KACHINA
The ancestor spirits of the Pueblo Indians in North America, these were associated with all parts of daily life and in certain festivals, were played by dancers wearing feathered masks. The Hopi Indians also believed in kachinas, considering them to be the souls of virtuous dead people. They exist in the spirit world for half the year, then return to the Hopi from winter to midsummer. There are over three hundred different kachinas, each with its individual personality and mask.

KAMI
A Japanese word used to describe all natural objects with awe inspiring, sacred power, such as tall and ancient trees or rivers and oceans, as well as powerful humans. It also applies to deities and spirits. There are millions of kami, and they can be found in both heaven and earth. They can be likened to Huacas of the Americas.

KAPPAS
Thse demon dwarfs of Japan resemble grotesque little men with tortoiseshells on their backs and claws on their webbed hands and feet. They have greenish skin, round eyes, beaked noses, smell of rotten fish and a circular depression filled with water on the tops of their heads. They descend from the spirits of drowned people, and lie in wait for wandering people and animals at the water's edge, ready to drag them into the water where they will eat them from the inside out. If you are unfortunate enough to encounter a kappa, you should do either one of two things: bow, so that it will return the bow, spilling the water stored in its head and rendering it powerless until it submerges itself to refill the depression, or throw it a cucumber with your name and age carved on it, as they love these even more than they love human flesh and will gladly eat it instead, making a note of who you are so that they will spare you in the future. Kappas can travel on their cucumbers, which fly like dragonflies. they have been known to befriend wise men, and teach them the art of setting bones.

KELPIES
A Scottish water spirit, while the kelpy sometimes manifests himself as a short, hairy man, he is usually seen as a wild young colt who enjoys throwing its riders into the sea or a cross between a horse and a bull, with two long, sharp horns. In his guise as a horse, it is possible to temporarily tame him with the use of a magic bridle, though this will infuriate him no end and it would be best not to be present when it is removed. He often eats his victims after they have drowned, and is recognisable by his inverted hoof prints. Sometimes he takes the form of a handsome young prince, leading maidens to a watery fate worse than death. In this shape, he can be discerned by the shells or barnacles in his hair. In Ireland, he is known as the aughisky.

KESHALYI
The good fairies of the gypsies, their name comes form the Romany word for spindle, as they are connected with spinning (a particular Gypsy invocation against sterility includes the words "Fairies, spin.") They possess the power of magic, and and lead long lives. Their princess is Ana , and they must send all female members of their clan aged over 999 years, to the Loçolico, perhaps a parallel to the the tiend which British Fairies must pay to hell every seven years.

KILIAKAI
These forest demons of Papua New Guinea Kyakas look like miniscule, wizened versions of the tribespeople of the country's highlands. One possible reason for this is that they may actually be babies who have aged without reaching adult stature, as the kilyakai have a habit of stealing mortal babies and bestowing demonic natures upon them in order to reinforce their numbers. Examples of their mischief also include the theft of pigs and the shooting of tiny arrows at people walking through the forests, giving them terrible diseases such as malaria.

KILLMOULIS
These ugly Brownies of Scotland guard mills. Every mill possesses one, and they devote themselves to the welfare of the family they serve. They have no mouths, but enormous noses, so that they eat by snorting up their food. Dwelling in a cosy spot by the hearth or oven, the killmoulis will wail if sickness or misfortune threatens the family. However, they can also be pranksters, blowing ashes over shelled oats left out to dry.

KIRKONWAKI
Literally "church folk" in Finnish, these are little misshapen beings to be found beneath the altars of churches rather than staunch Christians. When the female kirkonwaki are expriencing a difficult labour, a Christian woman's laying her hand on the altar will relieve this, and, being grateful, they will reward her with a gift of gold or silver.

KNOCKERS
Cornish goblins who dwell in mines of southwestern England, knockers point out rich veins of lead, silver and tin by tapping on the shaft walls with their antler picks, hence their name. Miners often leave behind pieces of Cornish pasty for them to eat. However, whistling and swearing annoys them and they will shower the guilty person with pebbles and gravel until he stops. There is a belief that they are the ghosts of the Jews who took part in the crucifixion of Jesus and were sent to work in the mines as punishment, which makes them fear the cross. Knockers also exist in Wales, where they are called coblynau.

KOBOLDS
German house spirits, these are also found in Switzerland. Before moving into a house, they will test the disposition of the resident family by bringing chips and sawdust into the house and throwing dirt into the milk vessels. If the master of the house ensures that these are not disturbed, the kobold will move into the house and stay there as long as one of the fmaily remains alive. A change of servants does not bother him, but a leaving servant should tell whoever replaces him of the kobold, and instruct him to treat him well. If he does not do this, things will go badly in the household until the newcomer leaves.

