasing habit of turning into dead leaves when brought into the mortal world. Fairies often undertake the tasks of ensuring a mortal's good fortune (or bad fortune, depending on how the mortal had pleased or displeased the fairy folk), or sometimes simply play tricks on them. Occasionally intermarriages between fairies and humans take place, usually between a female fairy and a mortal male, but such relationships are doomed to failure, for reasons such as the fairy spouse's inability to attend church with her husband (fairies can only pay homage to the Old Religion) and her hopeless housekeeping. Fairies are often portrayed as flimsy and feckless, but the fact is that many of the males are heroic warriors, protecting the tribes from threats of Goblins, Pixies and the like. Fairies love singing and dancing, and have often been seen engaging in these activities together. Their diet of fairies consists of honey, various birds' eggs, berries, fruit, grain, assorted garden produce, cake, dew and nectar, the last of which they drink as an intoxicating beverage. They do not like milk, as they find it too thick for them. They often steal food from farmers, beekeepers and gardeners, but reward them by encouraging the produce to grow. They may also steal a housewife's baking, so it is wise to mark it with a cross to ward them away. However, the most anti social activity that fairies indulge in is the theft of babies before their baptism and leaving ugly, deformed changelings behind, which some people think is a way to increase their numbers. They certainly need as many of their race as possible, though, what with their having to pay a tithe to Satan of a fairy every seven years, and of course, bearing the destructive forces of mankind.

FATAE
These fairies of Italy may have been personifications of fortune and have been confused with witches. They appear in a household soon after a birth, and bestow gifts upon the child. If the family is pleasant, the child would receive good qualities, if not, they might bestow a taboo or embargo upon the child for life, and the family might find itself afflicted with baldness, deafness, rheumatism, or suchlike ailments. Every fifth year they were to appear before the Demogorgon at his temple in the Himalayas, and traveled there through the air in various strange conveyances. There were two classes of them; one beneficent and protective, looking after heroes and maidens, and the other seductive and injurious. Fatae sometimes appeared as snakes, and have also been called Magae or Incantrices.

FAUNS
Spirits of agricultural fertility, these are sometimes confused with Satyrs, but have the legs, tails and ears of deer rather than goats and have the bodies and faces of handsome youths, their skin and fur both being smooth. They are gentle and harmless, and Nymphs enjoy their company, and they may be seen dancing gracefully together as the faun plays his shawn, a kind of flute their founding deity Faunus invented.

FÉES
Fairies of Normandy, the fées are a small and handsome folk ruled by their Queen, Abundia, and enjoy dancing at night in circles (or fairy rings). Anyone who sees them is irresistibly impelled to join them. He is let in, but the whirling movement increases so that he feels giddy, and finally falls to the ground exhausted. The fées may then amuse themselves by taking him and flinging him up to a great height in the air, severely bruising and sometimes even killing him. They live in the hollows of rocks or barrows, and may haunt springs, where they wash their linen, hanging it out to dry on the Druidic stones. They may make use of a farm's horses or utensils at night, but leave no trace of their work in the morning, unless they break a utensil, in which case it will have been mended good as new. Originally nature spirits, they have the power to turn into small trees, moss or stones. They may also hold fairs on cliffs, selling marvels and magical enchantments, but if a mortal tries to buy something, they will seize him and throw him down the cliffs.

FENODEREE
Tall, with twisted, ugly features and a body covered with black hair, the fenoderee is a Brownie who dwells on the Isle of Man . Originally, he was a handsome prince from the proud Fairy tribe of the Ferrishyn, and his present looks are a punishment for failing to attend a fairy festival, preferring to spend his time with a mortal maiden. He possesses great strength and is favored by farmers for helping with heavy agricultural tasks, and are famed for their skill, thoroughness and efficiency in harvesting crops. He may mischievously shake hands with someone, easily crushing the person's hand with his grip. However, people can take advantage of his dullness and instruct him to gather water in a sieve or round up a hare with a flock of sheep in revenge. Like all brownies, he is offended by thanks or gifts, especially of clothes, and will not tolerate criticism either.

FINVARRA
The High king of the Irish Fairies, Finvarra was the leader of the tribe of the Daoine Sidhe, originally the Tuatha de Danaan, and lived in the Hollow Hills. The palace court, known as Finvarra's Rath, was below the Hill of Knochma. He possesses great intelligence and is a famed chess player, and many mortals have lost all they owned including their lives in a game with him. Although both he and his court have diminished in size since the coming of Christianity, his looks and virility have not been impaired, and although married to Oonagh, the most beautiful woman who ever lived, he frequently gives chase to mortal maidens, who, after a night with him, rarely wish to return to their mortal husbands.

FIR DARRIG
This odd little Fairy of Ireland with a blue nose and a red coat help mortals trapped in Fairyland to escape or show them antidotes to spells or curses for a fee paid in whisky. However, he also enjoys the art of "pishogue" the art of bemusing man's sense so that things seem to be their opposites so it is unwise to trust him too much.

FOLLETS
A Northern French demon which inhabits homes of country people and cannot be kept away with water or exorcism, the follet has a habit of pelting people with sticks, stones and domestic utensils as the people come in through the door. They are invisible, but speak like humans.

FORSO
Ghosts of the islands off northern Australia and some parts of New Guinea. Although rarely seen, they can be likened to the East Asian Spirits of Accident because of their habit of causing things to go wrong in its descendants' homes. They do this mainly because of boredom and loneliness rather than an evil nature, wanting to remind their descendants of their existence, and thus can be averted by making frequent visits to their graves or bringing their remains into the house, both of which will give the forso lots of company.

FOX FAIRIES
Foxes are traditionally creatures of cunning, and according to Northern Chinese myth, when a fox reaches fifty years of age, it will be able to turn itself into a woman. At the age of a hundred, it will be able to transform into a young girl. At a thousand, it will become a celestial fox, and will have grown nine tails. They often appear in the form of girls to scholars studying in the evening, and seduce them. The scholar makes love to the girl, and finds that she has disappeared in the morning, but she returns once more in the evening to do the same thing. The scholar finds himself getting weaker and weaker, until he learns from a Taoist that the girl is a fox who is sucking him dry to obtain the essence of immortality. In case you find yourself in a similar position, other signs that the girl is a fox fairy are her surname, which she will say to be Hu, meaning fox, and the fact that she never changes her clothes, but they never seem to get soiled. Fox fairies also lived invisibly with people in houses in old Beijing, with a fox official keeping watch in the tower at the eastern side gate of the city. Families who share these houses were to put out food for them and not complain when they made noise at night, or else the foxes would put filth in their food supply. The Japanese also believed in fox fairies, which they called koki teno and assumed human form by entering the bodies of mortals or by finding a skull in a cemetery and facing the North Star. They could be recognized by their fear of dogs.

FRIDEANS
These Scottish Elves live beside roadways and travelers should offer them bread and milk before starting on a journey.

 GALLICENAE
Nine priestesses of Brittany, holy in perpetual virginity. They lived at an oracle for the Gallic god, and could raise the winds and seas, turn themselves into animals, cure wounds and diseases incurable by others, and see into the future.

GANCONER
Handsome, dashing, and totally unprincipled, the Ganconer truly lives up to his Irish name of Cancanagh or Love Talker. Playing enticing music on his flute, he wanders lonely valleys and copses, searching for an unaccompanied shepherdess or milkmaid to seduce, and then disappears. The girl, having experienced fairy lovemaking, is no longer content with the mortal world and pines and dies for him. Girls wishing to escape such a fate should keep away from fairy flowers: harebells, love in idleness, and especially the May bush.

GANS
Apache Indian shamans offer prayers to the gans wearing black masks and high headdresses made of wooden slats, and hold dances in ceremonial houses known as kivas. the gans are asked to drive evil spirits away and will use their considerable powers to attract good fortune if satisfied. Ironically, when the first white settlers arrived in America, they identified the gans with demonic spirits.

GHILLIE DHUS
Extremely shy, these sweet natured, docile and solitary Scottish wood sprites are clad in moss and leaves and live in birch trees. They are kind to lost children and show the hungry which nuts and berries are safe to eat.

GLAISTIGS
These female water sprites have the faces and torsos of beautiful and seductive women and the hairy horses and cloven hooves of goats, which they hide beneath their long, green, embroidered gowns and cloaks. The glaistig lures a man to dance with her by a highland loch before feeding on his blood. However, she has a kinder side and loves music, as well as sometimes helping children, old women or cattle tending farmers.

GLASHANS
These elemental spirits of the Isle of Man sometimes magnetize the stones that mark the road's edges. and these exert a strong pull on passing cars, causing them to swerve off the road despite the driver's best efforts.

GLASTYNS
These field sprites frequent farmhouses on the Isle of Man and help farmers with their chores, only asking for a bowl of cream at the day's end, much like the Brownie. They may also appear as small grey water horses or lambs, always with unusually long tails. They are not entirely benevolent, as those slighted have been known to run amok, raping women and destroying crops, usually when they or their families have been injured by the farmer's land clearance. Farmers should loudly explain their intentions as they walk past areas known to be inhabited by glastyns, giving them ample time to relocate.

GNOMES
Gnomes are about twelve centimeters tall and have pointed red caps and beards. They live for hundreds of years, and are generally helpful and benign, and live mostly on cereal and root vegetables. Some live underground, each family looking after a store of a mineral resource, and are able to swim, like North European Dwarfs, through the earth. Others live in the roots of trees in forests, helping milkmaids with milking, shepherds with rounding up sheep, and cobblers with shoemaking. They pioneered many crafts, such as weaving and woodworking, although they chose not to explore more complex technologies, thus avoiding the problems of industrialization.

