Demon

Oni

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Tradition: Japanese mythology
Alternative Names: 鬼, おに, Ogre, Demon
Category: Demon

The Myth

Oni are large, frightening demons, standing taller than the tallest human and sometimes even taller than trees. They are most commonly depicted with red or blue skin, wild hair, two or more horns, and fang-like tusks. Other oni may have different colors and varying numbers of horns, eyes, fingers, or toes. They wear loincloths made from the pelts of great beasts. All oni possess tremendous physical strength and endurance, and many are powerful sorcerers.

Oni are ferocious beings associated with disaster, disease, and the punishment of the damned. They inhabit Hell, remote mountains, caves, islands, and abandoned fortresses. They are omnivorous and are particularly associated with eating livestock and humans, as well as drinking alcohol.

Oni are said to be born when truly wicked humans die and descend into one of the many Buddhist hells. There they are transformed into oni and become brutal servants of Great Lord Enma, the ruler of Hell. Armed with enormous iron clubs, they torment and destroy humans for their own enjoyment. Their duties include inflicting terrible punishments upon the damned, such as peeling away their skin, crushing their bones, and subjecting them to other horrifying tortures.

The victims of these punishments are wicked sinners who are condemned to Hell but were not wicked enough to be reborn as oni themselves. Hell is therefore filled with oni, who also form the armies of the great generals of the underworld.

On rare occasions, a human can become so completely wicked that his soul is considered beyond redemption and he transforms into an oni while still alive. Such an oni remains in the human world and terrorizes the living. These earthly oni are the ones most frequently encountered in legends and are considered especially dangerous to humans.

Japanese mythology contains countless stories of encounters between oni and humans, including lords, ladies, warriors, and rogues. Although individual stories differ greatly, oni generally appear as villains and enemies of mankind.

Originally, the word oni had a much broader meaning. Spirits, ghosts, monsters, and other supernatural beings could all be called oni. The name derives from a word meaning “hidden” or “concealed” and was written using the Chinese character for “ghost.” In early Japan, before supernatural beings had been more clearly categorized, oni could refer to almost any supernatural creature, including ghosts, obscure gods, large or frightening yōkai, and even exceptionally vicious humans. Over time, the meanings of the various types of supernatural beings became more specific. Female demons are generally called kijo rather than oni.

Sources

“oni.” Yokai.com: The Japanese Yokai Encyclopedia. Accessed September 9, 2026. https://yokai.com/oni/

Atai Ulaan’s Demon Spawn

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Tradition: Buryat mythology, Mongolian mythology
Alternative Names: Demons of Atai Ulaan, Evil Spirits of Atai Ulaan
Category: Demon

The Myth

The demons and monsters of Atai Ulaan were supernatural beings that arose from the severed pieces of the body of Atai Ulaan Tenger after he was defeated and dismembered. Han Hormasta Tenger cut Atai Ulaan’s body into seven pieces and cast them down toward the earth.

As the pieces of his body lay scattered across the earth, they began to decay and rot. Their corruption spread through the world: their effluvia became poisonous mists rising toward heaven, while on earth they spread disease. From the ruined pieces of Atai Ulaan’s body, demons and monsters developed.

These beings became sources of suffering for humans and animals. The land was afflicted by death and disease, while people and animals suffered from hunger, thirst, anthrax, plague, and other calamities. The demons born from Atai Ulaan’s remains joined together in hostility and made war upon the living world.

The head of Atai Ulaan became the particularly powerful demon Arhan Hara Shutger, but the other fragments of his body also produced evil beings. The demons born from these remains became part of the continuing conflict between the eastern and western tenger and were among the supernatural enemies that the hero Abai Geser was destined to fight.

In the mythology, the destruction of Atai Ulaan therefore did not completely end his threat. His shattered body itself became a source of new demons, transforming the remains of the defeated tenger into supernatural forces of disease, destruction, and suffering.

Sources

“Geser—Halaa 3: The Third Branch — Arhan Hara Shutger.” Buryat-Mongol.com. Archived by the Internet Archive Wayback Machine, June 29, 2007.
https://web.archive.org/web/20070629041744/http://www.buryatmongol.com/halaa3.html

Yêu Tinh

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Tradition: Vietnamese mythology
Alternative Names: Yêu tinh
Category: Demon

The Myth

Yêu tinh is described as one of the supernatural forms assumed by Lạc Long Quân through his magical powers of transformation. No specific physical appearance is given for the Yêu tinh itself. Instead, it is mentioned alongside other frightening forms such as demons, dragons, snakes, tigers, and elephants.

