Many associate the creatures of the forest with elves, spirits, sprites and other deities. And they also associate them with specific animals that have populated among certain regions, along with other magical creatures. But there are just as many demons who lurk in the woods as there are dryads and nymphs. From the work by Alexander Porteous, The Forest in Folklore and Mythology, numerous passages can be found that detail demons from all over the world who were believed to dwell in the forests;
"Demons were another class of beings who frequented forests, in many instances, as will be seen, living in trees, particularly one called Norg, who inhabited the hollows of the trees, and it is believed that the French word ogre gave rise to that name. Germany, among other central European countries, is where the Forest Demon is seen at his best, or at his worst."
In the Mountainous regions of Bavaria, Germany, there were many demons that roamed under different names and guises;
"A demon called the Katzenveit haunts the forests of the Fichtelgebirge, and to frighten children people will say, 'Hush, the Katzenveit will come!' In the forests of the Harz a similar being, known as the Gubich, roams the woods; as does another, called the Rubezal, in the forests of the Riesengebirge."
In the German forests of the highlands there was a demon that would not provide travelers with safe passage unless an offering was made;
"In the forests of Franconia there is a Demon known as the Bil-berry man, who is apt to attack travelers when passing through the woods. To avert these attacks it is customary for a person to place an offering of bread and fruit on a stone before he enters the forest in order to propitiate the demon."
The cherry tree was home to a number of menacing demons;
"In Denmark, the Forest Demons often hid themselves in old cherry trees, and did harm to those that approached them."
"A Lithuanian demon was called Kirnis, and was the guardian of the Cherry tree."
"Similarly, the Albanians believe certain trees to be haunted by Devils, which they name Aerico, and which particularly haunt the Cherry tree when it becomes old and barren. The very shadow of these trees is believed to be evil, and to cause swellings and pains in the hands and feet."
In the Slavic countries, the demons are no less forgiving;
"The forests of the Slav countries in general are found to be peopled with mythical beings of a usually malevolent type. In the Russian forests what were known as Lieschi, Forest Devils, or Genii of the Forest, were considered to be always present in clumps of trees, and particularly on the tops of birch trees. These beings were believed to be able to accommodate their stature according to their environment. Thus, when they were wandering in the forest they were as tall as the trees, but when they appeared on the plains they did not exceed the blades of grass in height."
Aged trees were regarded as varieties of a suspicious nature;
"There is a Russian proverb to the effect that either an owl or a devil frequents all old trees."
When films, animations, and stories are thought of today, there are certain aspects of nature that are especially enlivened, however, the tales of old come across as equally animated. A hero of Russian folklore was supposed to have witnessed an embattled fight in the forest between two demons;
"The Czarevitch Ivan is said to have once seen two forest Demons fighting. One was showering blows upon the other with an uprooted Oak tree, while the other was returning the blows with interest with an uprooted Pine tree as his weapon. The fight waged furiously, the Demons exerting all their strength, but how it ended tradition sayeth not."
There was told a Russian winter demon who destroyed the trees in the forest and caused a hazardous frost;
"The intensity of the Russian winter has caused the frost to be regarded as a Demon under the name of Morozko, and frost cracks and breaks in the trees are attributed to his agency. There is a tale of a maiden who was lost in the forest, when 'all at once she heard something. Morozko was crackling in a Fir tree not far off, and he leaped from Fir to Fir and snapped his fingers."
And also, a forest demon who appeared as a terror to harvesters, who snapped the bones of those who did not worship her;
"Formerly in Eastern Russia, there was a demon who assumed the shape of a mourning widow, and haunted the harvest fields at noon. Should the harvesters fail to fall on their faces when they saw her, she would break their legs and arms. Fortunately, there was a remedy in the forest close at hand. There, several sacred trees grew, and by placing some of the bark on the wounds they were at once healed."
In the Bulgarian myths, the figure of the shepherd known as Stoian does not heed the warnings of his mother;
"In one of the songs of Bulgaria, we read that the mother of Stoian endeavoured to dissuade that young shepherd from leading his flock through the Forest of the Samodives, who are a kind of Forest Demon, or at least from playing his flute when traversing it, because at the first sound the invoked Samodive would come to wrestle with him. Stoian disobeyed, and instantly he saw a young man with disordered hair who sought a quarrel with him. The Demon, after three days of battle, invoked his sisters, the tempests, who carried Stoian over the tops of trees, beat him, knocked him, tore him to pieces and destroyed his flock."
