Spectre

In common use, it called ghost. In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to realistic, lifelike visions. The deliberate attempt to contact the spirit of a deceased person is known as necromancy, or in spiritism as a seance. 

The belief in manifestations of the spirits of the dead is widespread, dating back to animism or ancestor worship in pre-literate cultures. Certain religious practices; funeral rites, exorcisms, and some practices of spiritualism and ritual magic are specifically designed to appease the spirits of the dead. Ghosts are generally described as solitary essences that haunt particular locations, objects, or people they were associated with in life, though stories of phantom armies; ghost trains, phantom ships, and even ghost animals have also been recounted.

Ixcacao

The story of the Goddess of Chocolate is a long and complicated one. She was worshipped as a fertility goddess, with different names and different roles, in the ancient cultures of Meso-America.

Mayan name, Ixcacao. (By the way, the suffix Ix- in a name makes it clear that it is the name of a female. It literally means "little one". So her name translates into English as "Cocoa Woman") She featured in the creation myths of the Mayans, introducing agriculture to the people and helping insure the birth of the Sacred Twins. Initially she was an  an earth goddess in a matriarchal society where tending the crops was woman's work. Banishing hunger and providing for the safety and security of the people was her divine responsibility. Though she seldom made a public appearance in the myths, Ixcacao, the Mayan Goddess of Chocolate, had been loved by the common folk as a compassionate goddess of abundance.

But that was soon to change!

The patriarchy had begun. At first it was a golden age. Kings and dynasties appeared. A ruling class was born.

Astronomy flourished, as did the arts; writing (glyphs) began to appear on the magnificent monuments, palaces and temples of the kings and many of the nobility. Large cities were established and populated with wealthy people.

Pulutus

Ploutos (Wealth), usually Romanized as Plutus, was the god of wealth in ancient greek religion and myth. 

In the philosophized mythology of the later Classical period, Plutus is envisaged by Aristophanes as blinded by Zeus, so that he would be able to dispense his gifts without prejudice; he is also lame, as he takes his time arriving, and winged, so he leaves faster than he came. When the god's sight is restored, in Aristophanes comedy, he is then able to determine who is deserving of wealth, creating havoc.

Among the Eleusinian figures painted on Greek ceramics, Plutus, whether a boy child or a youthful ephebe (young men of training age), is recognized by the cornucopia, or horn of plenty, that he bears. In later, allegorical bas-reliefs, Plutus is a boy in the arms of Eirene, as Prosperity is the gift of "Peace", or in the arms of Tyche, the Fortune of Cities.

In Lucian of Samosata's satirical dialogue Timon, Ploutus, the very embodiment of worldly goods written up in a parchment will, says to Hermes:

"it is not Zeus who sends me, but Pluto, who has his own ways of conferring wealth and making presents; Pluto and Plutus are not unconnected, you see. When I am to flit from one house to another, they lay me on parchment, seal me up carefully, make a parcel of me and take me round. The dead man lies in some dark corner, shrouded from the knees upward in an old sheet, with the cats fighting for possession of him, while those who have expectations wait for me in the public place, gaping as wide as young swallows that scream for their mother's return."

In Canto VII of Dante's Divine Comedy poem Inferno, Plutus (Pluto in the original Italian) is a wolf-like demon of wealth which guards the fourth circle of the Inferno, the Hoarders and the Wasters. Dante almost certainly conflated Plutus with Pluto, the Roman god of the Underworld.

Shojo

A shōjō (heavy drinker or orangutan) is a kind of Japanese sea spirit with red face and hair and a fondness for alcohol. The legend is the subject of a Noh play of the same name. There is a Noh mask for this character, as well as a type of Kabuki stage makeup, that bear the name. The Chinese characters are also a Japanese (and Chinese) word for orangutan, and can also be used in Japanese to refer to someone who is particularly fond of alcohol.

There is a tale involving the shōjō and white sake. There was a gravely sick man whose dying wish was to drink sake. His son searched for it near Mount Fuji and came across the red shōjō, who were having a drinking party on the beach. The shōjō gave him some sake after listening to his plea. Since the sake revived the dying father, the son went back to the spirit to get more sake each day for five days. A greedy neighbor who also wanted the sake became sick after drinking it. He forced the son to take him to the shōjō to get the good sake. The shōjō explained that as his heart wasn't pure, the sacred sake would not have life-restoring benefits, but instead had poisoned the neighbor. The neighbor repented, and the shōjō gave him some medicine to cure him. The father and the neighbor brewed white sake together

Harmonia

In Greek mythology, Harmonia is the immortal goddess of harmony and concord. Her Roman counterpart is Concordia, and her Greek opposite is Eris, whose Roman counterpart is Discordia.