KORREDS
In Brittany, these are short, stumpy people with shaggy hair, dark, wrinkled faces, little deep set eyes bright as carbuncles, hollow, cracked voices, cats' claws and horny goat feet. They are expert smiths and coiners and have great treasures stored in the dolmen (stone tables) which they built and live in. They dance around the dolmen at night, and passing peasants will be forced to dance with them until he drops dead from exhaustion. They always carry a large leather purse full of gold, but when this is stolen it turns into only scissors and hair. They are said to have erected the standing stones. Their day of rest is Wednesday (I do not say "holy day" because they detest religion) and their annual feast falls on the first Wednesday in May, which they celebrate with singing and dancing.

KORRIGANS
These fairies of Brittany are less than two feet tall, and can predict the future, assume any form they please, move from place to place as fast as thought, and cure maladies with charms. If a human is to their liking, they may tell him one of these charms. The females have long flowing hair, which they often comb, and wear a long white veil as a dress around their bodies. They look ravishingly beautiful at night, but in the daylight, their eyes are red, their hair is white, and their faces are wrinkled, so they rarely let themselves be seen at this time. They are fond of music, but do not dance, and have a tendency to haunt springs. They celebrate each returning spring with a great nocturnal festival with great food, lit by a crystal cup emitting bright light. At the end, a cup filled with liquor that can make the drinker as wise as god is passd round the table. At the coming of a mortal, the entire festival will simply vanish. The korrigans may steal children, but can be exorcised by invoking the Virgin Mary with a rosary. it is said that they were once princesses who refused to accept Christianity and were changed into spirits through God's curse, which explains why they detest it so. They continue their race by uniting with handsome young men.

KUBERA
The king of the Yakshas, Kubera is the god of wealth and is associated with the earth and mountains because of the treasures that lie in them in the forms of minerals and gems. He originally lived in Lanka with Ravana, his half brother, but was expelled, and now resides on a beautiful mountain in the Himalayas. Many men have ventured there to steal from the mounds of treasure that lie in his palace, but now their bones lie among the riches that they so coveted. He is usually depicted as a dwarfish figure with a paunch, bearing a money bag or a ponmegranate and seated on a man. Sometimes he is also accompanied by a mongoose.

KUL
A water spirit of the Eskimos in the arctic, Kul may be malevolent but generally helps the Northern peoples with their fishing rather than hampering it. As a show of gratitude he is offered some of the fish caught at the beginning of each season.

LAKE DEMONS
Perhaps comparable to the Limniads, these Spanish water spirits live in a lake on the summit of Convagnum in Catalonia. If anything fell into this lake, there would be an awful unrest in the lake, and the water in it was dark and fathomlessly deep. The lake demons kidnapped humans and used them as beasts of burden, especially children whose parents carelessly wish for this to happen. These unfortunates are kept for at last seven years before being released to the mortal world once more.

LAMAS
Benevolent and protective spirits of ancient Chaldea, the lamas supervised the welfare of mortals and were usually depicted as female, their likenesses carved beside doors to sacred chambers to repel evil. In later myths, they took different shapes and were named, such as lion headed Nigal and bull torsoed Kirub. Most often, however, the lama was shown as a winged hybrid creature, and may have been linked to the goddess spirit who presided over the home and the heart, Lamaria.

LAN CAI HE
The patron saint of minstrels, Lan Cai He is one of the Chinese Ba Xian; his gender is somewhat ambiguous, and is said to have been a singer whose sons foretold the future when on earth. His emblem is a basket of fruit or flowers, and is often seen in market places wearing a ragged blue gown and only one shoe.

LEANAN SIDHE
Shadowy, seductive, capricious, elusive and quite irresistible, Leanan Sidhe's beautiful voice and exquisite voice inspires poets and singers in Ireland to brilliant, albeit short, lives, much like the South European Muses. However, on the Isle of Man she is a blood sucking vampire and is known as Lhiannon Shee.

LEPRECHAUNS
These Irish fairies are chiefly occupied as shoemakers for the fairies, and are never seen with more than one shoe in their possession so that they can escape quickly when a mortal sees them. Like many animals, they hibernate underground during the winter and emerge only in the summer, when the tapping of their hammers can be heard over moors and meadows. They are merry fellows, dressed in green and wearing cocked red caps, breeches, leather aprons and buckled shoes, working on shoes under dock leaves. Like their cousins the Cluricauns, they indulge in alcohol, though only in heather ale. Leprechauns also know the location of hidden treasure, but it is useless to seek them for that reason. A leprechaun can be caught, but never held, and as soon as a human tries to interrogate him he will fling the contents of his snuffbox in his face, and when the human recovers from his fit of sneezing, the leprechaun will be long gone.

