Demons of the Forest

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Maggie:
Kabandha
In Hindu mythology, Kabandha was originally a Gandharva, but was cursed to become an ugly, carnivorous demon by Indra. He was killed by Rama. Upon his death, Kabandha resumed his Gandharva form and advised Rama to go in search of Sugriva, a forest king who would be of help in the search for Sita, who had been kidnapped by Ravana. Typically, Kabandha is described as having only one eye (comparable to Cyclops) and a huge mouth containing many sharp teeth. He is sometimes depicted as having eight legs, giving him a superficial resemblance to a spider. In one film version, he is as large as a hill and resembles a hill until he opens his eyes and his mouth.


Shedim
Shedim are demons or spirits, according to Jewish mysticism. Some are reputed to have had the legs of a chicken.

These beings are allegedly mentioned in Psalms 106:37, although biblical translations use the word "demons". Theoretically, sinful people sacrificed their daughters to the shedim, but it is unclear if the sacrifice consisted in the murdering of the victims or in the sexual satisfaction of the demons. To see if these demons were present in some place, ashes were thrown to the ground or floor, and then their footsteps became visible.

According to one legend the shedim are descendants of serpents (supposedly of demons in the form of serpents, as Satan is alluded to in the Hebrew Bible's serpent at Genesis), meanwhile to others they are descendants of Adam and Lilith. Another legend said that God did not complete their creation because he was resting during the Sabbath, and then forgot them completely.

The shedim are supposed to follow the dead or fly around graves.

This word is a plural, and although the nature and appearance of these dangerous Jewish demons is very different according to one of the legends, the name was surely taken from shedu. It was perhaps due to the fact that the shedu were often depicted as bulls, and this was associated with the sacrifices made in honour of other gods depicted as bulls or wearing bull's horns like Moloch and Baal, and to the fact that Pagan deities were easily turned into demons by monotheistic religions.

Dodo
A Rapacious male species of the Hausa people. He hides in trees waiting to pounce on unsuspecting travelers. He can take any shape and is often sighted as a snake or other animal with a keen sense of smell, sometimes even a giant with long hair. He is always hungry for human flesh. Some think he is the spirit of a vengfull dead man. Dodo cannot cross running water.


Kumbhakarna
in the Hindu epic Ramayana, was a Rakshasa and brother of Ravana. Despite of his monstrous size and great hunger, he was somewhat described of having a good character, though he killed and ate many Hindu monks to show his power only.

Kumbhakarna was considered a giant, and said to be 420,000 metres tall.[citation needed]

When he asked for a boon (blessing) from Brahma, his tongue was tied by goddess Saraswati. So instead of asking "Indraasan" (seat of Indra), he asked for "Neendrasan" (bed for sleeping). His request was granted. But his brother Ravana asked Brahma to undo this boon as it was in reality a curse. So Kumbhakarna slept for six months and then woke for one day only to fall asleep for another six months. However, when he woke up, he ate everything in the vicinity, including humans.

During the war, Ravana went into battle and was humiliated by Rama and his army. He decided he needed the help of his brother Kumbhakarna, who was awakened with great difficulty. When he was informed of the circumstances of Ravana's war with Rama, he tried to convince Ravana that what he was doing was wrong.(Some sources do not imply that he said any such thing to Ravana. Rather, they mention that he sided with his brother wholeheartedly.) However, he chose to fight in the battle due to his loyalty to his brother. After becoming drunk, Kumbhakarna went into battle. He devastated Rama's army, injured Hanuman, and knocked Sugriva unconscious and took him as a prisoner but was killed by Rama. When Ravana heard of his brother's death, he fainted and proclaimed that he is truly doomed.

Kumbhakarna had two sons, Kumbha and Nikumbha, who too fought in the war against Rama and were killed.

Oni
Oni ( Oni?) are creatures from Japanese folklore, variously translated as demons, devils, ogres or trolls. They are popular characters in Japanese art, literature and theatre.

