research/md/demonology/A Field Guide to Demons, Fairies, Fallen Angels and Other Subversive Spirits.md

# A Field Guide to Demons, Fairies, Fallen Angels and Other Subversive Spirits

> Source: `A Field Guide to Demons, Fairies, Fallen Angels and Other Subversive Spirits.pdf`

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A F I E L D G U I D E TO 
D E M O N S , FAIRIES, 
F A L L E N A N G E L S , 
AND O T H E R 
S U B V E R S I V E SPIRITS

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A F I E L D G U I D E TO 
D E M O N S , 
F A I R I E S , 
F A L L E N 
A N G E L S , 
A N D 
O T H E R 
S U B V E R S I V E 
S P I R I T S 
C A R O L 
K. 
M A C K 
A N D 
D I N A H 
M A C K 
A N O W L 
B O O K 
H E N R Y H O L T A N D C O M P A N Y 
N E W 
Y O R K

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Owl Books 
Henry Holt and Company, LLC 
Publishers 
since 1866 
175 Fifth Avenue 
New York, New York 10010 
www.henryholt.com 
An Owl Book® and 
® are registered trademarks 
of Henry Holt and Company, LLC. 
Copyright © 1998 by Carol K. Mack and Dinah Mack 
All rights reserved. 
Distributed in Canada by H. B. Fenn and Company Ltd. 
Library of Congress-in-Publication Data 
Mack, Carol K. 
A field guide to demons, fairies, fallen angels, 
and other subversive spirits / Carol K. Mack 
and Dinah Mack—1st Owl books 
ed. 
p. 
cm. 
"An Owl book." 
Includes bibliographical references and index. 
ISBN-13: 
978-0-8050-6270-0 
ISBN-10: 0-8050-6270-X 
1. Demonology. 
2. Fairies. I. Mack, Dinah. 
II. Title. 
Henry Holt books are available for special promotions and 
premiums. For details contact: Director, Special Markets. 
First published in hardcover in 1998 by 
Arcade Publishing, Inc., New York 
First Owl Books Edition 1999 
Designed by Sean McDonald 
Printed in the United States of America 
BF1531.M26 
1998 
133.4'2—dc21 
99-20481 
CIP 
13 
15 
17 18 16 
14

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This book is dedicated to Eliza, 
may she always be surrounded by love, 
joy and compassion, the demon vanquishers.

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Willingly I too say, Hail! to the unknown awful powers which 
transcend the ken of the understanding. And the attraction 
which this topic has had for me and which induces me to 
unfold its parts before you is precisely because I think the 
numberless forms in which this superstition has reappeared in 
every time and in every people indicates the inextinguish-
ableness of wonder in man; betrays his conviction that behind 
all your explanations is a vast and potent and living Nature, 
inexhaustible and sublime, which you cannot explain. He is 
sure no book, no man has told him all. He is sure the great 
Instinct, the circumambient soul which flows into him as into 
all, and is his life, has not been searched. He is sure the inti-
mate relations subsist between his character and his fortunes, 
between him and the world: and until he can adequately tell 
them he will tell them wildly and fabulously. Demonology is 
the shadow of Theology. 
RALPH WALDO EMERSON, 
"ESSAY ON DEMONOLOGY," 1875

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C O N T E N T S 
Introduction 
/ 
xi 
How to Use the Guide 
/ 
xix 
How to Identify a Basic Demon 
/ 
xxi 
How to Identify a Common Fairy 
/ 
xxiii 
Approaches to the Field 
/ 
xxvii 
Origin of the Species / 
xxxi 
WATER / 
1 
Tiamat, Mesopotamia • Mermaid, 
Global 
Merman, Global • Kappa, Japan • Rusalka, Russia 
Munuane, South America • Wahwee, Australia 
Madame White, China • Kelpie, Scotland 
Nixie, Teutonic • Tikoloshe, South Africa 
Nuckelavee, Scotland • Bunyip, Australia 
Vodyanoi, Russia • Mbulu, South Africa 
Merrow, Ireland • Ponaturi, New Zealand 
MOUNTAIN / 
49 
Huwawa, Mesopotamia 
• Tengu, Japan 
Huldrefolk, Norway 
• Abatwa, South Africa 
Yuki-Onna, Japan • Patupairehe, New Zealand 
Tommy-Knockers, North America 
• Kishi, Angola 
Gwyllion, Great Britain/Wales 
• Mahisha-Asura, 
India 
Yunwi Djunsti, North America • Duergar, Great Britain 
Mountain Fairies, China • Akvan, Ancient Persia 
Yaksas, Nepal • White Monkey, China 
FOREST / 
89 
Pan, Greece • Windigo, Canada 
Kuru-Pira, Brazil 
• Bori, West Africa 
Wood- Wives and Skoggra, Germany and Sweden 
Rakshasas, India • Ravana, India • Leshii, Russia 
Eloko, Zaire • Oni, Japan 
• Kumbhakarna, 
India 
Kayeri, South America 
• Dodo, Ghana 
Shedim (Judaism) 
• Kitsune, Japan • Khabanda, India

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C O N T E N T S 
/ X 
D E S E R T 
/ 
133 
Surem, Sonoran Desert • Set, Sahara Desert 
Azazel, Judean Wilderness • Iblis, Arabian Desert 
Djinn, Arabian Desert • Shaitan, Arabian Desert 
Ghoul, Arabian Desert • Devalpa, Arabian Desert 
Mimi, Australia 
• St. Anthony's Demons, Sahara Desert 
Palis, Arabian Desert • Mamu, Australia 
Ahriman, Iranian Desert • Namarrgon, 
Australia 
Ho'ok, Sonoran Desert • Satan, Negev 
D O M I C I L E / 
177 
Croucher, Babylonia 
• Asmodeus 
(Judaism) 
Changing Bear Maiden, North America 
Domovoi, Russia • Hiranyakashipu, 
India 
Lilith (Judaism) 
• Changelings, Great Britain 
Pazuzu, Babylonia 
• Isitwalangcengce, South Africa 
Liderc, Hungary 
• AI, Armenia • Fox Fairy, China 
Mare, Norway 
• Kitchen Fairies, China 
Fair Lady, Hungary 
• Nisse, Norway 
P S Y C H E / 
225 
Gerasene Demon, Ancient Palestine 
(Jordan) 
Werewolf, Global • Loup Garou, North America 
Leyak, Bali • Dybbuk (Judaism) 
• Kitsune- Tsuki, Japan 
Mara (Buddhism) 
• Yezer Ha-Ra 
(Judaism) 
Seven Deadly Sins (Christian West) 
Mr. Hyde (Robert Louis Stevenson) • Id (Freud) 
Shadow (Jung) • Yamantaka (Tibetan Buddhism) 
Quantum Daimon 
(Guide) 
Acknowledgments 
/ 273 
Bibliography 
/ 275 
Illustration Credits / 281 
Index 
/ 285

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INTRODUCTION 
Although far more commonly sighted than angels, demons 
are still the most misunderstood of the ancient spirits. Many 
demons were once ancient deities or nature spirits who were 
degraded or demoted over the millennia by later cultures that 
settled in their areas. Together they form the most archaic 
spirit strata on earth and they've never lost their power to 
enchant us. Often described as unpredictable, magical, and 
riveting, demons have always lived close by — much closer 
than angels — too close to ignore and yet too "Other" to get 
to know. Humankind has always regarded demons with 
ambivalence: as supernatural adversaries who must be com-
bated, yet also as a source of superhuman secrets, which can 
be wrested from them. 
Universally demons have been considered agents of both 
good and evil, and have been looked upon as vital or negative 
forces, but share key characteristics: all demon species are 
supernatural spirits of semi-divine status with limitless 
energy, excessively passionate natures, shape-shifting talents, 
and preference for concealment, "indwelling," and darkness. 
Demons are everywhere, in every part of the world and 
in every moment of recorded history. They are as invisible as 
microbes. They inhabit every grain of sand and drop of water. 
They lurk at crossroads, crouch at the door, hide in trees, slip 
into bed, wait in caves, slide down chimneys, hover at wed-
dings and childbirth, follow caravans, pretend to be friends, 
mates, or grandmothers. They slip into your mind and become 
your self. 
Demons include the genii loci who imbue and protect 
their natural habitats at any cost and fairies who've retreated 
farther and farther into the remaining pockets of wilderness. 
These underground operatives await the trespassing human

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I N T R O D U C T I O N 
/ 
X I I 
traveler, expecting their usual tithes, and when ignored they 
can be vengeful. Other demons are personifications of our 
own passions, impulses, and desires, lurking about in the dark, 
hidden terrain of our unconscious, and their habits hold pro-
found insights into the nature of our minds. Still others serve 
as explanations of misfortunes or aberrant events, or are seen 
as portents bearing chilling prophecies of death or doom. The 
wide array of demon functions and roles are as fascinating as 
their intense personalities. 
Some demons serve as portals to sacred ground. Because 
demons can be protective (at times overprotective), they were 
often employed as guardian spirits to watch over the sanctu-
ary entrance. They stood at the portal, baring their fangs, and 
ferociously repelled malevolent spirits who would fly head-on 
into their terrific images and take off in horror. They had a 
riveting effect on any human who entered in the wrong spirit. 
This useful, evil-averting demon function is still displayed in 
many cultures at places of worship, and it continues in a more 
concealed form just as the mythic traveler approaches a forest, 
or attempts the ascent of a mountain, a passage through the 
desert, or stands at the banks of rivers, at the well, at the 
doorstep. 
This demonic protector/portal function is regarded by 
the Guide as one of its most relevant. In all cultures, the very 
presence of a demon — or of his reputation for lurking about 
a specific spot — alerts the traveler to some taboo that in itself 
indicates the presence of divine powers. The sacred nature of 
Forest, Desert, Water, and Mountain is to be assumed if 
demon warnings are in effect. These indwelling spirits are 
reminders to avoid a certain action or to perform it in a pre-
scribed way — or risk incurring divine wrath. "Although it's 
commonly known that modern humankind has been destroy-
ing the environment on which its existence depends; that it is 
ever faster exhausting nonrenewable sources of energy and 
other riches of this planet . . . that although contemporary 
humanity has been aware of these dangers, it does almost 
nothing to confront or avert them," said Vaclav Havel. "It is 
my deep conviction that the only option is a change in the

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X I I I 
/ I I N T R O D U C T I O N 
sphere of the spirit, in the sphere of human conscience, in the 
actual attitude of man toward the world." 
Demons, like blazing stop signs, demanded attention and 
defined limits in earlier times. Their lore in the Guide 
expresses an animistic worldview in which wilderness held 
"forbidden" places and earth was believed to be imbued with 
sacred spirits, some beneficent, some harmful, some capri-
cious. The geography of demon encounters and quellings is 
marked by many peoples on sacred maps, and throughout the 
world these places Eire still sites of ceremonies. Many peoples 
today believe in the literal existence of the figures and tales 
in the Guide, while others see them as metaphor. In either case 
they serve to remind us with their retaliatory gestures of 
avalanches, floods, sandstorms, and acts of mayhem that there 
are consequences to acts of greed, despoiling, and deforesta-
tion, and that an attitude of humility is more appropriate than 
hubris in the face of nature's awesome power. 
Demons are also the essence of human storytelling. 
People everywhere tell similar tales, which serve to transmit 
values and contain clear messages about what traits are con-
sidered desirable or undesirable. The demons are brilliant per-
formers who entertain us marvelously as the mischievous 
trickster, the town menace, the sultry temptress, in what have 
become our classic plots. As you'll see in the Lore sections of 
the Guide, all these plots provide us, as Mircea Eliade said, 
with "models for human behavior and, by that very fact, give 
meaning and value to life." 
Without the choice between the demonic and, for lack of 
a better word, the angelic, there can be no moral to the story. 
There cannot even be a plot. There can be no story without 
internal or external struggle; no hero without antagonist; no 
pain, no gain; no quelling, no quest. The demon is always a 
challenge. 
Demonic lore was pre-media campfire entertainment. 
Many grisly scenarios seem concocted as thrillers. The spirits 
outdo each other: What's worse than a buffalo-headed giant? 
A skinless centaur. What's worse than meeting it on a secluded 
mountain path? How about in your bed when you were least

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I N T R O D U C T I O N 
/ XII 
expecting it? Worse? How about if you always thought he was 
your husband? Many of the bogey features of the demonic 
creatures were probably intended to scare young children into 
staying nearby, and the humor in the Guide's retelling of these 
stories is not intended with disrespect but seems implicit in 
the over-the-top nature of certain folk tales. 
Note that most demons, fairies, and fallen angels are 
encountered, trailing their gory reputations behind them, just 
when they are about to be defeated or outwitted, so we see 
them in their final burst of glory, roaring and brilliant like 
fireworks' finales before "The End," when the light of reality 
or day comes back on. 
The demon is the quintessential performance artist with 
an infinite repertoire of roles. His motive is to deceive, to "lie" 
so as to utterly enchant his victim — sometimes with a fatal 
denouement, but sometimes for only a bit of entertainment 
(they never know when to stop). When a human actor sacri-
fices his very being to the character he plays, lending his body, 
gesture, voice, and energy to create a "real" fictional being, 
he enchants the audience and transports it to his make-
believe world. The demon, like a brilliant actor, is a virtuoso 
who will go to any extreme to create the illusions that so con-
vince his audience that they suspend their disbelief and for-
get themselves entirely. Human audiences can learn from 
such demonic performance to appreciate the power of the art 
of fiction. 
The demon, in addition to his function as protector at the 
portal of sanctuary, performer, and plot enhancer, also holds 
up a magnifying mirror to our passions — each so eloquently 
expressed by the species. When they crave they are relentless 
and almost unstoppable and the harm they do is rarely gratu-
itous, unless you get in their way. They're unconscionable, but 
only when blinded by passion. Obsessive workaholics (they 
"work like a demon"), outrageous in wrath — do they begin 
to sound familiar? We can gain valuable insights into the 
nature of our passions from these distilled incarnations of our 
most havoc-wreaking emotions. What is human love without 
desire? Yet to see where Desire can lead, follow the furry

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XV / I I N T R O D U C T I O N 
fanged-creature heading toward Lust with his usual fiendish 
verve (see the Seven Deadly Sins in Psyche). Demons have no 
word for moderation. 
Much of the demon lore's humor exists in the repugnant 
habits of the irrational, uncivilizable demonic species who act 
out in outrageous ways: the incredibly uncouth Japanese Oni 
ingests several vineyards of wine and all his dogs in one sit-
ting and spits out rivers when he laughs (see Forest); and the 
kappa always reaches greedily for a cow's liver through the 
anus, only to have his arm broken off every time as the ani-
mal bolts, yet he never learns (see Water); the eccentric Wood-
Wife can't stand caraway seeds and goes screaming off 
indignantly, "They put caraway seeds in my loaf!" and curses 
the farm family forever. All this over-the-top behavior pro-
vokes laughter in part because it is recognizable: all those 
unconscious desires, unbridled lust, and gluttony normally 
repressed is what the unthinkable, insatiable creatures are 
made of. 
Demons would be virtually unstoppable were it not for 
the few important attributes they universally lack: they have 
no capacity for reason, love, or compassion. The human hero 
has the light of day as well as reason on his side because most 
demons are doomed to vanish at dawn. Many of the most pow-
erful demons can be as easily tricked as little children because, 
although supernatural, they lack the intelligence of angels or 
the human's potential ability to think logically or gain wis-
dom. They also lack the human ability to rationalize or justify 
action. They simply are. They are also quite literally heartless 
and love is so alien it can melt them. 
Like human beings who can't act reasonably when in the 
throes of rage, or reflect on past history when determined to 
get what they want, demons are driven entirely by instinct. 
In fact many are only hypostatizations of desire (see Id in 
Psyche). When human heroes use consciousness, reason, love, 
and compassion as their "weapons," the demon is rendered 
helpless. The towering Djinn is tricked into returning to his 
bottle and then sealed within; the Dodo who's eaten the entire 
wedding party continues bingeing, this time on a proffered

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I N T R O D U C T I O N 
/ 
XII 
sword, and he dies, releasing all the guests; Lilith, when 
dragged to a mirror and revealed for who she really is, 
instantly vanishes. 
Finally, it is the demon who guards the treasure 
(whether it be gold or an immaterial reward) and must be 
conquered before any hero or heroine can claim it. 
Frequently, in the Guide's Lore, the hero who encounters the 
demon is transported to the Other World by abduction, or 
sometimes by his own choice. In either case, when the 
explorer returns he is radically transformed by the journey. 
The spirits who pilot the journeys are always double-sided — 
holding knowledge and danger — and are capable of 
bestowing gifts of supernatural powers of healing and of art 
(like the Ponaturi water fairies who are the source of all 
Maori carvings). 
The mythic traveler who successfully harvests the bene-
fits of his demonic encounter needs special qualities to suc-
ceed. Motivation counts, and somehow all the diverse demonic 
spirits — the Jewish Shedim, the Arabic Djinn, the Russian 
Leshii — discern what is in the heart of the hero. To the guile-
less goes the prize; to the innocent third son the victory; to the 
humble passerby, the gold ring. All mean, miserly, envious, 
vain human travelers end badly. 
Throughout much of demon history, the genus has been 
associated with malign forces (or life-eating powers), such as 
storms and disease, in part because they had long served as 
explanations for aberrant natural phenomena. Demons have 
been held responsible for such events as eclipses, comets, vol-
canic eruptions, and illness both mental and physical of var-
ious kinds (a "stroke" is left over from the "fairy stroke," 
which was understood to be the cause of sudden paralysis), 
and some were considered agents of both fortune and mis-
fortune, portents of death when sighted, and choreographers 
of Fate. 
Throughout all traditions the demonic spirits have 
avoided the light of sun, love, truth, or reason. However, by 
circling Goodness darkly, or ignoring it altogether like swarms

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X V I I 
/ I I N T R O D U C T I O N 
of fairies, or attacking it head-on like fallen angels, all these 
subversive spirits throw our universal ideas of Good into illu-
minated relief. They are the grace notes that accentuate the 
human chorus of Joy. They (inadvertently) contribute to 
humankind's idea of Goodness.

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H O W TO U S E T H E G U I D E 
This Guide is an introduction to humankind's most ancient 
spirits, the demons, and is planned to aid the beginner 
approaching the field. Patterns and habits of a diverse spec-
trum of demonic spirits, including many fairies and fallen 
angels, are described, as well as where to find them, and what 
equipment and amulets are necessary to disarm and dispel 
them. 
The Field Guide points to the commonality of features 
and motifs as it observes the creatures side by side, fang by 
talon, in their natural habitats of Water, Mountain, Forest, 
Desert, Domicile, and Psyche. In this way, they cross the arti-
ficial boundaries that seem to separate them by era, culture, 
or spiritual tradition. Whether these spirits were spawned 
from a collective unconscious or by diffusion of stories from 
culture to culture is unknown. It is clear, however, despite their 
variations, plot twists, and details, that they illuminate the 
universality of humankind's most profound concerns. 
When in the realm of subversive spirits — and we 
always are — you must carry a map. You don't ever want to be 
stuck relying on one of them for directions. You want always 
to travel in goodhearted company and be sure you know your 
companions well before you set out. You don't ever want to ask 
the time, for a supernatural hour may equal a year or century 
back home. You will also want to know what you can and can-
not eat if you intend ever to go home again. In case of emer-
gency, you'll want to know how to find the exit. This 
information can be found in the Lore sections of the Guide. 
Dispelling & Disarming Techniques are supplied for most 
entries. 
As with bees, don't bother them and they won't bother 
you is a good rule to follow. Especially with fairies. However,

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H O W 
T O 
U S E 
T H E 
G U I D E 
/ XX 
as you'll see from the Guide's Lore sections, sometimes they 
expect a sacrifice, or at the very least a porridge offering. After 
all, most were once seen as deities. And when you picnic in a 
forest or on a mountain, remember, they believe you're tres-
passing. Keep a respectful distance. Since some spirits travel 
the universe in one step and fly faster than the speed of 
light, the recommended distance is, unfortunately, undefin-
able. Lest you think all this too lighthearted, know that 
human laughter is one of three sure sounds to instantly drive 
off demonic spirits (the other two are church bells and fire-
crackers). 
Only those demonic species who seem of particular 
interest because they manifest spectacularly, or inspire good 
tales, or are important in their traditions, or have idiosyncratic 
twists, are seen here. The Guide's bibliography is extensive, 
with the hope the reader will use it to continue exploring.

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H O W TO IDENTIFY A BASIC DEMON 
The demon is universally regarded as an incorporeal spirit 
who can actualize in many ways, yet is usually depicted as a 
grotesque hybrid: part Homo sapiens, part wild beast, it always 
walks upright. It has other recognizably human features, but 
often quite unnatural or uncommon ones, such as way too 
many fingers or none at all, no bones, no skin, or perhaps sev-
eral heads. There is something about its mouth and teeth that 
is always alarming. 
The entire species is composed of supernatural, compos-
ite feral creatures with telltale tails (often hidden from view),

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H O W 
T O 
I D E N T I F Y 
A 
B A S I C 
D E M O N 
/ X X I I 
hooves or talons, batlike wings, and intense heliophobia. In its 
basic shape, scales or fur covers at least half its body (the hid-
den half), and its "real face" is one that inspires terror. Even 
when at a village dance, dressed to kill and looking irresistibly 
attractive, it can always be recognized by its feet: whether they 
are those of a rooster, goat, goose, or pig, webbed, or fish/snake 
bottom, a discreet glance down will confirm its true nature. 
In tales of enchantment the human kisses the bear, frog, 
or ugly crone only to find in its place a handsome prince or 
beautiful maiden. With the demonic spirit, an inverse trans-
formation occurs: the human is lured out in the night by a 
beauty or handsome stranger for a tryst, only to discover a 
hideous serial killer with a fanged overbite. In some tradi-
tions the person is enlightened by this encounter as to the 
nature of reality and illusion, and with that insight, van-
quishes the spirit; and in others the creature must be 
destroyed by wit or sword, but it is always a learning ex-
perience. 
The "Basic Demon," as depicted, obviously cannot be the 
being that attracts a traveler; all these creatures enchant by 
"shape-shifting" into someone or something highly desirable 
to that special traveler. Some say the noncorporeal spirits hide 
within natural shapes (some even inhabit corpses). Others 
claim they never actualize by shape-shifting but simply pro-
ject illusory images like film stars, designed to ensnare and 
seduce. Like love, they do manage to alter reality for a while. 
Shape-shifting is the supernatural art of creating illu-
sory appearances and transformations out of thin air. Demons, 
using only their energy, can appear as smoke, as temptresses, 
animals, grains of sand, flickering lights, blades of grass, or 
neighbors. These magical antics Eire kept up tirelessly, heart-
lessly, and innovatively all night long. The Basic Demon 
shown here can only be seen by the viewer who sees through 
its seductively packaged masks. It is when one finally sees 
through the Basic Demon itself that it is utterly disempow-
ered and vanishes without a trace.

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H O W TO IDENTIFY A C O M M O N FAIRY 
Fairies cast a "glamour" over their prey like moonlight, an 
illusory attractiveness so utterly bewitching that one is too 
enchanted to ask who they really are until it's too late. Fairies 
are usually depicted in a positive light: they are usually of 
feminine gender and seen as dainty, winsome, small or even 
tiny humans with wings that are often gossamer, sometimes 
like those of a butterfly, and sometimes angelic. But a glance 
down will reveal talons instead of feet. Fairies tend to vanish 
rather than shape-shift. They can shape-shift if they want to, 
however, and are often sighted in human guise at village 
dances and markets. There is no certainty about their essen-
tial form, but the consensus is they are transparent. 
Fairies live in a subterranean parallel universe of their 
own that is often entered via holes in the ground, a moun-
tainside, or a hill, and also in subaqueous castles entered via a 
lake or river. Fairyland is not one of everyday experience; it is 
Other, and only visible from time to time to special adults and 
children, not because the viewers will it, but because they 
somehow fall upon it by chance. 
Fairies, like demons, may be the residue of ancient deities, 
diminutive nature spirits, and have also been considered the

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H O W 
T O 
I D E N T I F Y 
A 
C O M M O N 
F A I R Y 
/ 
X X I V 
souls of the dead (especially unbaptized babies), or fallen angels 
(those angels who weren't so evil as to be thrust into hell, but 
instead landed in the subterranean realms of earth). Fairy lore 
is often interchangeable with demonic lore, although demons 
have a worse reputation because they've been confused with 
"devils." The Devil is of quite a different family that originates 
later from Diabolos, Greek for "slanderer" or "adversary" and 
referring to Satan or the Devil. Most "devils" are in hell and 
not in the Guide. In the opinion of the Guide, both fairies and 
demons are in a Class of Supernatural Subversive Spirits that 
share most of the same traits and habits and lore. Fairies, like 
demons, are considered to be supernatural helpers from time 
to time, but their attitudes vary considerably, and they are 
always dangerous. 
Except when they kidnap human babies or borrow 
human males to propagate their species, fairies prefer to have 
nothing to do with the human community. They are very pri-
vate, and when disturbed by gawkers or intruders they react 
violently. Some fairies were categorized by W. B. Yeats as 
"sociable" and some as "solitary." The latter are always malev-
olent, but all of them, despite their small size and adorable 
guises, can be surprisingly sinister. Fairies generally are more 
aloof and laid back than their energetically engaging demonic 
cousins, and provoke fewer involuntary encounters, but they 
are equally vengeful when stepped on or rejected. (See the 
Abatwa in Mountain who sends a lethal invisible arrow into 
the foot of any human who steps upon him, and the Sea Fairy 
in Water who will rise to the occasion when rebuffed and kiss 
her ex-lover to death in his own home.) 
It will be shown that if a human visits Fairyland and eats 
fairy food, he or she will usually not return to the land of the 
living. Joining a dancing fairy ring — Celtic fairies are always 
dancing in rings — is as dangerous as ingesting fairy food. 
Once enchanted by this species, it is almost always too painful 
to return to everyday life, and returned people have been 
known to waste away pining for lost bliss. 
The Guide identifies all these creatures, demon, fairy, 
and fallen angel, as "subversive spirits" because they over-

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X X V 
/ 
H O W 
T O 
I D E N T I F Y 
A 
C O M M O N 
F A I R Y 
throw all civilized order, reason, rules, and expectations. 
Where they live, deep within our Psyche, or the waters or 
woods of our planet, all is chaos, darkness, and turbulent cre-
ative energy that can erupt, break through, and overturn rou-
tine daytime existence. Nowhere to travel without a Guide.

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A P P R O A C H E S TO THE F I E L D 
When and where can the various species be found? Location is 
a more ambiguous issue, since the Other World surrounds us 
like undetectable ether, but the surest way to encounter a 
demon manifesting itself in our world is to venture alone, at 
night, outside town boundaries. Your presence will probably 
invite an abundant display of demon plumage. According to 
every source on the demonic spirits, from canonical texts to 
occult books, epics, myth, folklore, and superstitions of all 
peoples, the dark spirits rise at sunset. 
The Guide is arranged by habitat. The nature of the 
habitat seems to shape the nature of the spirits who reside 
within, or perhaps the specific nature of each habitat as seen 
by humankind at its most terrifying and unmanageable is 
expressed by its particular indwelling spirits. They seem to 
represent the very nature of nature as experienced by 
humankind, and arise from the Psyche, a terrain of unfath-
omable depth that represents the nature of human nature. 
The Guide begins with WATER, the element of form-
less potential from which creation and consciousness emerge. 
Its distinctive characteristics are seen in its teeming popula-
tion of aquatic femmes fatales who cause mists, drownings, 
and shipwrecks. It is the most chaotic and profoundly myste-
rious of all habitats, and all its creatures are unpredictable. Its 
amphibians lurk about the land at night fishing for humans 
and return to their unknown depths by morning. In each 
lagoon, well, lake, and river, beautiful bait waits to hook a voy-
ager. The encounters produce oceans of stories. 
The MOUNTAIN, considered the sacred abode of the 
divine spirits, holds in crevices and caves a huge hidden popula-
tion of fairies, who often hover like flickering lights over 
precipices. They serve to guard treasure and warn any encroach-

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A P P R O A C H E S 
T O 
T H E 
F I E L D 
/ 
X X V I I I 
ing humans that they are trespassers by creating hazardous con-
ditions, falling rocks, and mud slides. 
The FOREST houses a wild kingdom of (mostly) preda-
tory male demons, often camouflaged as beasts or trees, who 
spring suddenly from shadows to catch and devour hunters and 
domestic animals. Entering a forest, usually the nearest habi-
tat to a village, is crossing over into a dangerous, dark world 
beyond and wholly unlike the safe community at its edge. 
The species of the DESERT frequently display as 
whirling powerful sandstorms but also appear in friend guise 
and soon shape-shift to alien form, or instantly vanish along 
with their tented villages, all expressing the powerful state of 
flux and shifting reality of this terrain. It is in this vast, hos-
tile wilderness that three Western world religions have placed 
their most powerfully radical species to wage battle with spir-
itual journeymen who seek them out. 
For armchair travelers, the DOMICILE houses the most 
variegated species of demons: they lurk in the doorway 
(pouncing if the home is approached incautiously); in the bed-
room, where seductive succubi or incubi often appear to any 
solitary spouse whose mate is away; and in the kitchen or base-
ment is the genius loci puttering about all night (fed or pro-
pitiated by the humans who share its abode). Dangerous 
disease spirits attempt to fly in through windows, and fairies 
enter the nursery and take babies in exchange for their own. 
Each portion of the home defines its demon specialties by its 
fears and has shelves of preventative measures. 
Lastly, closer than home, is the terrain of the PSYCHE. 
One doesn't have to leave one's mind to witness the lively 
Dybbuk, Werewolf, or Kitsune-Tsuki, who leave their prey 
looking quite normal but for that telltale vocal change and a 
new je ne sais quoi behind the eyes. The Psyche, once home to 
the medieval Seven Deadly Sins, in this century has the Id and 
Shadow, who often require an exorcist or rather, psychoana-
lyst, to address them directly. Most important, the Psyche is 
the place to recognize all of our personal demons and to dis-
cover transformation techniques. 
The Field Guide will not discuss philosophical issues

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X X I X 
/ A P P R O A C H E S 
TO T H E 
F I E L D 
associated with demons, like Evil or how it arose (a vast, fas-
cinating mystery inextricably linked to the question of theod-
icy — how there can be suffering and evil if God is good). It 
will avoid Halloween and bhuttas and witch hunts entirely 
and the only mention of "ghost" will be the gui or shen ori-
gin of certain Chinese spirits. The "devils" and infernal 
demons who have not come up for air or interacted with liv-
ing people will not be identified in these pages. With 20,000 
demons in a sole epic battle of the Ramayana, a modest 
medieval professional estimate of 7,405,926 demons in the 
world, and a Talmudic guess of one demon per person, the 
Guide must be highly selective and has included only those 
personalities who, by their nature, appearance, or stories, offer 
the reader an insight to the genus — or genius — of them all.

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ORIGIN O F T H E S P E C I E S 
In the beginning, invisible hordes wing through the universe 
faster than the speed of light. In this world each tree, lake, 
rock, wall, and hearth pulse with indwelling power, and any 
abnormal change of weather, fortune, or health is attributed 
to unseen agencies of shadowy, anonymous collectives. This is 
the origin of many Western species who slowly spin into focus. 
The daemonic remains unnamed and highly charged as quan-
tum energy, beyond human understanding, always present, 
causal forces of good or misfortune. 
In ancient Greece, Hesiod refers to innumerable invis-
ible daimons of two general types: the daimons of the hero 
cult (which the heroes of the Golden Age became after death) 
that act as guardian spirits, and the other daimons, evil spirits 
of disease that can cause harm. There is an ambivalence con-
cerning the nature of the species: they can act for better or 
worse, but either way their effect is powerful. In Homer's 
Odyssey, the daimon is seen as that supernatural force (but not 
one of the gods, like Zeus or Athena) which intervenes in 
uncanny, preternatural moments, the kind that produce sud-
den insight, wild inspiration, peculiar behavior, or incompre-
hensible events. These fateful moments (for they are always 
that important!) loosely connect the daimon to Fate itself. This 
notion evolves into the concept that each person houses a dai-
mon of his/her own. In Horace, the daimon becomes the 
"companion who rules the star of birth, the god of human 
nature, mortal in each man," and is inextricably linked with 
Fate. 
It is Plato who definitively classifies and establishes the 
function of the daemonic species for us, in his Symposium: the 
Daimon is an intermediary spirit, described as neither god nor 
mortal but something between them. The gods had no direct

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O R I G I N 
O F 
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X X X I I 
contact with mortals and it was only via the Daimon that 
intercourse between gods and humans became possible. It is 
the Daimon that carries man's prayers to the gods and the 
gods' will to mortals. The Daimon itself continues to express 
a mercurial nature. Subject to passions and impulsivity, it is 
known to fly off the handle and grow so enraged that it 
demands placating and sacrifices. But so do the gods of this 
time. This Daimon is a mediator; a halfway creature that lives 
in the gap between the Divine and mortal. 
The gap widens to a gulf as a pessimistic view of this 
mortal world sets in like ground fog. Over the next few cen-
turies we see a radical shift in demon status. Starting in the 
fourth century B.C.E., after Alexander had changed the geog-
raphy of Greece by adding vast conquered territory, borders 
widened and villages became urban and people no longer 
knew their neighbors. For many, a sense of alienation set in. 
All seemed left to Chance. Diviners and magic practices 
sprang up all over to soothe the increasingly anxious public. 
We begin then to see a major downgrading of belief in 
the sacrality of earthly life as the ancient world became seen 
as "sublunar." The ancient gods fled for "higher places" and 
without them, it was darker here. The idea took root that per-
haps an inferior demiurge (a dark daemon who was either an 
angel in revolt or a totally evil impulse) was the actual creator 
of this materia] world, so entirely cut off, it now seemed, from 
the heavens. 
This divide of spiritual versus material realms became 
increasingly severe over the next century. A radically dualistic 
chasm opened wide. New religious systems of the East and 
some mystery cults entered the thinking of Greece and Rome, 
along with migration of peoples. By the first century C.E. an 
age of syncretism began. It affected the Daimon adversely. As 
Christianity spread, all pagan spirits were demonized and 
shoved down under to new dwelling places, and now the 
"angel" inherited the function of the Daimon and began 
blithely circling around the old daemonic realm. The angel 
was becoming the new intermediary spirit, so it had to grow 
less aloof, more approachable, and it smiled benignly as the

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X X X I I I 
/ O R I G I N 
O F 
T H E 
S P E C I E S 
ancient daemon/demon sunk to new lows and fell, stunned 
and soot-winged, into a subterranean abyss. 
John Milton wrote about this time (calamitous for 
demonic spirits in the Western world) his famous poem, "On 
the Morning of Christ's Nativity" in 1629. Here is a sampling 
of the verse that tolled the death knoll for many ancient 
deities: 
XIX 
The Oracles are dumm, 
No voice or hideous humm 
Runs through the arched roof in words deceiving. 
Apollo from his shrine 
Can no more divine, 
With hollow shriek the steep of Delphos 
leaving... 
The lonely mountains o're, 
And the resounding shore, 
A voice of weeping heard, and loud lament; 
From haunted spring, and dale 
Edg'd with poplar pale. 
The parting Genius is with sighing sent, 
With flowered-inwoven 
tresses torn 
The Nymphs in twilight shade of tangled thickets mourn. 
Judaism never officially recognized demons, but several 
species were very popular in Jewish folklore and called shedim, 
seirim, or mazzikin. They were much discussed, and from the 
Hagigah (a tractate of the Babylonian Talmud) comes this 
description: 
Six things have been said about demons: They are 
like angels in three particulars, but resemble men 
in three others. Like angels they have wings, and 
are able to fly from one end of the world to another, 
and know the future.. . . Like men, the demons 
take nourishment, marry, beget children, and ulti-
mately die.

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O R I G I N 
O F 
T H E 
S P E C I E S 
/ X X X I I 
Shedim were demons (borrowed from neighbors of the 
ancient Israelites) to whom other peoples performed sacrifices. 
In Deuteronomy (32:17) is an admonishment not to borrow the 
practice: "And they shall offer no more sacrifices unto devils 
after whom they go a whoring." In Leviticus (17:7), the seirim 
(hairy ones), satyr, goatlike spirits, are clearly mentioned as 
forbidden objects of worship. These prohibitions generally in-
dicate that contrary customs were popular. 
One Jewish source related that the demons were created 
on the Sixth Day of Creation when the Lord was producing 
many creatures, but He was interrupted by the approaching 
eve of Sabbath, and so there was not enough time to give all 
the souls He had created bodies of their own. Another Jewish 
source claimed that a demon race existed long before 
humankind and grew so arrogant that finally humans were 
created to replace them. They were left hanging about in 
resentful droves. The notion of the demon as an elder sib-
ling/spirit who came before humankind is found in the folk-
lore and myth of many traditions. It is said to explain their 
attitude and their sense of prior claim on property, thus 
expecting tithes or sacrifices from mortal usurpers. 
Meanwhile, in India, ancient spirits were winged hover-
ing siblings of equal power. They were all brilliant shape-
shifters who shared the power to create illusion (maya). Their 
struggles were a kind of recognizable sibling rivalry for the 
same turf known to so many human families. Even the word 
asura, which came to mean anti-god, in early Vedic mythol-
ogy meant "gods." But the devas (gods) and the asuras became 
locked in battle until one major incident divided the spirits 
forever: 
Myth has it that the gods and asuras were working 
together cooperatively to churn the cosmic ocean and produce 
the Elixir of Immortality when Vishnu appeared as a tortoise 
with the World Mountain on his back wrapped round with the 
World Serpent. The gods grabbed the serpent's tail and the 
asuras its head. When the Elixir was ready, the serpent spit 
venom at the demons, temporarily blinding them while the 
gods gulped down the drink. In another version, it is said that

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X X X I I I / O R I G I N 
O F 
T H E 
S P E C I E S 
Vishnu showed up disguised as a temptress, and the asuras, 
influenced by their slightly "lower" nature, were so distracted 
by this sexy illusion they didn't even notice the Elixir was 
gone. 
In any case, in Hinduism, the asuras lost immortal sta-
tus, but kept a longevity of eons. From then on, the asuras, 
semi-divine, with a nature unsuitable for angels, have 
become their warring adversaries. A tad greedy, too lustful 
and envious, too "human" to fly eternally, the asuras provide 
the action. On earth they become the Guide species of 
Rakshasas and include the formidable Kavana and Mahisha-
Asura. But none remain radically evil. They often transform 
from one lifetime to the next and can be reborn as saintly 
human beings. In the lore of India, all demons are born with 
the seeds of their own self-destruction set in place by their 
own action, and they will come to their inevitable end by 
their own actions. 
Farther east in Asia we witness demonic power as the 
wrathful or terrific aspect of a deity, to be harnessed for vari-

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O R I G I N 
O F 
T H E 
S P E C I E S 
/ X X X I I 
ous uses. In Buddhism, the demon was considered basically as 
an obstacle to Enlightenment. Various techniques and meth-
ods were practiced to vanquish it. In Tibetan Buddhism we see 
how the "weapon" of Compassion can utterly transform a 
demon. Powerless in the force field of love and compassion, 
they melt, truly vanish, and leave a luminous, empty land-
scape in their place. 
In China, the yin/yang symbol shows a bit of light 
extending into the dark, and a bit of dark in the light, all in a 
whole circle of inextricable Oneness. The original characters 
for yin and yang were the light and shaded side of a mountain 
peak. This points the traveler to the inseparability of the spir-
itual and material terrain of this worldview. 
The Chinese gui (deceased persons who do not become 
shen) become demons, devils, and goblins who prey upon 
mankind if not fed and given offerings by the living. These 
restless spirits cast no shadow and usually serve the gods who 
govern the universe and punish evildoers. They can possess 
humans or cause misfortune. The gui of suicides go about 
wearing a red ribbon around their throats and try to convince 
others to do the same (and so take their place in hell). 
Chinese lore of 
demons springs from a mix of 
Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. It is rich and colorful 
and much is found in Taoist tales. When visiting Eastern habi-
tats, one finds oneself in a constantly transforming, dreamlike 
reality where there is no sure footing, and shen, gui, the world 
itself, can vanish instantly. 
In many cultures we run across subversive spirits who are 
creative although anarchic and unconscionable. They often 
play important roles in creation stories and remind us of the 
sheer energy and innovative brilliance of these ancient pow-
erful, shape-shifting, intermediary figures. They proliferate 
in the four corners of the world, practicing specialties that 
account for all human urges, passions, impulses, ambitions. 
The demon hovers near every one of life's special occasions, 
and it appears at every border where we may cross too dan-
gerously near the realm of the Divine. 
Demons wait to trip us up at birth, at weddings, at death,

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X X X I I I / O R I G I N 
O F 
T H E 
S P E C I E S 
at the building of houses, at setting out on travels, at having 
too good a piece of luck (the kind that incites envy), or when 
accounting for a piece of bad fortune. They are ever present 
and uninvited. Naturally, they produce oceans of advice on 
how to avert them, how to conjure, control, or tame them, how 
to exorcise them, how to rid the house or mind of them. Yet 
worldwide, like flying grace notes, they point clearly and uni-
versally to the good life, highlighting love and compassion and 
all they are not. The tales in the Guide attest to the powers of 
a demon-filled universe, to the unexplained, to human capac-
ity for wonder and ambivalence, to the extraordinary richness 
of human Imagination, the faculty Blake calls "Divine."

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W A T E R

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W
ATER, CONSIDERED TO BE THE ELEMENT OF FORMLESS 
potential, beyond order or cultivation, covers two-thirds 
of the earth's surface and holds a vast supernatural population 
in its fathomless depths. In the lore of Japan, India, Egypt, and 
Babylonia, and in the Jewish tradition, it was the primal sea 
from which creation emerged. Ancient deities imbued the 
Nile, the Euphrates, the Ganges, and the fountains of ancient 
Rome. 
As a sacred element, water is believed to hold purifying 
and healing powers. It can relieve thirst, renew the earth, or 
destroy by flood. If water is withheld there will be drought and 
death. It is both the elixir of life and the source of the deluge. 
Approaching a body of water is still an occasion for prayer in 
many traditions. The washing of hands and feet, the baptismal 
font, the sacred spring, and the holy well — all flow with 
myth. Human sacrifices were routinely cast into water to pro-
pitiate the spirits within, and then fortunes were told by ora-
cles at the riverbank. 
Vast seas with their still uncharted depths and their mys-
terious hidden creatures have prompted many sailors' tales. 
Watch Water for its unpredictable, creative figures, its sub-
aqueous fairy kingdoms, sunken demonic treasures, fierce 
guardians, and oceans of stories.

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W H O ' S W H O IN WATER 
TIAMAT 
Mesopotamia 
MERMAID 
Global 
MERMAN 
Global 
KAPPA 
Japan 
RUSALKA 
Russia 
MUNUANE 
South America 
WAHWEE 
Australia 
MADAME W H I T E 
China 
KELPIE 
Scotland 
NIXIE 
Teutonic 
TIKOLOSHE 
South Africa 
NUCKELAVEE 
Scotland 
BUNYIP 
Australia 
VODYANOI 
Russia 
MBULU 
South Africa 
MERROW 
Ireland 
PONATURI 
New Zealand

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T I A M A T 
Mesopotamia 
Tiamat, of the Babylonian Epic of Creation (first millennium 
B.C.E.), is an ancient sea goddess who gave birth to all. Part glis-
tening cosmic serpent, part winged animal, her image may 
superficially appear more dragon than demon. But within, she 
holds the essential DNA of all demonic species: the dark, cre-
ative, turbulent, protean spirit of the unconscious deep. 
LORE 
When skies above were not yet named 
Nor earth below pronounced by name 
There was water.. . 
and Tiamat mingled her salt seas with the fresh waters of 
Apsu, her consort, and bore populations of gods who lived

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A 
F I E L D 
G U I D E 
T O 
D E M O N S 
/ 
8 
within her darkness until finally Apsu could no longer bear 
the disorder and clamor of the young gods. He attempted to 
destroy their offspring. Naturally enraged, Tiamat collabo-
rated with her son and destroyed Apsu. Generations passed 
until her great-great-grandson, the solar god Marduk, chal-
lenged her dominion. 
Marduk was a perfect hero. He had four eyes and four 
ears and could breathe fire. In preparation for the battle, 
Marduk made a bow and arrow and a huge net. Carrying a 
spell on his lips, an herb in one hand that worked against 
Tiamat's poisons, and a mace in the other, he mounted his ter-
rifying storm chariot and marshaled the seven winds to follow 
him into battle. 
Tiamat was infuriated. From her rage came forth mon-
sters, demons, horned snakes, bull men, fish men, filled not 
with blood but venom. Her army was radiant and terrible. She 
appointed Kingu, a monster offspring, to be her spouse and to 
lead her brood into battle. But Marduk challenged her to 
single combat. He caught her in his net and then sent evil 
winds toward her. She opened her mouth like a mammoth 
cave to swallow them, but the winds were of such power her 
jaws were forced to remain open. The winds distended her 
belly. Marduk entered and saw within her an entire army of 
gods, snakes, and demons. He shot his arrow. It split her heart 
in two. She perished. He stood on her body and smashed her 
skull with his mace. 
Then Marduk sliced Tiamat in two like a cosmic clam, 
and raised one half of her to become the roof of the sky. He 
bolted it to hold the waters in check. With her lower half, he 
created the earth above the subterranean waters. From her 
eyes he created two rivers; from her udder, mountains and 
foothills. From her saliva he made rain and clouds; from her 
poisons, fog. After Marduk named each thing and set the stars 
and gods in their places, he created man out of the blood of 
Kingu, poisonous spouse-creation of Tiamat. 
This Epic of Creation was read annually at the 
Babylonian new year's festival, and since most of it featured 
the slaying of Tiamat by Marduk, the supreme god of their

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9 
/ 
T l A M A T 
pantheon, the story was naturally told from his point of view. 
The ancient goddess is seen as demonic in the eyes of the new 
hegemony: male sun god defeats dark feminine life force of 
chaos and creates civilization. 
Yet without her essence nothing could be created. 
Tiamat is primordial chaos. Homo sapiens can only walk about 
and build civilizations in an ordered universe, and so Tiamat 
must be divided and named, but within and of Tiamat is all 
life. From this inchoate broth come tides, fish, birds, flowers, 
weeks, night and day. 
Water is, with rare exception, seen as female and quin-
tessentially Tiamat, and its anarchic, untameable spirits sur-
face globally. Despite its terrific dangers, we also arise from 
these fertile depths both in body and consciousness.

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M E R M A I D 
Global 
The Mermaid 
is a species of human size, rapacious, salt-
water femmes fatales (though they've also been sighted in 
lakes and as far inland as many coastal fishes). The charac-
teristic shape of the Mermaid 
distinguishes it from afar. 
From ancient sailors we hear, "It is a beaste of the sea, won-
derly shape as a mayde from the navel upwarde." The 
Mermaid always has shining hair streaming in wavelets over 
ample breasts and very fair skin — a skin so strong, however, 
that it could be used for making soles of boots that would last 
three years or more. Her seal-like lower torso that ends in 
one or two fish tails is conveniently hidden by surf. The 
species is long-necked and comely with distinctive voice and 
luring song. 
From ancient Greece come three supernatural spirits 
whose images and attitudes contribute to the development of 
the Mermaid: Skylla ("Bitch"), the six-headed monster with 
triple rows of teeth in each canine mouth who could devour 
six sailors at a time when their ships sailed close enough to her 
cave; the Sirens, with women's heads and bird bodies, later 
seen with fish tails, who sang irresistibly (it was to avoid the

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1 1 / MERMAID 
Sirens' lure that Odysseus had himself tied to the mast and 
wore earplugs); and most important, the fifty Nereids, ancient 
sea fairies who lived in an underwater kingdom but came up 
to the surface to play. Nereids, who had whole human bodies, 
were often seen riding naked upon sea monsters that resem-
bled dogfish. They were considered responsible for ship-
wrecks and storms, and, like the Sirens, had irresistible 
singing voices. They were fickle. They were never what they 
appeared to be. They were slippery and incredibly dangerous. 
And they were enchanting. 
There has been some debate as to whether the Mermaid 
is utterly malicious or just forgetful about human ability to 
breathe underwater. The available information is ambivalent 
at best. With oblivious impulsivity (a demonic trait), she is 
said to grasp her mortal lover so tightly that he is crushed to 
death. Call her irresponsible rather than malevolent. In some 
lore she shows a bit of remorse by heavy sighing at the loss. 
There are tales of men lured to the dazzling undersea king-
dom of the sea-fairy-type Mermaid who do manage to live and 
to return to shore, but when they have stayed dry awhile, they 
so miss the subterranean depths that they pine to death. 
Sighted singing on rocks, combing their long hair, with 
looking glasses in hand that wink in the sunlight, they are 
irresistible to sailors far from home and desperate for female 
company. Sailors' maps have been found with spots marked 
"Here be mermaydes!" written with obvious enthusiasm, but 
none of these seafaring cartographers has lived to tell his 
Mermaid tales. 
Mermaids habitually eat their victims after drowning 
them. From Portugal comes a seventeenth-century sighting 
that claims they eat only the nose, eyes, tips of fingers, and pri-
vate parts of their prey, and toss the rest on the sand, where 
the dismembered corpses are eventually found. On the other 
hand, once in a while, a human man follows a Mermaid to her 
world beneath the waves and lives underwater in splendor. 
(This is the sea fairy branch of the family, indistinguishable at 
first glance from their demonic cousins, but generally fatal in 
the end.)