When Đế Lai came to the southern land of Xích Quỷ, Lạc Long Quân was away in the underwater realm. Đế Lai left his beloved Âu Cơ and her attendants at a temporary palace while he traveled throughout the country. He became fascinated by the strange plants and flowers, exotic animals, precious stones, gold, spices, and other wonders of the southern land, and stayed there for a long time.

The people suffered because Đế Lai’s presence disturbed their peaceful lives. They desperately called for Lạc Long Quân to return and save them. Lạc Long Quân eventually came back and saw Âu Cơ, whose extraordinary beauty attracted him. He transformed himself into a handsome young man and approached her, eventually taking her to Long Trang Nham.

When Đế Lai returned and discovered that Âu Cơ was gone, he sent his ministers and followers throughout the land to search for her. Lạc Long Quân used his supernatural powers to transform himself into a hundred different forms. Among these forms were Yêu tinh and Quỷ sứ, as well as dragons, snakes, tigers, and elephants. These terrifying manifestations frightened the searchers so badly that they no longer dared to search for Âu Cơ.

Unable to find her, Đế Lai was forced to return to the north.

Sources

Nguyễn Hữu Vinh and Trần Đình Hoành. Lĩnh Nam Chích Quái Bình Giải. 2010. (trandinhhoanh.wordpress.com) (TRẦN ĐÌNH HOÀNH)
https://trandinhhoanh.wordpress.com/2010/03/21/linh-nam-chich-quai-d%E1%BA%ABn-nh%E1%BA%ADp/

Notsnitsa

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Tradition: Russian Mythology, Slovak Mythology
Alternative Names: Nocnitsa, Nochnitsa, Načnica, Nocnica, Płaczka, Nichnytsia, Kriksy, Plaksy, Night Hag, Night Maiden
Category: Demon

The Myth

Notsnitsa is a nocturnal demon that torments people, especially children, while they sleep. She is associated with nightmares and is sometimes described as a shadow-like female spirit.

Notsnitsa is said to sit on a sleeping person’s chest and drain their life energy. Because of this, she is sometimes regarded as a kind of vampire. She may return to the same person repeatedly during the night.

In some traditions, Notsnitsa attacks people who sleep on their backs with their hands resting on their chests, a sleeping position associated with the dead.

Notsnitsa was especially feared for attacking children. In Russian and Slovak folklore, various protections were used to keep her away. A stone with a hole through its center could be placed as protection, while some mothers placed a knife in a child’s cradle or drew a circle around the cradle with a knife.

She is sometimes described as having a terrible screeching voice and as being made of shadow.

Sources

“Nocnitsa.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed September 9, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nocnitsa

Green Huntsman

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Tradition: Austrian Mythology
Alternative Names: Green Huntsman
Category: Demon

The Myth

The Green Huntsman appears as a huntsman dressed in green. Although he initially looks like an ordinary man, his appearance is unsettling, with a sly and venomous expression resembling that of a snake. He is actually the Devil in disguise.

In the village of St. Johann in the lower Inn Valley of Tyrol, a young woman was devastated after being rejected by her lover. She refused to attend a wedding where her neighbors were gathering for music and dancing, instead remaining at home in grief and despair.

The Devil appeared before her in the form of a green huntsman and invited her to the dance. She accepted without hesitation, glad that she could attend the wedding and no longer watch her unfaithful lover enjoy himself.

At the wedding, the Green Huntsman danced extraordinarily well and with great energy. He sang, danced faster than anyone else, and became the most spirited person at the celebration. Although everyone admired his dancing, they shuddered whenever they looked at him because of his sinister, snake-like appearance. The young woman, however, paid no attention and enjoyed herself throughout the evening.

When they left the wedding, the huntsman asked whether he could serenade her at her home the following night. She happily agreed.

The next evening, exactly as the church clock struck midnight, someone knocked at the girl’s bedroom window. She opened the lattice to welcome the huntsman, but this time he appeared in the Devil’s most hideous form.

He seized the girl and violently dragged her through the narrow iron bars of the window. Pieces of her skin and flesh were left hanging from the bars, while warm blood streamed down the wall. The Devil then carried the screaming girl away through the air.

The bloodstains were said to remain on the wall and could never be washed or rubbed away. According to the legend, they could still be seen by anyone passing through the village of St. Johann.

Sources

Günther, Amalia von. Tales and Legends of the Tyrol. London: Chapman and Hall, 1874.