According to myth, she is the daughter of Ares and Aphrodite; another myth says, Harmonia was from Samothrace and was the daughter of Zeus and Electra, her brother lasion being the founder of the mystic rites celebrated on the island. Finally, Harmonia is rationalized as closely allied to Aphrodite Pandemos, the love that unites all people, the personification of order and civic unity, corresponding to the Roman goddess Concordia.

Chronos

Chronos ("time," also transliterated as Khronos or Latinized as Chronus) is the personification of Time in pre-Socratic philosophy and later literature.

Chronos was imagined as a god, serpentine in form, with three heads—those of a man, a bull, and a lion. He and his consort, serpentine Ananke (Inevitability), circled the primal word egg in their coils and split it apart to form the ordered universe of earth, sea and sky. He is not to be confused with the Titan Cronus.

He was depicted in Greco-Roman mosaics as a man turning the Zodiac Wheel. Chronos, however, might also be contrasted with the deity Aion as Eternal Time.

Chronos is usually portrayed through an old, wise man with a long, grey beard, such as "Father Time". Some of the current English words whose etymological root is khronos/chronos include chronology, chronometer, chronic, anachronism and chronicle.

Vetala

A vetala (Sanskrit vetāla) is a ghost-like being from Hindu mythology. The vetala are defined as spirits inhabiting corpses and charnel grounds. These corpses may be used as vehicles for movement (as they no longer decay while so inhabited); but a vetala may also leave the body at will.

In Hindu folklore, the vetala is an evil spirit who haunts cemeteries and takes demonic possesion of corpses. They make their displeasure known by troubling humans. They can drive people mad, kill children, and cause miscarriages, but also guard villages.

They are hostile spirits of the dead trapped in the 'twilight zone' between life and afterlife. These creatures can be repelled by the chanting of holy mantras. One can free them from their ghostly existence by performing their funerary rites. Being unaffected by the laws of space and time, they have an uncanny knowledge about the past, present, and future and a deep insight into human nature. Therefore many sorcerers seek to capture them and turn them into slaves.

Osiris

Osiris (Asar, Asari, Aser, Ausar, Ausir, Wesir, Usir, Usire or Ausare) was an Egyptian god, usually identified as the god of the afterlife, the underworld and the dead. He was classically depicted as a green-skinned man with a pharaoh's beard, partially mummy-wrapped at the legs, wearing a distinctive crown with two large ostrich feathers at either side, and holding a symbolic crook and flail.

Osiris was at times considered the oldest son of the Earth god Geb, and the sky goddess Nut, as well as being brother and husband of Isis, with Horus being considered his posthumously begotten son. He was also associated with the epithet Khenti-Amentiu, which means "Foremost of the Westerners" — a reference to his kingship in the land of the dead. As ruler of the dead, Osiris was also sometimes called "king of the living", since the Ancient Egyptians considered the blessed dead "the living ones".

Osiris is first attested in the middle of the Fifth dnasty of Egypt, although it is likely that he was worshipped much earlier; the term Khenti-Amentiu dates to at least the first dynasty, also as a pharaonic title. Most information we have on the myths of Osiris is derived from allusions contained in the Pyramid Texts at the end of the Fifth Dynasty, later New Kingdom source documents such as the Shabaka Stone and the Contending of Horus and Seth, and much later, in narrative style from the writings of Greek authors including Plutarch and Diodorus Siculus.

Osiris was considered not only a merciful judge of the dead in the afterlife, but also the underworld agency that granted all life, including sprouting vegetation and the fertile flooding of the Nile River. He was described as the "Lord of love", "He Who is Permanently Benign and Youthful" and the "Lord of Silence". The Kings of Egypt were associated with Osiris in death — as Osiris rose from the dead they would, in union with him, inherit eternal life through a process of imitative magic. By the New Kingdom all people, not just pharaohs, were believed to be associated with Osiris at death, if they incurred the costs of the assimilation rituals.

Through the hope of new life after death, Osiris began to be associated with the cycles observed in nature, in particular vegetation and the annual flooding of the Nile, through his links with Orion and Sirius at the start of the new year. Osiris was widely worshiped as Lord of the Dead until the suppression of the Egyptian religion during the Christian era.

Kitsune

Kitsune is the Japanese word for fox. Foxes are a common subject of Japanese folklore; in English, kitsune refers to them in this context. Stories depict them as intelligent beings and as possessing magical abilities that increase with their age and wisdom. Foremost among these is the ability to assume human form. While some folktales speak of kitsune employing this ability to trick others—as foxes in folklore often do—other stories portray them as faithful guardians, friends, lovers, and wives.

Foxes and human beings lived close together in ancient Japan; this companionship gave rise to legends about the creatures. Kitsune have become closely associated with Inari, a Shinto kami or spirit, and serve as its messengers. This role has reinforced the fox's supernatural significance. The more tails a kitsune has—they may have as many as nine—the older, wiser, and more powerful it is. Because of their potential power and influence, some people make offerings to them as to a deity.

