#ghostabcs
X is for Xolotl

From my Ghost ABCs series (2019).

Xolotl is the Aztec god of fire and lightning, and the figure that escorts the newly deceased to the afterlife.

#xolotl #aztecmythology #ghostabcs
October 30, 2026 at 7:41 AM
Z is for Zonbi

From my Ghost ABCs series (2019).

Originating in Haitian slave culture and folklore, the zonbi is a human cadaver reanimated by a vodou priest or priestess. The zonbi then became a servant to the necromancer, making slavery inescapable - even in death.

#zonbi #zombie #ghostabcs
October 31, 2026 at 9:28 PM
Y is for Yeth Hound

From my Ghost ABCs series (2019).

The Yeth Hound is a black dog originating in Devon, England (black dogs are specific type of supernatural entity). It is a headless spectre that is said to house the spirit of an unbaptized child.

#yethhound #blackdog #ghostabcs
October 30, 2026 at 6:09 PM
W is for Wendigo

From my Ghost ABCs series (2019).

In Algonquin tradion (NE America), the Wendigo is a malevolent spirit who possesses their victims and causes their host to have an intense craving for human flesh.

#wendigo #ghostabcs
October 28, 2026 at 9:57 PM
V is for Vanishing Hitchhiker

From my Ghost ABCs series (2019).

The vanishing hitchhiker is an urban legend. At its most basic, the vanishing hitchhiker is a woman who asks for a ride, and then disappears from the car. Later the driver finds that she is long dead.

#vanishinghitchhiker #ghostabcs
October 28, 2026 at 5:07 AM
U is for Umibozu

From my Ghost ABCs series (2019).

In Japanese tradition, the Umibozu is a marine yokai. It is large and black, and vaguely human shaped. It appears to sailors just before calm seas become violent.

#umibozu #japaneseyokai #ghostabcs
October 27, 2026 at 4:40 AM
T is for Tupilaq

From my Ghost ABCs series (2019).

In the Inuit tradition, a tupilaq is built by shamans or witches from various objects (wood, sinew, bones, etc). Through rituals, the tupilaq is given life, and then placed in the ocean to hunt the fabricator's enemies.

#tupilaq #ghostabcs
October 26, 2026 at 3:56 AM
S is for Skinwalker

From my Ghost ABCs series (2019).

In the Navajo tradition, the skinwalker is a malevolent shape-shifting witch that can take the form of animals. They use their animal form to move about undetected and engage in nefarious acts.

#skinwalker #ghostabcs
October 25, 2026 at 5:57 AM
R is for Robert the Doll

From my Ghost ABCs series (2019).

Currently in a museum in Key West Florida, Robert is a supposedly haunted antique doll of a small sailor boy and his dog. It is reported to move on it's own, change expression, and curse non-believers.

#robertthedoll #ghostabcs
October 25, 2026 at 2:58 AM
Q is for Quinn's Light

From my Ghost ABCs series (2019).

Quinn's ghost originates in New South Wales, Australia. It was described by a local constable as a bright golden light, that sometimes took the form of a great glowing bird of prey. An Aussie will-o-the-wisp.

#quinnslight #ghostabcs
October 23, 2026 at 7:06 AM
P is for Papa Ghede - Psychopomp

From my Ghost ABCs series (2019).

In Haitian vodou Papa Ghede is the spirit of the first man who ever died. He is a psychopomp who waits at the crossroads to accompany the recently deceased into the realm of the ancestors.

#papaghede #ghostabcs #psychopomp
October 22, 2026 at 5:33 AM
O is for Onryo

From my Ghost ABCs series (2019).

Japanese in origin, the Onryo is a wrathful spirit of someone (usually a woman) who was wronged in life, and returns to exact revenge. Onryo are especially cruel and violent ghosts.

#oneyo #ghostabcs #japaneseghost
October 21, 2026 at 4:54 AM
N is for Nachzehrer

From my Ghost ABCs series (2019).

A proto-vampire from Germanic folklore. The Nachzehrer is a reanimated corpse that consumes its own burial shroud, and sometimes its own corpse. They also drain the life force if their loved ones, sometimes remotely.