Black Demon

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Tradition: Buryat mythology, Mongolian mythology
Alternative Names: Black Demons
Category: Demon

The Myth

The Black Demons are a group of evil spirits appearing among the supernatural forces that bring destruction and suffering to the human world. Their exact appearance is not described in the source.

Nine hundred evil spirits and ninety Black Demons came to the land of the three Tugshen khans. They laid waste to the country and brought calamity and suffering upon its people. The fortune of the people was thrown into disorder. Rivers were polluted at their sources, plants were corrupted at their roots, and the rich, fertile land began to wither and die. What had once been beautiful and pure became filled with maggots, snakes, and worms.

The people and animals feared that they would all eventually be destroyed. They went to the shamaness Sharnaihan Shara, whose skin was tanned like cooked meat and who was famous for never being defeated. Pressured by the people and animals gathered around her, she took up a broken ladle and began shamanizing.

She called upon the fifty tenger of the western skies, the many gods and protector spirits, and her grandmother Manzan Gurme. She told them of the nine hundred evil spirits and ninety Black Demons who had brought disaster upon the three Tugshen khans and destroyed the prosperity of their land.

Then Sharnaihan Shara threw her ladle toward heaven, sending it upward to the table of her grandmother Manzan Gurme.

The nine hundred evil spirits and ninety Black Demons then declared that they would gather together beneath the full moon, carrying with them their jealousy and hatred. As they spread across the land, the people and animals were devastated. Herds of cattle and horses disappeared like melting ice and snow, while the demons traveled along rivers, gathered at creeks, met upon mountains, and moved along the roads, roaring and thundering.

Manzan Gurme saw the destruction and discovered its cause. The neck of Atai Ulaan Tenger had fallen to the earth and become the immensely powerful Gal Nurma Khan. He had prepared and sent the nine hundred evil spirits and ninety Black Demons to bring calamity to the three Tugshen khans and their homeland.

Manzan Gurme became enraged. She tore apart her black silk scarf and her decorated silk scarf and took up her enormous felt beating stick. She then went to the home of Etseg Malaan Tenger.

When she arrived, Etseg Malaan and Ehe Yuuren welcomed her and offered her a place of honor and a drink. After they had drunk together, Manzan Gurme told them about the suffering of the people. She described how the lonely and orphaned people were dying by day and night, being twisted and stretched, cut down like hay, and broken like reeds. Those who traveled were eaten on the roads, while those who remained at home were swallowed in their own houses.

She demanded to know who was responsible and who would correct the disaster. She declared that it was the responsibility of Etseg Malaan to correct it.

After she left, Etseg Malaan told Ehe Yuuren that the greatest offender was Han Hormasta Tenger. He declared that Han Hormasta himself must descend to the earth and correct the wrong.

White messengers were then sent in every direction to summon the tenger and gods. They carried the message that the gods should gather and make a wise decision among the stars and a beautiful decision beneath the moon.

The fifty-five tenger of the western heavens gathered in the stars and on the moon. Even the aged Father Etseg Malaan Tenger, who had not attended their meetings for many years, came to this gathering.

The gods discussed who would descend to earth to fight the nine hundred evil spirits and ninety Black Demons. None wanted to go. They feared that once they descended to the earth, they would become polluted and mortal and would never be able to return to heaven.

Etseg Malaan became furious. He declared that Han Hormasta Tenger was the greatest offender and therefore had to descend to earth himself and correct what he had done.

The other gods agreed. They condemned Han Hormasta and demanded that the one who had committed the wrong should correct it himself. Han Hormasta tried repeatedly to speak, but the arguing god princes prevented him from being heard.

Then the red middle son of Han Hormasta Tenger, Bukhe Beligte Baatar, felt pity for his father. He declared that someone had to descend to earth and that, if his elder and younger brothers were unwilling to leave the peaceful high heavens, he would go himself.

The assemblies of the stars and moon accepted his decision as right and fitting. Han Hormasta was relieved to hear his son’s words.

He then summoned his eldest son, Zasa Mergen Baatar, who lived in the high heavens, possessed the power of the tornado, and rode a brown hawk-colored horse. He ordered him to come before the assembly.

Sources

“Geser—Halaa 1 (Part 2): The War among the Tenger.” Buryat-Mongol.com. Translated/compiled online; archived by the Internet Archive Wayback Machine, June 13, 2007.
https://web.archive.org/web/20070613194519/http://www.buryatmongol.com/halaa1a.html

Volosen

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Tradition: Belarusian mythology
Alternative Names: Volosen, Volosenya, Valasen, Valasenytsa
Category: Demon

The Myth

Volosen is a supernatural being in Belarusian mythology that can appear in different forms. As a skin demon, it is associated with a purulent abscess that appears on the skin, most often on a finger. The Volosen is imagined as something unclean and otherworldly, associated with strange or misplaced hair.

