Mythology!

Yang Wulang Ghost

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

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.

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

Guimu

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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

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

Knights in Lake Ägeri

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Tradition: Swiss Mythology
Alternative Names: The Ghostly Knights of Lake Ägeri, The Knights of Morgarten, The Red Waters of Ägeri
Category: Ghost

The Myth

The Knights in Lake Ägeri are the restless spirits of Austrian warriors who perished during the Battle of Morgarten. Many knights were killed by Swiss halberds during the battle, while others who escaped the fighting drowned in the cold waters of Lake Ägeri. Their deaths bound them to the lake, where they remain until the anniversary of their defeat, when the dead return to haunt its shores.

On that fateful anniversary, the lake begins to churn like a boiling cauldron, and its waters turn blood red. From the crimson waves emerges a vast host of armed knights mounted on warhorses. At the head of the spectral army rides the Black Death, carrying an hourglass and a scythe. Together, the ghostly warriors charge along the shoreline at a terrifying gallop, forming a supernatural procession that recalls the violence and slaughter of the ancient battle.

The spectral host continues its furious ride until the church of Oberägeri announces the first hour of night. At that moment, the knights are compelled to return to the lakebed, where they must remain until the anniversary of their deaths comes around again. Their annual appearance serves as a supernatural remembrance of the Battle of Morgarten, while the blood-red waters and the presence of the Black Death transform the lake into a place of terror and lingering death.

Sources

“Der Ägerisee.” SAGEN.at – Zuger Sagen. Reproduced by SAGEN.at. https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/schweiz/zug/aegerisee.html

Ghost of Abraham Lincoln

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Tradition: American Mythology
Alternative Names: Lincoln’s Ghost, The White House Ghost, The Phantom President
Category: Ghost

The Myth

The ghost of Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president of the United States, is one of the best-known spirits in American folklore. According to legend, Lincoln’s ghost has haunted the White House since his assassination in 1865. He is most often associated with the Lincoln Bedroom and the corridors of the presidential residence, where witnesses have claimed to see his figure, hear his footsteps, or sense his presence. He is typically described as resembling Lincoln in life, wearing his characteristic dark frock coat and tall stovepipe hat. Stories of his apparition have become part of the White House’s reputation for supernatural activity.

One of the earliest reported sightings came from First Lady Grace Coolidge, who said she saw Lincoln standing at a window in the Yellow Oval Room in 1927, gazing toward the Potomac River. Other prominent visitors have supposedly encountered his spirit. Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands reportedly heard a knock on her bedroom door in 1942 and, upon opening it, saw Lincoln standing before her in his familiar clothing. In another popular story, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill emerged from his bath and encountered Lincoln beside a fireplace. Churchill greeted the apparition with a witty remark about being at a disadvantage, whereupon Lincoln allegedly smiled and vanished. These accounts vary in their details, but repeatedly portray the former president appearing unexpectedly to visitors staying in the White House.

Other reports describe unexplained sounds and less direct manifestations. Residents and staff have claimed to hear footsteps outside the Lincoln Bedroom, knocks at its door, or the sound of someone moving inside. Mary Eben, a secretary to Eleanor Roosevelt, reportedly saw Lincoln sitting on the bed and pulling on his boots, while other witnesses claimed to have seen him lying on the bed or seated in a chair. Eleanor Roosevelt said she had repeatedly felt Lincoln’s presence, although she did not claim to have seen him herself. President Harry S. Truman reportedly heard mysterious knocks while staying in the Lincoln Bedroom, and several members of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration also claimed to have encountered signs of the ghost.

The haunting is not limited to the White House. Lincoln’s spirit has reportedly appeared at former residences and locations associated with his life, including his law office in Springfield, Illinois. Other legends describe a phantom train traveling along the route taken by his funeral train in April, as well as apparitions near his grave. Reports of supernatural activity have also involved Lincoln’s son, Willie, who died of typhoid fever in the White House in 1862. Staff members during the administration of Ulysses S. Grant reportedly saw Willie’s ghost, and later accounts included a claim by Lynda Bird Johnson Robb that she had seen and spoken with the boy’s spirit. Together, these stories have made the White House Ghost a lasting part of American ghost lore, linking the nation’s presidential history with tales of the dead returning to places deeply connected to their lives.