Depictions of oni vary widely but usually portray them as hideous, gigantic, creatures with sharp claws, wild hair, and two long horns growing from their heads. They are humanoid for the most part, but occasionally, they are shown with unnatural features such as odd numbers of eyes or extra fingers and toes. Their skin may be any number of colors, but red and blue are particularly common.

They are often depicted wearing tiger-skin loincloths and carrying iron clubs, called kanabō ( kanabō?). This image leads to the expression "oni with an iron club" ( oni-ni-kanabō?), that is, to be invincible or undefeatable. It can also be used in the sense of "strong beyond strong", or having one's natural quality enhanced or supplemented by the use of some tool.
The word "oni" is sometimes speculated to be derived from on, the on'yomi reading of a character  meaning to hide or conceal, as oni were originally invisible spirits or gods which caused disasters, disease, and other unpleasant things. These nebulous beings could also take on a variety of forms to deceive (and often devour) humans. Thus a Chinese character  meaning "ghost" came to be used for these formless creatures.

The invisible oni eventually became anthropomorphized and took on its modern, ogre-like form, partly via syncretism with creatures imported by Buddhism, such as the Indian rakshasa and yaksha, the hungry ghosts called gaki, and the devilish underlings of Enma-Ō who punish sinners in Jigoku (Hell).
Another source for the oni's image is a concept from China and Onmyōdō. The northeast direction was once termed the kimon ( "demon gate"), and was considered an unlucky direction through which evil spirits passed. Based on the assignment of the twelve zodiac animals to the cardinal directions, the kimon was also known as the ush*tora or "ox tiger" direction, and the oni's bovine horns and cat-like fangs, claws, and tiger-skin loincloth developed as a visual depiction of this term.

Temples are often built facing that direction, and Japanese buildings sometimes have L-shaped indentions at the northeast to ward oni away. Enryakuji, on Mount Hiei northeast of the center of Kyoto, and Kaneiji, in that direction from Edo Castle, are examples. The Japanese capital itself moved northeast from Nagaoka to Kyoto in the 8th century.
Some villages hold yearly ceremonies to drive away oni, particularly at the beginning of Spring. During the Setsubun festival, people throw soybeans outside their homes and shout "Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!" ("Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!"? "Demons out! Luck in!"). Monkey statues are also thought to guard against oni, since the Japanese word for monkey, saru, is a homophone for the word for "leaving". In Japanese versions of the game tag, the player who is "it" is instead called the "oni".

In more recent times, oni have lost some of their original wickedness and sometimes take on a more protective function. Men in oni costumes often lead Japanese parades to ward off any bad luck, for example. Japanese buildings sometimes include oni-faced roof tiles called onigawara (onigawara?), which are thought to ward away bad luck, much as gargoyles in Western tradition.

Oni are prominently featured in the Japanese children's story Momotaro (Peach Boy), and the book The Funny Little Woman.

Many Japanese idioms and proverbs also make reference to oni. For example, the expression oya-ni ninu ko-wa oni-no ko, oya-ni ninu ko-wa oni-no ko? means literally "a child that does not resemble its parents is the child of an oni," but it is used idiomatically to refer to the fact that all children naturally take after their parents, and in the odd case that a child appears not to do so, it might be because the child's true biological parents are not the ones who are raising the child. Depending on the context in which it is used, it can have connotations of "children who do not act like their parents are not true human beings (because real human children always take after their parents)," and may be used by a parent to chastise a misbehaving child. Variants of this expression include oya-ni ninu ko-wa onigo-ni ninu ko-wa onigo?) and oya-ni ninu ko-wa onikko, oya-ni ninu ko-wa onikko?.

Leshi
The Leszi or anglicized as Leshiy (Ukrainian: Лісовик, Russian: ле́ший) is a woodland spirit in Slavic mythology who protects wild animals and forests. There are also leshachikha/leszachka (wives of the leszy) and leshonky (children of the leszy).He is roughly analogous to the Woodwose of Western Europe and the Basajaun of the Basque Country. The Leszi is known by a variety of names and spellings including Lesiy, Leshii, Leshy, Lesovik, lesij, or leshii.

