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Obake

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Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: Bakemono (化け物), お化け
Category: Ghost

The Myth

Obake and bakemono are terms used in Japanese folklore for supernatural beings associated with transformation and shapeshifting. Their names refer to things that change form. Although they are sometimes translated as ghosts, they primarily describe living creatures or supernatural entities that temporarily transform into different shapes. In a secondary sense, obake can also refer to the spirit of a deceased human, making it a synonym for yūrei.

The true form of an obake or bakemono may be an animal, a plant spirit, or even an inanimate object. Foxes known as kitsune, raccoon dogs called bake-danuki, badgers known as mujina, and supernatural cats called bakeneko are all associated with transformation. Plant spirits such as kodama may also fall within this broad category, while objects believed to develop souls are known as tsukumogami.

A bakemono may disguise itself as a human or appear in a strange and frightening shape. Examples include the one-eyed childlike hitotsume-kozō, the towering ōnyūdō, and the faceless noppera-bō. In common usage, obake and bakemono can refer to a wide range of bizarre apparitions and supernatural beings, making them broadly similar to the term yōkai.

The concept of obake also spread into Hawaiian local culture through the influence of Japanese communities. Japanese supernatural stories became part of local folklore, including tales of the water-dwelling kappa and faceless apparitions known as noppera-bō. In Hawaii, these faceless ghosts are also called mujina, a name confusion associated with a story by Lafcadio Hearn in which a badger transforms into a faceless being. Hawaiian folklorist Glen Grant further documented reports of supernatural incidents, including many involving Japanese-style obake.

Sources

“Obake.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 16, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obake

Dakhuul

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Tradition: Mongolian Mythology, Russian Mythology
Alternative Names: Dahul, Dakhul
Category: Ghost

The Myth

Dakhuul are malevolent spirits in the lower mythology of the Mongols and Buryats, believed to harm children and inflict illnesses upon their victims. These supernatural beings are described as invisible, ghost-like entities that bring sickness and suffering to the living.

According to the tradition, Dakhuul may originate from people who died under particular circumstances, including poor people, virgins, or young women. After death, they are believed to become dangerous undead spirits capable of afflicting the living with illness, with children being especially vulnerable to their harmful influence. The name Dahul is a Latinized variant of Dakhuul.

Sources

“Дакхуул (Dakhuul).” New Bestiary (Bestiary.us). https://www.bestiary.us/dakhuul

Painted Skin

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Tradition: Chinese Mythology
Alternative Names: Huapi (畫皮), The Painted Skin Demon
Category: Ghost

The Myth

Painted Skin is a supernatural tale recorded by Pu Songling during the Qing dynasty in his collection Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio. The story tells of Wang Sheng, a man from Taiyuan who encounters a beautiful young woman claiming to have fled from home. Captivated by her appearance, he takes her into his household despite his wife Chen’s warnings. However, the woman is not human but a monstrous demon capable of disguising itself by wearing a painted human skin.

After encountering a Taoist priest who warns him that he is being haunted by an evil spirit, Wang Sheng grows suspicious. Peering through a window at home, he witnesses the horrifying truth: a green-faced monster with saw-like teeth is using a coloured brush to paint a human skin. Once its work is complete, the creature puts on the skin and transforms into the beautiful woman. The terrified Wang Sheng returns to the priest, who gives him a fly whisk to hang at his bedroom entrance. The demon initially hesitates to enter, but eventually destroys the charm, breaks into the room, tears open Wang Sheng’s chest, and steals his heart, killing him.

The Taoist priest later tracks down the demon while it is disguised as an old woman. He strips away its human skin with a wooden sword, revealing its monstrous form, and beheads it. The creature’s body dissolves into thick smoke, which the priest captures in a gourd. Yet Wang Sheng remains dead, and the priest claims he lacks the power to revive him. He directs Chen to seek help from a filthy, mad beggar in the marketplace. The beggar humiliates and strikes her, then forces her to swallow a mouthful of his phlegm before departing. When Chen returns home and mourns her husband, she feels an unbearable lump in her chest and vomits up what proves to be a human heart. She places it inside Wang Sheng’s chest and binds his wound. His body gradually warms, his breathing returns, and by dawn he is alive again.

The tale warns against being deceived by outward beauty and mistaking evil for something desirable. The demon’s painted skin conceals a hideous reality, while Chen’s willingness to endure humiliation for her husband becomes the means of his restoration. The story combines horror, shapeshifting, Taoist supernatural practices, and a moral lesson about desire, deception, and the consequences of foolish infatuation.

