Tradition: Chinese Mythology
Alternative Names: 楊五郎鬼, Yang Wulang Gui, The Ghost of Yang Wulang
Category: Ghost

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The Myth

The Yang Wulang Ghost is a monstrous spirit recorded in the Chinese supernatural collection Yijian Zhi (夷堅志), specifically in the third collection, volume six, chapter four, under the title “The Ghost of Yang Wulang.” The creature is described as enormous and powerfully built, standing approximately one zhang tall, a traditional Chinese unit of length. Its two arms are as thick as human thighs, giving it a formidable appearance, yet it is also remarkably agile and capable of leaping and moving with surprising speed.

The ghost is covered in black hair across its entire body. One account describes how, when its flesh is boiled in hot oil, it dissolves into black liquid that flows away. This disturbing detail emphasizes its unnatural physical nature and distinguishes it from an ordinary human spirit.

The tale centers on a man who kills a ghost, presenting Yang Wulang as a dangerous supernatural adversary that can nevertheless be overcome. The figure’s name has also been connected to the possible inspiration for the fictional Buddhist monk Lu Zhishen, the formidable “Flowery Monk” from Water Margin. According to the account, performers who developed Lu Zhishen’s character may initially have drawn inspiration from Yang Wulang, a monk associated with Mount Wutai. This connection is presented as a possibility rather than a confirmed origin.

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Sources

“楊五郎.” Chinese Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 16, 2026. https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%A5%8A%E4%BA%94%E9%83%8E

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Tradition: Chinese Mythology
Alternative Names: 鬼母, Ghost Mother, Ghost Goddess, Guigu Shen, Tiger-Dragon Feet, Python Eyes, Dragon-Eyebrows
Category: Ghost

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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.

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Sources

“鬼母.” Chinese Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 16, 2026. https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%AC%BC%E6%AF%8D

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Tradition: Chinese Mythology
Alternative Names: 溺鬼, Shui Gui (水鬼), Luo Shui Gui (落水鬼), Shui Jin Gui (水浸鬼), Drowning Ghost, Drowned Spirit
Category: Ghost

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The Myth

Ni Gui, or the Drowning Ghost, is the spirit of a person who died by drowning. Also known as Shui Gui or Water Ghost, it is believed to haunt rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water. Some descriptions portray it with green or red eyes and unnaturally strong, slippery skin, as though its body were coated in oil. It can swim through water as swiftly as a fish and possesses strength said to equal that of ten adult men.

The Drowning Ghost is feared for its attempts to pull living people beneath the water and drown them. According to traditional beliefs, spirits who died by drowning must find a living person to take their place before they can be reborn. This process is known as qiu ti, or seeking a replacement. The ghost may call out a person’s name from beside a river; anyone who answers risks being lured into the water and drowned. The Chinese work Beimeng Suoyan records a related belief that the spirits of the drowned tempt people along riverbanks, seeking to draw them to the same fate.

Not all tales portray the Drowning Ghost solely as a threat. In the traditional story The Fisherman and the Drowning Ghost, a fisherman bargains with the spirit, asking it to help him become wealthy. Another account in Yizhi Lu describes a drowning ghost that assists a fisherman by driving fish towards his nets. The spirit is also said in Wangwang Lu to be capable of transforming into a sheep. Nevertheless, the belief that drowned spirits seek replacements remains central to many stories about these restless dead, whose unnatural deaths prevent them from moving on to rebirth.

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Sources

“溺鬼 (Nìguǐ).” Chinese Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 16, 2026. https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%BA%BA%E9%AC%BC

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Tradition: Chinese Mythology
Alternative Names: 庙鬼, Temple Ghost
Category: Ghost

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The Myth

Miao Gui, or the Temple Ghost, is a malevolent spirit featured in Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio (Liaozhai Zhiyi) by Pu Songling. It takes the form of a woman to approach and torment men. In the story, the ghost appears as a heavyset, dark-complexioned woman whose appearance is described as unattractive. Despite the man’s rejection of her advances, she refuses to leave him alone.

The tale follows Wang Qihou, a student from Xincheng, who encounters the woman entering his room. She approaches his bed with an intimate and improper intention, but Wang rejects her. The spirit continues to appear whenever he sits or lies down, and when he remains firm in resisting her, she becomes angry and slaps him across the face. She then hangs a belt from a beam and forces him into an apparent attempt at hanging himself. Wang finds himself imitating the posture, standing rigidly with his feet off the ground, unable to die. Afterwards, he becomes mentally ill and repeatedly attempts to run towards a river, claiming that the ghost intends to throw him into it.

One day, a warrior carrying chains enters the room and angrily rebukes the spirit for tormenting an honest man. He binds the woman’s neck and drags her out through the window. As she passes outside, she loses her human appearance: her eyes flash like lightning, and her mouth becomes as red as a basin of blood. Wang recalls seeing a clay demon resembling her among the four clay figures at the entrance of the City God Temple. Once the spirit is removed, his illness disappears. The story presents iron chains as a means of restraining and driving away the ghost.