A leszy usually appears as a tall man, but he is able to change his size from that of a blade of grass to a very tall tree. He has hair and a beard made from living grass and vines, and is sometimes depicted with a tail, hooves and horns. He has pale white skin that contrasts with his bright green eyes. He is sometimes considered akin to the devil. A leszy has a close bond with the wolf, and is often seen in the company of bears as well. He is the Forest Lord and carries a club to express that he is the master of the wood.
He is said to have the ability to shapeshift into any form, animal or plant. When he is in human form, he looks like a common peasant, except that his eyes glow and his shoes are on backwards. In some tales he appears to visitors as a large talking mushroom. He can also vary in size; shrinking himself to the height of a blade of grass when moving through open fields, or grow to the size of the tallest trees when in the forest

If a person could befriend a leszy, the latter would teach them the secrets of magic. Farmers and shepherds would make pacts with the leszy to protect their crops and sheep. The leszy had many tricks, including leading peasants astray, making them sick, or tickling them to death. They were also known to hide the axes of woodchoppers.

Leszi is a terribly mischievous being, he had horrible cries, but could imitate voices of people familiar to wanderers & lure them back to his caves, where he would tickle them almost to death, he removes signs from their posts. Lechies isn't always evil, though he enjoys misguiding humans & kidnapping young women he is also known to keep grazing cattle from wondering too far into his forests and getting lost. Sometimes cow herders will make pacts with Leszi by handing him their cross from around their neck and sharing communion with him after Christian church gatherings, these pacts are said to give the cowsmen special powers.
Lechies is a demon or spirit in the fictional Dictionnaire Infernal. Is a Slavic forest being, similar in nature to the Polevik sprites. He protects the birds, trees & animals of the forest, he appears in the shape of a human with blue skin, 2 great horns and green hair, a long green beard across his face carrying a club or whip indicating his mastery of the forest.

Should one ever encounter Lechies one must thwart him immediately by turning all your clothes inside out and backwards, placing your shoes on the opposite feet, the sign of the cross often works, but in the worst case should the Lechies torment you set the forest ablaze behind you and don't look back, he will be so concerned with putting out the fire he will forget why his mischief fell upon your poor soul.


Ravana
In Hinduism, Ravana (Devanagari: Rāvaṇa, रावण.) also transliterated as Raavana or Ravan or Revana; Thai Thotsakan, ทศกัณฐ์, the person with ten necks) is the principal antagonist of Rama in the Hindu epic, the Ramayana. In the epic, he is the king of Lanka, and of the Rakshasas or demons, many thousands of years ago.

Ravana is depicted in art with up to ten heads, signifying his study of the Vedas and Shastras. His ten heads earned him the names Dashamukha (दशमुख, The Ten-faced), Dashagriva (दशग्रीव, The Ten-necked) and Dashakantha (दशकण्ठ, Ten Throats). He is portrated as having twenty hands, signifying greed and never-ending want. Ravana was born to the Brahmin sage known as Vishrava. His mother was the Daitya princess Kaikesi. Kaikesi's father, Sumali, king of the Daityas, wished her to marry the most powerful being in the mortal world, so as to produce an exceptional heir. He rejected the kings of the world, as they were less powerful than him. Kaikesi searched among the sages, and finally chose Vishrava. Vishrava warned her that as she approached him at an inappropriate time, their children would tend towards evil, but accepted her nevertheless. As such, Ravana was partly Daitya, and partly Brahmin.

Ravana was the second eldest of Vishrava's children, Kubera - the god of wealth and Ravana's step-brother - being the eldest. Ravana was given the name Dashanana or Dasagriva at birth - he was born with ten heads. Some say the ten heads were due to the reflections of a crystal necklace gifted to him by his father at the time of his birth or he knew a lot of information about the world and for this he needed ten heads.
Following his initial training, Ravana performed an intense penance to Brahma (the creator god), lasting several years. Pleased with his austerity, Brahma offered him a boon. Ravana asked for immortality, which Brahma refused. Ravana then asked for absolute invulnerability and supremacy before gods and heavenly spirits, other demons, serpents and wild beasts. Contemptuous of mortal men, he did not ask for protection from them. Brahma granted him these boons, and additionally great strength by way of knowledge of divine weapons and sorcery.
Ravana was known for his virility and his aggressive conquests of women. Ravana had several wives, foremost of whom was Mandodari - daughter of Mayasura and an apsara named Hema. Mandodari was renowned for her wisdom and grace as well as beauty and chastity. She is often compared to Sita, one of the most beautiful woman described in Indian mythology, for her beauty. In addition to his wives, Ravana maintained a harem of incredible size, populated with women whom he captured in his many conquests, many of them accepted and lived happily in his harem for his great manhood, power and knowledge of different subjects. Ravana originally used to force himself upon any woman who rejected his advances. Two significant encounters occurred that would shape the course of the Ramayana.