GOBLINS
The goblins resemble miniature humans, but their smiles of malicious mischief and depraved cunning have never been matched by those of humans. a goblin smile will curdle the blood, and his laugh sours milk and causes fruit to fall from trees. Their prime works o mischief are luck spoiling and weaving nightmares to be inserted in people's ears. They also enjoy tipping over pails of milk, hiding hens' eggs, pestering horses making them blow and stamp, blowing soot down chimneys, extinguishing candles in haunted houses, and altering signposts. They are able to communicate with wasps, mosquitoes, hornets and flies, and enjoy directing them to humans or horses and watching the results with delight. Goblins have no actual homes, for although they may infest mossy clefts in rocks or roots in old trees, they are too capricious to settle down for long, and travelers can often hear their squeals and titters as they plot some fresh mischief. Their king is Gwyn ap Nudd, who rules them from the realm of Gwerddonnau Llion.

GRANTS
In England, a grant may appear as a yearling foal erect on its hind legs with sparkling eyes. It will appear in the streets in the daytime or at sunset, warning people of impending danger of fire by running about the streets, causing dogs to chase after it, although their efforts to catch it will be in vain.

GREEN LADIES
Usually found in elm, oak, willow and yew, but also pine, holly, ash and apple, these tree spirits are easily offended if their trees were not treated with respect, so one should ask permission from the resident of a tree before chopping a branch from it, and Derbyshire farmers still plant primroses at the feet of such trees in order to be rewarded with wealth and longevity. In Scotland, the same name was given to a phantom that would haunt a family just before a death was imminent, sometimes taking the shape of a bunch of trailing ivy.

GREMLINS
Mischievous spirits of tools and machinery, gremlins were said to have helped inventors and craftsmen to bring about the Industrial Revolution, but because they were not given any credit for this, began to channel their efforts into making life difficult for humans. They often caused machinery to break down at the most inconvenient moments during World War Two, making it rather surprising that Britain emerged triumphant in the end, and today infest houses, doing much the same thing to toasters, sewing machines and word processors as they did to airplanes. Gremlins are thought to be small with long, webbed feet which allow them to move quietly, green skin, pointed ears and mischievous smiles on their faces, as they are friendly pranksters rather than malicious goblins. Sometimes they are said to dress like mechanics, at other times they appear in spats, top hat and breeches.

GRUAGACHS
The females of this species of Highland Scots fairy have long fair hair and travel from village to village by water, helping to tend cattle. Because of their mode of transport, the gruagach tends to arrive at the farm door drenched, asking to dry herself by the fire. If she is admitted, she will be lucky around the house and serve the family well. The males help with farm work, and wear jerkins of bright red and green leather. Rather like Brownies, they will happily serve their masters for nothing more than a cup of milk.

GUARDIAN SPIRITS
These may be more of a parallel to angels or gods than fairies, as they acted as supernatural teachers and guides of both the North and South American Indians. They often manifested in animal form and guided individuals through advice and songs, contacting them through dreams or other portents. One found his guardian spirit by going through a vision quest, at the end of which the spirit would appear to the person. In North America, all individuals were expected to find personal guardian spirits, whereas in South America, this was only the privilege of shamans. Guardian spirits are still popular today in New Age belief.

GUI
In China, these are souls of people who have not earned enough merit during their lives to warrant promotion to the afterworld, and must continue their miserable existences on earth, naturally making them angry and evil natured and eager to take revenge on those who sin, although they may act charitably towards their descendants. When displeased, at best they will merely overturn furniture and pinch children's faces, and at worst they will bring sickness and death. They resemble skeletons, except that their skulls are fronted with demonic faces, and tend to have long tongues. They have no legs, and so the males get around by jumping, and the females glide above the floor. Because they can only move in straight lines, putting a screen in front of a doorway in a room will frustrate them, as they will not be able to go round it, and roofs with upward curving gables will prevent them from sliding down them and pouncing on people below. They also shy from iron and steel, and if asked a riddle, they will ponder upon it for a while, then give up and go elsewhere.

GWRAGGEDD ANNWN
Beautiful blonde water maidens, the gwraggedd annwn of Wales live in rich palaces beneath lakes. By moving certain flowers or stones by these lakes, one can gain entrance to a secret passage leading to the lake's middle, where the gwraggedd annwn hold court surrounded by beautiful gardens and visitors are entertained with music and sweet foods. However, if the guest should take even a blade of grass as a souvenir, he will thus close the gate to this land forever. The gwraggedd annwn enjoy dancing in the meadow flats, wafting scarves of silver mist above their heads, and have been known to take on mortal men as husbands, producing children gifted in healing who often become famed physicians.

HAN XIANG ZI
Nephew of the celebrated scholar Han Yu, Han Xiang Zi lived in ninth century China and renounced public life to study with the sage Lü Dong Bin. They are both now members of the Ba Xian., or the Eight Immortals. Han Xiang Zi can make flowers grow and blossom at will, and his symbol is the flute.

HATHORS
Nature spirits in the mythology of ancient Egypt, the Hathors can be compared with North European Nornir, the Eastern European Uristory and the South European Fatae. When someone was born, seven of them would gather to plan the life of the child. The Hathors were often portrayed as the sky goddess Hathor, goddess of beauty, love, marriage and childbirth, who often took the form a gigantic cow.

HE XIAN GU
The only female among the Chinese Ba Xian, He Xian Gu is symbolized by the lotus. In life, she swore never to marry, and her stepmother did not know what to do with her. One day when she was cooking rice, she was attacked by a demon and rescued by Lü Dong Bin, who made her an immortal.

HILL PEOPLE
These Swiss dwarfs have lively, joyous dispositions, and are fond of strolling through valleys, viewing and partaking of the labors of agriculture. They are kind and generous, and will drive home lost lambs as well as leaving brushwood and berries for poor children. They keep cattle, and make excellent cheese from their milk, and this cheese, if cut or bitten into, will grow back to its original size, although it can be destroyed if completely eaten at one go.

HOBYAHS
These evil Bogies kidnapped people and imprisoned them in caves, where they had to mine for fairy gold before they were eaten for their pains. They were all extremely frightened of dogs, and with good reason, as they were finally all eaten by a big, black dog.

HÖDEKEN
A Kobold who lived in the palace of the Bishop of Hildeshein, his name meant "little hat", as he wore a small felt hat that hung over his face. He was usually kind and obliging, sometimes informing the Bishop of events to come and making sure the watchmen did not fall asleep, but it could be dangerous to affront him. A scullion who had habitually thrown dirty water and dirt at him was strangled one night, then chopped up and cooked. When the cook heard of this, he abused him, but was thrown in the moat. In the end, the Bishop was forced to banish and exorcise him.

HUACAS
Huacas in Inca myth were often just objects or places sacred because they were associated with important events, or simply because they were uniquely shaped. But sometimes they were stone forms of spirits or divine beings, and watched over fields. They were probably a form of elemental spirit. They can be compared with East Asian Kami.

HULDUFOLK
The Icelandic Elves. Their name means hill people, and they possess bodies and rational spirits, marry, have children, own cattle and other property, have poverty and riches, weeping and laughter, human affections, and have the length of their lives decided by God. Their political system is also like that of the Icelanders. Two viceroys rule over each tribe, and at the end of two years, they sail to Norway with some of their subjects to report to the ruler. Their subjects testify toward their characters, and if the viceroys have been bad, others are appointed in their positions. Newborn infants are prone to be taken by them if left unbaptized, and are replaced with the umskiptinger, or changelings. They live in the rocks, hills and sea, and may appear when it pleases them, usually when the sun is bright as they rarely see it in their dwellings. Sometimes on new year's night, they will change their habitations, and one can confront them in the roads at this time to get them to tell the future, but most, seeking favor with them, leave out food for them, and keep their doors open on that night.

HYTER SPRITES
Well intentioned fairies of East Anglia in England, these sand colored sprites with green eyes can readily assume the form of sand martins, and thus disguised, rescue lost children and return them to their homes. If the child was lost and frightened due to his parents' neglect, the hyter sprite will admonish the adults severely, as he dislikes irresponsibility and carelessness.

ISKRZYCKI
According to a Slavic folk tale, Iskrzycki (whose name literally meant firestone) was a man like creature with horse's hooves whom a nobleman took in as a servant. When he noticed his hooves, the nobleman wanted to back out of the contract. but Iskrzycki insisted that he must keep to his word, and took p his abode invisibly in the stove. After a while, the household became accustomed to his presence, but the lady still disliked him and persuaded the lord to have them move to another castle. However, on the way to their new home, their carriage began to overturn, and as the lazy cried out, Iskrzycki's voice rang out from nowhere, saying "Iskrzycki is with you!" Seeing, that there was no getting rid of him, the lord and lady moved back, and lived on good terms with their strange servant until his term had ended.

JAGUAR SPRITS
In Olmec and Amazon mythology, these were snarling spirits with the heads of jaguars and the bodies of men, often with staring eyes, a double row of fangs, and skin with magical healing properties. They symbolized the supernatural world and the fertile aspect of the jungle, and can be compared to East Asian Fox Fairies. Even today, when a jaguar is to be killed, it must be stalked for three days first, then killed with a wooden spear.

