xiānlí
demonic Chinese folklore single tradition · 1
In Chinese lore, the xiānlí is a cat monster. Leopard cats that grow old gain a xian (divine spiritual power), shapeshift into a beautiful man or woman, and suck the spirit out of humans.
Sources
wikipedia (1)
Source passages
“In Chinese lore, there is a cat monster called the xiānlí (仙狸, Japanese: senri; cf. Chinese 狸, 'leopard cat'). In this telling, leopard cats that grow old gain a xian (divine spiritual power), shapeshift into a beautiful man or woman, and suck the spirit out of humans.”
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