The first was the molestation of the sage-woman Vedavati. Vedavati had been performing penance with the intention of winning Lord Vishnu as her husband. Ravana met her at her hermitage, her beauty enhanced by the austerities she had performed. She, however, rejected his advances. Ravana proceeded to forcibly take her, upon which she prophesied that she would return to the mortal world as the cause of his death. She then created a pyre and let herself be consumed in it. The second was his encounter with the apsara Rambha, upon whom he forced himself. Rambha was betrothed to Kubera's son, but her plea that she was like a daughter to him did not deter Ravana. Angered at this, Kubera's son cursed Ravana, stating that his ten heads would fall off his head if he forced himself upon any woman from that point. This curse is said to have protected Sita's chastity while she was Ravana's captive for nearly a year.


Rakshasa
A rakshasa (Sanskrit: राक्षसः, rākṣasaḥ; alternately rakshas, Malay: raksasa, Bengali: rakshosh, Japanese: rasetsuten) is a demon or unrighteous spirit in Hindu and Buddhist mythology. Rakshasas are also called man-eaters ("Nri-chakshas," "Kravyads") or cannibals. A female rakshasa is called a rakshasi, and a female rakshasa in human form is a manushya-rakshasi.

According to the Ramayana, rakshasas were created from Brahma's foot; other sources claim they are descended from Pulastya, or from Khasa, or from Nirriti and Nirrita. Legend has it that many rakshasas were particularly wicked humans in previous incarnations. Rakshasas are notorious for disturbing sacrifices, desecrating graves, harassing priests, possessing human beings, and so on. Their fingernails are venomous, and they feed on human flesh and spoiled food. They are shapechangers, illusionists, and magicians.

In the world of the Ramayana and Mahabharata, rakshasas are a frequently encountered and populous race of supernatural humanoids who tend generally toward evil. Powerful warriors, they resort easily to the use of magic and illusion when unsuccessful with conventional weapons. As shapechangers, they can assume various physical forms, and it is not always clear whether they have a true or natural form. As illusionists, they are capable of creating appearances which are real to those who believe in them or who fail to dispel them. Rakshasas are cannibals, and frequently make their gleeful appearance when the slaughter on the battlefield is at its worst. Occasionally they serve as rank-and-file soldiers in the service of one or the other warlord.

Aside from its treatment of unnamed rank-and-file rakshasas, the epic tells the stories of certain members of the race who rose to prominence, some of them as heroes, most of them as villains

In the Maha Samaya Sutta, the defeated antagonist of the Buddha, Mara also known as "Namuci" or the "Dark One" is described as an Asura who's army consisted of "Sensual passions, Discontent,Hunger & Thirst, Craving, Sloth & Drowsiness,Terror, Uncertainty, Hypocrisy & Stubbornness, Gains, Offerings, Fame, & Status wrongly gained,and whoever would praise self & disparage others" (Sn 3.2 Padhana Sutta). The Asuras try to capture the devas and bind them.

One of Buddha's ten titles is "Sasta deva manusanam" or the teacher of Gods and Men.


In Mahayana Buddhist Literature
Ravana is mentioned in the famous Buddhist sutra, "Lankavatara Sutra" as paying homage to the Buddha.

Chapter 26 of the Lotus Sutra includes a dialogue between the Buddha and a group of Rakshasa daughters, who swear to uphold and protect the Lotus Sutra. They also teach magical dharanis to protect followers who also uphold the sutra.


