EUROPEBlack Annis: Who Is the Blue-Faced Hag of the Dane Hills?
Black Annis is a bogeywoman from Leicestershire folklore, usually pictured as a blue-faced hag with iron claws who lived...
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EUROPEDracula and Nosferatu: Is the Vampire Count Based on a True Story?
Dracula is partly based on real history, but not on a real vampire. Bram Stoker borrowed the name from a book about 15th...
EUROPELeshy: The Slavic Forest Spirit Who Wore His Shoes on the Wrong Feet
The leshy (Russian leshiy, Леший) is the forest spirit of East Slavic folk belief, called the lisovyk in Ukrainian and t...
EUROPEHuldra: The Beautiful Forest Woman Who Hid a Cow’s Tail
The huldra is a female being of Norwegian folk belief, known in Sweden as the skogsrå. She is beautiful and tall from th...
DenmarkNisse and Tomte: Scandinavia’s Farm Guardian Who Wanted Butter on His Porridge
The nisse is the household spirit of Danish and Norwegian farms, called the tomte in Swedish. He is a small figure in gr...
EUROPEThe Ankou: Brittany’s Folklore Collector of the Dead
The Ankou is the figure Breton folklore sends to collect the dead: a figure in a black robe and wide hat, a scythe over ...
EUROPELagarfljót Worm: Iceland’s Lake Serpent and the Truth Committee
The Lagarfljót worm is a serpent said to live in a long, silty lake in eastern Iceland. Chroniclers noted a “marvel” in ...
EstoniaKratt: Estonia’s Hay Servant and Its Blood Bargain
The kratt is a servant made of hay and old farm tools, brought to life by a bargain with the Devil and sent out at night...
EnglandThe Hairy Hands of Dartmoor: The Haunted B3212 Road Legend
The Hairy Hands are a pair of disembodied hands said to seize the steering wheel or handlebars of a passing vehicle on a...
EUROPEAli: 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 thei...