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A 
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G U I D E 
T O 
D E M O N S 
/ 
1 2 
L O R E 
One night a man was walking along the beach and saw 
a group of Mermaids and mermen dancing in the moonlight. 
Their sealskins, which enable them to live at the depths of the 
sea, were piled up on the sand beside them. After the dance 
each Mermaid and merman picked up its skin and dove into 
the water. 
One of the Mermaids forgot her sealskin, and the man 
found it and took it home. The next day when he returned to 
the water he saw a beautiful maiden crying on a rock. She was 
weeping over the loss of her sealskin; without it she could not 
live in her home beneath the sea. The man had never seen 
such a beauty and he fell passionately in love with her. When 
she begged him to return her skin, he refused, asking her 
instead to live with him. He promised to love her so much that 
she would forget all about her watery dwelling. She realized 
she could not change his mind, and so agreed. 
The two were married and had two children. The man 
was happy but his supernatural wife wanted nothing more 
than to return to the depths. Every day she would sit on the 
rocks and gaze sadly at the water. One day her son found the 
sealskin that his father had hidden, and he innocently brought 
it to his mother to ask her what it was. 
She wept with joy. She kissed her son for the last time. 
"Farewell!" she called, as she ran across the sand. At that 
moment the man saw his wife running toward the water, seal-
skin in hand, and hurried to stop her. But he was too late and 
she never returned to him again. 
At their best, such as in this tale from the Shetland 
Islands, mermaids are not reliable. In most tales of Mermaid 
capture it is usual for the kin to retaliate by causing heavy 
mists, storms, gales, and shipwrecks, cutting off all trade and 
livelihood to the coastal human community. 
The famous German tale of Undine reveals the true 
nature of a wild sea fairy: 
A fisherman and his wife lost their beloved young 
daughter, Bertha, who fell into the lake and presumably 
drowned. During a tempestuous storm the following evening,

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1 3 
/ 
M E R M A I D 
the grief-stricken couple heard a knock on their door, and in 
from the winds and torrential rain came a pretty laughing 
child who said she did not know where she had come from but 
she had fallen into the lake and her name was Undine. The 
couple raised her as their own and tried to ignore her wayward 
disposition and her habit of running wild through the rain and 
singing, although it caused them great anxiety. 
One evening, when the child had grown to young wom-
anhood, a knight named Hildebrand passed by the cottage. He 
was lost and seemed quite sad because of his hopeless love for 
a proud young woman named Bertha. A sudden storm raged 
outside and the knight was forced to stay for several days until 
it had subsided. He became enchanted by Undine, and finally 
proposed marriage. (The true story: When Bertha fell into the 
lake, the sea fairies decided to send their own Undine to be 
raised by a human family, marry a human man, and thus gain 
a soul. They delivered Undine to the bereaved couple and sent 
Bertha farther down the lake to a childless noble couple who 
raised her as their own.) 
Undine worried at the wedding ceremony that "there 
must be something extremely awful about a soul," but out of 
love she went on with it and seemed to undergo a radical change. 
She became oddly tender, meek, and helpful and even seemed 
content doing domestic chores. But after a short time there was 
a reunion of Bertha and Hildebrand and he realized he loved 
Bertha still. He spoke angrily to Undine, although she warned 
him never to speak to her harshly — especially near water — 
because the result could be dreadful. In response to his cruel 
outburst as they were out boating, she fell into the lake, saying 
only "Woe" as she vanished into the water. Hildebrand made 
plans to remarry, but on his wedding day he saw the door of his 
bedroom chamber open very slowly and watched in terror as 
the spirit of Undine entered. "You will die," she said quietly. 
Then she took him in her arms and kissed him to death. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
Some say placing barrels on the side of ships discourages 
the species from getting too close. Once they do there's no

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getting away, so it is important to be well informed. There are 
aberrant, gentle mermaids who behave benevolently to sailors 
and even share their supernatural skills and buried treasures, 
but they are exceedingly rare and have received inordinate 
amounts of attention. This overreported variety may have 
originated in the Middle Ages when sightings were frequent 
and there was debate in the Church as to whether or not a mer-
maid, who was part animal, could gain a human soul and 
whether her status changed if she married a human being. 
The Hans Christian Andersen tale "The Little Mermaid," 
which evolved from this Undine tradition, has propagated a 
pasteurized, radically denatured spirit in an unlikely story 
with a mawkish ending in which the mermaid herself 
becomes the sacrificial victim. Not only did Andersen remove 
the spirit's ability to sing or speak and her wish to bite, he 
tamed her, and rather than seek revenge at her betrayal, she 
opted to turn into foam. And why? To gain a human "soul" at 
some future time. Andersen's mermaid is a Christianization of 
a sea spirit that is incredible to anyone acquainted with gen-
uine accounts of this ancient, ferocious, proud, exuberant, and 
unremorseful species. 
The Guide sets Thackeray's literary account of the 
species in Vanity Fair against Andersen's disinformation: 
They look pretty enough when they sit upon a rock, 
twanging their harps and combing their hair, and 
sing, and beckon you to come and hold the looking-
glass; but when they sink into their native element, 
depend on it those mermaids are about no good, and 
we had best not examine the fiendish marine can-
nibals, revelling and feasting on their wretched 
pickled victims.

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M E R M A N 
Global 
The Merman, male of the species, is said to have a powerful, 
attractive upper torso, a fish bottom, and a hollow look in his 
eyes. He is reputedly always lusting after human females and 
carrying them off whenever possible, making it a general rule 
of thumb that "no woman should adventure to come near the 
sea, except her husband were with her." 
It is said that the Merman keeps the souls of drowned 
sailors or humans under pots or in cages in his underwater 
palace at the very depths of the sea, lake, or river. 
L O R E 
Once there was a Merman who befriended a neighbor-
ing farmer, some say a miller, and invited the human being to 
dine with him in his underwater palace. The neighbor 
accepted the invitation, and found himself fathoms deep, 
enchanted by the magnificent rooms all filled with golden 
treasures, the floors made of pearls, emeralds, rubies, and the 
walls of shells studded with jewels, all blazing with light from 
huge crystal chandeliers. After a sumptuous meal, the man

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was about to leave when he noticed many pots overturned on 
the floor in the long halls. He asked what the objects were for, 
and the merman replied casually that they held the captive 
souls of the drowned he was known to keep. The neighbor said 
nothing, but he was deeply disturbed by the proof of such 
rumors and could not forget it. Sometime later, when he was 
sure the Merman had gone out, he carefully descended and 
again came to the enchanting palace. He retraced his steps to 
the long halls and there, one by one, he overturned the pots 
and all the souls floated up through the water to finally be 
delivered. 
D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
Nothing is said of the fate of the human neighbor after 
his exploit, however, since mermen and mermaids are well 
known for their vengeful natures, and since the weather, mists, 
rains, and floods are influenced by these spirits, it can only be 
assumed that inclement weather arose and the farmer may 
have found himself in the depths again as prisoner. The sign 
of the cross can help, as can metal objects such as knives to 
avert the species, and various food offerings and lit candles 
may placate the mermen under normal circumstances.

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K A P P A 
Japan 
The Kappa, a life-sucking amphibian, usually lives in swampy 
pools, but watch for it while swimming in any river, lake, or 
stream. The Kappa is the size of a ten-year-old boy; it has 
webbed hands and feet, a tortoise shell covering its back, the 
face of a monkey, a long beaky nose. It is quite slimy and emits 
a putrid odor. Its most singular characteristic is a large bowl-
like indentation on the top of its head, filled with a clear, 
gelatinous fluid. This mysterious substance is the secret of the 
Kappa's power. Around this indentation it wears its black hair 
in a short pageboy style. 
The Kappa pulls its human victims into the water and 
sucks the life out of them. Avoiding the neck, it always sucks 
out their entrails through the anus. It is said to enjoy the 
human liver most of all. Sometimes the Kappa will just take a 
bite of flesh as a snack and nibble. Often it challenges 
passersby to a game of pull-finger, whereupon it grabs at the 
victim and pulls him into its home. The Kappa always wins. 
L O R E 
Long ago, in the river of a small village in Japan, there 
lived a Kappa. He had eaten a number of residents and farm 
animals. One day a horse went to the river to drink. Soon as 
the Kappa struck, the horse reared and ran back to his master, 
ripping one of the demon's arms off in the scuffle. In terrible 
pain, the Kappa ran to retrieve his arm from the farm. He 
promised to leave the villagers alone if he could only have his 
arm back. The farmer made him sign a document, which he 
did, with a webbed handprint. He never bothered the villagers 
again. Furthermore, if he knew of another Kappa in the water, 
he warned the villagers of the danger. The demon print can 
be viewed to this day in a small temple that contains the orig-
inal document. 
In another village, a Kappa got stuck to a cow as he 
reached into the animal by his usual route. The cow reared 
and ran home, breaking off his arm in the process. When the

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Kappa went to retrieve his arm from the cow's owner, the man 
was reluctant to give it back to him. The Kappa promised that 
in exchange, he would teach the man how to set broken bones. 
From then on the man became a famed healer and passed the 
art down to his son. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
Although the Kappa usually gets its prey, there is one 
well-known method of escape. It is based on the fact that a 
Kappa is notoriously courteous, that bowing is a national cus-
tom, and that the creature's head indentation holds all its 
power in liquid form. So, when encountering a Kappa, travel-
ers should keep bowing to it as a sign of respect. The Kappa 
will have no choice but to bow back. As it bows lower and lower 
to the ground, the vital fluid begins to drip from the Kappa's 
indented head. When there is no fluid left, the demon will be 
powerless. Take this opportunity to run as far from the water 
as possible. 
The Kappa is also said to love cucumbers, eggplants, and 
fleshy melon. Many throw a cucumber inscribed with the name 
of their loved ones into the water, for there's a good chance that 
the Kappa will accept this offering and leave them alone. When 
there is fresh produce floating atop the water, it's most prob-
able that there's a Kappa just below the surface, eating. 
It is evident that humans can gain healing skills from 
this supernatural creature, and protection as well. But to 
obtain anything from a Kappa, the challenger must have 
heroic qualities of strength and fearlessness.

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R U S A L K A 
Russia 
The Rusalka (pi. Rusalki), a charming, amphibious lake/river 
species, is best sighted on a clear night when the moonlight 
reflects off her long pistachio green hair. With delicate pale 
skin and comely features, she is as much a temptress as any of 
her saltwater cousins, but she can also shape-shift into toad, 
frog, or fish with alacrity. 
The original Rusalka is a Russian underwater princess 
who lives in a palace at the utmost depths of the river or lake. 
She is always on the alert for a mortal playmate to share her 
palatial digs. She uses her amphibian prowess to roam about 
on land luring children with baskets of goodies and young 
men with her obvious charms. Unfortunately she is doomed 
to remain lonely; either her partners drown or she tickles them 
to death before they have a chance. This serial behavior keeps 
her in continual prowl mode. Yet she never seems to learn. 
The Rusalka is able to live on land for long times at a 
stretch, years, according to some lore. This is because she 
keeps with her a magic comb that she uses to conjure up 
water, bringing some element of home to whatever habitat 
she visits. 
Rusalki are thought to be the souls of babies who died 
before being baptized and also of drowned virgins. In the 
spring they leave their underwater worlds and head for the 
field and forest to dance in circles with garlands in their hair. 
They are especially powerful and dangerous during the

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Rusal'naia week festival in mid-June. In this celebration of 
spring, there was an old rite among peasants in southern 
Russia and Ukraine of creating an effigy of the Rusalka, 
which was buried or torn apart. Offerings were made to the 
Rusalki: eggs and garlands to appease them. Songs were sung 
to avert their powers. 
L O R E 
One June, a young hunter met a Rusalka in the woods. 
She was lovely, with bits of flowers clinging to her long pale 
hair; and she was breathless as if she'd been running or danc-
ing in the woods. He was immediately enchanted. He asked 
her to marry him and she accepted. For months they were 
blissfully happy. The Rusalka seemed almost sad to part, but 
summer was over and she had to leave for her home in a 
nearby stream. Her husband pleaded with her not to leave him 
until she agreed to leave her address. The poor man felt so 
dispirited after she'd gone that he roamed the woods hollow-
eyed and grew thin, for he couldn't eat. Finally he bravely 
approached her stream and dove straight to the bottom to find 
her. She was waiting for him and embraced him hungrily. It 
seemed an eternity, that moment between life and death, and 
in it he regained his senses and realized he was about to die in 
the arms of his "wife." He managed to make the sign of the 
cross, and instantly he found himself back in his own village, 
a wiser but sadder man. 
In other tales where a mortal man is enchanted by a 
demonic spirit or fairy species his return to terrestrial realm 
only seems instantaneous, but in fact fifty years or more may 
have passed. He may return from the dead, as it were, and 
upon reentry to the mortal world, will instantly turn to dust. 
A real time difference exists between worlds and should be 
kept in mind by all travelers. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
The sign of the cross, so effective in this tale, can disarm 
many Western demonic spirits, and when it does, proves them 
to be of that ilk. Another method is to draw a magic circle and

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drag the Rusalka inside. This was reportedly done by a brave 
villager in the past century after being attacked by a group of 
Rusalki. The one he captured worked for him all year, but she 
had to return to the water the following spring, as these spir-
its always do.

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M U N U A N E 
South America 
The Munuane is a toothless, gray-haired guardian demon 
with eyes in his knees. He always travels on a simple raft. He 
carries a bow and only one arrow, for he never misses his tar-
get. He is very large and somewhat slow-witted but equipped 
with charismatic power and can psychically lure his victims to 
him. The Munuane is considered by the Sikuani to be the 
"Master of Fish," and will appear wherever there are many 
fish in the water. 
L O R E 
Once a man went to the lagoon to fish. When he got there 
he climbed up into a tree and carelessly shot many arrows into 
the water from above. After a while, he climbed down into the 
water to retrieve his catch. But when he pulled at his arrow, 
only a stick came out. He knew this was a bad sign, but he per-
sisted, climbing back up into the tree to shoot at fish. The 
Munuane 
came sidling by on his raft, pushing his way 
through the water with a long pole. Seeing the reflection of 
the tree man in the water, the Munuane shot an arrow into it, 
and was surprised when it didn't hit him. Finally, with a slow-
wittedness large demonic species mercifully exhibit, he real-
ized it was only a reflection he had shot in the water. He 
retrieved his arrow and aimed at the real thing. 
This fisherman had certain shamanic powers, and the 
Munuane's arrow was unable to kill him. But the impact of 
the arrow made the fisherman fall into the water, whereupon 
the Munuane pulled him up onto his raft and paddled away 
determinedly, calling out to his wife: "I'm bringing some-
thing home to boil for soup!" He repeated his words over and 
over again as he headed for home. But as the Munuane 
pushed forward with his paddle, the fisherman crept slowly 
to the back of the raft and slipped silently into the water. 
When the Munuane realized what had happened, he shouted 
out, "My soup escaped!" 
The Munuane began to feel around rather stupidly in the

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water with his hands while far away ashore the fisherman 
watched his futile search. Then, suddenly, the Munuane spot-
ted the man, climbed from the raft, and the chase began. The 
man climbed up a palm tree and, using his magic powers, 
made it grow taller until it bent over like a bridge to the other 
side of the lagoon. He jumped off, and immediately the tree 
shrunk back to its original size, thwarting the demon's pursuit. 
The following day, the Munuane reached the man's vil-
lage. When his family saw him approaching, they tried to 
shoot arrows into its body, head, and arms. But the fisherman 
knew the important secret: A Munuane must always be shot 
in the knees! The man shot the Munuane in the knees and it 
immediately perished. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
When fishing in Sikuani waters, it is said a person must 
take only what he truly needs. The Munuane lives to protect 
local residents and, as their guardian, considers all human 
beings edible and destructive. If, by acting greedily, the hunter 
should encounter the Munuane, its knees are its weakness.

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W A H W E E 
Australia 
The Wahwee is a deep-water-hole amphibian of the Aborigine 
with a froglike head, a long tail, and three legs on either side 
of its body. It is nearly thirty feet long. It is known for its insa-
tiable appetite and for its supernatural power to cause flood-
ing, rains, or drought. 
The Wahwee is best sighted after everybody has fallen 
fast asleep, when it slithers silently over the ground to a camp-
site and selects its human meals. It swallows its victims whole, 
and after thirty or fifty average-size humans is still hungry. It 
will also eat bush animals such as kangaroo, wallaby, and 
wombat. 
L O R E 
Two children, a boy and a girl, used to play near the 
Wahwee's deep water hole and dig for shellfish. They were 
young and innocent and never realized that the place was 
owned (and occupied) by a Wahwee. The elder members of the 
tribe knew of the Wahwee, and that it might be getting angry. 
They tried to warn the heedless children, but to no avail. 
Meanwhile the Wahwee, who could see the children 
through its hole, watched and waited. Time is nothing to 
demons. It waited until they grew up. It saw how deeply the 
boy loved the girl. One day, as the girl (now a young woman) 
waited for her sweetheart, an old woman approached her, 
weeping. The girl asked why she wept, and the old woman said 
it was because she knew what destruction the girl would cause 
her people by stealing shellfish from the Wahwee's home. 
Shocked, the young woman said she would rather sacrifice 
herself than cause any harm to her people or to her beloved 
childhood sweetheart. 
"Then return tomorrow," the old woman said. "And I 
will tell you what you must do." After the girl left, the old 
woman turned into an eel and slithered down into the water 
hole. The next day the girl met the "old woman" as she had 
promised, and was given a choice: if the girl had courage

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enough to plunge into the hole, all would be forgiven; if not, 
the Wahwee would call for the rains and destroy the village. 
The girl immediately agreed to follow the old woman into the 
water hole. 
When the boy came to meet his sweetheart, she had van-
ished. Everybody knew that the Wahwee had taken the girl. 
The boy wept and wept, crazy from loss. Every day he sat by 
the water hole and sang for her. One day he noticed a little 
green leaf unfold in the water. Each day, as he sang, another 
green leaf unfolded before his eyes. He called again for his 
friend, and this time a red lily opened in the water. The boy 
plunged into the water hole and found his sweetheart. She 
clung to him. He was changed into a water rush, and soon, the 
water hole was covered with lilies and rushes. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
It seems in this case that it was true love that conquered 
the Wahwee and transformed his habitat into a site of great 
beauty. However, one must consider that the lovers were sac-
rificed in the effort. It seems there is nothing other than 
extreme measures here, so to avoid loss, the Guide advises a 
healthy respect for such powerful nature spirits as the 
Wahwee.

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M A D A M E W H I T E 
China 
Madame White, a lethal, possessive, eerie demon of Taoist 
lore, appears as a fabulously beautiful human woman dressed 
in white. She has typical fairy features: a dainty, cherrylike 
mouth, a tiny waist, and petite feet. She is always accompa-
nied by a demure maid dressed all in blue. Her appearance is 
utterly illusory, and she will revert, under stress, to her 
demonic form: a white python. Her maid is a blue fish. 
L O R E 
In a famous legend, Madame White was sighted by a 
young man named Xuxuan who was on his way by ferry to a 
temple on the bank of West Lake in central China. It was early 
spring, during the Qing Ming Festival (a time of remem-
brance of the dead during which many supernatural sightings 
take place). He was charmed by her, paid her fare, and, as it 
had begun to rain, loaned her his umbrella. 
Madame White invited him to visit her at home, and 
soon after his arrival, she gave him many silver pieces, 
declared her love for him, and even proposed marriage. 
Unfortunately, when Xuxuan arrived in his own hometown 
with the silver, the pieces were discovered to bear treasury 
marks and he found himself under arrest. He protested his 
innocence and told the authorities where and how he had 
acquired the silver. They all went to visit Madame White, but 
found her "mansion" to be an abandoned ruin. Just as the 
inspectors entered, the demoness made a flittingly brief but 
astonishing appearance, then vanished, leaving in her stead 
the rest of the silver. 
Xuxuan was exonerated but, perhaps because of his con-
tact with unnatural spirits, was forced to leave his native 
province to work in a far-off place. There, he again ran into 
Madame White. She persuaded him that the silver incident 
had been a simple misunderstanding. They married and lived 
happily for a while. When spring came, Xuxuan went again to 
the temple for the Qing Ming Festival, and there met a Taoist

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W H I T E 
priest. As they stood outside the temple talking, 
Madame 
White approached on a boat with her maid in blue to bring 
Xuxuan home. Seeing her, the priest called out: "Demon!" 
She vanished. So did the boat and maid. Xuxuan was very 
upset. The priest told him to go back to his hometown. He did, 
only to find "Madame White" lying in wait for him as his 
"wife." By now he was very frightened that at any moment 
What he now knew to be his supernatural wife would do him 
harm. He asked the local village priest for help. 
The priest gave him a bowl and told him to press it on 
Madame White's head as hard as he could. Xuxuan did and 
watched as she became smaller and smaller under pressure. 
When she had shrunk to almost nothing, the priest com-
manded her to name herself. She confessed that she was a 
white python who had fallen in love with Xuxuan from a dis-
tance, and thus changed into human form to gain his affec-
tion. The priest chanted incantations that kept her in the bowl 
in the form of a small white snake accompanied by a blue fish. 
They still live under a pagoda near a lake. 
In an eerier sighting, again on Qing Ming, another vul-
nerable young man, Xuanzan, was out by himself passing by 
the Broken Bridge when he saw a little girl crying. He stopped 
to help. She said her name was White and she lived by the lake. 
She had been walking with her grandmother and was now 
lost. He took the child in. Soon the grandmother showed up, 
and in gratitude she invited him home for dinner. 
Home turned out to be an exquisitely furnished grand 
palace near the temple that he had never noticed before. A 
beautiful woman dressed all in white came to greet him, say-
ing she was the little girl's mother. They all drank a bit and 
then it was suggested that Xuanzan should become her new 
bridegroom. "Yes," she said, "and have the other prepared for 
an appetizer." So the servants dragged her old lover from a 
chamber where he had been resting, tore him apart, cut open 
his belly, and removed his heart and liver. They offered some 
of this appetizer along with hot wine to Xuanzan. 
Xuanzan wanted desperately to flee. However, he man-
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he noticed a month had passed. At this point a new groom 
arrived. Xuanzan knew he was slated for vivisection, but he 
was saved by the little granddaughter. She flew him home, for 
she had certain magical powers. Unfortunately this was not 
the end of it. Next Qing Ming Festival, it happened again. It 
was not that Xuanzan was gullible, or that he did not learn 
from experience, it was a case of holiday possession. He was 
again saved by the skin of his teeth. But this time the demon 
woman in white was furious. She turned up at his home and 
claimed he owed her his heart and liver. Fortunately, 
Xuanzan's uncle was a Taoist priest and realized his nephew 
was under attack. He recited incantations, burned incense, and 
successfully exorcised the demonic creatures. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
Watch for this species on holidays like Qing Ming, the 
Festival of the Dead, when the boundary between the spirit 
and terrestrial world is fragile and the air is filled with spirits. 
There are no ordinary measures known and these matters 
must be left to professionals.

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K E L P I E 
Scotland 
The Kelpie, also known as Each-uisg, is a male amphibian 
species that can be found in and near all moving water and 
notably in Loch Ness. The Scotland west coast Kelpie is 
described as a young, sleek, handsome horse, black or brown 
in color, who can shape-shift into human form. The east coast 
variety has been sighted only as a golden yellow "horse." The 
Kelpie has skin like glue. After enticing humans onto his back, 
he gallops away with his victims stuck on for the final ride into 
the depths of the river. When plunging into the water, the 
Kelpie slaps his tail hard against the surface, making a tremen-
dous banging sound, and disappears under the water to devour 
his prey. 
There are, unfortunately, many stories of children who 
are out playing much too close to the water's edge when a 
handsome horse suddenly appears. He draws the children onto 
his back, and can actually lengthen his body to make room for 
as many as twenty of them. 
L O R E 
One west coast Kelpie shape-shifted into a handsome 
young man and had great success with consecutive mortal 
maidens. One night he fell asleep by the side of his latest,

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when she happened to notice a bit of sea grass in his hair and 
something equine about his appearance. She fled. He followed 
her home, vowing to get her back. After a while the poor 
maiden managed to forget the brief encounter and met her 
true sweetheart. But on her wedding day, just as the bride was 
on her way out the church door, she was seized by a huge black 
horse and was last seen heading to the water. Some say her face 
bobs up from time to time, looking quite pale in the light of 
the moon. 
A Kelpie can be caught only by trapping it with a bridle 
that is engraved or adorned with a cross. A captured Kelpie can 
be used for hard labor. It is tireless, works like a demon, and 
has such stamina it can carry its rider endlessly. Unfortunately, 
at the end of each day it must claim one human victim. 
One day, some people working in a field heard a strange 
voice crying: "The hour is come but not the man!" Just then, 
they sighted a Kelpie rising from the water and then sink down 
again. Suddenly they saw a rider appear on a horse who was 
speeding toward the water. The workers jumped up from their 
labors, and tried to catch hold of the rider. They warned him 
about the nearby Kelpie and the dangerous water, but he paid 
no heed. Determined to save the strange rider despite himself, 
they carried him, struggling, to a nearby church, and locked 
him within. They told him they would free him soon as the 
prophesied hour had safely passed. But when they returned to 
unlock him after the dangerous time, they found the poor man 
drowned in a trough of water near the door. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
When approaching loch country, remember: Kelpies are 
an unflaggingly persistent species and fatal encounters cannot 
be averted by usual methods. Even entrapment with a cross-
engraved saddle or working the creature overtime ploughing 
hard land will not stop its eating habits. There is only one 
thing that can stop a Kelpie. Though they live in moving 
water, Kelpies cannot be exposed to still water of any kind: 
puddle water, rain or tap water, or non-fizzy bottled water. 
Travelers usually pack a small bottle of puddle water. And

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beware of barbecuing near the loch. There's a story of one man 
who did and unwittingly attracted the Kelpie with a roast. The 
fellow unfortunately lost his daughter, who was sitting nearby 
and was devoured whole. It is commonly said that the Kelpie 
species tends to come out mostly in November.

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N I X I E 
Teutonic 
The Nixie is a freshwater femme fatale amphibian. Like the 
mermaid, she has a characteristic profile of breasts and fish 
tail. But watch for some odd features here. She has been said 
to be completely green: skin, hair, and teeth. She has even been 
sighted from time to time as a gray horse (these may be mis-
reported Kelpie sightings). She is often found in the mill pond. 
Unlike the traditional mermaid, the Nixie always dwells very 
close to and mingles with human communities. 
L O R E 
The Nixie can usually be distinguished from a mermaid 
because she is a shopper. Because of this habit, she is often 
found in town, where a mermaid would never travel. She is 
sometimes seen in the marketplace in the guise of an old

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N I X I E 
woman. How can one tell if it's a Nixie and not a new neigh-
bor? The discovery is usually made when somebody, a child or 
clever villager, raises the hem of her long skirt slightly, expos-
ing her fish tail. She also drips fresh water behind her, leaving 
a telltale trail of wetness in the marketplace for some obser-
vant human witness. 
Aside from shopping, the Nixie loves to dance. As a fre-
quent visitor to village dances, she always appears in the guise 
of an attractive young woman. There she entices many a vic-
tim and lures them home to the nearby millstream. In pagan 
times, she was given at least one sacrifice a year, so now she 
takes her own as her due. In fact, rescuing a drowning person 
can often cause a reprisal by the Nixie (who feels understand-
ably unhappy about the food loss and disrespect). She expects 
to be propitiated, not scorned. 
The Nixie can live on land for extended periods; she has 
been known to marry a mortal man, and even to raise an 
entire family. However, these long absences present problems 
among her original water demon kin, who sometimes come 
to claim her. Whenever a young wife vanishes, it is certain 
she was a Nixie if she is last seen sinking into a body of 
water, and the water turns the color of blood. These occur-
rences are not infrequent as the Nixie often chooses human 
mates to propagate her species, and her frequent intermin-
gling has caused much talk of changelings. (See Changeling 
in Domicile.) 
The male of the species is the Nokk. He lives in lakes, 
ponds, rivers, and waterfalls. He resembles an old man with 
green eyes, huge ears, and a long wet beard. The Nokk drags 
people down, especially small children if they play too close to 
the edge of the water or attempt to pick water lilies. He is most 
dangerous after sunset, and to see or hear the Nokk means 
someone will drown. He is often heard shrieking during ship-
wrecks. The Nokk often takes the shape of a bird that perches 
on the surface of the water. He has also been seen as a horse or 
half a horse, also as half a ship, or a gleaming silver coin or 
ring. The Nokk plays music on a golden harp to lure his vic-
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D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
Travelers who may need to drink water inhabited by a 
Nokk, spit in it first to avert harm. In Sweden, when planning 
to go swimming, first throw a steel knife or scissors into the 
water and say: "Nokk, Nokk, needle thief, thou art on the land 
but I am in the water." Conversely, when emerging say: 
"Nokk, Nokk, needle thief, I am on land, and thou art in the 
water." 
Like many demons, the Nokk loses his power when 
called by name. The best prevention against the Nokk is to say 
his name three times: Nokk, Nokk, Nokk. It may sound oddly 
familiar, but it is not followed by "Who's there?" and it works.

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T I K O L O S H E 
South Africa 
A Tikoloshe is a river amphibian demon of the Xhosa people. 
Short and hirsute, he walks on land swinging his arms like a 
baboon. The Tikoloshe is known for his voracious sexual 
appetite, and preys upon local village women. But the 
Tikoloshe can also be seen in urban areas as far away as Natal 
and Johannesburg, where he often travels to copulate. 
A Tikoloshe wheedles his way into a woman's heart by 
offering to carry her heavy bundles or her water jar in return 
for sexual favors. Like most amphibian river species, Tikoloshe 
mingle with the human community in many forms. They can 
appear at dances in the village, dressed quite convincingly like 
attractive neighbors. They are extraordinarily charming and 
seductive, and it is well known that many women find them 
irresistible and fall under their spell. However, if a woman 
does not succumb to his charms, a Tikoloshe will become 
vicious and take her by force. 
L O R E 
One morning a man entered his hut and was horrified to 
see what looked like a Tikoloshe on his way out. That night the 
husband pretended to leave the hut again, but this time he hid 
just outside and waited to see if the Tikoloshe would return. 
When he did, the man silently entered his hut and, much to 
his dismay, witnessed his wife copulating with the short hir-
sute demon. He killed the Tikoloshe, but resisted killing his 
adulterous wife. He demanded that she tie up her slaughtered 
lover, and when she had done so, they marched together into 
the village carrying the corpse to show the others what had 
happened. The man no longer wanted the woman as a wife 
and the other villagers understood that. They returned the 
cattle he had paid for his wife's dowry, and with the cattle but 
without a wife, he sadly returned to his hut. The other hus-
bands knew it was only a matter of time before the Tikoloshe 
struck again.

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D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
One common custom is to raise one's bed on bricks: this 
prevents the very short Tikoloshe from snatching a sleeping 
female away in the night. There is a twin Chinese species 
called the White Monkey (see Mountain). He is very tall and 
no defensive measures are known.

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N U C K E L A V E E 
Scotland 
The Nuckelavee is a lethal amphibian centaur. He has a head 
the size of a small human, and his mouth, which rests on a 
snoutlike piggish projection, is several feet in width. His 
human-shaped upper body rises from his horselike torso. He 
has only one eye, which is huge and bloodshot. However, what 
makes the Nuckelavee uniquely unsightly in appearance is 
that he has no skin at all! 
The Nuckelavee is from the Fuath (Foo-a) family. Many 
of the male Fuaths have tails, manes, webbed feet, and are 
noseless. The females sometimes marry mortal men. 
It is said that if a Nuckelavee breathes on a vegetable it 
withers, and if he breathes on an animal it could die on the 
spot. He is blamed for crops that are blighted by sea winds, and 
for the death of cattle that fall from the rocks near the edge of 
the sea. He is also blamed for epidemics and for droughts. He 
seems driven by a vengeful desire to do as much harm as pos-
sible by land, sea, and air. 
L O R E 
It was on a moonless night near the sea that Tammie first 
saw the Nuckelavee approach him on a deserted road. He had 
first thought the creature was only a horse galloping toward 
him, but identified the demon by the fins flapping loudly on 
his legs and the hideous wide mouth snorting steam in his 
direction. What caused Tammie utter terror was the skinless 
body. He saw it all: the muscles and sinews all raw and dark 
and pulsing as the thing moved closer and closer. Riveted, he 
couldn't turn his eyes away from the Nuckelavee. He knew it 
was futile to try to run. It was just then, as the horrid maw of 
the demon opened for its dinner, that Tammie remembered 
the antidote. 
It was well known that the species was repelled by fresh 
water. For one thing, it never appeared in the rain. Hoping 
desperately that this was true, Tammie headed straight for 
the loch. When he neared it, just ahead of the Nuckelavee, he

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accidentally splashed the demon's horse legs with some loch 
water. The Nuckelavee reared and backed off instantly. So it 
was true! Tammie leaped into the freshwater loch. He crossed 
it, to fall exhausted on the bank, but lived to tell this story. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
Travelers in the Scottish Isles carry a bottle of spring 
water with them. As a rule of thumb sweet water and not salt-
water dispels demons. All Fuaths can be harmed by steel or 
sunlight.

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B U N Y I P 
Australia 
The Bunyip is an important lagoon species of the Aborigine, 
at least four times the size of a seal or about the size of a small 
bull. It is covered with gray hair (or sometimes feathers). It 
has hoofed feet like those of a horse, a flat, wide tail, and a very 
wide mouth filled with large sharp teeth and two walruslike 
fangs. It is said to have an equine mane down the middle of its 
neck like the Kelpie, a head like an emu, and big flippers. The 
Bunyip can be heard long before it is seen. It has a distinctive 
loud and repetitive roar. 
The Bunyip stays primarily in the lagoon and seizes any-
one who comes too close to its habitat. Instead of devouring its 
victims, it holds them prisoner, makes them work, and eats 
them later. The Bunyip also is said to have a long-lasting 
supernatural claim over its human victims; even if they 
escape, it will cause them death or misfortune. The Bunyip 
also has power to control or cause floods or drought. 
L O R E 
Once many young men of a tribe disappeared after going 
out to hunt. Their footprints all led to the lagoon and ended 
abruptly at the water's edge. Thinking that crocodiles might 
have killed the men, people began to avoid the lagoon, but it 
had been an important source of food and soon the people 
became hungry. One old visionary did not believe that croco-
diles were responsible for vanishing hunters, so he went home 
and looked into his magic glass. There he saw all the young 
men imprisoned in a cave on the other side of the lagoon. He 
bravely set out for the cave, and it was then he first noticed the 
strange, hooflike footprints on the shore. He followed the 
tracks, then suddenly, out of the water rose two large animals, 
four times the size of a large dog, covered with gray hair, with 
fangs like a walrus, and short tails. Bunyips! He ran for his life. 
The Bunyips followed, until finally the old man was forced 
into a cave, the very one he'd foreseen, and there were all the 
missing men.

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Bravely clutching his magic stick, he told the hunters not 
to worry because before he'd left the village he had arranged 
for his friend to follow his tracks, and to listen to the ground 
for certain tapping sounds that he could make with his magic 
stick from deep below the earth. There, he'd instructed his 
friend to dig a hole large enough for a man to climb through, 
and prepare a tree ladder. The old man began tapping and 
soon they saw a hole opening up above them. A ladder came 
down, and despite near capture by Bunyip guards, all prison-
ers climbed out and safely returned to the village. 
After much celebration, the people grew afraid of the 
wrath of the Bunyip. They sang drought songs to dry up the 
water in the lagoon and destroy the crocodiles and Bunyips. 
Then they sang rain songs and the lagoon filled up again and 
was soon teeming with fish. Later the villagers found the 
bones of the crocodiles, but the remains of the Bunyips were 
never found. 
These villagers were fortunate, for the wrath of the 
Bunyip can be overwhelming. In another village some young 
men were out fishing late one afternoon and one of them 
strung some meat on his hook. Soon something pulled hard on 
his line. Very hard. Frightened, he called his friends to help 
pull up the heavy catch, but when they pulled the creature up 
they all began to tremble. None had ever seen a Bunyip before, 
but they knew at once that what lay before them on the bank 
was a child of the legendary species. 
Despite an ominous, distinctive roar from the lagoon, the 
fisherman defiantly announced he planned to take the Bunyip 
home and give it to his betrothed as a present. They warned 
him as he hoisted it on his shoulders, and then suddenly all 
saw the head of the Bunyip's mother rise up from the lagoon, 
and at her roar they ran for their lives. But no human can run 
from the wrath of a Bunyip and, after glaring with horrid 
flaming eyes at the fleeing fishermen, the mother vanished. 
Instantly the water rose, and began to spread beneath the feet 
of the men. The waters continued to rise as the men ran just 
ahead of the mounting flood that roared into their village 
home. As they reached their families, all was swept away: hills,

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B U N Y I P 
trees, houses, were all swallowed by the violent waters. The 
young man dropped the Bunyip, reached his sweetheart, and 
embraced her. Trying to climb the tallest tree to save her, he 
felt his feet grow cold, and when he looked down they were 
talons, then his arms turned to wings. He looked at his sweet-
heart still held in his embrace and she had become a black 
swan. No trace of earth was left and all had become water. He 
floated there with his friends, for now they were all black 
swans, and they never became human again. After the Bunyip 
was safely carried home by his mother, the waters slowly 
receded. Much later, when new people came to live near the 
lagoon, they knew never to disturb the Bunyip. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
There is nothing to be done to avert the wrath of the 
Bunyip once provoked, so the tales serve to warn travelers to 
be mindful at the lagoon and to obey various prohibitions not 
to pollute or greedily consume. This demon embodies the 
unlimited fury of nature's retaliatory powers, which can even 
cause an annihilating deluge.

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V O D Y A N O I 
Russia 
The Vodyanoi is a male freshwater species whose primary res-
idence is at the utmost depth of millponds. He has been 
sighted as an old man with a greenish beard all covered with 
muck, or sometimes covered with scales. It is also said that he 
is half-fish, half-man, and some insist they have seen a tail. 
Most say he never comes all the way up to the surface of the 
water, and that he rarely moves from his site — usually near 
the dam or mill wheel. He is considered responsible for all 
local drownings. Further, if anyone attempts to retrieve a body 
for burial, the act invites retaliation. 
L O R E 
The Vodyanoi is said to be a fallen angel cast into the 
water by the Archangel Michael. He lives in a shining under-
water palace with exquisite furnishings and chandeliers and 
considers himself a property owner in charge of all the many 
fishes and spirits of his pool or pond. It is said that when a new 
mill is built, the Vodyanoi will seek revenge by taking at least 
one human life because it tampers with his habitat. 
The Vodyanoi is reputed to have a single-minded pur-
pose: to drown human beings. The only people he maintains 
a special relationship with are the miller and a few fishermen. 
The miller has been suspected of sorcery and of making a pact 
with the Vodyanoi (akin to the Devil in some local opinions). 
He is said to dine with him in his underwater palace on occa-
sion. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
To avert human sacrifice, local folk use a chicken or a 
black rooster in rites of propitiation, and the Vodyanoi is usu-
ally placated. It is said that crossing oneself before diving in 
will lessen any problems that may arise on a close encounter. 
Fishermen make offerings of bread, salt, vodka, and tobacco 
to ensure his help, for the Vodyanoi is easily aggravated and 
can punish them by hiding all fish and ripping up their nets.

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M B U L U 
South Africa 
The Mbulu is an amphibian river species of the Zulu people 
who appears human at first glance. But a careful look reveals 
scaly skin and a long, extraordinary tail that has at the tip 
a mouth with very sharp teeth and a will of its own. When 
the Mbulu comes out onto land, it is notorious for following 
people down lonely paths and whispering softly in their ears. 
L O R E 
Once there was a widow who after tragically losing her 
children, all but one, lost her will to live. She gave her only liv-
ing daughter a stick and sent her off to her uncle's house, 
instructing her to tap the ground outside his house with the stick. 
The mother promised that all her possessions would rise from 
the earth. She said farewell; she planned to end her own life. 
The girl reluctantly left home. When she had gone a 
little way, she looked back and saw her mother's house burning. 
She knew her mother had set fire to the house intending to 
immolate herself, and that she could do nothing to help. She 
continued walking on, keeping to a path on the bank of a river. 
She soon encountered what she thought was a man sitting on a 
rock, who announced that whoever got wet when walking near 
the water must go in to bathe. Then he thrashed his hidden tail 
on the water so hard that water splashed the girl in the face. 
Obediently, she went in the river to bathe. While she was in the 
water, the Mbulu took her clothes and put them on. When the 
girl came out of the water and asked politely for her clothes, 
the Mbulu told her he would return them as soon as she was dry. 
Trustingly, the orphan walked on with the Mbulu at her side 
and, later, again asked for her clothes. This time the Mbulu said 
he would return them when they arrived at the next village. 
When they arrived at the village and the girl begged for 
her clothes, the Mbulu instructed her to tell everyone that she 
was his servant girl. The girl was afraid of the Mbulu now, for 
•he realized she was dealing with a powerful and strange 
being. She obeyed him, so people imagined the Mbulu to be

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an important woman with fine clothes and her as his servant 
girl. They did wonder why his voice was so deep for a woman, 
but he said he had been quite ill. 
After a while, the Mbulu married a man from the vil-
lage, while the poor girl was sent to work in the fields. While 
working, she regained her voice and began to sing sad songs 
about her enslavement and adventures. A woman who worked 
near her finally heard the words of the song and made a plan 
to see if they were true. 
Since it is known that the tail of a real Mbulu is always hun-
gry, always hidden, and has a will of its own, the girl set a trap to 
expose the creature. She dug a hole and filled the bottom with 
milk, then demanded that everyone in the village jump over the 
hole. The Mbulu, posing as a wife, was naturally reluctant but 
had no choice as everybody was participating. "She" tried to 
jump quickly, but the tail was out of control. It couldn't pass up 
delicious milk and came out of hiding to drink. Outraged, the 
villagers killed the Mbulu and buried it in the hole. 
The man who had mistakenly married the Mbulu mar-
ried the girl. She had a child, and one day while it was play-
ing ä pumpkin grew from the ground where the Mbulu had 
been buried, and it tried to kill the child. The villagers hacked 
the pumpkin to pieces, burned it, and threw the ashes into the 
river. Finally rid of the threat forever, the girl regained her 
courage and set out with her husband and daughter and magic 
stick to visit her uncle. There she tapped her stick upon the 
ground and all her possessions rose as promised and she shared 
them with her family. 
D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
Courage and alertness is called for with the trickster 
demon Mbulu, as well as a sophisticated knowledge of its 
habits and uncontrollable tail. As long as the heroine remained 
in victim mode, she was enslaved, but when she raised her 
voice in song, she was able to conquer the demon. As with 
many spirits, death and burial is not enough, for from the 
bones or blood of dark powers, other destructive forces or 
beings can often arise.

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M E R R O W 
Ireland 
The Merrow — in Irish, Moruadh 
or Moruach — is a 
uniquely musical species of sea fairy that is believed to have 
been ancestor to certain human families living today on the 
western and southern coasts of Ireland. Its nature is one of pro-
found attachment to mortal men, whom the Merrow enchants 
easily. They are always seen wearing red caps covered with 
feathers, which somehow endows them with the ability to dive 
to their undersea homes. Their music is heard coming from 
the depths of the ocean, or at times notes float on the surface. 
They can be seen dancing to it on the shore or on the waves. 
They are charming and seductive by nature but extremely 
vengeful if crossed. They are all daughters of kings who live 
beneath the waves.

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L O R E 
It is said that the Merrow metamorphosed into the harp, 
the national instrument of Ireland, and became thereby an 
embodied musical essence. In Moore's Irish Melodies we hear 
the opening lines: 
'Tis believed that this harp, which I now wake for thee, 
Was a syren of old, who sung under the sea; 
And who often, at eve, through the bright waters roved 
To meet, on the green shore, a youth whom she loved 
The Merrow has been sighted in these parts as early as 
887 c.e., when one was found cast ashore in the country of 
Alba (now Scotland). She was documented as being of extraor-
dinarily large proportions: one hundred and ninety-five feet 
long, with seven-foot-long fingers and nose. She was whiter 
than a swan from top to tip. It is difficult to credit the accu-
racy of these described proportions with the frequent later 
reports of her charms and mortal matings. 
In another early sighting, one of Ireland's ancient kings 
of the legendary Fomorians came within reach of several 
Merrows while sailing these parts as he heard them singing. 
He drew closer but unfortunately they tore him limb from 
limb and scattered him to the waves. It is hard to know what 
provoked them. 
The male Merrow is quite deformed and unshapely, with 
green hair, a red nose, and tiny eyes. They normally stay 
underwater, where they keep the spirits of drowned fisherman 
and sailors in cages at the very bottom of the measureless sea. 
It is said that the females prefer human lovers to the male 
Merrow.

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P O N A T U R I 
New Zealand 
The Maori Ponaturi is a coastal species of malevolent sea 
fairies who live in the watery deeps. Their skin is greenish 
white with an unnatural inner phosphorescent radiance, and 
their long fingers end in clawlike talons. They can be seen 
ashore in the middle of the night and glow eerily in the dark. 
L O R E 
Late one afternoon, a young boy was swimming with his 
friends. He was much too far out and the sea was rough in the 
rising winds.' The other boys tried to warn him, but he only 
laughed. Then suddenly, he disappeared beneath the pound-
ing surf. When he came up he was no longer laughing, and he 
seemed caught somehow. But by what? In the fading light they 
could barely see him and they ran off to tell his father. "He's 
drowning!" they shouted, and they all ran back to show him 
the spot. But now the waters were dark and oddly still and the 
boy was no longer there. Devastated, the boy's father plunged 
into the water. Deeper and deeper he went, the water crush-
ing his chest as he searched for his son. 
At the very bottom he saw a long shadowy form resting 
among the seagrass and mounds of shells. He drifted closer. It 
seemed to be a strange house, all covered with mysterious 
carvings, with no windows; it was a long, low dwelling that 
might hold several families. He circled the house in search of 
the entrance until he came to a door, and attached to the door 
hung the body of his drowned child. Shaken, he went inside. 
The house was empty but for a very old and frail woman who 
sat just inside the doorway. "Show me the people who stole my 
son!" he demanded. 
The old woman decided to help him. She said, "This is 
the home of the Ponaturi. Do as I tell you if you want to avenge 
your son's death. First, cover all the cracks in the house and 
then hide yourself well." 
The father of the drowned boy did as he was told. 
When, near dawn, the Ponaturi returned, he began to leave his

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hiding place to go after them, but the woman held her hand 
out: "Wait," she whispered. "The Ponaturi do not know the 
cracks of their house are covered, and when the new day is at 
its brightest, they will be tricked into thinking it is night. The 
light of the sun will kill them instantly." 
The Ponaturi were soon fast asleep, and after a few hours 
the father made a loud noise. The chief was the first to 
awaken, and he asked if it was still day. The old woman 
replied, "No, you have slept long and it is nearly night." The 
chief said, "I will sleep a few more hours because I am still 
tired. Wake me then." 
When the sun was high in the sky, the old woman awak-
ened the Ponaturi in the darkened house. The chief asked, 
"What time is it now?" And the old woman answered, "It is 
time for you to get to work." When all the terrible fairies had 
gathered to leave, the father crept out of his hiding place, and 
opened the door very wide. The Ponaturi burst through the 
doorway and shot upward to the surface of the water. Powerful 
rays of sunlight flooded the house, and instantly they all died, 
swallowed by the light of the new day. 
The father bid the old woman good-bye. He tore the ter-
rible door to the house of the sea fairies from its hinges and 
took it with him. When he returned to the shore the villagers 
looked at the door in wonder: it held a wood carving so like his 
drowned child that it moved them to tears. 
It is said that from this tragic drowning and from the 
brave father's descent to the dwelling of demons, the art of 
carving was transmitted to the Maori people. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
Like all demons, the Ponaturi have a fatal flaw, and 
humans can use daylight as a weapon. Like most demonic spir-
its the fairies are creative as well as destructive and can 
become a source of inspiration. The father's dive into their 
subaqueous dwelling allowed him to wrest a gift of art from 
those who took life. At a terrible cost he found an eternal secret 
and brought it up to the light of consciousness.

