Illustration of a keukegen, from Toriyama Sekien’s Konjaku Hyakki Shūi (ca. 1781). A keukegen is a small disease spirit covered in a mass of filthy hair, which usually resides in dark and damp places in populated areas.
Shedim (benevolent demon) by Aaron B. Heimlich.
The Plague.
Illustration by Thomas Theodor Heine for Simplicissimus, 1911.
I love the figure’s pose: it’s not that of a threatening predator or an aggressive demon—the Pest is just sort of aimlessly wandering around, spreading death.
Illustrations from a 1775 book about magic and demonology, Compendium rarissimum totius Artis Magicae sistematisatae per celeberrimos Artis hujus Magistros. Anno 1057.
The book comes with a warning: “Nole me tangere”—“Do not touch me”.)
In the Ruined Palace at Sôma, Masakado’s Daughter Takiyasha Uses Sorcery to Gather Allies; Ôya no Tarô Mitsukuni Comes Here to Investigate the Monsters and Finally Destroys Them (1844). Japanese artist, Utagawa Kuniyoshi.
Floods, comets, demons, and countless witch burnings: illustrations from Johann Jakob Wick’s 16th-century WICKIANA, a collection of contemporary pamphlets, broadsheets, prints, drawings, etc.
Nurikabe, a spirit from Japanese folklore. The creature disguises itself as a wall to confuse and misdirect nightly travellers.
(If you ever encounter it: tap on its lower left part and it will disappear.)