Leviathan

Leviathan, is a sea monster referred to in the Bible. In Demonology, the Leviathan is one of the seven princess of Hell and its gatekeeper. The word has become synonymous with any large sea monster or creature. In literature it refers to great whales, and in Modern Hebrew, it means simply "whale."


Later Jewish sources describe Leviathan as a dragon who lives over the Sources of the Deep and who, along with the male land-monster Behemoth, will be served up to the righteous at the end of time.

Sea serpents feature prominently in the mythology of the Ancient Near East, attested as early as the 3rd millennium BCE in Sumerian conography depicting the myth of the god Ninurta overcoming the seven headed serpent. Examples of the storm god vs. sea serpent trope in the Ancient Near East can be seen with Ba'al vs. Yam (Canaanite), Marduk vs. Tiamt (Babylonian) and Atum vs. Nehebkau (Egyptian) among others, with attestations as early as the 2nd millennium as seen on Syrian seals.

Phoenix

The phoenix, or phenix, is a mythical sacred fire bird that can be found in the mythologies of the Arabian, Persian, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, Indians and Canaanites.

It is described as a bird with a colorful plumage and a tail of gold and scarlet (or purple, blue, and green according to some legends. It has a 500 to 1000 year life-cycle, near the end of which it builds itself a nest of twigs that then ignites; both nest and bird burn fiercely and are reduced to ashes, from which a new, young phoenix or phoenix egg arises, reborn anew to live again. The new phoenix is destined to live as long as its old self. In some stories, the new phoenix embalms the ashes of its old self in an egg made of myrrh and deposits it in the Egyptian city of Heliopolis (literally "sun-city" in Greek). It is said that the bird's cry is that of a beautiful song. The Phoenix's ability to be reborn from its own ashes implies that it is immortal, though in some stories the new Phoenix is merely the offspring of the older one. In very few stories they are able to change into people.

Atropos

Atropos or Aisa, in Greek mythology, was one of the three Moirai, goddesses of fate and destiny. Her Roman equivalent was Morta.

Atropos or Aisa was the oldest of the Three Fates, and was known as the "inflexible" or "inevitable." It was Atropos who chose the mechanism of death and ended the life of each mortal by cutting their thread with her "abhorred shears." She worked along with her two sisters, Clotho, who spun the thread, and Lachesis, who measured the length.

Her origin, along with the other two fates, is uncertain, although some called them the daughters of the night. It is clear, however, that at a certain period they ceased to be only concerned with death and also became those powers who decided what may happen to individuals. Although Zeus was the chief Greek god and their father, he was still subject to the decisions of the Fates, and thus the executor of destiny, rather than its source. According to Hesiod's Theogony, Atropos and her sisters (Clotho and Lachesis) were the daughters of Nyx(Night), though later in the same work (ll. 901-906) they are said to have been born of Zeus and Themis.

Arachne

In Greco-Roman mythology, Arachne was a great mortal weaver who boasted that her skill was greater than that of Athena, goddess of wisdom and strategy. Arachne refused to acknowledge that her knowledge came, in part at least, from the goddess. Offended by Arachne's arrogance, Athena set a contest between the two weavers. According to Ovid, the goddess was so envious of the magnificent tapestry and the mortal weaver's success, and perhaps offended by the girl's choice of subjects (the loves and transgressions of the gods), that she destroyed the tapestry and loom and slashed the girl's face. “Not even Pallas nor blue-fevered Envy \ Could damn Arachne's work. \ The brown haired goddess Raged at the girl's success, struck through her loom, Tore down the scenes of wayward joys in heaven.″ Ultimately, the goddess turned Arachne into a spider. Arachne simply means "spider" in Greek.

Dragon

A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that features in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and which is ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern mythologies, and the Chinese dragon with counterparts in Japan, Korea and other East Asian countries.

The two traditions may have evolved separately, but have influenced each to a certain extent, particularly with the cross-cultural contact of recent centuries. The English word "dragon" derives from Greek "drákōn", "dragon, serpent of huge size, water-snake", which probably comes from the verb "drakeîn"; "to see clearly".

Leprechaun

A leprechaun (Irish: leipreachán) is a type of fairy in Irish folklore, usually taking the form of an old man, clad in a red or green coat, who enjoys partaking in mischief. Like other fairy creatures, leprechauns have been linked to the Tuatha De Danann (race of people) of Irish mythology. The leprechauns spend all their time busily making shoes, and store away all their coins in a hidden pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. If ever captured by a human, the leprechaun has the magical power to grant three wishes in exchange for their release. Popular depiction shows the leprechaun as being no taller than a small child with a beard and hat, although they may originally have been perceived as the tallest of the mound-dwellers (the Tuatha Dé Danann).