Sources

“画皮 (Huàpí).” Chinese Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 16, 2026. https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%95%AB%E7%9A%AE

Jibakurei

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Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: 地縛霊, Earth-Bound Spirit, Land-Bound Ghost
Category: Ghost

The Myth

Jibakurei are spirits of the dead believed to remain bound to a particular place, such as a piece of land or a building. They may be unable to accept their own death or may not realise that they have died. Other spirits remain in a location because of a special attachment or unresolved reason connected to that place.

According to descriptions of these spirits, a sudden death caused by war, an accident, or a disaster may leave the deceased unable to accept what has happened. Strong emotions, such as hatred, can also keep a spirit tied to the place where it died. Some accounts describe spirits of people who died by suicide as unaware of their death, repeatedly reenacting the act. Until they become conscious of their death, these spirits are believed to remain bound to the location as Jibakurei.

Sources

“地縛靈 (Dìbǎlíng).” Chinese Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 16, 2026. https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%9C%B0%E7%B8%9B%E9%9D%88

Huangfu Gui

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Tradition: Chinese Mythology
Alternative Names: 黃父鬼, Huang Father Ghost, Yellow Father Demon
Category: Ghost

The Myth

Huangfu Gui is a malevolent supernatural being recorded in Chinese literature as appearing around the fifth and sixth centuries, particularly in Hubei Province. It is described as wearing yellow clothing, and some accounts portray its entire body, from head to toe, as yellow. The spirit is associated with the spread of disease and was greatly feared by local inhabitants.

Huangfu Gui is said to enter people’s homes, often remaining invisible or taking on different forms. It can transform into a woman, birds, other animals, or even smoke, making its true appearance difficult to determine. Despite its threatening nature, the creature is described as constantly smiling or laughing. According to the legend, if it stands before a household’s entrance and laughs aloud, the people living inside will fall ill with an epidemic disease.

The spirit was also worshipped as a supernatural deity by inhabitants of Yuzhang Commandery, and some accounts say that it claimed to be a mountain god. Its ability to change shape, enter homes, and bring sickness made it both a feared and mysterious presence. Stories of Huangfu Gui appear in classical Chinese collections, including the Taiping Guangji and the Shuyi Ji.

Sources

“黄父鬼 (Huángfùguǐ).” Chinese Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 16, 2026. https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%BB%84%E7%88%B6%E9%AC%BC

Blauwe Gerrit

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Tradition: Dutch Mythology
Alternative Names: Blauw Garrit, Blue Gerrit
Category: Ghost

The Myth

Blauwe Gerrit, whose name means Blue Gerrit, is a mysterious spirit from Gelderland in the Netherlands. He is known for invisibly climbing onto carts and horses, preventing them from moving forward. When he reveals himself, he is described as having glowing eyes and wearing a fluttering, luminous blue cloak that makes him a striking and unsettling apparition.

Despite his frightening appearance, Blauwe Gerrit can act as a protector of the vulnerable. In one tale, a young girl was threatened with abduction by a predatory knight. Blauwe Gerrit secretly climbed onto the knight’s horse, causing the animal to refuse to move no matter how much the rider tried to make it go forward. Eventually, the knight dismounted to investigate. At that moment, Blauwe Gerrit leapt onto the knight’s neck, rendering him completely unable to move.

The spirit forced the knight to remain outside in the freezing cold for the entire night, giving the girl an opportunity to escape. The story portrays Blauwe Gerrit as a supernatural figure who uses his strange power over horses and people to obstruct wrongdoing and protect those in danger.

Sources

Van der Veen, Abe. “Van aardmannetje tot zwarte juffer: Een lijst van Nederlandse en Vlaamse elfen en geesten.” Abe de Verteller. https://abedeverteller.nl/van-aardmannetje-tot-zwarte-juffer-een-lijst-van-nederlandse-en-vlaamse-elfen-en-geesten/

Pastor of Nennig

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Tradition: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternative Names: Der Pastor von Nennig
Category: Ghost

The Myth

The Pastor of Nennig is the ghost of an elderly priest who appears to a young boy tending cattle near the village of Nennig. The apparition sits in a tree where the first branches begin to spread from the trunk. Dressed in priestly vestments and holding a missal, the old man appears to murmur a prayer while gazing pleadingly at the boy. For six weeks, the boy sees the same apparition without telling anyone, until fear finally drives him to confess the matter to his spiritual father.

Following his confessor’s advice, the boy approaches the priestly apparition and asks what he wants. The ghost reveals that he was the penultimate pastor of Nennig and that he still owes the Virgin Mary a Mass. The boy, who was the priest’s last baptismal candidate, is the only person who can release him. The priest instructs him to pray the Ave Maria, make a pilgrimage to Luxembourg, and offer a consecrated candle at the high altar in honour of the Queen of Heaven.

