Cultural Beliefs

Apparition / Entity / ExperienceGlobal (documented primarily in English-speaking countries; analogous figures worldwide)

The Hat Man

Among shadow figure reports, one variant has proven exceptionally consistent across independent witnesses: a tall, featureless humanoid silhouette distinguished by a wide-brimmed or fedora-style hat. Witnesses describe the figure appearing at the bedside during the hypnagogic or hypnopompic state -- the threshold between waking and sleep -- ofte...

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Cultural Belief / EntityGlobal — Mediterranean, Middle East, South Asia, Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Northern and Western Europe

The Evil Eye

The evil eye is among the most widely distributed and enduring supernatural beliefs in human history. At its core, the concept holds that certain individuals — whether through malicious intent, uncontrolled envy, or an involuntary power residing in their gaze — can transmit harm to people, animals, crops, or objects simply by looking at them. Th...

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Cultural Belief / EntityGlobal — Northern and Central Europe (origin), British Isles, North America, Scandinavia; analogues found worldwide

The Doppelgänger

The doppelgänger is one of the most unsettling figures in supernatural folklore: a perfect double of a living person, indistinguishable from the original, who appears at moments of crisis or impending death. The word is German, compounded from doppel ("double") and Gänger ("goer" or "walker"), and entered English usage in the nineteenth cent...

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Cultural Belief / EntityPan-European; most extensively documented in Celtic (Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Brittany), Germanic, and Scandinavian traditions; variants recorded across most of Western and Northern Europe

Changelings

The changeling belief — the conviction that fairies, elves, trolls, or otherworldly beings steal healthy human infants from their cradles and replace them with a supernatural substitute — is one of the most culturally widespread and historically consequential supernatural beliefs in European tradition. It crosses national, linguistic, and sectar...

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Entity / Modern LegendPrimarily Anglophone (United States, United Kingdom); global spread via internet

Black-Eyed Children

Among the most widely reported paranormal entities of the internet age, Black-Eyed Children (also known as Black-Eyed Kids, or BEKs) are described as humanoid figures resembling children or teenagers — typically aged between 6 and 16 — distinguished by completely black eyes devoid of iris, pupil, or sclera. Witnesses report them appearing at car...

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Featured Entries

Krampus

The Wild Hunt

The Fetch (Co-Walker, Vardøgr, Wraith, Lledrith)

Sleep Paralysis Entities — Old Hag and Night Visitor Traditions

Shadow People

Hypnagogic and Hypnopompic Apparitions — The Bedroom Visitor

The Hat Man

The Evil Eye

The Doppelgänger

Changelings

Black-Eyed Children