Bori
Known in west Afirca The bori is a shape shifting species sighted as a human with hooved feet or taking the form of a headless person and even a snake. It is said that the footprints they leave are shaped like that of a rooster and when spotted in a crowd can be noticed as have odd dreamy eyes.
Offending the Bori is a hopeless situation in that you can not appease or appologize to him. The Bori rather then stricking down the offending person will instead slowly suck away that personf life essence.
Iron repells the Bori, so much so that simply saying the word "Iron" can scare him away. Bori are attracted to music and sance though and performing such for a Bori can appease the creature and keep him from harming you.


Kuru-pira
A guardian spirit of the Desana people. The creature is also called the Boraro and is said to have a distinctive cry as well as glowing red eyes, and jaguar like fangs. The creature is said to be humanoid in shape, hairy with large genitals. In addition to it's already strange appearance it also lacks knee joints and it's feet face backwards.  The indigenous people of Brazil are said to offer tobacco to the creature in hopes of appeasing him.

The Wendigo (also Windigo, Windago, Windiga, Witiko, Wihtikow, and numerous other variants) is a mythical creature appearing in the mythology of the Algonquin people. It is a malevolent cannibalistic spirit into which humans could transform, or which could possess humans. Those who indulged in cannibalism were at particular risk, and the legend appears to have reinforced this practice as taboo.

Windigo Psychosis is a culture-bound disorder which involves an intense craving for human flesh and the fear that one will turn into a cannibal. This once occurred frequently among Algonquian Indian cultures, though has declined with the Native American urbanization
Recently the Wendigo has also become a horror entity of contemporary literature and film, much like the vampire, werewolf, or zombie, although these fictional depictions often bear little resemblance to the original entity.

The Wendigo is part of the traditional belief systems of various Algonquian-speaking tribes in the northern United States and Canada, most notably the Ojibwa/Saulteaux, the Cree, and the Innu/Naskapi/Montagnais. Though descriptions varied somewhat, common to all these cultures was the conception of Wendigos as malevolent, cannibalistic supernatural beings (manitous) of great spiritual power. They were strongly associated with the Winter, the North, and coldness, as well as with famine and starvation.Basil Johnston, an Ojibwa teacher and scholar from Ontario, gives one description of how Wendigos were viewed:

“ The Weendigo was gaunt to the point of emaciation, its desiccated skin pulled tautly over its bones. With its bones pushing out against its skin, its complexion the ash gray of death, and its eyes pushed back deep into their sockets, the Weendigo looked like a gaunt skeleton recently disenterred from the grave. What lips it had were tattered and bloody [....] Unclean and suffering from suppurations of the flesh, the Weendigo gave off a strange and eerie odor of decay and decomposition, of death and corruption. ”

At the same time, Wendigos were embodiments of gluttony, greed, and excess; never satisfied after killing and consuming one person, they were constantly searching for new victims. In some traditions, humans who became overpowered by greed could turn into Wendigos; the Wendigo myth thus served as a method of encouraging cooperation and moderation.

Among the Ojibwa, Eastern Cree, Westmain Swampy Cree, and Innu/Naskapi/Montagnais, Wendigos were said to be giants, many times larger than human beings (a characteristic absent from the Wendigo myth in the other Algonquian cultures). Whenever a Wendigo ate another person, they would grow larger, in proportion to the meal they had just eaten, so that they could never be full.Wendigos were thus simultaneously constantly gorging themselves and emaciated from starvation.

All cultures in which the Wendigo myth appeared shared the belief that human beings could turn into Wendigos if they ever resorted to cannibalism or, alternately, become possessed by the demonic spirit of a Wendigo, often in a dream. Once transformed, a person would become violent and obsessed with eating human flesh. The most frequent cause of transformation into a Wendigo was if a person had resorted to cannibalism, consuming the body of another human in order to keep from starving to death during a time of extreme hardship or famine.

Among northern Algonquian cultures, cannibalism, even to save one's own life, was viewed as a serious taboo; the proper response to famine was suicide or resignation to death. On one level, the Wendigo myth thus worked as a deterrent and a warning against resorting to cannibalism; those who did would become Wendigo monsters themselves.

