10 Spine-Tingling Spirits From Around the World

As spooky season approaches, and collective interest in all things ghastly and ghoulish reaches its yearly peak, what better time to brush up on your knowledge of frightening folkloric beings? From succubus chickens to hyena hybrids, here’s a list of 10 strange and terrifying creatures from around the world that you should make sure to avoid. 

Ikiryō // Japan

Ikiryō (生霊 literally translated as “living ghost”) is a soul that has temporarily separated from a living person’s body in order to haunt people or locations. This happens due to the intense feelings of the owner of the soul, whether they’re of passion and desire or hatred and revenge. The spirit resembles its owner and can look just like its human counterpart or appear ghostlier. There are folk stories of dying soldiers’ ikiryō appearing to say a final farewell to loved ones, desperate lovers’ ikiryō haunting the people they have feelings for, or wronged individuals’ ikiryō attempting to hurt or kill their enemies. 

Lidérc/csodacsirke // Hungary

The most traditional form of the lidérc (“cocodemon”) is a csodacsirke (“miracle chicken”), which hatches from a black hen’s first egg incubated either under your armpit or in a pile of manure. The creature then haunts you with erotic dreams or even takes on a human form to become your lover—but similar to succubi and incubi, it drains you of your blood and life source. It’s not all bad, however, as they can also act as a familiar, completing tasks for you and locating treasure. (Perhaps the pros in this case don’t quite outweigh the cons, though.) This creature is such a prevalent part of Hungarian collective consciousness that the Hungarian word for nightmare is lidércnyomás.

Phi Tai Hong // Thailand

Derived from the Thai words phi (ผี, meaning “ghost”) and tai hong (ตายโหง, meaning “to die a violent or unnatural death”), a phi tai hong is the ghost of someone who had a particularly abrupt or cruel death and thus never realized their mortal dreams or had a proper send off into the afterlife. These spirits are considered so dangerous—particularly for the first seven days after death—that it’s best to avoid the place where they died during that time as they’ll likely try to kill whoever sets foot there in the same way.

Looking for something to add to your spooky season movie marathon? Phi tai hong appear in the 2003 Thai comedy-horror cult classic Buppah Rahtree, as well as the 2010 omnibus horror film Still (original title: Tai Hong).

Chullachaki // Peruvian and Brazilian Amazon

Derived from the Quechuan words chulla (“odd”) and chaki (“foot”), the chullachaki is a dwarf-like spirit that roams the Amazon preying on lost travelers. It can shapeshift, often taking on the form of someone you know to trick you into following it deeper into the jungle. Once you’re stuck with no hope of finding your way out, it enthralls you, capturing your soul and trapping you in the jungle forever.

There is, however, a simple way to avoid this outcome: Scope out its feet. A chullachaki will have one foot that looks like a human’s and one that resembles an animal’s. To escape, you must shout its name, at which point it will show its true form and run away, leaving mismatched footprints in its wake. 

Kichkandi // Nepal

It’s said that a kichkandi (किच्कन्डी) is born when a woman isn’t cremated properly—her soul latches onto a remaining fragment of bone and materializes as a spirit with long black hair and pale skin, dressed in a red or white sari. As with most restless spirits, they were wronged while alive and then met an unfortunate and sudden death (they may also be women who died during pregnancy or childbirth). They often haunt roadsides or bridges and have been known to hitchhike too. They typically prey on male travelers, feeding off their life force and leaving them pale and shriveled.

Much like the chullachaki, however, you can get out of trouble with this spirit by looking at its feet—which, in the kichkandi’s case, are on backwards. So next time a woman asks you for a ride in the dead of night, be sure to take a peek at her feet before you let her in your car.

Kishi // Angola

A kishi (meaning “spirit” in several Bantu languages) is an Angolan demon with two faces. From the front, it looks like an attractive man with long, thick hair—but unbeknownst to most, its hair conceals its second face, that of a hyena. The kishi is sometimes represented as having the ability to shapeshift and manipulate the elements. It lives in remote areas, targeting young women who come across its path; in some stories, the creature uses its hyena face to consume its victims, while in others, it has children with her to continue its lineage, eating her once the new kishi is born.