JINN
Formed from "smokeless fire , the fire of the wind Simoom, these entities were created several millennia before Adam, and were governed by a succession of monarchs named Suleyman, the last of which was called Jân ibn Jân and built the pyramids of Egypt. However, because of their disobedience, they were punished and driven from the earth to the islands by the angels. Many were imprisoned or slaughtered, and one captured jinnee (a male jinn; the female is called a jinniyeh) known as Azâzel became an angel but refused to worship Adam and so was banished and became a sheytân or devil, the father of all sheytâns. The jinn are not immortal, but will survive mankind, and can be destroyed by men, other jinn, or shooting stars hurled at them from heaven. Because fire runs in their bodies instead of blood, once hit, they will burn to death. They eat, drink and can have children with other jinn or humans. Good jinn are of great beauty, while evil jinn are gigantic and horribly deformed. They hate iron, and the evil jinn can cause waterspouts and sandstorms. All jinn can change their shape and have great powers of magic. They also live in the mountains of Kâf, but some may take up residence in baths, wells, latrines, ovens, ruined houses, seas, rivers and market places. They can fly up to the lowest heavens and listen to the words of the angels, and from this can learn the future. Men, with the use of talismans or magic, can make them obey their words and ask them divulge their knowledge of the future.

JUNGLE SPIRITS
The Amazons believed in an amazing variety of ogres, demons and powerful spirits, often shaped like animals. Some of these were the ghosts of the dead, and they lived in a spirit world parallel to our own, running alongside to it. They could only contact these spirits through their shamans (see Guardian Spirits ) . They also regarded birds as demonic spirits, and dead spirits would sometimes battle them, often only to die the final death by being eaten by a gigantic eagle.

KACHINA
The ancestor spirits of the Pueblo Indians in North America, these were associated with all parts of daily life and in certain festivals, were played by dancers wearing feathered masks. The Hopi Indians also believed in kachinas, considering them to be the souls of virtuous dead people. They exist in the spirit world for half the year, then return to the Hopi from winter to midsummer. There are over three hundred different kachinas, each with its individual personality and mask.

KAMI
A Japanese word used to describe all natural objects with awe inspiring, sacred power, such as tall and ancient trees or rivers and oceans, as well as powerful humans. It also applies to deities and spirits. There are millions of kami, and they can be found in both heaven and earth. They can be likened to Huacas of the Americas.

KAPPAS
These demon dwarfs of Japan resemble grotesque little men with tortoiseshells on their backs and claws on their webbed hands and feet. They have greenish skin, round eyes, beaked noses, smell of rotten fish and a circular depression filled with water on the tops of their heads. They descend from the spirits of drowned people, and lie in wait for wandering people and animals at the water's edge, ready to drag them into the water where they will eat them from the inside out. If you are unfortunate enough to encounter a kappa, you should do either one of two things: bow, so that it will return the bow, spilling the water stored in its head and rendering it powerless until it submerges itself to refill the depression, or throw it a cucumber with your name and age carved on it, as they love these even more than they love human flesh and will gladly eat it instead, making a note of who you are so that they will spare you in the future. Kappas can travel on their cucumbers, which fly like dragonflies. they have been known to befriend wise men, and teach them the art of setting bones.

KELPIES
A Scottish water spirit, while the kelpy sometimes manifests himself as a short, hairy man, he is usually seen as a wild young colt who enjoys throwing its riders into the sea or a cross between a horse and a bull, with two long, sharp horns. In his guise as a horse, it is possible to temporarily tame him with the use of a magic bridle, though this will infuriate him no end and it would be best not to be present when it is removed. He often eats his victims after they have drowned, and is recognizable by his inverted hoof prints. Sometimes he takes the form of a handsome young prince, leading maidens to a watery fate worse than death. In this shape, he can be discerned by the shells or barnacles in his hair. In Ireland, he is known as the aughisky.

KESHALYI
The good fairies of the gypsies, their name comes form the Romany word for spindle, as they are connected with spinning (a particular Gypsy invocation against sterility includes the words "Fairies, spin.") They possess the power of magic, and lead long lives. Their princess is Ana, and they must send all female members of their clan aged over 999 years, to the Loçolico, perhaps a parallel to the trend that British Fairies must pay to hell every seven years.

KILIAKAI
These forest demons of Papua New Guinea Kyakas look like miniscule, wizened versions of the tribe’s people of the country's highlands. One possible reason for this is that they may actually be babies who have aged without reaching adult stature, as the kilyakai have a habit of stealing mortal babies and bestowing demonic natures upon them in order to reinforce their numbers. Examples of their mischief also include the theft of pigs and the shooting of tiny arrows at people walking through the forests, giving them terrible diseases such as malaria.

KILLMOULIS
These ugly Brownies of Scotland guard mills. Every mill possesses one, and they devote themselves to the welfare of the family they serve. They have no mouths, but enormous noses, so that they eat by snorting up their food. Dwelling in a cozy spot by the hearth or oven, the killmoulis will wail if sickness or misfortune threatens the family. However, they can also be pranksters, blowing ashes over shelled oats left out to dry.

KIRKONWAKI
Literally "church folk" in Finnish, these are little misshapen beings to be found beneath the altars of churches rather than staunch Christians. When the female kirkonwaki are experiencing a difficult labor, a Christian woman's laying her hand on the altar will relieve this, and, being grateful, they will reward her with a gift of gold or silver.

KNOCKERS
Cornish goblins who dwell in mines of southwestern England, knockers point out rich veins of lead, silver and tin by tapping on the shaft walls with their antler picks, hence their name. Miners often leave behind pieces of Cornish pasty for them to eat. However, whistling and swearing annoys them and they will shower the guilty person with pebbles and gravel until he stops. There is a belief that they are the ghosts of the Jews who took part in the crucifixion of Jesus and were sent to work in the mines as punishment, which makes them fear the cross. Knockers also exist in Wales, where they are called coblynau.

KOBOLDS
German house spirits, these are also found in Switzerland. Before moving into a house, they will test the disposition of the resident family by bringing chips and sawdust into the house and throwing dirt into the milk vessels. If the master of the house ensures that these are not disturbed, the kobold will move into the house and stay there as long as one of the family remains alive. A change of servants does not bother him, but a leaving servant should tell whoever replaces him of the kobold, and instruct him to treat him well. If he does not do this, things will go badly in the household until the newcomer leaves.

KORREDS
In Brittany, these are short, stumpy people with shaggy hair, dark, wrinkled faces, little deep set eyes bright as carbuncles, hollow, cracked voices, cats' claws and horny goat feet. They are expert smiths and coiners and have great treasures stored in the dolmen (stone tables) that they built and live in. They dance around the dolmen at night, and passing peasants will be forced to dance with them until he drops dead from exhaustion. They always carry a large leather purse full of gold, but when this is stolen it turns into only scissors and hair. They are said to have erected the standing stones. Their day of rest is Wednesday (I do not say "holy day" because they detest religion) and their annual feast falls on the first Wednesday in May, which they celebrate with singing and dancing.

KORRIGANS
These fairies of Brittany are less than two feet tall, and can predict the future, assume any form they please, move from place to place as fast as thought, and cure maladies with charms. If a human is to their liking, they may tell him one of these charms. The females have long flowing hair, which they often comb, and wear a long white veil as a dress around their bodies. They look ravishingly beautiful at night, but in the daylight, their eyes are red, their hair is white, and their faces are wrinkled, so they rarely let themselves be seen at this time. They are fond of music, but do not dance, and have a tendency to haunt springs. They celebrate each returning spring with a great nocturnal festival with great food, lit by a crystal cup emitting bright light. At the end, a cup filled with liquor that can make the drinker as wise as god is passed round the table. At the coming of a mortal, the entire festival will simply vanish. The korrigans may steal children, but can be exorcised by invoking the Virgin Mary with a rosary. it is said that they were once princesses who refused to accept Christianity and were changed into spirits through God's curse, which explains why they detest it so. They continue their race by uniting with handsome young men.

KUBERA
The king of the Yakshas, Kubera is the god of wealth and is associated with the earth and mountains because of the treasures that lie in them in the forms of minerals and gems. He originally lived in Lanka with Ravana, his half brother, but was expelled, and now resides on a beautiful mountain in the Himalayas. Many men have ventured there to steal from the mounds of treasure that lie in his palace, but now their bones lie among the riches that they so coveted. He is usually depicted as a dwarfish figure with a paunch, bearing a moneybag or a pomegranate and seated on a man. Sometimes a mongoose also accompanies him.

KUL
A water spirit of the Eskimos in the arctic, Kul may be malevolent but generally helps the Northern peoples with their fishing rather than hampering it. As a show of gratitude he is offered some of the fish caught at the beginning of each season.

LAKE DEMONS
Perhaps comparable to the Limniads, these Spanish water spirits live in a lake on the summit of Convagnum in Catalonia. If anything fell into this lake, there would be an awful unrest in the lake, and the water in it was dark and fathomlessly deep. The lake demons kidnapped humans and used them as beasts of burden, especially children whose parents carelessly wish for this to happen. These unfortunates are kept for at last seven years before being released to the mortal world once more.

LAMAS
Benevolent and protective spirits of ancient Chaldea, the lamas supervised the welfare of mortals and were usually depicted as female, their likenesses carved beside doors to sacred chambers to repel evil. In later myths, they took different shapes and were named, such as lion headed Nigal and bull torsoed Kirub. Most often, however, the lama was shown as a winged hybrid creature, and may have been linked to the goddess spirit who presided over the home and the heart, Lamaria.

LAN CAI HE
The patron saint of minstrels, Lan Cai He is one of the Chinese Ba Xian; his gender is somewhat ambiguous, and is said to have been a singer whose sons foretold the future when on earth. His emblem is a basket of fruit or flowers, and is often seen in market places wearing a ragged blue gown and only one shoe.

LEANAN SIDHE
Shadowy, seductive, capricious, elusive and quite irresistible, Leanan Sidhe's beautiful voice and exquisite voice inspires poets and singers in Ireland to brilliant, albeit short, lives, much like the South European Muses. However, on the Isle of Man she is a blood-sucking vampire and is known as Lhiannon Shee.