Wendigo ceremony
Among the Assiniboine, the Cree and the Ojibwa, a satirical ceremonial dance was originally performed during times of famine to reinforce the seriousness of the Wendigo taboo. The ceremonial dance, known as a wiindigookaanzhimowin in Ojibwe and today performed as part of the last day activities of the Sun dance, involves wearing a mask and dancing about the drum backwards. The last known Wendigo Ceremony conducted in the United States was at Windigo Lake of Star Island of Cass Lake, located within the Leech Lake Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota.


Windigo Psychosis
"Windigo Psychosis" (also spelled many other ways, including "Wendigo Psychosis" and "Witiko Psychosis") refers to a condition in which sufferers developed an insatiable desire to eat human flesh even when other food sources were readily available, often as a result of prior famine cannibalism; Windigo Psychosis is identified by Western psychologists as a culture-bound syndrome, though members of the aboriginal communities in which it existed believed cases literally involved individuals turning into Wendigos. Such individuals generally recognized these symptoms as meaning that they were turning into Wendigos, and often requested to be executed before they could harm others. The most common response when someone began suffering from Windigo Psychosis was curing attempts by traditional native healers or Western doctors. In the unusual cases when these attempts failed, and the Wendigo began either to threaten those around them or to act violently or anti-socially, they were then generally executed. Cases of Windigo Psychosis, though real, were relatively rare, and it was even rarer for them to actually culminate in the execution of the sufferer.

One of the more famous cases of Windigo Psychosis involved a Plains Cree trapper from Alberta, named Swift Runner. During the winter of 1878, Swift Runner and his family were starving, and his eldest son died. Within just 25 miles of emergency food supplies at a Hudson's Bay Company post, Swift Runner butchered and ate his wife and five remaining children. Given that he resorted to cannibalism so near to food supplies, and that he killed and consumed the remains of all those present, it was revealed that Swift Runner's was not a case of pure cannibalism as a last resort to avoid starvation, but rather a man suffering from Windigo Psychosis. He eventually confessed, and was executed by authorities at Fort Saskatchewan. Another well-known case involving Windigo Psychosis was that of Jack Fiddler, an Oji-Cree chief and shaman, known for his powers at defeating Wendigos. In some cases this entailed euthanizing people suffering from Windigo Psychosis; as a result, in 1907, Fiddler and his brother Joseph were arrested by the Canadian authorities for murder. Jack committed suicide, but Joseph was tried and put to death.

Fascination with Windigo Psychosis among Western ethnographers, psychologists, and anthropologists led to a hotly debated controversy in the 1980s over the historicity of this phenomenon. Some researchers argued that Windigo Psychosis was essentially a fabrication, the result of naive anthropologists taking stories related to them at face value. Others, however, pointed to a number of credible eyewitness accounts, both by Algonquians and by Westerners, as proof that Windigo Psychosis was a factual historical phenomenon.

The frequency of Windigo Psychosis cases decreased sharply in the 20th century as boreal Algonquian people came in to greater and greater contact with Western ideologies and more sedentary, less rural lifestyles. While there is substantive evidence to suggest that Windigo Psychosis did exist, a number of questions concerning the condition remain unanswered


Pan- as a prefix is derived from the Greek παν which means 'of everything', 'all' or 'involving all members' of a group.
Son of Hermes and the nymph Arcadia. Pan is the ancient god of the woodlands and pasture and guardian of flocks and shepherds. His appearance is that of a saytr (half man half goat)
The ancient Jews had a similarly described spirit called the Shedim and Seirim.  The Italians knew him as Faunus a mischievous woodland spirit.  In all instances he was a spirit of fertility.

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

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

Kitsune are believed to possess superior intelligence, long life, and magical powers. They are a type of yōkai, or spiritual entity, and the word kitsune is often translated as fox spirit. However, this does not mean that kitsune are ghosts, nor that they are fundamentally different from regular foxes. Because the word spirit is used to reflect a state of knowledge or enlightenment, all long-lived foxes gain supernatural abilities.