The hair connected with Volosen may be hair that has remained in a river for three years, hair from a tangled or misplaced bundle, or simply a strand of hair carried away by a bird for its nest. Such supernatural hair was considered the cause of the skin disease. Lithuanians called this kind of hair “devil’s hair,” while Russians called it “zmeevets.”

A Volosen could be driven away through ritual treatment. One method involved pouring hot water through the ears of corn onto the affected area while reciting a special formula. Twisted hairs were also sought on ears of corn. Another method involved taking a bird’s nest full of hair, boiling it, and washing the affected area with the resulting liquid for three days until sunrise.

Another treatment involved melting wax in an old clay pot, adding lard and butter, mixing everything together, and pouring it into cold water. If the mixture spread quickly, it was applied to the affected area until the hair disappeared.

Volosen could also appear as a household evil spirit. In this form, it was described as a small, upright creature covered in thick, dark, long fur. It had large hands with seven fingers, each ending in a long nail. The Volosen scratched people’s faces and tickled their noses.

It was particularly troublesome to women and girls, whom it grabbed by the chest and hair. It could fall onto them with its shaggy body, ruffle their hair, and frighten children by buzzing in their ears or tickling their heels.

In some Belarusian folklore, Volosenya is therefore both a skin disease and a household spirit, ranging from something resembling an abscess on a person’s finger to a small hairy creature that torments people in their homes.

Sources

“Волосень (Volosen).” New Bestiary (Bestiary.us). Accessed September 9, 2026. https://www.bestiary.us/volosen

Bieda

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Tradition: Polish Mythology
Alternative Names: Bieda
Category: Demon

The Myth

Bieda is an immortal demon who brings poverty, hardship, worries, and misfortune upon people. She appears as a thin, emaciated woman who drains the vital strength from those she afflicts.

Bieda can also enter and become an ordinary object, such as a piece of wood. Once misfortune has taken this form, the best way to get rid of it is to pass the object on to an enemy.

Sources

“Bieda (demon).” Wikipedia, wolna encyklopedia (Polish Wikipedia). Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed September 9, 2026. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bieda_(demon)

Farfadets

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Tradition: French Mythology
Alternative Names: Fadets
Category: Demon, Gnome

The Myth

Farfadets are small supernatural creatures, sometimes only half a meter tall. They are described as wrinkled, brown-skinned beings who usually wear tattered brown clothing, although they may also go naked.

They live in woodlands but may attach themselves to a nearby farm or homestead. Farfadets are generally helpful rather than malicious, although they are playful and mischievous.

They are particularly fond of horses. They may secretly tend and groom them or weave ringlets into their manes. At farms, they perform small tasks in the fields during the night in return for a bowl of milk or cream left outside the house.

However, Farfadets can be driven away by excessive kindness. Leaving new clothes out for them, for example, may frighten them away.

In Provence and other parts of Occitania, similar creatures are known as fadets.

Sources

“Farfadet.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed September 9, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farfadet

Obambou

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Tradition: Gabonese Mythology
Alternative Names: Obambo, Obamba
Category: Demon

The Myth

Obambou is a supernatural being that can be evil and possesses the power to cause harm, although it may also choose to do good. It can possess people, cause sickness and madness, and in some traditions may be the spirit of someone who was not buried properly.

Among the Commi, severe illness could be attributed to an Obambou. An Ogounga, or traditional doctor, could determine whether the spirit was responsible. The Obambou was believed to reside inside the bowels of the afflicted person.

To drive it out, the person’s family, friends, and neighbors gathered around them and made as much noise as possible. They sang, danced, shouted, and struck objects together until the Obambou was driven from the person’s body.

Among the M’pongwe, it was believed that a person could be born with an Obambou spirit and be born insane. More generally, traditions concerning the Obambou held that the spirit could cause insanity through possession.

Another tradition tells of an Obambou that remains in the bush after a person has died and been improperly buried. Eventually tired of wandering, the spirit appears to a close relative and asks them to build it a house near their own.

That night, the women of the village gather to sing and dance. The following day, the people visit the deceased person’s grave and make an idol for the spirit. They build a small hut beside the relative’s house and place inside it the bier on which the deceased was carried to the grave, together with some dust from the grave. A white cloth is then hung over the entrance.

In some traditions, an Obambou is also believed to be married to a female spirit.

Sources

“Obambo.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed September 9, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obambo