Sources

“Lincoln’s Ghost.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 16, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln%27s_ghost

Knights of Ålleberg

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Tradition: Swedish Mythology
Alternative Names: The Twelve Knights of Ålleberg, The Sleeping Knights of Ålleberg
Category: Ghost

The Myth

The Knights of Ålleberg are twelve legendary warriors whose spirits are said to sleep within Ålleberg Mountain in Sweden. According to tradition, they died at the Battle of Åsle, also known as the Battle of Falköping, fought in 1389 between the forces of Albert, King of Sweden, and Margaret I of Denmark. Rather than finding their final rest, the knights remain hidden inside the mountain, waiting for the day when a new war threatens their homeland.

The legend belongs to the widespread folkloric motif of the sleeping king or hero concealed within a mountain, awaiting the moment when the country needs him again. The twelve knights are believed to awaken when war returns, emerging from their mountain refuge to fight and defend Sweden. Their presence gives Ålleberg the character of a supernatural stronghold where the dead remain ready to answer a future call to battle. The mountain is also associated with trolls, adding to its reputation as a place inhabited by mysterious beings.

In nineteenth-century accounts from the nearby town of Falköping, local peasants claimed that the knights had worn golden coats of armour and that their spirits could sometimes be encountered after nightfall, particularly when war was approaching. One version tells of a young man who entered the mountain at the invitation of a mysterious gentleman. Inside, he discovered a vast chamber where sleeping knights lay around the walls, with golden armour hanging above their heads. From nearby stables came the sounds of horses moving in the darkness. Although the young man tried to walk quietly in his iron-nailed shoes, some of the warriors stirred and asked, “Is the hour yet come?” Their question suggested that they remained asleep only until the time arrived for them to rise and fight once more.

Sources

“Knights of Ålleberg.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 16, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_of_%C3%85lleberg

Takaluma

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Tradition: American Mythology
Alternative Names: Takaluma, the Phantom Chief, The Ghost of the Saline River
Category: Ghost

The Myth

Takaluma is the ghost of an ancient Indigenous chief who haunts the valley of the Saline River in Ellis County, Kansas. According to a tale recorded by Floyd Benjamin Streeter, the phantom appears as a powerful, imposing man whose physical presence is accompanied by a terrible, otherworldly yell. Although he can be seen clearly, he is not bound by the physical laws of the living: bullets pass harmlessly through him, and anyone attempting to touch his hand finds only empty space. He identifies himself as Takaluma, a great chief of the Inciennes, and claims to have wandered beside the river for more than a thousand years.

The encounter begins when a cowboy herding cattle along the Saline River travels back toward his camp late at night. At a river crossing below a settler’s claim, his horse suddenly refuses to move. A horrifying yell breaks the midnight silence, and the rider sees a powerful Indigenous man standing before him. The cowboy instinctively draws his revolver and fires, but the apparition remains unharmed. Laughing mockingly, Takaluma speaks in fluent English and explains that no mortal bullet can injure his spirit. The cowboy, initially terrified, becomes curious and dismounts to build a fire while the phantom tells his story.

Takaluma recounts that his people came from the west in ancient times, crossing a great body of water that he says was once only a narrow stream. They traveled east for many moons before discovering the beautiful valley of the Saline River. Finding abundant game and a landscape suited to settlement, they built their homes there. Their prosperity did not last: a terrible pestilence swept through the community and carried its people away to the Happy Hunting Grounds. Their dwellings decayed, leaving no visible trace of the people who had once lived in the valley. Their rest remained undisturbed until white settlers arrived and disturbed their burial mounds with plows.

The phantom reveals that his restless wandering began after someone unearthed his father’s bones and carried away the skull. Since then, Takaluma has been compelled to search for it for an hour each night. Although he knows who committed the desecration, he claims that he cannot enter human dwellings to retrieve the stolen remains. He therefore asks the cowboy to use his influence to have the skull returned to its resting place. Takaluma warns that if it is not restored within two months, another spirit will be sent to search for it, one powerful enough to enter any building. When his allotted hour ends, the phantom bids farewell and returns to his damp burial mound. The story closes with the hope that the stolen skull will be returned, allowing the dead to rest and preventing further supernatural disturbances.