The devout boy undertakes the pilgrimage accompanied by many other worshippers. At the Church of Our Lady in Luxembourg, he walks three times around the high altar in silent prayer and places the consecrated candle on its steps. He then declares that the priest has been released. The elderly ghost, who has accompanied the pilgrims throughout their journey, rises towards heaven. However, the boy is so deeply affected by these events that his health deteriorates, and he soon dies. According to the legend, the priest had been praying after him, calling him to follow into death. The tale reflects a local belief that the dead can summon the people they loved most in life to join them in the afterlife.

Sources

La Fontaine, Edmond de. Luxemburger Sagen und Legenden. Gesammelt und herausgegeben von Ed. de la Fontaine. Luxemburg: Jos. Beffort, 1882.

Spear-Bearer

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Tradition: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternative Names: Der Lanzenträger, The Lancer
Category: Ghost

The Myth

The Spear-Bearer is a mysterious apparition said to appear at midnight before the main entrance of the tenant farmer’s house in the courtyard of Born Castle in Luxembourg. The figure takes the form of a man holding a spear in his hand and remains completely silent.

As he stands before the entrance, the Spear-Bearer gradually grows taller and taller until his head reaches the height of the castle roof. Once he has attained this enormous size, he suddenly disappears. His silent appearance, unnatural growth, and unexplained disappearance make him a haunting presence associated with the grounds of Born Castle.

Sources

La Fontaine, Edmond de. Luxemburger Sagen und Legenden. Gesammelt und herausgegeben von Ed. de la Fontaine. Luxemburg: Jos. Beffort, 1882.

Velna Bedre

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Tradition: Latvian Mythology
Alternative Names: Devil’s Pit
Category: Ghost

The Myth

Velna Bedre, meaning the Devil’s Pit, is a sinister place in Latvian legend associated with dangerous supernatural forces. According to Andrejs Pumpurs’s epic poem Lāčplēsis, the pit lies in a landscape shaped by the actions of the devil and the thunder god Pērkons. In the tale, the devil digs a bottomless hole in the course of the Daugava River, causing the river to plunge into its depths. Pērkons responds with lightning and redirects the waters, raising a steep-sided hill around the pit.

The place retains its frightening reputation long after these events. Travellers passing through the area at night are warned that ghosts appear and attempt to deceive them, luring them into the pit and bringing them harm. The legend presents Velna Bedre as a dangerous place where the ordinary world borders a realm of malevolent supernatural beings.

Velna Bedre is also connected to the witch Spīdala and her companions. After travelling through the night on enchanted wooden blocks, they descend into the Devil’s Pit, where witches gather in a strange underground dwelling filled with bones, skulls, magical objects, and monstrous creatures. The pit thus serves not merely as a haunted landmark but as an entrance to a hidden world of witches, devils, and dark magic.

Sources

Pumpurs, Andrejs. “II daļa.” In Lāčplēsis. Archived version, Internet Archive Wayback Machine, January 31, 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20060131100630/http://www.ailab.lv/Teksti/Senie/Pumpurs/2.dala.html

Old Helgenhüsli Ghost

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Tradition: Swiss Mythology
Alternative Names: The Haunted Helgenhüsli, The Spirit of Nasenegg
Category: Ghost

The Myth

The old Helgenhüsli, a small wayside chapel that once stood along the path from Erlenmoos to Schwandegg, near Bärfalle, was reputed to be haunted. Although the building was demolished about a century ago, stories of its supernatural disturbances survived. One night, Ammann Uhr was returning from Einsiedeln and attempted to pass the little chapel, but a mysterious spirit led him astray. He wandered through the surrounding moorland for three hours, unable to recognize the landscape or find his way. Only as dawn approached did the misleading presence finally depart, allowing him to escape the bewildering ordeal.

The chapel was also said to repel those who tried to enter it. A man from Holzhäusern once went there at night to wait for a friend. As he attempted to enter the building, an invisible hand gave him a powerful shove, preventing him from going inside. The same strange occurrence had reportedly happened to the friend he was expecting, suggesting that an unseen spirit guarded the little chapel and refused entry to visitors.

Another eerie place lay along the road from Zug to Walchwil, below Lothenbach, at a spot known as Nasenegg. This location was associated with an apparition witnessed by a sober local man, who claimed to have seen a ghost there years earlier. The figure was particularly strange because it possessed neither a head nor any other limbs. These accounts established several locations around Zug as places where invisible forces, disorienting spirits, and bizarre apparitions disturbed those who encountered them.

Sources

“Die Gespensterorte.” SAGEN.at – Traditionelle Sagen aus der Schweiz (Zug). Reproduced by SAGEN.at. https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/schweiz/zug/gespensterorte.html