Mythology

Stopan

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Tradition: Serbian Mythology, Bulgarian Mythology
Alternative Names: Zmija Čuvarkuća
Category: House dweller

The Myth

The Stopan is a protective household spirit in South Slavic beliefs, regarded as the spirit of a distinguished ancestor who watches over the family home. Considered the household’s host, it safeguards the dwelling and maintains its connection to the family’s ancestral past. Its protection, however, depends on receiving proper respect from the people who live there.

When the household neglects or disrespects the Stopan, the spirit can become irritated and turn against its inhabitants. It makes noises at night and sends bad dreams and illnesses into the home. These disturbances are understood as signs that the ancestral protector is displeased and that the family must restore its relationship with the spirit.

To appease the Stopan, the family performs a ritual sacrifice known as the stopan gozba. This ceremony is always conducted by the oldest woman in the household. She kills a black hen and drains its blood into a hole dug in the ashes of the hearth. The roasted hen and a cake are then carried to the attic and placed in its corners as food for the spirit. Finally, the woman pours wine into the fire while saying, “Rejoice, Stopan, rejoice, cottage!”

The family waits two weeks to determine whether the offering has been accepted. If the food remains untouched, this is taken as a sign that the Stopan has accepted the sacrifice. The ritual thus restores the household’s relationship with its supernatural guardian through food, blood, wine, and the participation of the family’s eldest woman.

The Stopan illustrates how a protective household spirit could also demand obligations from the people under its care. As an ancestral guardian, it was not simply a passive protector: its favour depended on the household maintaining respect and performing the appropriate rites. The stopan gozba provided a means of appeasing the spirit and preserving harmony between the living family and its ancestral protector.

Sources

“Stopan.” Wikipedia, wolna encyklopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 18, 2026. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stopan

Płamęta

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Tradition: Polish Mythology
Alternative Names: Płamęta
Category: House dweller

The Myth

Płamęta is a mischievous household demon found in nineteenth-century beliefs around Tarnobrzeg, in Poland. It is a tiny creature, almost human in form, with a naked body, sparse hair, an unusually large head, and a wide, laughing mouth. Its strange appearance is made even more unsettling by its limbs: instead of hands, it has birdlike claws, while its feet are replaced by hooves.

The creature has a peculiar hiding place beneath a deer broom, a broom made from the shoots of the broom plant. Płamęta remains invisible to people, allowing it to interfere with everyday domestic activities without being seen. Its presence is revealed through the disturbances it causes rather than through direct encounters.

Płamęta delights in making a mess and obstructing household work. It may trip people as they go about their tasks or otherwise interfere with their efforts, turning ordinary chores into frustrating experiences. Its behaviour is that of a troublesome imp that disrupts the order of the home for its own amusement.

One way of dealing with its mischief is to take the broom beneath which it hides and swing it around while sweeping away dirt and filth. If Płamęta continues to cause trouble, the recommended response is to make the sign of the cross and leave the room. The account offers no guarantee that the creature will disappear permanently, but it presents these actions as ways of responding to its disturbances.

Płamęta embodies the idea that ordinary household disorder could be attributed to an invisible supernatural troublemaker. Despite its tiny, almost human appearance, its claws, hooves, and persistent interference make it a source of domestic irritation. Its association with a broom also links the creature directly to the everyday work through which household order was maintained.

Sources

“Płamen̨ta.” Wikipedia, wolna encyklopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 18, 2026. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C5%82am%C4%99ta

Złydnia

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Tradition: Polish Mythology
Alternative Names: Złydnie
Category: House dweller

The Myth

Złydnie are malicious supernatural beings in East Slavic folklore that bring misfortune to households and their inhabitants. They are associated particularly with the space behind the stove, where they settle after entering a home in groups. Their presence is dangerous because they drive away the household’s guardian spirits and replace them with an atmosphere of disorder, fear, and evil influence.

Złydnie were imagined as small, hunched, emaciated creatures with faces resembling those of old children. They wore oversized, torn clothing, including rags, shoes, and hats. Despite their diminutive appearance, they could cause considerable suffering. At night, they made noises around the house, overturned objects, and whispered terrible things into people’s ears, encouraging them to commit evil deeds.

Their harmful influence extended beyond the household. Złydnie tormented domestic animals and could attack people working in the fields. In invisible form, they sat on workers travelling to their fields and drained their strength. Their presence was also blamed for extreme psychological torment, with stories claiming that they could drive people mad and push them toward suicide by hanging or drowning.

Getting rid of Złydnie was difficult because they could escape and find another home. According to the tradition, they had to be caught at night and drowned in a swamp, preferably in a neighbouring village. Even this measure did not guarantee a permanent solution, as the creatures could emerge from the water and immediately seek a new household to inhabit.

Złydnie represent the destructive opposite of benevolent household spirits. Rather than protecting domestic life, they displace its guardians, undermine people’s strength, torment animals, and spread misfortune wherever they settle. Their association with the space behind the stove makes the home itself a battleground between protective household powers and malicious supernatural intruders.

Sources

“Złydnia.” Wikipedia, wolna encyklopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 18, 2026. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z%C5%82ydnia

Uboże

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Tradition: Polish Mythology
Alternative Names: Ubożęta, Uboża, Bożęta
Category: House dweller

The Myth

Uboże is a protective household spirit in Old Polish beliefs, associated with prosperity and the well-being of the home. The being was understood as a guardian that ensured wealth and good fortune for the household. According to some interpretations, Uboże originated from the souls of deceased ancestors, connecting the prosperity of the living family with the spirits of those who had come before them.

References to Uboże appear in Polish literature from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, after which the figure gradually disappeared from the written record. The spirit is comparable in function to the Domowik of Ruthenian beliefs, another supernatural being associated with the household.

A fragment of a fifteenth-century sermon provides a possible glimpse into practices associated with Uboże. It describes how leftovers from dinner were given to the poor, particularly on Thursdays. After eating, the poor were expected to drive away evil spirits. Although this account does not fully explain the relationship between the practice and Uboże, it suggests that food, household welfare, and protection against malevolent supernatural forces were connected in contemporary beliefs.

The name Uboże derives from the root bog-, associated with grace and wealth. Its meaning therefore fits the spirit’s role as a bringer of prosperity. Deriving the name from the word for poverty would contradict the being’s traditional function as a protector of household wealth and well-being.

Uboże represents an older Polish conception of domestic prosperity as something that could depend on supernatural protection. Its possible connection with deceased ancestors also suggests a relationship between household fortune and the continuing presence of the family dead. Although the figure eventually disappeared from the written record, historical references preserve evidence of beliefs in protective spirits that watched over the home and its material well-being.

Sources

“Uboże.” Wikipedia, wolna encyklopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 18, 2026. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubo%C5%BCe

Szpechotka

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Tradition: Polish Mythology
Alternative Names: Szperhetka
Category: House dweller

The Myth

Szpechotka is a small demonic creature from Silesian folklore, associated with farms and the observance of religious fasting. Its role was to ensure that members of a household respected fasting rules, particularly on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Those who broke these religious obligations risked a terrifying punishment from the creature.

When someone in the household ate forbidden food during a fast, Szpechotka would visit them at night. Armed with a drill, the creature would bore a hole into the offender’s stomach and extract the food they had eaten. The attack took place while the victim slept, and through the creature’s supernatural power, the person would not wake during the ordeal.

The punishment was fatal. Rather than dying immediately, the victim would slowly perish from the damage inflicted during the night. By morning, the person would be dead, making the consequences of breaking the fast absolute and irreversible.

Szpechotka embodies the frightening consequences attached to the violation of religious obligations in traditional Silesian belief. Its role as a supernatural enforcer transformed fasting from a matter of personal discipline into a rule backed by a deadly threat. Through the image of a small farm demon wielding a drill, the tradition conveyed the seriousness of observing sacred days, especially Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

Sources

“Szpechotka.” Wikipedia, wolna encyklopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 18, 2026. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Szpechotka

Narigama

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Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: 鳴釜, なりがま, Narikama, Kamanari, Ringing Kettle, Crying Kettle
Category: Object

The Myth

Narigama are tsukumogami associated with kama, the iron kettles and cauldrons traditionally used to cook rice in Japanese kitchens. They are depicted as hairy, animal-like beings with long arms and legs, their bodies covered in dark fur. Flames may lick around the kettle that serves as their head, or they may wear it like a helmet. Narigama frequently appear alongside other tsukumogami in illustrations of the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, although little is known about their independent behaviour.

The narigama’s most remarkable ability is its power to predict the future. When heated over a fire, it begins to produce unusual sounds as the water inside approaches boiling point. These may resemble ringing, crying, or the calls of an animal. According to tradition, the sounds can reveal whether the weather will be fair or rainy, while an onmyōji or Buddhist priest may interpret them to divine good and bad fortune. Toriyama Sekien included the creature in his Hyakki Tsurezure Bukuro, linking its supernatural ringing to an ancient oni named Renjo. The Edo-period work Kansō Kidan also describes Renjo as a spirit that haunts kettles. According to this account, someone could end the haunting by standing approximately ninety centimetres away and loudly calling the name Renjo. The fire would then descend beneath the house, the disturbance would cease, and the household would enjoy good fortune.

A related tradition survives at Kibitsu Shrine in Okayama Prefecture through the ritual known as narukama, in which priests boil a kettle and interpret the sounds it produces to predict fortune. In this account, the sounds originate from the spirit of an oni named Ura, who once terrorised the region before being slain. Even after death, his severed head continued to cry out, and neither the loss of its flesh nor its burial beneath the shrine’s kitchen silenced it. Eventually, a priestess named Aso hime offered food to the restless spirit, calming it and changing its nature. From then on, Ura’s spirit communicated through the kettle, providing predictions to the shrine’s priests. Sekien may have drawn inspiration from this ritual when creating his own account of the narigama, adapting the story by connecting the creature to ancient Chinese traditions.