The tree of a traitor and the host of suicide was surrounded by demons and evil spirits in Sicily;
"In Sicily, several curious superstitions have gathered around the Fig tree, because it is there believed to have been the tree on which Judas hanged himself, and never to have flowered since. It is, therefore, thought to be a tree of ill-omen. Each leaf, it is said, harbours an Evil Spirit or Devil, and, in addition, certain bloodthirsty Spirits or Demons, called Fauni Ficarii, frequent its neighbourhood. At Avola, it is considered to be imprudent to rest in the shade of a Fig tree during the warm hours of the summer days. To whoever cares to run the risk will appear a female dressed as a nun, and holding a knife in her hand. She will ask him to say whether he will take the knife by the point or by the handle. If he says by the point, he will be at once killed, but if he says by the handle, he will be successful in all he undertakes. In fact, in this island, it is believed to be unsafe to sleep under any tree on the eve of Saint John, as on that night, which is the shortest night of the year, the Spirits and Demons of the trees leave their sylvan abodes and enter the first object they see, which might well be the sleeper."
And at the foot of the mountain in Sicily, the trees are not slept beneath by the residents;
"The peasants who live on the slopes of Mount Etna avoid sleeping under the trees, particularly on St, John's Night, lest they should be beset by the Devil."
When religious articles are placed on or around the tree to protect it from demons and evil spirits;
"Demons often reside in trees, and in Roman Catholic countries of Europe, small crucifixes, or images of the Virgin Mary, may frequently be seen in the forests, either placed on the trunks or suspended from the branches of the trees. Professor de Gubernatis says these images are thought to drive away from the tree the demons which hide under the bark, but that, nevertheless, it is to the tree itself which is given sanctity and adoration. Behind them still lies the awe, the 'holy horror,' which Lucian breathed in the forests of ancient Gaul, and the demons which are driven away are the ancient gods, the old forces of Nature."
The colour of the tree bark was an indicator of a demon's dwelling place;
"Even at present day in Palestine the Carob tree and the Fig tree, or Sycamore fig, are believed to be inhabited by devils, the former in particular as the reddish colour of its wood suggests blood. The Tamarisk tree, on the other hand, is usually considered to be inhabited by a saint or wely."
The Persians had their own form of tree-dwelling demons;
"What may be looked upon as the fairies of Persia are known as Peries, whose food is perfume; while the Demons bear the name of Deevs. Between these two sets of spirits, there is constant warfare, in which, according to Persian legend, the Peries invariably get the worst of it. It is said that the Deevs, when they capture any of the Peries, enclose them in iron cages, which they hang from the tops of the highest trees. Here they are visited by their companions, who bring them the choicest perfumes for their nourishment, and these perfumes also repel the Deevs, to whom fragrant odours are obnoxious."
"A malignant Demon or Deev called Stiltim haunts the forests of Persia, appearing in human form and doing injury to man."
In the Indian Kingdom of Travancore, certain tree varieties are believed to house evil spirits and demons;
"Some trees, such as the Sal Tree, Pipal Tree, and Mahua Tree, are the abodes of Evil Spirits, and to propitiate them, offerings are made to the trees, and no one will venture to climb them. Some large and very old trees in Travancore are inhabited by Demons and are held sacred. It would be very dangerous to cut them down."
Certain demons that are feared all across India require offerings to keep them at bay;
"There are certain Demons or Devils known as Pishashas, which are held in dread all over India. When others move about the forest travelling from village to village, they believe these Demons to be everywhere around them, and they endeavour to propitiate them with all sorts of articles laid here and there in crevices, sacred stones, and hollow trees."
Along the southwestern coasts of India, women do not go out unarmed by chance of encountering one of these demons;
"Pregnant women, especially in Malabar, when travelling, carry a scrap of iron, or a few leaves or twigs of the Neem tree, to scare away the Demons which are always lurking in the woods or groves they must pass on their way. Two Demons, monsters, known respectively as Chutas or Bhutus, and Picacas have their abodes in the trees of the forest."
In Korea, tree demons are a normalized belief, and they are believed to reside within the ugliest of trees;
"After Korea regained its independence from Japan, the event was celebrated by the king proceeding in state to a dark Pine wood wherein was situated the altar of the Spirits of the Land, the most sacred altar in Korea, and there taking an oath before the spirits of his ancestors to inaugurate certain reforms. In Korea the belief in malignant Demons is very widespread, and every old and gnarled tree is supposed to be the residence of one of them."
In Korea, close to Seoul, physical markers in the landscape are erected to ward off demons and evil spirits;
"Mrs. Bishop says that near Seoul heaps of stones sacred to Demons are placed under large trees, and that tall posts with ruddy carved human faces are placed on each side of the road with straw ropes stretched across, the idea being to prevent the ingress of malignant Spirits."