LESHII
In the dark pine forests of the Baltic countries there live these wood spirits, skinny little creatures with blue skin, green hair and green eyes. A leshy resents travellers, considering them invaders into the forests, and will punish them by leading them astray. They can cause a bewilderment of the senses and make you lose your sense of direction totally, and during winter they will erase your footprints so that you cannot retrace them if you get lost. They are extremely nimble, and it is folly to try to catch a glimpse of one on your trail as they will always be faster than you and can dodge behind you as soon as you look in the spot where they last were. They can be defeated by the simple albeit uncomfortable methods of putting one's shoes on the wrong feet and one's clothes on back to front. This will confuse the leshy, who will be unable to tell whch way you are going and will, in the end, leae you alone.

LI TIE GUAI
Shown as a sick beggar with an iron crutch for his lame leg, Li Tie Guai had his body burned by his disciple who assumed he was dead when he had gone spirit travelling. He was forced to take on a newly dead body; the sick beggar was the first one at hand. His emblem is a bottle gourd, from which a bat is seen escaping. He was taught the art of immortality by Xi Wang Mu herself, and is now one of the Ba Xian of China.

LIEKKOS
These ghostly flames hover over bogs and meadows in Finland, rather like the British Will o'the Wisp. It bobs at eye level and presages death or mishap for all who see it, often mistaking it for the light of a welcoming farmhouse. It is said that a long ago New Year festival had children sing while marching through the village holding candles above their heads. This custom ended when a witch seized the opportunity to kidnap the children, who were never heard of again save in the form of their lost souls wandering the marshes, still holding their candles which are the flames of liekko. Since they can only return to earth by replacing one of their number with a living child, mothers warn their children never to follow the lights.

LIMNIADS
These were the Greek Nymphs of the lakes, and once helped Syrinx, a Dryad, by turning her into some lakeside reeds.

LIPSIPSIP
These dwarfish spirits of the new Hebrides live in trees and stones. They are potentially dangerous, as they will devour a man who has offended them.

LOBS
These amiable Brownie like creatures with extremely long tails, their essential difference being that they are very large and strong, which makes them ideal for heavy farm work. When their work is done, they snooze in a warm spot by the hearth, only hoping for a bowl of milk as payment. However, some are quite clumsy and doltish and it is best to give these only simple tasks and give them their refreshments outdoors.

LORELEI
One of the most beautiful water spirits ever known, Lorelei was a German girl who was unlucky and love and so drowned herself. She can be seen sitting on the banks of the Rhine strumming a wistful song on her harp, rather like South European Merfolk or Sirens. It is said that those who see her lose their minds, or their sight, or both, and others say that she lures sailors and fishermen to their dooms in revenge against her lover.

LÜ DONG BIN
The head of the Ba Xian in China, Lü Dong Bin is symbolised by the sword with which he slays demons, and a wealth of legend has gathered around his name. Two popular romances relate how he had to prove his power in ten ordeals. He is said to have lived either in the Tang or the Song dynasty, and is the patron saint of barbers.

LUNANTISHEE
Frequenting blackthorn trees, this Irish tribe of faiires guards them from careless passers by, and will use their bony white fingers to unmercifully poke anyone who has broken a branch from one without asking permission first. Taking a cutting on Halloween or May Day when the fairies are about is also extremely foolhardy.

LUTINS
The lutin of Normandy is also called the Bon Garçon, meaning the good boy, and has a fondness for children, horses and young maidens. He takes care of horses, gallops them, and plaits or twists their manes in an inexplicable manner. He enjoys this so much that once, upon encountering two maidens asleep in a stable, entwined their hair so that it had to be completely cut off to release the two. When he appears in the form of a horse, he will wait for a peasant to mount him, then kick, fling, rear, bound, and finally jerk him into a marsh or a ditch. If his habits become too annoying, he can be banished by scattering flax seed in the area in question.

MA GU
In China, Ma Gu is a companion of Xi Wang Mu, and carries a bamboo staff with a basket full of hanging from it and is usually depicted with a boy carrying a peach. Her basket is full of flowers and medicinal mushrooms, and she wears her hair in a bun or down to her waist. She grows her nails unusually long, and it is thought (for some obscure reason which I do not understand) to be an indecribable pleasure to be scratched by her nails, but she will punish any who voice this thought with her invisible whip.

MAB
The Queen of the English Fairies, Mab is sometimes thought to be a descendant of the Queen of the Sidhe, Maeve. Unlike Maeve, however, Mab is portrayed more often as a mischievous sprite rather than a Queen, and enjoys giving people dreams, especially erotic ones.

