The bori leaves chicken tracks when it steps in ash.

Introduction

The bori is a mischievous vampiric spirit found in West African lore. It is often depicted as a human with hoofed feet or without a head, but can shape-shift into animals, most often as a python. They like to live in dark forests and they play jokes on the residents in West Africa by shape-shifting into family members or spouses. There are a few ways to tell if a family member is actually a Bori. They don’t act like themselves, they may have a dreamy look to them, or if they walk in ashes, their footprints will look like rooster claw prints.

Avoiding their Wrath

One can avoid an attack from a bori by keeping it happy with its favorite things. It will even enjoy helping people with domestic activities and healing. If one calls it by name it turns into a slave, however, if its name is used without meaning or in vain the bori will become offended and very angry. It will kill by sucking the life out of a person, and they become very sick and eventually die.

Hausan Beliefs

In Hausa, they believe all illnesses are caused by a specific bori and practice dance rituals to enter a trancelike state which enables them to each speak for a bori. In Australian lore, the bori is an invisible spirit who injects people with harmful diseases.Protection against the bori involves prayers, charms, and iron. Iron is the best defense, even saying the word iron will sometimes get rid of the spirit.

From the movie the Exorcist, the ekimmu spirit is often the source of possessed victims.

The ekimmu shows up in Babylonian and Assyrian demonology. The name means “that which is snatched away.” This invisible spirit is not allowed into the underworld, so it wanders around on earth. Usually people that are buried improperly, or not buried at all, or dying a violent death can become ekimmu. This includes people that died in battle, murder victims, drowning, etc. They will go to their family’s house at night and cause major damage and destruction. They sometimes cause death to everyone in the house. They can also take possession on a person, which is difficult to exorcise it out. They can be destroyed with wooden swords, or any other wooden weapons.

The Afrit, from Arabian lore, is a vampiric spirit.

An Afrit is from Arabian lore and is a vampire-like spirit from a man that has been murdered. He seeks revenge from the person who murdered him and will mysteriously rise up like smoke from the victim’s blood. This vampire, along with others, especially those from Europe, can be stopped by driving a nail into the ground containing the blood stains.

References
Stock Photo – Victorian wallpaper used, found here

The Alu was often described in Babylonian legends as a black dog.

Introduction

An alu is an interesting combination between Armenian lore and Christianity. It is described as being a half-human, half-animal hybrid. The al is also seen in Babylonian lore, as a spirit that causes diseases, and takes the shape of a black dog. It has one fierce eye, iron teeth, tusks like a wild boar, long hair resembling serpents, and brass fingernails. It is also said that it sometimes wears a pointed hat covered with bells, which can make the alu invisible. They like to dwell in dirty, sandy, damp places, so they are often seen in stables, along the road, and sometimes they arefound in abandoned houses.

Christian Origins

In Christian lore, it is said that after God created Adam from dust he created an the al from fire. The two did not get along, as a result, God created Eve for Adam to substitute the incompatibility. This spun the Alu into a horrible rage. From then on he hated women, especially those who are pregnant, as it symbolized man’s love of women over him. He would strangle the mothers-to-be and pull out their liver, along with the unborn child’s liver. It also can cause miscarriages. Also, besides the unborn, the alu can steal and kill newborns as old as seven months. It is believed that St. Peter came across the creature by the roadside, and asked it to identify itself. It then proceeded to tell him his name and told him what he did to women and babies, making itself known to Christians.

Protection

If you want to protect yourself against the al, it is best to keep a lot of iron around, as it is thought to hurt or repel it. Prayers and charms are said to work as well. It is best to put these objects around the bed of a pregnant woman and to keep an iron knife under the pillow just in case.

Aliases: Will-o-Wisp

Similar to: Phantasm, Ball of Light

Have you ever seen a ball of light fly by? Maybe you just out of the corner of the eye and you shrug it off, but many legends from around the world explain the flying globes in a multitude of different ways.

A green wisp, often appearing in the night as bright lights.

Will’o'wisps are often described as appearing over bogs or other bodies of water. Seen at night, they may appear as either bright or fading light in the distance. If you attempt to approach them they seem to flee, either subtly or at high speed. Old folklore describes the will’o'wisp as a mischievous spirit that attempts to lure travelers astray. Because many ancient people used the stars to navigate, this could be seen as a significant threat.

Definition: Coined by Charles Richet and popularized in the movie the Ghost Busters, ectoplasms are often described as gooey masses that may accumulate because of the presence of ghosts.

Aliases: Ghost matter

Slimer from Ghostbusters, said to be made from ectoplasm.

Most ghosts have been described as metaphysical, having no connection with the real world. They can make a breeze or other metaphysical activities, yet they have no real affect on the world. But other spirits can incarnate themselves into to the physical world, or leave waste from their presence. It is often very gooey, not unlike rubber cement. Its color can vary, but it is most often green or yellow. It has been found in several places mysteriously, from barns to houses and to wooded areas.

Definition: An invisible energy, given off by all life forms and spirits.

Aliases: Wisp, Spirit, Guardian Angel

Man sitting with dead wife standing next to him

Auras are energy fields emitted by all living organisms. It defines who they are and how they interact with the world. But could this apply to the unliving as well? Have you ever taken a photograph and there are weird circle like shapes, varying in color? This could be due to an unworldly creature being a the presence of the photographer.

Auras can be captured in video, photograph, and many animals can see or sense them. There are even some people that can see them on a regular basis, and they usually describe them as a halo of light, varying in color. They say that by the color of the aura and the pattern that it produces, you can determine what kind of energy it is.

Definition: A ghost that always appears at a certain time or on a certain event.

Aliases: Birthday Ghosts, Holiday Ghosts, Troubled Spirit

Similar to: Wisps

Anniversary ghosts are those that appear on a certain day or period of time because of a significant event. Usually the time period would be related to their death; but not always. There have been recordings of ghosts that come back to wish their loved ones a happy birthday, ones that come back to celebrate a holiday or some even theorize that ghosts might only come back after they were buried. Maybe there was a significant moment in their life when they could have changed the path they were on. They could be reliving it on the same day for all eternity.

The Black Dahlia, supposedly an anniversary ghost.

One very famous anniversary ghost is the Black Dahlia. Elizabeth Short, aka the Black Dahlia, was an aspiring actress in the 40’s. She was found dead in a field, her body mutilated. Several suspects were named but no one was ever charged. It is said that she was tortured for 3 days before she died. Her body was found in pieces, and hardly recognizable except for finger prints. She was said to have multiple lovers, and in various ghost stories she is said to haunt old hotels where she hanged out or in other unscrupulous areas in order to seduce unsuspecting men.

The Green Lady

Another famous anniversary ghost is the Green Lady of Crathes Castle in Scotland. She is said to have had a child with the a servant of the castle and fled. Many years later though a renovation of the castle uncovered two skeletons, one of a child and another of the Green Lady, in a location near where the Green Lady would often appear. Queen Victoria herself supposedly even saw her. Spotting the Green Lady is supposed to be an omen of death, though no reported sightings have occurred recently.