Sources

Sackett, Samuel John. Kansas Folklore. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1961. https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22Sackett%2C+Samuel+John%22

Lady Rokujo

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Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: Rokujo no Miyasundokoro, Lady Rokujo’s Living Spirit, Rokujo’s Vengeful Spirit
Category: Ghost

The Myth

Lady Rokujo is a noblewoman from The Tale of Genji, a classic work of Japanese literature, who becomes infamous for the destructive power of her jealous and vengeful spirit. The daughter of a minister, she became the consort of a Crown Prince at the age of sixteen and gave birth to a daughter. After the Crown Prince died when she was twenty, she began a relationship with Hikaru Genji, a younger nobleman. Lady Rokujo was proud, educated, and dignified, but she also struggled with her age and status in relation to Genji. Her intense and complicated affection overwhelmed him, and he gradually distanced himself from her.

In the chapter known as Aoi, Lady Rokujo’s resentment erupts after she is publicly humiliated during a dispute over the placement of carriages at the Kamo Festival. A servant of Aoi, Genji’s principal wife, treats her disrespectfully, leaving Lady Rokujo consumed by shame and anger. Although she remains physically unaware of what is happening, her living spirit leaves her body and torments the pregnant Aoi. After a difficult labor, Aoi gives birth to a son, but her condition deteriorates and she dies a few days later. Lady Rokujo realizes that her spirit has been acting independently when she notices the scent of poppies, used in prayers and rituals, clinging to her clothing. Genji also witnesses her living spirit while attending to Aoi. Horrified by what she has become, Lady Rokujo decides to end her relationship with Genji. She later bids him farewell at Nonomiya and travels to Ise with her daughter, who serves as an imperial princess at the Ise Shrine.

Lady Rokujo eventually returns to Kyoto, entrusts her daughter’s guardianship to Genji, and dies of illness. Yet her attachment to Genji appears to persist beyond death. Her spirit subsequently torments Murasaki no Ue and Onna San no Miya, directing hateful words toward Genji and demonstrating that her jealousy has not been extinguished. Her daughter grieves over rumors that her mother’s spirit has not found peace, and a memorial service is performed at Genji’s urging.

Lady Rokujo’s transformation into a vengeful spirit became especially influential in Japanese theatre and demon imagery. In the Noh play Aoi no Ue, she appears first as a suffering woman and then transforms into a terrifying spirit and demon, while Aoi herself is represented onstage by a kimono. Her story is also associated with the hannya mask, which represents a woman consumed by jealousy and resentment. The mask’s connection to Lady Rokujo was explained through a legend in which the recitation of the Prajnaparamita Sutra frightens away her vengeful spirit. The artist Toriyama Sekien connected this episode to the name hannya, while also depicting the supernatural oboroguruma, inspired by the carriage dispute at the Kamo Festival. Lady Rokujo thus became one of the most enduring literary examples of how jealousy, humiliation, and unresolved attachment could transform a woman into a terrifying supernatural being.

Sources

“六条御息所 [Rokujo no Miyasudokoro].” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1059982793.html

Goryō

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Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: Goryō, Mitama, Honored Ghost
Category: Ghost

The Myth

Goryō are the vengeful ghosts of ancient Japanese warriors and nobles who suffered horrible, agonizing deaths. Returning from the dead as dreadful spirits of vengeance, they are closely associated with onryō, ghosts that seek retribution against those who wronged them during their lives. Their name, written 御霊, can be translated as “honored ghost,” reflecting their association with the spirits of people who held status or importance in life.

The wrath of a goryō can bring terrible calamities upon its enemies and the wider community. Fires, wars, plagues, droughts, floods, and violent storms may all be interpreted as manifestations of their vengeance. Even the deaths of members of the imperial family could be attributed to their supernatural anger. Such disasters were understood as curses inflicted by the spirits of those who had been unjustly treated, disgraced, or killed.

Because a ghost could not simply be killed to end its revenge, the living sought to pacify these dangerous spirits and transform them into peaceful, benevolent beings. Priests and onmyōji, practitioners associated with Japanese divination and esoteric rites, performed religious ceremonies intended to appease them. These practices formed part of goryō shinkō, the religious tradition of venerating and pacifying vengeful spirits. Through such rites, a spirit feared for its power to spread calamity could instead be honored and reconciled with the living.

Sources

“Goryō.” Yokai.com. https://yokai.com/goryou/

Zaraza

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Tradition: Polish Mythology
Alternative Names: Czarny Mór, Morawica, Mór, Morowce Powietrzne, Powietrze, Czarna Śmierć, Pomór, Pomorek, Przymorek
Category: Ghost

The Myth

Zaraza is a personification of deadly epidemic diseases in Slavic mythology, representing the terrifying forces of plague and widespread illness. She is depicted as a gloomy female apparition, unnaturally thin, with disheveled hair and clothing that is either white or black. In some accounts, she wanders through villages in the form of a pale, gaunt woman wrapped in a bedsheet, bringing the threat of sickness wherever she appears. Her dark appearance reflects the fear of contagious diseases that could devastate entire communities.