LEPRECHAUNS
These Irish fairies are chiefly occupied as shoemakers for the fairies, and are never seen with more than one shoe in their possession so that they can escape quickly when a mortal sees them. Like many animals, they hibernate underground during the winter and emerge only in the summer, when the tapping of their hammers can be heard over moors and meadows. They are merry fellows, dressed in green and wearing cocked red caps, breeches, leather aprons and buckled shoes, working on shoes under dock leaves. Like their cousins the Cluricauns, they indulge in alcohol, though only in heather ale. Leprechauns also know the location of hidden treasure, but it is useless to seek them for that reason. A leprechaun can be caught, but never held, and as soon as a human tries to interrogate him he will fling the contents of his snuffbox in his face, and when the human recovers from his fit of sneezing, the leprechaun will be long gone.

LESHII
In the dark pine forests of the Baltic countries there live these wood spirits, skinny little creatures with blue skin, green hair and green eyes. A leshy resents travelers, considering them invaders into the forests, and will punish them by leading them astray. They can cause a bewilderment of the senses and make you lose your sense of direction totally, and during winter they will erase your footprints so that you cannot retrace them if you get lost. They are extremely nimble, and it is folly to try to catch a glimpse of one on your trail as they will always be faster than you and can dodge behind you as soon as you look in the spot where they last were. They can be defeated by the simple albeit uncomfortable methods of putting one's shoes on the wrong feet and one's clothes on back to front. This will confuse the leshy, who will be unable to tell which way you are going and will, in the end, leave you alone.

LI TIE GUAI
Shown as a sick beggar with an iron crutch for his lame leg, Li Tie Guai had his body burned by his disciple who assumed he was dead when he had gone spirit traveling. He was forced to take on a newly dead body; the sick beggar was the first one at hand. His emblem is a bottle gourd, from which a bat is seen escaping. He was taught the art of immortality by Xi Wang Mu herself, and is now one of the Ba Xian of China.

LIEKKOS
These ghostly flames hover over bogs and meadows in Finland, rather like the British Will O' the Wisp. It bobs at eye level and presages death or mishap for all who see it, often mistaking it for the light of a welcoming farmhouse. It is said that a long ago New Year festival had children sing while marching through the village holding candles above their heads. This custom ended when a witch seized the opportunity to kidnap the children, who were never heard of again save in the form of their lost souls wandering the marshes, still holding their candles which are the flames of liekko. Since they can only return to earth by replacing one of their numbers with a living child, mothers warn their children never to follow the lights.

LIMNIADS
These were the Greek Nymphs of the lakes, and once helped Syrinx, a Dryad, by turning her into some lakeside reeds.

LIPSIPSIP
These dwarfish spirits of the new Hebrides live in trees and stones. They are potentially dangerous, as they will devour a man who has offended them.

LOBS
These amiable Brownie like creatures with extremely long tails, their essential difference being that they are very large and strong, which makes them ideal for heavy farm work. When their work is done, they snooze in a warm spot by the hearth, only hoping for a bowl of milk as payment. However, some are quite clumsy and doltish and it is best to give these only simple tasks and give them their refreshments outdoors.

LORELEI
One of the most beautiful water spirits ever known, Lorelei was a German girl who was unlucky and love and so drowned herself. She can be seen sitting on the banks of the Rhine strumming a wistful song on her harp, rather like South European Merfolk or Sirens. It is said that those who see her lose their minds, or their sight, or both, and others say that she lures sailors and fishermen to their dooms in revenge against her lover.

LÜ DONG BIN
The head of the Ba Xian in China, Lü Dong Bin is symbolized by the sword with which he slays demons, and a wealth of legend has gathered around his name. Two popular romances relate how he had to prove his power in ten ordeals. He is said to have lived either in the Tang or the Song dynasty, and is the patron saint of barbers.

LUNANTISHEE
Frequenting blackthorn trees, this Irish tribe of fairies guards them from careless passers by, and will use their bony white fingers to unmercifully poke anyone who has broken a branch from one without asking permission first. Taking a cutting on Halloween or May Day when the fairies are about is also extremely foolhardy.

LUTINS
The lutin of Normandy is also called the Bon Garçon, meaning the good boy, and has a fondness for children, horses and young maidens. He takes care of horses, gallops them, and plaits or twists their manes in an inexplicable manner. He enjoys this so much that once, upon encountering two maidens asleep in a stable, entwined their hair so that it had to be completely cut off to release the two. When he appears in the form of a horse, he will wait for a peasant to mount him, then kick, fling, rear, bound, and finally jerk him into a marsh or a ditch. If his habits become too annoying, he can be banished by scattering flax seed in the area in question.

MA GU
In China, Ma Gu is a companion of Xi Wang Mu, and carries a bamboo staff with a basket full of hanging from it and is usually depicted with a boy carrying a peach. Her basket is full of flowers and medicinal mushrooms, and she wears her hair in a bun or down to her waist. She grows her nails unusually long, and it is thought (for some obscure reason which I do not understand) to be an indescribable pleasure to be scratched by her nails, but she will punish any who voice this thought with her invisible whip.

MAB
The Queen of the English Fairies, Mab is sometimes thought to be a descendant of the Queen of the Sidhe, Maeve. Unlike Maeve, however, Mab is portrayed more often as a mischievous sprite rather than a Queen, and enjoys giving people dreams, especially erotic ones.

MAITYA
The maitya appear as astonishingly young and beautiful maidens to begin with, but, motivated by their desire to seduce men, they become deflowered and lose their youth and beauty immediately. They also bear three pairs of twins as a result of this union, thus continuing their kind. Their working of havoc is only limited, but their habits can be compared with those of classical ghouls.

MARAS
Originally a Norse term for goblins who attacked sleepers, robbing them of their faculties so that when they awoke they were bereft of speech. Later they were English night riding demons, usually female, who preyed upon men and gave them bad dreams, hence the word "nightmare". Sometimes, they were the souls of jilted girls who visited their erstwhile lovers while they slept, stimulating them to nocturnal emissions and general restlessness.

MAZIKEEN
Also known as the shideem or shehireem, these Jewish fairies are very like the Jinn, and know much of magic and enchantment. They were born when Adam and Eve were excommunicated for 130 years for eating of the tree of knowledge. Female spirits lay with Adam, and male spirits with Eve, and of these unions were born spirits, demons, specters of the night and the mazikeen. Mazikeen are a rank between men and angels: they are like angels in that they can see and not be seen, they have wings and can fly, and can tell the future, and are like men in that they eat and drink, marry and have children, and are subject to death. They also have the power of assuming any shape they please.

MENAHUNE
Like British Brownies, these helpful spirits of the Hawaiian islands appear in households at night and finish the chores. However, they are particular about which families they help, having a preference for ones with kind and pleasant members. Very few people are said to have seen them, but they are believed to have pointed ears, shaggy black hair, and tiny agile bodies.

MERFOLK
These water spirits have been sighted all over the coast of Europe, and by North America and China as well. They are human from waist up and fish from the waist down, but can change their tails to become legs and walk on the land, and some have green hair. The females are exceedingly beautiful in both visage and voice, and the males are strong and handsome Many cases of love between humans and merfolk have been documented; a mermaid will change her tail to legs and live with her mortal lover on the ground, while a merman will turn his mortal lover's legs into a tail so that she can join him underwater. Children produced of unions of the former type will have scaly skin and webbed hands and feet, and will also be unusually gifted. The merfolk do not have souls and so cannot go to heaven, but have extremely long lives. They can tell the future, and tend to be vain, jealous and unforgiving. Many can work magic, and their knowledge of the sea enables them to help fishermen by pointing out where fish are. Fish is, of course, their principal food, and they eat it raw, having no fire beneath the sea.

MERROWS
These Irish merpeople differ from other sea fairies in that they wear red feathered caps when swimming and the loss of these caps when on land will force them to wander the shores in the form of hornless cattle. Gentler than the females of South European Merfolk, the females are beautiful, with long flowing hair, sweet voices and jeweled webs between their fingers, and appear as omens before storms. The males are quite amiable but their green hair and teeth, little pigs' eyes, long red noses and short, flipper like arms make them extremely unattractive to behold.

MIMIS
Rock spirits of the hills of Arnhem in Northern Australia, mimis are extremely thin and attenuated, allowing them to make their homes in the crevices of rocks. They only emerge to seek their food, which includes yams, assorted root vegetables, and the occasional passer by. They have to be careful of when they emerge, though, as a strong wind could blow them away or even break their necks.

MIN MIN LIGHTS
These large, flickering lights of the Min Min region of Queensland have a tendency to appear suddenly to people traveling over the plains at night, stay for an unspecified period of time, then disappear as abruptly as they come. Sometimes they assume the form of a horse or a man, and in recent years, people have mistaken them for lights of approaching vehicles. Although often frightening, Min Min Lights are, otherwise harmless.

MONIACELLOS
Literally little monks, these short, thick men of Italy appear dressed in the long garments of monks with broad brimmed hats on their heads. They appear individually to people in the dead of the night, beckoning them to follow. If the person has enough courage to do so, he will be led to some treasure. Moniacellos also have a habit of snatching people's bedclothes off their beds at night.

MUMIAI
The mumiai is a poltergeist best known for persecuting peasants, especially those of the lowest castes, who had stolen from their neighbors or demonstrated dirty habits. The mumiai toss their belongings in the air, break their pottery and trample on their gardens, finally forcing them to move out of their villages.