Veritas

In Roman mythology, Veritas, meaning truth, was the goddess of truth, a daughter of Saturn and the mother of Virtue. It was believed that she hid in the bottom of a holy well because she was so elusive. Her image is shown as a young virgin dressed in white. Veritas is also the name given to the Roman virtue of truthfulness, which was considered one of the main virtues any good Roman should possess. In Greek mythology, Veritas was known as Alethia.

This Latin word "veritas" now appears in the mottos of many colleges and universities. It is typically capitalized in mottos (as "Veritas") for being an ideal (such as: Truth, Kindness and Beauty). There is a private university of art and architecture in Costa Rica called "Universidad Veritas". Veritas is the motto of Harvard University, Providence College, Knox College (Illinois), Bilkent University (Ankara), the University of California - Hastings College of the Law, Drake University and the Scotland independent school Fettes College, as well as the Dominican Order of the Roman Catholic Church and Providence College, which is run by the Dominicans. Caldwell College in Caldwell, New Jersey issues a "Veritas Award" each year in honor of the Dominican Sisters who founded and administer the college. "Veritas" is included in the motto of Indiana University and Yale University, Lux et Veritas (Light and Truth). It also appears on the California State University's motto Vox Veritas Vita (Speak the Truth as a way of Life). "Veritas vos liberabit" ("The Truth Will Set You Free") is the motto of The Johns Hopkins University. Veritas Curat ("Truth Cures") is the motto of the Jawaharhal Institude of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, a prominent medical school in Pondicherry, India. Howard University in Washington DC, goes by the motto "Veritas et Utilitas", translated to "Truth and Service".

Okami

In folklore, the wolf was associated with the mountains (yama) and was thought to be both benevolent and malevolent. An anonymous Japanese said that "[no animal] is as frightening as [the wolf] is. It is quick and agile, and Yanagita Kunio, the father of Japanese folklore studies, said that "the wolf can hide even where there is only a single reed". In Edo period Japan, the word yama-inu became slang for a rabid dog.

On the other hand, the wolf has a benevolent side as well. At night when travelers are lost in the mountains, the wolf at times will escort them to the doors of their homes. In such capacity, these wolves are known as okuri-ôkami "sending wolf". In some stories of okuri-ôkami, the wolf is never seen, but its presence is known by the constant chirping of a sparrow at the traveler's side. However, the wolf was also said to turn on some travelers as soon as its home was reached, and also that the wolf could judge between the good or bad and would maul the latter if it came upon them in the mountains.

The wolf has largely been seen by peasants as a benevolent animal, and there are many village rites that involve or respond to the wolf. In contrast to the wolf's historical persecution in the West as an evil animal, in Japan if one kills a wolf for whatever reason, that man and his family had reason to fear divine retribution. Also, in certain villages it was a custom to make an offering of sekihan (red rice, used mainly in festivals and rites) whenever a wolf cub was born; and wolves were sometimes known to make return offerings of meat when a village woman gave birth. Wolves also were said to leave certain kills as a gift for the village, though if the villagers did not leave it a portion of the meat as a return gift, the wolf would grow angry. The reason the wolf was so highly regarded is that it was a protector of the rice field against boars, deer, and hares.

In this capacity as a rice field protector, it is associated with the fox "kitsune". In fact, the wolf was thought to be the divine messenger of the mountain deity (yama no kami), just as the fox was the messenger of the rice field deity (ta no kami). Farmers all over Japan have traditionally thought that in the winter, after the harvest, the rice field deity acends to the mountain and becomes the mountain deity giving rise to the idea that the fox and wolf are seasonal permutations of each other.

The contradicting, equally benign and perilous natures of the wolf are characteristic of some animals in Japanese folklore. The wolf is a guardian when it is properly attended to and cared for, but can develop a grudge toward mankind if slighted or mistreated. Thus, as a moral judge, the wolf's actions mirror humanity's own. As John Knight says, "Japanese wolf lore tells not of good or bad wolves but of good or bad people." 

Lamia

In ancient Greek mythology, Lamia was a beautiful queen of Libya who became a child-eating daemon. Aristophanes claimed her name derived from the Greek word for gullet, referring to her habit of devouring children.

Some accounts say she has a serpent's tail below the waist. This popular description of her is largely due to Lamia, a poem by John Keats published in 1819. Antonius Liberali suses Lamia as an alternate name for the serpentine drakana Sybaris; however, Diodorus Siculus describes her as having nothing more than a distorted face.

Later traditions referred to many lamiae; these were folkloric monsters similar to vampires and succubi that seduced young men and then fed on their blood.

