MYTHICAL BEING01
Basilisk
A deadly mythical animal with the traits of a cockerel and a snake, whose gaze and breath were said to turn its victims to stone.
Fantastic bestiary
Beyond the human world
46 beings from old legends.
FROM OLD TALES
Mysterious beings
46 beings
MYTHICAL BEING02
Bejválek
A good-natured guardian spirit of the Šumava foothills, dangerous chiefly when someone provoked it.
Forest and mountain spirits
MYTHICAL BEING03
Běs
An ancient Slavic term for a demon, which in Christian tradition developed into the image of an evil supernatural power.
Demons and the devil
MYTHICAL BEING04
White Lady
One of the best-known apparitions of Czech legend, associated with noble families, omens of death and family events.
Ghosts and revenants
MYTHICAL BEING05
Will-o’-the-Wisps and Ghost Lights
Mysterious lights of marshes and cemeteries that can lead travellers into danger, though sometimes they are said to show them the way.
Ghosts and revenants
MYTHICAL BEING06
Bohyňky
Malicious Slovak fairies said to exchange unbaptised newborns for sickly changelings.
Fairies and female spirits
MYTHICAL BEING07
Bosorky
The Moravian and Slovak form of witches, considered harmful and magically powerful in legends.
Fairies and female spirits
MYTHICAL BEING08
Černoboh
A sparsely and belatedly attested image of an evil Slavic deity, associated in popular imagination with the devil.
Ancient deities
MYTHICAL BEING09
Devil
The most widespread demonic figure in local legends: he makes contracts, builds overnight, guards hellish openings and changes shape.
Demons and the devil
MYTHICAL BEING10
The Little Red Man
A small apparition of the Krkonoše Mountains in red clothing, appearing near water at midnight.
Forest and mountain spirits
MYTHICAL BEING11
The Wild Hunt
A nocturnal procession of demons, ghosts, dogs and monsters from which a solitary person supposedly had little chance of escaping unharmed.
Ghosts and revenants
MYTHICAL BEING12
Wild women
Forest women who may help people, but also exchange their children and lead them into danger.
Fairies and female spirits
MYTHICAL BEING13
Dragon
A winged, serpent-like monster, sometimes many-headed and fire-breathing, the traditional opponent of heroes and guardian of ancient borderlands.
Fantastic bestiary
MYTHICAL BEING14
Fabián
The mountain spirit of the Brdy hills, frightening people with drawn-out hoots but otherwise harmless according to tradition.
Forest and mountain spirits
MYTHICAL BEING15
Fext
An invulnerable human whom ordinary bullets supposedly could not harm and whose body did not decay even after death.
Ghosts and revenants
MYTHICAL BEING16
Golem
An artificial being of clay brought to life by a sacred word, known especially from Prague's Jewish tradition.
Magical beings
MYTHICAL BEING17
The household snake
A benevolent household spirit in the form of a snake, whose expulsion was thought to bring misfortune to the home.
Household and guardian spirits
MYTHICAL BEING18
Hans Heiling
Prince of the spirits of the Loket region, son of the water nymph Oharka and hero of the legends associated with the Svatošské rocks.
Forest and mountain spirits
MYTHICAL BEING19
Hejkal
A forest spirit whose piercing cry of ‘hey, hey’ was dangerous to answer.
Forest and mountain spirits
MYTHICAL BEING20
Hejmon
A forest spirit of the Vitoraz region who appeared even by day and frightened poachers.
Forest and mountain spirits
MYTHICAL BEING21
Hockauf
A forest demon that leapt onto lone travellers’ backs and choked them.
Forest and mountain spirits
MYTHICAL BEING22
The Angelus Hag
A hunched female figure in dark clothing that appears at dusk after the evening Angelus.
Fairies and female spirits
MYTHICAL BEING23
Kudibal
A strange two-legged, cow-like creature known from an unusual legend in the Bydžov area.
Fantastic bestiary
MYTHICAL BEING24
Můra, the Night Hag
A nocturnal female demon that slips into homes and suffocates people in their sleep.
Vampires and transformations