MUS
Only two feet high, but immensely strong, the mu of Papua New Guinea also have the ability to make themselves invisible. Luckily, they are good-natured, helping lost children in the forest, but will avoid adults, though not out of fear.

MUSES
Nine goddess nymphs of Greek myth, daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, the spirit of memory. They attend on Apollo, and dwell on Mount Olympus, each supervising an artistic talent and fostering it in mortals. They are Calliope, in charge of epic poetry, Erato, for love poetry, Euterpe, for lyric poetry, Polyhymnia, for religious poetry and hymns, Clio, for history, Urania, for astronomy and astrology, Terpsichore, for dance, Melpomene for tragedy and Thalia for comedy.

NAGAS
Nagas are human from waist up and snakes from waist down, although they are often shown with hooded canopies or seven or more heads. Both sexes are greatly beautiful, and several royal families in India were able to claim descent from them, one of their kings married a nagi (a female naga) in the past. They are in many ways superior to man, and are potentially dangerous, but have promised only to bite humans who are truly evil or destined to die prematurely. Originally, they inhabited the surface of the earth, but they grew too populous and Brahma sent them to the nether regions, where they now live in a great city filled with palaces beautifully ornamented with gems, called Naga loka, Patala loka or Bhogavati. Their tribal chief is Taksaka, and his birthday is still celebrated in India today as a Hindu holiday. Nagas are associated with water, and can be guardians of treasure. However, Buddhists regard them as minor deities and door guardians.

NAGUMWASUCK
The fairies of the Passamaquoddy Native Americans, these are very ugly and hence try to avoid human sight. However, their interest in the fortune of the tribe leads them to help them by giving them good luck while hunting, fishing, and other activities.

NAIADS
Nymphs of the springs, these also make the earth pour forth its fruitfulness for mankind. A particularly lovely naiad, Daphne was once pursued by Apollo but escaped from him by changing into a laurel.

NATS
Supernatural beings from Myanmar, these may be good or evil and live in the sea, air or land. They are part of a complex system of spirit worship, and the most important of them are a group known as the "Thirty Seven Nats", the souls of thirty-seven legendary men and women, who, like all mortals who become nats after death, died violently. Nats are much more powerful than humans and some may be mischievous, unpredictable, and even dangerous, and will cause trouble if annoyed.

NAVKIES
These piteous sprites are found by lakes in Finland and Yugoslavia, and are thought to be the ghosts of babies who died unbaptised or had been murdered by parents unable to feed them, rather like Utburds or American Angiaks. They appear as pale, pretty girls or young children clinging to the branches of riverside trees like willows, where they cry and moan unhappily. Sometimes they take the form of huge black ravens that scream in human tones to passers by, begging for baptism. Others may try to lure people into the water by pretending they are drowning. Sacrifices were sometimes made to the navkies who thirsted for revenge against the living, and even today many in the area respectfully ask the navky's leave before jumping into a stream or lake to swim.

NECKS
These deceptive creatures have the outward appearance of a handsome young man, and one can only recognize him by his teeth, which are like those of a fish's. He captures young maidens by asking them to scratch his head, but if they are smart enough to identify him, he will promptly disappear into thin air.

NEREIDS
Nymphs of the sea, these live like female humans in the caverns and grottos beneath the sea and avert shipwrecks from pious navigators. They descend from Nereus, the sea god, and Gaea, the earth mother. Examples are Amphitrite, Poseidon's wife, and Thetis. Peleus, a mortal, fell in love with Thetis. She changed into many slippery sea animals as he held on to her, but he did not let go of his grasp, and she became his wife, bearing him a son, the famous Greek hero Achilles. However, most remain virgins, and mothers should guard their newborn babies against them.

NIÄGRUISER
Little creatures of the Feroes, they wear red caps on their heads and live in houses bringing good luck to the residences, much like British Brownies.

NIBELUNGEN
Literally the children of mist or darkness, these were subterranean Duergar of Norse folklore descended from Nibelung, famous for having slain twelve giants. Jealous and selfish, they hoarded a mass of treasure in their underground lair.

NICKURS
The nickur takes the form of an apple grey horse with hooves reversed, and will gallop of the cliffs into the sea if one mounts them.

NIGHT WASHERS
These fairies of Brittany are seen washing the linen of the dead on the banks of rivers, and may call upon passers by to help them. It is unwise to refuse their request, as they will drag unhelpful people into the water and break their arms.

NIMUE
This mysterious Arthurian enchantress lives on the Isle of Avalon, in the midst of an imaginary lake surrounded by knights and damsels. The surface of the lake was only illusion, and concealed her whereabouts. She raised Lancelot du Lac, bestowing gifts of strength, valor and beauty upon him, presented Arthur with his sword, Excalibur, and was one of the four fairy queens who took him to Avalon to rest.

NISSES
Like the Kobolds, the nisses of Scandinavia do housework and farmwork at night, and punish servants for irregularity. The nis resembles a Troll in appearance, and like them, hates noise. He is half the size of a one year old, but has the face of an old man, and dresses in grey with a pointed red cap, but wears a round cap on Michaelmas day, like the peasants of the area. He likes the moonlight, and in winter he may be seen jumping over yards or driving a sledge. He also loves music and dancing. A nis called the kirkegrim can also be found in every church, who looks to order and chastises wrongdoers.

NIXES
Also known as water people, the nixes live in the lakes and rivers of Germany. The males differ from human males in that they possess green teeth, and are usually seen wearing green hats. The female nix appears as a beautiful maiden, and can be seen on sunny days, sitting on tree branches or the banks of their resident bodies of water and combing her long golden locks. They have also been seen dancing on the surface of the water just before someone drowns. Their abode beneath the water is magnificent, and they may invite humans here as servants. According to the report of a girl who worked for them once, everything in this realm was excellent, but no salt could be eaten with one's food. Female nixes would sometimes go to the market to purchase meat, extremely neatly dressed save the fact that a part of their clothing, such as the corner of their apron, would be wet. One should beware the land roaming nix, as they have been known to carry off women to work as midwives or to tempt men into the waters with their beauty, drowning them.

NORNIR
These three women sit beneath the world tree Yggdrasil and shape the lives of men by spinning them. Their names are Urd, Verlandi and Skuld, who know of the past, the present and the future respectively. They assist at the births of famous men, bestowing upon them gifts of both good and evil and foretelling their fortune.

NYMPHS
This word originally meant a newly married woman, but now generally applies to the nature spirits of Greece. They were almost always female and attractive, and included Oreads, Dryads, Naiads, Limniads, Nereids, and occasionally the Muses. They were honored with prayer and sacrifice, and had love affairs with mortals occasionally, and are often the mothers or ancestors of heroes and warriors. They are something between goddesses and women, and are long lived because of the ambrosia they eat, but are, like the natural elements, ultimately destructible.

OAKMEN
It is unwise to wander around felled oaks, as oakmen may be lingering around them, angry at the loss of their parent tree. Beatrix Potter described them as red nosed dwarfs wearing red toadstools as caps. They guard the wild animals of the forests and dwell near clumps of bluebells. They may offer delicious food to passing mortals, but this must be refused, for as soon as the fairy magic on them is reversed, you will see they are, in reality, bits of poisonous fungi.

OANNES
Fish headed beings from another world, these were considered to be sea gods by the ancient Chaldeans. Oannes lived among men by day, building the great Sumerian civilization and teaching art, science and religion, while at night they returned to the Persian Gulf to swim in the ocean.

OBERON
The King of the Fairies and the husband of Titania, Oberon was said to be a three-foot high dwarf with a humped back and a charming face. He has been said to be the son of Cephalonia, Queen of the Hidden Isle and Julius Caesar. At his christening, Cephalonia's ladies in waiting bestowed various gifts on him, including the ability to read men’s' thoughts and transport himself to nay place in the world instantly. However, an evil fairy cursed him, resulting in his low stature. Still, this defect has not kept Oberon from having numerous affairs with both human and fairy females.

OHDOWS
Ohdows are a race of small well-formed people with the features of the Native Americans who live underground in North America and are thus never seen. They possess magical powers, which they use to subdue the earth spirits, giants that live in a lower level of the earth. These spirits wish to break out onto the surface, but would wreak havoc on the world if they ever did so. Sometimes these spirits rebel against their imprisonment, and we feel the effects of this as earthquakes or tremors. Luckily, the ohdows always manage to put them back in their place, allowing the world to rest in peace again.

OREADS
These are the Nymphs of the mountains and rocks, and generally dwell on Mount Helicon. An example is Echo, who used to be a handmaiden of Hera and engaged in gossip with her so that she would not notice that her husband Zeus was having a love affair. Upon discovery of the truth, Hera punished Echo by making her only able to repeat the words others said. When she fell in love with a mortal youth, Narcissus, he scorned her because of this curse, and so she pined away, and today only her voice can be heard as the echo in the mountains.

PARAS
Finnish fairies much like the West European Kobolds, the paras steal milk from cows and bring them to the sorceress that they serve, disgorging it in her churn. If troubled by them, it is advisable to find a certain species of mushroom and fry it with tar, salt and sulfur, then beat it with a rod. At this, the sorceress will appear and entreat you to spare the mushroom, which is in reality her para in its daylight form.

PATUPAIAREHE
With fair skin and beautiful voices, the patupaiarehe of the Maoris gave man the secret of fishing with nets, and possess canoes made of reeds, which they can change into sailing vessels, simply by magic. They are known to fish on the uninhabited island of Rangi Aowhia.