Valhalla

In Norse mythology, Valhalla is a majestic, enormous hall located in Asgard, ruled over by the god Odin. Chosen by Odin, half of those who die in combat travel to Valhalla upon death, led by valkyries, while the other half go to the goddess Frejya's field Folkvangr. In Valhalla, the dead join the masses of those who have died in combat known as Einherjar, as well as various legendary Germanic heroes and kings, as they prepare to aid Odin during the events of Ragnarök. Before the hall stands the golden tree Glasir, and the hall's ceiling is thatched with golden shields. Various creatures live around Valhalla, such as the stag Eikpyrnir and the goat Heiqrun, both described as standing atop Valhalla and consuming the foliage of the tree Laeraor.

Valhalla is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturlusan, Heimskringla, also written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, and in stanzas of an anonymous 10th century poem commemorating the death of a Eric Bloodaxw known as Eiriksmal as compiled in Fagrskinna. Valhalla has inspired various works of art, publication titles, popular culture references, and has become a term synonymous with a martial (or otherwise) hall of the chosen dead.

Jörmungandr

In Norse mythology, Jörmungandr, often written Jormungand, or Jörmungand and also known as the Midgard Serpent or World Serpent, is a sea serpent, the middle child of the giantess Angrboğa and the god Loki. According to the Prose Edda, Odin took Loki's three children by Angrboða, the wolf Fenrir, Hel and Jörmungandr, and tossed Jörmungandr into the great ocean that encircles Midgard. The serpent grew so large that he was able to surround the earth and grasp his own tail. As a result, he received the name of the Midgard Serpent or World Serpent. When he lets go, the world will end. Jörmungandr's arch-enemy is the god Thor.

Zao Shen

In Chinese folk religion and Chinese mythology, the Kitchen god, named Zao Jun or Zao Shen, is the most important of a plethora of Chinese domestic gods that protect the hearth and family with the addition of being celebrated in Vietnamese culture as well.

It is believed that on the twenty third day of the twelfth lunar month, just before Chinese New Year he returns to Heaven to report the activities of every household over the past year to the Jade Emperor (Yu Huang). The Jade Emperor, emperor of the heavens, either rewards or punishes a family based on Zao Jun's yearly report.

Odin

Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Old English "Wöden" and the Old High German "Wôdan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz". "Odin" is generally accepted as the modern English form of the name, although, in some cases, older forms may be used or preferred. His name is related to ödr, meaning "fury, excitation," besides "mind," or "poetry." His role, like that of many of the Norse gods, is complex. Odin is a principal member of the AEsir (the major group of the Norse pantheon) and is associated with war, battle, victory and death, but also wisdom, magic, poetry, prophecy and the hunt. Odin has many sons, the most famous of whom is Thor.

Ganesh

Ganesha, also spelled Ganesa or Ganesh, also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the deities best-known and most widely worshipped in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India and Nepal. Hindu sects worship him regardless of affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains, Buddhist and beyond India.

Although he is known by many other attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him particularly easy to identify. Ganesha is widely revered as the Remover of Obstacles and more generally as Lord of Beginnings and Lord of Obstacles, patron of arts and sciences, and the deva of intellect and wisdom. He is honoured at the beginning of rituals and ceremonies and invoked as Patron of Letters during writing sessions. Several texts relate mythological anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits and explain his distinct iconography.

Ganesha emerged as a distinct deity in clearly recognizable form in the 4th and 5th centuries CE, during the Gupta Period, although he inherited traits from Vedic and pre-Vedic precursors. His popularity rose quickly, and he was formally included among the five primary deities of Smartism (a Hindu denomination) in the 9th century. A sect of devotees called the Ganapatya, who identified Ganesha as the supreme deity, arose during this period. The principal scriptures dedicated to Ganesha are the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa.

Baldur

Baldr (also Balder, Baldur) is a god in Norse mythology.

In the 12th century, Danish accounts by Saxo Grammaticus and other Danish Latin chroniclers recorded a euhemerized account of his story. Compiled in Iceland in the 13th century, but based on much older Old Norse poetry, the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda contain numerous references to the death of Baldr.

His death is seen as the first in the chain of events which will ultimately lead to the destruction of the gods at Ragnarok. Baldr will be reborn in the new world. 

He had a dream of his own death and his mother had the same dreams. Since dreams were usually prophetic, this depressed him, so his mother Frigg made every object on earth vow never to hurt Baldr. All objects made this vow except mistletoe. Frigg had thought it too unimportant and nonthreatening to bother asking it to make the vow (alternatively, it seemed too young to swear).

When Loki, the mischief-maker, heard of this, he made a magical spear from this plant (in some later versions, an arrow). He hurried to the place where the gods were indulging in their new pastime of hurling objects at Baldr, which would bounce off without harming him. Loki gave the spear to Baldr's brother, the blind god Höor, who then inadvertently killed his brother with it (other versions suggest that Loki guided the arrow himself).