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M O U N T A I N

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M
ountains have universally been considered the abode of 
the Divine; their highest peaks, often concealed in mist 
and clouds, are sacred sites of revelation to which only the holy 
may ascend. Mount Sinai, Mount Olympus, Mount Fuji, 
Mount Ararat, the Five Sacred Mountains of China, Mount 
Meru in Tanzania, Mount Kailas in Tibet — all have been 
places of contact with the Other World. As always, spirit-
imbued territory holds terrible danger and is forbidden to 
mere mortals. 
When lightning flashes and thunder rumbles ominously, 
the powerful mountain peaks are thought to be the origins of 
storms. The waters that crash down and pour into rivers are 
necessary to life itself, and when withheld their source must 
be appeased through sacrifice. Who can approach Mountain's 
awesome peaks? It is clearly off limits to ordinary human 
beings. If cliffs, gorges, and avalanches don't scare a person 
off, the Mountain holds demonic spirits in great abundance to 
warn a daring climber. The spirits can appear as lights beck-
oning from a precipice and lead him to death, or they may 
loosen a rock underfoot or above his head. 
Active volcanos erupt in fiery display of the Mountain's 
connection to subterranean worlds, where the dead reside. 
Mountains also hold treasure —minerals and gold — that 
belong to the chthonic beings deep within the earth, who are 
often very reluctant to part with it. Many demons are associ-
ated with mining activities. 
Paracelsus, the Renaissance magician, physician, and 
alchemist, trained in metallurgy and mining, believed the var-
ious demons were there to guard treasure so that it would not 
be revealed all at once to careless human beings. 
In ancient China, mountains, the intermediary forms 
between Heaven and Earth, were worshiped collectively as 
deities. It was high in the mountains that Taoist wizards 
gained supernatural powers and learned the secrets of medi-
cinal herbs for longevity and even immortal life. There are

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several mountains in the East that are sites of pilgrimage to 
this day. 
In Europe, the early Church knew there were abundant 
shrines to pagan gods in the mountains — and what terrain 
could be less hospitable to humans except perhaps the sea? So 
the Roman Empire claimed that the Mountain habitat 
belonged to the Devil himself. Formerly home to nature spir-
its, the climate changed. A huge new population of malevo-
lent fairies hatched. The word alp ("elf" in English) means 
both "mountain" and "demon of the mountain" and 
expresses our ambivalence about wilderness — that mixture 
of reverence, awe, and terror which informs the multitude of 
demonic images and fierce lore of the Mountain habitat.

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W H O ' S W H O IN MOUNTAIN 
HUWAWA 
Mesopotamia 
TENGU 
Japan 
HULDREFOLK 
Norway 
ABATWA 
South Africa 
YUKI-ONNA 
Japan 
PATUPAIREHE 
New Zealand 
TOMMY-KNOCKERS 
North America 
KISHI 
Angola 
GWYLLION 
Wales 
MAHISHA-ASURA 
India 
YUNWi DJUNSTI 
North America 
DUERGAR 
Great Britain 
MOUNTAIN FAIRIES 
China 
AKVAN 
Ancient Persia 
YAKSAS 
Nepal 
W H I T E MONKEY 
China

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H U W A W A 
Mesopotamia 
Huwawa, an ancient guardian demon, was appointed by the 
Sumerian storm god Enlil to watch over the Cedar Mountain 
forest, located in the coastal mountains of Syria. 
Huwawa 
appears in The Gilgamesh Epic, the best known story of its 
day (circa 1600—2000 B.C.E.) and the model for much of later 
Western hero literature, written in Akkadian in Old Babylon 
but based on earlier Sumerian legend. Huwawa is a creature 
of colossal size. His massive gorgonlike face is composed of 
ropy twisted coils of intestine and can strike terror into the 
heart of the beholder. He has a snarling mouth of fire and his 
breath kills. Some say he is a personified volcano associated 
with the underworld. Some say he is a storm god. He is a vir-
tually invincible guardian demon whose presence renders the 
Cedar Mountain invulnerable.

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A 
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G U I D E 
T O 
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5 6 
L O R E 
One night in the palace of the Sumerian city of Uruk that 
Gilgamesh had built and ruled, Gilgamesh's friend Enkidu 
had a nightmare, the meaning of which he could not decipher. 
Concerned, Enkidu and Gilgamesh made offerings to the sun 
god Shamash, who revealed the meaning to them: the heroes' 
mission was to kill Huwawa and to cut down the seven cedars 
of the sacred forest that he guarded on Cedar Mountain to 
build a temple in Uruk. 
Despite the misgivings of his community and his mother, 
Gilgamesh (part-divine, part-human hero) had weapons 
made, and set forth with Enkidu to the Land of the Cedars. 
They traveled northwest for more than two years over seven 
mountains to the edge of the world. 
When they finally reached Cedar Mountain and beheld 
the towering evergreens lit by the sun, all their mighty deeds 
seemed suddenly minute. They felt small and vulnerable in 
this giant landscape, and as the sun descended and then van-
ished, they became afraid. Again they made a sacrifice to 
Shamash and waited for dawn. In the morning they called out 
to Huwawa, but he did not answer. They trembled in the utter 
silence. 
Suddenly Huwawa appeared, roaring like a thunder-
storm. The ancient cedars bowed at the sound. Gilgamesh was 
stunned by the horrid, vast head of the demon. In the terrible, 
fierce battle that followed, Gilgamesh employed the savage 
winds of Shamash to rage against the mighty 
Huwawa. 
Finally he stabbed him with his weapons and it was Enkidu 
who cut off the head of the creature to carry home in victory. 
Then, together, they stripped the mountain of cedar trees. 
The duo returned home in glory, dressed in golden robes. 
Because of this shining attire, Gilgamesh attracted the eye of 
the goddess Ishtar. When he rebuffed her rudely, she took 
offense and sent the bull of heaven down to destroy him. The 
two men fought the bull and won, but now they had gone 
much too far. To teach Gilgamesh a lesson, Enkidu was killed 
by Enlil, who was the protector of Huwawa. Gilgamesh spent 
the rest of his days grieving, searching for Enkidu, and learn-

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/ 
H U W A W A 
ing about the limits of human life and the meaning of mor-
tality. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
The chain of tragic events in the narrative of Gilgamesh 
was set in motion by his arrogant act of killing Huwawa and 
chopping down sacred trees of Cedar Mountain. The feat that 
the hero chose, conquering nature itself, daring to go beyond 
limits set by gods to claim the wilderness his own, has great 
resonance in later lore and even in present-day concerns. 
Look for the echo of Huwawa in the very nature of the 
later demon population of mountain habitat. Many settled 
here to guard sacred treasures against the hubris of the mor-
tal interloper, and like the terrain itself, they are fierce and 
pitiless.

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T E N G U 
Japan 
The tengu comprise a class of high-flying demons, probably 
Chinese in origin, who principally inhabit cedar or pine trees 
in the mountainous areas of Japan. 
The tengu are of two main types. The "higher tengu" has 
a human form, and wears the red robes of a bishop and a small 
crown; it has white hair, a red face, and is often seen holding 
a fan made of feathers; each higher tengu resides on its own 
mountain peak. The "inferior tengu" has small wings and 
sharp claws on the ends of its fingers and toes. Sometimes they 
are seen wearing small black hats and clothes made of leaves. 
They all have large, shining, mischievous eyes. They usually 
travel in flocks. All tengu, higher and inferior, have elongated 
beaklike noses. 
The tengu shares several traits with the Chinese T'ien-

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/ T E N G U 
kou, who is sometimes described as a shooting star and some-
times as a mountain demon in the shape of a dog that came 
from the sky in fire and thunder. In either version, the Chinese 
demon has two wings and kidnaps and eats small children, and 
it can readily shape-shift. Another close cousin of the Japanese 
tengu is the Hindu supernatural bird, Garuda. 
Tengu are generally believed to be the spirits of arrogant 
or vengeful dead, and are well known for their malicious 
delight in practical jokes. They tend to prey on Buddhist 
monks, interrupting their pious work by strapping them to the 
tops of trees, or by offering them delicious food that turns out 
to be excrement. They also can appear as Buddhist monks and 
lead other monks astray, always in an attempt to stop prayers. 
They also appear to many travelers who get lost in the moun-
tains. 
Like fairies, the tengu enjoy stealing human children 
and hiding them from their parents. When and if the children 
are returned, they've usually been reduced to a confused state 
and never fully regain their senses. At other times the lower 
tengu are busy carrying out nasty errands for the higher tengu. 
Because all tengu can endow their followers with supernatural 
powers, the species has attracted a large group of worshipers 
known as mountain priests, or Yamabushi, who claim to be 
able to cure diseases and exorcise demons. 
L O R E 
A Zen parable tells of a hunter who was in the moun-
tains. He came across a snake killing a bird. Suddenly a boar 
appeared and began to devour the snake. The hunter thought 
he should kill the boar, but changed his mind because he did 
not want to be a link in such a chain, and cause his own death 
by the next predator to come along. On his way home he heard 
a voice call to him from the top of a tree. It was the voice of a 
tengu. It told him how lucky he was, for had he killed the boar, 
the tengu would have killed him. The man subsequently 
moved into a cave and never killed another animal.

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/ 
6 0 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
Understand the rules: Tengu own all the trees in the 
mountains and must be propitiated for any lumber taken. 
Historically, they have had frequent contact with woodcutters; 
in order to successfully chop down a tree, woodcutters offer 
rice cakes to appease the spirit. If not satisfied, the tengu play 
all sorts of vicious tricks, such as starting avalanches or caus-
ing ax heads to fall off handles.

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H U L D R E F O L K 
Norway 
The Huldrefolk (hidden people) are fairies. They're invisible, 
so though populous, are hard to spot. Some say it is their hats 
that make them invisible; others report that the secret lies in 
a special coat. Whatever the reason, they are there at all times, 
living in another dimension, hidden behind a veil of invisible 
vapor. When, on rare occasions, this veil lifts, the Huldrefolk 
can be glimpsed. The males closely resemble miniature 
humans; the female Huldre wears a blue, green, or white 
dress, has a cowlike tail and a hollow back. 
L O R E 
The Huldrefolk live very much like Homo sapiens in 
their parallel universe. They get married, have offspring, own 
homes, farms, and businesses. The Huldrefolk are said to be 
Adam's children, by his first wife, Lilith (see her in Domicile). 
It is said that when the Lord unexpectedly dropped by and 
asked Eve to show him the children, she hid Lilith's. The Lord 
asked her if she had shown Him all the children. She said yes, 
and He replied, "Let those not revealed remain concealed." 
This is why the Huldrefolk are still hidden from our view. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
When building a house, take care never to build on top 
of a Huldrefolk dwelling. Tap the cornerstone with a stick. The 
sound can alert the builder to an invisible residence just below. 
Another method is to sleep one night just outside the poten-
tial building site. It is said if sleep is disturbed another plot 
should be found. If uncertain, a possession, such as a hammer 
or saw, can be left overnight on the planned building site. The 
next day, if the tool is missing, it is said the Huldrefolk have 
given their sign. Without their permission, building a home 
over theirs is futile — the house will be torn apart or burned 
down. Some Huldrefolk 
are good neighbors if treated with 
respect. Others are malicious regardless of how well human 
beings behave.

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6 2 
The Huldrefolk 
are the owners of all wild game. To 
them, hunting and fishing is not sport, it's a crime. Many brave 
hunters and fishermen have obtained permission from the 
Huldrefolk to hunt, although some areas remain strictly off 
limits. 
Huldrefolk are famous for their buried treasures. Look 
for a blue light. Underneath the blue light lie vast riches. But 
beware: Huldrefolk may also be down there. Furthermore, 
treasure hunting has been said to lead to terrifying visions. 
There are two ways to take possession of a Huldrefolk 
animal without risk. The first is to throw a steel knife over the 
invisible animal. As steel sails above it, the animal will mate-
rialize and can be claimed by the human thrower. A circle 
drawn with ashes will also keep the Huldrefolk from being 
able to enter a chosen hunting ground. This method is a bit 
confining, because the person can never leave the circle again. 
Most important to all Huldrefolk is peace and quiet, es-
pecially in the evening. When in the hills after sundown, 
whisper, put dogs indoors, and tape down the bells on cats and 
livestock so that they do not ring. If disturbed, the Huldrefolk 
will take deadly revenge. 
Above all, when observing the Huldrefolk, watch the 
time. Stories are widespread of human travelers who have 
been invited to join the Huldrefolk for a quick dinner or cele-
bration, only to resurface and find all their friends have grown 
old. It should be remembered these are fairies. Babies must 
never be left unattended when they are near. Human males 
must be cautious because a Huldre can appear as a beautiful 
maiden, but if she lures a fellow home, he is hers forever. Like 
cdl fairies, she needs human DNA to better her fairy species.

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A B A T W A 
South Africa 
The abatwa is a Zulu spirit species, considerably smaller than 
the common fairy, so small that they often hide under blades 
of grass and sleep in anthills. They live in the mountains and 
rocky hills, but they have no central village. They are nomadic 
hunters who follow the game, devour their catch in its 
entirety, and move on to the next kill. When the abatwa travel, 
it is said that they ride upon one horse, sitting from the neck 
to the tail, one behind another. If they do not find any game 
on their hunt they will usually devour their communal horse. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
The abatwa are easily offended and quickly enraged. 
Their most common response is to murder by poison arrow. 
But if it happens that one meets an abatwa while journeying 
through the hills and mountainous regions of Africa, the typ-
ical encounter would go like this: The abatwa will ask, "From 
where did you see me?" This is a trick question to which the 
honest reply "I am seeing you here right now for the very first 
time" will be fatal. The abatwa are wildly sensitive about their 
size. The lifesaving answer is: "See that mountain way back 
there? I first saw you when I was on that mountain." The 
abatwa is usually placated by the stature this suggests and such 
flattery earns a chance for escape. 
Far more dangerous than encountering an abatwa is 
stepping on one. When stepped on, the abatwa will stab the 
hiker with the point of an invisible but deadly poison arrow, 
which causes an immediate and baffling death that will con-
found the coroner. When in abatwa country, visitors must wear 
shoes with hard, thick, impenetrable soles.

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Y U K I - O N N A 
Japan 
Yuki-Onna (Lady of the Snow) can appear as a beautiful — in 
fact, irresistible — maiden wearing all white, her skin pale, 
her breath like frost. She also manifests as a white vapor that 
blows through the crack in the door. Other times she is seen 
hovering over her victim, a floating misty essence. In all cases, 
through her glacial lips she sucks the life breath gently but 
inexorably from her victims' mouths. 
L O R E 
One bitterly cold night two men, a master and servant, 
were traveling through a mountain forest when they came 
upon a cabin. A snowstorm had begun so they stopped to rest. 
Both men fell asleep, but the servant woke suddenly when 
snow blew across his face. He opened his eyes and saw that 
the cabin door was wide open. A woman in a white flowing 
dress floated to the center of the room. He watched in terror 
as the pale figure bent over his master and breathed a misty 
stream of white smoke into his mouth. Then she turned to 
him. 
He tried to scream, but could not make a sound. Her 
breath stung his face. The woman told him quietly that she 
had planned to treat him as she did his master, but he was far 
too young and too handsome. She threatened him with death 
should he ever mention this incident to anyone. Then she van-
ished. The man called out to his master, but there was no 
answer. His master was dead. 
The next winter, when the man was returning home to 
his village, he met a beautiful maiden named Yuki. She told 
him shyly that she was on her way to become a servant girl in 
the village. He took her into his house and soon they were 
married. She bore him ten children, all unusually pale. Then 
one night Yuki was sitting beside a lamp sewing. As the lamp-
light illuminated her beautiful white face, the man was some-
how reminded of that dreadful night so long ago. "Just now," 
he said to his wife, "you reminded me of a beautiful, ghostly

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6 5 
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Y U K I - O N N A 
woman I saw years ago who killed my master with her icy 
breath . . . " 
Yuki threw down her sewing and took on demonic size: 
"It was I, Yuki-Onna, who killed your master!" she raged. 
"You have broken your promise to keep it a secret. If it were 
not for our ten sleeping children I would kill you now!" She 
warned him never to hurt her children, and assured him that 
since she would always know his every action, if harm came 
to any of them he would die. With that, she turned herself into 
a mist and floated up through the chimney. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
There is nothing to be done in any inevitably fatal 
encounter with Yuki-Onna during a blizzard. However, when 
a male traveler attracts a spirit, there are certain things he 
must know. All supernatural wives come with a condition, 
which can be any of the following: never speak of her origins, 
never tell any other human being that she has supernatural 
powers, never look at her when she is in a transformed state 
(and always give her privacy and time to transform), or never 
open the basket she brought with her or touch some item she 
declares forbidden. Any violation of her condition will bring 
about her disappearance and also may have fatal consequence 
for the spouse.

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P A T U P A I R E H E 
New Zealand 
The Patupairehe are Maori fairies who live in remote moun-
tains and hilltops, places wrapped in dense fog. They look like 
tall, redhaired, exceedingly pale humans, but they are rarely 
sighted as they move only through the dark or the mist on 
foggy days. Like many fairies, they consider themselves 
guardians of the wilderness and all that lives within. 
Often the Patupairehe take human lovers, whom they 
visit late at night. The male Patupairehe are expert flute play-
ers, and use their musical skills to arouse human women who 
happen to walk nearby. Those who fall under the spell of the 
Patupairehe seldom if ever return to their old selves. Albino 
children Eire believed to be offspring of such couples. 
L O R E 
Once a man's wife was carried off by a Patupairehe. The 
man searched everywhere but could find only her footprints, 
which led far away into the hills. He asked the village wise 
man for help. The wise man performed secret ceremonies to 
cause the kidnapped woman to remember her human hus-
band (for in the fairy world, humans never remember their 
ordinary lives), and told the man to go rub his house all over 
with red ochre, put some food on the fire, and wait. 
Meanwhile, in the mountains, the wife was affected by the 
wise man's magic, and she began to long for her human hus-
band so much that she wandered from the fairy hills and 
headed for home. 
The Patupairehe chief noticed she was missing and went 
after her. He followed her footprints until he came to the vil-
lage. Aghast, he saw her hut covered with red ochre and 
smelled home cooking. Naturally, these sights and odors were 
Patupairehe repellents that set the fairy running back to his 
foggy mountain home. The man and his wife lived happily 
ever after. 
The Patupairehe have been known to inadvertently help 
humans. One day a man passed a spot on the beach where he

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P A T U P A I R E H E 
saw the remains of fish that people had apparently been clean-
ing. Thinking it odd that anybody would abandon a catch, he 
looked around for the fishermen. The beach was deserted. 
When he looked closely at the footprints he saw they were 
faint, as if they'd been made the night before. He wondered if 
the fishermen were spirits who had been forced to leave 
because of the approach of daylight. The man decided to 
return to the spot that night to see if the mysterious fishermen 
would return. 
At midnight he hid and watched from nearby. There 
they were, the Patupairehe, throwing their magic net to catch 
fish. As they worked, the man unobtrusively joined them. He 
was paler than most men, almost as pale as the fairies, so they 
didn't notice him. He worked among them all night and 
learned how to throw the spirits' net. Before dawn, the fairies 
started to collect their catch and bring in the net. They worked 
quickly, eager to finish while it was still dark. Each fairy ran 
a string through the gills of the fish he claimed. The man kept 
up with them, collecting fish for himself, but his string seemed 
too short, and the fish would not stay on when tied. Seeing his 
difficulty, the fairies helped him and soon taught him how to 
string fish. 
Just before dawn some Patupairehe realized that they 
had been working with a human. At this discovery immediate 
confusion and argument ensued, but the sun had begun to rise, 
so they had to vanish. In their haste they left everything 
behind. The man escaped safely in the morning sunlight and 
he kept the fairy net. This was how the Maori learned to make 
fishing nets and string fish and become great fishermen. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
Not only are the Patupairehe heliophobic, they are afraid 
of fire, ash, and the color red. They are repulsed by food that 
has been cooked in fire. All these are effective deterrents. If 
tricked, they can teach supernatural skills and be inspiring.

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T O M M Y - K N O C K E R S 
North America 
The Tommy-Knocker 
is an American mining species that 
seems to have originated in Staffordshire, in England, where 
they were known as just plain Knockers. The Tommy-Knocker 
stands about two feet high, the size of a three-year-old, and has 
a disproportionately large head, long beard, and weathered, 
wrinkled skin. Their arms are long and reach nearly to the 
ground. They wear miniature mining outfits, caps and boots, 
and carry mining gear such as pickaxes. They are usually 
invisible to the human eye, so it is only by the sound of their 
tapping, knocking, and working in various shafts nearby the 
human workers that one knows they are present. 
They can be helpful or malicious, but they are always 
mischievous. This temperament can be hazardous in mine 
shafts. The Tommy-Knockers are believed to have originated 
as ghosts of men who died in the mine in the past. They work 
like demons all night long. 
L O R E 
In northern England, home of the original Knockers, the 
spirits often served to warn of disaster about to happen by 
knocking mysteriously and alerting the miners to aberrant 
sounds. Once in a while they could be helpful, as in the case of 
"Blue Cap," a famous Knocker who appeared as a blue-flamed 
light that flickered through the mine, landed on a tub of coal, 
and mysteriously moved the heavy tub as if by the force of 
many laborers. But when playful or vengeful they would steal 
candles and hide tools and, at their worst, set the mine on fire. 
Tommy-Knockers do not like to be seen by humans and 
often react with extreme volatility and capriciousness when 
they know they've been spotted. One story tells of a coal miner 
whose load so outdistanced the others each morning that his 
fellow workers wondered how. He never seemed tired or over-
worked and when asked how he managed to do such a hard 
night's work, he simply shrugged. Some coworkers crept in 
one night to see what was happening, and there was their

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T O M M Y - K N O C K E R S 
friend sitting smoking quietly in a shaft. When they peered 
over his shoulder they discovered a huge team of Tommy-
Knockers working for him. The Tommy-Knockers, according 
to this report, wore tall red hats and used miniature mining 
equipment. Soon as the wee demons realized they'd been 
sighted, they turned on their mortal companion in a fury, per-
haps thinking he told his friends about them, and within 
moments the entire mine erupted in flames. 
Other Knockers, called Coblynau, haunt the mines and 
quarries of Wales and point out ore by pounding, or "knock-
ing," on the walls. They are said to be half a yard tall, and 
hideously ugly. They imitate the miners in dress, and carry 
tiny work tools, picks, and lamps. They work constantly, but 
never get anything accomplished. If not treated with great 
respect, they are known to cause rock slides. Their German 
cousins are the Kobolds, demon miners who take pleasure in 
malevolent games and trickery, and the Wichtlein (Little 
Wights), tiny men with long beards said to be death portents. 
The Wichtlein announce death by knocking three times on the 
wall. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
There's no getting rid of Tommy-Knockers 
or their 
European counterparts. However, it is clear that when they 
choose to be helpful, one must respect their privacy and keep 
their presence a secret to avoid fatal accidents.

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K I S H I 
Angola 
The Kishi is a two-faced male hill species. His forward coun-
tenance is human in features and quite attractive. This is the 
face that tricks its female victim. The rear face is hidden by 
long, thick hair. It has the features of a hyena. Its waiting 
mouth holds long, sharp teeth, and a jaw so powerful it cannot 
be pried off its meal by any means. 
It is the human face of the Kishi that insinuates itself as 
a potential boyfriend, and in addition the Kishi is a smooth 
talker, a great raconteur who lures with ease. He often attends 
village dances, invites his intended meal out to dinner, and 
when the time is right turns his head around and devours her. 
L O R E 
Three sisters, after collecting water from the village 
river, decided to explore the land beyond. The girls knew it 
was dangerous to wander off beyond the boundaries of their 
village, but they forgot the warnings, and little did they know 
that the hills behind the river were inhabited by infamous 
Kishis. 
The sisters spotted a house in the distant hills and walked 
there. While they looked around the outside of the house, the 
Kishis watched from within and waited for their meal to enter. 
Meanwhile the Kishis got dressed in their finest clothes, hid 
their hyena faces under their combed thick hair, and wel-
comed the girls to their home. The sisters went inside and 
dined with the Kishis, but the youngest sister did not eat. She 
sensed that something was terribly wrong. 
After the meal the Kishis played music for the sisters, and 
when night fell, the girls were shown a room in which they 
could sleep. When all was quiet in the house the youngest sis-
ter whispered, "I have seen their other faces. They will surely 
eat us. We must go now'." So all the sisters climbed out the win-
dow and ran away. It was just in time, because when they 
looked back they saw a terrible blaze. The Kishis had set the 
house on fire, hoping to roast the girls while they slept.

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K I S H I 
Later, when the Kishis looked through the ashes, they did 
not find their human meat. They realized the sisters had 
escaped and ran after them, hoping to catch them before they 
reached their own village. Meanwhile the girls arrived at the 
river but found it had risen during the night and was too deep 
to cross. They quickly climbed a tree. The Kishis spotted them 
and, enraged and snarling, roared that the sisters would never 
escape. The Kishis now revealed their hideous hyena faces, and 
as they pushed the tree trunk with their powerful bodies, the 
sisters shivered in the branches. 
As the tree began to sway back and forth, the girls knew 
they would fall. The youngest sister spied an eagle flying in 
the sky and called to it for help. She offered it chickens to eat 
if it would help them. The eagle swooped down, picked up the 
youngest sister, and brought her safely to the other side of the 
river. The eagle returned for the other girls, but alas, one of 
them was too heavy, so he had to drop her into the river below 
and she was carried off. Before the eagle could reach the other, 
the tree gave way and the last sister dropped into the arms of 
waiting Kishis below. She was never seen again. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
Note that the one sister who lived to tell the tale never 
ate in the land of the demon. She was not seduced by his illu-
sory civilized form and saw the wild carnivore within. When 
traveling in Angola, one must be as wise as the youngest 
sister.

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G W Y L L I O N 
Wales 
The Gwyllion (from the Welsh gwyll, which denotes gloom 
and darkness) are female spirits who live in unusually treach-
erous mountainous areas. They are haglike in appearance and 
are identified by their distinctive, hair-raising laughter. One 
notorious Gwyllion is described as an old woman wearing ash-
colored clothing, an oblong four-pointed hat, and an apron 
over her shoulder, and carrying a pot in her hand. She cries 
"Wow up!" as she passes her victims, a signal of distress. 
Variations of this are "Wwb!" or "Ww-bwb!" 
When travelers first lose their way at night, they often 
come upon the Gwyllion, whom they generally mistake for 
a kindly old woman who will lead them back on the right path. 
But after following these malicious spirits for a while, they 
hear that dreadful cackle, and then it is always much too late. 
L O R E 
Once a traveler in the mountains realized he was on an 
unfamiliar path and feared he was getting lost. As night fell, he 
spied a woman not far off and called loudly for help. He received 
no answer, and assuming she was deaf ran toward her. But as he 
did, she seemed ever farther away. At last, exhausted, he stum-
bled to the ground and, looking about, found himself in com-
pletely unknown territory. It was then he heard the old woman 
cackling. Her laugh was awful, the telltale sign of a Gwyllion. 
Shaking, he pulled out his knife and held it high over his head. 
The steel blade flashed in the moonlight. It was the one sure 
repellent and it worked. She instantly disappeared. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
In bad weather, the Gwyllion might enter a human abode 
to get warm. During such a visit, the Gwyllion must not be 
offended or great harm will later come to the family. Clean 
water must be provided, and, as a courtesy, all metal knives must 
be hidden (unless flashed as a last resort). When outdoors, trav-
eling in company is a good idea. It is usually only solitary trav-
elers who have Gwyllion (or other demonic) encounters.

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M A H I S H A - A S U R A 
India 
Mahisha-Asura 
is one of the epic demons of Hinduism and 
is found in the Markandeya 
Purana (c. 300 B.C.E.-500 C.E.). 
His basic form is of a buffalo, but he is a champion shape-
shifter who has been seen as lion, elephant, human, and, 
amazingly, has become a million multiples of himself. This 
instantaneous, illusory cloning once created a nearly invin-
cible army that set all the gods into hiding for a while. 
Mahisha-Asura 
was born of a mother buffalo (mahisha) and 
father demon (asura). The water buffalo, known for its 
extraordinary lust, stupidity, sloth, and mud-bathing indo-
lence, gave Mahisha his attributes, and his father, unusually 
malevolent, contributed his disposition. The buffalo is also 
seen as a symbol of Death.

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A 
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L O R E 
Every asura (demon) knows he must die eventually, for 
although supernatural, he's not an eternal being. Aware of 
his mortality, Mahisha meditated for over a thousand years 
to gain the power to ask a boon of the god Brahma. When 
he had earned this right, Mahisha asked for immortality. He 
phrased his plea as a trick request: I want to live, he said, 
until defeated by a woman. He assumed if Brahma granted 
this request, he would be assured of immortality. His plea 
was granted, but the seeds of destruction are always planted 
by one's own action, and Mahisha had radically underesti-
mated the female gender. 
Having won what he thought was immortality, Mahisha 
decided to take over the universe. He gathered all demons, and 
he went out on the battleground to win the heavens. He was 
so formidable and his army of millions so determined, that the 
god Indra went to enlist the support of the major three gods: 
Brahma, the creator; Vishnu, the protector; and Shiva, the 
destroyer. Thus all the Hindu gods became engaged in this cos-
mic war. After an initial, mind-boggling skirmish, Mahisha 
pulled his illusory cloning trick. Finally, with much roaring, 
earth trembling, and cosmic dust flying, the gods all finally 
made a getaway. They knew they could never defeat this rag-
ing buffalo demon and his armies. Mahisha ruled the heavens 
and tyrannized the world while the displaced gods, in hiding, 
plotted to overthrow his evil rule and win back the world for 
the forces of Good. But how? They remembered his fatal flaw 
and decided to send a woman. But where would they find such 
a goddess? 
Devi is the Great Goddess and in her wrathful form is 
known as Durga. She is also called Nanda Devi, who is 
believed to dwell near Nepal, on the peak with her name in 
the Himalayas. Devi, the Great Goddess, was created from the 
powerful communal emanations of the gods and from that 
unnamed, unknowable Source of their own emanation. She 
was a vision of inexpressible beauty and was described as the 
Sublime Warrior Maid. She had eighteen arms; each held a 
weapon. Devi wore all the rainbow's hues, was clothed in a red

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M A H I S H A - A S U R A 
gown, and was seated on a lion. She embodied the energy of 
the entire universe. 
Rumor of this luminous new presence quickly spread to 
the demon camp. Devi was so described as to waken Mahisha's 
appetite. In his arrogance, he decided he'd marry her if she was 
all they said. He sent a messenger to convey his wishes to Devi. 
She said in reply: Tell him he will die. The radiant Goddess 
explained that she was there to guarantee his destined end. 
Mahisha was finally forced to confront her threats. He tried 
killing her lion with his mace. He was nearly crushed. 
Slow-witted and coarse, he wondered if perhaps she just 
didn't like buffalos, and if another shape might tempt her into 
a change of heart. He metamorphosed to human form. 
Dressed up and well groomed, he tried another marriage pro-
posal. "Vanish!" she commanded, "Or die." 
Mahisha, unable to fathom how a woman could reject 
him, persisted until the frustrated Goddess whammed him 
with her mace and discus. Then he resumed his buffalo shape 
for a snorting, roaring, no-holds-barred fight. Mahisha-Asura, 
using his illusion-making powers, transformed himself into 
an elephant and the Great Goddess cut off his trunk; then he 
shape-shifted to a lion and she slew him, but a demon rose 
from his neck; then he became a human man whom she killed 
with arrows. Meanwhile the millions of demons fought her 
and she sliced them to pieces, but demons in pieces can fight 
on with missing heads or limbs. The whole world was a rag-
ing battlefield. The blood flowed for nearly a century. Mahisha 
threw trees, and finally he ripped up mountains and hurled 
them at her like pebbles in his rage. 
With her eighteen arms and weapons, Devi stood her 
ground. She saw through each of the demon's illusory shapes 
until finally she drank a bit of the elixir of the Divine life 
force, jumped up into the air and landed on 
Mahisha-Asura 
just as he was transforming from human to buffalo, and 
chopped off his head. She stood calmly on his body as he 
turned back into a buffalo. And he died.

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D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
Order was restored to the universe in this cosmic myth 
by the Goddess who saw through all the illusory forms of the 
brutal tyrant Mahisha-Asura, 
one of the most powerful 
mythic evil forces of Hinduism. Although this is a battle of the 
gods, the model is set for the human being: to disarm and dis-
pell such brutality, it is necessary to see through it to the beast 
beneath and to vanquish it, not for one's own sake but for the 
sake of others.

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Y U N W I 
D J U N S T I 
North America 
The Yunwi Djunsti, or "Little People," of the Cherokee is a 
fairy species, about two feet tall with long dark hair that 
leaches to the ground. They are said to wear white clothes, but 
tend to be invisible to the naked eye. Other than their size, 
supernatural status, and invisibility, they are very much like 
the Cherokee themselves: they speak the same language, sing 
similar songs, and even design their social structures in an 
identical manner. 
There are four varieties of Yunwi Djunsti. One kind lives 
in rocky cliffs and hard-to-reach craggy mountainsides. They 
make their homes in the rocks, sometimes with many cham-
bers and always with well-swept floors. The second variety 
make their homes outdoors in rhododendron patches. The 
third live in scrub brush. The fourth reside out in the open. 
The four varieties differ in levels of malevolence. The Little 
People in the open air and scrub brush are said to be unusu-
ally mean, while the other two varieties can sometimes be 
helpful if treated nicely. 
Ordinary humans rarely see the Yunwi Djunsti. It is con-
sidered bad luck to see them and is always a portent of death. 
However, twins can see them and frequently speak with them. 
Certain conjurors can even capture them for hard labor around 
the house. Often, though, the species is so arbitrarily mischie-
vous, delighting in tripping people, making household items 
drop and break, and wreaking general havoc, that even the 
most powerful conjuror may be forced to put them back where 
he found them. 
Sometimes the Yunwi Djunsti get travelers lost in the 
mountains, and they often lure children away from their fam-
ilies. As in most fairy abduction situations, time spent with the 
Little People leaves the victim insane. One little boy was with 
them for weeks and upon return he behaved like a wild crea-
ture. Time spent with the Yunwi Djunsti can often lead to 
death. Sometimes, for no apparent reason, the Little People 
pick on one person and make his livestock sickly, ruin his roof,

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and generally make his life a misery. Conjurors have to be 
called in to help. 
Sometimes the Little People bother travelers by throw-
ing invisible sticks and stones at them, or pushing them down 
a mountain trail or off a cliff. One rock held caves so chock-
full of Yunwi Djunsti it became quite famous and people came 
from far away to drum on the rock and listen to the creatures 
inside dance and sing. But all fairies resent disturbance, and 
one tourist kept it up too long, until finally a horde of Little 
People came out and fell upon him. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
It is bad enough to see any Little People but far worse to 
speak about it. Often it is after the telling that the victim dies. 
It is usually fatal to enter their homes and harmful to disturb 
their privacy. It must also be remembered that if a human 
being finds a lost object in the mountains, it is always the prop-
erty of the Little People. Permission must be obtained to take 
it. Because the Little People are invisible, it is easy to forget 
that they are eavesdropping, but they hear every single word 
said about them.

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D U E R G A R 
Great Britain 
The Duergar is a populous species of solitary fairy that leads 
travelers astray by means of a flickering torch. He stands about 
one foot tall, wears a lambskin coat, moleskin shoes, and, as a 
hat, a piece of green moss stuck with a large feather. This is a 
malicious creature who believes the hills are his alone, and 
wants only to cause harm, mischief, or death to trespassing 
human beings. 
L O R E 
Once on a dark evening, a young man attempted to cross 
the hills. He had lost his way just before sunset, and by night-
fall was trapped in the middle of nowhere. He knew he was 
many miles from where he was supposed to be, and had no 
light to guide him. He decided to stop for the night to avoid 
getting even more lost. As he was about to sit down, he saw a 
flickering light in the distance. Thinking it might be the house 
of a shepherd, he walked in that direction. 
When he finally reached the light he saw a small hut, 
with a roof of thick sod. He entered. Between two stones, there 
was a small fire on the floor that he was most happy to see. 
Near the fire was a pile of kindling and on the other side two 
huge logs. The traveler put some small sticks on the fire and 
lay down to rest. But soon as he had begun to doze off, the door 
opened and a tiny man entered silently and stared darkly at 
the intruder. The man stared back and knew he was looking 
at one of the infamous Duergars, and that under no condition 
should he offend him. Everybody knew that the Duergar had 
a hair-trigger temper and could do great damage when 
enraged. So the sensible young man kept still and did nothing 
but stare back at the scowling creature, keeping his gaze as 
neutral as possible. 
The fire died down and the man grew cold but dared not 
move. Finally he began shivering and had to put some twigs 
on the fire. No sooner had he finished than the tiny Duergar 
picked up one of the huge logs, four times his size, and with a

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meaningful glance at the young man broke it in two like a 
toothpick. Clearly, this was a silent challenge to the man to 
break the other log, but instead, he remained motionless for 
the rest of the night. 
When daylight came, the Duergar vanished, as most, 
demons do. The hut and fire also disappeared. The traveler 
now saw that he was perched on the edge of a steep precipice. 
If he had leaned over to grab the "log" as the Duergar 
intended him to do, he would have certainly fallen to his death 
and not lived to see daylight. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
Travelers are always in great danger when hiking alone 
and the best Duergar 
protection is to know his habits. 
Suspended action while waiting for daylight is a most effec-
tive although difficult technique to master.

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Mountain 
Fairies 
are dainty, beautiful, and irresistible. 
Popular tales abound of travelers to the mountain terrain who 
come upon a bevy of maidens and are invited to stay. Fed on 
hemp, and quite blissful, they remain with the fairies for what 
feels like a short week. When they begin to grow bored with 
vacation and ask to return home the fairies usually release 
them readily. It is to their astonishment that these men find 
upon their return that families and relatives and neighbors 
have all long since become their ancestors. There is no more 
place for them in this worldly, time-worn plane, so up they go 
again to find their home with the spirits. 
Mountain Fairies are not usually malevolent and are 
included in this Guide for their radical relationship to Time 
as we know it. Just as mermaids pull their human lovers under 
without any real sensitivity to human need for oxygen, so does 
the fairy pull her lovers into her near-eternal dimension with-
out any regard to their lifespan. As long as they stay with her, 
they remain "alive." Some say these enchanted human beings 
are actually dead but do not realize it. 
China has numerous fairies in all its mountains, flitting 
like butterflies. The mountains are a habitat where reality shifts 
and worlds appear and vanish like clouds. Some of these fairies 
are seen as shen, spirits of nature, and they embody sunshine, 
clouds, rain, mist, and delicately imbue all these phenomena. 
China has Five Sacred Mountains: Mount Tai, of the 
East; Mount Hua, of the West; Mount Heng, of the North; 
Mount Song, of the Center; and Mount Heng, of the South. It 
also has Mount Kunlun, a Cosmic Mountain. China has three 
contributing spiritual traditions that look at mountains in dif-
ferent ways. To the .Confucian, the mountain is an image of 
the Emperor, the unmoving highest ruler; to the Buddhist, the 
mountain is a habitat in which to gain enlightenment and 
from which to view emptiness; to the Taoist it is an unworldly 
refuge and a place of harmony, and in later Taoist sources it is 
the ultimate site to attain the goal of Immortality. 
In all China's mountains, Time is as different as the view. 
M O U N T A I N 
F A I R I E S 
China

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Taoist wizards live there and practice until they can give up 
mortal food altogether and eventually become the Immortals. 
What they feed upon is fairy food, the "elixir of life," made of 
cultivated crops of sesame, coriander seeds, peach tree gum 
mixed with cinnabar, elixir of gold, and powdered ash of mul-
berry, along with hemp, and most important, the fruit of a Tree 
of Life, which only bears fruit once every three thousand years. 
L O R E 
Wang Chih was a traveler in the mountains gathering 
firewood when he came upon a few old men playing chess. He 
put down his ax and joined them. They gave him a stone to 
place in his mouth, and when he did, he lost all appetite and 
thirst. And so he played for a while. After some games, one of 
the other players said that perhaps it was time for Wang Chih 
to return home. He turned to get his ax but it was only dust. 
He left and returned to his village to find that many, many 
centuries had passed. So he returned to the mountain and 
practiced Taoism until he himself became an Immortal. 
One of the Eight Immortals, named Zang Guo, had a 
white mule that he could fold up in his wallet and then take 
out and reactivate with a dab of spittle. It would transport him 
thousands of miles a day. 
Taoist wizards are able to conjure shen (spirits) and con-
trol them, use the medicinal herbs of the mountain for 
longevity, rise above clouds, become invisible or shape-shift 
into the form of a beast or insect, and, after seven hundred years 
of life on earth, ride to heaven on a dragon's back and rule spir-
its. If they become one of the Immortals, they can fabricate ban-
quets from thin air. Magical wine is poured from an unending 
source, and fairies from the moon can be conjured for a song and 
dance and then turned back into a chopstick. They can visit the 
moon itself before the night is through. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
To attain such powers takes a human lifetime of hard-
ship, ascetic practice, in the heights of the unworldly isolated 
mountains. Despite the charm of the tales and the shen, such 
dimensions are not for beginners.

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A K V A N 
Ancient Persia 
Akvan — "Evil Mind" — is an important Persian div with 
unlimited powers and incredible strength. He has the typical 
demonic wide mouth, fangs, and horns. He wears a traditional 
short skirt, his not quite hidden tail flashing warning as to his 
nature, and has curved, clawlike toenails on his wide flat feet. 
Akvan can be found in the Persian epic poem, Shah-
Nameh (The Book of Kings), written by Firduasi for the 
Sultan Mahmud of Ghazna in 1009. A div is an evil spirit 
whose intent is to do harm to humans, spreading lies and 
destruction for the sheer pleasure of it. But Akvan, one of its 
very large, powerful species, has little intelligence and is mer-
cifully predictable — he will always do the exact opposite of 
whatever is asked of him.

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L O R E 
Rustem, the hero of the Shah-Nameh, was barely recov-
ered from an important encounter with the much larger but 
similar-looking species, Div Spid (White Demon), whom he 
managed to quell in the mountains of Tabaristan. While 
Rustem slept, exhausted from his latest battle, Akvan came 
upon him in a surprise attack. Certain of his victory, Akvan 
asked which kind of death the hero might prefer. Would he 
rather be thrown from the mountaintop and be devoured by 
beasts on the rocks below, or perhaps thrown into the sea and 
be devoured by whales? Rustem, aware of Akvan's quirky con-
trarian nature, opted for the mountain toss. He was thus 
thrown into the sea. He of course was a strong swimmer and 
quite able to navigate his way out of this soft landing — he 
swam safely to shore. After a remarkable career of dragon and 
demon quelling, Rustem's life was prematurely ended by an 
evil human king who lured him on horseback into a pit filled 
with spears. As Rustem died he managed to kill the king with 
his own bow and arrow. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
All demons have some area of weakness or fatal flaw and 
it is important to know it. In the case of Div Akvan, his repu-
tation for always doing the opposite of what is requested is a 
lifesaver. If he were more intelligent he might vary his rou-
tine, but his slowness allows the traveler to trick him every 
time.

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Y A K S A S 
Nepal 
The Yaksas is a species of hirsute, wide-mouthed, fanged, and 
horned demons whose kingdom is called Kamrup. The epic 
story of Karunamaya, the Buddhist god of compassion and, in 
Nepal, also the god of rain and grain, is related annually by 
the Newars of Nepal at the chariot festival of Bungadyo. In the 
tale, Karunamaya must be wrested from the land of Yaksas to 
whom he has been born as the youngest of five hundred sons 
known as Lokanatha. 
L O R E 
Once a king, a priest, and a farmer set out on a journey 
to Kamrup, land of Yaksas, on a desperate mission to bring 
Lokanatha, god of grains, back to their starving people. They 
soon came upon a huge and unmovable "man" asleep and 
blocking the mountain path. The king ordered him out of the 
way and told him of their urgent quest. "How can you dare to 
attempt to bring Lokanatha back without my permission?" 
the giant shouted angrily as he changed himself into a huge 
and threatening serpent. The priest realized that this spirit 
was the naga Karkotak, and he humbly asked his forgiveness, 
improvising that they had in fact come to ask his permission. 
The enraged naga continued to glare down at the trio, and the 
priest begged him not to be angry and praised him for being 
so adroit at shape shifting. "Can you also become very small?" 
the priest asked. Karkotak showed off by becoming the size of 
a single hair, whereupon the priest captured him in a pot, cast 
a spell, and subdued the spirit. Karkotak, helpless but 
impressed, said that he now realized how far superior in clev-
erness was humankind. The naga then swore allegiance and 
offered to aid the three travelers in any way he could. 
Off went the quartet until they reached an impassable 
river. Karkotak shape-shifted into a very long bridge and the 
trio walked across his body safely to the far bank. After several 
days the group found themselves at the borders of Kamrup. 
There they camped and prepared whatever was necessary to

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make themselves acceptable to the Yaksas. The priest created 
a thousand goats, a thousand sheep, and a thousand buffaloes 
by throwing soybeans on the ground and transforming them 
with special incantations. The animals were fabricated in 
great quantity because the Yaksas were known to be meat 
eaters with excessive appetites. 
The king then asked Karkotak to go on ahead, make him-
self tiny, enter the body of the Yaksa king, make him ill, and 
stay there until they arrived so they could cure him. Karkotak 
did exactly as he was instructed and the demon king soon grew 
very sick. Nothing could cure the pain in his stomach. When 
the king, the priest, and the farmer arrived in Kamrup, they 
announced that they were physicians from Nepal. The des-
perate Yaksas pleaded, "Please help our king, for he is dying!" 
The trio huddled over the sick Yaksa, and on the fifth day after 
the three began "treatment" with herbs, Karkotak left the 
king's body, according to plan. 
The Yaksas had an exuberant and festive celebration. 
They ate all the animals the travelers had manufactured and 
drank vast amounts of wine to wash them down. After the 
feast, the grateful demon king asked what he could give them 
in return for their cure. They asked for Prince Lokanatha, the 
youngest son of the queen of the Yaksas. This request was met 
with howls of outrage, and the queen was beside herself with 
fury. Her eyes flamed, and it became immediately apparent 
that it was far too dangerous to remain in the demons' king-
dom for another moment. 
They escaped. But outside the borders, in hiding, they 
made a new plan — they would capture the spirit of the 
prince and take it home with them. Elaborate rituals were per-
formed, then Karkotak was sent back to the castle with a bit 
of magical soot to smear upon the forehead of the child. 
Immediately, the spirit of Prince Lokanatha was seized with 
an urge to travel. The Yaksa doctor was called in, but the prince 
was so possessed that his spirit left its body in the night and 
flew in the form of a sacred bee to the hidden travelers. 
The next morning, in the castle, the Yaksa queen discov-
ered Prince Lokanatha's dispirited, lifeless body. She woke all

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the demons and they flew after the king, priest, and farmer. 
They retrieved the spirit of the prince, placed it back in his 
Yaksa body, and then viciously attacked the travelers who 
barely escaped with their lives, went back into hiding, and 
wondered what to do next. 
The king thought of waging war, but because of the 
probable loss of lives on both sides, he decided war was not the 
solution. The priest called upon the deities of Kathmandu who 
intercede against Evil. The deities arrived and went with the 
quartet to speak to the Yaksas. Finally, they were able to sub-
due the demons, and after many more transformations on the 
road back, the fertile spirit of Lokanatha, also called 
Karunamaya, the god of rain and grain, was at last brought to 
Nepal, and the farmer planted rice to feed the people. Thus 
was the great nurturing and compassionate spirit seized with-
out bloodshed from the land of the demons, where the brave 
travelers ventured to find him. And since those days, rain and 
rice and peace and happiness came to the Valley of Nepal. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
It should be noted that in the story of Bungadyo, the suc-
cessful wresting of the Buddhist god of compassion, who is 
known by many names, from the midst of a demonic realm 
was possible because it was done for unselfish purpose and car-
ried out with compassion.

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The White Monkey, a remarkable twin of the Tikoloshe of 
South Africa (see him in Water), is a shen denizen of the 
mountains of China. He is huge and malevolent, and like 
many mountain demons, he lives in a cavern or cave. The 
White Monkey's primary interest is stealing women. He has 
the advantage of being taller than the South African species 
and virtually unstoppable. 
L O R E 
One time a traveler and his attractive wife were passing 
through unknown territory when the husband was warned 
that a local shen had been actively kidnapping females. 
Alarmed, the man hid his wife in an inner chamber of the 
house they were staying in, and he carefully guarded her each 
night; even so, the White Monkey managed to abduct her. The 
distraught husband went searching for her everywhere and 
traveled farther and farther into the mountains for weeks, to 
no avail. He was about to give up when he suddenly came upon 
what looked like a huge stone door. He knocked, and the door 
was opened by a fairy, who told him upon inquiry that his wife 
was held prisoner by the White Monkey who lived within. The 
man was instructed to come back the next day to the cave's 
entrance and to bring with him a very large supply of wine, 
ten dogs, and some strong rope. 
The man returned with all these items and gave them to 
the fairy. Soon the White Monkey devoured the dogs, an obvi-
ous treat, and went on to drink all the wine, until he was in a 
stupor. The fairy then bound the creature with rope and called 
in the husband. He reported later that what he saw was an 
enormous white monkey bound up on a vast bed. Enraged, he 
killed the creature at once, and his harem of human females 
were set free. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
It is said that firecrackers are effective in routing this 
species and thus perhaps averting an incident like the one 
recounted here. 
T H E W H I T E 
M O N K E Y 
China

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Midway on our life's journey, I found myself 
In dark woods, the right road lost. To tell 
About these woods is hard — so tangled and 
rough 
And savage that thinking of it now, I feel 
The old fear stirring: death is hardly more bitter. 
DANTE, THE INFERNO, CANTO I 
TRANS. ROBERT PINSKY 
T
he Forest, just a step beyond the boundaries of civilization, 
holds danger and mystery, wild animals that lurk in the 
thickets and secret paths that lead to invisible hosts. Sylvan 
spirits and myriad forms of fertile life breathe as trunks creak 
and a constant rustle, perhaps only the wind, alerts the trav-
eler to the fact that he is never alone. 
Hunters and cowherds on the edge of the woods since 
antiquity have often encountered demonic guardian species 
and forest fairies who play under toadstools and ferns. Pliny 
described trees that speak. In Asia blood has been seen oozing 
from felled trees, and in many cultures trees are considered 
either deities or abodes of demons. Night turns the darkness of 
the woods into the roof of the underworld, and as the demons 
emerge, the air becomes thick with them. 
The Forest, which teems with life so vital to humankind, 
can never be cultivated. Cut it down and the consequences are 
soon fatal. Wander in it and risk the danger of getting eter-
nally lost or devoured. The edge of the Forest is always the 
boundary between the wild and the domesticated, the animal 
and the human community. It holds its genius loci, who may 
appear as demonic guardian species of wilderness and wild 
creatures and attack trespassing hunters, mischievous fairies 
who sometimes visit nearby villages, and the many huge man-
eating species that are an ever-present danger to the children 
and domestic animals of the villages. 
The Forest is the favorite site of fairy tales, of ancient

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rites associated with fecundity and with tree worship, of unex-
plained disappearances, of wild encounters and appetites, and 
of transformations, seasonal and personal. It is the haunt for 
libidinous ogres, dwarfs, and satyrs who constantly pursue 
women. It is a raw territory of mostly male predators, flesh-
eaters, and cannibals.

