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Small villages are scattered around the dense rainforest of northeastern Madagascar, where researchers found attitudes about the aye-aye can differ from one community to the next.
folklore

Loved or Loathed: Can Madagascar's Aye-Aye Survive Superstition?

Understanding how locals really view the world's weirdest primate may be key to protecting it.
Bridget Alex March 23, 2021
Saratoga, Texas

Light of Saratoga

This eight-mile stretch of road gets its name from a local legend about a lost soul searching for his head.
The yellow buns are bright as the morning sun.
saints

Detangling the Devilish Origins of Scandinavia's St. Lucia Buns

The story of this saffron-hued swirl has become as twisted as its dough.
Sam O'Brien December 11, 2020
Olaus Magnus's 1555 "A Description of the Northern Peoples" includes an early depiction of a farmhouse spirit. He stands in the center, sweeping the barn.
christmas

The Danish Christmas Porridge That Appeased a Vengeful 'House Elf'

Once a magical, murderous farmhand, the nisse has transformed into a beloved holiday figure.
Sam O'Brien December 9, 2020
The original vetala was a spirit who posed riddles.
vampires

One of Dracula's Often Overlooked Inspirations Is the Indian Vetala

It was an English "translation" that turned a wise, if mischievous, figure into a bloodsucker.
Emma Starer Gross October 30, 2020
Pishtacos are said to harvest people's vitality through their fat.
murder

In the Andes, the Fear of Oppressors Manifests as the Gruesome Pishtaco

They seem to be a monster that made the leap from legend to the real world.
Athena Frost October 30, 2020
The ifrit is the most meddlesome and sinister of the djinn.
mythology

Across the Islamic World, the Ifrit Brings Miseries Both Large and Small

To believe in them and other djinns is to acknowledge there is a world beyond our own.
Harry Spitzer October 29, 2020
The penanggalan detaches from her body to approach mothers, pregnant women, and infants.
mythology

The Malaysian Penanggalan Haunts Pregnant Women and Newborns

These provincial specters are as gruesome as they are hungry.
Josh Levine October 29, 2020
The legend of the sasabonsam became a way for Christian missionaries to exert control.
forests

Sasabonsam Enforced the Rules of Renewal in West African Forests

At least until Christian missionaries made them more purely devilish figures.
Nicole Zakheim October 28, 2020
The vodyanoy was the traditional explanation for watery misfortune.
mythology

The Proud, Demanding Vodyanoy Rules Russia's Rivers and Lakes

The legend has endured political disruption, revolution, and generational shifts.
Kaleb Horton October 28, 2020
According to legend, something worse than sorrow dwells in Lake Disappointment.
mythology

The Body Snatchers of Aboriginal Australia's Legends

The fearsome, fanged Ngayurnangalku haunt a dry lake bed in the outback.
Dan O'Sullivan October 28, 2020
Werehyenas could be proxies for all sorts of dangers—real and imagined.
mythology

The Myth of the Werehyena and the Fear of the Other in the Horn of Africa

Also known as "bouda," their scary stories could also be used to marginalize and dehumanize.
Harry Spitzer October 27, 2020
La Patasola often targets lone men in the wilderness.
mythology

La Patasola Is the Vengeful Protector of the Andes

And a scary lesson on humility and respect for the natural world.
Dan O'Sullivan October 26, 2020
The púca is a shapeshifter that may take the form of a domestic animal.
mythology

The Púca Is Ireland's Supernatural Pastoral Trickster

They can turn a drunken walk home into a wild ride.
Kaleb Horton October 26, 2020
The adze has become a scapegoat for a wide range of misfortunes.
mythology

In West Africa, the Adze Is an Insectoid Source of Misfortune

Historians believe it originated with the fear of mosquito-borne illness.
Emma Starer Gross October 26, 2020
The 1975 Hollerin' Contest in Spivey's Corner, North Carolina.
music

The Rise and Fall of North Carolina's National Hollerin' Contest

Hollers are sort of like the yodels of the American South.
Emily Cataneo September 25, 2020
The birth of the Peach Boy.
Inuyama, Japan

Momotaro Shrine

A kitsch shrine dedicated to the ogre-slaying folktale hero born from a peach.
Entrance to the yokai tunnel.
Miyoshi, Japan

Yokai Yashiki (Monster and Stone Museum)

Hidden by the roadside in the Iya Valley, this gem brings together folk monsters and the region's unique geography.