Baron Samedi

Baron Samedi (Baron Saturday, also Baron Samdi, Bawon Samedi, or Bawon Sanmdi) is one of the Loa (spirits of voodoo) of Haitian Voodoo. Samedi is a Loa of the dead, along with Baron's numerous other incarnations Baron Cimetiere, Baron La Croix and Baron Kriminel. He is the head of the Guede family of Loa, or an aspect of them, or possibly their spiritual father. 'Samedi' means 'Saturday' in French. His wife is the Loa Maman Brigitte.

He is usually depicted with a top hat, black tuxedo, dark glasses, and cotton plugs in the nostrils, as if to resemble a corpse dressed and prepared for burial in the Haitian style. He has a white, frequently skull-like face (or actually has a skull for a face) and speaks in a nasal voice.

He is a sexual Loa, frequently represented by phallic symbols and is noted for disruption, obscenity, debauchery, and having a particular fondness for tobacco and rum. Additionally, he is the Loa of sex and resurrection and in the latter capacity he is often called upon for healing by those near or approaching death, as it is only Baron who can accept an individual into the realm of the dead.

Baron Samedi spends most of his time in the invisible realm of voodoo spirits. He is notorious for his outrageous behavior, swearing continuously and making filthy jokes to the other spirits. He is married to another powerful spirit known as Maman Brigitte, but often chases after mortal women. He loves smoking and drinking and is rarely seen without a cigar in his mouth or a glass of rum in his bony fingers. Baron Samedi can usually be found at the crossroad between the worlds of the living and the dead. When someone dies he digs their grave and greets their soul after they have been buried, leading them to the underworld.

Kali

Kālī,  also known as Kālikā , is the Hindu goddest associated with empowerment, shakti. The name Kali comes from kāla, which means black, time, death, lord of death, Shiva. Kali means "the black one". Since Shiva is called Kala (the eternal time) Kālī, his consort, also means "Time" or "Death" (as in time has come). Hence, Kāli is considered to be the goddess of time and change. Although sometimes presented as dark and violent, her earliest incarnation as a figure of annihilation still has some influence. Various Shakta Hindu cosmologies, as well as Shākta Tantric beliefs, worship her as the ultimate reality or Brahman. She is also revered as Bhavatārini (literally "redeemer of the universe"). Comparatively recent devotional movements largely conceive Kāli as a benevolent mother goddess.

Kālī is represented as the consort of Lord Shiva, on whose body she is often seen standing. She is associated with many other Hindu goddesses like Durga, Bhadrakali, Sati, Rudrani, Parvati and Chamunda. She is the foremost among the Dasa Mahavidyas, ten fierce Tantric goddesses.

Mercury

Mercury was the offspring of Jupiter and Maia, the daughter of Atlas. Cyllene, in Arcadia, is said to have been the scene of his birth and education, and a magnificent temple was erected to him there.

That adroitness which formed the most distinguishing trait in his character, began very early to render him conspicuous. Born in the morning, he fabricated a lyre, and played on it by noon; and, before night, filched from Apollo his cattle. The god of light demanded instant restitution, and was lavish of menaces, the better to insure it. But his threats were of no avail, for it was soon found that the same thief had disarmed him of his quiver and bow. Being taken up into his arms by Vulcan, he robbed him of his tools, and whilst Venus caressed him for his superiority to Cupid in wrestling, he slipped off her cestus unperceived. From Jupiter he purloined his sceptre, and would have made as free with his thunder-bolt, had it not proved too hot for his fingers.

From being usually employed on Jupiter's errands, he was styled the messenger of the gods. The Greeks and Romans considered him as presiding over roads and cross-ways, in which they often erected busts of him. He was esteemed the god of orators and eloquence, the author of letters and oratory. The caduceus, or rod, which he constantly carried, was supposed to be possessed of an inherent charm that could subdue the power of enmity: an effect which he discovered by throwing it to separate two serpents found by him fighting on Mount Cytheron: each quitted his adversary, and twined himself on the rod, which Mercury, from that time, bore as the symbol of concord. His musical skill was great, for to him is as[75]cribed the discovery of the three tones, treble, bass, and tenor.

It was part of his function to attend on the dying, detach their souls from their bodies, and conduct them to the infernal regions. In conjunction with Hercules, he patronized wrestling and the gymnastic exercises; to show that address upon these occasions should always be united with force. The invention of the art of thieving was attributed to him, and the ancients used to paint him on their doors, that he, as god of thieves, might prevent the intrusion of others. For this reason he was much adored by shepherds, who imagined he could either preserve their own flocks from thieves, or else help to compensate their losses, by dexterously stealing from their neighbors.

At Rome on the fifteenth of May, the month so named from his mother, a festival was celebrated to his honor, by merchants, traders, &c. in which they sacrificed a sow, sprinkled themselves, and the goods they intended for sale, with water from his fountain, and prayed that he would both blot out all the frauds and perjuries they had already committed, and enable them to impose again on their buyers.