There are two common classifications of kitsune. The myōbu are benevolent, celestial foxes associated with Inari; they are sometimes simply called Inari foxes. On the other hand, the wild nogitsune (nogitsune? literally, field foxes) tend to be mischievous or even malicious. Local traditions add further types. For example, a ninko is an invisible fox spirit that human beings can only perceive when it possesses them. Another tradition classifies kitsune into one of thirteen types defined by which supernatural abilities the kitsune possesses.

Physically, kitsune are noted for having as many as nine tails. Generally, a greater number of tails indicates an older and more powerful fox; in fact, some folktales say that a fox will only grow additional tails after it has lived 1,000 years. One, five, seven, and nine tails are the most common numbers in folk stories. When a kitsune gains its ninth tail, its fur becomes white or gold. These kyūbi no kitsune (kyūbi no kitsune? nine-tailed foxes) gain the abilities to see and hear anything happening anywhere in the world. Other tales attribute them infinite wisdom.
A kitsune may take on human form, an ability learned when it reaches a certain age — usually 100 years, although some tales say 50. As a common prerequisite for the transformation, the fox must place reeds, a broad leaf, or a skull over its head. Common forms assumed by kitsune include beautiful women, young girls, or elderly men. These shapes are not limited by the fox's age or gender, and a kitsune can duplicate the appearance of a specific person. Foxes are particularly renowned for impersonating beautiful women. Common belief in medieval Japan was that any woman encountered alone, especially at dusk or night, could be a fox.

In some stories, kitsune have difficulty hiding their tails when they take human form; looking for the tail, perhaps when the fox gets drunk or careless, is a common method of discerning the creature's true nature. Variants on the theme have the kitsune retain other foxlike traits, such as a coating of fine hair, a fox-shaped shadow, or a reflection that shows its true form. Kitsune-gao or fox-faced refers to human females who have a narrow face with close-set eyes, thin eyebrows, and high cheekbones. Traditionally, this facial structure is considered attractive, and some tales ascribe it to foxes in human form. Kitsune have a fear and hatred of dogs even while in human form, and some become so rattled by the presence of dogs that they revert to the shape of a fox and flee. A particularly devout individual may be able to see through a fox's disguise automatically.

One folk story illustrating these imperfections in the kitsune's human shape concerns Koan, a historical person credited with wisdom and magical powers of divination. According to the story, he was staying at the home of one of his devotees when he scalded his foot entering a bath because the water had been drawn too hot. Then, "in his pain, he ran out of the bathroom naked. When the people of the household saw him, they were astonished to see that Koan had fur covering much of his body, along with a fox's tail. Then Koan transformed in front of them, becoming an elderly fox and running away."

Other supernatural abilities commonly attributed to the kitsune include possession, mouths or tails that generate fire or lightning (known as kitsune-bi; literally, fox-fire), willful manifestation in the dreams of others, flight, invisibility, and the creation of illusions so elaborate as to be almost indistinguishable from reality. Some tales speak of kitsune with even greater powers, able to bend time and space, drive people mad, or take fantastic shapes such as a tree of incredible height or a second moon in the sky. Other kitsune have characteristics reminiscent of vampires or succubi and feed on the life or spirit of human beings, generally through sexual contact.