In Malaysia, along one of its longest rivers, there is a demon that inflicts hallucinations upon weary travellers;
"There is a Demon named Bota who frequents a district on the Perak river, and who causes travellers to see visions of wondrous places and ravishingly beautiful females, which give promise of all sorts of entrancing delights. However, when the dawn appears, the unhappy traveller finds himself faint and in a dying condition in some gloomy thicket, with all the promised joy vanished."
In Indonesia, the dead trees are believed to harbour demons, and to cut down the trees, would only release the demons into the wild;
"The natives of the Island of Nias, to the west of Sumatra, say that when a tree dies the Spirit which inhabited it becomes a Demon. This Demon will kill a Coconut palm by merely resting on it, and can kill children by sitting on a post of the house in which they live. Other trees, when still living and uninjured, are said to be the ordinary homes of Demons, but if they be injured or felled, the Demon then becomes free to roam about and cause much harm. Consequently, these trees are carefully guarded."
In Sulawesi, Indonesia, the demons are both respected and reviled, and great efforts are undertaken to ensure the demons are comfortable;
"The Island of Celebes contains many powerful Spirits and Demons, and it is stated that the Demons inhabiting many of the largest trees have human forms-the higher the tree the more powerful the Demon. If it is necessary to fell such a tree the Demon is duly informed of the fact, and is requested to leave the tree, provisions being provided for his sustenance on his journey hence while he looks for another home. In some instances, a small ladder is placed against the tree to enable the Demon to descend safely, while some tribes build a little hut for him to inhabit after he has left his tree."
When the tree is the host for demons and evil spirits, while it is also the sticking-post of transference;
"In some parts of the world, notably Africa and the Malay Archipelago, some trees bear the reputation of being trees specially dedicated to the Devil, and hence known as Devil Trees. These trees are looked upon as being peculiarly adapted for the reception of all manner of evils, and it has been suggested that the almost universal practice of hanging articles, touched or worn by a diseased person, onto trees, is in order to convey the disease to the tree. This practice is very common in Africa, the African Devil Trees being well known."
In West Africa, a demon is responsible for epidemics and diseases;
"In Senegambia, a long-haired Tree-Demon is believed to send diseases to the Natives."
Another method used to keep the forest demons pacified;
"In West Africa, there are often seen heaps of branches lying in the forests of the Fan country, the reason for these being that each traveller through the forest adds a leafy branch to the heap, by doing which it is believed that the Demons inhabiting the trees will not allow them to fall on the traveller, nor their roots trip him up."
Another example of a demon who was treated with a furnished dwelling;
"Paul du Chaillu, in his extensive travels in Equatorial Africa, mentions a Forest Demon, Nburu by name, for whose accommodation small houses are built in the forest. His bed, of dry leaves covered with a mat, was on the ground, and his pillow consisted of a smooth round piece of wood."
In Australia's island state, demons were also believed to lurk within the hollow trees;
"The native of Tasmania also had a firm belief in Evil Demons which resided in hollow trees, while others of a less malignant nature had some resemblance to the Elves of other lands."
When the demon is incorporated into the cartographic details;
"The forests of Belle Island, an island situated near Newfoundland, are still as wild, and desolate as they were four hundred years ago. This island, and a neighbouring one called Quirpon, were, in early days, known as the Isles of Demons, from the marvellous tales which the early explorers brought home regarding them. The forests were supposed to be infested with demons, and the terror-stricken mariners who sailed past their shores heard the hideous shrieks and outcries which announced the celebration of some infernal orgy. So strong was the belief in these Demons that maps were drawn of the islands, showing their infernal inhabitants to be adorned with the usual accessories of the Devils, such as tails and horns."
The Demon who lived with his kin in a Brazilian forest, travellers were not to trod on the trail prior to laying a charm beforehand;
"In the Forests of Brazil, a lame Demon leads the hunter astray. In these forests, as in all other forests many unaccountable sounds are often heard. Mr. Bates says that sometimes a sound is heard as if a hollow tree had been struck with an iron bar, or it may be that a piercing cry resounds through the forest. These, he says, the native attribute to a Demon, or wild man, of the woods, who is known as the Curupia or Curupuri. This being is variously described in different localities. In some parts he is said to be a kind of orang-utang, covered with long shaggy hair and living in trees. In other parts, he is described as having cloven feet and a bright red face. He is believed to be married and has children, and the whole family often come to the native plantations to steal the crops. Mr. Bates says that a native made a charm for him to protect him against this Demon. He plaited a young Palm leaf, then formed it into a ring, and hung it to a branch in the track the travellers were to pursue."