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W H O ' S W H O IN T H E F O R E S T 
PAN 
Greece 
WINDIGO 
Canada 
KURU-PIRA 
Brazil 
BORI 
West Africa 
WOOD-WIVES AND 
SKOGGRA 
Germany and 
Sweden 
RAKSHASAS 
India 
RAVANA 
India 
LESHII 
Russia 
ELOKO 
Zaire 
ONI 
Japan 
KUMBHAKARNA 
India 
KAYERI 
South America 
DODO 
Ghana 
SHEDIM 
(Judaism) 
KITSUNE 
Japan 
KHABANDA 
India

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P A N 
Greece 
Pan ("all," "everything"), the son of Hermes and a nymph of 
Arcadia, is one of the world's ancient spirits, a god of woods 
and pastures, a guardian of flocks and of shepherds who gave 
him offerings of milk, honey, and lamb. He is immediately 
recognizable by his fawn-skin coat, his ruddy complexion, his 
goat ears, horns, beard, legs, and hooves. He carries a curved 
shepherd's staff, and plays his pipes. 
Pan is closely linked with the satyrs, a rough, shaggy, 
goatlike species with demonical natures associated with con-
tinuous orgies. Both Pan and the satyrs are associated 
with the pagan god Dionysus and the bacchanalia. These 
spirits of excess resemble the goatlike shedim and seirim 
(demons shunned by the ancient Jews) and contribute to the

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later image of the Christians' horned, hirsute, goat-hoofed 
Devil. Pan is also linked to the Italian Faunus, a mischievous 
woodland spirit associated with fertility and worshiped in 
ancient Rome; and to Priapus (whom Pan may have 
fathered), a god of fertility from Asia Minor whose symbol 
was the phallus. Altogether Pan, a powerful pagan spirit, is 
profoundly connected to the fecundity of both the woods and 
population. 
L O R E 
Pan, free and untamable, was filled with and driven by 
wild insatiable lust. Though his advances were not infre-
quently rejected, and his nymphs metamorphosed to escape, 
his myriad sexual exploits were sometimes successful. One 
love affair with the nymph Pitys ended unhappily only when 
she was turned into a pine tree. Unremorseful, he pursued 
Echo, and as the nymph ran away from him made such 
hideous noises that a "pan-ic" spread through the forest and 
caused a group of frenzied shepherds to tear Echo apart, leav-
ing only her voice. 
Pan's famous pipes, the Syrinx, are named for another 
unfortunate nymph. Pan pursued the beautiful nymph Syrinx 
through the woods and nearly overtook her when she stopped 
at the water's edge and was transformed into a bundle of water 
reeds. As the wind blew gently through the reeds, there came 
an exquisite sad sound. Pan stood at the water's edge over-
whelmed by his loss and the beauty of the music. Sorrowfully 
he gathered seven reeds and bound them together to create a 
pipe he called Syrinx after his lost love. The seven pipes were 
said to represent the seven spheres and produced sound that 
expressed all the harmonies of the universe. Pan's music could 
be heard all over the woodlands of Arcadia. 
Plutarch wrote that in the reign of Tiberius, a sailor 
heard a mysterious voice call three times: "The Great God Pan 
is dead!" It was supposedly at that very moment that Christ 
was born. 
Pan is never seen in a final battle, and unlike other

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archaic pagan spirits of this Guide, he never was actually van-
quished, just demoted, as his countenance became the Devil's 
own. Pan lives on, and until the last pine (Pitys) tree has been 
cut down, his music will be heard in all forests. Its notes res-
onate in many tales that follow.

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W I N D I G O 
Canada 
The Algonkian Windigo (or Witiko) is a seasonal, subarctic 
man-eating species. During the winter moons when food is 
scarce, there is a fear of the creature. With cadaverous body 
and a face out of an Edvard Munch portrait, highlighted with 
horrid glaring eyes, the Windigo have been described as giants 
with hearts of ice. Many who have been in close proximity to 
them have experienced chills and the sense that their own 
hearts were freezing over. 
The Windigo use trees as their snowshoes and cover vast 
distances in a single step. As they travel from victim to victim, 
blizzards accompany them. Naked and gaunt, the entire 
species stalks the forests of the north in search of human flesh, 
lurking silently in the shadows of trees, tall as the old timbers 
themselves. 
A Windigo has a scream that paralyzes its intended meal 
so that it cannot escape. Once it is upon its prey, a Windigo rips 
out vital organs in seconds. When sated, packs of Windigo 
have been seen playing catch with human skulls. It is a 
remorseless beast that will devour its own family. In the land 
of the Cree and Ojibwa, the Windigo are believed to have once 
been normal human beings who have become possessed can-
nibals. 
The Windigo can infect the human, and therein lies the 
unique power suggested in the double meaning of its name. 
The root word is Algonkian for both "evil spirit" and "canni-
bal," so Windigo describes both a demon and a way of acting 
like one. Any person possessed by this cannibal spirit has lit-
erally become a Windigo and is probably incurable. Some 
people choose this transformation, others happen upon it. The 
latter cases are caused by being bitten, by dreaming of the 
Windigo, or by being involuntarily transformed by a malevo-
lent sorcerer. 
Voluntary Windigo are individuals who go into the for-
est, fast for several days, and offer their flesh freely to the 
species. A Windigo may adopt such a person as its own child.

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W I N D I G O 
The possessed human grows a heart of ice, becomes notably 
hirsute, has a craving for raw human flesh, and behaves like 
the demon itself, although he never attains the full height of 
the supernatural being. 
The earliest sightings of this species are reported by 
Jesuit missionaries in the 1600s. The Hudson Bay Company 
diaries of the 1700s mention the species quite often. 
L O R E 
Once, in the darkest depth of winter, a woman saw a 
father and daughter return to her village alone — without 
the rest of their family. She wondered what had happened to 
the others and became suspicious. She therefore made the 
entrance to her home slippery by pouring water on the thresh-
old until it froze into a high sheet of ice. Then she went to bed. 
But instead of going to sleep she waited tensely with an ax in 
hand for their attempt on her life. Just as she thought, the 
daughter approached at midnight, and the old woman pre-
tended to snore as the Windigo-possessed girl came closer and 
closer. Then, suddenly, just as the girl was about to spring for 
her throat, the old woman raised her ax and killed the crea-
ture. The father, who had been waiting outside, crept in. By 
then the old woman was able to escape and she hid to watch 
what happened next. She witnessed the Windigo-possessed 
father devour the corpse of his own daughter. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
The only known way to avert Windigo possession is to 
throw excrement at the creature. This confuses it enough for 
a small window of escape. If that method doesn't work, the 
next choice is to go immediately to a local shaman. If he can-
not help, the last resort is to kill the possessed person, cut the 
body into pieces, and burn it to kill the spirit so that it does not 
infect others. Some say a silver bullet can also be effective.

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K U R U - P I R A 
Brazil 
The Kuru-pira, a guardian species of the Desana people, also 
known as the boraro because of his distinctive cry, has red eyes 
that glow like burning embers, and jaguarlike fangs. His ears 
stand erect. He is tall, of human shape with a hairy chest and 
huge, pendulous genitals. He has no knee joints, and thus has 
difficulty getting up if he falls. The Kuru-pira can be imme-
diately recognized by his oversize long feet, which always face 
the wrong way. His heels are in front and his toes face the rear. 
Kuru-pira feet are fashioned to deceive: they point in the 
direction that the creature has just come from, leading victims 
directly into his path as they try to avoid him. 
L O R E 
When a Kuru-pira attacks his victim, he emits his dis-
tinctive boraro growl. His roar is similar to that of a jaguar, 
only slightly more prolonged and considerably louder. A 
hunter once heard this chilling sound close by and leapt up a 
tree to observe. He knew the Kuru-pira can kill his victim by 
two methods: his urine is lethal, so he may urinate on his vic-
tim to kill instantly, or he may hold a person tightly until 
crushed. The hunter looked down grimly as he saw that the 
crushing method had been used on his friend, and he watched 
in horror as the Kuru-pira made a small hole in the dead man's 
skull and sucked out the blood and flesh, as one might suck out 
a lobster claw. He watched as the Kuru-pira closed the hole, 
blew up the emptied skin, and ordered the "man" to return 
home. The hunter was shaking with fear, for he knew he was 
next. They had taken too much game. He had warned his 
friend that the Kuru-pira kept careful count of how much 
game a hunter steals. When a hunter kills more than he can 
eat or carry, he puts himself in a dangerous situation, with 
little chance for survival. 
"Boraaro!" sounded again, and the tree branch shook. 
The hunter fell to the ground, and as he crashed he remem-
bered to do the only thing that would save his life: he placed

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his hands in the demon's footprints. The Kuru-pira's legs stiff-
ened and he froze, unable to pursue the hunter, who narrowly 
escaped. The fate of the hunter's friend was different. A shell 
of his former self, possessed by the spirit of the demon, he 
returned with a tobacco offering the next day and henceforth 
lived with the wild animals. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
The Kuru-pira can sometimes be appeased with tobacco 
offerings. Travelers in Brazil report that when they place their 
own hand in the footprint of the demon, its legs will stiffen 
and it will fall. As with many ogre types, the weakness is in 
their knees. One other well-known method is to step in the 
creature's track but face in the opposite direction. This will 
cause the Kuru-pira to lose his way. When followed by a Kuru-
pira, run backward as quickly as possible, looking the demon 
in the face the entire time. It is techniques like this that con-
fuse large, stupid demons worldwide.

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B O R I 
West Africa 
The Bori is a populous species of spirits who reside in various 
habitats of the Hausa people in West Africa. The forest Bori is 
often sighted in human form but with hoofed feet. However, 
Bori tend to shape-shift. They can terrify people by walking 
around headless or slither by like giant pythons, and appear 
occasionally in homes as a husband or a sister, play-acting 
apparently just for fun, until the real human walks in. Most 
people report that a Bori will leave a footprint in ashes like a 
rooster, which is the most foolproof way of discovering an 
impostor table companion. If a Bori is sighted in a group of 
average human beings, he will seem slightly weird and have 
oddly unfocused, dreamy eyes. 
The forest Bori is never vicious unless offended, and with 
continual worship and sacrifice, it can be placated. However, 
a careless act, such ELS spitting or throwing water on a hot fire 
and causing a spark to fly into an invisible Bori, will aggravate 
him. Using a Boris name in vain can make one the focus of 
his malevolent attention. So terrible is the consequence of 
such focus that one prayer specifically implores, "Allah ba su 
ganin nisa" — "God, let their attention be attracted far away 
from me!" 
A Bori, paradoxically, wants to be wanted, and when 
called will travel to his conjuror as quickly as the wind. The 
more his help is requested, the more it will offer assistance 
(at a price). There are certain instances when the help of a Bori 
must be obtained — when building a new house or starting a 
business, for instance, or attempting to heal certain diseases. 
Bori who offer help must be thanked with specific sacrifices. 
Each Bori has its special preferences for fowls, incense, song, 
and colors. It is imperative to remember which Bori likes 
what. 
If a Bori becomes offended and can be neither placated 
nor escaped, its victim will be killed not by a sudden violent 
attack but by a slow sucking away of life force. In some cases 
a victim who feels this wasting away can be helped by a spe-

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cialist with a charm or prayer to avert the specific Bori 
attacker. 
Among the Hausa it is believed that every sickness or 
misfortune is caused by a specific Bori, and that each individ-
ual spirit can be placated through regularly held dances. The 
dances are performed by individuals who are believed to be 
frequently possessed by one or smother Bori. The dances are 
accompanied by music and drums, and a specific song is used 
for each individual Bori who is invited to the dance. The 
dancer then becomes a spokesperson for that specific Bori. 
Over a hundred and fifty Bori guests are danced for at any one 
of these rituals. This is reportedly a good place to sight them 
firsthand. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
Iron repels Bori, so powerfully that even saying the word 
iron a few times will drive them off. Also it should be kept in 
mind that a Bori is a slave to his own name. Once its name is 
discovered, the repetition of it will make the Bori a virtual 
slave to the namer. Incantations with insults can be used to 
drive Bori away, but that is somewhat risky and praise is tra-
ditionally more effective in handling the sensitive Bori.

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The Wood-Wives, a fairy species, can be found in old forests 
and dense groves. Petite and beautifully dressed, with long 
claws, they are often accompanied by violent whirlwinds. So 
intricately connected to the woods are these spirits that it is 
said that if a branch is twisted until the bark comes off, one 
Wood-Wife dies in the forest. 
Hunters are the humans most at risk of attack by the 
Wood-Wives. In heavily infested forests, to get home safely, 
the hunters must first offer up part of their catch. But if pro-
pitiated, like many fairy species, they can be helpful. If, for 
example, a Wood-Wife asks a mortal to fix her broken wheel-
barrow and the task is nicely done, the wood chips that she 
leaves as payment may turn into gold. 
Like many ancient nature spirits, Wood-Wives abhor 
human hubbub: churches with their loud bells, and all 
destructive machinery in the forest, threatens their very exis-
tence. Most idiosyncratically, Wood-Wives detest the use of 
caraway seeds in baked bread. Since they are often lured from 
the forest by the smells of baking, they may approach people 
in their kitchens. It is in the cook's best interest to prepare an 
extra loaf for their visit. But Wood-Wives refuse loaves that 
have been pricked with a fork or punctured with a finger, and 
never accept caraway seeds. One story tells of a Wood-Wife 
who ran through the forest, screaming, "They baked me a car-
away bread, it will bring that house great trouble!" And it did. 
The farmer and his wife soon lost their money and home, and 
fell upon hard times. 
The Swedish Skoggra is almost identical in appearance 
to the Wood-Wife, but she is often sighted in prowl mode. 
When she encounters a lumberjack or hunter, she will often 
attempt to seduce them or, perhaps in a different mood, will 
cause them to lose their way. 
W O O D - W I V E S 
A N D 
S K O G G R A 
Germany and Sweden

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S K O G G R A 
L O R E 
A Skoggra had so enchanted a hunter that he made his 
way nightly into the dangerous woods for a tryst. But with 
each passing day he returned home looking paler, more tor-
mented and haggard, until his friends decided something had 
to be done. They pleaded with him not to succumb, and the 
next night they held him back and struggled with him as the 
forest spirit called and called. They sat on him and held him 
down. 
When he hadn't gone to her by the following night the 
Skoggra came to get him; closer and closer she sidled, calling 
to him as his friends held him tightly. He frothed at the mouth 
and was so out of control that finally his best friend went out 
with a gun and aimed at the spirit. A shot rang out and she fell 
to the ground. Immediately all the other Skoggra manifested 
from the darkness of leaves and branches. They sadly picked 
her up and carried her back into the forest. The man who shot 
her lost his eye, the very one with which he'd found her 
through his target sight. The eye simply vanished. But he felt 
that it was worth the loss to save the life of his friend. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
Herbs such as red verbena and St. John's wort can be used 
liberally to keep these forest spirits at a distance. Anything red, 
being said to be the color of the devil, repels. Steel and iron 
are often carried in the pocket to keep fairies away. Some say 
their retreat at the sight of these metals represents their atti-
tude toward "progress" in general, and that as the centuries 
pass and industrialization encroaches, the species moves far-
ther and farther into the small remaining pockets of wilder-
ness.

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R A K S H A S A S 
India 
The Rakshasas (Night Wanderers) is a species of asuras 
(Hindu demons) who inhabit the forest of Lanka and appear 
in every conceivable shape and form but tend to extremes in 
height — they are either unusually tall or elfin. Many 
Rakshasas have potbellies and animal heads — elephant, 
horse, and snake heads being the most prevalent — with 
fanglike, razor-sharp, protruding teeth. Some are beautiful. 
According to other reports, their eyes flame and their tongues 
hang down at great lengths and they have horns. Rakshasas 
sometimes appear in human form, and they generally have 
red hair, huge ears, wide mouths that go virtually from ear to 
ear, and a single arm, eye, or leg — or perhaps three of each, 
never the usual two. 
Rakshasas have been known to devour horses and human

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beings, inhabit and reanimate corpses, and shape-shift into 
birds — vultures and owls, particularly — and, less fre-
quently, dogs, deer, and even men (usually married men with 
the intent of deceiving their wives) and beautiful seductive 
women. They can enter a person by mouth while he is eating 
or drinking and are especially dangerous during pregnancy. 
One type of Rakshasa, known as Pisacas, dwells in the 
town's water supply and cam make people waste away. This 
type is frequently seen hanging about cemeteries because they 
are corpse eaters. They have an exceedingly gaunt look, their 
ribs stick far out, and their hair stands on end, as if they've had 
a bad fright. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
Fire is powerfully effective in Pisacas control. Rakshasas 
generally maintain a state of invisibility but are known to be 
found at places of worship, where they attempt to disrupt 
prayer, as this practice greatly upsets them; thus prayer is use-
ful in driving them off. Some say that calling them "Uncle" 
will stop them in their tracks. However, they are powerful, and 
it was a female Rakshasa!s disruption of the prayers of a holy 
man that resulted in the appearance of awesome Ravana, fea-
tured next.

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R A V A N A 
India 
Ravana, king of all Rakshasas, has ten heads, twenty arms, and 
fiercely burning eyes. Ravana is an almost invulnerable cham-
pion shape shifter, able to take forms as diverse as a rock, a 
corpse, and a puff of smoke. Ravana can break mountains in 
two with his bare hands and can create storms at sea. He is 
known best for his ongoing battle with Rama, the god incar-
nate hero of the Hindu epic, Ramayana. 
L O R E 
When Ravana was born, the universe filled with hideous 
shrieking noises. His mother was the daughter of a demon 
chief, and his father was a saint she had tempted in mid-
prayer. 
Ravana gained power by asceticism and meditation for

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R A V A N A 
thousands of years. When he'd earned enough to ask Brahma 
for a boon, he asked for immortality, which was not granted. 
After some negotiation, he was given protection from all ele-
ments, but he arrogantly scoffed at the idea of needing pro-
tection from human beings. And so Kavana became virtually 
indestructible. For instance, each of his ten heads grow back 
immediately if cut off. But he was not ultimately indestruc-
tible, because he had left a loophole. 
Ravana was a tyrannical boaster and a womanizer, 
impulsively quick to fury and always overconfident. He had a 
huge harem and added to it frequently by seizing women by 
the hair and flying them through the air to his kingdom of 
Lanka. He was a demon who had everything, even a flying 
chariot, but he craved more. He was deeply envious of Rama, 
whose exploits were renowned. 
Rama was a great hero, a god incarnate, living in exile in 
a forest with his faithful wife, Sita. One day Rama encoun-
tered and insulted Ravana's grotesque sister. This was the last 
straw. Ravana set a trap to get Sita alone. He waited until 
Rama was out hunting, and, disguising himself as a beggar, 
approached her hut. She was polite and charitable to him so 
he then revealed himself as the ten-headed handsome demon 
he believed he was. He invited her to go with him to Lanka 
and, with great charm, promised her anything her heart 
desired. When she refused his offer, he seized her by the hair 
and dragged her to his flying chariot. Before Rama returned, 
Sita was in Lanka. 
Sita, the beloved, faithful, and utterly devoted wife of 
Rama, imprisoned in Ravana's palace, steadfastly resisted the 
demon. He tried every way to make himself attractive to her, 
but she ignored him, and wept for Rama. Ravana 
grew 
increasingly bitter with each rejection. He finally threatened 
to devour her whole if she would not succumb, and left her to 
think it over. 
Meanwhile, Rama searched everywhere for Sita. Finally 
his devoted servant, Hanumat (son of the wind god), discov-
ered Sita's whereabouts, assumed the form of a cosmic mon-
key, and in one step crossed over the sea to Lanka. Then,

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110 
shrinking to the size of a tiny monkey, Hanumat sneaked into 
the walled garden to tell Sita that help was on the way. 
Despite the numerous and fearsome Rakshasas who pop-
ulated the forest of Lanka (now Sri Lanka), Hanumat was not 
afraid. He gathered his countless troops of flying monkeys to 
build a bridge of stones across to the island. Rama crossed over 
the bridge into enemy territory and there he waged awesome 
battles against the forces of Kavana. Hanumat and the troops 
destroyed the royal gardens, threw boulders, and set fire to the 
kingdom. There was much shape shifting, illusion, gore, 
smoke, and roaring until finally Kavana and Rama faced off. 
As Rama's arrows struck Kavana!s ten heads they each popped 
right back and the demon roared triumphantly. Finally, Rama, 
using a supernatural arrow of the god Vishnu, struck the 
demon in the heart, which was not indestructible. And that 
was how Kavana met his prophesied end by the hands of a 
mortal. 
It wasn't over forever, of course. Kavana was only living 
out one of three demon lives as punishment for a past-life deed 
he had committed when he was a celestial gatekeeper and 
refused entrance to the sons of Brahma because they were not 
properly dressed. (See another incarnation of Kavana as 
Hiranyanakashipu in Domicile.)

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L E S H I I 
Russia 
The Leshii (les is "forest" in Russian) is a guardian species that 
is generally thought to be the genius loci of the forest — an 
ancient spirit and a tricky shape shifter. The Leshii have been 
seen as a tall man covered from head to foot with black hair, 
worn uncombed and wild. He has also been seen with cloven-
hoofed feet, a tail, small horns (like the Devil), carrying a club 
or whip, indicating his status as master of the forest and all 
animals within it. He will occasionally take the shape of a 
bear, a bird, or more commonly a wolf, but sometimes a friend 
or even a mushroom. When the Leshii appears as an ordinary 
peasant his shoes will be always worn on the wrong feet. And 
his eyes glow. 
The Leshii is endlessly mischievous. He removes sign-
posts. He calls out to travelers in familiar voices and lures 
them into unknown parts of the forest until they are hope-
lessly lost. He has been known to appear as a creature tiny as 
a blade of grass, or become a gigantic ancient tree. In the lat-
ter case, a run-in with a Leshii leg will seem at first like bump-
ing into a sturdy, hair-covered tree root. The spirit is volatile 
and at that point may decide to help out or tickle his prey to 
death. He may also be heard weeping when a favorite tree is 
felled. 
Russians who have reported sightings are people who 
routinely use the forest for work or passage. Hunters, wood-
cutters, and cowherds often see the Leshii. They all leave him 
a little something for protection, and frequently cowherds 
make pacts with the species so as to avert harm to their herds. 
L O R E 
The Leshii often keeps grazing cows from wandering 
too far into the forest and falling prey to a hungry wolf. 
Sometimes the cowherds make "special arrangements" with 
the Leshii to keep their cattle safe. They take off the cross 
they wear around their necks and hand it to the forest spirit, 
then they swear loyalty to the Leshii and give him their

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112 
communion wafer instead of swallowing it. These pacts cause 
the cowherd to be looked upon as a person with occult pow-
ers. Once a cowherd who lived on a remote farm innocently 
showed kindness to a Leshii disguised as a passing traveler. 
He allowed him to spend the night, gave him supper, and 
refused payment for the lodging. The Leshii 
offered a 
"herdsman" as protection, telling the cowherd that his cows 
would be safe from then on, all he needed to do was drive 
them out from the gate in the morning and wait for their 
return at night. He warned him never to go out to their graz-
ing ground. This went on for years until the cowherd's curios-
ity got the better of him. When he got to the edge of the 
forest, he saw an extremely tall old woman acting as herds-
man, and when he said good morning to her, she nodded, 
shrank to nothing, and then vanished before his eyes. 
Other tales reveal that the Leshii does steal babies who 
are left by themselves when their parents are out picking 
mushrooms. Even small children who wander off may be 
picked up by the Leshii and not returned — at least for a long 
while. In one story, a baby stolen from the cradle was much 
later returned as a favor. She had grown to be a beautiful 
young woman and the parents were grateful. This was an 
unusual case. Most reports are dire. The Leshii victim is often 
a woman who goes to the forest alone or whose husband is 
away. One such young woman was walking in the woods and 
found a beautiful necklace. Without crossing herself, she 
pocketed it, and later put it on. She heard a voice say, "You 
have something of mine." But she did not heed the message. 
Soon the Leshii himself appeared in the shape of a man and 
said, "Since you did not return what you found, now take me 
too." From that night on he appeared whenever her husband 
was away, and soon she began to waste away until finally she 
died. In other cases, when the woman is held captive in the 
woods, she returns mute, wild, and covered with moss. 
D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
When encountering the Leshii in the Russian woods, one 
must immediately turn all clothing inside out. Put the left

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L E S H I I 
shoe on the right foot and the right shoe on the left. This usu-
ally outsmarts the species. The sign of the cross is always effec-
tive. If he does not vanish, a fire will often work. The Leshii 
fears fire. Drawing a magic circle around the campfire is also 
said to be helpful. A porridge offering, such as kasha, is highly 
recommended and blini can work at times to avert trouble. 
The eccentric spirit also will leave laughing if a good joke 
is told. 
To conjure a Leshii, take several branches of young 
birches and make a circle with their tips pointing to the cen-
ter. Enter. Face east. With one foot on the stump of a tree, say, 
"Uncle Leshii, ascend. Do not come as wolf or as a fire, but 
come in human form." The Leshii will appear for work — but 
remember, its service is given only in exchange for your soul.

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E L O K O 
Zaire 
The Eloko is a people-eating dwarf of the Nkundo who lives 
in hollow trees in the dense rain forest of central Zaire. The 
Eloko is hairless but is covered with a coat of grass that grows 
over his face and body; his clothing is made of leaves. Eloko 
eyes are like fire. They have snouts, clawed fingers, and 
although very small, their jaws can open wide enough to con-
sume an entire human being. Their remarkable power is in 
their music. The Eloko bewitches its victims by ringing tiny 
magical bells while walking — camouflaged — through the 
forest. The bell is also associated with the god of death. The 
Eloko may have originated as one of his retinue. 
L O R E 
Once a hunter brought his wife to his hut in the woods, 
but had to leave her there to return briefly to his village. He 
warned, "If you hear a bell, do not answer, whatever you do, 
for if you listen to the bells, you will die." With that he left. 
All day the wife sat alone and wary in the dense, dark for-
est, silent until just past twilight, when she heard the exquis-
ite sound of delicate bells. Their music grew slowly, coming 
closer, filling her ears and the air all around with an irre-
sistible ringing, until at last she could no longer control her-
self, and called out: "I am here. Come here and get me!" 
The Eloko immediately appeared, tiny and green with 
leaves and grass. "You called to me," he said, "and I came for 
you." The poor woman was delighted to see the leafy creature 
who had bewitched her with his bells. She cooked a large meal 
of fish and bananas and graciously offered it to him. The Eloko 
said he could not eat the food because he ate only human flesh. 
"Give me part of you to eat," he commanded. "You are a big 
and delicious woman." 
The enchanted woman agreed and gave the Eloko a piece 
of her arm. He roasted her flesh over the fire and ate it quickly, 
then he vanished. The woman, in terrible pain, covered her 
wound with leaves. When her husband returned he found her

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E L O K O 
lying on the ground and moaning and asked what had hap-
pened. She said only that she had a sore, but begged him not 
to take her bandages off. 
Again, when daylight came, the man had to leave his 
wife in the forest alone. Again she heard the bells, and again 
called out to the Eloko. He appeared instantly and she was 
happy. She offered him fish, but he asked for one of her but-
tocks. Obediently the woman gave her flesh to him and he dis-
appeared. The woman's pain was intolerable and she cried out 
in anguish. When her husband came home he warned her that 
she would die if she remained there, but she told him to go 
away. "You are a fool," he told her. Then the husband took his 
weapons and pretended to set out, but he hid nearby. 
Soon came the bewitching bells and the Eloko appeared 
again, but this time the husband crept close to the hut and shot 
an arrow at the Eloko just as the creature was about to take the 
woman's liver. As the Eloko was struck by the arrow, it caused 
him to slip and fall over the woman, and its knife killed her 
instantly. The man threw a spear through the body of the 
Eloko, and then cut off its head. He carried it into the village 
to show everybody what had really happened in the forest to 
his poor enchanted wife. 
D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
Although certain amulets and fetishes may avert the 
spell of the Eloko, only professional hunters with magic pow-
ers can safely travel through the forest. The bells of the Eloko 
are impossible to resist. This cautionary tale is a warning 
never to leave a wife alone in the forest and for all ordinary 
people to remain in the familiar, civilized village.

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ONI 
Japan 
The Oni is a splendid species, and probably the most popular 
in Japan. His body is pink or blue, his face basically human but 
grotesquely flat, with a mouth that runs ear to ear and a third 
eye. He has three toes and three fingers on each hand. The 
fingers and toes end in talons. He often walks, but he can fly 
and he has horns. Oni range in size but maintain these fea-
tures. 
Excessive in their behavior, all Oni drink and eat too 
much, randomly abduct young women, and are revoltingly 
uncouth. 
These demons are always present when disaster strikes, 
and are also associated with disease. They bear the souls of the 
wicked to the underworld. On the last day of the year a special 
ceremony called the Oni-yarahi is held to expel the Oni and 
the misfortune that they represent from the coming year.

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L O R E 
Once a sweet young bride was abducted by an Oni on her 
way to her own wedding. He manifested as a dark cloud and 
when the sky had cleared the bride had vanished. He brought 
her to his mansion for a wife. The girl's mother bravely went 
forth to find her daughter, and soon, with the help of a priest-
ess, she located the home of the hideous Oni. When the 
mother was certain the Oni was out, she knocked on the 
castle door. The girl was overjoyed to see her mother again and 
embraced her, gave her dinner, then hid her in a massive stone 
chest. The Oni soon arrived home and had a fit of temper 
when he smelled a human on his premises. The quick-
thinking girl placated him with some improvised news: "I am 
pregnant!" she announced. Elated, the Oni called for all his 
dogs to be killed as a feast and for a lot of sake. He got roaring 
drunk, and finally passed out. As he snored, the girl unlocked 
the stone box and fled with her mother. The women took a 
boat from the Oni's supplies and started to cross the river. 
The Oni awakened to find his wife gone. He discovered 
that the boat was missing, and in a monstrous fury strode to 
the edge of the water. He saw the women disappearing into 
the distant horizon. He did what any Oni would do under the 
circumstances: he began to drink the river dry. The small boat 
that was carrying the mother and daughter started traveling 
back to the mouth of the Oni as if on the end of a long strand 
of noodle. In desperation the two women prayed to the priest-
ess for help. They were answered by a quick piece of tactical 
advice. They turned to face the nearing shore and together 
they lifted their kimonos and exposed their privates. This 
completely unexpected sight caused the Oni to laugh uproar-
iously until all the thousands of gallons of water spewed from 
his mouth back into the river. He rolled around in a fit of hilar-
ity while the little boat sped off on the rising waters and car-
ried the women to safety. 
D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
This Oni story demonstrates a childlike weakness in the 
impulsive, larger-than-life demon varieties. Despite their

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great powers, they are so preoccupied with satisfying excessive 
bodily needs that their intelligence is diminished. They 
remain vulnerable to human trickery and ingenuity. Shocking 
an Oni is a good way out of a bad situation. They can also be 
given tasks, such as counting holes in a sieve, that keep them 
distracted and occupied while the victim escapes. Throwing 
dry peas about in four directions, done at the Oni-yarahi cer-
emony, chases the Oni away.

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K U M B H A K A R N A 
India 
Kumbhakarna, the gluttonous Rakshasa brother of Ravana, 
standing 420,000 meters high, is the tallest known demon 
in the world. His colossal stature alone would have made 
him invincible, but fortunately for humankind 
when 
Kumbhakarna 
opened his mouth to ask for a boon from 
Brahma, he was tongue-tied midsentence by a goddess. All he 
could manage to say was: "I w a n t . . . to sleep!" 
All the gods breathed a sigh of relief and Brahma hap-
pily agreed to his request. He arranged for the mighty 
Kumbhakarna to sleep for six months at a stretch and awaken 
for only one day at a time. Whenever Kumbhakarna awakens, 
he is naturally ravenous. Like a cosmic bear who has been 
hibernating, the demon eats everybody and everything any-
where in his neighborhood (which covers a wide territory). He 
can eat a city's supply of food in a gulp along with most of its 
citizens. His drinking habits consume the produce of thou-
sands of vineyards. 
L O R E 
In the forest of Lanka, Ravana needed his brother's help 
to fight Rama in his last epic battle, so he sent his army in 
to awaken Kumbhakarna. They fed him herds of cattle and 
rivers of wine before he would even stand up. Finally the 
demon yawned loudly, stretched, stood, and was ready for 
battle, but he was still hungry. He swallowed many troops 
of Hanumat's army (they were all delicious flying monkeys) 
before Rama was able even to wound him. So powerful 
and brute a force was Kumbhakarna 
that he was able to 
go on fighting even after he'd been cut to shreds by Rama. 
Only small, torn remnants of his limbs endured, but 
the fierce body parts hailed damage upon the forces of 
Good. Finally Rama sliced Kumbhakarna!s head off with his

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sacred arrow and that was the end of the vast and gluttonous 
sleeper. 
(At least it was for this lifetime. He and his brother 
Ravana have one more cycle to go as demons for acting too 
hastily as bouncers at the celestial gate before they are free. 
See Hiranyanakashipu in Domicile.)

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K A Y E R I 
South America 
The Kayeri is a seasonal species of the Cuiva people, best 
observed in the rainy months and generally dormant in sun-
shine. It wears a blue-green hat, sometimes yellow, and when 
in the shape of a human male is quite tall and strong and has 
two wives. Kayeri live under the ground in deep caves and rise 
to the earth's surface through the holes made by ants. All 
mushrooms in the forest are aspects of Kayeri, as Eire ficus ten-
drils, the agouti, and the unkuaju plant. 
Kayeri usually can be found hanging about the base of 
tall trees. They eat nothing but cows, which they chase at 
night through the fields. When farmers complain of missing 
cows, it is said that a Kayeri has taken them home to eat under 
the earth with his two wives. 
Whenever a Kayeri is killed, all the others become very 
upset, and when the beating of sticks against trees is heard, 
that means something has angered them. It is said that the 
Kayeri's distinctive cry is: "Mu, mu, mu." 
L O R E 
Once there was a man who was about to set off on a hunt. 
His two daughters begged to go with him until finally he con-
sented, and they set off together. As they walked into the for-
est, the girls laughed and made a lot of noise. The father 
warned them to be quiet as there were a number of ant holes 
on the path, which could mean there were Kayeri about. They 
walked on and on in search of deer until the girls grew tired 
and decided to return to camp. They bid their father good-bye, 
and started back. "Beware of the Kayeri," he warned, for the 
demon was known for his lust and particularly for abducting 
very young women. 
After a short time, the father's dog managed to catch a 
deer, and he cut off the best parts and carried them home. 
When he arrived, he asked his wife where the girls were. The 
wife said, "They have not yet returned." The man, suspecting 
the worst, ran back where he'd left them, and there he heard

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a cry in the distance. "That must be my daughters screaming!" 
he realized, and headed quickly in the direction of the 
screams. 
Sure enough, the Kayeri was walking west with the girls 
thrown over his shoulder. The girls scratched, bit, and poked 
him to no avail. Then the girls saw their father, and he sig-
naled to them to cover the Kayeri's eyes. He then shot the 
demon in the kidneys with an arrow tipped with bone. The 
Kayeri dropped the girls, screamed "Mu, mu, mu!" and 
jumped into the river and turned into a stone. All around the 
father and his daughters came a terrible sound: a host of 
Kayeri were beating trees with sticks. The human family ran 
for their lives and made it safely to camp to report this cau-
tionary tale. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
Beware the Kayeri in rainy season, as the father told his 
daughters. Be alert wherever ant holes seem conspicuously 
abundant, and as a weapon, carry a special arrow tipped with 
bone.

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DODO 
Ghana 
The Dodo is a rapacious male species of the Hausa people that 
hides in trees waiting to pounce on unsuspecting forest trav-
elers. He can take any shape, but is often sighted as a snake, or 
an animal with a keen sense of smell, sometimes even a giant 
covered with long hair. He is always ravenously hungry for 
human flesh. Some believe the Dodo is the spirit of a dead man 
who vengefully prowls the forest grabbing living mortals. 
L O R E 
Once there were two women who were at a stream fetch-
ing water. One woman was pregnant, and the other, out of 
envy, threw dirt into her pot while her back was turned. The 
spiteful woman left, and the pregnant woman found her jug 
much too heavy to lift. Just then a Dodo came by and offered 
help. She accepted gratefully. He told her that if her child were 
a boy it would be his friend, but if it were a girl it would be his 
wife. The woman, eager to get her jug home and desperate for 
help, agreed to his conditions. 
Later the woman gave birth to a girl, and her rival went 
and told the Dodo. He waited. The girl grew up and a mar-
riage was arranged. The promise to the demon was forgotten. 
But on the wedding day, the rival went to the Dodo and told 
him what was going on. The Dodo set off for the wedding, and 
when he arrived he announced he had come for his promised 
wife. Ashamed, the poor mother had to explain the debt to her 
husband. The husband asked, "Whose horse is this?" and, as 
it belonged to the wife, he said, "Give it to the Dodo." The 
Dodo took the horse and ate it whole, but he still demanded 
the bride. 
The husband then offered his wife's cattle and the Dodo 
swallowed them whole. They gave the Dodo all their food, but 
that was not enough. "Have the guests!" the husband cried. 
And the demon did, but still he demanded the bride. The rav-
enous Dodo ate everyone, including the father. Alone, the vir-
tuous young bride trembled and cried out for help. A knife fell

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from above, and naturally the demon ate it, cutting himself in 
half. All the guests, her father and mother, the cattle, and the 
horse came out, as well as the bridegroom, and the girl was 
happily married after all. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
The only two things that can stop a Dodo are running 
water, which it cannot cross, and a deus ex machina like the 
one the bride produced.

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S H E D I M 
(Judaism) 
The Shedim is a hairy and horned wild species of Jewish 
demons. They are said in the Talmud to eat and drink like 
human beings and have basically human features, but with 
lolling tongues and wide mouths. (Compare the mazzikin, 
who are often invisible and always harmful, and the lilin, who 
are winged; see Lilith in Domicile.) The Shedim are referred 
to in the Bible as unclean spirits and were later relegated in 
folklore to woods and various other uninhabited places. 
L O R E 
Once in a small village in Russia lived a hunchback who 
could no longer stand living with his mean, hunchbacked twin 
brother and so set out on his own. He found himself in the for-
est alone, and since he was tired and it was very late, he lay 
down to sleep. At about midnight a loud commotion nearby 
woke him up and he saw a large party of Shedim dancing and 
making a great noise. 
As soon as the Shedim saw him, they grabbed him and 
pulled him into their wild dance. Scared, he did exactly as they 
did, making the same sounds and attempting the same leaps 
and wicked steps. They were delighted and invited him back. 
But when they sensed his hesitation, they demanded a pledge. 
He offered to leave various items of clothing or possessions, 
but they would have none of it. "Give us your hump," they 
said in unison. Then, with no more fuss, they took it and dis-
appeared. The man was so pleased to be humpless that he 
proudly walked back to his village to show off his new 
physique. His envious twin brother demanded to know how 
he had gotten rid of his hump, so he recounted the tale. 
The twin brother set out to do exactly the same thing. He 
found the forest, lay down to rest, and waited for the dancing 
Shedim to begin their festivities. Midnight came and so did 
they. He joined them and skipped, leapt, and kicked and yelled 
as had his twin. Again they were delighted. They said, you 
kept your word, and they returned his pledge. When they had

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vanished the twin found himself with a hump on his back and 
now another on his chest! 
In Japan a nearly identical encounter was reported: Once 
there lived a good old man who had a large wen on his cheek 
that was quite disfiguring. He went off into the woods one day 
to cut some firewood, but it began to rain, and he sought shel-
ter in a hollow tree until the storm passed. It rained for a long 
time, and then it was nightfall when suddenly there arrived, 
close by, an entire pack of Oni. 
They were horned, fanged, and hairy, of various sizes and 
shapes, and all grotesque with their usual three eyes and three 
toes apiece. He was relieved that they didn't see him in his hid-
ing place. Soon they began a rowdy evening of dancing and 
demonic noisemaking. They drank too much and feasted glut-
tonously and danced some more and were so absorbed in their 
activities that the man was caught up in their high spirits. He 
went out to join them and executed some amazing high kicks 
and twirls. The demons were favorably impressed. "Come 
back tomorrow night," they insisted, and to be sure, they 
demanded he leave a pledge till then. They took his wen and 
sent him home. 
He was handsome again. Word of what had happened 
immediately spread around town. Now, his next-door neigh-
bor, a mean and envious type, also had a wen, and of course he 
decided to copy his wenless friend's adventure. So he did. And 
the Oni showed up and he joined their dance. But he was as 
untalented a dancer as he was mean and envious, so the 
demons were disgusted with this boring, clumsy performance. 
"Here," they said. "Take your pledge wen back and don't ever 
return!" The nasty neighbor now had two wens, one on either 
cheek. And the forest demons had vanished. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
Usually spitting three times will drive away the Shedim, 
and also making a gesture known as "to fig" (bending the 
thumb and inserting it between index and second finger, 
then making a closed fist) will powerfully repel and infuri-
ate the Shedim (but can provoke retaliatory gestures). Both

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Shedim and Oni usually show merciful vulnerability to 
human trickery. 
Usually it is best not to play with Others, and joining a 
fairy ring almost always means never going home again. 
Eating food in the Other World also makes a return trip impos-
sible, yet in these stories the human travelers seem somehow 
immune to the fate of dancing and drinking encounters. The 
focus in these tales (well known in many varieties throughout 
Europe) is on the nature of the human visitors. Motive mat-
ters. The goodhearted and guileless disarm the demons and 
exit in much better shape than the malicious or miserly.

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K I T S U N E 
Japan 
The Kitsune are wild fox demons known to do terrible mis-
chief, to possess humans, and to take their shapes. In fact, the 
Kitsune is rarely seen in its original shape, but often appears 
as a bewitching young woman. It shape-shifts by a stroke of 
its fire-shooting tail. It then puts on a human skull, turns 
around, and bows to the Big Dipper. If its skull does not fall 
off, it turns into a beautiful maiden, its most successful form. 
It is a wanton animal and will in time deplete the energy of 
its victim and go on to the next. The Kitsune came by way of 
China, where it is called Huli jing (see Domicile) and is con-
sidered a lewd, canny supernatural creature capable of great 
damage. Long ago some mischief makers went around cutting 
off women's hair at night. This act was attributed to the

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Kitsune, and from then on foxes were believed to cut women's 
hair when assuming their shape — perhaps as some sort of 
pledge. They are also associated with shaving men's heads as 
pranks. 
L O R E 
One gentleman of fifty came upon a group of captivating 
females in a restaurant and joined them to drink sake. He left 
with one, spent the night with her, and when he awoke the 
next morning, she had vanished. He realized that the entire 
group had been foxes and that he'd been targeted because of 
his own lascivious nature. But it was too late. He wasted away 
and died thirty days later. In other tales the dinner date drinks 
too much wine and reverts to her fox shape, leaving her escort 
shocked but safe. 
So widespread is the mischief of the troublesome Kitsune 
that there is an annual festival called Kitsune-okuri (fox-
expelling) that takes place in Totomi province on January 
fourteenth. A mountain priest leads a procession of villagers, 
who each carry straw foxes and straw dolls to the mountain 
outside town and there bury the straw foxes. The ceremony is 
believed to avert all Kitsune pranks (such as their well-known 
habit of using human voices to lure wayfarers and casting 
spells over people) for the coming year. 
The Kitsune have engendered many expressions, and 
perhaps the most well known is Kitsune-no-yomeiri 
(fox's 
wedding), which describes the aberrant phenomenon of rain 
occurring during brilliant sunshine. It is said that any time 
this sight occurs, a fox bride is going through the woods to the 
house of her fox groom. 
Another eerie sight is Kitsune-bi (fox fire). It is said to be 
caused by a mysterious emanation, like a fireball that the fox 
breathes through his mouth or creates with his magic tail, or 
perhaps by a group of torch-bearing foxes leading a wedding 
procession of foxes. The light appears at twilight and then sim-
ply vanishes. The most extraordinary of all demonic fox pow-
ers is Kitsune-tsuki (fox possession; see Psyche).

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Note: The Kitsune spirits are not related to the white 
foxes who serve Inari (god of rice). The white foxes, in-
visible to mortals, are messengers for the god of rice and 
appear as good servants of this god in all depictions of Inari 
shrines.

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K A B H A N D A 
India 
Kabhanda is a Rakshasa of uncommon appearance in the 
Hindu epic Ramayana. Due to a fight with the god Indra, he 
was dealt such a terrible blow that his head was driven down 
into his torso. In the same battle Indra took another swipe and 
cut off his legs. So Kabhanda appears as an enormous, barrel-
shaped, hair-covered entity. He has eight arms, each one mile 
in length, and he walks around on them in spider fashion. His 
face is located mid-torso, where his wide, fanged, typical 
Rakshasa mouth grimaces from his belly, and his one eye 
stares menacingly from mid-chest. His body ends at his shoul-
ders and he has no neck. 
L O R E 
The hero Rama was en route to Lanka to rescue his wife, 
Sita, from the palace of the demon Ravana. He was just about 
ready to leave the forest when he ran into Kabhanda. The 
enormous barrel-shaped creature slithered toward him like a 
huge spider and blocked his path, rearing up and peering men-
acingly out from his belly at the hero. Unafraid, Rama 
attacked him and gravely wounded him. Kabhanda 
then 
weakly pleaded with Rama for a favor: he begged Rama to 
burn him alive. Rama granted his request. Instantly, from the 
ashes, Kabhanda rose to his next life as a good spirit. He gra-
ciously returned the favor Rama had done for him by releas-
ing him from a life as a demon. They left the woods together 
and went to Lanka. In his new form and life, he aided the hero 
Rama in his final battle with the terrifying Ravana. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
This transformation is unusual in its immediacy, but it 
expresses the potential for good inherent in many supernat-
ural demonic spirits and is typical of many Hindu demons who 
can serve out a lifetime as asuras warring with the gods and 
then in another become gods warring with demons.

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D E S E R T

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One often meets men in the African deserts who 
belong to quite a peculiar human species and who 
suddenly disappear from sight. 
PLINY, NATURAL 
HISTORY, 
VII, 2 
T
he Desert is vast, inhospitable territory — traditionally 
referred to as wasteland or wilderness — with no fixed 
signposts, and frequent mirages that make for difficult travel-
ing. Dunes eerily shift, sculpting a transient landscape where 
past and present can be buried in a sudden sandstorm. It is a 
habitat of extremes where space and time as we know it are 
erased; map and compass are often useless; and the human 
traveler feels awe, intense dread, and amazement. 
Desert spirits are as plentiful as grains of sand and have 
lived through the millennia without any regard for 
humankind. They imbue each rock and plant of this archaic 
strata. Many were the first beings, here long before people, or 
Good and Evil, and they continue in a nondual universe of 
their own. In Aboriginal lore, Dreamtime beings traveled here 
and their energies remain, creating a map of sacred places for 
those people who came after. In Native American lore the 
ancestral spirits also formed the geography of sites where cer-
emonies are still performed. Ancient nature deities were 
buried here by later peoples who occupied the landscape, and 
powerful demons, devouring spirits, and tormentors were 
banished in antiquity to desert wilderness. 
The mysterious nature of the Desert, with its unpre-
dictability, challenge, and power, is reflected in or perhaps 
embodied by its demonic population of exotic djinn, whose 
intriguing tales entertain nomadic peoples. Entire invisible, 
prefabricated spirit cities can suddenly appear and just as 
suddenly vanish. Other demons manifest as natural phe-
nomena such as sandstorms. Many call out in familiar voices 
and lure the traveler from the caravan, then provide a ghoul-
ish ending. 
For visionaries who have deliberately walked through 
the desert wilderness, it is the site of their most power-

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ful encounters. It is here Jesus was tempted by Satan, and 
St. Anthony assailed by demonic hordes for twenty years. 
For all travelers to this most ancient place, the journey 
requires formidable strength, preparation, and spiritual 
power.