Mercury is usually described as a beardless young man, of a fair complexion, with yellow hair, quick eyes, and a cheerful countenance, having wings annexed to his hat and sandals, which were distinguished by the names of petasus and talaria: the caduceus, in his hand, is winged likewise, and bound round with two serpents: his face is sometimes exhibited half black, on account of his intercourse with the infernal deities: he has often a purse in his hand, and a goat or cock, or both, by his side.

As to his origin, it must be looked for amongst the Phoenicians. The bag of money which he held signified the gain of merchandise; the wings annexed to his head and his feet were emblematic of their extensive commerce and navigation; the caduceus, with which he was said to conduct the spirit of the deceased to Hades, pointing out the immortality of the soul, a state of rewards and punishments after death, and a resuscitation of the body: it is described as producing three leaves together, whence it was called by Homer, the golden three-leaved wand.

Zombie

A zombie (Haitian Creole: zonbi; North Mbundu: nzumbe) is an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means, such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli. Since the late 19th century, zombies have acquired notable popularity, especially in North American and European folklore.

In modern times, the term "zombie" has been applied to an undead being in horror fiction, largely drawn from George A. Romero's 1968 film Night of the Living Dead. They have appeared as plot devices in various books, films, video games and in television shows.

The word zombie is not used in Night of the Living Dead, but was applied later by fans. The monsters in the film and its sequels, as well as its many inspired works, are usually hungry for human flesh although Return of the Living Dead introduced the popular concept of zombies eating brains. Sometimes they are victims of a fictional pandemic illness causing the dead to reanimate or the living to behave this way, but often no cause is given in the story. Although this modern monster bears some superficial resemblance to the Haitian zombie tradition, its links to such folklore are unclear and many consider George A. Romero to be the progenitor of this creature. Zombie fiction is now a sizeable sub-genre of horror, usually describing a breakdown of civilization occurring when most of the population become flesh-eating zombies.

Cupid

In Roman mythology, Cupid (Latin cupido, meaning "desire") is the god of desire, affection and erotic love. He is often portrayed as the son of the goddess Venus, with a father rarely mentioned. His Greek counterpart is Eros. Cupid is also known in Latin as Amor ("Love"). The Amores (plural) or amorini in the later terminology of art history are the equivalent of the Greek Erotes.

Although Eros appears in Classical Greek art as a slender winged youth, during the Hellenistic period he was increasingly portrayed as a chubby boy. During this time, his iconography acquired the bow and arrow that remain a distinguishing attribute; a person, or even a deity, who is shot by Cupid's arrow is filled with uncontrollable desire. The Roman Cupid retains these characteristics, which continue in the depiction of multiple cupids in both Roman art and the later classical tradition of Western art.

Cupid's ability to compel love and desire plays an instigating role in several myths or literary scenarios. In Vergil's Aeneid, Cupid prompts Dido to fall in love with Aeneas, with tragic results. Ovid makes Cupid the patron of love poets. Cupid is a central character, however, in only the traditional tale of Cupid and Psyche, as told by Apuleius.

Cupid was a continuously popular figure in the Middle Ages, when under Christian influence he often had a dual nature as Heavenly and Earthly love, and in the Renaissance, when a renewed interest in classical philosophy endowed him with complex allegorical meanings. In contemporary popular culture, Cupid is shown shooting his bow to inspire romantic love, often as an icon of Valentine's Day.

Wraith

Wraith is a Scottish dialectal word for "ghost", "spectre" or "apparition". It came to be used in Scottish Romanticist literature, and acquired the more general or figurative sense of "portent" or "omen". In 18th- to 19th-century Scottish literature, it was also applied to aquatic spirits. The word has no commonly accepted etymology; OED notes "of obscure origin" only. An association with the verb wraith was the etymology favored by J.R.R Tolkien. Tolkien's use of the word in the naming of the creatures known as the Ringwraits has influenced later usage in fantasy literature.

Leshy

The Leshy or Lesovik is a male woodland spirit in Slavic mythology who protects wild animals and forests. There are also leshachikha/leszachka (wives of the leshy) and leshonky (child of the leshy). He is roughly analogous to the Woodwose of Western Europe and the Basajaun of the Basque Country.


A leshy usually appears as a tall man, but he is able to change his size from that of a blade of grass to a very tall tree. He has hair and a beard made from living grass and vines, and is sometimes depicted with a tail, hooves, and horns. He has pale white skin that contrasts with his bright green eyes. A leshy has a close bond with the gray wolf, and is often seen in the company of bears as well. He is the Forest Lord and carries a club to express that he is the master of the wood. He has blue blood, which makes his cheeks the shade of blue. He has fiery green pop-out eyes. Legend describes him as having a red scard and his left shoe on his right foot. He also had no shadow. He was really big, but to hide from people in the forest he turned into dwarf-like creatures.