MAITYA
The maitya appear as astonishingly young and beautiful maidens to begin with, but, motivated by their desire to seduce men, they become deflowered and lose their youth and beauty immediately. They also bear three pairs of twins as a result of this union, thus continuing their kind. Their working of havoc is only limited, but their habits can be compared with those of classical ghouls.

MARAS
Originally a Norse term for goblins who attacked sleepers, robbing them of their faculties so that when they awoke they were bereft of speech. Later they were English night riding demons, usually demale, who preyed upon men and gave them bad dreams, hence the word "nightmare". Sometimes, they were the souls of jilted girls who visited their erstwhile lovers while they slept, stimulating them to nocturnal emissions and general restlessness.

MAZIKEEN
Also known as the shideem or shehireem, these Jewish fairies are very like the Jinn, and know much of magic and enchantment. They were born when Adam and Eve were excommunicated for 130 years for eating of the tree of knowledge. Female spirits lay with Adam, and male spirits with Eve, and of these unions were born spirits, demons, spectres of the night and the mazikeen. Mazikeen are a rank between men and angels: they are like angels in that they can see and not be seen, they have wings and can fly, and can tell the future, and are like men in that they eat and drink, marry and have children, and are subject to death. They aslo have the power of assuming any shape they please.

MENAHUNE
Like British Brownies, these helpful spirits of the Hawaiian islands appear in households at night and finish the chores. However, they are particular about which families they help, having a preference for ones with kind and pleasant members. Very few people are said to have seen them, but they are believed to have pointed ears, shaggy black hair, and tiny agile bodies.

MERFOLK
These water spirits have been sighted all over the coast of Europe, and by North America and China as well. They are human from waist up and fish from the waist down, but can change their tails to become legs and walk on the land, and some have green hair. The females are exceedingly beautiful in both visage and voice, and the males are strong and handsome Many cases of love between humans and merfolk have been documented; a mermaid will change her tail to legs and live with her mortal lover on the ground, while a merman will turn his mortal lover's legs into a tail so that she can join him underwater. Children produced of unions of the former type will have scaly skin and webbed hands and feet, and will also be unusually gifted. The merfolk do not have souls and so cannot go to heaven, but have extremely long lives. They can tell the future, and tend to be vain, jealous and unforgiving. Many can work magic, and their knowledge of the sea enables them to help fishermen by pointing out where fish are. Fish is, of course, their principal food, and they eat it raw, having no fire beneath the sea.

MERROWS
These Irish mer people differ from other sea fairies in that they wear red feathered caps when swimming and the loss of these caps when on land will force them to wander the shores in the form of hornless cattle. Gentler than the females of South European Merfolk, the females are beautiful, with long flowing hair, sweet voices and jewelled webs between their fingers, and appear as omens before storms. The males are quite amiable, but their green hair and teeth, little pigs' eyes, long red noses and short, flipper like arms make them extremely unattractive to behold.

MIMIS
Rock spirits of the hills of Arnhem in Northern Australia, mimis are extremely thin and attentuated, allowing them to make their homes in the crevices of rocks. They only emerge to seek their food, which includes yams, assorted root vegetables, and the occasional passer by. They have to be careful of when they amerge, though, as a strong wind could blow them away or even break their necks.

MIN MIN LIGHTS
These large, flickering lights of the Min Min region of Queensland have a tendency to appear suddenly to people travelling over the plains at night, stay for an unspecified period of time, then disappear as abruptly as they come. Sometimes they assume the form of a horse or a man, and in recent years, people have mistaken them for lights of approaching vehicles. Although often frightening, Min Min Lights are, otherwise harmless.

MONIACELLOS
Literally little monks, these short, thick men of Italy appear dressed in the long garments of monks with broad brimmed hats on their heads. They appear individually to people in the dead of the night, beckoning them to follow. If the person has enough courage to do so, he will be led to some treasure. Moniacellos also have a habit of snatching people's bedclothes off their beds at night.

MUMIAI
The mumiai is a poltergeist best known for persecuting peasants, especially those of the lowest castes, who had stolen from their neighbours or demonstrated dirty habits. The mumiai toss their belongings in the air, break their pottery and trample on their gardens, finally forcing them to move out of their villages.

MUS
Only two feet high, but immensely strong, the mu of Papua New Guinea also have the ability to make themselves invisible. Luckily, they are good natured, helping lost children in the forest, but will avoid adults, though not out of fear.

MUSES
Nine goddess nymphs of Greek myth, daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, the spirit of memory. They attend on Apollo, and dwell on Mount Olympus, each supervising an artistic talent and fostering it in mortals. They are Calliope, in charge of epic poetry, Erato, for love poetry, Euterpe, for lyric poetry, Polyhymnia, for religious poetry and hymns, Clio, for history, Urania, for astronomy and astrology, Terpsichore, for dance, Melpomene for tragedy and Thalia for comedy.

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