Strandgast // Sweden

Literally translated as “beach ghost” but more commonly known as a “drowning ghost,” a strandgast (or strandvaskare) is the spirit of someone who drowned at sea. Because their body (or sometimes soul) did not receive a proper burial—either because it was buried on the beach or not recovered at all—their spirit haunts the shoreline, jumping on backs and otherwise harassing those unlucky enough to encounter them until their body is finally moved to sacred ground. Be warned though: Being touched by one of these spirits often results in severe illness or other misfortunes. In Swedish, this phenomenon is called gastkramad, which translates to “ghost-hugged.”

If you’re looking for another horror film to add to your list, check out 2004’s Drowning Ghost (original title: Strandvaskaren), starring a young Rebecca Ferguson. Proceed with caution though—it has pretty terrible reviews.

Manananggal // Philippines

The manananggal (whose name is derived from the Tagalog word tanggál, meaning “removing”) is a vampire-like creature that resembles a human woman. When it’s time to hunt, however, the creature splits in two, growing huge wings from its torso to fly off in search of prey (with its intestines dangling) while leaving its lower body behind. It will seek out sleeping pregnant women, using its long tongue to suck their blood—or suck out their fetuses’ hearts. Men are on the menu too, but the manananggal prefers to eat them alive after luring them to a lonely spot. The creatures are known to have an aversion to vinegar, garlic, salt, and sunlight, among other things; the best method of killing a manananggal is by tossing salt or crushed garlic on its separated lower half. When day comes and it’s unable to join the two halves of its body, it will die.

For a film about a manananggal falling in love, check out 2016’s The Manananggal at Unit 23B (original title: Ang Manananggal sa Unit 23B). Don’t expect a romcom, though, as this flick is firmly in the horror category.

Madam Koi Koi // Nigeria

Madam Koi Koi is said to be the ghost of a vengeful teacher who haunts boarding schools in Nigeria. Her name comes from the “Koi Koi” noise her red heels make when she walks. One common origin story says that when she was still alive, she was violent towards her students. After slapping one student so hard she hurt their ear, she was fired. She died shortly after and began haunting the school for revenge. As the years have passed, it seems her spirit is no longer confined to just that one school—there are reports of her haunting hallways and dormitories after lights out all over Nigeria. The two-part Netflix horror film The Origin: Madam Koi-Koi (2023) is loosely based on this myth.

Gumiho // Korea

A gumiho (hangul: 구미호, hanja: 九尾狐, meaning “nine-tailed fox”) is a creature found in Korean mythology. There are similar fox spirits in Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese folklore, but the gumiho is usually portrayed in a more malevolent light. In its supernatural form, it is a fox with multiple tails; tails are added as a gumiho increases in age, wisdom, and magical prowess, until it finally reaches nine tails. The gumiho can shapeshift into a beautiful woman (though it will keep some of its fox features, like its ears or tail). In most stories, the creature’s main wish is to become human, and the ways it can achieve that goal vary; one common method is by eating the livers of 1000 men. An integral part of their mythology is the “fox bead,” a small marble that they use to steal a human’s life force. They place the bead in a human’s mouth and take it back through a kiss. Each time this process is repeated, they absorb more of the human’s energy.

For anyone interested in binging a K-drama instead of watching a horror movie, gumihos are a main-stay in K-dramaland. My Girlfriend is a Gumiho (2010) and My Roommate is a Gumiho (2021) are romcoms about college students falling in love with gumihos. Tale of the Nine Tailed (2020) and its recent prequel Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938 (2023) are successful fantasy dramas revolving around the lives of a 1000-year-old gumiho and his half-gumiho brother. Interestingly, although a gumiho is portrayed in traditional folklore as a beautiful woman, these recent dramas depict them as men instead.

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