Drude
"A drude (German: Drude, pl. Druden) is a kind of witch in German folklore associated with dreams. Drudes were said to participate in the Wild Hunt and were considered a particular class of demon in Alfonso de Spina's hierarchy.
The term drude is thought to be derived from the Middle High German word trute or the Gothic word trudan, both in the sense of "to kick". Supporting this are names for drudes based on the root to stamp from the Alpine region such as Stampfe or Rumantsch stampa and a Bavarian word for a wizard, Truderer.
Other names for drudes include Nachtmahr and Walriderske.
According to old German belief, drudes are virgins and priestesses who are possessed in a certain way, enabling them to split off a drude from their spirit. This was known as the Drudenfluch or "drude's curse". Sometimes this takes place they voluntarily chose to do so, while in other cases, it is forced upon them. Although this can have either a benevolent or malevolent effect on humans and elves, women suffering from the drude's curse will keep this a secret from their fellow human beings. The only way to free oneself from the curse is by being given a very tame and important domestic animal to pass the drude onto, which kills the animal in the process. It was believed that amongst seven daughters there would be one drude.
Drudes typically take the form of an ugly, old, withered woman, who is, at the same time, very heavy. This old woman creeps into homes at night through the smallest of cracks and openings. Once in the room, the drude sits on the person's chest and possesses them. Drudes are also shapeshifters and can appear as feathers, clouds of smoke, bumblebees, snakes or toads.
A drude is always female but often confused with the Trude, a half-human, half-birdlike being that shares some features with drudes.
The only way to prevent being possessed by a drude is by using a charm or exercising magic.
The Drudenfuss (or Drudenfuß), literally "drude's foot", also known as Drudenkreuz or "drude's cross", is believed to be the footprint of a drude with the power to ward off drudes. It was in common use in the Middle Ages, also as a signature mark amonst stonemasons. It is in the shape of a star with five points.
One of the charms against drudes is the Drudenstein or drude stone, a certain kind of stone with a natural hole in it.
A knife called Drudenmesser or "drude's knife" has nine half moons and crosses on its blade and is said to have the power to collapse a whirlwind by throwing this knife into a whirlwind that is forming."

Maggie:
Wood wives are a species of fairy found in dense groves and old forests. Said to be petite and beautifully dressed with long claws and accompanied by violent whirlwinds. These sprits are said to be so connected to the forest that simply damaging a tree can kill a wood wife. They also dislike human noise such as loud machines, church bells and unharmonious music. Those most in danger of them are hunters or people who harm the forests and trees. Wood wives are attracted by the small of baking bread but detest the use of caraway seeds in baked bread. To offer them such bread or bread that had been pricked with a fork or finger will bring great misfortune to the house hold.

Skoggra are almost identical in appearance to wood wives but most often do one of two things; Attempt to seduce men they find in their forests or lead them astray to get them hopelessly lost.
To repel them use herbs such as Vervain and St.John's wort, the color red, steel and iron.

Eloko
Eloko (pl, Biloko) is a term in a Mongo-Nkundo language referring to a kind of dwarf-like creature that lives in the forests. They are believed to be the spirits of ancestors of the people living there. Legend has it that they haunt the forest because they have some grudge to settle with the living and are generally quite vicious. Biloko live in the densest and darkest part of the rain forest in central Zaïre, jealously and ferociously guarding their treasures: the game and the rare fruits of the forest. Only intrepid hunters are said to enter the deepest forest and survive, because in order to be successful, hunters have to possess strong magic, without which they would never see any game at all. There are many tales about wives who insist upon joining their husbands in the forest only to faint as soon as they see their first Eloko. The Biloko live in hollow trees and are dressed only in leaves. They have no hair; only grass grows on their bodies; they have piercing eyes, snouts with mouths that can be opened wide enough to admit a human body, alive or dead, and long, sharp claws. They possess little bells, which, in Central Africa are believed to be able to cast a spell on passers-by. Possessing an amulet or a fetish can offer protection from this type of magic.

Surem
Said to be the precursors to the Yaqui people the Surem stood three feet high. They were nomads and knew not sickness or death and were able to speak with animals and plants which they lived peacefully with in the wilds. They moved about carrying a lake with them, rolled up like a carpet which they unrolled when they had need. The Surem were a peaceful people when one day a tree began trembling and speaking in a language which only the wise woman understood.  The tree foretold of a strange people who would soon come and teach them of death and marriage, baptism, good and evil.  Upon hearing such half the people stayed to learn these new ways, while the other half fled into another world to continue their lives of peace.


Kayeri
A species of fey active during the rainy months (usually dormant in sunny times) The males are said to be tall and strong wearing either a blue/green or yellow hat and accompanied by his 2 wives. They are said to live underground and come to the surface via ant tunnels. Kayeri eat only cows, which they chase and devour at night leaving farmers to complain of missing cows. It is said that they also abduct young women to make their wives.

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