PERIES
Fairies of Persia, these can be compared to the good Jinn of the Arabs. They originated from Zoroastrianism, and are said to live with the Deevs in Jinnestân in the mountains of Kâf. Their province is known as Shâd u kam (meaning pleasure and delight), the capital of which is the beautiful city of Juherabâd (Jewel city). They are of great beauty, and can fly, although they are deprived of this power when their clothes are stolen. They have fantastically long lives, but are subject to death in the end. They wage constant war with the Deevs, flinging stars and fireballs at each other at night, and when captured, are hung in iron cages from the tops of high trees. Here the peri may starve, if other peries do not come to give them perfume, which they live on. This perfume is the scent of aromatic wood smoke from religious sacrifices. They may favor lucky mortals with charms or amulets, or point a path amongst the stars by which the pure in mind can travel to heaven.

PHI
Ancient spirits in Thai folklore, the phi have survived since before the time of the Buddha. They frequent trees and waterfalls, and may influence men's fortunes for good or for evil. One branch of the phi, the chao phum phi, are much like British Brownies, being spirits of the earth and preferring to haunt houses.

PILOSI
Extremely hairy with the lower end of their bodies ending in goats' hooves, the pilosi of ancient Gaul were believed to bring good fortune to the home and so, like British Brownies, were encouraged to sit by the fireside by nailing a horseshoe to the hearth.

PIXIES
The pixies inhabit the far western areas of England, especially Cornwall, and it is said that they were the original inhabitants of England, and fought terrible wars with the Fairies, who arrived during the Roman conquest. They are usually no larger than a human hand, but can increase and decrease their size at will. They have red hair, turned up noses, malicious smiles, and squinting green eyes. Full-grown red headed men with squinting green eyes are almost always pixies who pass themselves off as humans. Their costume is entirely green, which gives them camouflage when playing tricks on unwary travelers. To break a pixy spell, one should turn an item of one's clothing inside out, and one should do this as soon as one realizes his condition, as the pixies are not above confusing a person so thoroughly that he never recovers, but wanders the countryside aimlessly, babbling in strange languages, a state known as "pixy led". To keep on good terms with the pixies in the district, one should leave buckets of water out at night for the pixy mothers to wash their babies in, leave milk on the table for them to drink, and sweep the hearth clean so that they can dance there.

POLONGS
A Malaysian bottle imp as small as a child s little finger, the polong is made by a sorcerer taking the blood of a murdered man, putting it in a wide, round, narrow necked bottle and chanting incantations over it. After a week or two, the pelesit, a cricket shaped spirit, appears. The polong has to be fed on blood, so at night, the pelesit is sent to an enemy of the sorcerer s and enters it tail first, the polong following, sucking his blood. The victim falls ill, and a medicine man is sent for. If he asks the polong who sent it, it will reply, saying the sorcerer s name in a chirping, high-pitched voice.

PONATURI
These sea fairies are spirits of the Pacific, the ogres of the ocean. Headed by the God of the Sea, they have often been at war against the heroes of New Zealand.

PORPOISES
In South France, it is believed that porpoises live in human form on an island in the sea, and can walk on the water in this form. Once, when a man wounded a porpoise, his ship was caught in a deluge and a knight came riding on a horse upon the sea to get him. He took the offender to the island, where he had to remove his weapon from the wound of the knight who had been the porpoise, and was then returned. Since then, sailors of that region no longer hunt porpoises.

PORTUNES
Also known to the French as Neptunes, the portunes of England look like old men with wrinkled cheeks less than a half inch high. They wear little patched coats and appear in farmers' houses at night through locked doors, warming themselves at the fire and occasionally roasting frogs on it and eating them. They will help with housework, and, in spite of their size, can carry heavy objects into the house quicker and better than a human can. They may annoy people (though never injuring them) by taking the reins of a horse they ride and leading it into a neighboring shough.

PUCKS
Pucks are English spirits who confuse travelers by controlling their horses, leading them astray at night. They are dressed in green, and are beneficial to all plants, and may sometimes go into a house to help with the housework.

RAINFOREST GNOMES
These fairies dwell in the tropical rainforests of northern Queensland, and are noted for the peculiar relationship they have with the green tree frogs. They apply a special ointment to the frogs' tonsils, preventing infection in the humid conditions of their habitat.

RAKSHASAS
These demon goblins have the ability to change their shape at will, and can appear as monsters, animals, or, in the case of the female rakshasis, beautiful women who seduce holy men, then eat them. They are usually depicted with side tusks, ugly eyes, curling awkward brows, bull's heads, bloated bellies, tangled hair and backward pointing hands. They can cause leprosy, call upon the dead to form a grisly army, and regenerate severed arms or heads. Most rakshasas live in Lanka, where their king Ravana, rules, but many haunt cemeteries eating the flesh of men and sucking cows dry of milk. Their power is greatest at night, especially during a new moon, and it peaks at midnight, though dispelled at dawn's first light, and abhor sacrifice and prayer. Still, not all rakshasas are evil, and many are more like the Yakshas than their evil brothers.

RAVANA
The ten headed, twenty armed king of the Rakshasas, Ravana ruled in the kingdom of Lanka possibly Sri Lanka) until he was killed by Rama. Although once he had been imprisoned by a god in a mountain for a thousand years, he could only be destroyed by a mortal and thus the gods were powerless to get rid of him permanently. He came to his end after abducting Sita, Rama's wife, when Rama, with an army gathered by many of his divine friends including Kubera, Ravana's half brother, stormed his castle and killed him.

REDCAPS
These evil Scottish Goblins live in ruined castles or watchtowers, and prey on travelers who venture into these. A redcap has fiery red eyes to match his cap of red, and possesses eagle's claws for hands as well as iron boots that enable him to run at a great speed, but otherwise he resembles a short, stocky old man with grey hair. He can overcome the strongest human unless he remembers to recite a few words from the bible, which will cause the redcap to disappear. If not, he will be killed, and the redcap will renew the red of his cap by dipping it in the wanderer's blood.

ROBIN GOODFELLOW
The son of Oberon, King of the Fairies and a country girl, he was left to his mother but given the power to transform into any shape and have whatever he wished from his father. He enjoys playing tricks on mortals, such as scaring them as a walking fire or rushing between their feet as a hare, then turning into a horse and carrying them away. However, he is often helpful, and will appear at night to help maidens with their chores. Although his clothes are ragged, one should leave a bowl of cream out for him rather than clothes or else he will think you are trying to bribe him. He sometimes lives in Fairyland when summoned by his father.

RUMPELSTILTSKIN
This famous Dwarf appears in the folklore of Scotland, Austria, France, Russia and Iceland, but the version of his tale that we know best was documented by the Brothers Grimm, in which a miller's daughter, her father having boasted to the king that she could spin straw into gold, is locked in a cell employed to do this. Rumpelstiltskin does this for her, on the agreement that she gives him her first-born son. The king marries her, and when a year later Rumpelstiltskin arrives for the son, she pleads with him to allow her to keep the child if she can guess his name within three days. At the end of the second day, she has nearly given up hope, but her pages tell her that they saw a short man in the woods dancing around a fire, chanting "Little dreams the dainty dame that Rumpelstiltskin is his name!" With this knowledge, the queen saves her child and the dwarf kills himself in rage, splitting in half as he stamps on the floor.

RUSALKI
The Northern Slavs use this name to apply to entities that appear floating on rivers as old women's corpses, their skins wrinkled and their faces bloated. If a child is curious enough to come close to the water, the rusalki will snatch him away and take him below to torture. The rusalki of the Southern Slavs, on the other hand, appear in the form of beautiful green haired maidens. They swing on the branches of trees and play on the surface of the water, sometimes bathing in the lakes and pools and wringing their locks on the green meads on the water's edge. They are seen chiefly at Whitsuntide, when people come out and sing and dance for them, throwing garlands they have woven for them into the water. However, they are no less dangerous than their northern relatives. Being the souls of drowned maidens, they are anxious for company and may lure men to a watery grave with their songs. They can be avoided by wearing an amulet with wormwood leaves within, but if foiled, they will tumble angrily in the water, and like the northern rusalki, tear at the herbage, toss fish out of the water to die, damage fish nets, mills and dams, and even cause torrential floods. They are at their most dangerous on Midsummer's Eve, when they are allowed to walk on the land, in search of their prey, a motive only partially compensated by the fact that wherever their feet fall, bright blue flowers will grow.

SATYRS
These male followers of Dionysius had legs, hooves, tails and ears of goats, as well as coarse hairs all over their human torsos and monkey like faces. Their natures were animal, and they enjoyed music and dancing, as well as chasing Nymphs through the woods. They helped Dionysius with his wine making, and often held drunken orgies or scared sheep and travelers. They were mostly cruel, greedy, lustful and malicious, but their talent for playing the panpipes was amazing.

SELKIES
English sea fairies, these are mostly female and usually take the forms of seals, and reflect this even in human form, their eyes brown and beautiful and their natures mild. They wear seal hides and travel easily through the water, although they have to come up occasionally for air, and are thought to be a race of humans driven into the sea for some crime. They sometimes shed their skins and come onto the shore to dance, but if a mortal male steals their skins at this time, they will be forced to remain with the man and become his wife. It is best not to hunt seals for their skins in the regions where they live, as if this happens, they may raise storms and upturn fishing boats in a bid for revenge.

SHEN
An overall Chinese term for gods and spirits. The spirits are always concrete and palpable in their manifestations. They may be souls of ancestors, patron gods looking after fields, roads or bridges, immortals, or river gods hungry for human sacrifice. However, they are generally more benevolent than the Gui. All shen once lived on earth as mortals and were greatly virtuous, but died without leaving behind a son to venerate them in death. We can ask the shen questions by carving words on a bone, heating it, then reading the cracks, a technique already used in the Shang dynasty with tortoiseshells and cattle bones.