#nachzehrer #ghostabcs
October 20, 2026 at 6:00 AM
M is for Mul Gwisin

From my Ghost ABCs series (2019). My personal favorite of the series.

In South Korea Gwisin are basically ghosts who are unable to move on. The Mul Gwisin is the spirit of someone who drowned. They drown others by dragging them into bodies of water.

#mulgwisin #ghostabcs
October 19, 2026 at 9:23 PM
L is for La Llorona

From my Ghost ABCs series (2019).

The weeping woman. In meso-american folklore, La Llorona is a vengeful ghost who haunts bodies of water, morning her children - who she drowned.

Plus, bonus Ghost Pirate Le Chuck

#lallorona #ghostabcs #lechuck
October 18, 2026 at 6:02 AM
K is for Krasue

From my Ghost ABCs series (2019).

The Krusue is a dangerous floating disembodied female head, usually with the organs dangling below. The legend of the Krasue originated in SE Asia, and different cultures have slightly different folk stories.

#krasue #ghostabcs
October 17, 2026 at 7:43 AM
J is for Jenglot

From my Ghost ABCs series (2019).

The Jenglot originated in Indonesia. It is a small mutated humanoid doll that is said to have once been a human being. They are fed blood (animal or human) in order to provide protection or luck for their owners.

#jenglot #ghostabcs
October 16, 2026 at 4:53 AM
I is for Ijiraq

From my Ghost ABCs series (2019).

In Inuit tradition the Ijiraq is a half-man/half-caribou shapeshifting spirit that kidnaps and hides children. In some traditions they are thought to exist between the lands of the dead and living.

#ijiraq #ghostabcs
October 15, 2026 at 5:44 AM
H is for Hungry Ghost

From my Ghost ABCs series (2019).

There are a lot of variations of the hungry ghost in Asian and Buddhist traditions. They are usually driven by overwhelming physical needs and greed. They are often depicted with fat bellies and tiny throats.

#hungryghost #ghostabcs
October 14, 2026 at 4:41 AM
G is for Gray Man

From my Ghost ABCs series (2019).

The Gray Man is a ghost who haunts the shoreline in Pawley's Island, SC. He appears to warn locals of approaching severe storms and hurricanes.

#grayman #ghostabcs #halloween
October 13, 2026 at 12:13 AM
F is for Flying Dutchman

From my Ghost ABCs series (2019).

The Flying Dutchman is a ghost ship, doomed to sail the seas for all eternity - unable to make port. Sightings of the ghostly Flying Dutchman are a portent of disaster at sea.

#flyingdutchman #ghostabcs #halloween
October 12, 2026 at 1:00 AM
E is for Ectoplasm

From my Ghost ABCs series (2019).

Originating during the big spiritualism craze at the turn of the last century, ectoplasm is spiritual energy, made physical.

This is also when I started to toy with the idea of ectoplasm being fungal.

#ectoplasm #ghostabcs #halloween
October 11, 2026 at 1:19 AM
D is for Dullahan

From my Ghost ABCs series (2019).

The Dullahan is a malicious headless horseman from Irish folklore. He carries a whip made from a human spine, and scans the countryside with his severed head - searching for those about to die.

I hate drawing horses!

#dullahan #ghostabcs
October 9, 2026 at 6:16 PM
C is for Chindi

From my Ghost ABCs series (2019).

According to traditional Navajo (Native American) beliefs, when a person dies all of their negativity, disappointment, anger, etc, manifests as a Chindi. Contact with the chindi can cause sickness and death.

#chindi #ghostabcs
October 8, 2026 at 6:20 PM
B is for Bloody Mary

From my Ghost ABCs series (2019).

Chant her name into a mirror in a dim or candle-lit room and Bloody Mary will appear to haunt the summoners.

I was terrified of Bloody Mary when I was a kid. I couldn't even look in a mirror for weeks at a time.

#bloodymary #ghostabcs
October 7, 2026 at 8:41 PM