Leshy is the protector of all animals and birds in the forest. Mass migration of animals supposedly happens at leshy's instruction. He is said to have the ability to shapeshift into any form, animal or plant. When he is in human form, he looks like a common peasant, except that his eyes glow and his shoes are on backwards. In some tales, he appears to visitors as a large talking mushroom. He can also vary in size, shrinking himself to the height of a blade of grass when moving through open fields, or growing to the size of the tallest trees when in the forest.

If a person befriends a leshy, the latter will teach them the secrets of magic. Farmers and shepherds would make pacts with the leshy to protect their crops and sheep. The leshy has many tricks, including leading peasants astray, making them sick, or tickling them to death. They are also known to hide the axes of woodcutters. If a leshy crosses the path of a person in the woods, the person will get lost immediately. To find the way out, you have to turn your clothes inside out and wear shoes on opposite feet.

Leshies are terribly mischievous beings: they have horrible cries, and can imitate voices of people familiar to wanderers and lure them back to their caves, where the leshies will tickle them to death; they also remove signs from their posts. Leshies aren't evil: although they enjoy misguiding humans and kidnapping young women, they are also known to keep grazing cattle from wandering too far into the forests and getting lost. Sometimes cow herders will make pacts with a leshy by handing him their crosses from around their necks and sharing communion with him after Christian church gatherings; these pacts are said to give the cowherds special powers.

If more than one leshy inhabits a forest, they will fight for territorial rights. The evidence is in the fallen trees scattered about and scared animals.

Ghoul

A ghoul is a (folkloric) monster associated with graveyards and consuming human flesh, often classified as undead. The creature usually dwells in graveyards and cemeteries. The oldest surviving literature that mention ghouls is likely One Thousand and One Nights. The term was first attested to in English in 1786, in William Beckford's Orientalist novel Vathek, which describes the ghūl of Arabian folklore.

By extension, the word ghoul is also used derogatorily to refer to a person who delights in the macabre, or whose profession is linked directly to death, such as a gravedigger.

In ancient Arabian folklore, the ghūl (Arabic: literally demon) dwells in burial grounds and other uninhabited places. The ghul is a devilish type of jinn believed to be sired by Iblis.

A ghoul is a desert-dwelling shapeshifting demon that can assume the guise of an animal, especially a hyena. It lures unwary people into the desert or abandoned places wastes to slay and devour them. The creature also preys on young children, drinks blood, steals coins and eats the dead.

In the Arabic language, the female form is given as ghouleh and the plural is ghilan. In colloquial Arabic, the term is sometimes used to describe a greedy or gluttonous individual.

Siren

In Greek mythology, the Sirens were dangerous and devious creatures, portrayed as femmes fatales who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island. Roman poets placed them on some small islands called Sirenum scopuli. In some later, rationalized traditions, the literal geography of the "flowery" island of Anthemoessa or Anthemusa, is fixed: sometimes on Cape Pelorum and at others in the islands known as the Sirenuse, near Paestum, or in Capreae. All such locations were surrounded by cliffs and rocks.

When the Sirens were given a name of their own they were considered the daughters of the river god Achelus, fathered upon Terpsichore, Melpomene, Sterope or Chthon. Although they lured mariners, for the Greeks the Sirens in their "meadow starred with flowers" were not sea deities. Roman writers linked the Sirens more closely to the sea, as daughters of Phorcys. Sirens are found in many Greek stories, particularly in Homer's The Iliad.

Their number is variously reported as between two and five. In the Odyssey, Homer says nothing of their origin or names, but gives the number of the Sirens as two. Later writers mention both their names and number: some state that there were three, Peisinoe, Aglaope and Thelxiepeia or Parthenope, Ligeia and Leucosia. Eustathius states that they were two, Aglaopheme and Thelxiepeia. Their individual names are variously rendered in the later sources as Thelxiepeia/Thelxiope/Thelxinoe, Molpe, Aglaophonos/Aglaope/Aglaopheme, Pisinoe/Peisinoë/Peisithoe, Parthenope, Ligeia, Leucosia, Raidne, and Teles.

The Sirens of Greek mythology are sometimes portrayed in later folklore as fully aquatic and mermaid-like; the fact that in Spanish, French, Italian, Polish, Romanian and Portuguese the word for mermaid is respectively Sirena, Sirène, Sirena, Syrena, Sirenă and Sereia, and that in biology the Sirenia comprise an order of fully aquatic mammals that includes the dugong and manatee, add to the visual confusion, so that Sirens are even represented as mermaids. However, "the sirens, though they sing to mariners, are not sea-maidens," Jane Ellen Harrison has cautioned; "they dwell on an island in a flowery meadow."