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Sources

“廟鬼 (Miàoguǐ).” Chinese Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 16, 2026. https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%BB%9F%E9%AC%BC

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Tradition: Chinese Mythology
Alternative Names: 多頭鬼, Many-Headed Ghost, Double-Headed Ghost, Nine-Headed Ghost, Congtou Gui
Category: Ghost

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The Myth

Duotou Gui, meaning the Many-Headed Ghost, is a type of supernatural monster in Chinese tradition characterised by its unusual abundance of heads. The category includes several different forms, such as the Double-Headed Ghost, the Nine-Headed Ghost, the Congtou Gui, whose body is covered in numerous small heads, and the Faceless Ghost, which has no eyes, nose, ears, or mouth. Stories of these strange beings appear in the Qing dynasty collection Ershi Lu by Yue Jun.

One tale describes a scholar who went into his courtyard early one morning for a walk. On reaching the corridor, he saw someone sleeping on the steps and snoring loudly. When he approached to investigate, he discovered that the sleeper was a monster with a single body but two necks and two heads. Each head possessed human-like eyes, ears, a nose, and a mouth, but one had the face of an old man while the other resembled a young man.

The Double-Headed Ghost later returned with a Nine-Headed Ghost. A third creature then appeared: the Congtou Gui, which had a human body covered with numerous small heads piled together like peach stones. The three monsters were eventually chased away by the arrival of the Faceless Ghost, a strange being without eyes, a nose, ears, or a mouth.

Many-headed ghosts also appear among the supernatural figures represented in traditional practices of the Yi people of Liangshan. In these customs, people make ghost effigies from wild grasses and create ritual boards marked with animal blood and incantations to drive away harmful spirits. The figures represented include male and female ghosts, many-headed and headless ghosts, one-legged ghosts, and spirits with severed hands.

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Sources

“多头鬼 (Duōtóuguǐ).” Chinese Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 16, 2026. https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A4%9A%E5%A4%B4%E9%AC%BC

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Tradition: Chinese Mythology
Alternative Names: 疾行鬼, Abhichata, Swift-Running Ghost
Category: Ghost

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The Myth

Jixing Gui, meaning the Swift-Running Ghost, is a supernatural being in Chinese tradition known for its extraordinary speed. It can run as swiftly as the wind, travel a thousand li in moments, and appear or disappear without a trace. According to traditional descriptions, it moves at night by pressing its body against walls and travelling sideways without its feet touching the ground.

Jixing Gui is counted among the thirty-six kinds of hungry ghosts described in the Buddhist scripture Sutra of the Remembrance of the True Dharma (Zhengfa Nianchu Jing). It is also known as Abhichata and is described as a type of yaksha. According to the tradition, these spirits are the rebirth of monks who broke their religious vows during their previous lives.

Despite its remarkable speed, Jixing Gui suffers from a terrible curse concerning food. It can eat only filthy things, and whenever it consumes them, its entire body bursts into flames, causing it intense agony. Some accounts also describe the swift-running spirit as pursuing and dealing with fugitives, using its supernatural speed to catch those attempting to escape.

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Sources

“疾行鬼 (Jíxíngguǐ).” Chinese Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 16, 2026. https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%96%BE%E8%A1%8C%E9%AC%BC

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Tradition: Chinese Mythology
Alternative Names: 一目五先生, Wuqigui (五奇鬼), Five Extraordinary Ghosts
Category: Ghost

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The Myth

Yimu Wu Xiansheng, meaning the One-Eyed Five Gentlemen, is a group of five supernatural beings from Zhejiang, China, recorded in Yuan Mei’s Qing dynasty collection Zibuyu. The five ghosts share a single functioning eye: four of them are blind, while the fifth possesses the only eye and uses it to guide the entire group. The other four cannot act independently and must obey the commands of their one-eyed leader, who determines whom they may approach.

The five ghosts are said to appear during years of widespread epidemic. They travel together and approach people while they are deeply asleep, sniffing them with their noses. If one ghost sniffs a person, that person falls ill; if all five sniff the same person, the victim dies. The four blind ghosts stumble and move uncertainly, relying entirely on the one-eyed ghost’s judgment to direct their actions.

In one account, a man named Qian stays overnight at an inn where the other guests are asleep. He remains awake and witnesses the five ghosts arriving after the lamp suddenly dims. The ghosts prepare to sniff a sleeping guest, but their leader forbids them because the person is exceptionally virtuous. It then rejects another guest who is greatly blessed, as well as a third who is profoundly wicked. When the four ghosts ask whom they may feed upon, their leader points to two people who are neither good nor evil and possess neither fortune nor blessings. The four ghosts surround these unfortunate sleepers and sniff them together. Their breathing gradually fades as the ghosts’ bellies swell. The story portrays the five beings as supernatural agents of disease who select their victims according to a person’s moral character and fortune.

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Sources

“一目五先生 (Yīmùwǔ Xiānsheng).” Chinese Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 16, 2026. https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%80%E7%9B%AE%E4%BA%94%E5%85%88%E7%94%9F

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

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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.

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Sources

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

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

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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.

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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

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