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WHO'S WHO IN THE DESERT 
SUREM 
Sonoran Desert 
SET 
Sahara Desert 
AZAZEL 
Judean Wilderness 
IBLIS 
Arabian Desert 
DJINN 
Arabian Desert 
SHAITAN 
Arabian Desert 
GHOUL 
Arabian Desert 
DEVALPA 
Arabian Desert 
MIMI 
Arnhem Land, Australia 
ST. ANTHONY'S 
DEMONS 
Sahara Desert 
PALIS 
Arabian Desert 
MAMU 
Great Sandy Desert, Australia 
AHRIMAN 
Iranian Desert 
NAMARRGON 
Arnhem Land, Australia 
HO'OK 
Sonoran Desert 
SATAN 
Negev

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S U R E M 
Sonoran Desert 
The Surem, about three feet in height, are considered to be the 
precursors of the Yaqui people. The Surem were nomads who 
did not know sickness or death and who could communicate 
with animals and plants, with which they lived peacefully in 
the wilds. The little people moved about and carried a lake 
with them, rolled up like a carpet, and whenever they needed 
water or fish, they would unroll the lake and fish in it. The 
time during which they lived this way was called the yoania 
an ancient, nondual, unitary world when all being was psy-
chically interconnected, an enchanted time before the Spanish 
came, a time that preceded Christianity. 
The Surem can still be found today living in a concealed 
parallel universe that remains in the yoania, an "uncivilized" 
world that exists in wilderness, in wastelands, and in the 
sacred tale of the Talking Tree, which is still told at certain 
festivals. 
L O R E 
The Surem were a peaceful people living in ancient times 
when one day a Tree (some say a stick) began trembling and 
vibrating and made strange undecipherable noises. The vil-
lagers went to seek the help of a young sea hamut (wise 
woman), to act as a kind of oracle, for she understood the 
unknown language of the Tree and was able to hear its mes-
sage. Some say it was God who spoke through the Tree, but 
"God" was unknown to the Surem. The young wise woman 
told the people what the voice prophesied, that soon there 
would come an entirely new way of life. It would be brought 
by people who called themselves padres and they would teach 
the Surem about "good" and "evil," about something called 
baptism, about marriage, and also about cultivation of seeds, 
and with these ideas would also come death to all people and 
to animals and plants. The villagers listened carefully to the 
message, and then half of them chose to stay and continue 
into the future, and half chose to leave before the future came.

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The two groups held a feast and a dance of farewell as they 
parted. To this day the place exists: the place of the last dance. 
Those who stayed became taller and eventually became 
Yaquis who married, cultivated the earth, lived, and died. The 
others went underground to form a world of their own. They 
remained Surem who live to this day in the yoania. Some say 
they walked into the sea and live under it; others say their 
world is under the earth. Some became so small they appeared 
as ants. Some people say they all are seen as ants to this day. 
The Surem took all their powers with them under the earth, 
and in far-off desert places and caves. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
Seekers can travel to the distant Surem places to receive 
these powers, but not without dangerous consequences for 
those who find them. The Surem are still manifest in many 
ways even for those who do not travel to contact them. They 
are associated with seataka, an inborn power of intuitive intel-
ligence that can be used for good or evil. It contains within it 
the gift of precognitive power, clairvoyance, "second sight," 
and is seen in people who have a profound connection to the 
natural world. The gift of healing is also considered to be 
inherited directly from the Surem.

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S E T 
Sahara Desert 
Set, called Typhon by the Greeks, is one of the most ancient 
and powerful Egyptian deities. He has a tough, camel-like pro-
file, a reddish complexion, squared-off upright ears, and ram-
rod straight posture. 
Set represented the negative aspect of the sun, and over 
the millennia came to stand for all forces of moral and physi-
cal darkness. Ra, the sun god, represented by Osiris, the father, 
and Horus (his son and symbol of the rising sun), often appears 
with Set, expressing the double nature of the deity. In ancient 
Egypt Set grew to be known primarily as the destructive force 
of the southern sun, whose deadly rays create unbearable heat 
and drought that turn earth into uninhabitable stony waste-
land. 
Set was also considered the thief of the rays of the

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beneficial sun, so the setting sun was under his control, as was 
the part of the year from the summer solstice to the winter sol-
stice when the rays of the sun are weakest and crops cannot 
grow. He was also the agent of earthquakes, storms, and other 
natural disasters that upset the natural order of things. Set was 
also a god of war. 
All Egyptian gods and demons have body-double animals. 
Set's representatives were the crocodile, hippopotamus, pig, tor-
toise, serpent, antelope, and turtle. He was also associated with 
the ass. Some of these animals were notably sacred, with shrines 
in ancient Egypt, and the powers attributed to them were a mix 
of good and evil. The amphibians and reptiles were regarded 
with fear and suspicion because of their ability to live on land 
and in water, and all animals that roamed Set's realm, the desert, 
were regarded with ambivalence. To drive Set away, certain 
offerings of these animals were made on special holidays and 
always under the full moon. These rituals were essential in 
ancient Egyptian religion. 
L O R E 
Set was always envious of his glorious brother, Osiris, the 
mythic founding king of Egypt who gave its people laws and 
religion. After creating this civilization, Osiris went off to 
influence other nations, leaving his faithful wife Isis to rule in 
his absence. When Osiris returned, much later, his brother Set 
was waiting for him. In an radical act of sibling rivalry, 
Set tricked Osiris into lying down in a wooden chest, which Set 
and his seventy-two helpers slammed shut and threw into the 
Nile. The river carried the chest (with Osiris in it) to the sea. 
Poor Isis roamed the entire world looking for her husband. Set 
claimed ignorance and refused to help. 
Isis finally found the chest. She carefully hid the chest in 
a tree. The tree, however, was cut down, and made into a pil-
lar of the house of a king. Again Isis tracked it down and asked 
for it back, but Set was a step ahead of her and got to it first. 
In the dark of night, Set removed the chest from the pillar and 
took the body of his brother out of the chest. He cut up Osiris's 
body and scattered his parts throughout Egypt.

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S E T 
Ever faithful, Isis patiently traveled all over, picking up 
the pieces, trying to put her husband together again. 
Eventually Isis located the phallus of Osiris and, with the help 
of magic incantations, managed to become pregnant with her 
husband's child. She gave birth to Horus, who was fated to 
avenge his father's murder. 
Set attempted to thwart Horus's growing up — at one 
point a scorpion bit the child and killed him, but Isis, with 
more magic, was able to revive her son. With the protection of 
other gods, Horus was to grow to manhood and challenge Set. 
In The Book of the Dead, the fight between Horus and Set is 
the classical fight of Light and Good versus Dark and Evil. 
Horus triumphed over Set, but just when he was about to do 
in his father's murderer, Isis intervened. She felt mercy for her 
brother-in-law. And so the influence of Set is still felt and 
Horus's battle continues to be waged on earth.

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A Z A Z E L . 
Judean Wilderness 
Azazel was king of the seirim, an ancient species of goat-
like spirits. Although some say "Azazel" was simply the 
name of a place near Jerusalem, others say that it referred 
to an archdemon who dwelled in the desert. In ancient 
Jewish custom, on the Day of Atonement, two goats were 
brought to the tabernacle. One goat was sacrificed for 
Yahweh, the other was laden with the sins of the people and 
taken to the wilderness for Azazel. 
He is spoken of in 
Leviticus 16:8: 
And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one 
for the Lord, and the other for Azazel. And Aaron 
shall bring the goat upon which the Lord's lot 
fell and offer him for a sin offering. But the goat 
on which the lot fell for Azazel, shall be pre-
sented alive before the Lord, to make atonement 
with him and to let him go to Azazel in the 
desert. 
As this passage shows, Azazel was as important in ancient 
Judaism as Satan came to be later in Christianity. Azazel rep-
resented the powerful evil supernatural adversary to the Lord. 
Azazel appears in the Apocryphal Book of Enoch as an angel 
fallen from heaven because he lusted after mortal women. On 
earth he then established himself as a corrupt archdemon 
teaching unrighteousness. In the Book of Enoch he is charged 
with revealing eternal secrets to humankind. God responds to 
this charge by sending angels to bind Azazel and imprison 
him in the desert in a place called Dudael. He is to remain 
there until the Final Judgment. 
Eventually, Azazel's notoriety seemed to fade away, and 
his place was ultimately usurped by Satan (the Adversary, in

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the Book of Job), whom the New Testament takes up as its 
most important fallen angel. 
In Islamic lore, Azazel is also mentioned as a fallen angel 
who lusted after mortal maidens. His name becomes inter-
changeable with Iblis, and then Iblis becomes the archdemon 
of Islam.

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I B L I S 
Arabian Desert 
Iblis, the spirit of doubt, is a fallen angel of Islam, a powerful 
subversive spirit, and the chief of all djinn, with an army of 
marid, a vicious and powerful class of djinn. He is closely 
related to Azazel. 
L O R E 
According to one account, Iblis was a powerful angel who 
refused to bow before Adam at Allah's command. When asked 
why, Iblis replied, "I am better than he; Thou created me out 
of fire, and him Thou created out of clay." Iblis was, as the 
Q'uran describes him, "puffed up with pride" and believed 
himself to be far superior to a mere human being. For this dis-
obedience he was cast out of heaven. "Get thee down out of 
it," said Allah. Iblis, the fallen angel, pleaded for clemency and 
begged not to be cast into the dark pit, but to be given respite 
until the Day of Judgment. 
Iblis was given respite, and then he said he would sit in 
ambush for humankind, and tempt this usurper Adam and all 
his sons, and see if they truly remained loyal and good. He was 
sent forth "despised and banished" and told he would even-
tually go to hell with all who followed him, condemned to 
haunt ruins and eat unblessed food until Judgment Day. He 
became the King of the Shaitans (Satans). 
In another version, before the creation of humankind, 
Allah sent down his angels to destroy the djinn (who had been 
created from the intense heat of the desert winds and lived as 
a race of beings for twenty-five thousand years but had begun 
to flaunt Allah's laws). The angels managed to kill or disperse 
most of the djinn and to capture Iblis. They brought Iblis up 
to heaven, where they educated him in their ways, and Iblis 
quickly gained stature there. Meanwhile, the surviving djinn 
united to form a new nation. Iblis, despite his angelic status, 
was still hungry for power and flew down to the nation of the 
djinn and became their king. They called him "Azazel," Lord 
of the Djinn.

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D J I N N 
Arabian Desert 
Djinn, an ancient, Islamic, invisible, illusion-casting species 
who live for centuries, can manifest in any form and travel 
anywhere instantly. Like the Greek daimon, they are spirits of 
an intermediate nature between humans and angels. It is said 
in the Q'uran that they are an ancient species who were cre-
ated before humankind from smokeless fire. The Djinn have 
no bodies of their own but are masters of illusory disguise. 
However, because the Djinn are made of fire, when they man-
ifest in human form they have flaming eyes, which are set ver-
tically in the head, not horizontally as human eyes are. Aside 
from human form, certain Djinn also appear in the shape of 
black dogs or snakes or toads or black cats. They are consid-
ered the cause of violent sandstorms, whirlwinds, and shoot-
ing stars.

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Although Djinn inhabit ruins, wells, kitchen fireplaces, 
and public baths, their favorite abode is the desert. Some 
believe Djinn live just under the sand in organized towns and 
only rise to the surface to harass humans. Some have heard 
music from Djinn 
"villages" — campsites like 
human 
nomadic abodes — which suddenly appear and then vanish in 
the blink of an eye. When journeying through the Arabian 
desert it is necessary to call out to the Djinn and ask their per-
mission to pass by. Each place has its own resident spirit, its 
ancestral genius loci, and one addresses it respectfully. If 
answered by a sudden whirling pillar of sand, it is wise to turn 
back at once. 
L O R E 
One day King Suleyman (or King Solomon), who had 
great powers and a formidable magic ring with jewels given 
him by the angels, used his art to gather the multitudes of 
Djinn around him, for he wanted to see what they looked like. 
He conjured them to come into his presence, and as they 
poured forth in vast numbers, the earth trembled. When they 
became visible to him he reported that he saw legions of aber-
rant creatures, some two-headed, some fire-breathing, and 
then many thousands in the shapes of fantastical hybrid ani-
mals with the head of a cat and body of a dog and hooves, or 
with heads on backward. With his magic ring held high, he 
watched as they bowed to him, for he could subdue all but 
Iblis. King Suleyman used his magic for the powers of good, 
and he soon had a legion of Djinn building for him, diving for 
pearls, collecting jewels, and mining minerals. No human 
could craft metal like the Djinn, and their fabulous rings play 
a part in many tales. 
It is said that for each human born, a Djinni (singular) is 
also born. He is a kind of supernatural twin who tempts the 
human being from birth to do the wrong thing. He is always 
present, as are the angels the human has to guard him. The 
Djinni can change form. If a black cat were to enter the house 
at night, he might actually be the twin Djinni of a member of 
the household, and if he is hurt by his human twin, the human

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will inflict harm upon his own self as well. The result of such 
an event is insanity. Along this line it is said that if a human 
unknowingly eats Djinn excrement, his intelligence shoots up 
immediately. Thus the proverbial expression, "He has eaten 
Djinn dung [goh-e-djen}\" of a very bright child. 
All Djinn are closely intertwined or involved in human 
affairs. Like fairies, Djinn steal human babies and substitute 
their own. They also indulge in petty demonic acts like push-
ing people down stairs, making them yawn uncontrollably, 
spilling their milk, and giving them nightmares, but these are 
minor annoyances compared to the serious maladies that 
Djinn are known to cause, such sis epidemics, convulsions, 
insanity, and death. 
In the Q'uran, chapter 72 is named for the Djinn, and 
there it is said: "And some of us are the righteous, and some of 
us are otherwise. We are sects differing." It says in this chap-
ter that some djinn have surrendered and they are not harm-
ful, and some have deviated, and the latter will go to hell. 
D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
Since all Djinn are invisible and plentiful as sand, they 
are considered to be always present and listening — reputedly 
they know every language — so care must be taken when dis-
cussing them. One must never inadvertently injure them by 
throwing water on a fire — they often rest in ashes. A stone 
thrown in the desert may injure some invisible Djinn off-
spring and force retaliation. Any black cat, black dog, or snake 
might be a Djinn, and therefore these animals must be treated 
with respect. Never sweep at night, for obvious reasons. 
Fortunately there are many documented ways of keep-
ing the malevolent Djinn away. The first method is to recite 
the protective bismillah "in the name of Allah." To eat with-
out reciting the bismillah is virtually an invitation for Djinn 
to lurk in the food, where they may be ingested along with the 
meal. The prayer is effective at other times when it's known 
Djinn are near, such as when turning off a lamp at night or 
stamping out a campfire. 
Djinn loathe salt. When used in food, salt will keep them

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away, as will salt sprinkled on the floor, carried in pockets, in 
shoes, tucked under the pillow, or thrown up in the air at night 
while out walking. Since Djinn are attracted to human blood, 
salt is a necessary ingredient at such events as circumcision, 
the slaughtering of animals, or childbirth. 
Djinn also abhor loud sounds. They are afraid of pins, 
needles, silver, iron, and steel. Successful exploitations of this 
fear include wearing a metal ring, keeping a knife under the 
bed, stringing a nail around the neck, or adding a coin to the 
bathwater. Djinn are repelled by strong odors; in particular 
the smell of tar drives them off at once. 
If Djinn should get inside a human, a cure must be found 
to drive them out or the person will become insane. Many of 
the disarming techniques above can be used to expel the crea-
tures. Tar, for example, can be used on the body, in addition to 
the inhalation of smoke or incense along with specific incan-
tations. Salt is usually put under the pillow of anybody who is 
ill. Most often, the recitation of sacred words is employed, as 
are charms written by people skilled in such things. Often the 
charms are written in the Djinn!s native language, far more 
ancient than our own. One interesting cure involves prepar-
ing a meal (salt-free) for the Djinn. The ill person, in order to 
stimulate the Djinn's appetite, eats a morsel while the Djinn 
watch hungrily from within, then exit the human body to 
enjoy the rest of the meal. The meal should be placed far away 
from the patient for best results.

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S H A I T A N 
Arabian Desert 
The Shaitan (Satan) is a type of djinni created of fire by Allah. 
While djinn behavior can be moderate or mischievous and 
members of the species have even converted and become good, 
the Shaitan is invariably evil. Iblis is the king of the Shaitan, 
and, like Iblis, the entire function of the Shaitan is to lead 
humankind into sin by temptation. They manage this by cre-
ating illusions in the minds of humankind — enthralling 
visions of pleasures to be had by committing various sins -— 
and they are endlessly imaginative. 
The Shaitan eat dirt and excrement and have a notable 
aversion to water. If one forgets to wash after supper and goes 
to bed with unclean hands, they may be licked to bloody 
stumps by morning. Forgetting morning ablutions results in 
unclean tempting thoughts sent by the Shaitans throughout 
the day. Many of the species look exactly like human beings, 
although they can shape-shift into animals or inhabit corpses. 
Some possess people. Some tempt people to do evil. Some take 
the shape of seductive women to lure travelers. 
L O R E 
It is said that each man has his own guardian angel and 
his Shaitan. In that most favorable aspect, the Shaitan is like 
the Greek daimon and is said to inspire all great poets. The 
Shaitan is inspiration itself and is always connected to poetry 
and to art. One traveler en route through the desert was sud-
denly seized by two invisible spirits and transported to their 
leader. The Shaitan leader turned out to be the composer of a 
famous poet's work. 
A huge population of Shaitans was accidentally released 
by fishermen in Morocco from bottles that had the seal of 
Solomon on them, which accounts for a sudden increase in 
their numbers. 
Once there was a very poor old fisherman who cast his 
net early one morning and pulled up a strange vessel with 
a seal on its lead cover. Hoping the vessel might contain

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something precious, he pried open the lid. A dark smoke 
arose, slowly at first, and eventually covered all the sky, then 
formed itself into a massive presence who glared at the old 
fisherman. "Prepare to die," the spirit said. "I will kill you, 
and one favor only will I grant you, which is that you choose 
the method of your death." The fisherman, frozen with fear, 
asked how the spirit could treat him so, as he had been his 
liberator. The genie (or djinni), who was a Shaitan, answered 
that he had been sealed in the bottle by King Solomon, whose 
rule he refused as he had refused the will of heaven, and 
while in confinement he had first sworn to aid any human 
who delivered him by giving him riches, making him a 
monarch, and granting him three wishes of any sort. But 
after three hundred years had passed, he angrily arrived at 
his current resolution, to give the person only a choice of how 
he wanted to die. 
The fisherman, having recovered his wits, and desper-
ate to save not himself but his family from ruin, spoke qui-
etly to the towering demon: "Do you swear that you were in 
this vessel, for I cannot believe that such a grand figure as 
yours ever did fit in such a container. In fact, I cannot even 
believe your oath but only my eyes, so I could only believe 
you if you are able to reenter this vessel." The challenged 
demonic creature dissolved again into smoke and collected 
himself slowly within the vessel until he was entirely con-
tained. The fisherman clamped the lid shut upon him and 
cast him into the sea, resolving to warn all other fisherman 
by his tale to beware of opening any vessel and thus releas-
ing a wicked spirit. 
D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
Most important is the species' aversion to fresh water, 
which will stop them from all activity. The bone of a hare also 
works against them. A white cock will keep the Shaitan away. 
It is also said that the door can be shut against the Shaitan at 
night, for they cannot open a shut door. They cannot open 
water bottles or oil containers that are shut tightly or take the 
covers off jars, so keeping food enclosed in a sealed vessel will

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S H A I T A N 
keep the demons out. In the case of the fisherman, it was pres-
ence of mind that saved the day, and the classic trick of dimin-
ishing demons by containing them. This also works in the case 
of Madame White (see Water), and the Naga Karkotak in the 
case of Yaksas (see Mountain).

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G H O U L 
Arabian Desert 
Ghoul ("destroyer") is the most malicious species (along with 
the frits and marids who make up the wicked army of Iblis). 
He is often sighted with matted shaggy hair that hangs over 
his eyes, and he shape-shifts endlessly, but in all forms main-
tains hooves as feet. The Ghouls commonly transform to ox, 
camel, or horse and often appear in human form. They light 
fires at night to deceive travelers and they call out "Good 
evening!" as if they were human. A Ghoul specialty is singing 
like a siren, so sweetly the traveler will be lured to their camp, 
and then, once gotten alone, the Ghoul will show its claws, rip 
apart its prey, and devour it whole. However, he can be gener-
ous if treated well. If a wayfarer cuts his hair and grooms him 
so he can see well, he'll go out of his way to help that person. 
The Si'lats, female Ghouls, are hideous, and they operate in 
the same carnivorous ways, but again have a generous side: if 
a human nurses at the breast of a Si'lat she will treat him as 
one of her own. 
L O R E 
The Ghoul frequents the Valley of the Angel of Death, 
which is in the salt desert on the road from Teheran to Qum. 
One messenger was sent out but came back without having 
delivered the message because he saw two Ghouls on the hori-
zon, and when they evaporated at daybreak, he was certain 
what they were and knew he should not proceed. 
D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
It is said that if one loosens the belt of one's trousers, the 
Ghoul will stay away. A Ghoul can be killed in one blow. But, 
beware: a second blow will bring it back to life.

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D E V A L P A 
Arabian Desert 
The Devalpa usually appears as an innocent, decrepit old man 
who stands weary and sighing at the edge of the road. As 
people pass by, he pleads to be taken on their shoulders. If any-
body is good enough to pick him up, he will shape-shift imme-
diately: yards of snakelike legs erupt from his scrawny 
abdomen and wrap around the bearer. His rescuer in a death 
grip, the Devalpa imperiously commands, "Work for me!" If 
the good Samaritan chooses to live, he will do so for the rest of 
his life as a slave to the Devalpa. 
L O R E 
The Devalpa!s most prominent role is in the famous story 
of Sinbad the sailor. Shipwrecked, Sinbad ran across a pathetic 
old man whom he assumed was a fellow castaway. The old 
man weakly signaled Sinbad to carry him across a brook. 
Sinbad charitably hoisted him up on his shoulders, and then, 
midstream, felt the scrawny legs grow powerful around his 
neck. He glanced at the legs tightening around him and saw 
that they were covered with rough black skin. Horrified, he 
tried to shake the old man off, but the terrible legs squeezed 
him into unconsciousness. 
When Sinbad awakened, he found the "old man" still 
crouched on his shoulders. The Devalpa commanded him to 
walk. Sinbad was now in the position of being the old man's 
camel and trudged on for weeks while his rider picked fruit 
from the trees above as they passed. This relationship grew 
more and more unbearably burdensome each day. 
Eventually Sinbad came across some grapes, which he 
fermented into a potent wine, whose effects allowed him to 
forget his desperate situation and lent him a drunken levity. 
The Devalpa, noticing the effect of the wine on Sinbad, com-
manded him to pour some of this beverage for him. The cap-
tor gulped down the drink and soon began to relax his grip 
on Sinbad's neck. As he drank more, the tentacle limbs 
slipped off slowly, and soon the creature lay drunk on the

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ground. Sinbad picked up a heavy rock and dashed his brains 
out. 
D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
Wine is the downfall of many demons. Their excessive 
nature always causes them to imbibe too much and fall into 
an unconscious stupor. This permits the hero to bind them, kill 
them, or escape. (See Asmodeus in Domicile, Oni in Forest, 
and the White Monkey in Mountain.)

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MIMI 
Arnhem Land, Australia 
The Mimi are an ancient family of Aboriginal fairylike spir-
its who have concealed themselves within rocks in the 
Arnhem Land plateau of Australia for over ten thousand years. 
The Mimi are described as having such extraordinarily thin 
and elongated bodies that they cannot venture out on windy 
days because the wind would cause them to break in half. 
Hunting is reserved for still days. The tall, fragile beings wear 
bunches of leaves to cover their genitals. 
Never seen by modern travelers, they were glimpsed by 
Aboriginal medicine men long ago when people could still see 
spirits. They are assumed to still inhabit the rocks, upon which 
they have left images of themselves and their activities. All 
Mimi have keen hearing and can detect when a human way-
farer is nearby. When the Mimi hear someone coming they 
run to the rocks, blow on them, and the rocks open up like 
magic doors to allow the Mimi to enter and hide. Certain 
noises that one hears in this area are the concealed Mimi mov-
ing around inside their homes. Some Mimi are friendly to 
humans, many are antagonistic, and none are dependable. 
The Mimi are said to be fond of dancing and singing, and 
some say they taught the Aboriginal ancestors how to write 
songs and to dance. They also are said to have taught the art 
of cave painting, in which their self-portraits are rendered on 
the stone walls, along with drawings of other ancestral spirits. 
Mimi keep wallabies, pythons, and certain types of kangaroos 
as pets as a human might keep dogs. They hunt and eat wild 
kangaroos. If anyone injures a tame animal, it may be a Mimi 
pet and serious consequences will ensue. Injuring a tame kan-
garoo or wallaby may lead to madness or death. 
The Mimi, on calm and breezeless days, are skillful 
hunters, and very adept at hunting kangaroo. It was in fact the 
Mimi who taught the Aboriginal ancestors how to hunt and 
prepare kangaroo meat.

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L O R E 
Long ago, when the Mimi were not as utterly invisible 
as they are now, special people could see them, and one man 
was even invited to visit the camp of the Mimi. Food and 
women were offered to him, but he knew that if he accepted, 
he might turn into a Mimi spirit himself. He waited until the 
Mimi were asleep, then he escaped and ran back to his human 
camp. He could hear the angry Mimi call out to him. He told 
everybody of his encounter. He apparently learned magical 
things from the Mimi, because he became one of the first pow-
erful Aboriginal healers. 
One can mistake a Mimi for a similar-looking, unusually 
thin species of ancient evil spirits called Nadubi, which inhabit 
the same space and have existed from the same time period. 
They have magical spinelike barbs that stick out from their 
knees, elbows, wrists, and head, and will use them against 
Aboriginal travelers, especially those traveling alone. They 
stalk the desert at night, Eire always ravenous, eat meat raw, 
and steal honey. To be shot by the invisible barb of a Nadubi 
is almost always fatal. 
D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
Humankind has learned many creative and healing arts 
from the Mimi. However, as with all fairy species, certain pro-
hibitions prevail and no dining is permitted. Encounters with 
these powerful species must be left to professionals.

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S T . A N T H O N Y ' S 
D E M O N S 
Sahara Desert 
St Anthony's Demons are some of the most illustrious and 
illustrated of the many desert species. They appear in every 
imaginable hostile animal shape. 
L O R E 
St. Anthony of the Desert was born into a prosperous 
Egyptian Christian family early in the fourth century C.E. 
When he was about eighteen years old, his parents died, leav-
ing him in charge of a young sister, a luxurious home, and 
acres of arable land. Six months later, while walking past a 
church and reflecting on how little value the Apostles placed 
on material things in their commitment to Christ, he heard a 
voice from the door: "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you

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possess and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in 
heaven." (1 Cor. 15:42). 
Anthony immediately went home, gave all his posses-
sions to the poor, his sister to the care of nuns, and from that 
day on devoted himself to spiritual practice. He began his 
training by studying under solitary ascetics who lived outside 
his village. He worked for enough money to buy bread, always 
giving the excess to the poor. He was inspired by the ascetics' 
devout commitment to prayer, their compassion, and their 
practice of fasting and sleeping on bare ground. 
It was about this time that Anthony received his first visit 
from the Devil. Seeing Anthony so young and determined, the 
Devil tempted him with visions of his own past: a loving sis-
ter, delicious meals, all the comforts of home and wealth. But 
Anthony only prayed harder. The Devil harassed him day and 
night, put foul thoughts into his mind, and one night even 
shape-shifted into a young women who made sexual advances. 
In the days that followed, Anthony stayed up all night, 
vigilantly on guard. On days that he didn't fast, he ate only 
once per day, after sunset, and only salted bread and water. He 
slept on the bare ground, and did not wash or anoint his body 
with oil. Anthony chose that his flesh would suffer so that his 
soul would grow strong. He tried to live each day as a possible 
last day. In this way he battled temptation for the salvation of 
his soul. 
In a step to escape temptation, Anthony moved to the 
ancient tombs outside the village. He selected a tomb and had 
a friend lock him inside. One night the Devil came with many 
demons and whipped Anthony until he fell to the ground. He 
knew it was the demons who beat him so harshly, for no 
human was capable of inflicting such pain. Luckily, the next 
morning his friend returned to the tomb to bring bread. 
Seeing Anthony lying wounded, he picked him up and carried 
him to the village. There Anthony was watched by the vil-
lagers, but that night, while all slept around him, he woke and 
asked his friend to carry him back to the tomb. Despite his 
weakened state, he was carried back, and locked inside again. 
That night the demons returned in the form of lions,

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D E M O N S 
wolves, scorpions, bulls, bears, and leopards. Each powerful 
animal beat him senseless. Wounded in body, but still strong 
in mind, Anthony called them cowards who needed numbers 
for their strength. He challenged them to beat him, saying the 
Lord would protect him. The demons were forced out by a 
beam of light that miraculously shone down into the tomb. 
Anthony was cured of all his pain. 
It was soon after, on his way into the desert, that Anthony 
saw a silver dish on a lonely road. He knew it was a demon in 
disguise. As soon as he said this aloud, the "dish" vanished. As 
he continued onward, "gold" was thrown down in his path, 
but he simply stepped over it and never looked back. As he 
wandered deeper into the desert, he came upon an abandoned 
fortress. It was here that he took up residence, locking himself 
inside. 
Anthony remained alone inside the desert fort, seeing no 
other people, for twenty years. Whenever his acquaintances 
stopped by, they remained outside but could hear the voices of 
many demons harassing Anthony behind the tall walls. The 
voices told Anthony to leave the desert, that it was their 
domain, and no place for weak ascetics. The friends called to 
him in alarm, but he told them not to fear, for demons were 
powerless to hurt those who did not fear them. 
The demons groaned, whispered, screamed, and mut-
tered for many years, during which time Anthony gained fol-
lowers as word spread of his struggle. They set up tents all 
around his demon-infested abode and wouldn't leave. Twenty 
years after Anthony locked himself into solitude, they tore his 
door down, and Anthony came forward. He showed no physi-
cal decline. He seemed in perfect form, his soul immaculate, 
years of wisdom on his face. 
Anthony was not angry that his followers broke down his 
door, and from that day he became their teacher. He became 
St. Anthony: a healer, a performer of miracles, though he 
claimed no knowledge of any medical practices. Anthony is 
believed to have died in 356 C.E., leaving many followers in 
the desert.

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D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
Noise and friendly laughter are traditional demonic 
repellents. The isolation of saints and scholars seems to invite 
demonic encounters, which are utilized by these extraordi-
nary voyagers for the purpose of transcendence.

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P A L I S 
Arabian Desert 
The Palis is a potentially deadly foot-licker species that attacks 
its victims at night when they're sleeping in the desert. He 
licks the soles of their feet until their blood is gone. There is 
no known description of the species' appearance. 
L O R E 
One night, when the caravan stopped at a lonely place 
and all were about to retire, a wise wayfarer advised his mates 
to beware the Palis, for he was sure the demon was lurking 
nearby. They asked him what this creature did, and as they lin-
gered around the campfire he told them its awful habit: "This 
demon is a footlicker, and he will lick the soles of your feet 
until all your blood is gone. Before you wake up, you'll be 
drained. This has been the fate of many." The travelers heeded 
the precautions he advised and each made sure to lie down 
with the soles of his feet touching the soles of a fellow trav-
eler's feet. 
When the Palis arrived, smacking his lips in anticipa-
tion, he noticed no soles at all. He walked in circles again and 
again, around large forms with a head at either end. He was 
utterly baffled. He continued walking around and around 
searching for the soles of feet, which was how he always began 
his meal. He muttered, "I have traveled to over a thousand val-
leys, but never before have I seen humans with two heads!" 
Finally, the demon was exhausted by his circumambulation, 
and the sun began to rise. The pale light signaled his hasty 
departure. 
D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
Like many of these single-minded species, the Palis 
hasn't an ounce of intelligence and can be easily tricked. 
Although the sole-to-sole method is the best known for this 
species, salt should also be kept close by as a repellent.

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M A M U 
Great Sandy Desert, Australia 
The Mamu (sometimes called Gugur) are malevolent man-
eating demons of the Aboriginal people who roam the desert. 
The Mamu have been around since ancient times. They are 
adept shape-shifters and have been sighted as "friends," fel-
low travelers, small birds, and even inanimate objects. They 
are described as very tall, with huge pointed heads and bloody 
fanged teeth. The males carry large clubs with which they 
strike their victims. 
L O R E 
A hunter who happened to be out alone had caught an 
animal and was carrying it over his shoulder back to his rest-
ing place. He looked down on the ground and saw a stone blade 
in the sand. He picked it up and trudged on. Later, after he 
built a fire and laid his food out to cook, he began to sharpen 
his spear with the stone. But this stone suddenly changed into 
a Mamu and cut his throat. The Mamu dined on the man, 
mixing him with the game that had been roasting. 
In another tale, a Mamu went about disguised as a young 
man. He used to sit on top of a sandhill and wait for solitary 
human travelers. Once an old man came by. The "young man" 
asked the old man to tell him stories of the Dreamtime, and 
offered him some kangaroo meat. The older man ate some of 
the meat and then lay down to sleep. That was the end of him. 
The next day the same "young man" went to another hill, sat 
down, and waited until another traveler came by. But this trav-
eler happened to be a wise man and he recognized the Mamu 
in disguise. He was asked for stories and offered meat, but 
when the man took the meat he saw a mouth of teeth in it, so 
he only pretended to eat the meat, and he lay down to rest. 
Later, when the Mamu wasn't looking, he threw the "kanga-
roo meat" into the flames, for he knew the meat was actually 
the Mamu's wife in disguise, and when anyone swallowed the 
meat she would bite at their heart and laugh, saying, "I'm not 
meat!" Then her husband Mamu would devour them. That

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u 
was the fate of the first traveler, but this wise man outsmarted 
the Mamu. 
D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
Dogs can sense when Mamu are nearby and will bark 
loudly. A circle of fire, many companions, and dogs barking 
will keep this desert demon away. Children must be taught 
never to leave the circle of fire after dark, for obvious reasons.

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A H R I M A N 
Iranian Desert 
Ahriman, spirit of destruction, head of the evil empire and all 
the daevas ("demons" in Persian lore), was a primordial spirit 
who arose as the independent counterforce of Ahura-Mazda, 
who in the religion of ancient Persia was the eternal God, the 
Wise Lord and Spirit of Good. The realm of Ahriman is the 
desolate wasteland of the desert, although he is also seen 
sometimes in hell. 
L O R E 
Unlike Satan or Iblis, Ahriman has never been one of a 
host of angels. He has never been beholden to the wishes or 
command of God or of Allah. He was originally an equally 
powerful force to the god of Goodness. Although his reign is 
not eternal, and in the end he will perish like all villains in

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A H R I M A N 
narratives and the good will ultimately prevail, he is here for 
a long time. During his stay, he will seduce mortals into wor-
shiping him whenever he can. 
According to Zoroastrianism, Ahura-Mazda created the 
universe as well as the twin spirits Spenta Mainyu (the spirit 
of Light, Truth, and Life) and Angra Mainyu (the spirit of 
Darkness, Deceit, and Death). The battleground of the war of 
these two created spirits is our terrestrial world. Over time, 
Ahura-Mazda and the spirit of goodness Spenta Mainyu 
merged to become the eternal God who is all good and light, 
order and truth — that which opposes Ahriman. 
It is 
Ahriman, the force of Evil, who is responsible for all things 
antithetical to Good. The battle between these two has been 
predetermined to rage for a specific amount of time. The time 
is divided into eras, each of which lasts thousands of years. 
After the fourth age of these eras, there will be three saviors 
who will destroy the forces of Evil. Eventually Ahura Mazda 
will triumph and the new world will be restored to his rule. 
But this will be later. The world we inhabit now is divided 
between Good and all the powers of darkness: demons, disease, 
death, and miseries. 
In another version of the origin of Ahriman, he was one 
of a set of twins. The other was Ohrmazd (a contraction of 
Ahura Mazda). They were born to Zurvan, a preexisting 
Creator who pledged that his firstborn would rule. Ahriman 
ripped open the womb to be first in line. Zurvan, bound by his 
promise, tempered the length of time that Ahriman could rule 
the world. After a prescribed time, Ohrmazd's turn will come 
and all will then be transformed under a reign of goodness and 
light. But during his rule, Ahriman, the demon of demons, 
created harmful animals, biting creatures, disease, unhappi-
ness, poison, death, drought, famine, and several notable 
demons called Evil Mind, Tyranny, Enmity, Violence, Wrath, 
and Falsehood. He created a particularly repugnant female 
demon named Az, and one dragon. 
In one tale, Ahriman, 
ruler of the desert, had a son 
named Zohak and wanted to train him to be as evil as pos-
sible. He suggested to Zohak that he kill his own father and

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when the boy did, Ahriman (who of course had not really been 
killed) installed himself in disguise as a chef in the palace. 
There he prepared the flesh of animals to further corrupt the 
boy. His son so enjoyed the dishes that he wished to reward the 
chef. Ahriman, 
disguised as cook, asked only that he be 
allowed to kiss the young man's shoulders. His wish was 
granted, after which he immediately vanished. Snakes began 
to sprout from the spots he kissed, and when Zohak chopped 
them off, they grew back. Ahriman then entered disguised as 
a physician to help the lad. He told Zohak that he had to feed 
the snakes with human brains daily. Zohak did as he was told, 
and so became the pride of his archdemon father, Ahriman. 
He ruled for a thousand terrible years until he was finally 
destroyed. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
When dealing with demonic forces of this order, and 
with the attributes of evil so clearly defined, the traveler is 
asked to choose.

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N A M A R R G O N 
Australia 
Namarrgon, or Mamaragan (Lightning Man) is an ancient, 
volatile, and belligerent Aboriginal spirit who lives in Arnhem 
Land. 
L O R E 
In the dry season Namarrgon stays in a water hole that 
is to be avoided. Should anybody throw a stone, or drink from 
that water hole, or even so much as riffle the surface, he would 
rise up and destroy them with a flash of lightning. He would 
cause flooding and drown whole villages. During the monsoon 
season he travels in the air and roars in the clouds overhead. 
It is his arms and his legs that are the flashes of lightning, and 
as he strikes the ground, destruction is instantaneous. Some 
say he throws stone axes down to create the flashes of light.

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Namarrgon terrified the Mimi spirits and the Aboriginal 
people with his displays of power, which can be seen through-
out the sky, which cause so much damage, destroy camps, and 
kill so many people. He has fathered many children who have 
all taken on the shape of a spectacular insect, flaming orange 
and blue, that mates in the early rainy season. Sorcerers were 
sometimes able to enlist the help of Namarrgon 
in their 
magic.

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H O ' O K 
Sonoran Desert 
Ho'ok is a legendary demon of the Tohono O'odham (The 
Desert People). She was human in appearance, all but for her 
hands and feet, which are animal claws. The Ho 'ok was a fierce 
man-eater who carried off small children and babies, which 
she killed and ate. She lived in a cave in the land of the Tohono 
O'odham, whose center is the Baboquivari Mountain, where 
their Creator and Elder Brother I'itoi lives, and whose vast 
range is millions of acres of desert extending down into Sonora 
from what is now called Tucson. 
L O R E 
Once a beautiful young woman sat by a pond and was 
quietly weaving when she saw a red kickball pass by. It was the 
kickball of the youngest of two brothers who were competing 
in a race to see which one would win her in marriage. The girl 
quickly hid the ball beneath her skirts, while the young men 
raced over to see who won. They asked her if she'd seen a kick-
ball, but she said she had not. After they left, the girl went 
home and told her family what had happened. They prepared 
a sleeping mat for the bridal pair to be, for the tradition was 
that the bridegroom would sleep for four nights at the home 
of the bride and then take her to his house, but she waited to 
no avail — the bridegroom did not appear. After four nights 
the time was up. Meanwhile, the special ball, which was made 
by the sun of red dust, had disappeared into the womb of the 
young woman. 
Time passed and a child was born, but it was a strange 
child and it had the hands and feet of an animal. As it grew, it 
became fiercer and it attacked and hurt the other children. 
Finally the mother had to take the child, Ho 'ok, away from the 
community. She led the child out to the desert and told her to 
go in search of her father. She pointed to the heat waves ris-
ing up in the distance and said that Ho 'ok should travel in that 
direction to find her father. Ho'ok traveled south, following the 
mirage all the way to Mexico, but then she saw the heat waves

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again, rising up in the north. She began to travel in that direc-
tion. 
Ho 'ok walked on and on but could never reach the heat 
waves. As she walked, the sun began to disappear behind a 
mountain. Ho'ok came across a cave and thought that perhaps 
her father lived there, although he was not at home. She 
searched again the next day, and again slept in the cave that 
night, and finally made the cave her home. From there she set 
out every night to find babies and children to eat. 
The people went to the home of I'itoi, in a cave on the 
west side of Baboquivari Mountain, to ask his help. I'itoi 
appeared as a tiny old man but was extremely powerful. He 
told the people to hold a dance and he invited Ho'ok to the cer-
emony. He prepared a special tobacco with a sleeping drug of 
certain flowers and he gave it to her to smoke. After four days 
and four nights of this smoking and dancing Ho'ok finally fell 
into a sound slumber. Then I'itoi carried her to her own cave 
and sealed it with a door. The people had already placed fire-
wood within the cave and now I'itoi set it on fire. Ho 'ok awoke 
and slammed herself against the walls of the sealed cave until 
the mountain cracked open. I'itoi jumped upon the crack and 
sealed it shut with his foot. Ho'ok perished within. 
This was not the end of the story, however, for from the 
smoke of the fire a menacing hawk was born that I'itoi once 
again had to quell, and even later, from the bones of Ho'ok 
were born other creations. The footprint on the cave of Ho'ok 
is still visible today. Near Pozo Verde in Mexico are grounds 
where the villagers believe the final ceremony was held. It is 
used today as a shrine.

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S A T A N 
Negev 
Satan, a fallen angel, is also known as Lucifer, Sammael, 
Asmodeus, Mephistopheles, the Devil, the Adversary. "What 
is thy name? And he said my name is Legion, for we are many" 
(Mark 5:9). 
Before his famous temptation of Jesus in the desert, this 
archdemon had only slowly evolved into the powerful, inde-
pendent entity called Satan. He first appeared (in the Book of 
Numbers) when God sent "a satan" on His behalf as a mes-
senger to let Balaam know what he had done wrong. "The 
satan" then appeared in a starring role in the Book of Job, but 
he was not yet a single personality. "The satan" means adver-
sary, obstructor, or accuser, but is not a proper name. He was 
simply present in a large divine assembly of angels and 
became the catalyst for the story of Job by suggesting that Job

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was good and pious only because he was rewarded for this with 
a nice life. What if, suggested the satan, he were to be tor-
mented and miserable; would he still be loyal? He gained 
God's approval to put Job under adverse circumstances to see 
whether man's true nature was good. Under the worst trials 
Job remained true. In this harrowing tale, the satan never 
acted as an independent agent, but was subject to the will 
of God. 
Much later, in rabbinical writings, Satan's origins began 
to be linked to Eve and the apple incident. Also it was here that 
the satan was mentioned as a powerful wicked angel known 
as Sammael, "chief of the satans." Objecting to God's creation 
of man, Sammael led a plot against humankind and traveled 
to earth, using the serpent to start the Fall by tempting Eve. 
For this, he and his follower angels were cast out of heaven, 
just as Adam and Eve were cast out of Eden. 
During the apocalyptic era Satan was interchangeable 
with Azazel of the desert. By then Satan had developed twelve 
wings (the other angels had six) and a distinctive profile: he 
exists only to wreak destruction in the mortal world and to 
bring humankind to an end, and he wars with God to become 
the subject of worship. 
Satan does not "possess" people as the "unclean spirits" 
do, and is not "cast out" as these demons are throughout the 
Gospels. He is seen more as metaphorically "entering the 
heart" of a person who turns to evil and thus to Satan, not 
because he is sick and possessed, but because he allows him-
self to be tempted. The human being, then, is an instrument 
of the Devil and does his bidding for the Kingdom of 
Darkness. Satan is the personification of Evil. 
At the time of his encounter with Jesus in the desert, 
Satan has become the Devil (diabolos — Slanderer), under 
whose direction all malevolent spirits work. As chief of 
demons, and god of our terrestrial world, he rules the 
Kingdom of Darkness and subsumes all evil powers. He can 
influence mankind on a daily basis and can cause illness via 
his army of demons. By now he alone is responsible for tempt-
ing people to evil action, for the envy of Cain and his fratri-

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eide, and for the deception of Eve. He can transform himself 
into infinite shapes, can even appear as an angel of light and 
brilliance, for he's the great Deceiver. 
L O R E 
After Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, he 
fasted for forty days and forty nights, and he was hungry and 
Satan arrived to tempt him. "If you are the Son of God, tell 
these stones to turn into loaves." Jesus replied that man does 
not live by bread alone. Next, Satan took Jesus to Mount Seir, 
a height from which he could glimpse in an instant all the 
kingdoms of the world in all their splendor. "I will give you 
all this power and glory," he said. "Worship me, and it shall 
all be yours." Jesus declined the offer and said that Scripture 
said, worship God alone. "Be off Satan," Jesus said, and in one 
version of the story his decline of worldly power was enough 
to quell Satan. 
According to Luke, the story continues: Satan then took 
Jesus to a parapet of the Temple in Jerusalem and challenged 
him to hurl himself down as a test to see if he was really 
guarded by angels. For the third time Jesus declined, saying, 
"It has been said: You must not put the Lord your God to the 
test" (Luke 4:12). 
It was then Satan left him, "and angels appeared and 
looked after him" (Matthew 4:11).

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D O M I C I L E

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P
erhaps because the Domicile was, and in many cultures 
still is, the site of childbirth, marriage, and death — the 
most important events in the human journey, are surrounded 
with ceremony and spirits good and evil — or perhaps 
because the foundation of each new home rests on ancient 
spirits' own subterranean abodes, or perhaps for reasons 
known only to the mysterious spirits, demons and fairies are 
always closer than the neighbors. The home is crowded with 
spirits. Each must be approached with caution, amulet, talis-
man, or sometimes a professional exorcist. 
At times the various Domicile species set up house in 
uninhabited ruins, or dwell outside the main house of farms, 
in outhouses or barns. Many enjoy the entrance of a dwelling; 
they lurk at the threshold to harm or help residents, and they 
often pounce on visitors, especially those who do not observe 
prescribed entry rules. The bedroom houses succubi and 
incubi (female and male demons who come via dreams or 
arrive disguised as spouses for sexual play with humans) who 
are very active at night and cannot be stopped by closed shut-
ters or doors. Supernatural wives are often revealed (too late) 
in this room by sudden aberrant or violent behavior. Marriage 
itself can be threatened by subversive species who engender 
animosity between couples. And then, each night, any sleep-
ing human, after a hard day, might be the victim of a Mare 
attack. Children, especially before christening, are most vul-
nerable to attack in the nursery, a popular habitat for certain 
fairies and some malevolent demons. 
There are also the genius loci to consider, for they have 
always lived here and must be fed nicely and propitiated or 
they can make life unlivable. Then there are the species under 
the dwelling, who might be anybody's ancestors and need pla-
cating. (Until a few centuries ago in Germany it was common 
practice to bury a live child in a sealed room beneath a home-
to-be as a sacrifice to those dangerous spirits who might be dis-
placed. This ensured their goodwill.) 
Disease demons, before antibiotics, were considered 
agents of fever, headache, and fatal illness. They were also the 
personifications of plagues. Prophylactic species can be found

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perched on window ledges facing out. Their apotropaic images 
ward off disease species from flying attack. The kitchen, 
because of potential food spoilage but also its cozy stove, seems 
to attract hordes of demonic helpers and fairies. 
The welcome mat may attract unwanted visitors; all in 
all, it is the Domicile that universally holds the most varie-
gated population of demons, fairies, fallen angels, and subver-
sive spirits of any habitat.

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W H O ' S W H O IN T H E D O M I C I L E 
CROUCHER 
Babylonia 
ASMODEUS 
(Judaism) 
CHANGING BEAR 
MAIDEN 
North America 
(Navajo) 
DOMOVOI 
Russia 
HIRANYAKASHIPU 
India 
LILITH 
(Judaism) 
CHANGELINGS 
Great Britain 
PAZUZU 
Babylonia 
ISITWALANGCENGCE 
South Africa 
LIDERC 
Hungary 
A L 
Armenia 
F o x FAIRY 
China 
M A R E 
Norway 
KITCHEN FAIRIES 
China 
FAIR LADY 
Hungary 
NISSE 
Norway

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C R O U C H E R 
Babylonia 
An ancient descriptive lament about demons of the domicile 
goes: 
Doors do not stop them 
Bolts do not stop them 
They glide in at the doors like serpents 
They enter by the windows like the wind 
The Croucher, an entrance demon, is one of the invisible 
rabisu ("the ones that lie in wait"), a species that makes its 
presence so deeply felt that it instantly causes the hair of any 
mortal to stand on end. This is how all rabisu are depicted, 
by their effect, so hair-raising as to be indescribable. We can

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only claim to represent them by the words and images in all 
amulets, talismans, and incantations used against them. 
Ancient people of Babylonia believed that multitudes of 
evil spirits filled all space of all habitats. They were an abun-
dant population, described categorically as utukku, ekimmu, 
gallu, alu, and rabisu. The first two are departed spirits of the 
dead who cannot find rest and do harm, especially around 
graveyards; the third is a devil in the shape of a bull who wan-
ders around the streets at night; the fourth is another com-
munity specter in the shape of a black dog. One can avoid all 
of these by staying home. But staying home will not prevent 
a run-in with a lurking rabisu like the Croucher, an embodi-
ment of evil who lies invisibly in wait for its mortal victims at 
the threshold of each house. When God says to Cain, "Sin 
crouches at the door," He may be referring to an always pre-
sent evil force (or inclination) that waits there, ready to 
pounce. 
Other rabisu have also been seen perched atop roofs, 
ready to pounce on newborn humans. In ancient Rome 
people shot arrows at the roof to protect pregnant mothers 
(especially vulnerable) from these invisible demons. In Syria 
there is a roof demon called the bar egara, who leaps on men 
when they leave home for work. Clearly it is at the threshold 
where one must be especially alert for spirits. 
The door itself holds tremendous powers — in Rome the 
two-faced door god Janus watched both the entrance and exit, 
and in China there are two door gods to protect each entrance. 
In many cultures the front door is painted with special colors 
or signs and is adorned with various depictions of ancestral 
spirits, or carries an amulet to touch when passing through, 
such as a mezuzah. An ancient Babylonian warning to evil 
spirits was shrill as a present-day burglar alarm: 
He who endeavors to injure the columns and the 
capitols, may the column and the capitol stop his 
way! 
He who slides into the young oak and under the 
roofing,

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He who attacks the sides of the door and the grates, 
May the talisman make him weak like water! 
May it make him tremble like leaves, may it grind 
him like paint! May it leap over the timber, may 
it cut his wings! 
If that doesn't stop them, apotropaic statues might. Kings 
placed statues of powerful demonic spirits at the entranceway 
of their palaces, paying them homage in part to placate them 
but also to enlist their help against other less powerful species. 
To this day in many cultures one takes off shoes prior to cross-
ing over the threshold, and a groom still carries his new bride 
across it to avoid unlucky consequences. 
L O R E 
One night in the town of Posen, a young man, apparently 
a thief, forced his way into the locked cellar of a stone house 
on the main street. The next morning he was found dead on 
the threshold of the house. After this incident, the family who 
lived in the house were attacked nightly by spirits who threw 
their belongings about and did so much damage they were 
forced to move out. The house stood abandoned for years, but 
the activities extended to affect the entire community. Nobody 
in town could do a thing to stop the nightly fracas, and so 
finally the baal shem, famed rabbi of Zamosz, was sent for. He 
forced the demons to reveal their names, and it turned out 
they believed the cellar was their property because a previous 
owner of the abode had relations with a demoness who bore 
him many children. As heirs, they resented the human intrud-
ers. Furthermore, their population had so increased in num-
ber (as is the case with demons worldwide) that they were 
spilling out into the town. The case was brought before a rab-
binical court. The demons had papers that substantiated their 
ancestral relationship, but despite their prior claim, the case 
was decided in favor of the humans. The demon heirs were 
told to evacuate their home. The baal shem, by powerful exor-
cism, was able to send them to the wilderness. The case of the

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dead thief on the threshold was solved by the subterranean 
family he had accidentally unsealed. 
From a nineteenth-century Shanghai newspaper report: 
In China, to prevent a bride's feet from touching the 
threshold, a red cloth was placed over it, and she was lifted 
from the sedan chair to her bedroom by attendants. Upon this 
particular occasion, when the sedan chair arrived to take the 
new bride to her future house, her friends looked into the 
sedan and were shocked to find a huge snake in the chair. They 
warned the bride not to get in, but she ignored them. When 
she got in the sedan chair, she saw on the seat not a snake but 
a strange knife. She tucked it into her trousseau box. After the 
ceremony, when the new couple was alone, she told the groom 
what had transpired. He asked to see the knife, and so she took 
it from the box and handed it to him. As soon as he picked it 
up his head fell off. She screamed and aroused the household. 
They accused her of murder. When the magistrate was called, 
he asked to see the weapon, and as soon as she showed it to 
him, his head fell off. She remained unharmed. It was the talk 
of the town. They called her the "demon bride." 
D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
Shutting the door works against some demons but 
imprisons others. They should always have a way out. In 
Jewish lore it is suggested that a small hole in the door will 
allow them egress. A mezuzah properly attached to the door-
post can help. In some cases crossing oneself helps, and main-
taining special alertness at the entranceway to any house, and 
staying in good company, the kind that produces human 
laughter and friendly noise, may chase them off.

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A S M O D E U S 
(Judaism) 
Asmodeus (Ashmedai in Hebrew, meaning "evil spirit") is the 
undisputed king of the demons of Hebrew lore. He has three 
heads that face different directions. One is the head of a bull, 
the second the head of a ram, and the third the head of an ogre. 
He has the legs and feet of a cock and he rides a fire-breath-
ing lion. All of these animals are associated with lust, which is 
his specialty. His other power areas are wrath and revenge. He 
wreaks havoc in households and produces enmity between 
man and wife. His favorite place is the bedroom. 
Asmodeus is said to be the son of Naamah and it has been 
said that he is husband of Lilith, the queen of the demons. By 
name he is clearly connected to an ancient Persian demon of 
wrath, Aeshma. The cock feet of Asmodeus (and later, the 
Devil) can be traced back to a Babylonian belief in the cock as

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an important divinity of night to whom sacrifices were made 
and indicates the powerful stature of this demon. In Christian 
lore Asmodeus retains his hybrid shape and powers and is also 
known as Sammael, one of the fallen angels, and at times 
becomes interchangeable with Satan. Asmodeus represents 
one of the Seven Deadly Sins — Lust (see Psyche). 
L O R E 
In the apocryphal Book of Tobit, Asmodeus fell for Sarah, 
a young Persian virgin. He wanted her all for himself, and in 
a short course of time he killed every one of poor Sarah's seven 
bridegrooms on their wedding night before they lay with her. 
She was suspected of sorcery and she prayed for Divine inter-
vention. At that very time, the pious, blind Tobit prayed for 
help for his family and sent his son Tobias to Media on a mis-
sion to recover some silver he'd loaned long ago to Sarah's 
father. God heard both prayers and sent the angel Raphael to 
help. Tobias was escorted by the angel Raphael in disguise as 
an old man named Azarias. While camping beside the river 
Tigris, Tobias caught a large fish and Azarias taught Tobias to 
save its heart, liver, and gall. The latter cured blindness, he 
said, and the heart and liver could be used to cure a person 
plagued by a demon or evil spirit. The angel then instructed 
Tobias to propose marriage to Sarah despite her femme fatale 
reputation, and to follow his instructions. Tobias did as Azarias 
told him, and on his wedding night with Sarah, Tobias burned 
the fish's organs as prescribed and the smell drove Asmodeus 
away from the bridal chamber. It all worked out happily for 
the couple. However, the demon's reputation for the destruc-
tion of marital bliss continued on for centuries. 
Asmodeus 
is also famously associated with 
King 
Solomon. In one story the king had grown arrogant and trans-
gressed the Ten Commandments by having a thousand wives, 
so the Holy One sent Asmodeus, king of the demons, to sit on 
his throne. Asmodeus was able to usurp the throne by stealing 
and using Solomon's magic ring. Solomon roamed the streets 
saying that he was the real king of Israel, and everybody 
thought he was insane. Finally, Solomon's mother and one of

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A S M O D E U S 
his wives discovered that Asmodeus was an impostor; the 
demon left tracks in ashes with his telltale cock's feet. 
Solomon was found and was returned to the throne, where he 
ruled with even greater humility and brilliance. 
In another version of the tale, it was King Solomon who 
initiated the ordeal by engaging Asmodeus in a philosophical 
discussion about the nature of reality and illusion, during 
which Asmodeus tricked the king into giving him his magic 
ring (inscribed with the name of the Almighty). Then 
Asmodeus threw the ring into the sea, and immediately King 
Solomon found himself in another life, wandering about as a 
beggar. He worked for many years in hard labor, and after an 
arduous time of trials, he became a cook in the kitchen of a 
king. One evening he was preparing a fish that turned out to 
hold in its belly the very ring that Asmodeus had thrown into 
the water. He placed it on his finger and again became King 
Solomon. He awakened in his own bed within the same 
moment that he'd left but with new insights gained from a 
"lifetime" away. From then on he became an even wiser and 
humbler king and judge than he had been before. 
D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
To discover demons, spread ashes around your bed 
at night and in the morning you may see if any foot-
prints, like those of a cock, are there. 
— The Talmud (Berakhot, 6a) 
If Asmodeus is found in the bedroom, the heart and liver 
of a special fish can be placed on an incense-burner and 
roasted for the terrible aroma. The type of fish is known only 
to angels, so the next best thing is any pungent-smelling herb, 
such as garlic, or strong-smelling smoke from incense — or 
burning tar, which is always an effective repellant (see Djinn 
in Desert).

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C H A N G I N G B E A R 
M A I D E N 
North America (Navajo) 
Changing Bear Maiden, the quintessential demonic female of 
the Navajo, is first glimpsed as a model housekeeper. She is a 
gentle, beautiful virgin, an orphan, who can be seen in the 
kitchen preparing meals for her twelve good brothers. When 
next seen, she is filled with wrath and the spirit of revenge and 
has shape-shifted into a lethal she-bear. 
L O R E 
Changing Bear Maiden lived with her loving brothers, 
twelve skilled hunters and excellent providers. The sibling 
family lived in harmony until one day Changing Bear Maiden 
became the object of the notorious trickster Coyote's desire. 
After many tests, she agreed to marry him, much to the hor-
ror and resentment of her brothers. Her nature changed as she 
fell under the control of the seductive, lusty Coyote. 
One day the brothers were going off to hunt and tried to 
leave Coyote behind. He begged them to bring him along on 
the hunt, and at last they gave in. After a while they could no 
longer tolerate his mischievous ways and sent him home with 
some meat. They instructed him to go around the forbidden 
canyon, and not to cut across it, but Coyote did not heed their 
warnings and was killed before arriving home. The story of 
his demise is recounted in many ways, but the brothers were 
not responsible. 
It was night when the brothers arrived home. Coyote had 
not yet returned. Their sister asked where her husband was. 
The brothers answered that they had warned him not to enter 
the canyon, but that he probably had and may have been 
harmed. "What have you done with him?" Changing 
Bear 
Maiden asked angrily, in a voice her brothers had never heard 
before. She was certain that they had killed her husband and 
was filled with rage. 
Before they went to sleep that night, the brothers sent 
the youngest to hide and watch their sister. He saw her rise up 
and face the east, then, moving the way of the sun, she turned

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and faced the south, west, and north. Then Changing 
Bear 
Maiden pulled out her right eyetooth and replaced it with a 
large tusk. She then did the same with her left eyetooth. He 
then saw her remove her lower right and left canine teeth and 
replace them with tusks made of bone. No sooner had she 
begun to pull her teeth out than hair began to sprout from her 
hands, and as she continued, the coarse shaggy hair spread 
over her arms and legs and body. 
The youngest returned to his brothers to report what he 
had seen, and was sent back to the hiding place to view more. 
His sister continued to move in the direction of the sun, paus-
ing to open her mouth at each direction. Her ears grew and 
began to wag. Her nose changed into a long snout. Her nails 
turned into large claws. The youngest brother watched until 
dawn and then went back to report what he'd seen to his 
brothers. 
As he spoke, a she-bear suddenly rushed past the lodge 
and followed the trail that Coyote had taken the day before. At 
night she came back wounded, and they all watched from a 
hiding place as their sister who had been a bear walked around 
her fire removing arrowheads from her body. The next morn-
ing a "she-bear" rushed past the lodge, and again returned 
bleeding and spent the night magically healing her wounds. 
This continued for four days and four nights, until she had 
killed all those responsible for Coyote's death. Meanwhile, the 
brothers, fearing for their lives, fled. They left the youngest 
brother at home. When they were gone, the Wind came to 
help the youngest brother dig a hole under the center of the 
hogan, and from this dug four tunnels, each branching off in 
one of the four directions. 
When morning came and Changing 
Bear 
Maiden 
returned and found that her brothers had all departed, she 
poured water on the ground to see which way they had trav-
eled. The water spread out to the east. She rushed off toward 
the east, overtook the brothers who had gone in that direction, 
and killed them. Again she poured water, and for the other 
three directions, found her brothers and killed them. Finally 
she poured water and it sank into the ground. Changing Bear

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Maiden 
quickly dug downward, and there she found her 
youngest brother hiding beneath her. She greeted him, and 
told him to come up. She held out her finger for him to grab, 
but the Wind warned him not to accept her help but to climb 
out of the hole by himself. 
The youngest brother climbed out of the hole and 
walked toward the east while Changing Bear Maiden tried to 
lure him into the deserted hut. But the Wind warned him not 
to enter so he passed on. His sister then asked him to sit fac-
ing west so that she could comb his hair, but the Wind warned 
him not to do it because it was late in the afternoon, and he 
would not be able to see her shadow. He was advised to sit fac-
ing north. 
When they both sat down, and as she touched his hair, he 
could see her shadow transform as her snout grew longer, and 
he could see the shadowy wagging of her ears. The Wind told 
him to get up, and pointed out the plant in which Changing 
Bear Maiden had hidden her vital organs. The boy ran to the 
plant (despite many obstacles that sprung up from the ground) 
and he could hear her lungs breathing in the plant before him, 
and shot his arrow straight into the plant. The bear/woman 
fell to the ground, with a stream of blood flowing in two direc-
tions. The Wind told the boy that the two streams of blood 
could never meet, for if they did, his evil sister would be 
revived. 
The brave brother cut her breasts off, threw them into a 
piñon tree that had never borne fruit, and they became pine 
nuts; her tongue became cactus, and her vagina, the yucca 
fruit. He cut off her head and it became a bear and walked off 
into the woods, first promising only to attack to protect its 
species. The Wind helped him revive his siblings. They all 
built a new hut. Then the youngest brother went off to live at 
a place called Big Point on the Edge, which is in the shape of 
a Navajo hut, where he still is believed to reside today. 
D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
It is the youngest brother who, with innocence, courage, 
and unselfishness, acts as hero in this tale and finally trans-

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mutes the body parts of the destroyed demoness into useful 
and nurturing animal and vegetable life. Often the sheer ani-
mal energy of the demon lives on after the quelling and must 
be dealt with later. Sometimes the remains must be burned or 
reburied and sometimes, as in this case, they seed and create 
good things.

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DOMOVOI 
Russia 
The Domovoi {dam means "house"), like the genius loci of the 
Greeks, is considered a guardian spirit, and is referred to as 
"Grandfather" behind his back. Shy, and not given to public 
appearances, the Domovoi is rarely seen but is heard nightly 
in odd groans and creaks. When he does scurry out from 
behind the stove and across the kitchen floor at night, he is 
usually covered with fur, and has been mistaken for the fam-
ily cat or dog. This is his most frequent form, but once in a 
while, when he has shape-shifted into the guise of master of 
the house, he has been seen as a doppelganger. Reports of 
sightings of the Domovoi as a very old man with a beard are 
also frequent. 
When the Domovoi is not in the kitchen, he'll wander 
into the stable. He even grooms the horses in the middle of the 
night in a sort of fairy-helper way. He is fond of horses and 
cows and can converse with them fluently. 
The Domovoi is usually a domesticated presence, vital to 
the intrinsic health of any household. But, like all demonic 
species, he is volatile, impulsive, and subversive by nature. 
When a Domovoi is aggravated by homeowners, or thinks he 
hasn't been paid proper respect — if, for example, there's salt 
in his porridge offering, dishes left in the sink, or simply no 
special treat left out for him — he can quickly erupt in a vio-
lent tantrum. He throws pots at the head of household. He 
spreads manure all over the front door and stoop. He ties 
horses to the stalls so they cannot get to their food and slowly 
starve to death. The Domovoi can do all this and more in a fit 
of excessive spirits, without any obvious provocation. 
L O R E 
Once the Domovoi, well known for braiding the manes 
of horses, took to braiding a maiden's hair each night. She 
never even owned a comb, but always looked quite lovely. He 
told her never to unbraid her hair or to get married. But one

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day she decided to marry and to comb her long hair. On the 
morning of her wedding the bride was found dead. 
The Domovoi is a powerful house spirit, and at night his 
cold hand upon one portends death. He also sometimes chokes 
people fatally while they sleep. Despite this, his warm soft 
touch at night always signals future good fortune. 
The Domovoi is believed by some to have been a fallen 
angel, hurled to earth from heaven by the Archangel Michael. 
While other spirits landed in forest and water, the Domovoi 
landed in the house. Two subspecies of the Domovoi are the 
Bannik and the Ovinnik, both vicious and dangerous. The 
Bannik is the spirit of the bathhouse and has been known to 
peel the skin off visitors. The Ovinnik often burns down barns 
and generally waits until the owner is within. The Domovoi is 
always better behaved than his demonic close cousins, for the 
ancient guardian role from which he came deeply influenced 
his temperament and he is inherently protective. He simply 
demands extreme loyalty. 
D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
The Domovoi is considered with the usual ambivalence 
toward such powers. His goodwill and protection is sought, 
however, so he is never averted or dispelled but can be dis-
armed by offerings of kasha, tobacco, and juniper. Since it is 
almost impossible to get rid of the creature, it's best to learn 
to live with him. If the family moves, it is best to formally 
invite him along and bring some of his stove coals. To not do 
so will make future life miserable. He will avenge himself on 
the departed family as well as the new one.

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H I R A N Y A K A S H I P U 
India 
Hiranyakashipu is a powerful cosmic Hindu asura (demon) of 
the threshold, which is the sole place, "not inside and not out-
side," where he is vulnerable. He is huge, horned, and has the 
demonic appearance of a Rakshasa with large animal ears, 
clawed feet, and a tail. 
L O R E 
Once there were two gatekeepers of the celestial world 
who refused entrance to the two sons of Brahma, the Creator, 
because of the way they were dressed. The sons happened to 
be sages and worthy of enormous respect and were so infuri-
ated they cursed the gatekeepers to fall to earth and be born 
in the mortal world as demons. The curse was later modified 
to a finite period of three demon lifetimes (many millennia), 
after which the two would again ascend to the celestial world. 
The gatekeepers made their first demonic appearance on 
earth as the brothers Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu. 
On 
the day of their birth, the earth trembled and a comet 
appeared on the horizon. As they grew they spread terror 
everywhere. The first brother, Hiranyaksha, met his death in 
a deluge of his own creation when he was killed and the world 
was saved by the gods. 
Hiranyakashipu 
lived on, determined to avenge his 
brother's murder at the hands of the gods. He took up eons of 
austerities to earn the tapas (superhuman powers) necessary 
for a battle. When he had finally accumulated enough power 
to demand a boon from Brahma, he tried to word it cleverly: 
"I seek the following boon: that I not meet my death at the 
hands of gods or created beings, and through no weapon of any 
kind, and not on earth or in the air, and not at day or night or 
inside or outside my house!" And Brahma said: "Let it 
be so!" 
Thinking himself utterly invincible, Hiranyakashipu let 
loose a reign of terror, tormenting both sages and ordinary 
humans. He said that all must henceforth worship him alone.

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H 1 R A N Y A K A S H I P U 
Meanwhile, back at his mansion, his wife had a baby. 
Despite all paternal training, the boy refused to bow to evil or 
follow in his father's footsteps. Hiranyakashipu attempted to 
kill the saintly child three times, but each time was thwarted 
by divine intervention. Sure that the child would grow up to 
be good (unlike his other serpent son Hrada), Hiranyakashipu 
made one more effort to do the boy in, and nearly succeeded. 
As he sat just outside his house with a raised knife and the boy 
on his lap, Vishnu could stand it no more. 
Vishnu, in the terrible incarnation of Man-Lion, 
appeared. Sitting cross-legged on a small pile of hay at the 
doorway to the demon's mansion at twilight, the Man-Lion, 
not on the earth nor in the sky, and at a time that was not day 
nor night, neither inside nor outside, destroyed the hideous in-
betweener, 
Hiranyakashipu. 
Of 
course, 
this 
was 
only 
one 
lifetime, 
and 
Hiranyakashipu 
had only two reincarnations to live out his 
sentence before ascending to the celestial world again.

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L I L I T H 
(Judaism) 
Lilith is the most important Jewish femme fatale of the suc-
cubus species (female demons who engage in erotic activities 
with male humans while they sleep) and the only spirit of her 
gender referred to in the Bible. It is only a brief mention, fol-
lowing a description of a wasteland inhabited by jackals and 
hyenas: "And Lilith shall repose there" (Isaiah 34:14). 
Ancient tributaries to the powerful Lilith point to her 
major roles, all associated with night, with seduction in the 
form of a temptress-succubus, and by the Middle Ages, also 
with the death of human infants. Her biblical mention may 
have been intended to refer to ancient Babylonian demonesses 
called lilitu (female night spirits) or to the Sumerian wind 
demon Lil (wind). Also, the word "night" in Hebrew is lilah, 
and the screech owl, lilit.

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L I L I T H 
There was an Arabian demon (Um Es Sibyan) who acted 
like Lilith with infants. She had the body of a chicken, the 
chest of a camel, and a human face, and flew nightly calling 
like a bird — warh-warh-warh. 
The cry was a death portent 
to any child who happened to hear it unless the parent 
repeated the preventative tchlok-tchlok-tchlok continuously 
until the demon had passed by. Another source of her com-
bined attributes was the Greek Lamia, whose children by Zeus 
were killed by Hera and who for revenge became a child-killer 
and joined the Empusae, the demon daughters of Hecate who 
lay with sleeping men and sucked their vital forces until they 
died. 
Lilith can be sighted in the home, an ironic habitat for 
her, given her fiercely antidomestic attitude. Lilith is seen flit-
ting through the Talmud, her long, lustrous black hair shin-
ing in the moonlight, her eyes aglow. There, she is mother of 
all the shedim (demons) and, apparently, the wife of Adam 
before Eve, based on the commentaries arising from the 
phrase "Male and Female He created them" (Genesis 1:27). In 
the eleventh century, Lilith appears in a popular book, The 
Alphabet of Ben Sira (based on an apocryphal text called The 
Wisdom of Ben Sira), as the first wife of Adam. 
L O R E 
In this tale, God created Lilith as a companion to Adam, 
not after Adam or from his rib, but at the exact same moment 
and from the same dust. God created her so that Adam would 
not be alone. But Lilith, who insisted she was made from dust 
just as her husband was, felt she was equal to him and would 
not behave in a submissive or subservient manner. Their 
stormy relationship culminated with Lilith 
refusing the 
missionary position and insisting on being on top. Adam 
wouldn't hear of it and forced her to submit. Lilith flew away 
that very night and was soon in a cave, cavorting with hordes 
of demon lovers. It is said that these promiscuous couplings 
produced a hundred demons a day, called the lilin. Some say 
that Lilith's offspring singlehandedly account for all demons 
alive.

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Adam complained that he'd been abandoned. "Lord of 
the Universe, the woman thou hast given me, has fled from 
me." The Lord sent (before Eve was created from Adam's rib) 
three angels named Senoy, Sansenoy, and Semangeloff to tell 
her to come back. Lilith was enraged. She replied that not only 
would she never return to domestic life, but she would hence-
forth attempt to take the souls of human infants away. 
However, she finally agreed that if confronted with an amulet 
that bears the names of the three angels and the words "Out 
Lilith," she would not do any harm. As Adam and Eve propa-
gated the human race, Lilith's fame spread, as did the recita-
tion of the charm against her. 
Lilith became the antagonist of so many tales that she 
appears under various names, like Agrat bat Mahalat, who 
rules 180,000 malicious spirits, and who enjoys tempting 
single Talmudic scholars with her luxuriant long shining 
black hair; she slips under their sheets and provokes relent-
lessly erotic dreams and nocturnal emissions. In fact, perhaps 
one of the best ways to catch a glimpse of Lilith is to practice 
asceticism and scholarship in solitude for a while. 
Lilith reportedly wound up marrying Asmodeus (the 
demon of Wrath and Lust) around the thirteenth century; a 
number of tales from the Middle Ages show them as a couple. 
She also appears as the companion of an evil spirit named 
Sammael, an alternative name for both Satan and Asmodeus; 
they are seen in the dark as two black dogs roaming the empty 
streets. 
In one famous tale Lilith 
was sent to tempt King 
Solomon as he studied Torah. As soon as she manifested, the 
Hebrew letters flew up mysteriously from the pages. This 
immediately alerted the king to danger. When he looked up 
from the Book he saw a strikingly beautiful dark-haired 
woman in his room. Half tempted, but very suspicious, since 
none of the doors to his room were open, he grabbed the 
woman by the arm and dragged her over to a mirror. She had 
no reflection. With her illusory appearance stripped away, she 
vanished at once. The Hebrew letters returned to the Book. 
King Solomon returned to his studies.

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D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
In an ancient Aramaic charm used against Lilith, a writ 
of divorce is served on her, and she is commanded to go forth 
stripped. The stripping of this demoness somehow erases her 
power, as when one strips an officer of his stripes or strips 
someone of their "dignity." Perhaps removing her illusory 
garb shows her for what she is in the same way as King 
Solomon did by dragging her to a mirror. Mirrors are excel-
lent household diagnostic tools because no demon has a reflec-
tion, but tricking a spirit into standing in front of a mirror is 
difficult because they all know they have no bodies. For the 
nursery, the amulet inscribed with the names of angels, Senoy, 
Sansenoy, and Semangeloff has been used effectively for a long 
time.

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C H A N G E L I N G S 
Great Britain 
Changelings are fairies, often described as pale, big-headed, 
mentally retarded, or deformed human babies. In actuality 
they are not human at all. In order for fairies to successfully 
steal human babies (as they often do) and take them down to 
the subterranean Fairyland, they must leave in the crib either 
carved wooden substitutes or elderly, feeble, washed-up fairies 
who pretend to be human infants. Especially at risk of being 
stolen are those babies not yet named or baptized, and all those 
left alone and unguarded. 
As they grow older, Changelings are notorious for play-
ing pranks, such as stealing milk, or playing music that forces 
people to dance against their will, and breaking valuable 
household objects. It is difficult to tell if one's own baby is a 
Changeling, but in Hungary, England, and parts of Africa, 
children born with teeth are suspected. If it's been behaving 
like a Changeling — breaking things, being quite naughty, or 
speaking in a precocious manner — a parent can try to trick 
it into disclosing its identity. 
L O R E 
A woman who suspected her child might be a Changeling 
was so upset she didn't know what to do. She just knew that the 
weird-looking thing in her house was not her own sweet babe. 
She told her neighbor about her suspicions and the neighbor 
gave her some advice. She sat the baby down in a chair in the 
kitchen, and then she carefully boiled some water and then 
threw in eggshells, discarding the eggs. The Changeling sud-
denly asked: "What are you brewing?" Of course, the spoken 
words themselves were advanced enough to send a chill 
through the mother. "I'm brewing eggshells!" she replied 
calmly as she could. "Oh!" the Changeling exclaimed, "In the 
fifteen hundred years that I have been alive, I have never seen 
anyone brew eggshells before!" When the mother then turned 
to destroy the now proven supernatural creature, she found 
instead her own innocent babe asleep in its place.

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C H A N G E L I N G S 
In some versions of this tale (told in France, Germany, 
and Japan) the Changeling simply bursts into laughter at the 
eggshell boil, instantly vanishing, leaving the human child in 
its stead. Unfortunately, getting rid of the Changeling often 
resulted in abusive practice. At times mothers were advised to 
whip the Changeling until a fairy appeared who would say, 
"Do not beat it, I've done your child no harm," and then 
shamefacedly return the real baby and take her own back. 
Many suspect children were put onto red hot shovels, or 
beaten, all in an attempt to force the "fairy" to return the "real 
child." 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
To guard a baby against fairies in the Scottish Highlands, 
whisky mixed with earth was fed to the baby as its first food. 
Metal was also used to ward off fairies, such as hanging iron 
crosses, scissors, and knives around the crib, pins stuck in the 
infant's clothing, or laying the father's trousers across the 
cradle, or surrounding it with a circle of fire. Salt on the head 
or sprinkled around the room was also believed effective. Some 
placed the cradle in the center of the floor. In northern 
Scotland a custom was to wave the Bible three times over the 
child to represent the Holy Trinity. In addition, the sign of the 
cross was drawn on the floor of the nursery. 
In Ireland a charm was made from old horseshoe nails, 
hen excrement, and salt that scared away the 
Changeling 
and brought the human baby back. Worldwide Christian 
Changeling prevention is baptism.

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P A Z U Z U 
Babylonia 
Pazuzu is a hybrid creature, with the feet of an eagle, the paws 
of a lion, the head of a dog, the tail of a scorpion, and four 
wings. Half his head is skinless and the skull is exposed. He 
has a deathlike grimace. Pazuzu, or rather the image of him, 
would be found perched in the window of any ancient home, 
facing outward. 
The powerful demon is said to have embodied a dread 
pestilence believed to have been carried by the southwest 
wind, even the deadly wind itself that swept over the Arabian 
desert, a scorchingly hot and withering wind — a killing 
wind. The presence of such an apotropaic image as Pazuzu in 
the window of a home is clearly meant to ward off others of 
his own kind. Some idea of the incredible power of these 
ancient demons can be heard in the following conjuration

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P A Z U Z U 
against them, which the Guide recommends saying aloud for 
full effect: 
They are seven! They are seven! 
In the depths of the Ocean, they are seven! 
In the heights of the heavens, they are seven. 
They come from the Ocean depths, from the hidden retreat 
They are neither male nor female. 
They have no spouse. They do not produce children. 
They are strangers to benevolence, 
They listen neither to prayers nor wishes. 
Vermin come forth from the mountain, 
enemies of the god Hea, 
They are agents of vengeance of the gods, 
raising up difficulties, obtaining power by violence. 
The enemies! The enemies! 
They are seven! They are seven. They are twice seven. 
Spirit of the heavens, may they be conjured 
Spirit of the earth, may they be conjured! 
The demons are dreaded, utterly impervious to pity, 
benevolence, and so alien as not to have any sympathetic con-
nection with human beings. The conjuration is not specifi-
cally addressed to one or another demon, because one never 
knew which of the demonic spirits might be the agent of the 
disaster. Pazuzu, grotesque as he is, was only one of a ter-
rible crowd of like spirits who bore disease to households in 
ancient times. He was powerful enough to be employed to 
avert others. 
L O R E 
Pazuzu 
has come down to contemporary lore via 
Hollywood, which brought him into the body of a child in The 
Exorcist. He was not seen and had only a small speaking role, 
but it was memorable. During an exorcism, the camera closed 
in on the face of the child, and the baritone voiceover of 
Pazuzu startlingly came from her mouth, answering the exor-
cist's request, "Tell us who you are." He replied, "Pazuzu."

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This was actually quite odd, as prior to this role he was known 
only for pestilence, never for possession. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
The use of terrifying demonic images at the door and in 
the window to avert species is used to this day in China, where 
mirrors on the roof are used to deflect evil spirits who try to 
perch there. The idea is that when demons approach and see 
their own image, they will be so repulsed or terrified by it, 
they'll fly elsewhere. In this tradition, spirits can see their own 
reflections. In Jewish folk tradition a warding-off technique is 
to write on the door of the house, "So-and-so is not at home." 
In Nepal a technique is to get up very early in the morning, 
knock on somebody's door, and when they say, "Who's there?" 
reply, "Headache with fever," and quickly run away, thus 
transferring illness to another household. Presumably they 
can try the same transference the next morning.

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I S I T W A L A N G C E N G C E 
South Africa 
Isitwalangcengce 
(Basket Bearer), a Zulu spirit, is much 
larger than most domicile species. He resembles a hyena, but 
has an extremely wide head, shaped rather like a basket. The 
Basket Bearer lurks about near the house waiting for women 
and children to return from the market with meat. Typically, 
the Isitwalangcengce snatches the meat and hurls the child 
into his basket-shaped head for a later meal. It is believed 
that the Basket Bearer enjoys human brain. He arrives at this 
delicacy much like a seagull: he throws his victims onto rocks 
to break the skull open, and leaves the other body parts 
behind. 
L O R E 
Once a man outwitted a Basket Bearer by gathering 
small sticks from trees as he was being carried away in the 
basket. Slowly, passing trees and quietly snapping off twigs 
as he went by, the man piled wood in the basket until the 
load seemed heavy enough to substitute for his own body so 
the Basket Bearer would not notice his absence. Then he 
reached up to a tree, held on to a limb, and slipped out of 
the basket. Isitwalangcengce kept going, unaware that he was 
carrying mere wood, assuming that the load was the man 
himself. When the Basket Bearer arrived at the rocks and 
dumped out his contents, he found no man, just a bundle of 
wood. 
The Basket Bearer was enraged, and rushed back to the 
man's village to retrieve his meal. Unable to find the man, 
he grabbed a young girl. However, the man who had escaped 
had told the entire village how he had managed to out-
smart the demon as soon as he returned. The girl had lis-
tened carefully and she knew what to do. The demon fell for 
the same trick, and presumably moved on to easier hunting 
ground.

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D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
As the tale shows, for all their ferocity, many demonic 
species can be easily outwitted by Homo sapiens, and often be 
overcome entirely by tricks that wouldn't fool a human child. 
If caught by an Isitwalangcengce, there is no known amulet to 
protect any human. One must rely on wits alone while they 
are still available.

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L I D E R C 
Hungary 
The Liderc appears in three striking variations: a flickering 
light, a demonic household helper, or an incubus. In its ignis 
fatuus form it is a Lidercfeny, which is often a death portent 
seen shining mysteriously just over the roof of the household 
that will be struck. The household helper Liderc, called a Mit-
mitke, appears as a featherless chicken. It may arrive on its own 
or be hatched from an egg incubated under the armpit. It car-
ries out tasks for its master. Unfortunately, it carries out tasks 
too quickly and efficiently and always wants more to do, until 
eventually it incessantly begs its master for new chores. This 
variety of Liderc, who can shape-shift to human form, soon 
becomes a household pest. If not given tasks, it will eventually 
destroy its owner. 
The third variety of Liderc is the prevalent incubus 
species that appears when a lover is absent for too long. This 
opportunistic demon lover enters the house via the chimney 
as a flame (connecting it with the flickering light type). He lit-
erally loves his victim to death, returning night after night 
until, after excessive copulation (demonic energy and stamina 
being traits of both the obsessive household Liderc and the 
incubus), the human lover wastes away to nothing and dies. 
This variety of Liderc can manifest as a fiery person, or 
flame, or even a star, rather like the Bulgarian Zmej. It appears 
in a shining sky carriage and makes stops to cohabit with mor-
tal women who afterward also often waste away. 
L O R E 
Once there was a young widow who wept constantly for 
her departed husband, grieving her loss, until one night, a 
Liderc arrived in the form of a star. When it began landing 
directly above her house, and everybody in town saw the star 
vanish every night, rumors began that she was with a Liderc. 
Her father warned her that if this gossip was true her visitor 
was an unclean spirit, and she would waste away. At first she 
denied that she had a lover, but her father said she was

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looking paler and paler every day, and when she finally admit-
ted it, her father insisted that she at least look to see if one of 
her visitor's legs resembled that of a goose. "If so," he said, 
"hide the boot he wears on his other leg." She looked, as her 
father told her, and lo and behold, her lover had the leg of a 
goose. So she hid his boot. This so infuriated the Liderc he 
turned into flame and never returned. The widow was sick for 
a very long time afterward, but she finally recovered. 
Another tale of the Liderc lover is about a young wife 
whose husband has left for the army. She was miserable until 
one night, without so much as a door opening, her "husband" 
appeared to comfort her. These visitations continued for a 
while, until one day the young wife confided in a neighbor 
that her husband visited her regularly, appearing in uniform. 
The neighbor told her it was impossible that this visitor was 
her husband and that he might be an unclean spirit. The 
neighbor was a wise woman and advised the wife to scatter 
ashes at the door and examine her visitor's footprints the 
morning after. That was how she discovered his one goose foot 
just in time, for she too had begun to wither away. 
D I S P E L L I N G & D I S A R M I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
To stop a Liderc lover from entering via the bedroom 
door, one can tie a door handle with a cord used to hold up 
trousers. This makes it impossible for him to enter. If he has 
already arrived, hiding his boot and thus revealing his origins 
will stop him from returning. The last strategy (to employ 
when the mit-mitke shape-shifts to human form) is to follow 
the Liderc to church, and expose him to the entire village by 
looking at him in a significant and knowing way. This will 
blow his cover and he'll vanish immediately to save face. The 
household-helper Liderc cannot be gotten rid of, only kept 
busy. But one can give it impossible tasks — like bringing 
home sand or water in a sieve. The only other way is to stuff 
the creature into a hole in a tree trunk. There are no means to 
avert the portent Liderc.

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AL 
Armenia 
The Al is a species of terrifying half-human, half-animal crea-
ture with brass fingernails, long snakelike hair, a fiery single 
eye, iron teeth, and the tusks of a wild boar. The Al carries iron 
scissors. Whenever it wears a pointed hat covered with small 
bells, it becomes completely invisible. A Is live in damp places 
like the stable or sandy wet areas on the road or unclean 
corners of the house. But their awful deeds are done in the 
nursery. 
Als (perhaps from the Babylonian alu, a family of evil 
spirits shaped like a black dogs) began as disease-carrying 
demons and evolved into a gruesome specialty. They attack 
pregnant women, strangling them and their unborn children 
and pulling out their livers. They also attack and steal new-
borns up to seven months of age, and are said to cause miscar-
riage as well. 
L O R E 
In the beginning God gave Adam an Al for a companion 
but the Al, made of fire, was not compatible with Adam, made 
of dust. Then God created Eve. This infuriated the envious Al, 
who has been out to destroy women ever since. 
In Christian legend, St. Peter encountered a grotesque 
being with iron teeth and tusks sitting on the roadside in a 
sandy wet place, and asked him to identify himself. The crea-
ture replied: "Call me Al." He went on to describe his activ-
ities. "I strangle the mother in childbirth and pull out her 
liver. I steal the unborn infant and carry it to our demon-
king." 
D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
To keep the Als away, one must put many iron utensils, 
pots, knives, and other objects all around one's body. When

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pregnant, a woman must sleep with a piece of iron under her 
pillow — a sword or knife will do. A pin may help. In some 
lore sticking a pin in the blouse of an Al will make it a slave. 
There are also special prayers that can be uttered during 
childbirth to discourage an Al from attacking the liver or a 
newborn.

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F O X 
F A I R Y 
China 
The Fox Fairy (huli jing) is considered highly dangerous and 
held in awe. It was believed to be the shen (spirit) of the dead 
and has been seen rising from graves. The Fox Fairy often 
shape-shifts into a tempting, wicked young woman, or an old 
man or scholar. In fact, the female Fox Fairy has an affinity 
for scholars (as they are reputedly unusually virtuous) and 
will attempt to seduce them whenever possible. The Fox Fairy 
is after the vital essence of its human lover during orgasm, and 
will steal it away. Lovers eventually become consumptive and 
waste away to nothing. The Fox Fairy moves on. 
The Fox Fairy can also shape-shift into the semblance of 
a person long dead, and as that person haunt houses and ter-
rify mortals. It has also been known to appear in the guise of 
somebody who actually lives far away. It is seen as a clever

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trickster, a cunning survivor, and a deadly power. Most notably, 
it can possess its human prey out of sheer malevolence. 
Generations of madness in one family is thought to be the 
result of having injured a Fox Fairy (in one of its transforma-
tions) long ago. 
Invisible by daylight, the Fox Fairy can be seen at night 
around the home in various forms. It is often sighted prowl-
ing the roof of the house, and is offered delicacies and incense. 
The Fox Fairy is always treated with great respect, if not actu-
ally worshiped outright. It can transport people through the 
air and empower its worshipers with the ability to enter 
houses through walls and closed windows as it is able to do. 
L O R E 
One morning a young man was carrying a load of veg-
etables across a field with several companions. All of a sudden 
he seemed struck by some force that froze him in midstep. He 
dropped his baskets, and at once began to rave like a madman. 
Soon the whole village was talking about the incident. The 
young man claimed to be possessed by a Fox Fairy. When a 
person is possessed by a huli jing he not only becomes a raving 
maniac, he gains the power to heal. This young man was sud-
denly able to cure diseases. People came from all over, begging 
to be cured. Word of his powers spread and people came from 
afar. He grew so wealthy that he erected a beautiful shrine to 
the Fox Fairy. 
Once there was a wealthy man living in northern China. 
He had a large, ever-growing pile of straw in his yard that was 
left untouched by his servants, who only added more fresh 
straw as it was believed to be the abode of the Fox Fairy. One 
day the spirit, in the shape of an old man, came to the master 
of the house and invited him into the straw pile for a drink. 
The man at first refused, but when he finally consented and 
went through the hole in the straw, he was astonished to find 
that in the simple straw there were elaborate rooms, furnished 
luxuriously. The two sat down to drink tea and wine, and later, 
when the rich man left, he turned to say farewell only to find 
that all the furnishings had vanished.

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F A I R Y 
The Fox Fairy, up to mischief, continued to visit his 
neighbor in the old man guise and would leave suddenly for 
"other engagements." Burning with curiosity, the rich man 
asked him where he went each night and the demon answered 
that at night he usually visited friends and asked if his neigh-
bor would like to join him. After declining at first, the rich 
man decided to go. That night they flew through the air like 
a gust of wind and arrived at an inn. There the "old man" led 
his victim to the gallery above a large and crowded room, and 
went himself to fetch food from the banquet table below to eat 
in the quiet gallery. When the rich man spotted some fruit on 
a table below, he asked for some. The Fox Fairy said, "I can-
not get them for I cannot go anywhere near that man who's 
standing near the fruit, as he is a very good and upright man." 
The rich man suddenly realized that he might not be an 
upright man since he consorted with a Fox Fairy, and he 
determined not to involve himself with such spirits any 
longer. Just as that thought crossed his mind, he seemed to fall 
from the gallery and crashed into the party beneath. The 
guests at the banquet were astonished to see him, especially 
because there was no gallery above, only a wooden rafter. At 
first they thought him a malevolent spirit, but when he 
explained how he had arrived, they all recognized it was Fox 
Fairy mischief. They gave him money to return to his home, 
which turned out to be more than a thousand li away. 
D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
Burning paper charms against the Fox Fairy, and then 
putting the ashes into tea and drinking it, may help. It is most 
important never to harm the creature. When in female form, 
plying it with wine until it's drunk will make it revert to its 
true shape, and once discovered it will vanish. If, in its fox 
form, the tail can be somehow cut off (because the tail is the 
source of its power), it will leave the premises and never 
return.

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M A R E 
Norway 
The Norwegian Mare is a female shape shifter who visits her 
sleeping victims (usually men) and torments them while they 
sleep. The Mare can fit herself through a keyhole in a door, a 
crack in a wall, or blow through an open window. She can be 
beautiful or ugly, a dwarf or a giant. Most often, though, she 
takes the form of an animal, most commonly a horse. When 
she has gotten into her victim's bedroom, she mounts their 
chest, causing pains, tightness, troubled breathing, and hor-
rible dreams. In Germany she is the Mahr, in Danish, Mare, 
in America the nightmare is her descendent. 
By day, the Mare appears as a normal human woman. 
She is overcome by a late-night urge. At night, in prowl mode, 
she roams around until she finds a victim. But after sunrise she 
turns into somebody's mother, wife, or a shopkeeper and is 
indistinguishable from real humans. If she cannot find a 
human victim, sometimes a Mare will ride an animal instead. 
Horses in their stalls wake up doused in their own sweat and 
cows are shaky when being milked and will give sour milk. 
L O R E 
Once there was a farmer's son who was tormented 
nightly by a Mare. One evening he asked a friend for help. 
Together they closed all the holes in his room except one, 
through which the Mare could slip in. As soon as the friend 
saw anything out of the ordinary he was to plug up that hole 
as well. He did this, and in the morning the farmer's son found 
a beautiful girl in his bed. She did not know where she had 
come from, nor did he, but he was enchanted. The two were 
married and had many children. One day he showed her the 
hole through which she had slipped into his room. She slipped 
out of it and was never seen again. 
D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
To protect oneself against the Mare, one should never 
sleep with an open mouth. It is believed that if a Mare can

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count a person's teeth, he will surely die. When leaving shoes 
by the bedside, the toes should be pointed away from the bed, 
lest they be used as a sort of trail to the sleeper. A horseshoe 
over the bed is a helpful deterrent, as is anything made of iron 
or steel near the bedside or under the pillow. Lighted candles 
around the bed also keep the Mare away. Prayers often work, 
as does reciting this ditty: 
Mare, Mare, Mare hear! 
Are you now inside of here? 
Do you remember the blow on the nose 
that Sigurd Sigmundarson gave you, my dear? 
If you're inside then out you'll go, 
bearing rocks and stones, 
and everything within here! 
To protect livestock from the Mare, metal hung around 
the barn, or spruce and fir twigs, will keep the Mare away. A 
metal bell around the animal's neck may avert the demon.

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K I T C H E N 
F A I R I E S 
China 
Kitchen Fairies are a large, industrious, invisible population, 
and since they cast no shadows they can be accounted for only 
by the unusual amount of work they accomplish for their own-
ers. They obsessively sweep and dust, so it is very obvious 
whose house is inhabited and whose is not. 
Some people want Kitchen Fairies. They can be caught 
at any crossroads by burying two different kinds of animals, 
digging them up later, and putting their remains in an incense 
burner. One won't see the Fairies, but the house will be 
instantly cleaner. 
Two problems exist. First, for their very hard work 
Kitchen Fairies expect a year-end bonus: one human to eat. To 
avert having to provide this fare, one simply explains to the 
invisible group that they have broken pottery and owe the 
owner, so they will have to wait a year for their meal. This 
postponement works for years, because they are not bright. 
The second, and far more serious, problem is getting rid 
of them if one wants to do so. The only way to do it is to marry 
them off in the following manner: Prepare packets of ash from 
incense and silver, which embody the spirits themselves, and 
place them randomly on the road. A person unfamiliar with 
the custom will eventually pick up the silver and find himself 
with a new presence in his home. 
L O R E 
Once a poor man saw a packet of silver lying on the road 
and knew it was a Kitchen Fairy, but he couldn't resist the 
money, so he grabbed it and went to the river (because like 
many other demons these can't cross water). The Fairy had 
leaped on his hat, so he threw the hat into the water and left 
with the silver. He grew rich. Meanwhile the hat was found 
by a passerby and hung to dry on a tree branch. The tree with-
ered. Much later the rich man went to sit near that very tree, 
and when asked why the tree was so withered, he laughingly 
told the old story of the Kitchen Fairy, the hat, and the silver.

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F A I R I E S 
Unfortunately the spirit was still there, invisible, and over-
heard the tale. Infuriated, it jumped on the man and ate his 
soul. The man withered and died. 
D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
Because Kitchen Fairies are said to live in kitchen pots, it 
is a custom to leave a small amount of water in each to dis-
courage them from setting up house. The silver packet road 
dispersion is another last resort but, as in the tale, can lead to 
trouble.

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F A I R 
L A D Y 
Hungary 
The Fair Lady is one of the malevolent fairies so powerful as 
to be seen in many shapes: a beautiful woman, sometimes 
naked; a horse; a long-haired woman in a white dress looking 
like a common housewife. She never travels far from home. 
She is often seen under the eaves of the house — always a 
dangerous place -— and other times she'll show up in the 
stable. She weaves dangerous spells that can leave a person 
struck dumb or worse. 
The Fair Lady is said to have a "platter" of her own, 
embodied by a common household object, like a spoon, a plate, 
linens, or the bed. The object is secretly under her spell. The 
expression "Stepping into the platter of the Fair Lady" means 
to fall under the spell of the spirit. Sometimes water dripping

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from the eaves of a house forms a puddle that can become her 
platter; if a person takes one step into the puddle he becomes 
hers. The seat under the eaves is especially dangerous at noon. 
The noon presence of the Fair Lady is a highly unusual char-
acteristic as most demons are only out at night (with the rare 
exception of demons thought to cause sunstroke in places like 
Polynesia). 
Sighting the Fair Lady is a portent of grave trouble. She 
dances in storms, kidnaps children, and has been seen danc-
ing men to their deaths. Her song is her lure. Fair 
Ladies 
have been spotted flying through the air in groups, singing 
bewitching songs. If they are heard by a mortal man, he may 
be inspired to reckless and fatal acts, for instance, plunging 
into the lake to his death. 
L O R E 
Once there was a young man who one morning put on a 
new pair of sandals that he had never seen before. He went out 
walking and found himself singing a new tune. Before long, 
there appeared three beautiful women beckoning him to join 
them in a dance. Naturally, he was delighted to do as they 
asked, and it wasn't until many hours later that a neighbor 
passed by and saw him twirling around by himself in a field. 
"For the love of God," shouted the neighbor, "what are 
you doing!" 
At the word "God," the young man fell down dumb-
struck. The neighbor ran over and looked at the poor young 
man lying there. He saw that the new sandals were worn away 
and the soles of his feet were already quite bloody. It wasn't 
until much later that the lad recovered from the incident that 
he'd brought on himself by donning enchanted sandals and 
thus stepping into the platter of the Fair 
Lady. 
D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
Eaves must be avoided. The place under the eaves has 
been a notable hangout for malevolent spirits since ancient 
times. Any household item that seems oddly attractive, new,

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or in the wrong place should be left untouched. Prayer, cross-
ing oneself, carrying a Bible, wearing mistletoe around the 
neck, all are said to be effective repellents. Like other fairies, 
the Fair Lady is also repelled by church bells, crowds, and 
human laughter.

