REALMS archive of entities

Mara

demonic intermediate Scandinavian folklore single tradition · 11

Female night-demon.

↻ synthesized from 11 sources

When

First attested
0 CE
Attested period
0 – 2020
Historical notes
Rooted in ancient Germanic superstition and closely related to similar nightmare spirits across Germanic cultures.

Relationships

co occurs with
Marabbecca, Mare, Mareikura, Marmennill, Maro deivės, Maski-mon-gwe-zo-os, Matagot, Mavka, Mayura, Mazzikin, Melek Taus, Meliae, Melusine, Menninkäinen, Menreiki, Mephistopheles, Merrow, Minka Bird, Mintuci, Mishibizhiw, Misi-ginebig, Misi-kinepikw, Mizuchi, Baba Yaga, Peg Powler, Grindylow, Jenny Greenteeth, Nelly Longarms, The Cailleachan, Atropos, noćnik, noćnica, Chernobog, Morana, Tuoni, Giltinė, Peckols, Peklenc, Veles, Brahma, Madara Uchiha, Izanami, Ārūpyadhātu, Rūpadhātu, Śuddhāvāsa devas, Bṛhatphala devas, Śubhakṛtsna devas, Ābhāsvara devas, Nirmāṇarati devas, Tuṣita devas, Yāma devas, Mrtyu, Avalokiteshvara, Apalāla, Menehune, Mahuika, Mami Wata, Madam Koi Koi, Mbwiri, Manananggal, Marid, Mairu, Matsya, Makara, Maa-alused, Madremonte, Maero, Magog, Mahaha, Maha-pudma, Mājas gari, Majitu, Makura-gaeshi, Mallt-y-Nos, Mamuna, Manes, Mannegishi, Brigid, Cailleach, Horse-Face, Ox-Head, Deva
syncretized with
Night Hag, mæra, Akuma, Hajun
parent of
Taṇhā, Kleśa-māra, Mṛtyu-māra, Skandha-māra, Devaputra-māra, Aratis, Rāga
enemy of
Kāmadhātu, Gautama Buddha, Preah Thorani, Sakyamuni, Upagupta, Vajrapāṇi
cognate of
Mora
served by
Rakshasa, Piśācas, Aratis, Girimekhala, Ashura
manifested by
Yama
allied with
Parinirmita-vaśavartin devas

Expand to full subgraph →

Mentioned by

and 23 more

Sources

wikipedia (11)
  1. List of legendary creatures (M)
  2. Hag
  3. Kikimora
  4. List of death deities
  5. Mara (demon)
  6. Shinigami
  7. Asura (Buddhism)
  8. Deva (Buddhism)
  9. Mrtyu
  10. Wathondare
  11. Vajrapani

Source passages

“Mara (Scandinavian folklore) – Female night-demon”

#5043 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001

“closely related to the Scandinavian mara. According to folklore, the Old Hag sat on a sleeper's chest and sent nightmares to him or her.”

#6556 · extracted by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5

“Mora or Mara is one of the spirits from ancient Slav mythology. Mara was a dark spirit that takes the form of a beautiful woman and then visits men in their dreams, torturing them with desire, and dragging life out of them.”

#6698 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001

“Mara appears in Roger Zelazny's 1967 novel Lord of Light as a god of illusion.”

#13501 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001

“In Buddhism, there is the Mara that is concerned with death, the Mrtyu-mara. It is a demon that makes humans want to die, and it is said that upon being possessed by it, in a shock, one should suddenly want to die by suicide”

#13755 · extracted by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5