Ghost

Antsje mei it Tsjil

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Tradition / Region: Dutch Mythology
Alternate Names: Antje met het Wiel
Category: Ghost

The Myth

Antsje mei it Tsjil is a spirit of the rye fields, feared as a child-snatching presence that lurks among tall grain. She is said to dwell within the fields themselves, unseen but never silent, bound to the growing rye and the dangers it hides.

Children were warned never to wander through ripe rye fields, for Antsje waits there. Those who stray too far are seized, crushed, and devoured, ground down as though by a mill. No trace is left behind, only flattened stalks and silence.

Antsje moves upon a wheel, rolling endlessly through the fields. Though she cannot be seen, her approach is always announced. Before she arrives, a soft rustling passes through the rye—not the sound of wind, but something heavier, deliberate, circling closer and closer.

Those who hear the sound know to flee at once. To remain is to risk being caught in her turning path, drawn into the grain and destroyed. Adults say the fields themselves seem to close behind her, hiding her passage and concealing her victims.

Antsje mei it Tsjil stands as a warning spirit, embodying the dangers of the harvest fields and the boundary between safety and wilderness. She reminds all who hear the rye whisper that not every rustle belongs to the wind, and that some fields are alive with hunger.

Gallery

Sources

Abe de Verteller. (2014). Van aardmannetje tot zwarte juffer: Een lijst van Nederlandse en Vlaamse elfen en geesten. In AbeDeVerteller.nl, from https://abedeverteller.nl/van-aardmannetje-tot-zwarte-juffer-een-lijst-van-nederlandse-en-vlaamse-elfen-en-geesten/

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Acheri

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Tradition / Region: Indian Mythology
Alternate Names: Hill Fairy; Bhūt; Hill Godling
Category: Ghost / Child

The Myth

The Acheri is the restless spirit of a young girl, or sometimes a woman, who died a violent or untimely death. After death, her soul did not depart the world but lingered among the mountains, becoming a dangerous presence feared by the villages below.

By day, Acheri dwell on mountain peaks and high hilltops, unseen and silent. As dusk falls, they descend from the heights to hold revels in remote places. These gatherings are perilous. Anyone who stumbles upon an Acheri revel risks death or grave harm, and even visiting the site afterward is considered unsafe, as the land itself is believed to retain their influence.

Acheri are especially feared for their connection to disease. They are said to cast their shadow—known as chāyā—over children, afflicting them with sudden and incurable illnesses. The touch of their shadow alone is enough to weaken the body, and once marked, a child may never recover. Because of this, parents were warned to keep children away from lonely hillsides and twilight paths.

Though feared, the Acheri are not without boundaries. It is said that wearing a scarlet thread around the throat offers protection against certain illnesses associated with them, particularly colds and goitre. However, bright red clothing is dangerous, as the Acheri are believed to hate the color red and may be drawn to it in anger rather than repelled.

In some regions, strange sights on the mountains are attributed to the Acheri. Travelers speak of enormous moving shadows cast against the slopes—phantom processions of elephants, horses, and figures marching in silence. These illusions are said to appear without sound or substance, vanishing as suddenly as they arise.

The Acheri are remembered as spirits bound to the hills by unresolved death. Neither fully divine nor merely ghostly, they stand between village deities and wandering dead. Their presence turns mountains into places of beauty and danger alike, reminding those below that the heights are not empty, and that the spirits of the violently lost still walk at dusk.

Gallery

Sources

Bestiary.us contributors. (n.d.). Acheri. In Bestiary.us — Mythical Creatures of the World, from https://www.bestiary.us/acheri

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Acheri. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acheri

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Abja

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Tradition / Region: Albanian Mythology
Alternate Names: —
Category: Ghost

The Myth

Abja is a ghostly figure in Albanian folklore, appearing in the form of a woman wrapped in a rough shroud or a thick cloak made of coarse woolen fabric. The name Abja derives from abá or abája, referring to such a garment.

She is described simply as a female apparition distinguished by this heavy, coarse covering, which conceals her body and form. No further actions, speech, or narrative events are consistently recorded; her defining characteristic is her appearance as a shrouded female ghost.

Gallery

Sources

Elsie, R. (2001). A Dictionary of Albanian Religion, Mythology, and Folk Culture. p. 4.

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Aghach Kishi

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Tradition / Region: Azerbaijani mythology
Alternate Names: Mesha Adam
Category: Monkey, Forest dweller, Mountain dweller, Ghost

The Myth

In the mountainous forests there lives Aghach Kishi, the Woodman. He is a wild, ghostlike being, his body covered in hair, moving through the trees with a will of his own. Some say he resembles a man, others a beast, but he belongs fully to the forest.

Aghach Kishi wanders near villages and gardens, where he sometimes appears without warning. He has a strong, unpleasant smell, and he is known to take clothing left behind by humans. In older times, people would leave garments for him on purpose, hoping to avoid angering him.

Though he does not always attack, encounters with Aghach Kishi are uneasy and unsettling. He is a reminder that the forests are not empty, and that something older and untamed still walks among the trees.

Gallery

Sources

JAMnews.net. (2017). The magical creatures of Azerbaijani mythology. Retrieved from https://jam-news.net/azerbaijani-demons/

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