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N I S S E 
Norway 
The Nisse is a species of fairy so minute that he can hide any-
where, or vanish altogether. He has a gray or white beard, 
simple gray clothing, and a pointed red hat. His body is cov-
ered in thick wooly hair. He has an exceptionally large lower 
lip and no thumbs. He is considered rather ugly. 
The Nisse, like many household fairies, can be a very 
helpful friend or a destructive enemy. He is said to live in the 
barn, and sleep in the stalls. The Nisse is powerfully strong and 
seems to enjoy hard work. He is solitary and labors long and 
finishes his tasks quickly. A Nisse needs to be fed only every 
Thursday and on Christmas Eve. But they are nasty if crossed. 
The Nisse, like many fairies, spends his free time on pranks. 
He trips people, shoves them down the stairs, and releases ani-
mals from their pens at night. But if treated with the respect 
he demands, he can be a good and loyal if occasionally impish 
worker. He takes one-third of the crop as wages. 
The Nisse will not tolerate mistreatment of the animals 
in his charge, and humans who disregard the welfare of their 
livestock often receive harsh thrashings. The Nisse is also 
known for stealing hay and grain from other farms to feed the 
animals in his care. During these nightly raids, if the fairy 
happens to meet another of his species, a kind of "inter-
Nissene" warfare will break out. Grain has been seen flying 
around the air wildly on such occasions, by itself. 
L O R E 
There was a Nisse who gave all his attention to his 
favorite black horse. This horse grew fatter and sleeker than 
the other horses and its coat was better groomed. The farmer 
grew angry at the stable boy and accused him of neglecting all 
the horses but one. "That's not me," said the boy. "That's the 
Nisse!" 
That evening, after the horses had been fed, the farmer 
went down to the barn to see for himself. Indeed, the black 
horse had been fed extra hay, so the farmer angrily took some

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of it and threw it to the side, whereupon he got a quick, pow-
erful blow to the head that knocked him to the ground. No vis-
ible being was around! After that, the horse was allowed to eat 
all that he received, and the farmer never complained again. 
Once a girl was on her way to feed the family Nisse, and 
instead sat down to eat the good sweet porridge herself. When 
at last she brought his offering, he noticed she'd replaced the 
good food with plain porridge and sour milk, served up in a 
pig's trough. The invisible Nisse grabbed the girl and began to 
dance with her. He danced faster and faster throughout the 
night until she was gasping for air. While dancing, he sang: "If 
the Nisse's porridge you did steal, the Nisse will dance until 
you reel!" The girl nearly died by morning. 
D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
The only sure way to get rid of a Nisse is to give him a 
new set of clothes. He will leave immediately. Many people 
have moved their homes or burned down their farms hoping 
to escape from the family Nisse, only to find it perched in the 
back of their wagons with all of their other possessions, mov-
ing with the human family to their next home.

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P S Y C H E

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"The mind is its own place, and in itself 
Can make a Heav'n of Hell, a Hell of Heav'n," 
says Satan. He later realizes: 
"Which way I flie is Hell; my self am Hell." 
— JOHN MILTON, PARADISE LOST 
T
he terrain of Psyche is understood differently by various 
traditions to be Soul, Self, Mind, collective unconscious. 
For the purposes of the Guide, it is the abode of those species 
who actually inhabit the human being and use that living per-
son as an instrument of their will. The indwelling demons are 
never experienced by an outsider as they are by their host or 
hostess. Although these "hallucinations" or subjective reali-
ties remain concealed, what does give them away are the star-
tling outward manifestations of their presence as expressed by 
their human puppets. They do not leave voluntarily, so it is 
always necessary to get outside help when inhabited. Much of 
the lore of the Psyche centers on methods and techniques of 
transformation, exorcism, and healing. 
Some humans seek the state of being possessed for rea-
sons of their own. There is the shaman, witch, or magician 
who intentionally performs a rite or dons a mask or animal 
hide to become an Other, and allow his corporeal self to be 
taken over and imbued by a spirit. In this case the host is a vol-
unteer. However, an average housewife or student who is sim-
ply performing routine tasks when subsumed by a dybbuk or 
a Fox Spirit is a victim. Since most people do not want to 
become the abode of a demon, the majority of tales involve the 
plight of the helpless host and the ways the unwanted tenants 
were evicted. 
An important Psyche species is the raging indwelling 
animal — an ordinary human can move mentally one small 
step to become his/her "animal" nature, as in the Werewolf 
or Fox transformations. Other afflicted people were believed

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to be inhabited by "unclean spirits" long before modern 
explanations for mental illness, hysteria, epilepsy, and schizo-
phrenia. Treatments to drive out the demons were usually 
conducted with no concern for the host and addressed only the 
spirit. The patient (if he survived) later had no recollection of 
his or her possessed state. Then there are those indwelling 
demons who cause notice when some proclivity of the human 
they inhabit becomes grotesquely enlarged: when a person 
lives only to eat or profit or lust, he may be infected with one 
of the Seven Deadly Sins. 
In all cases, "naming" the demon seems to reduce and 
disempower it. Modern explanations of the phenomena 
resulted in new names. The Id and the Shadow, included here 
with their methods of depossession, are redefined demonic 
species. The Buddhist Mara represents the demon both as an 
interior obstacle and potential teacher. A transformative 
approach to the Tibetan Buddhist Yama (Death) illustrates a 
radically different approach to the field. This leads to the ulti-
mate Quantum Daimon as a species for the new millennium. 
It is in Psyche that the reader may find some personal demons. 
Everybody houses some. 
T H I N G S TO K N O W A B O U T 
P O S S E S S I O N 
Before the eighteenth-century Age of Enlightenment in 
the West, many individuals and groups were routinely con-
sidered to be affected by "demonical possession." This was 
described as a mental state wherein the individual was not 
responsible for his actions or words. The victim displayed hys-
terical symptoms and convulsive writhing that resembled 
epilepsy, as if a violent struggle were raging within. The face 
would appear contorted, the body out of control, and there 
would be an accompanying radical change of vocal timbre: the 
new and demonic voice was usually deep, gruff, and weird. 
Often, it spoke languages unknown to its human host. 
The onset of dramatic symptoms was sudden, although 
there is a suggestion of preexisting states of melancholy in 
cases of the afflicted. The definite signs were a new shrinking 
away in horror from religious relics or icons; an ability to speak

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foreign languages; lewd behavior presumably unknown to the 
host body; supernatural strength; cursing, blasphemous, and 
lewd speech; animalistic movement; barking like a dog or fox 
or bleating like a sheep; and afterward, if the exorcism was 
successful, no memory whatsoever of the episode by the indi-
vidual. 
To return the possessed to his or her natural state, offi-
cial rites of demonic exorcism were held by professionals. 
Since the possession species is worldwide, they continue to be 
seen frequently in various traditions, and many of the symp-
toms seem similar throughout the world. The cures or rites are 
usually in the hands of professionals, but they vary greatly. In 
India various mantras are uttered and incense is used, in China 
certain written charms are pasted on the windows and other 
incantations are burned. Even Josephus, the Jewish historian, 
in the first century C.E., wrote about a "magic root" that was 
commonly used among the various practices employed to 
return the victim to his former self. 
In most rites it was of primary importance to "name" the 
indwelling spirit and then address it directly by name and ask 
that it leave. In the Catholic Church an official method 
includes specific wording: "I adjure thee evil spirit in the 
name of the Lord." This appeal to the specific demonic spirit 
to leave in the name of Jesus or of various saints was appar-
ently effective. However, when the demon was addressed in 
this manner its immediate response was spectacular. All hell 
would break loose. The inhabited person would writhe, vomit 
(sometimes spitting out strange objects such as glass, nails, 
animal hair, insects), and hurl himself/herself around the 
room, all the while screaming abusively at the exorcist in a 
gruff, unnatural, hideous voice. 
Risks of exorcism were possible contagion — the 
"unclean spirit" might move into the body of the priest. Also, 
the inhabited would sometimes die before the demon was fin-
ished struggling. To make matters worse, it seemed that over 
a few centuries in the West, entire convents or communities 
were infested. There were epidemics of possession all over 
Europe. Many of these involved witchcraft and the accusation

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and torture of so-called witches — all of which are outside the 
Guide's concern. The Compendium Maleficarum, compiled in 
1608 by Brother Francesco Maria Guazzo, lists fifty ways in 
which one can tell if the possession is the real thing. Among 
these notable symptoms are: if the possessed feel as if ants 
were crawling under their skin; if the body is stirred by palpi-
tations in the afflicted area; if the voice heard inside the head 
is saying things they don't understand; or if the priest's hand 
upon their head feels like ice. 
Many, but not all, of the indwelling demons who were 
thought to cause these ravings and crises seem to have disap-
peared or perhaps shape-shifted and have been identified by 
other names. In some cases the symptoms are now attributed 
to various mental illnesses. The following lore is spun from the 
cosmic battles played out in interior habitats. As with other 
quellings, the focus is on the end of the story, and what is not 
always revealed is how or why the demon entered the Psyche.

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W H O ' S W H O IN T H E PSYCHE 
GERASENE DEMON 
Ancient Palestine (Jordan) 
WEREWOLF 
Global 
LOUP GAROU 
North America 
LEYAK 
Bali 
DYBBUK 
(Judaism) 
KITSUNE-TSUKI 
Japan 
MARA 
(Buddhism) 
YEZER H A - R A 
(Judaism) 
SEVEN DEADLY SINS 
(Christian West) 
MR. H Y D E 
(Robert Louis Stevenson) 
ID 
(Freud) 
SHADOW 
(Jung) 
YAMANTAKA 
(Tibetan Buddhism) 
QUANTUM DAIMON 
(Guide) 
See also: 
WlNDlGO in Mountain 
MARE in Domicile 
Fox FAIRY in Domicile 
MADAME W H I T E in W a t e r

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G E R A S E N E D E M O N 
Ancient Palestine — Jordan 
The Gerasene Demon possession is described in both Luke 8 
and Mark 5, and creates the model for the practice of "casting 
out unclean spirits" in all later Western Christian cases. The 
host of the possession was a Gerasene man who for some time 
had not worn any clothing or lived in a house, and when 
attacked by the possessing "devils" wandered about, living 
mostly amid the tombs. In a possessed state, he was often 
restrained by members of his community and bound by chains 
and fetters, from which he always broke loose and escaped into 
the wilderness. Every night he howled and gashed himself 
with stones, and nobody was strong enough to control him, for 
he seemed to have superhuman powers. 
L O R E 
When Jesus and his disciples arrived at the shore of the 
Gerasenes, opposite Galilee, a strange wild man fell at Jesus' 
feet and simultaneously the spirit within the man shouted 
imploringly: "What do you want of me, Jesus! Do not torture 
me!" Luke reports that Jesus had been asking the unclean 
spirit to leave the man when this outburst occurred. And Mark 
reports that Jesus had said: "Come out of the man, unclean 
spirit." The indwelling creature was apparently terrified at 
the sight of Jesus. Then Jesus addressed it: "What is your 
name?" he asked firmly. 
"Legion," replied the invisible devil(s) via the mouth of 
the man. "For we are many." The voice then pleaded that the 
unclean spirits be allowed to enter a herd of pigs nearby rather 
than be sent to the "abyss." Jesus gave permission for them to 
exit the man and enter the swine. What followed this com-
mand was an immediate dash of two thousand pigs across the 
field. They charged in a pack off the neighboring cliff into the 
water and drowned. The swineherds rein off and told every-
body what they had just witnessed. 
Meanwhile the wild man was entirely cured. He was 
recovered, dressed normally, and sitting calmly at Jesus' feet

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when the community arrived, shocked by the whole event. 
The "powers" by which Jesus was able to effect this cure were 
suspect. Some believed that such powers had been gained tra-
ditionally in the past by conjurers who had made a pact with 
evil spirits like Satan and Beelzebub. (This issue is discussed 
at length in surrounding chapters of the Gospels.) In this case, 
because of the sensational events, the ambivalence toward 
miracles, and the loss of herds of swine, the Gerasenes were 
alarmed and asked Jesus to leave, and to take his disciples with 
him. The cured man asked to go with them, but he was told 
instead to go back to his home and tell the people what "the 
Lord in his mercy has done for you." 
D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
Prayer is the effective technique utilized. The source of 
dispelling power is attributed to the Holy Spirit, counter to the 
"envious" accusations that Jesus' power to "cast out devils" is 
connected to Satanic sources. In the Book of Mark, shortly 
after the incident with the Gerasenes, there is a moment when 
Jesus asks the unclean spirits to depart the body of an epilep-
tic boy. His disciples ask him why they were unable to cast it 
out. Jesus replies: "This is the kind that can only be driven out 
by prayer." 
There is mortal danger to both the victim and the healer 
as they stand together in the force field of unimaginable pow-
ers. Just as the Gerasene Demon was sent into the swine, cases 
exist where the spirit takes up new lodging in the healer. 
Therefore the exorcist, shaman, holy man, or healer must be 
impervious (by means of supernatural aid or powers) to the 
possession species. 
As soon as the Gerasene Demon is addressed and forced 
to reveal its name, it is reduced and bound. It is no longer an 
anonymous ubiquitous unimaginable supernatural force. Like 
the Djinn or spirit tricked into a bottle, "naming" is a con-
trolling act that encompasses and contains the force and puts 
the creature tinder the command of the namer.

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W E R E W O L F 
Global 
The Werewolf is the most universal form of animal posses-
sion — although the wer(man)-tiger and other fierce prowl-
ing animal possession exists — and is a human transformed 
into a wolf. One common belief is that the person who wants 
to be a Werewolf must climb into a wolfskin. During the night 
he hunts as a wolf, during the day he rests and hides his skin. 
While wolves usually travel in packs, the Werewolf is a loner. 
Unlike a normal wolf who avoids humans, the Werewolf will 
attack any human he comes across. Pointed ears, hair on 
palms, large claws, paws, eyebrows that are connected over 
the bridge of the nose, or hair between the shoulder blades 
are common Werewolf features. As one can see from the 
depiction, they are not seen as entirely wolf. Robert Burton, 
in The Anatomy of Melancholy, 
describes the affliction as

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Lycanthropia, wolf-madness, when "men run howling about 
graves and fields at night and will not be persuaded but that 
they are wolves." He reports that they usually have hollow 
eyes and dry, pale, and scabby legs. 
The best time for the transformation is said to be during 
the full moon. Wearing a wolfskin, drinking water from the 
puddle of a wolf's footprint, or the ingestion of magic potions 
are the principal means of becoming a Werewolf. Some 
people transform themselves by choice, others are trans-
formed into Werewolves because of spells or hides that have 
been placed on them. Sometimes the transformation happens 
suddenly, or erratically, with no explanation, much to the dis-
may of the victim, who finds himself suddenly a Werewolf for 
short periods at a time. Often those who do not wish to become 
a Werewolf have time to warn others of their transformation 
so as to avoid the inevitable. 
L O R E 
Sinfjotli and his uncle Sigmund came across a house set 
deep in the Norwegian forest. Inside the house slept two 
enchanted men. Wolfskins hung on the wall above them. The 
sleeping men had been cursed so that only on every tenth day 
could they come out of their wolfskin and resume human 
form. Sigmund and Sinfjotli put the skins on and were 
instantly transformed into Werewolves themselves; that is, 
they became wolves in physical appearance and spirit, but 
retained human minds. Together they agreed that they should 
risk attacking no more than seven men. If they needed help 
from each other, they agreed to howl, and each went their sep-
arate way looking for flesh. But Sinfjotli, despite the agree-
ment, took on eleven men alone, and though he defeated them 
all, Sigmund was furious. In an instant he pounced on his 
nephew and tore his windpipe open with one slash of his 
claws. 
He carried the young Werewolf to a hut and kept watch 
over his hurt body. After seeing two weasels fight outside the 
hut, and watching the victorious weasel place a leaf over the 
cut windpipe of his victim, Sigmund decided to do the same.

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A raven brought him the medicinal leaf, and after Sigmund 
placed it across the hurt windpipe, Sinfjotli was healed 
instantly. The two returned to their lair and waited for the 
time when they could take off their skins. As soon as the 
moment arrived they tore off the wolfskins and burned them, 
thus breaking the curse. 
Not all Werewolves have the same control that these for-
tunate Norsemen had. An ancient Greek cult that worshiped 
on Mount Lykaion in Arcadia had a yearly ceremony in which 
one worshiper would be transformed into a Werewolf. In this 
animal form he was made to roam about for nine years. If dur-
ing this time he could refrain from eating human flesh he 
would be changed back into a man. If, however, as a Werewolf 
he consumed human flesh, he could never return to his human 
self. In Germany, the transformation was effected by wearing 
a wolfskin and a belt with a magic buckle. When the buckle 
broke, the enchantment ended. 
A story from Sweden relates the plight of a man who 
thought he might be a Werewolf. Without sharing his suspi-
cions about himself, he asked his wife — if she happened to 
catch sight of a Werewolf— please not to stab it but to hit it 
with a pitchfork. 
That very night she did encounter a Werewolf, and she 
obeyed her husband's request. The Werewolf snagged her 
dress hem in his mouth as he fell. At breakfast the next morn-
ing, she happened to notice dress strands in her husband's 
teeth, and said to him: "I think you are a werewolf." He 
replied, "Thank you for telling me, for now I am freed!" 
The naming cure has many different applications in the 
case of the Werewolf with an equal variety of results. Often, in 
European lore, after many years of wandering as a Werewolf, 
one can be called by one's human name and suddenly remem-
ber one's human self, and thus change back into a former exis-
tence. At the other extreme, in Chinese folklore, is a case of a 
housewife who went out nightly in wolf shape, and then lis-
tened to her family discuss the neighborhood Werewolf prob-
lem; she promptly left the household and was never seen 
again.

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In France, another housewife had less luck. One day a 
man saw his friend, a hunter, pass by his chateau, and, waving 
to him, called out to wish him a good chase. Later, the hunter 
was attacked by a wolf and attempted to kill the animal but 
was able only to swipe at it with his knife and sever a paw. He 
escaped narrowly and, shaken, stopped by his friend's home to 
tell him about the attack. When he opened his sack to show 
his friend the huge paw, he was shocked to find instead a lady's 
hand with a ring on one finger. The friend recognized the ring 
as his own wife's and went to find her. She was hiding her hand 
in a bloody kerchief when he came into her chamber, and she 
was forced to confess. She was arrested and burned to death. 
D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
A silver bullet is the only sure way to kill a Werewolf, and 
after it is shot its head must be cut off and burned, the ashes 
scattered in the wind. If a Werewolf is killed in his human 
shape, he will revert to animal shape at death. But the task is 
dangerous, for being bitten by a Werewolf will turn any 
human into a Werewolf. The sign of the cross will avert attack 
by a Werewolf, and holy water is also effective. A pitchfork can 
be used to strike a vulnerable spot between the eyebrows and 
allow time for escape, and special gray stones are said to keep 
the species at a distance. Voluntary Werewolves are able to 
become human again when a special formula is uttered. 
However, if the human who knows the formula dies, the 
Werewolf is doomed to remain one.

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L O U P G A R O U 
North America 
The Loup Garou is a bayou werewolf species that originated 
in France (the name may have come from a shortened form of 
"Loup, gardez-vous," which means "Wolf, watch out!"). It is a 
person transformed, either by a spell cast by another or by 
choice (which entails rubbing the body with a special kind of 
grease), into a creature notable for its fiery red eyes, body hair, 
large claws, long snout, and mean disposition. The Loup 
Garou is seen frequently at special dances in bayou country, in 
which cavorting in wolf style and acting wild is the common 
practice. Each Loup Garou is said to own a bat the size of an 
airplane that serve as its transportation. They fly them to other 
people's homes and drop down the chimney into the bedroom. 
There they bite the sleeping human victim, who wakes up the 
next morning as one of them. 
D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
The Loup Garou is terrified of frogs and will run away if 
a frog is hurled at it. Like many other demons, the Loup Garou 
can be easily tricked by a simple household colander or sifter 
hung outside the door. It will become so involved counting 
holes, it will forget its original mission. It is said that if one can 
manage to sprinkle the Loup Garou with salt, the demon will 
catch on fire. It will then immediately discard its blazing ani-
mal hide like a snakeskin, and resume its human state.

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L E Y A K 
Bali 
The Leyak is a demonic species akin to one type of werewolf: 
a human being who intentionally transforms himself or her-
self by occult arts. At night the Leyak can appear as an eerie 
light or shape-shift to flying monkey or bird. He or she 
destroys crops, kills people, and is considered the agent of all 
aberrant, dire events. 
While this malevolent spirit flies about like a bad dream, 
appearing to ordinary people who are out for a midnight walk, 
the physical body of the human being from which the demon 
has originated, remains asleep in bed. One would never sus-
pect that the sleeping friend, neighbor, wife, or husband is a 
Leyak. But once in a while during the nightly capers a Leyak 
is destroyed, and then the sleeping human dies instantly with-
out any prior sign of sickness. It is this sudden death that tips 
off the community to the real identity of the former Leyak. 
D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
There are no known preventatives or ways that ordinary 
people can protect themselves from this species. Professionals 
with amulets must be called.

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D Y B B U K 
Judaism 
The Dybbuk is described as the spirit of a dead person who 
enters and takes utter possession of a living person. Spirit pos-
session is quite common in Christianity — being noncorpo-
real, the species is always wandering and in search of a body, 
ranging from swine to people. Gregory the Great wrote of a 
nun who ate a lettuce leaf upon which a demon happened to 
be invisibly perched. She had not made the sign of the cross 
before dining, and after the salad was possessed. In Judaism, 
the cases are less common and were attributed to impersonal 
Shedim until the Dybbuk made its appearance in the six-
teenth century. Underlying the Dybbuk in Jewish tradition is 
the idea of the gilgul, or transmigrating soul, which can be 
found in thirteenth-century mystical Jewish ideas. The 
Dybbuk, in exorcism, is always identified as the soul of a spe-
cific and recognizable person who has lived. 
L O R E 
The Mayseh Book (The Book of Tales), a collection of 
folklore published in 1602, describes the first case: 
A young man was possessed by the wandering spirit 
(gilgul) of a dead man who drowned at sea. The 
man's soul had passed into a cow; the cow had gone 
wild and the owner sold it to a Jew; the Jew was 
about to slaughter the cow just as the young man 
passed by; the soul flew into the young man's body. 
Once settled in its new home, it took over the young 
man's will, mind, and body. The young man 
became its puppet. Wise men came to help. They 
asked, Who are you?, and the Dybbuk spoke. He 
said he was drowned at sea and, since his body was 
not recovered, his wife was not permitted to 
remarry and eventually became a prostitute. These 
events had made him miserable, but he also bore 
the guilt of having committed adultery when he

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was alive. His confessions elicited confessions from 
some of his listeners into whose hearts he could see, 
thus acting as an agent to rectify their wrongs. He 
was finally persuaded to depart. 
After this, hundreds of tales of the Dybbuk housing itself 
in ordinary women and men began springing up all over 
Eastern Europe. The Dybbuk entries were not necessarily con-
nected to any earlier harm or relationship, just accidents wait-
ing to happen. At times the possession could be traced to some 
slight breach of ritual or disregard of warnings about unclean 
spirits. Going into the water (especially the mikvah, a ritual 
bath) was fraught with danger. One could always come out as 
somebody else. Several demonic women arose from the waters 
in these stories. The voice, gesture, and behavior of the 
•person-as-Dybbuk is always strange enough to alarm inti-
mates, family, and friends. Paradoxically, although all the 
action takes place within the human host, his or her mind has 
been erased in the takeover, so all Dybbuk tales are told, not 
by subjects, but by witnesses to the phenomenon. 
The Dybbuk, a wonderful Yiddish play by the folklorist 
S. Anski, is a mystical love story in which the Dybbuk is not a 
wandering spirit but a living scholar who literally dies for the 
love of a young woman when her father gives her in marriage 
to another man. On her wedding night, he enters her body, 
causing her to behave as one possessed. A rabbi is called in and 
soon ascertains that this has happened because her father 
broke a vow to his dead friend: he had promised to give this 
man's son, the scholar, his daughter in marriage. A trial takes 
place and the father tries to make amends, and the Dybbuk 
promises to leave his true love's body. But he enters her soul, 
and she chooses to go to the Other World with him, her des-
tined bridegroom. 
The Dybbuk is not all "evil," but like many demons has 
an ambiguous reputation. In one Talmudic story we meet Ben 
Temalion, a unique and intriguing possession species: 
Once a certain rabbi named Rabbi Simeon ben Johai 
went to Rome to plea for clemency for his people in the wake

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of a series of stern decrees against them. On the road, the rabbi 
met a demon named Ben Temalion, a Dybbuk. He introduced 
himself and asked the rabbi where he was going. "To Rome," 
the rabbi said, and explained why. "I'll help you," said Ben 
Temalion. He then told the rabbi his plan. The rabbi, with a 
certain ambivalence about receiving help from an unclean 
spirit, accepted for the greater good. 
As the rabbi traveled toward Rome, news came that the 
daughter of Caesar had been possessed by a demon and that 
nobody had been able to exorcise the creature. The rabbi knew 
that it was Ben Temalion who had taken up residence in the 
princess, so he volunteered to attempt to cast out the spirit. He 
called him by name and, addressing him directly, bid him 
depart. Being identified and addressed, the spirit was forced to 
obey. The princess was cured. Caesar tore up the decree. And 
this time the demonic possession species voluntarily did a good 
deed (although his motives have never been disclosed). 
D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
In each case, a Dybbuk must be expelled by a rabbi, who 
always addresses the indweller directly and asks its identity. 
After the rabbi asks several questions, he is usually able to cast 
it out of the victim's body. A Dybbuk traditionally exits by the 
toe or little finger of the inhabited person. Also a small hole 
must be made in a window or other manner of egress estab-
lished so that the demon will leave the house. (This is always 
a precaution, as one doesn't want to trap a demon any more 
than an angry bee.)

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K I T S U N E - T S U K I 
Japan 
Kitsune-Tsuki (Fox-Possession), is easily diagnosed: when pos-
sessed by the wild Fox Spirit the patient may say "I am Inari 
god of rice" and have severe cravings for rice with red beans 
(fox favorites). At times the possessed seem depressed and rest-
less and find it impossible to sleep at night. They prefer eat-
ing alone and will not make eye contact. 
As for special powers, cases have been recorded of illit 
erate people who when possessed were able to write fluently 
and draw pictures of the fox as messenger of Inari on their 
communications. Unlike werewolf possession the victim 
retains human shape night and day, and never fully meta-
morphoses to an animal. The creature is said to reside in the 
stomach or on the left side. These possessions have been

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observed and noted as early as the twelfth century and con-
tinue to the present day. 
Kitsune-Tsuki, the idea that the demonic spirits of terri-
ble wild foxes could possess a human being, originated with 
the Fox Fairy in China. There, the Fox Fairy is greatly feared 
and always propitiated. It is believed that cases of madness 
caused by fox possession are retributions for former offenses 
against the Fox Fairy by a member of the victim's family; how-
ever, the Chinese Fox Fairy has been known to possess a 
human being for the sheer malevolent mischief of it. When 
inhabited, the human can fly, go through walls, and has other 
striking powers (see Domicile). 
The Kitsune- Tsuki enters the body through the breast or 
under the fingernails, and once inside lives independently. 
The possessed human, often a woman, hears and understands 
all that this "double" in her consciousness is saying or doing. 
She and it often have violent arguments. The two speak in 
markedly different voices. 
D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
A priest is often called in, berates the Fox Spirit, and tells 
it to get out. The fox negotiates its terms, arranges for rice and 
other offerings, and if satisfied will finally agree to leave. 
Cases continue to be reported in contemporary times.

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M A R A 
(Buddhism) 
Mara, the agent of Death, travels from Hinduism (as the 
embodiment of Death itself and of the powers of Evil) to 
become the principal Buddhist demon. He is the tempter, the 
archenemy 
of the Buddha, the obstacle to potential 
Enlightenment, the personification of greed, hatred, and 
delusion. He tries to lure all spiritual travelers onto the 
path of worldly desires, which lead to rebirth and not to 
liberation. 
Mara functions to delay the "Coming of the Law." He 
embodies ego pleasure, worldly pleasure, and sensual delight. 
Mara is not so much evil (in the sense of sinful) in Buddhist 
thought as he is the epitome of all that is at the root of 
duhkha (suffering). It is with that understanding of Mara as 
a mental state, an embodiment of dis-ease, that he appears 
in Psyche. 
From the Buddhist point of view, as long as humans live 
in ignorance, craving, and fear, they stay stuck in the cycle of 
life and death and rebirth and are caught in the realm of 
Mara. When the Buddha threatens to overturn this rule and 
is on the verge of bringing a new Way — a new understand-
ing — to the world, Mara becomes fiendishly furious. He has 
everything of this world and every weapon known to the uni-
verse at his disposal; most important, he holds the entire wheel 
of life and death in his clutches, and every living thing must 
die, and every mortal fears Death. 
L O R E 
Siddhartha Gautama gave up his princely riches and 
then spent years in the forest as an ascetic. Finally he gave up 
asceticism, now determined to sit under the Tree of Wisdom 
until he reached enlightenment. Mara approached on his ele-
phant, wild with anger, accompanied by his legions of demons. 
He was such a terrifying sight that all the gods who stood by 
the tree fled. 
Before expending the hideous forces at his command, the

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archdemon tried to interrupt Siddhartha's concentration by 
insinuating himself as a messenger bearing false and terrible 
news about Siddhartha's worldly family. The 
Buddha 
remained unsnared. Then an assault began, designed to bring 
fear into the heart of any mortal. Mara sent whirlwinds, tem-
pests, floods, fire, and mud at the seated figure. But all the 
weapons turned to flowers in midair and formed a canopy 
above the Buddha. 
Mara told him to get up because he had no right to be 
there. He was usurping Mara!s seat on his earth. Siddhartha, 
unmoved, reminded Mara that it was he, Siddhartha, who 
sought knowledge and not the archdemon. Siddhartha's reply 
was met with a hail of stone-throwing by a huge demon army. 
Mara then sent his invincible javelin through the air. Flowers 
again appeared. Mara again challenged the Buddha but then 
the earth itself bore witness to the generosity and greatness of 
the Buddha and all the demons fled. Even Mara's elephant 
bowed down. 
All his show of force had not worked, and now his army 
was gone, his most impressive weapons used, so the tempter 
tried his last, best trick. He sent out his daughters: Rati 
(Desire), Raga (Pleasure), and Tanha (Restlessness). They 
manifested themselves as dancing girls of extraordinary 
beauty. But, as attractive as these dancing girls appeared to be, 
Siddhartha (as reported in the Lotus Sutra) saw through all 
the delights of their transient offerings. He saw them as 
ancient hags, as sacks of pus, as skeletons on the ground in 
front of his feet, as decay. Thus he remained without craving 
and was unsnared by illusion. He was unmoved. 
Since no fear entered the heart of Siddhartha Gautama 
at the hideous storms and swords, and no craving entered at 
the sight of the dancing girls, he had managed with his mind 
to recognize the rocks and weapons as illusory things, thus dis-
empowering them and turning them into harmless flowers. 
The daughters of the tempter bowed to his understanding. 
The gods all came back when the archenemy was defeated 
and his armies melted away, and Prince Siddhartha Gautama 
became the Buddha.

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D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
All the demons of the Buddhist tradition are teachers, 
employed to arrest attention with their grotesque and star-
tling appearance. They serve to awaken the individual to 
reflect on all that which is ego-driven desire and fear of death. 
Considered in this way, and seen for the illusory beings they 
are, they are dispelled. These methods of viewing the 
"demon" can become tools of indivual liberation if practiced 
over a long period of time.

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Y E Z E R 
H A - R A 
(Judaism) 
The Yezer Ha-Ra ("evil inclination") has a recurring role in 
Jewish rabbinical writings as an embodiment of that within 
the heart or imagination of humankind that functions as ha 
Satan (the adversary) and tempts a man to do wrong. The 
Yezer Ha-Ra is part of human nature and exists in each human 
being as an always present potential adversary to Good. In 
most lore the Yezer Ha-Ra seems to be a powerful impulse that 
can erupt in the heart of a rabbi or scholar as easily as in the 
heart of an ordinary person. The emphasis is on the struggle 
within each inhabited psyche. 
The Yezer Ha-Ra usually manifests as an (almost) irre-
sistible lustful urge. It is considered especially dangerous 
when a man leaves the synagogue on Friday night and goes 
home. En route he is accompanied by a good spirit and the 
Yezer Ha-Ra. If he is distracted from his spiritual reflection, 
he can fall victim to the latter. This is also true just after the 
marriage ceremony; the groom is considered very vulnerable 
due to the presence of spirits around the sacred rite and human 
closeness to the spiritual realm. 
L O R E 
One night a rabbi was passing through the woods when 
he happened upon a small cottage with a light on. As he 
neared the dwelling, its occupant, a very attractive woman, 
came to- the door wearing scant attire. She beckoned to him 
graciously and bid him enter. When he did, she offered him 
not a cup of tea, but herself. At this invitation he was nearly 
overcome by the Yezer Ha-Ra, but resisted it with all his might 
and managed to shout, "No!" Just as the magic word was 
uttered, the woman vanished along with the cottage. The 
rabbi found himself alone again in the dark woods. 
In another well-known tale, we again find a rabbi. He 
had been resisting the impulse to make love to a nubile 
maiden who was in his charge, but he was unable to hold 
out any longer and found himself climbing a ladder to her

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bedroom window. But as he climbed, he continued to struggle 
fiercely with his own evil impulse. He addressed it loudly. He 
passionately bid the demonic urge to leave him. Breathless, he 
arrived at the top rung and there he finally witnessed the Yezer 
Ha-Ra exit as an actual pillar of fire. He won. He was free of 
the inclination to do evil, and he was able to descend the lad-
der with a clear conscience and no regret. 
D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
The Yezer Ha-Ra cannot be quelled by any external 
action. It cannot be placated, propitiated, or tolerated. It must 
be acknowledged, seen, and labeled for what it is. Then a 
mighty wrestling match within the psyche of the host must 
take place. If the subject wins, he will not become victim of 
his own Yezer Ha-Ra.

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T H E S E V E N D E A D L Y 
S I N S 
(The Christian West) 
The Seven Deadly Sins were grouped together by St. Gregory 
the Great in the sixth century. The Seven later appear impor-
tantly in the Summa Theologica of the thirteenth century, 
where they are defined and described by St. Thomas Aquinas 
as "appetites." The Sins are agents of serious moral offenses, 
transgressions of the divine law that lead to eternal damna-
tion. They are one of the most virulent and chronic of the 
possession species that roost within the Psyche. They are seen 
as tendencies, temptations, passions — all interconnected 
strands of the fabric of the human condition, the stuff of exag-
gerated cravings that cause mortal suffering. 
L O R E 
Why seven? It is a powerful number. There are seven 
days of the week, seven seas, and seven heavens, and seven is 
a popular number in ancient magical incantations. The most 
extreme use of seven may occur in the following Talmudic 
prescription for a fever: 
Take 7 prickles from 7 palm trees, 7 chips from 7 
beams, 7 nails from 7 bridges, 7 ashes from 7 ovens, 
7 scoops of earth from 7 door sockets, 7 pieces of 
pitch from 7 ships, 7 handfuls of cumin, and 7 hairs 
from the beard of an old dog, and then tie them to 
the neck-hole of the shirt with a white, twisted 
thread. 
Seven of the Babylonian Evil Spirits railed against in 
incantations are specifically identified in this fragment: 
Of these seven, the first is the South Wind, 
The second is a dragon with mouth agape that none 
can withstand. 
The third is a grim leopard that carries off the 
young

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The fourth is a terrible serpent 
The fifth is a furious beast, after which no restraint 
The sixth is a rampant [missing] against god and 
king 
The seventh is an evil windstorm. 
These seven evil spirits are "workers of woe," "bear 
gloom from city to city," cause "darkness over the brightest 
day," and "wreak destruction" and can be said to define the 
traits of the Sins, who are also usually seen riding animals or 
as animals that represent their specialties. In their medieval 
heyday, the Sins were impersonated by actors in morality 
plays, standing against the Seven Virtues that neatly opposed 
them to remind audiences to be ever vigilant. 
The Seven Deadly Sins were seen as agents of actions that 
always led to worse and worse sins. From Avarice, for a famil-
iar example, springs fraud, treachery, deceit, violence, perjury, 
and hardness of heart. Each Sin has its own escalating conse-
quences. They also have an ordered sequence that is generally 
agreed upon. Five of the Sins are spiritual in nature, and two, 
Lust and Gluttony, carnal. All of the Seven Deadly Sins are 
notable in their selfishness. They each isolate person from per-
son and act within to inflame personal ambitions, needs, grat-
ifications, to the neglect of family, community, or spiritual 
development. Medieval scholars placed seven fallen angels as 
promoters of the seven specific temptations. The efforts of 
these fallen angels was tireless because their goal was to hin-
der humankind from goodness and keep it from the presence 
of the Divine as they themselves had been when they fell from 
heaven. Because the Sins are each so vividly depicted, and rec-
ognizable, these hypostatized passions that reside in the 
Psyche follow in separate glory:

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1. PRIDE — LUCIFER 
Pride is considered the root of all evil. It is for Pride that 
Lucifer (Satan, Iblis) fell from the celestial to the subter-
ranean realm. The selfish sin is to be "vainglorious" and think 
oneself better than others. Arrogance blocks the Divine as well 
as other persons from the heart. Pride is invariably seen as a 
lion. Its opposing virtue is Humility.

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2. AVARICE — MAMMON 
"By Mammon is meant the devil who is the Lord of 
Money," wrote Thomas Aquinas. Avarice is a worldly sin, cre-
ating misers, thieves, and even murderers. The wolf is the ani-
mal usually depicted in medieval bestiaries, coming up from 
hell carrying Mammon to inflame the human heart with 
Greed. 
Like the "hungry ghosts" of the Buddhist hell, the 
greedy always crave more no matter how much they have. 
Wretched and envious, Avarice escalates to a state of infinite 
dissatisfaction, and the sin's obsession with worldly goods pro-
motes neglect of spiritual wealth. The opposing virtue is 
Sufficiency.

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3. LUST — ASMODEUS 
Lust is carried up from hell by the goat, an animal long 
considered lascivious, or the ass, who played the same role in 
ancient Rome. This "sin of the flesh" is said to lead to 
"uncleanliness" and away from its opposing virtue, Chastity. 
(See Asmodeus in Domicile.)

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4. ENVY — LEVIATHAN 
That the "twisting serpent" from the primordial deep, 
Leviathan, is Envy incarnate seems appropriate. Dante saw 
the spirit of evil as a huge serpent, who so entangled himself 
with his victim that they became utterly intertwined and no 
longer distinguishable, one from the other. 
Envy is a "sin of the Devil," for "Thou shalt not covet" 
is one of the Ten Commandments. The sin usually is repre-
sented by a dog, and often depicted as a heart being eaten away, 
as in, "Eat your heart out." Overconcern with the possessions 
of others is seen escalating to hinder sympathetic human rela-
tionships. When one is consumed by Envy, the opposing 
virtue, Charity, is completely erased.

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D E A D L Y 
S I N S 
5. GLUTTONY — BEELZEBUB 
Beelzebub, seen as Gluttony, started out as a Canaanite 
deity whose name in Hebrew (Baal Zebub) meant Lord of the 
Flies and who later came to be equated with Satan. In the 
Gospels, Beelzebub is called Prince of the Demons. As a sin, 
he rules over all excessive eating and drinking. 
The endless maw of the glutton is never satiated, and he 
or she is never satisfied. The glutton lives to eat, a state that 
soon escalates to forgetting gratitude. The pursuit goes on and 
leads to a specific damnation: the glutton in hell will dine on 
toads and be forced to drink putrid water. The opposing virtue 
is Sobriety.

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6. ANGER — SATAN 
Anger is another sin of the Devil and one of immense 
importance and fiery power. It is usually embodied by a sharp-
toothed animal such as a leopard with bared fangs, or a wild 
boar, raging, attacking, ready to commit bloodshed. The con-
sequence of this inflaming indwelling passion is to feel 
vengeance in one's heart. This sin escalates to rage, obliterat-
ing all but negativity within, and results in murder and war. 
Often seen in icons, Anger is a creature stabbing himself in the 
heart with a knife. The opposing virtue is Patience.

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7. SLOTH — BELPHEGOR 
Belphegor is depicted as Sloth incarnate. This sin is con-
sidered one of the flesh. Usually it is represented by scenes of 
falling asleep on the job, especially if the job is done by a 
monk. When in a state of Sloth, negligence and apathy soon 
set in. The donkey, a slow-moving, lazy creature, is Sloth's rep-
resentative animal. 
Thomas Aquinas wrote that all sins that are due to igno-
rance are due to Sloth. One needs to be awake and alert to even 
begin to set out on and maintain a spiritual practice, thus the 
opposing virtue is Diligence.

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D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
The seven penitential psalms were sometimes illustrated 
by the Sins in medieval manuscripts to remind the reader 
which psalm was effective against which sin, and the recita-
tion of these psalms was considered a way of obtaining for-
giveness. The opposing virtue to each sin is mentioned 
separately as an antidote, and the practice of Patience, 
Humility, and Diligence were intended to subdue Anger, 
Pride, and Sloth.

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M R . H Y D E 
(Robert Louis Stevenson) 
Mr. Hyde, an unusual, subjectively observed doctor-possession 
species created in a laboratory, occupies half then slowly takes 
over all of Dr. Jekyll's mind and body. The case is written up 
by Mr. Hyde's rather stuffy landlord, the respectable, intro-
spective, and somewhat cold Dr. Henry Jekyll, and serves to 
illustrate some classic possession fieldmarks. 
L O R E 
The doctor observes in his case notes that for years he 
"concealed" his pleasures and held his head high. It was his 
"exacting nature" that "severed in me those provinces of good 
and ill which divide and compound man's dual nature." Henry 
came to wonder whether it was the curse of humankind that 
the "polar twins should be continuously struggling. How then, 
were they dissociated?" Jekyll then experimented in his labo-
ratory with a potion that transformed him to Hyde, his polar 
twin, and allowed Hyde to operate autonomously so that he, 
Jekyll, could observe him from the rational side of the great 
divide in his psyche. 
When he first tried the potion he felt "something inde-
scribably new .. . and incredibly sweet. I felt younger, lighter, 
happier in body; within I was conscious of a heady reckless-
ness . . . at the first breath of this new life to be more wicked, 
tenfold more wicked." He also became notably shorter in 
stature. In the mirror he discovered an ugly countenance, 
clearly evil, but somehow he was not repulsed by the image 
but instead felt what he described ominously as "a leap of wel-
come." 
As long as he could control the gleeful pleasure outings 
with his demonic other self, the doctor maintained his clini-
cal coolness and reflected on his evil twin with a certain fris-
son delicieux couched in philosophical musing. He was always 
able to return to his laboratory and body and take notes. But 
soon things escalated and grew all out of hand. Hyde hit a 
woman, ran over a child, and finally murdered a gentleman.

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The following morning Henry Jekyll awakened expect-
ing to find himself in his normal respectable day body, but 
when he glanced at his hand, which was normally a doctor's 
hand, "white and comely," the hand he saw "in the yellow 
light of a mid-London morning, lying half shut on the bed-
clothes, was lean, corded, knuckly, of a dusky pallor and 
thickly shaded with a swart growth of hair. It was the hand of 
Edward Hyde." 
Finding his physical and spiritual self devoured by the 
evil demon within and no longer able to transform himself by 
powders, he wrote his last notes and "died" wondering if this 
apelike, smallish, hairy, bestial, demonic creature would hang 
from the scaffold. He, Dr. Jekyll, would never know. 
D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
No human can live with a divided nature, either by 
repressing the demonic creative passionate side that Henry 
Jekyll describes as his "certain impatient gaiety of disposi-
tion" or by allowing it to dissociate by potion or by mental 
breakdown. Reconciliation to the whole of human nature, 
poised between animal and angel, might have saved Dr. Jekyll 
from his Shadow. (See Shadow in Psyche.)

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ID 
(Freud) 
The Id, a post-Enlightenment demon, is a powerful species of 
seething want. The Id, coined by Sigmund Freud, is the core 
portion of his tripartite model of the human psyche: id, ego, 
and superego. In the ancient model of celestial, terrestrial, and 
subterranean realms of the spirits, the demonic always resides 
in the very depths of its habitat — under mountain, sea, and 
domicile. Here, we find the Psyche abode of Id, in the unlit, 
utter darkness of the unconscious. Above it, and in part born 
from it, is the ego, the partially conscious realm, which we rec-
ognize as our own identity; above the ego, also in part uncon-
scious, is the super ego, with its severe moral whip, lashing at 
the ego from on high with guilt. 
L O R E 
Freud's famous description of the 
interdependent 
arrangement goes like this: The ego is like a rider who is 
attempting to rein in the greater strength of the powerful 
horse (the Id) while using the strength of the horse itself (in 
part) to do it. The rider cannot be separated from his horse, 
yet is impelled to lead the horse to where it wants to go. So 
must the ego "translate the will of the Id into action as if that 
action were its own." 
Above the horse and rider flies the attached superego, 
often demanding an abrupt turn or halt. The ego, sandwiched 
between, aware of the outside reality, and the only part of the 
trio to actually respond to experience, has to satisfy both 
unconscious forces. 
The Id then is unseen, hidden, indwelling, shapeless, and 
contains all passions and instinctual energy. It is that which is 
there pulsating at birth and houses all innate needs and bod-
ily demands. It is from the Id that the ego takes its shape and 
parts of its "horse power" or energy. But the Id doesn't know 
what it wants. It simply wants. And it has two primary power 
drives: libido and aggression. 
The Id screams from the basement of mind up to the ego,

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which attempts to rein it in with rational thought, to hold it 
steady and gratify its demands with one eye on the outside 
world. The Id knows nothing of the Out There; no light has 
formed an idea of a "neighbor" or a "parent" or anything 
external to its incessant bodily demands. It bleats and yells and 
surges through dreams and whispers to the consciousness of 
ego via images and obsessive behavior and slips of the tongue 
and constant internal demands. This is how it makes its pres-
ence known. 
D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
When the demonic Id gets out of control, and the ego 
cannot bear being in the middle of a raging sandwich, the 
human will feel overwhelmed. When this happens, the 
human must seek outside help. The professional leads him 
slowly to uncover, and discover, all the forces that surge 
through his unconscious mind by pulling them into the light 
of consciousness, exposing them to rational discourse, and 
naming them. By psychoanalytical methods of pulling the 
"demons" from darkness to light, and calling them by name, 
their power is reduced, contained, and possibly dispelled.

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S H A D O W 
(Jung) 
A personal Shadow rests in the depths of the unconscious of 
every person, ready and waiting to spring. According to Carl 
Jung's model, the Shadow expresses a person's darker dimen-
sion, the inner demon, the part of that personality one hides 
from the eyes of the world (and even from oneself). The 
Shadow includes all those aspects of a person's nature that he 
believes unacceptable. The Shadow lies at the threshold of 
the unexpressed self, at the border between the known and 
the unknown. 
The unconscious Shadow is repressed and hidden away 
like an unopened trunk somewhere in a corner of a dark and 
forgotten room. But unlike a closed trunk, it can open by itself. 
If it does, it may take a form that will make its human host 
feel that he's fallen prey to a possession species of invisible 
demon. It leaps out in this form, and projects itself onto 
another person: maybe a spouse or neighbor whom the host 
sees as exhibiting the demonic qualities of his/her own 
Shadow. 
The stronger the control "Persona" — the mask worn 
for society — exerts over the individual, the more his true self 
hides repressed within his Shadow, and the less he wants to 
encounter its existence. Most commonly the Shadow remains 
out of sight of the ego, but not entirely buried. It will spring 
forth in projections and also in dreams. 
In dreams people run down endless hallways, look into 
twisted mirrors, fight against oppressors (who are often only 
divided selves or "polar twins" fighting a battle). Often the 
Psyche will present to dreamers archetypal images of shadow-
vampires, devils, goblins, and hybrid animal-human crea-
tures. This is the Psyche's way of saying that each individual 
Shadow partakes of an essence of what humankind has col-
lectively experienced as evil or demonic or destructive 
throughout history. The dramatic characters in dreams who 
appear as archetypal images like the Devil often points to the 
magnitude of a problem as felt by the dreamer. It can feel so

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impossible, for example, to deal with certain issues that they 
are imaged as demonic powers — far beyond human control. 
In daily life, the Shadow manufactures projections onto 
others. Traits such as vindictiveness, jealousy, rudeness, com-
petitiveness, that are seen in others are often mirror reflections 
of negative feelings so repressed in oneself that they are hid-
den from sight. To catch a glimpse of this "power shadow" 
would be too painful, it would "kill" the viewer, so he 
represses it, and places his devil "out there," just as Dorian 
Gray projected his shadow onto his famous, crumbling 
portrait. 
L O R E 
Long ago, in ancient China, a man lost his ax. He 
searched everywhere for it but could not find it. When visit-
ing his neighbor, he happened to glance at his neighbor's son, 
and realized the child looked extremely suspicious. He 
observed him very carefully, noting the expression on his 
face, the way he slouched stealthily about, and it was clear 
to him this guilty-looking boy had in fact stolen his ax. When 
he went home, with this certainty, he happened to pick up a 
stone in his garden and there discovered the missing ax, lying 
precisely where he now remembered leaving it. He looked 
again at his neighbor's son, and saw that the child had a won-
derfully innocent smile, a sweet face, and a childlike walk, 
and he could not imagine how he had ever suspected the boy 
of thievery. 
D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
If the Shadow is admitted into the light of consciousness 
and faced squarely by the individual, it can be utilized to effect 
change. In the Jungian model, it is part of the function of 
depth analysis that the patient listens for the Shadow. It is 
when the deeply planted voice or voices are heard that trans-
formation begins. Uncovering the Shadow is like a gardener 
upturning deeply rooted weeds — it is an essential part of 
spiritual growth. When the Shadow 
is recognized and

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respected as a natural part of each Psyche and no longer 
repressed or projected, the human being can be whole and 
integrated. 
Like all demons, the Shadow is always changing its guise, 
so recognizing it is a lifelong process.