Beliefs surrounding Zaraza were recorded in Poland, where people sought ways to drive the spirit of disease away from the sick. In the nineteenth century, in the Sandomierz region, when someone fell ill with typhus, people sometimes attempted to frighten Zaraza out of the room by firing guns into the four corners of the ceiling above the patient. Such practices reflected the belief that epidemic illness could be caused or embodied by a supernatural presence that might be expelled through ritual action.

During a cholera epidemic in 1888 in Machów, near Tarnobrzeg, a local woman reportedly recounted that several men standing guard had seen the apparition of the disease itself. They described a tall, black-clad woman with disheveled hair walking through the village. The sight was interpreted as a manifestation of Zaraza, giving a visible form to the invisible threat of contagion. The figure also survives in Polish expressions invoking the plague, such as “May the plague take you!” and “Damn the plague!” These sayings preserve the memory of Zaraza as an embodiment of sickness, calamity, and communal fear.

Sources

“Zaraza (demon).” Wikipedia, wolna encyklopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 16, 2026. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaraza_(demon)

Hemann

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Tradition: German Mythology
Alternative Names: Emann, Homann, Hoymann, Hoimann, Jochhoimann, Hejkadlo, Hehmann, Ropenkerl
Category: Ghost

The Myth

The Hemann is a mysterious spirit from German folklore known primarily for its frightening cries, which echo through the darkness and terrify people who hear them. Usually invisible, it announces its presence with strange shouts such as “he he,” “he helfts,” or other distinctive calls that vary between regions. The creature is recorded in traditions from former German-speaking areas of Bohemia and Silesia, as well as the Upper Palatinate, the Fichtel Mountains, the Vogtland, Westphalia, and parts of Baden-Württemberg. In Bohemia, it is also known by the Czech name Hejkadlo.

The Hemann often pursues people with its cries, seemingly chasing them without ever quite catching up. However, anyone who dares to imitate its call risks a much more dangerous encounter. The spirit may leap onto the person’s back, forcing them to carry it, a supernatural attack known in German tradition as aufhocken. Depending on the regional version, it may also lead people astray or strike them in the face. The Hemann is not always understood as the same kind of being: it may be the ghost of a sinner condemned to haunt a boundary that they unlawfully moved during life, a field spirit associated with the final sheaf of the harvest, or occasionally a household spirit. Some accounts connect its cries to the calls of owls, eagle owls, hoopoes, nightjars, and ravens.

Regional traditions give the Hemann a variety of appearances and behaviors. In the Upper Palatinate, the related Hoymann or Hoimann haunts mountain forests, where its rough, manlike voice or owl-like cry can be heard from a considerable distance. Although it is usually invisible, it may appear as a tall hunter wearing a broad-brimmed hat, a giant reaching toward the clouds, or a figure dressed in a smock-frock. It is sometimes identified as a restless soul or even the Devil. The Hoymann punishes those who steal wood from the forest, and it is also associated with the Wild Hunt. In Lower Lusatia, the Homann cries at noon, serving as a natural time signal for local people. In Northern Bohemia, the Hehmann hides in cornfields and leaps onto anyone who imitates its shrill call.

Other related figures appear in neighboring traditions. In Switzerland, the invisible Egelsee-Hüper cries “hüp hüp” around midnight near Lake Egelsee. In Westphalia, the Ropenkerl’s cry is considered an omen of bad weather. The Heitmännchen appears as a small blue flame, punishes those who imitate its voice, but may help with the harvest if offered a sandwich. The Homännchen briefly appears as a tiny man in a grey camisole among a herd of cattle before vanishing. In the Lechrain region, the Hojemännlein are tiny green kobolds inhabiting forests and abandoned farms. During Advent, they shout “hoje,” perform somersaults, and play mischievous tricks. Their cries sound like sorrowful weeping, and although they can behave playfully, they punish anyone who imitates their calls. Across these regional variations, the Hemann tradition combines eerie nocturnal cries, warnings against trespassing or theft, and the danger of answering supernatural voices.

Sources

“Hemann.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 16, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemann