Tradition: Chinese Mythology
Alternative Names: 鬼母, Ghost Mother, Ghost Goddess, Guigu Shen, Tiger-Dragon Feet, Python Eyes, Dragon-Eyebrows
Category: Ghost
The Myth
Guimu, whose Chinese name 鬼母 means “Ghost Mother,” is a strange and powerful supernatural being in Chinese mythology. According to the Shuyi Ji (述异记), she lives on the small mountain of Yushan in the South Sea. She is also known as Guigu Shen, or Ghost Aunt Goddess, and is described through unusual features and names associated with tiger-dragon feet, the round eyes of a python, and eyebrows resembling those of a dragon. Her appearance is portrayed as extraordinary and bizarre, reflecting her supernatural nature.
Guimu possesses immense powers, with the Shuyi Ji attributing to her the ability to produce Heaven, Earth, and ghosts. She can give birth to ten ghosts in a single birth, making her a formidable maternal figure associated with the origins and generation of spirits. Her role connects motherhood with the supernatural world, presenting her as a being capable of producing numerous ghosts through her extraordinary powers.
Guimu also appears in other Chinese literary traditions. In Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio (Liaozhai Zhiyi), the character Yingning is described as having been born from a fox but raised by Guimu. In Hou Xiyou Ji (The Later Journey to the West), Princess Iron Fan, after attaining spiritual fulfillment, enables the Bull Demon King to become a Ghost King. The Bull Demon King then revives Princess Jade-Faced as the Rakshasa Ghost Mother. The Bull Demon King and the Ghost Mother later have a son named Prince Lixin, also known as Black Child. These accounts portray Guimu and related ghost-mother figures in different literary contexts, connecting them with the raising, creation, and lineage of supernatural beings.
Sources
“鬼母.” Chinese Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 16, 2026. https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%AC%BC%E6%AF%8D