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Y A M A N T A K A 
(Tibetan Buddhism) 
Yamantaka is usually dark blue, has eight buffalo heads, 
thirty-four arms, and sixteen legs. He holds a terrible weapon 
in each of his thirty-four hands. He wears a necklace of sev-
ered human heads. He is a Terrifier. However, Yamantaka is 
used by Tibetan Buddhist practitioners as a teacher and an aid 
on the spiritual path to enlightenment. This tutelary, wrath-
ful deity, the "Terminator of Death," is actually a form of 
Manjushri, the Boddhisattva of Wisdom, conqueror of the 
Lord of Death, who appears as the ninth head — nearly hid-
den on first sighting. 
Manjushri, the legendary boddhisattva, traveled to 
Yama, the Lord of Death, and took on his form. Thus, he 
became Yamantaka, the Terminator of Yama, Lord of Death, 
in order to overcome Death itself. This complex figure repre-

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sents a radically different approach to the demonic field and 
must be understood for what he represents in Tibetan 
Buddhism. 
Tibetan Buddhist texts do not include the Seven Deadly 
Sins, but they do identify the Five Poisons (or addictions): 
Lust, Hate, Blindness, Pride, and Envy. And it is these "poi-
sons," they believe, that keep human beings in a state of suf-
fering. It is these transmuted poisons that now, as Five 
Wisdoms, fill the skull cups worn as a crown by Yamantaka 
(seen just under the head of Manjushri). His necklace of sev-
ered human heads represent quelled egos, and the three huge 
red eyes that glare from his fierce buffalo head challenge the 
practitioner to gaze upon him and what he represents with 
clear vision. In one hand he holds the important vajra cleaver 
that is used to cut through ignorance and ego attachment. 
Each of his thirty-four weapons is poised to attack one's inner 
demons and destroy all one's own passions, hatreds, and neg-
ative emotions (the Five Poisons). 
Behind the complex, esoteric practice of Tibetan 
Buddhism lies a history of shamanic lore, magic, and Tantric 
art that holds demons in mountains, forests, and water, but in 
fact the entire landscape lies in the realm of Psyche. It is here, 
finally, that the "dragons" must be conquered. On an internal 
battlefield, by visualizing deities of fierce mien and sharp 
teeth and sword, one harnesses their powers to combat nega-
tive emotions and transcend them. Here we find Yamantaka, 
who lends insight to a way of slaying internal dragons of lust, 
anger, and greed, and emptying the "self" to permit the 
entrance of Buddha-consciousness. 
D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
When the Tibetan Buddhist adept attempts to defeat the 
poisonous demoness of Envy, he does not do so by reciting the 
opposing virtue, Charity. He enlists the fierce Yamantaka. He 
imagines himself as a form of Yama the Lord of Death and, 
completing a ritual learned over many years of arduous prac-
tice, calls forth the deity. He has emptied himself and is now 
only a vessel — a container for the energy of Yamantaka —

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and as Yamantaka he subjugates the powers and conquers the 
poison of Envy. Suddenly, he sees how deluded a passion Envy 
really is by gazing from the point of view of death itself. Then, 
when he is finally able to see Yama — death itself — as illu-
sory, he reaches the opening to Wisdom. 
Tibetan Buddhist techniques are intended for use only 
by those with esoteric knowledge and many dozens of years of 
daily spiritual practice. They are as extremely dangerous as 
they are powerful. The approach to this fascinating field is 
briefly outlined in this Guide because in its model and 
alchemy, it illuminates a radically different way of viewing 
and utilizing the demonic population of the Psyche.

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Q U A N T U M 
D A I M O N 
(Guide) 
The Quantum Daimon is an unidentified flying species 
inspired by the subatomic universe that is neither angel nor 
demon but simply potential — an energy flowing everywhere 
that can become a positive force. Robert Burton in his 
Anatomy of Melancholy of 1621 attributed to Melancholy, the 
sickness of heart, "black anxiety" and sorrow, fearfulness and 
suspicion, that state of the human psyche from which proceed 
visions of demons: 
The Devil he is a spirit and hath means and oppor-
tunity to mingle himself with our spirits, and some-
times more slyly, sometimes more abruptly and 
openly, to suggest devilish thoughts into our hearts. 
He insults and domineers in melancholy, distem-
pered phantasies especially. He is a prince of the air 
and can transform himself into several shapes, 
delude our senses for a time; but his power is deter-
mined, he may terrify us but not hurt. 
Isaac Bashevis Singer, a twentieth-century writer, be-
lieved in the reality of demons and also believed that they 
were a creation of God for mysterious reasons we could never 
know. Singer thought, however, that before a demon could 
enter and take possession of a human being, there had to first 
be a giving up of will, a lack of hope. 
L O R E 
Once a maiden of dazzling beauty named Pandora was 
created out of clay and water by the god Hephaestus on orders 
of Zeus. All the gods gave her gifts, put flowers in her hair, 
adorned her with jewels, and breathed life into her. Zeus then 
gave her a large vase containing destructive powers along with 
a warning never to open it, endowed her with curiosity, and 
sent her to humankind as a punishment. Pandora arrived on 
earth and once there was seized with curiosity; unable to resist

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opening the forbidden vase, she unsealed the lid. From the 
container flew hordes of miseries — the dark spirits of greed, 
despair, envy, wrath —blotting out all light with a multitude 
of wings. Pandora slammed the container shut while it still 
held a creature called Hope. 
D I S A R M I N G & D I S P E L L I N G 
T E C H N I Q U E S 
The Guide attempts a fin-de-siècle Pandora experiment 
to recapture the daimon, that quantum energy imbuing all 
nature, bringing with it inspiration, uncanny moments of sud-
den awareness, and acting as intermediary of the Divine and 
the terrestrial realm. In the experiment we translate the 
ancient animistic worldview into the point of view of modern 
physics. Let's call it the Quantum Daimon. Imagine it as trans-
parent. The box it rests in is invisible. 
Like the brilliant physicist Erwin Schrödinger's Cat 
(used in his virtual cat-in-the-box experiment to demonstrate 
the nature of the subatomic world), the Quantum Daimon is 
neither alive or dead, it is neither particle or wave, it is neither 
fortune or misfortune, neither good nor evil. It is not one thing 
or another — until we open the box. 
It is how the observer opens the box and with what mind-
set that not only informs but determines the nature of the 
spirit about to fly. The millennial Psyche species and the 
viewer participant together may send positive (or negative) 
energies out into the universe. The Guide hopes that if any 
reader sights the Quantum Daimon, it will be for him or for 
her a new and shining spirit.

-----

A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S 
Sunne lai sunko mala 
Bhanne lai fulko mala; 
Yo katha baikuntha jala 
Bhanne belama turunta aula. 
For him who listens 
a garland of gold, 
A wreath of flowers 
for her who tells; 
This tale now to heavens will go 
But at once fly back 
when it's time to tell again. 
In the spirit of this Nepalese verse, which is invoked 
before telling a tale, our first thanks go to the storytellers and 
to all the wonderful scholars of myth, folklore, and spiritual 
traditions whose names and treasury of works are listed as an 
invitation for further study by the reader. We are indebted to 
you and thank you for all we've learned from you. We wish 
next to thank the following friends and scholars who provided 
invaluable contributions to the making of this book. Thanks 
first to Glenn Young, whose belief in this project led to this 
publication; to our editor Sean McDonald for blazing a clear 
path through the jungle with his rigorous mind and brilliant 
"pencillings," and to Richard Seaver, for his help and edito-
rial input; to Carol Hill and Jim Carse for their careful read-
ings, excellent advice, and inexhaustible support. With 
gratitude for their original artwork we thank Cathy Hull and 
Toby Welles, and for help with photography, David Gillison. 
Many thanks to our learned friends: to Dr. N. R. Srinivasan for 
extraordinary generosity in sending us original renderings of 
Hindu stories; to Tej R. Kansakar for sending us myths and

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advice from Kathmandu and to Kesar Lall, who translated the 
Nepalese verse and other material; and to John Wolseley, who 
sent us tales from Australia. Many thanks for leads, loans, 
and patient answers to questions to Bob Carneiro, Roger 
Abrahams, Gita Rajan, Gene Murphy, Harvey Goldberg, Celia 
Candlin, and James Griffith. Our thanks also to Priscilla 
Rodgers for reading and advice on Jungian material, and to 
Jerry Wiener for reading and advice on Freudian concepts. 
Thanks to Joshua Mack for lending his technical assistance to 
us Luddites, and to Ana DeBoo for the great fairy hunt; par-
ticular thanks to The New York Society Library and to 
A.R.A.S. at the C. G. Jung Center for their generosity; to our 
community of friends; and to Peter Mack and our family for 
all their help and loving support.

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— 
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Princeton, 
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I L L U S T R A T I O N C R E D I T S 
"Basic Demon," after "Satan," from The History of the Devil and the Idea of 
Evil, by Dr. Paul Carus, Open Court Publishing Company, Chicago, 1900. 
Courtesy of The New York Society Library. 
"Common Fairy," after "Ariel," adapted by Cathy Hull from Henry Tames 
Townsend's painting circa 1845, New York Public Library Picture Collection. 
"Asura," original image by Toby Welles from Indian miniature painting "Gods 
and Demons Churning the Milk Ocean," anonymous, circa eighteenth cen-
tury, Victoria and Albert Museum, London. 
"Tiamat," Treasury of Fantastic and Mythological 
Creatures, by Richard Huber, 
Dover Publications, New York, 1981. 
"Mermaid," courtesy of The Warburg Institute, London. 
"Merman," after the river god Achelous, Treasury of Fantastic and Mythological 
Creatures, by Richard Huber, Dover Publications, New York, 1981. 
"Rusalka," ("Mermaid" after woodcut 1550), Treasury of Fantastic and Mytho-
logical Creatures, by Richard Huber, Dover Publications, New York, 1981. 
"Kelpie" ("Seahorse" after a Roman amphora, fourth century B.C.E.), Treasury of 
Fantastic and Mythological Creatures, by Richard Huber, Dover Publications, 
New York, 1981. 
"Nixie," after "Meiusina," Puce Church, Gironde, from Curious Myths of the 
Middle Ages, by S. Baring-Gould, M.A., Rivingtons, Oxford, England, 1876. 
Courtesy of New York University Library. 
"Merrow," Music: A Pictorial Archive of PPbodcuts and Drawings, 
selected by Jim 
Harter, Dover Publications, New York, 1980. 
"Humwawa," after sculpture of "Mask of Humbaba," circa seventh century B.C.E., 
British Museum, London. Courtesy of A.R.A.S., C. G. Jung Center, New York. 
"Tengu," Treasury of Fantastic and Mythological 
Creatures, by Richard Huber, 
Dover Publications, New York, 1981. 
"Mahisha-Asura," Treasury of Fantastic and Mythological 
Creatures, by Richard 
Huber, Dover Publications, New York, 1981. 
"Akvan," Treasury of Fantastic and Mythological 
Creatures, by Richard Huber, 
Dover Publications, New York, 1981. 
"Pan," courtesy of The Warburg Institute, London. 
"Rakshasa (female)," original image by Toby Welles from Indian miniature 
painting, private collection. 
"Ravana," The Complete Encyclopedia of Illustration, by J. G. Heck, reprint of 
original publication by R. Garrigue, New York, 1851. Courtesy Cathy Hull. 
"Oni," original image by Toby Welles after "an Old Japanese Painting," 
Demonology and Devil-Lore, volume 11, by Moncure Daniel Conway, Henry 
Holt & Company, New York, 1879. Courtesy of The New York Society Library. 
"Kitsune," New York Public Library Picture Collection.

-----

I L L U S T R A T I O N 
C R E D I T S / 
2 8 2 
"Set," after Brugsch, from The History of the Devil and the Idea of Evil, by Dr. 
Paul Carus, Open Court Publishing Company, Chicago, 1900. Courtesy of The 
New York Society Library 
"Djinn," from Turkish manuscript included in Iconography, Didron, volume 2, 
from The History of the Devil and the Idea of Evil, by Dr. Paul Carus, Open 
Court Publishing Company, Chicago, 1900. Courtesy of The New York Society 
Library. 
"St. Anthony Assaulted by Devils," after Schoengauer's engraving 1420—1499, 
The History of the Devil and the Idea of Evil, by Dr. Paul Carus, Open Court 
Publishing Company, Chicago, 1900. Courtesy of The New York Society 
Library. 
"Ahriman " (after Didron, Iconography), 
The History of the Devil and the Idea of 
Evil, by Dr. Paul Carus, Open Court Publishing Company, Chicago, 1900. 
Courtesy of The New York Society Library. 
"Namarrgon," Treasury of Fantastic and Mythological 
Creatures, 
by Richard 
Huber, Dover Publications, New York, 1981. 
"Satan," after "Devil," The History of the Devil and the Idea of Evil, by Dr. Paul 
Carus, Open Court Publishing Company, Chicago, 1900. Courtesy of The New 
York Society Library. 
"Croucher," after "Evil Demons" (from Chaldean stele in British Museum after 
Lenormant), The History of the Devil and the Idea of Evil, by Dr. Paul Carus, 
Open Court Publishing Company, Chicago, 1900. Courtesy of The New York 
Society Library. 
"Asmodeus," Picture 
Book of Devils 
Demons 
and 
Witchcraft, 
by Ernst and 
Johanna Lehrner, Dover Publications, New York, 1971. 
"Lilith Tempting Eve" (from medieval missal), illustration from Moncure 
Daniel Conway, Demonology and Devil-Lore, volume 11, Henry Holt & Com-
pany, New York, 1879. Courtesy of The New York Society Library. 
"Pazuzu," from "Demon of the Southwest Wind" (after Lenormant, statue in 
Louvre), The History 
of the Devil and the Idea of Evil, by Dr. Paul Carus, 
Open Court Publishing Company, Chicago, 1900. Courtesy of The New York 
Society Library. 
"Fox Fairy," Fox spirit original image Toby Welles after "Japanese Demon," 
Moncure Daniel Conway, Demonology and Devil-Lore, volume 11, Henry 
Holt & Company, New York, 1879. Courtesy of The New York Society Library. 
"Fair Ladies," The Book of Knowledge, volume 14, The Grolier Society, New 
York, 1911. 
"Werewolf eating his family," courtesy of The Warburg Institute, London. 
"Kitsune-Tsuki," original image by Cathy Hull based on image from A.R.A.S., 
The C. G. Jung Center, New York. 
"Pride," Picture Book of Devils Demons and Witchcraft, 
by Ernst and Johanna 
Lehrner, Dover Publications, New York, 1971. 
"Avarice," Picture Book of Devils Demons and Witchcraft, by Ernst and Johanna 
Lehrner, Dover Publications, New York, 1971. 
"Lust," represented by "Asmodeus," Picture Book of Devils Demons and Witch-
craft, by Ernst and Johanna Lehrner, Dover Publications, New York, 1971. 
"Envy," represented by "Leviathan," Treasury of Fantastic and Mythological 
Creatures, by Richard Huber, Dover Publications, New York, 1981.

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2 8 3 
/ I L L U S T R A T I O N 
C R E D I T S 
"Gluttony," represented by "Beelzebub," Picture 
Book of Devils Demons 
and 
Witchcraft, by Ernst and Johanna Lehrner, Dover Publications, New York, 
1971. 
"Anger," represented by "Satan," The History of the Devil and the Idea of 
Evil, 
by Dr. Paul Carus, Open Court Publishing Company, Chicago, 1900. Courtesy 
of The New York Society Library. 
"Sloth," represented by "Belphegor," Picture Book of Devils Demons and Witch-
craft, by Ernst and Johanna Lehrner, Dover Publications, New York, 1971. 
"Yamantaka," original image by Cathy Hull after statue of Yamantaka Vajarab-
hairava Ekavira.

-----



-----

I N D E X 
Abatwa, xxiv, 63 
aberrant events, xii, xvi 
Aboriginal spirits, 169 
Aborigine, 24, 39, 155, 157-58, 164, 
170 
Adam, 61, 146,174, 199-200,211 
Aeshma, 187 
Africa, 202 
Age of Enlightenment, 228 
Agrat bat Mahalat, 200 
Ahriman, 166—68 
Ahura-Mazda, 166, 167 
Akvan ("Evil Mind"), 83-84 
Al, 211-12 
Algonkian, 98 
Allah, 146, 151, 166 
alp (elf), 52 
Alphabet of Ben Sira, The, 199 
alu, 184 
amphibians, 17, 19, 24, 29, 32, 35, 37, 
43 
amulets, 115, 179, 184, 200, 201, 208, 
240 
Anatomy of Melancholy, 
The (Burton), 
235-36, 271 
ancestral spirits, 135,157,179, 185-86 
ancient deities, xix, xxiii, 3,135 
Ancient Palestine-Jordan 
Gerasene Demon, 233—34 
Ancient Persia 
Akvan, 83-84 
ancient spirits, xxxiv, 95,111, 144, 147, 
179 
Andersen, Hans Christian, 14 
angel(s), xxxii-xxxiii, 174,200,201 
see also fallen angels 
Anger, 258, 260, 269 
Angola 
Kishi, 70-71 
Angra Mainyu, 167 
animals, sacred, 142 
animistic worldview, xiii, 272 
Anski, S., 242 
Anthony of the Desert, St., 136,159-61 
apotropaic images, 180,185, 204 
Apsu, 7—8 
Aquinas, St. Thomas, 251, 254,259 
Arabian desert, 204 
Devalpa, 155—56 
Djinn, 147-50 
Ghoul, 154 
Iblis, 146 
Palis, 163 
Shaitan, 151—53 
Arcadia, 95, 96 
Archangel Michael, 42, 195 
archdemon(s), 144, 145, 173 
archetypal images, 265 
Armenia 
Al, 211-12 
arts, 48,151,157, 158 
asceticism, 108,160, 200, 246 
Asmodeus 
{Ashmedai), 
187-89, 200, 
255 
see also Satan 
asuras, xxxiv-xxxv, 73, 74, 106, 131, 
196 
Australia 
Bunyip, 39—41 
Mimi, 157-58 
Namarrgon, 169-70 
Wahwee, 24-25 
Avarice, 252, 254 
Az, 167 
Azarias, 188 
Azazel, 144—45,174 
baal shem, 185 
babies, 62, 171, 172, 198, 199,203,211 
stealing, 112,149,202

-----

I N D E X 
/ 
2 8 6 
Baboquivari Mountain, 171, 172 
Babylonia, 3, 187 
Croucher, 183-86 
Pazuzu, 204—6 
Babylonian Epic of Creation, 7—9 
Babylonian Evil Spirits, 184—85, 
251-52 
Balaam, 173 
Bali 
Leyak, 240 
Bannik, 195 
baptism, 203 
baregara, 
184 
Basic Demon, xxi—xxii 
bedroom, xxviii, 179, 187, 189 
Beelzebub, 234, 257 
bells, XX, 114-15,217, 222 
Belphegor, 259 
Ben Temalion, 242—43 
Bible, 125, 198, 203, 222 
Bismillah, 
149 
Blindness (poison), 269 
body-double animals, 142 
Book of Enoch, 144 
Book of Job, 145, 173-74 
Book of Numbers, 173 
Book of the Dead, The, 143 
Book of Tobit, 188 
Bori, 102—3 
Brahma, 74, 109, 110, 119, 196 
Brazil 
Kuru-Pira, 
100-1 
Buddha, 246, 247 
Buddhism, xxxvi, 81 
Mara, 246-48 
Buddhist monks, 59 
Bungadyo, 85,87 
Bunyip, 
39-41 
Burton, Robert, 235-36, 271 
Cain, 174-75, 184 
Canada 
mndigo, 98-99 
candles, 16,217 
cannibal spirit, 98 
cannibals, 92 
carving, art of, 48 
Catholic Church, 229 
cave painting, 157 
Cedar Mountain forest, 55, 56, 57 
celestial world, gatekeeper of, 120, 
196 
Changelings, 33,202—3 
Changing 
Bear Maiden, 
190—93 
Charity, 256,269 
charms, 150, 201,203, 215, 229 
Chastity, 255 
Cherokee, 77 
child-killers, 199 
children, 33, 59, 91,165, 179, 207 
Albino, 66 
killed and eaten, 171,172 
luring away, 77 
stolen, 29, 112 
unborn, 211 
China, xxxvi, 58-59, 128, 184, 186, 
206,229, 237, 266 
Fox Fairy, 213-15, 245 
Kitchen Fairies, 218-19 
Madame 
White, 26-28 
Mountain 
Fairies, 81—82 
mountains worshiped in, 51 
White Monkey, 88 
Christian West (the) 
Seven Deadly Sins, 251-60 
Christianity, xxxi, 96,144,188,241 
Church (the), 52 
church bells, xx, 222 
clairvoyance, 140 
Coblynau, 69 
cock's feet, 187-88, 189 
collective unconscious, xix, 227 
"Coming of the Law," 246 
compassion, xv, xxxvi, xxxvii, 87 
Compendium 
Maleficarum 
(Guazzo), 
230 
Confucianism, xxxvi, 81 
conjuration(s), 113,204—5 
conjurors, 77, 78, 102, 234 
corpse eaters, 107 
Cosmic Mountain, 81 
cowherds, 91,111-12 
Coyote, 190-91 
creation stories/myths, xxxvi, 8 
Cree, 98 
crossing oneself, 186, 222

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2 8 7 
/ 
I N D E X 
Croucher, 183-86 
Cuiva, 121 
cures 
for possession, 229 
daevas, 166 
daimon(s), 147, 151,272 
types of, xxi—xxxii 
dances/dancing, 33, 45, 70, 103, 128, 
140, 157, 172 
danger, xvi, 51, 80, 91 
Dante, 256 
darkness, forces of, 141, 167 
Day of Atonement, 144 
dead (the), 59, 184,241 
Death, 73, 149, 167, 246,248,268, 270 
god of, 114 
Death, agent of, 246 
death and burial of demons, 44 
death portents, 69, 77, 195,209 
demiurge, xxxii 
demon functions/roles, xii, xiv, xxxi— 
xxxii 
demonic field, different approach to, 
269 
Demonic species 
Tiamat gave birth to, 7 
demonic spirits 
encounters with, xxii 
in mountains, 51 
potential for good inherent in, 131 
demonic visions, psyche in, 271 
demons, xi—xvii, xix, xxiv, 167 
attributes lacking in, xv 
diminishing by containing, 153 
encounters with, xxvii 
exit for, 186, 243 
ho,w to identify, xxi—xxii 
king of, 187 
origin of, xxxi—xxxvii 
in Psyche, 269, 270 
reality of, 271 
Desana, 100 
Desert, xii, xix, xxviii, 133—75 
desert spirits, 135—36, 137 
Desire, xiv, xv, 247 
Deuteronomy, xxxiv 
Devalpa, 155—56 
Devi (Great Goddess, aka Durga; 
Nanda Devi), 74-75 
Devil (the), xxiv, 42, 52, 96, 97, 160, 
187, 258,271 
see also Satan 
devils, xxiv, xxix 
Diligence, 259,260 
Dionysus, 95 
disasters, 116, 142 
disease, xvi, 116, 167,205,211 
disease demons/spirits, xxviii, xxxi, 
179, 180 
div, 83 
Div Spid (White Demon), 84 
Divine (the), 51 
Djinn, 
xv, xvi, 135, 146, 147-50, 151, 
234 
Dodo, xv—xvi, 123—24 
dogs, 165 
Domicile, xix, xxviii, 177—224 
Domicile species, 179-80, 181 
Domovoi, 194—95 
door(s), 184-85,186, 206, 210 
dreams, 265—66 
drought, 37, 39 
drownings, 42, 47-48 
dualism, xxxi 
Duergar, 79-80 
duhkha (suffering), 246 
Dybbuk, xxviii, 241—43 
Dybbuk, 
The (Anski), 242 
Echo, 96 
ego, 246, 248, 263,264, 265,269 
ekimmu, 
184 
elder sibling/spirit, demon as, xxxiv 
Eliade, Mircea, xiii 
Eloko, 114-15 
emotions, negative, 269 
Empusae, 199 
enchantment, xxii, 20, 114—15 
energy, 271, 272 
England, 68, 202 
Enkidu, 56 
Enlil (storm god), 55, 56 
entrance demons, 179,183-86, 196-97 
Envy, 256,272 
Envy (poison), 269,270

-----

i n d e x 
/ 
2 8 8 
Eve, 174, 175, 199,200,211 
Evil, xxix, 167,168, 184, 246 
pride root of, 255 
Satan personification of, 174 
evil spirits, 251-52 
excess, spirits of, 95—96 
excessive nature/behavior, 116, 118, 
156,257 
exorcism/exorcists, xxviii, 28, 179, 
185,205-6, 227,229, 241, 243 
risks of, 229-30, 234 
Exorcist, The (film), 205 
Fair Lady, 220-22 
fairies, xi—xii, xiv, xix, xxvii—xxviii, 
105 
Changeling, 
202 
in Domicile, 180 
forest, 91 
guarding babies against, 203 
household, 223 
Huldrefolk, 
61, 62 
identifying, xxiii—xxv 
malevolent, 52, 220 
Mountain 
Fairies, 81—82 
Nisse, 223 
in nursery, 179 
Patupairehe, 
66 
solitary, 79-80 
JVood-JVives, 104 
Yunwi Djunsti, 77—78 
fairy features, 26 
fairy food, 82 
fairy ring(s), 128 
fairy tales, 91 
Fairyland, xxiii, xxiv, 202 
fallen angels, xiv, xxiv, 42, 145, 146, 
173,188, 195 
in Domicile, 180 
and temptations, 252 
fatal flaw, 48, 74, 84 
Fate, xxxi 
Faunus, 96 
fecundity, 92,96 
feet (demons), xxii, 100 
femmes fatales, 10, 32, 198 
fetishes, 115 
Firduasi, 83 
fire, 107,113, 165,203 
firecrackers, xx, 88 
first beings, 135 
fishermen, 42, 46, 62, 67 
Five Poisons, 269 
Five Sacred Mountains of China, 51, 
81 
Five Wisdoms, 269 
flesh-eaters, 92,123,218 
Fomorians, 46 
foot-licker species, 163 
Forest, xv, xix, xxviii, 89—131,269 
Forest demons, 91-92,93 
Fox Fairy (huli jing), 213-15, 245 
Fox Possession, 244—45 
Fox Spirit, 244, 245 
Fox transformation, 227 
foxes, 129, 130 
France, 203, 238, 239 
fresh water, 37-38,152 
Freud, Sigmund, 263—64 
Fuath (Foo-a) family, 37, 38 
gallu, 184 
Garuda, 59 
genius loci, xi—xii, xxiii, 91, 194 
Desert, 148 
Domicile, 179 
forest, 111 
Gerasene Demon, 233—34 
Germany, 69, 179,203, 216, 237 
Wood-Wives and Skoggra, 104—5 
Ghana 
Dodo, 123-24 
Ghoul ("destroyer"), 154 
Gilgamesh, 56—57 
Gilgamesh Epic, The, 55 
gilgul, 241 
global 
Mermaid, 
10-14 
Merman, 
15—16 
Gluttony, 252, 257 
God, 139, 166, 167,174,184, 199,211 
demons created by, 271 
gods, xxxii, 52, 74, 114, 131, 141, 142, 
. 184

-----

2 8 9 
/ I N D E X 
Good (the), 167, 249 
Goodness, xvi—xvii 
god of, 166 
Gospels, 234,257 
Great Britain 
Changelings, 202—3 
Duergar, 79-80 
Great Sandy Desert, Australia, 164—65 
Greece, xxxi, xxxii, 10, 257 
Pan, 95-97 
greed, xiii, 254, 269,272 
Gregory the Great, St., 241, 251 
guardian angel, 151 
guardian demons/species, 22, 23, 55, 
100, 111 
in Forest, 91 
guardian spirits, xii, xxxi, 95, 100, 194, 
195 
Guazzo, Francesco Maria, 230 
gui, xxix, xxxvi 
Gwyllion, 
72 
ha Satan (the adversary), 249 
Hagigah, xxxiii 
Hanumat, 109-10 
harp, 46 
Hate (poison), 269 
Hausa, 102, 103, 123 
Havel, Vaclav, xii 
healing powers/skills, 18, 140, 158, 
188,214,227 
Hecate, 199 
heliophobia, xxii, 67 
helper demons/fairies, 66—67, 102, 
104,180,209,210 
Hephaestus, 271 
Hera, 199 
heTbs, 105, 189 
Hermes, 95 
hero (human), xv, xvi 
hero cult, daimons of, xxxi 
Hesiod, xxxi 
Hinduism, xxxv, 73, 76, 131, 246 
Hiranyaksha, 196 
Hiranyakashipu, 196—97 
holidays, 28 
Holy Spirit, 234 
Homer, xxxi 
Ho'ok, 171-72 
Hope, 271,272 
Horace, xxxi 
Horus, 141,143 
household fairies, 223 
Hudson Bay Company, 99 
Huldrefolk, 
61-62 
Huli jing, 
128,213,214 
human community 
demons mingling with, 32, 35,149 
human lovers/mates, 33, 35, 46, 66 
human nature, 249,262 
human beings 
divided nature, 261, 262 
human form, 29-30, 75, 102, 106, 121, 
128, 147, 151, 154, 164, 194, 209, 
210,216, 244 
Humility, xiii, 253, 260 
Hungary, 202 
Fair Lady, 
220-22 
Liderc, 209-10 
hunters, 61, 91,100, 104, 111 
with magic powers, 115 
hunters (demon), 63 
hunting and fishing, 62, 157 
Huwawa, 55—57 
Iblis, 145, 146, 151, 154,253 
Id, xxviii, 228,263-64 
frits, 
154 
I'itoi, 171,172 
illusions, 151 
illusory beings/things, 147, 247, 248 
illusory cloning, 73, 74, 75, 76 
images, demonic, 206 
apotropaic, 180,185, 204 
Imagination, xxxvii 
immortality, 74, 109 
Immortals, 82 
impulsivity, 11 
Inari (god), 130 
incantations, 28,103, 184, 229, 251-52 
incense, 28,150, 189,229 
incubi, xxviii, 179, 209 
India, xxxiv—xxxv, 3,229 
Hiranyakashipu, 196—97 
Kabhanda, 
131 
Kumbhakarna, 119-20

-----

I N D E X / 2 9 0 
India (cont'd) 
Mashisha-Asura, 73—76 
Rakshasas, 106—7 
Ravana, 108-10 
Indra (god), 74, 131 
indwelling animal, 227—28 
indwelling demons/spirits, 227, 228, 
243 
naming, 229, 230 
inner demon(s), 265, 269 
insanity, 149, 150 
inspiration, 151, 272 
intelligence 
intuitive, 140 
lack of, 83, 84, 118, 163 
intermediary species, xxxi—xxxii, 51, 
147,272 
Iranian Desert 
Ahriman, 166—68 
Ireland, 203 
Merrow, 45—46 
Irish Melodies (Moore), 46 
iron, 103,105, 150,211-12,217 
Ishtar, 56 
Isis, 142-43 
Isitwalangcengce (Basket Bearer), 
207-8 
Islam, 145, 146 
Janus, 184 
Japan, 3, 203 
Kappa, 17-18 
Kitsune, 128-30 
Kitsune- Tsuki, 244—45 
Oni, 116-18 
Tengu, 58—60 
Yuki-Onna, 64—65 
Jesus, 136, 173, 174, 175, 233-34 
Job, 173-74 
Josephus, 229 
Judaism, xxxiii—xxxiv, 3, 144, 186 
Asmodeus, 187-89 
Dybbuk, 241-43 
Lilith, 198-201 
Shedim, 125-27 
Yezer Ha-Ra, 249-50 
Judean Wilderness 
Azazel, 144—45 
Jung, Carl, 265-67 
Kabhanda, 
131 
Kamrup, 85—86 
Kappa, xv, 17—18 
Karkotak, 85-86 
Karunamaya, 85,87 
Kathmandu, 87 
Kayeri, 121-22 
Kelpie (Each-uisg), 29-31, 32, 39 
King of the Shaitans (Satans), 146 
Kingu, 8 
Kishi, 70-71 
Kitchen, xxviii, 180, 194 
Kitchen Fairies, 218-19 
Kitsune, 128-30 
Kitsune-bi (fox fire), 129 
Kitsune-no-yomeiri (fox's wedding), 
129 
Kitsune-okuri (festival), 129 
Kitsune-Tsuki (Fox Possession), xxviii, 
129,244-45 
Knockers, 68—69 
Kobolds, 69 
Kumbhakarna, 119—20 
Kuru-Pira 
(boraro), 100—1 
Lamia, 199 
Lanka, 106, 109, 110, 119,131 
laughter, human, xx, 162, 186, 222 
Leshii, xvi, 111-13 
Leviathan, 256 
Leviticus, xxxiv, 144 
Leyak, 240 
libido, 263 
Liderc, 209-10 
Lidercfeny, 
209 
lightning, 51, 169 
Lil, 198 
lilin, 125, 199 
Lilith, xvi, 61, 187, 198-201 
lilitu, 198 
"Little Mermaid, The" (Andersen), 
14

-----

2 9 1 / 
I N D E X 
Lokanatha, 85, 86-87 
Lotus Sutra, 247 
Loup Garou, 239 
lore 
demonic, xiii—xiv, xv, xvi, xxxvi 
fairy, xxiv 
love, xxxvi, xxxvii, 25 
lack of capacity for, xv 
lovers 
demonic, 209-10, 213 
fairy, 81 
Lucifer, 253 
Lust, xv, 187, 188,252, 255, 269 
demon of, 200 
resisting, 249—50 
Lust (poison), 269 
Lycanthropia, 236 
Madame 
White, 26-28, 153 
madness, 214, 245 
magic circle(s), 20—21, 113 
magician, 227 
Mahisha-Asura, xxxv, 73—76 
malevolence, 77, 88, 102, 214, 220, 240, 
245 
Mammon, 254 
Mamu (Gugur), 
164-65 
man-eaters, 98, 164, 171 
see also flesh-eaters 
Man-Lion, 197 
Manjushri, the Boddhisattva of Wis-
dom, 268, 269 
Maori, 48, 66, 67 
Mara, 228, 246-48 
Marduk (solar god), 8-9 
Mare, 216-17 
Mare attack(s), 179 
Mark, 233, 234 
Marid, 
146, 154 
Markandeya 
Purana, 73 
marriage, 37, 44, 62, 64-65, 179 
MaysehBook, 
The {The Book of Tales), 
241-42 
mazzikm, xxxiii, 125 
Mbulu, 43-44 
Melancholy, 271 
mental illness, 228, 230 
Mermaid, 10-14, 16, 32 
Merman, 
12, 15-16 
Merrow (Moruadh; Moruach), 
45—46 
Mesopotamia 
Huwawa, 55—57 
Tiamat, 7—9 
metal, 16, 72,105,150, 203, 217 
see also iron; steel 
mezuzah, 186 
mikvah, 242 
Milton, John, xxxiii 
Mimi, 157-58, 170 
Mind, 227 
mining, 51, 68-69 
mirrors, 201,206 
mischief, 68, 77, 111, 128-29, 215 
Mr. Hyde, 261-62 
Mitmitke, 
209, 210 
motivation, xvi, 128 
Mount Ararat, 51 
Mount Fuji, 51 
Mount Heng, 81 
Mount Hua, 81 
Mount Kail as, 51 
Mount Kunlun, 81 
Mount Meru, 51 
Mount Olympus, 51 
Mount Sinai, 51 
Mount Song, 81 
Mount Tai, 81 
Mountain, xii, xxvii—xxviii, xix, 
49-88, 269 
Mountain demons, 51—52, 53 
Mountain 
Fairies, 81-82 
mountain priests (Yamabushi), 59 
Munuane, 22-23 
murder by poison arrow, 63 
music, 45, 46, 66, 70,114, 148 
of Pan, 96,97 
Naamah, 187 
Nadubi, 158 
Naga Karkotak, 153 
Namarrgon 
(or Mamaragan, 
Light-
ning Man), 169-70 
naming, 27, 34,102,103, 228, 229,234, 
237-38, 243, 264

-----

I N D E X 
/ 
2 9 2 
Natal, 35 
Native American lore, 135 
nature, xxvii, 41, 57 
Navajo, 190-93 
Negev 
Satan, 173-75 
Nepal, 206 
Yaksas, 85-87 
Nereids, 11 
New Testament, 145 
New Zealand 
Patupairehe, 66—67 
Ponaturi, 47-48 
Newars, 85 
nightmare, 
2 1 6 
Nisse, 223-24 
fc, 
32-34 
Nkundo, 11 + 
noise, 150, 162, 186 
33, 34 
North America 
Loup Garou, 239 
Tommy-Knockers, 68-69 
Yunwi Djunsti, 77-78 
North America (Navajo) 
Changing Bear Maiden, 
190-93 
Norway 
Huldrefolk, 
61-62 
Mare, 216—17 
Nisse, 223-24 
Nuckelavee, 37—38 
nursery, xxviii, 179,201, 203,211 
Odysseus, 11 
Odyssey (Homer), xxxi 
offending demons, 102 
offerings, 16, 18, 20, 42, 60, 95, 101, 
113, 143,195,214,245 
ogres, 92,101 
Ohrmazd, 167 
Ojibwa, 98 
"On the Morning of Christ's Nativity" 
(Milton), xxxiii 
Oni, xv, 116-18, 127 
Oni-yarahi (ceremony), 116,118 
Osiris, 141,142-43 
Other(s), 128,227 
Other World, xvi, xxvii, 51, 128 
Ovinnik, 195 
Palis, 163 
Pan, 95-97 
Pandora, 271-72 
Paracelsus, 51 
parallel universe(s), 139 
passions, xiv-xv, 251,252,263, 269 
Patience, 258, 260 
Patupairehe, 66—67 
Pazuzu, 204—6 
Persia, 166 
"Persona," 265 
personal demons, 228 
pestilence, 204,206 
Peter, St., 211 
Pisacas, 207 
Pitys (nymph), 96, 97 
placating, 16, 102, 103 
Plato, xxxi 
Pliny, 91 
Plutarch, 96 
Ponaturi, xvi, 47—48 
portents, xii, xvi, 221 
of death, 69, 77,195,209 
Portugal, 11 
possession, xxxvi, 98-99,101, 128,151, 
174,206, 214,227, 228,233,241 
animal, 235-38,244-45 
fox, 129 
lack of hope in, 271 
by spirit of dead person, 241—42 
things to know about, 228-30 
possession species, 229, 242-43, 251, 
261-62,265 
potential, 271 
practical jokes, 59 
pranks, 129,202, 223 
prayer(s), 107, 149,212, 217, 222, 234 
precognitive power, 140 
Priapus, 96 
Pride, 253,260 
Pride (poison), 269 
primordial spirits, 166 
projection(s), 265,266,267 
prophylactic species, 179—80

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2 9 3 
/ 
I N D E X 
propitiation, 30, 42, 60 
protection, 18, 111, 195 
protector/portal function, xii, xiv 
psalms, penitential, 260 
Psyche, xix, xxv, xxvii, xxviii, 225—72 
struggle within, 249, 250 
tripartite model of, 263 
Psyche species, 227-28,231 
psychoanalysis, xxviii, 264,266 
Qing Ming Festival, 26-27,28 
Quantum Daimon, 
228, 271-72 
Q'uran, 146, 147,149 
Ra (sun god), 141 
rabisu, 183—84 
Raga (Pleasure), 247 
rage, 258 
Rakshasas (Night Wanderers), xxxv, 
106-7,108, 110, 119, 131 
Rama, 108,109-10, 131 
Ramayana, xxix, 108, 131 
Raphael, 188 
Rati (Desire), 247 
Ravana, xxxv, 107 108-10, 119-20, 
131 
reason, lack of capacity for, xv 
red (color), 105 
religious systems, xxviii, xxxii—xxxvi 
repression, 265,266, 267 
respect, 18, 61, 69,194,214, 223 
retaliation, xiii, 41,42, 126 
rites for possession, 229 
Roman Empire, 52 
Rome, xxxii, 96, 184 
roof demons, 184, 214 
running water, 124 
Rusalka, 
19-21 
Rusal'naia 
festival, 20 
Russia 
Domovoi, 194—95 
Leshii, 111-13 
Rusalka, 
19-21 
Vodyanoi, 42 
Rustem, 84 
sacrifice(s), xx, 33, 51, 56,102,144,188 
of children, 179 
human, 42 
Sahara Desert 
St. Anthony's Demons, 159—62 
Set, 141-45 
sailors, 11, 14,46 
Si Anthony's Demons, 159—62 
salt, 149-50,163, 203,239 
Sammael, 188,200 
see also Satan 
sandstorms, xiii, xxviii, 135, 147 
Sansenoy, 200,201 
Satan (Lucifer, Sammael, Asmodeus, 
Mephistopheles, Devil, Adver-
sary), 136, 144-45, 173-75, 188, 
200,234,253, 257 
and Anger, 258 
satyrs, 92, 95 
Scotland, 203 
Kelpie, 29-31 
Nuckelavee, 37-38 
sea fairies, 45,47 
Sea Fairy, xxiv 
sea-fairy-type Mermaid, 11, 12—13 
seataka, 140 
"second sight," 140 
seduction, 198, 213 
seirim, xxxiii, xxxiv, 95, 144 
Self, 227 
emptying, 269—70 
selfishness, 252, 253 
Semangeloff, 200, 201 
Senoy, 200,201 
Set, 141—43 
Seven Deadly 
Sins, xxviii, 188, 228, 
251-60,269 
Seven Virtues, 252 
Shadow, xxviii, 228,265-67 
Shah-Nameh 
(The 
Book 
of 
Kings) 
(Firduasi), 83, 84 
Shaitan (Satan), 151—53 
shaman(s), 99,227,234 
Shamash (sun god), 56 
shape-shifting, xxii, xxiii, xxviii, xxxiv, 
75,82, 85 
Shedim, xvi, xxxiii, xxxiv, 95, 125—27, 
199,241

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I N D E X 
/ 
2 9 4 
Shen, xxix, xxxvi, 81, 82, 88,213 
shipwrecks, 11,12,35 
Shiva, 74 
shocking, 117, 118 
shutting demons out, 152—53, 186 
sickness, 103 
see also disease 
Siddhartha Gautama, 246-47 
sign of the cross, 16, 20, 42, 113, 203, 
238 
Sikuani, 22,23 
Si'lats, 154 
silver bullet, 99,238 
silver packet road dispersion, 218, 
219 
Simeon ben Johai, 242—43 
Sinbad the sailor, 155—56 
Singer, Isaac Bashevis, 271 
singing, 12, 13, 154, 157, 221 
Sirens, 10-11 
Sita, 109-10, 131 
Skoggra, 104-5 
Skylla ("Bitch"), 10 
Sloth, 259,260 
Sobriety, 257 
Solomon, King, 148, 152, 188-89, 200, 
201 
Solomon, seal of, 151 
Sonoran Desert, 171-72 
Surem, 139-40 
Soul(s), xxiv, 19,116,227 
in exchange for work, 113 
kept by Merman, 15, 16 
transmigrating, 241 
South Africa, 88 
Abatwa, 63 
Isitwalangcengce, 207—8 
Mbulu, 43-44 
Tikoloshe, 35—36 
South America 
Kayeri, 121-22 
Munuane, 22-23 
special occasions, demons at, xxxvi— 
xxxvii 
special powers, 244^45 
Spenta Mainyu, 167 
spirit cities, 135 
spirit realms 
celestial, terrestrial, subterranean, 
263 
spirits, xxvii 
double-sided, xvi 
in the home, 179 
see also subversive spirits 
spiritual 
(the), 
xxxii-xxxiii, 
136, 
266-67,268, 270 
spitting, 34, 126 
steel, 34,62, 70,105,150,217 
Stevenson, Robert Louis, 261—62 
still water, 30 
storms, xvi, 11, 12, 51, 142 
stories/storytelling, xiii, xix 
subatomic universe, 271, 272 
subversive spirits, xix—xx, xxiv—xxv, 
xxxvi, 146, 180 
succubi, xxviii, 179, 198 
Sufficiency, 254 
Suleyman (Solomon), King 
see Solomon, King 
Sumeria, 55, 56 
Summa Theologica (Aquinas), 251 
sunlight, 48, 141-42 
superego, 263 
supernatural powers, xxxi, 59, 67 
supernatural spirits 
in development of Mermaid, 10-11 
Supernatural Subversive Spirits, xxiv 
Surem, 139-40 
suspended action, 80 
Sweden, 237 
Wood-Wives and Skoggra, 104^-5 
Symposium (Plato), xxxi 
syncretism, age of, xxxii 
Syria, 184 
Syrinx, 96 
talismans, 179,184 
Talking Tree, tale of, 139 
Talmud, 125, 199,251 
Tanha (Restlessness), 247 
Taoism, xxxvi, 26-28, 51, 81, 82 
tapas (superhuman powers), 196 
tar, 150, 189 
teachers, demons as, 248,268

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2 9 5 
/ I N D E X 
temptation, 151, 160, 173, 174, 175, 
251 
seven specific, 252 
Ten Commandments, 188, 256 
Tengu, 58—60 
"Terminator of Death," 268 
terrestrial world 
battleground for forces of Good and 
Evil, 167 
Teutonic 
Nixie, 32-34 
Thackeray, William Makepeace, 14 
Tiamat, 7—9 
Tibetan Buddhism, xxxvi, 268—70 
T'ien-kou, 58-59 
Tikoloshe, 35-36, 88 
Time, 20, 62,81,82 
"to fig" (gesture), 126 
Tohono O'odham (The Desert People), 
171 
Tommy-Knockers, 68—69 
transformation(s), xxviii, 92, 131, 227 
Shadow in, 266—67 
voluntary, 98 
Werewolf, 236, 237, 239, 240 
traveler(s), xii, 65, 78, 128, 168 
Aboriginal, 158 
deceiving, 154 
in desert, 135, 136 
in Forest, 91 
and Kappa, 18 
led astray, 79-80 
lost, 59, 72, 77, 111 
luring, 111, 151,246 
mountains, 81 
qualities needed by, xvi, 18 
Scottish Isles, 38 
treasure, xvi, 51, 57, 62 
trees, 91,92 
trickery, human 
demon vulnerability to, xv, 84, 118, 
127, 163, 202,207, 208,239 
trickery, malevolent, 60, 69 
tricksters, 214 
twins, 77 
supernatural, 148—49 
Typhon, 141 
Um Es Sibyan, 199 
"unclean spirits," 228, 242, 243 
casting out, 233—34 
unconscious (the), xii, 263, 264,265 
Undine, 12-13, 14 
Uruk, 56 
utukku, 184 
Valley of the Angel of Death, 154 
vanishing, xxiii 
Vanity Fair (Thackeray), 14 
vengefulness, xxiv, 16, 45 
victims, 11, 17, 24, 30, 39, 64, 78, 100, 
102-3 
virtues, 252, 260 
Vishnu, xxxiv—xxxv, 43, 110, 197 
Vodyanoi, 42 
volcanos, xvi, 51, 55 
Wahwee, 24-25 
Wales, 69 
Gwyllion, 72 
Wang Chih, 82 
want, 263 
wasting away, 102-3, 107, 112, 129, 
209,213 
water, xix, xxvii, 1—48 
going into, 242 
sacred nature of, xii 
see also, fresh water; still water 
weakness(es), childlike, 117-18 
see also fatal flaw 
Werewolf xxviii, 227, 235-38, 239, 240 
West Africa 
Bori, 102-3 
whirlwinds, 104, 147 
White Monkey, 36, 88 
Wichtlein (Little Wights), 69 
wilderness, xiii, 52,105,135,139 
desert, 135-36 
guardians of, 66 
Windigo (Witiko), 98-99 
wine, 156, 215 
Wisdom of Ben Sira, The, 199 
witch, 227 
witchcraft, 229-30 
wives, supernatural, 65,179

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I N D E X 
/ 
2 9 6 
women, 112,207 
abducted, 66, 88, 116,117, 121-22 
desired by demons, 15, 70—71 
pregnant, 211—12 
taken by demons, 29-30, 35 
Wood-Wives, xv, 104—5 
woodcutters, 111 
work (demons), 30,68-69, 77,148, 223 
in exchange for human soul, 113 
Kitchen Fairies, 218 
see also helper demons/fairies 
wrath, 187, 272 
Wrath (demon of), 200 
Xhosa, 35 
Yaksas, 85-87, 153 
Yama, Lord of Death, 228, 268, 269, 
270 
Yamantaka, 268—70 
Yaqui, 139, 140 
Yeats, W. B., xxiv 
Yezer 
Ha-Ra 
("evil 
inclination") 
249-50 
yin/yang symbol, xxxvi 
yoania, 139,140 
Yuki-Onna (Lady of the Snow), 64—65 
Yunwi Djunsti ("Little People"), 
77-78 
Zaire 
Eloko, 114-15 
Zang Guo, 82 
Zmej, 109 
Zohak, 167-68 
Zoroastrianism, 167 
Zulu, 43, 63, 207 
Zurvan, 167

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