Every ghost story on Earth, checked against the record.

566 legends. For each one we separate what the documents actually say from what people tell each other after dark.

Documented Partially documented Oral tradition Internet origin Unverified Disputed Fiction How we verify →
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Guyana Partially documented Sep 19

Kanaima: The Guyanese Sorcerer Legend That Killed a Scholar

Deep in the highland interior of Guyana, people speak of a kind of sorcerer called a kanaima (also spelled kanaimà), said to carry out slow, ritualized…

Bolivia Oral tradition Sep 18

The Wawa con Bigotes: Bolivia’s Mustached Baby Legend

The Wawa con Bigotes (Quechua/Spanish for “the baby with a mustache”) is a Bolivian urban legend from Sucre, in the Chuquisaca department, about a creature that…

EUROPE Oral tradition Sep 17

Ali: The Shapeshifting Forest Demon of Georgian Folklore

Deep in the beech forests of the Georgian highlands, herders still warn each other not to answer if something calls their name near a riverbank at…

ASIA Partially documented Sep 15

Umm al-Subyan: The Shapeshifting Jinn Blamed for Yemen’s Infant Deaths

She never shows up looking like a monster. Umm al-Subyan first appears as your mother, your wife, or a cousin you trust — and only afterward…

ASIA Partially documented Sep 14

Nyala Duem: Bhutan’s Vanishing Highway Demoness Legend

She never announced herself as a demon. She showed up as a monk walking the ridge at dusk, or a striking woman rinsing meat in a…

MIDDLE EAST Partially documented Sep 14

Bahla, Oman: The City of Magic and Its Jinn Legend

Locals call it Madinat al-Sihr (مدينة السحر) — the City of Magic. Bahla is a real oasis town in northern Oman, and the label isn't a…

ASIA Oral tradition Sep 12

Aghach Kishi: Azerbaijan’s Hairy Forest Man of the Caucasus

Aghach Kishi (“tree man,” آغاج کیشی) is the name Azerbaijani mountain communities give to a hairy, foul-smelling forest spirit that walks upright, resembles an ape with…

ASIA Unverified Sep 12

The Girl in Red of Boom Gorge, Kyrgyzstan’s Haunted Road

Boom Gorge (Боом капчыгайы, Boom Kapchygayy) is a real 25-kilometer canyon on the only road between Bishkek and Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan, and its Kyrgyz name…

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