Sources

“Narigama.” Yokai.com. https://yokai.com/narigama/


Seto Taishō

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Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: 瀬戸大将, せとたいしょう, General Seto, Crockery General
Category: Object

The Myth

Seto Taishō is a tiny supernatural soldier assembled from discarded household crockery. Its body consists of chipped teacups, cracked dishes, and other broken utensils that have fallen out of use. A sake bottle forms its face, while pieces of porcelain serve as its armour. It scurries around kitchens on tiny spoons, wielding knives and chopsticks as swords and spears.

Despite its small size, Seto Taishō is an aggressive warrior that delights in chasing kitchen workers and causing chaos. It charges through the kitchen, attacking its surroundings in miniature battles. Sometimes, it crashes into walls or cabinets and shatters into hundreds of pieces. However, the crockery soldier gradually reassembles itself and resumes its relentless campaign.

The name Seto Taishō combines the Japanese word for a general with Seto, a city in Aichi Prefecture renowned for its pottery. The term seto-mono is commonly used in Japanese to refer to ceramic tableware, much as the English word “china” refers to porcelain crockery. Seto Taishō embodies this association by transforming discarded ceramic objects into a fierce, miniature military commander.

Sources

“Seto taishō.” Yokai.com. https://yokai.com/setotaishou/


Yama Oroshi

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Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: 山颪, やまおろし, Mountain Wind
Category: Object

The Myth

Yama Oroshi is a tsukumogami, a supernatural being formed from an ordinary object that has become old or neglected. It originates from a metal grater that has been improperly cared for and grown too dull to grate food. The discarded utensil develops a body, while the grater’s blunt teeth protrude from its head like the wild spines of a porcupine.

The creature’s name contains a double pun. In Japanese, oroshi refers to a grater, forming part of the name Yama Oroshi. The name also resembles yamaarashi, the Japanese word for a porcupine. This wordplay reflects the creature’s appearance, transforming a familiar kitchen implement into a spiny, animal-like yokai.

Sources

“Yamaoroshi.” Yokai.com. https://yokai.com/yamaoroshi/


Omo Tsuzura no Bakemono

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Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: 重い葛籠の化物, 重い葛籠の大入道, Omo Tsuzura no Bakemono, Monster of the Heavy Trunk, Giant of the Heavy Trunk
Category: Object

The Myth

The Monster of the Heavy Wicker Trunk appears in the Japanese folktale Shita-kiri Suzume, or The Tongue-Cut Sparrow. In the story, a kind old man befriends a sparrow, but the bird eats paste prepared by his wife. Enraged, the old woman cuts out the sparrow’s tongue, forcing it to flee. When the old man discovers what happened, he searches the mountains for the bird and eventually reaches the sparrows’ home, where he receives a warm welcome.

Before he leaves, the sparrows offer him a choice between two wicker trunks as a gift: a small, light trunk and a large, heavy one. The old man chooses the smaller trunk and returns home to discover that it contains gold, silver, and other treasures. His greedy wife then visits the sparrows, hoping to obtain an even greater reward. She insists on taking the heavy trunk, but when she opens it on the way home, a multitude of monsters, snakes, and poisonous insects burst out. Terrified, she collapses in fright. This is the basic form of the tale, which became widely popular during the Edo period through illustrated children’s books and other printed stories.

The scene of the greedy woman opening the heavy trunk and confronting the monsters became a popular subject in Japanese yokai art. Artists including Tsukioka Yoshitoshi depicted it in supernatural-themed print series such as One Hundred Tales of China and Japan and New Forms of Thirty-Six Ghosts. Yoshitoshi’s teacher, Utagawa Kuniyoshi, also created a painting titled The Tongue-Cut Sparrow. In a satirical illustrated version published by Utagawa Yoshimori in 1864, the monsters emerging from the trunk were used to represent the forces involved in the Kinmon Incident, a battle near Kyoto’s Hamaguri Gate. The creature also appears frequently in yokai-themed playing cards and sugoroku board games, where it is often represented by a giant monk-like figure with an exceptionally long neck.

Sources

“Omo-tsuzura-bakemono.” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1010654282.html


Shirōneri

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Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: 白容裔, しろうねり, Shiro Uneri, White Cloth Yokai
Category: Object

The Myth

Shirōneri is a yokai depicted in Toriyama Sekien’s Hyakki Tsurezure Bukuro. It appears as an old piece of cloth transformed into a dragon-like creature. Sekien describes it as an aged cleaning cloth that has become supernatural, although he also remarks that he wondered in a dream whether it might have another origin.

Sekien’s description draws on the mysterious term shiroururi, mentioned in the sixty-first section of Tsurezuregusa. The passage tells of Morichika, a priest at Shinnyō-in of Ninnaji, who gave another monk this nickname. When asked what a shiroururi was, Morichika admitted that he did not know, suggesting only that if such a thing existed, it might resemble the monk’s face. The word’s precise meaning remains unclear.

Shirōneri appears to be Sekien’s own creation, inspired in part by this enigmatic anecdote. Later children’s books and yokai references developed the idea into a more threatening creature, sometimes describing an old, foul-smelling cleaning cloth that attacks people. Some modern books also identify anonymous cloth-covered figures in Night Parade of One Hundred Demons picture scrolls as Shirōneri, although those figures were not originally given this name.

Sources

“Shirouneri.” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1010654403.html