Tradition: Vietnamese Mythology
Alternative Names: Hồ Tiên, Hồ Ly, Hồ Tinh, Hồ Yêu, Yêu Hồ, Cáo Chín Đuôi, Cáo Tinh, Cửu Vĩ Hồ, Cửu Vĩ Thiên Hồ
Category: Fox
The Myth
Hồ Ly Tinh are supernatural foxes capable of cultivating magical powers and transforming into humans and other beings. According to one tradition, a fox that cultivates its powers for a hundred years develops three tails and becomes a Tam Vĩ Yêu Hồ, or three-tailed demon fox. After a thousand years, it may reach the form of a Lục Vĩ Ma Hồ, a six-tailed ghost fox. Eventually, a fox that attains nine tails becomes a Cửu Vĩ Hồ, or nine-tailed celestial fox, gaining the ability to assume human form. Each tail represents one of its lives, and the fox must have its tails cut off before it can be killed. These spirits have no single nature: some are benevolent and help humans, while others use their transformations and magic to deceive, torment, or devour people.
One famous nine-tailed fox lived for more than a thousand years in a rocky mountain west of the ancient citadel of Thăng Long, near the Lỗ Giang River. It could transform into a demon, a man, a beautiful woman, or a handsome young man. Using these disguises, it mingled with crowds, sang with young people, seduced men and women, and lured them into a deep mountain cave. There, it captured its victims and gradually devoured them. The fox terrorized the surrounding countryside until Lạc Long Quân, a powerful dragon lord, ordered the forces of the Water Palace to flood its lair. The fox fled, but the pursuing forces broke into its den and killed it. The flooded cave became a deep pool known as Xác Cáo, meaning Fox Corpses, which was identified with present-day West Lake in Hanoi. A temple was subsequently established to suppress the evil spirit.
Not all Hồ Ly Tinh are dangerous. During the struggle against the Ming army, the future emperor Lê Thái Tổ was once saved while hiding in Lam Sơn. As enemy soldiers approached, he saw a girl dressed in white floating in a river. He buried her carefully before hiding again. When the soldiers nearly discovered him, a white fox suddenly appeared and drew them away from his hiding place. Lê Thái Tổ believed that the fox was the spirit of the girl who had saved him. In gratitude, he honored her as a guardian of the country and established her worship under the names Hồ Ly Phu Nhân, Hộ Quốc Phu Nhân, and Hộ Quốc Hồ Thần. Her image combined the head of a beautiful young woman with the body of a fox, representing a supernatural protector rather than a malevolent creature.
Sources
“Hồ ly tinh.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%E1%BB%93_ly_tinh