SIDHE
The general name for the nobility of the Scottish and Irish Fairy courts, especially the Tuatha De Danaan. They are extremely tall and beautiful, so much that humans are forbidden to look at them. Their touch can send a man mad, and their poison tipped arrows cause certain death, as does the sight of their Queen, Maeve, whose beauty with her white silk mantle, blue eyes and long, soft hair often kills men with wonder. They spend their time caring for their animals, drinking whisky, baking bread and enchantingly playing the bagpipes, fiddle and flute. They appreciate generosity, but though your leaving a basket of potatoes or whisky near their homes in the hills will not be overlooked, be warned: they may kidnap humans and use them as slaves, after which they are never quite the same again, becoming either madmen or prophets with healing powers.

SILKIES
Much like the Brownies, the silkies are dainty little sprites dressed in rustling grey or white silk dresses that do housework and chide lazy servants. They are sometimes thought to be the ghosts of women, and their mission is often to lead people to the whereabouts of forgotten treasures or documents. Its work done, the silky will amuse itself by sitting on a tree branch and leaping out to scare travelers and horses.

SIRENS
These entities of Greek myth were women from waist up and birds from waist down. They enjoy luring sailors to their deaths by singing enchanting songs, and when they crash their ships against the black rocks they rest on in an attempt to get closer, the sirens stop singing and prepare to devour the sailors' flesh. Odysseus once survived hearing their songs; he had himself tied to his ship's mast as his ship sailed past them, and had the rest of his crew's ears stuffed with beeswax so that they could look after the ship as he fruitlessly struggled to hear the sirens' song better. It is said that they were so irritated at being defied in this manner that they flung themselves from their island and were killed on the black rocks themselves.

SPIRITS OF ACCIDENT
A variety of the Gui, spirits of accident are the souls of people in China who have died from accidents, thus perishing before their appointed times and breaking the cycle of existence. Because of this, they cannot be reincarnated until they provide the gods of the afterworld with a replacement spirit. They can only do this after lingering on the afterworld's fringes for three years, and their replacement must have died in exactly the same way. They usually haunt their sites of death after nightfall, trying to encourage these accidents, making it extremely unwise for mortals to linger where a fatal accident has taken place.

SPRIGGANS
Ugly little creatures with red eyes, spriggans act as slaves to noble Fairies or as guardians of hidden treasure. They live in Cornwall, and although very small, can change their size at will and are great prophets and magicians. However, their bitter nature causes them to be better known for their skills in kidnapping children, destroying buildings and causing foul weather. Still, they rarely harm humans, preferring simply to be irritating.

SPUNKIES
In Somerset, South western England, these souls of unbaptised children are doomed to wander the countryside until Judgment Day. Like Will O’ the Wisp or West European Liekko their presence is signaled by curious lights from the candles they carry to find their way at night. They are often malicious, and are often blamed for upsetting boats or leading travelers astray on the road, and their presence is most feared on Midsummer's Eve as this is when they go to Church to meet the newly dead.

STAR FOLK
A handsome race of spirits in Algonquian myth, they live in Star country in the sky. Star country is a beautiful place, with vibrant herbage, fragrant air and graceful, harmless birds and animals. There is a large opening in the ground of Star country where you can see the Earth. The star folk may cast spells on people through this opening, so that they fall ill, and from this the medicine men can tell that they demand a sacrifice from the person s relatives for food. Star folk may marry humans, but if just visiting Star country, take heed that time may pass differently there.

TAPAIRUS
Their name means without equal . This race of Polynesian nymphs may ascend from limpid pools on moonlit nights to join dancers, only to disappear at dawn. They chiefly inhabit the pool that leads to the Avaiki, the underworld, being the daughters of the fearsome goddess of the underworld, Miru. The tapairus lure seducible men to Miru s palace, where Miru serves them alcohol, then, after roasting them lightly, eats them. Ngaru, the hero of Polynesia and the god of the waves, was once taken below, but when Miru tried to roast him, a deluge cam down, extinguishing the fires of hell.

TARANS
In Scotland, these are pathetic little spirits of babies who died before baptism, doomed to wander until Judgment Day. They are heard bewailing their fate as they flit among the woods, and can only be saved if a mortal douses them with holy water and gives them a name, saying "I baptize thee in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost." However, this happens rarely as it is said that conversing with one brings misfortune or even death.

TENGUS
Mischievous supernatural beings of Japan, the tengus were sometimes thought to be reincarnations of those who were proud and arrogant in life. They make their homes in trees in mountainous areas, and are renowned swordsmen, sometimes lowering themselves to teach this skill to mortal heroes. A tengu is a small winged creature with a long red nose or a beaklike mouth. Their tribes are usually headed by chiefs who are larger creatures with prominent noses, angry, threatening expressions, red robes and feather fans.

TIPUA
Like Indian Rakshasas, these demon goblins of Maori myth have the ability to take any shape that they desire.

TITANIA
Wife of Oberon, King of the Fairies, Titania has more grace than the bawdy Queen Mab in ruling her subjects, and is certainly more morally upright than her rather adulterous husband. She may have descended from the Greek goddess of the moon, Diana.

TOKOLOSH
A South African version of a poltergeist, Tokolosh is a sullen spirit that lives beside streams, throwing stones into the water on still nights. Rarely found indoors, he prefers to frighten lone travelers on the road, usually by jumping on a small animal or bird and strangling it, the poor thing's panicked cry scaring the traveler out of his wits. He is described as being something like a baboon, but smaller and without a tail. He is covered with black hair and has hands and feet like humans. He has never been heard to speak, but has been known to perform other cruel deeds.

TROLLS
Scandinavian trolls live in hills, mounds and hillocks, sometimes in single families and sometimes in whole societies. They have no kings or classes, but are very rich, decorating their homes with silver and crystal from the stocks of buried treasure that they find. They marry, have children, bake and brew like the peasants, but hate noise, and can be sent away by the sound of church bells if they plunder parties. They have the abilities to turn themselves into any shape, to foresee the future, to confer prosperity or poverty on any families they choose, to bestow bodily strength, and to perform numerous feats beyond man. One can recognize the males by their large humps on their backs, their long crooked noses, their grey jackets, and red caps, though the females are comely enough.

TROWS
These small, green clothed people of Shetland are divided into land trows and sea trows. Land trows can travel by mounting bulrushes, and love music and dancing, the places where their feet touch forming fairy rings where toadstools grow. They are susceptible to disease, but have wonderful cures for them, which they may give to humans. They sometimes steal milk from cows, and when they are in need of meat, they shoot a cow with their tiny arrows and leave a simulacrum of the cow in its place, the meat of which is unadvisable to eat. They often invite mortals into their homes, using prostitutes as their wet nurses. Sea trows inhabit a region at the bottom of the sea, in beautiful buildings, and may possess the bodies of animals when going to the surface, usually large seals. When going onto land itself, they will leave behind their skins, but if they lose these, will have to stay on earth forever, rather like British Selkies.

TUATHA DÉ DANAAN
These are majestic Irish fairies, immortal and born of the goddess Dana. They are said to have come from heaven, endowed with gifts of science and craftsmanship, especially in the area of metalworking. One of their works was the Cauldron of Dagda, fashioned by the elder knights and able to feed an entire army and still remain full. Dagda himself was the generous chief deity of the Tuatha dé Danaan. Originally a gigantic race, they were defeated by the Milesians and drew cloaks of invisibility around themselves, retreating to their palaces beneath the ocean or in the Hollow Hills, where they remain eternally young and fair.

TUREHU
These fair-haired fairies of Polynesia have Uetonga as their King. He is the grandson of Ruaua Moko, the god of earthquakes. A prince, Mataora, once fell in love with Niwareka, daughter of Uetonga. They were married for a few years before Mataora lost his temper with Niwareka and she left him for her realm, and he was forced to go through Pou Tere Rangi, the gate of heaven, to fairyland to get her back. He persuaded her to return by singing a love song, but as they left, Kuwatawata, the gatekeeper, told them that he was closing the gate, so that no one would ever be able to return to earth from fairyland again. Uetonga gave Mataora a cloak called Rangi Haupapa, and its designs are still coined by artisans today. He also taught him the arts of tattooing, weaving cloaks and carving leather.

TYLWETH TEG
Also known as the Fair Family, this master race of Welsh elves have blond hair and live beneath the waters, their lands reached via secret passages in caves and under riverbanks. Visitors should be wary of the time distortion that occurs when spending time in their realm: one of their days is in reality a hundred mortal years. Visitors may also be given gifts, although these may well turn worthless upon reaching the surface. The chief vice of the tylweth teg is their habit of stealing blond babies and young blonde girls.

ULDRA
These little people of Lapland live underground but often come up to the surface, especially in winter when they feed sleeping bears and other hibernating animals. The Lapps are nomadic, and when they pitch their tents on a new area, the sound of the uldra moving about beneath may warn them that they are blocking their access to the surface, and if they do not move the uldra may punish them by poisoning their reindeer or exchanging an uldra baby for one of theirs. Uldra babies have long teeth and faces covered with black hair. To regain one's child, it has been advised to beat the baby with a burning tree branch until its mother, hearing its screams, comes to rescue it. Alternatively, some say it is best to treat him kindly, so that the mother will be touched and return restore the human baby to its cradle.

URISK
Urisk are a rough, solitary Scottish fairy that are half human and half goat and resemble the South European Satyr. He is very lucky to have around the house, and his great strength makes him suited for farm work. Rather wistful, he sometimes loiters around pools at night seeking to befriend stray travelers who are usually terrified by his appearance.

