The following is a list of ghosts:

African folklore

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Asian folklore

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Section of the Hungry Ghosts Scroll depicting one of the thirty-six types of hungry ghosts who constantly seeks water to drink and explaining how those who have been born as such are saved by the offerings of the living. Kyoto Museum

East Asia

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China

Korea

 
Onryō from the Kinsei-Kaidan-Shimoyonohoshi (近世怪談霜夜星)

Japan

South Asia

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India

 
A male kumbhāṇḍa (left) and female Kumbhāṇḍakā (right).

Sri Lanka[1]

Nepal

Pakistan

Bangladesh

  • Bhrommo Doitto
  • Bhoot
  • Dayniburi
  • Daynii
  • Doitoo
  • Geccho Bhoot
  • Kana Bhola
  • Khuqqush
  • Jukkho
  • Meccho Bhoot
  • Mamdo Bhoot
  • Nishi
  • Petni
  • Pishach
  • Shakchunni

Turkish

Southeast Asia

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Giovanni Battista de' Cavalieri 1585 depiction of "Monsters from all parts of the ancient and modern world" (Mostri de tute le parti del mondo antichi et moderni). The drawing depicts a Wewe Gombel

Indonesia/Malaysia

Myanmar

Philippines

Thailand

Middle East folklore

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An ifrit named Arghan Div brings the chest of armor to Hamza. The flaming eyes of the ifrit are slightly crossed with orange spotted skin.

Egyptian and Arabic

Persian

Jewish mythology

European folklore

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The Headless Horseman Pursuing Ichabod Crane by John Quidor (1801–1881)

Albania

Finland

Germany

Graeco-Roman

Malta

Netherlands

Romania

  • Iele, feminine mythical creatures
  • Moroi, a type of vampire or ghost
  • Muma Pădurii, an ugly and mean old woman living in the forest
  • Pricolici, similar to Strigoi, but for worse souls
  • Samca, an evil spirit, said to curse children and pregnant women with illness
  • Spiriduş, a domestic spirit/familiar that when summoned, acts as an intermediate between the devil and the master of the home
  • Stafie, spirits of the dead who are bound to a place in which they lived in life; a poltergeist
  • Strigoi, troubled souls of the dead rising from the grave
  • Vâlvă, feminine nature spirits that control various phenomena. Can be good or bad
  • Vântoase, female spirits of the wind
  • Zmeu, a fantastic creature

Scandinavia

 
Baba Yaga and Maiden-birds by Ivan Bilibin, 1902

Slavic folklore

Spain

 
Drawing from the 1591 Agnes Sampson trial, depicting the devil giving witches magic dolls

United Kingdom

North American

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A depiction of John Dee (1527–1608) and Edward Kelley (1555–1597/8) invoking a spirit

Canada

Caribbean

  • Douen, a mischievous entity associated with pranks and practical jokes
  • Duppy, malevolent spirits who bring misfortune and woe on those they set upon
  • Hupia, the spirits of deceased people; portrayed as faceless people or in the form of deceased loved ones
  • Jumbee, the generic name given to all malevolent entities, including demons and spirits
  • Lwa, a Voodoo spirit who acts as an intermediary between humanity and Bondye
  • Phantome, an immensely tall spectre stands at the crossroads on nights of the full moon with his legs wide apart
  • Soucouyant, a blood-sucking hag

United States

Central America and Mexico

  • La Llorona, a ghost of Latin American folklore who is said to have murdered her children
  • Sihuanaba, a shapeshifting spirit of Central America who lures men into danger before revealing her face to be that of a horse or a skull
  • Headless priest, the spirit of a decapitated priest

South American folklore

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Oceania

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Australia

Micronesia

List of reportedly haunted locations

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Ghosts by culture

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Asia

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Others

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Television and film

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Comics

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Literature

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Video games

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Ria Rameez (11 Jun 2016). "ලංකාවේ ජනප්‍රවාදයේ එන අවතාර 7ක්" [7 ghosts in Sri Lankan folklore] (in Sinhala). Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Weird NJ Stories, The Lady in White". Archived from the original on 2005-11-02. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
  3. ^ Hui, kummituksia! Suomalaiskohteet, joihin liittyy hurjia aavetarinoita (in Finnish)
  4. ^ "mythologyweb.com". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  5. ^ "Urban Legends Reference Pages: Bloody Mary". Snopes.
  6. ^ "Bloody Mary, Mary Worth and other variants of a modern legend". MythologyWeb. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
  7. ^ "Brown Lady of Raynham Hall - Castle of Spirits". Archived from the original on 2013-02-08. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
  8. ^ Francis James Child, English and Scottish Popular Ballads, "Sweet William's Ghost"
  9. ^ "Alton, Texas and the Haunted Goatman's Bridge – Legends of America". www.legendsofamerica.com. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
  10. ^ "Monte Cristo". www.montecristo.com.au.
  11. ^ Nash, Eric P. (2001-12-17). "Seymour V. Reit, 83, a Creator of Casper the Friendly Ghost". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
  12. ^ Braunmuller, A. R. (1997). "Introduction". In Braunmuller, A. R. (ed.). Macbeth. The New Cambridge Shakespeare. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 266. ISBN 0-521-29455-X.
  13. ^ Sylvan Barnet, "Shakespeare: An Overview," in Macbeth, ed. Sylvan Barnet, A Signet Classic, 1998, p. ix.
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