URISTORY
Perhaps comparable to the Southern European Fatae or the Northern European nornir, these male fairies of the Roumanian Gypsies appear to a child on the third night after his birth to decide his future. At this time, no one can see them save the child himself, his mother and a sorceress. It is impossible to annul the life they have chosen for the infant.

UTBURDS
Vengeful infant ghosts rather like American Angiaks, Norse children who were left to die because their families could not feed them or their mothers were unwed became spirits burning for revenge, and each would gather its strength only after its mother's death, then prey on solitary travelers, often in the form of a white owl. Though its cry might warn the victim, escape was unlikely as the utburd could expand to the size of a small house and totally overcome him.

VILAS
The Southern Slavs believe in these female spirits who appear young and beautiful with long flying hair and white garments but who have the voices of woodpeckers. Sometimes they are seen riding seven-year-old harts with bridles made of snakes. They are thought to be the spirits of maidens who perished before baptism or marriage, and are generally malign in nature, sporting habits such as shooting deadly arrows at men and carrying off children whose parents have been consigned to the devil by their parents in fits of anger. They enjoy dancing in roundels under trees, and may also spend time comforting lovesick deer and collecting storms in the heavens. They may appear to a hero to foretell his impending death. If a fortress is being built, they may knock down its rising walls each night, and can only be appeased by immuring a young, lovely female within its walls.

VIRIKAS
Never more than eighteen inches tall, these unpleasant spectral entities can be recognized from their flaming red colour and their horribly pointed, bloodstained teeth. When a person is to die soon, they gibber excitedly outside his house, and although they can be repelled by a shaycana or medicine man, prevention is better than cure so it is advisable to erect a small shrine in their honor and burn daily gifts of flowers and spices for them.

VODAYANIOI
These water imps of Russia dwell at the bottoms of millponds and lakes in palaces illuminated by magic crystals that glow with a green light, which, on still nights, can be glimpsed in the depths of the water. One can also hear their threshing and snarling at when a millwheel turns. People bathing at night without a crucifix around their necks are said to be likely to be drowned by them, and made their slaves. Villagers have tried to appease them with sacrifices of lambs or horses, but they persist on preying on humans, often taking the guise of a floating log and snatching unwary passers by. The vodyanioi are extremely ugly, with long green hair, ed eyes and bloated faces. Their skin is spongy and moist with the pallor of a corpse, and where they sit, puddles of water remain. They age according to the cycles of the moon, becoming young, vigorous and hungry with the new moon. The men's beards also change colour with the moon's phases.

WAYLAND SMITH
This Elf lives in a cave in Berkshire, England and acts as a supernatural blacksmith, shoeing travelers' horses for no more than sixpence, being offended when more is offered.

WEAVER GIRL
This Chinese fairy featured in the popular tale of the Weaver Girl and the Cowherd. The cowherd saw the weaver girl bathing in a lake with her friends, and stole her cloak of feathers so that she would be unable to return to her home in the sky. He made her become his wife, and they had a son and a daughter, but one day the son found the cloak and she flew to heaven with it. However, the cowherd managed to follow her, but, being happy to see each other again, they neglected their work and so God had them separated. We can see the weaver girl as the star Vega and the cowherd as Altair, and the river separating them is the Milky Way. Still, on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, God sends the magpies from earth to the heavens to form a bridge across the river so that the two lovers can be together, and the tears of joy the weaver girl sheds at this time fall to the earth as rain.

WICHTLEIN
These house spirits live behind walls and under floors in the houses of Germany, and knock or tap three times to communicate with mortals; this signal usually indicates the death of the head of the household. Although amiable and industrious, they tend to be extremely ugly, but have been known to fall in love with young mortal girls, especially maidservants, and may appear to them to declare their affection. If the girl should scream (and she usually does), the wichtlein will wreak havoc in the house. Wichtlein also live beneath mounds or stumps in the garden, and will frighten away tramps and other visitors. They are frightened of water and will avoid streams and creeks and hide when it is raining, and holy water is instant death to them. A masthead, anchor or other ship's artifact also tends to repel wichtlein if displayed prominently near a house.

WILDE FRAUEN
German for "wild women", these entities have fine, flowing hair, are of great beauty and live in the hills. They are good to mortals, and mostly live in Wunderberg or Underburg, a great moor near Salzburg. This moor is hollow, and is supplied with stately palaces, churches, monasteries, gardens, and springs of gold and silver. Little men also live here, and take charge of the treasures. Giants can also be found here, as well as Charles V, who sleeps here with a company of knights. His beard has already twice grown round the table at which he sits, and the third time it does so will signal the Antichrist's coming. The wild frauen sometimes go out to the village and help people to reap the corn or give bread to the children keeping cattle. They may sometimes steal children, but only to give the children better lives, dressing them in green and looking after them well.

XI WANG MU
The Queen Mother of the West, Xi Wang Mu is a great Chinese fairy goddess who dwells in the depths of a cave in the Kunlun Mountains, near the supreme ruler. She was usually thought of as a man-eater with wild hair, a leopard's tail and tiger jaws, as well as its roar, and was believed to spread plagues. She is the goddess of death, but also keep the herb of immortality, and sometimes holds feasts high up on a jade tower. More recently, she has been portrayed as a stately Chinese lady, balanced between maidenly delicacy and matronly opulence, bearing the peach, a symbol of longevity, and riding a phoenix. These peaches used to grow in her capital, in Kunlun Park and Wide Wind Garden, but the Monkey God, Sun Wu Kong stole them from her.

XIAN
Xian are Chinese immortals, men and women who developed supernatural powers within their lifetimes and become a kind of Eastern parallel to Christian saints and are elevated to the status of gods after death. There are hundreds of them, and they lead happy carefree lives for eternity in the Kunlun Mountains or on the Islands of the Blessed in the Eastern Sea. The most famous are the Ba Xian, or Eight Immortals, a group of xian whose membership has varied over the centuries, but is presently made up of Zhang Gao Lao, Zhong Li Quan, Han Xiang Zi, He Xian Gu, Lan Cai He, Li Tie Guai, Lü Dong Bin and Cao Guo Jiu . All have interesting stories behind their names, about their lives on earth and in heaven.

YAKIRAI
The sky demons of the Kyakas of Papua New Guinea. They can cause storms with thunder and lightning, and can kill people unprotected by their ancestor spirits.

YAKSHAS
Benevolent nature spirits, yakshas were the guardians of treasures hidden in the earth and the roots of trees. Their ruler is Kubera, who rules them from a mountain in the Himalayas. They are paid homage to as tutelary deities of cities, districts, lakes and wells, and are thought to have originated from a cult of the ancient Dravidians.

YAMA ENDA
Appearing to men disguised as a beautiful girl, the Yama Enda will seduce him, then devour him like a tigress. She comes from the folklore of the Kyakas in Papua New Guinea.

YARA
Yara is a vengeful spirit of a maiden murdered by her sweetheart, and now lures young men to the water's edge in an attempt to drown them. In order to be immune to her enchanting song, the youth should wear around his neck a small shell that his mortal sweetheart has sung into. When Yara's song begins to take effect, he should take the shell and hold it to his ear, and this will strengthen him against her charms.

YUMBOES
On Goree Island, south of Cape Verde Peninsula in Senegal, West Africa, the Jaloff inhabitants believe in a folk called yumboes. A yumbo is two feet high and has pearly skin and silver hair (in Africa, all that is unnatural is associated with the colour white). They are sometimes known by the Jaloffs as the Bakhna Rakhna, literally the good people, an interesting parallel to the Scots' calling British Fairies the Good Neighbors. They enjoy dancing and feasting by moonlight and live in magnificent subterranean dwellings in the Paps, a group of hills about three miles from the coast. They have invited many people here, both native and European. These guests tell tales of being served at richly furnished tables where they were served by servants invisible except for their hands and feet. Yumboes may come out to the village in the evening dressed in pangs, oblong cotton cloths that the natives manufacture and wear which, when worn, cover all of the body except for the eyes and the nose. It is around this time when they obtain corn for their food. After housewives have pounded the corn and left them in their calabashes, the yumboes may steal this away, and later use it for their own food. They also eat fish, which they fish for themselves in their canoes at night and roast in the fires left burning outside by the Jaloffs to keep away wild beasts. Sometimes they bury palm wine in the ground, wait for it to sour, then drink it until they become intoxicated and make a great noise, beating their Jaloff drums on the hills.

ZASHIKI WARISHI
This Japanese poltergeist has been thought to be the spirit of a little boy. Extremely mischievous, he often disturbs families at night, but one should not try to scare him away as he brings good fortune.

ZHANG GUO LAO
Some say he was a bat who changed into a man, others suppose him to have been a woodcutter in Shanxi, China at the beginning of the seventh century. Li Tie Guai presented him with a mud pill which revived dead fish, which he swallowed, and he is now a member of the Ba Xian, and rides on a white ass who can cover a thousand miles a day, then be folded up like a piece of paper and put away. He is symbolized by the bamboo cane, but is also shown with two drumsticks, a phoenix feather, or a peach.

ZHONG LI QUAN
Recognizable from his bare belly and the fan or feather duster he carries, which can bring the dead back to life, Zhong Li Quan is one of the Ba Xian, and lived in the Han dynasty in China, discovering the philosopher s stone (which could melt mercury, burn lead and turn them into yellow or white gold) and how to fly through the air. He is closely associated with Lü Dong Bin, another of the Ba Xian, Alfar the Norse name for their Elves. Their natures were good and elevated and they tended to be friendly to men. They live in the city of Alfheim, and are divided into the Liosálfar, the light elves, whose skins are whiter than the sun, and the Döckálfar, the dark elves, whose skins are darker than pitch.

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