Kabrakan A giant demon in
Mayan myth who causes earthquakes. He makes mountains disappear,
while his brother Zipakna makes mountains rise, also through
earthquakes. They are the children of Vucub Caquix.
Kaitabha The Hindu demon which tried to attack Brahma.
Kali (Hindu) daughter of Shiva, the destroyer. A
succubus/succumbus.
Kali is an emanation or aspect of Devi, one of the Asuras, whose
name means 'black.' She was often called 'Kali Ma' meaning the
black mother. She has a dark complexion; long, loose hair; a
blood-smeared tusked face; and three eyes. She has four arms: one
handling a sword; another holding the severed head of a giant; and
with the other two, she encourages worshippers. She is naked except
for a belt made of rows of severed hands and a garland around her
neck made of human skulls and of snakes. She is usually shown
standing over her husband, Siva.
Her first deed was her battle with Raktavira.
Unfortunately, each drop of blood Raktavira shed gave birth to a
thousand giants as powerful as himself. She finally overcame him by
holding him up, piercing him with her spear and drinking all his
blood (which is why she is often shown with her tongue lolling out
and dripping with blood.)
After the fight, Kali danced a victory dance that shook the entire
earth. Siva begged her to stop, but Kali did not see him and he was
trampled underfoot.
From that time on, the gods would bribe or beg her to slay their
foes. She gladly did this to satisfy her lust for blood.
Once, she was sent out to kill the buffalo demon Mahisha, who by
practice of austerities, had gained enough strength to threaten the
gods in their celestial kingdom. For this fight, the gods gave Kali
ten hands and lent her their own weapons. Siva gave her a trident.
Varuna, a conch shell.
Agni, a flaming dart. Vishnu, a discus. Surya, a quiver and
arrows. Indra, a thunderbolt. Kubera, a club. Shesha, a garland of
snakes, and Himalayas, a tiger. With these weapons, Kali had no
problems destroying Mahisha.
On another occasion, she was called upon to rid the world of the
demon, Durga, who had overcome three worlds and driven the lesser
gods into the jungle. The demon was mismanaging the land and
courting disaster by forcing the earth to yield more crops than it
could bear. Kali created Kalaratri (Dark Night), a heavily armed
monster, but Durga defeated it. Kali then defeated Durga by
grabbing the demon with her thousand arms, pinning him to the
ground, and piercing him through the chest with an arrow.
Two demon brothers, Sumbha and Nisumba, had achieved immunity from
any harm by the gods, so Kali was the only one who could defeat
them. She took the shape of a beautiful woman and let herself be
seen by the spies of the demons. Sumbha sent a proposal of marriage
to Kali, but she replied she would only marry a man who could
defeat her in a single battle. Sumbha and Nisumba sent three armies
against her, which she defeated. The brothers finally attacked her
themselves, but Kali had created a powerful army of her own and
destroyed the demons.
In another incarnation, Kali took on the form of a male demon,
attended by Dwapara, a flesh-eating fiend. This tale is known as
The Story of Nala. Kali learned that the demi-goddess, Damayanti,
with whom he (the male Kali) was in love, had married a mortal king
called Nala. Kali swore revenge.
For twelve years, Nala and Damayanti lived in happiness, but one
night Nala committed a minor sacrilege of not washing his feet
before going to bed. Kali could only possess the king's soul after
Nala had committed a sin:
'Lo! I shall be avenged, for I shall enter his body, and he will
be bereft of his kingdom and his bride. Thou, Dwapara, shall enter
the dice and give me thine aid.'
Kali then beset the King with a craving desire to gamble. Nala
challenged his brother Pushkara to a game of chance. During the
game, Dwapara interfered. Prodded by Kali, Nala gambled away his
fortune and kingdom until he was only left with his wife, whom he
could not gamble away. Nala then left his kingdom to roam through
the jungle, abandoning his beloved wife.
Kali then assumed the form of a wandering hunter and approached
Damayanti, who was roaming through the forest in search of her
demented husband. She told the hunter her story and he appeared
moved by her great beauty. Perceiving his evil intent, she spoke a
powerful curse which banished the hunter instantly. Unwittingly,
she had exercised Kali from her and Nala's life. They returned to
their kingdom, where, in a final match, Nala won back his estate
from his brother.
Kali is waited upon by a great number of demons called Dakinis,
who feed upon flesh and are also known as Asra-pas or blood
drinkers. Her worship includes orgiastic rites and human
sacrifices. According to Indian calculations, the world is now in
the fourth age of the cosmos. This age is called Kali Yuga or
Kali's Age: the Age of Destruction.
Kappas The Kappas are Japan’s most infamous water
demons. Even the onrush of the twentieth century has been unable to
stem these demons’ evil deeds. In Japanese villages, a modern
traveller can easily find natives who have seen a Kappa, and who
are willing to talk about their experiences.
These ugly, monkey-like creatures are about the size of a ten year
old child. At first glance they may appear ridiculous rather than
demonic. They have saucer-shaped heads, yellowish-green skin, long
noses, crazily staring round eyes, and a strange mixture of animal
limbs. But beneath the childish and foppish appearance, these
demons are very lethal.
They live in rivers, ponds, lakes, and the sea, from which they
emerge at night to steal cucumbers and melons. The Kappas’
truly evil natures show in their lust for wrestling matches, ending
invariable in the death of their opponents. They also enjoy raping
women who are careless enough to venture close to their habitat at
nightfall.
Individual Kappas may have their personal predilections for
certain mischievous deeds. All of them, however, are known to drag
men, women, and livestock into the water and then to suck the blood
and pluck out the liver through the anus. A certain very cunning
Kappa used to appear as a child sitting on a rock by a pond. He
would talk passers-by into a friendly game of pull-finger. Those
who stopped and played were pulled into the water and drowned.
But the Kappas have one weakness. Their concave, saucer-shaped
heads are filled with water. It is this water which gives them
their strength. If one is able to jostle a Kappa so as to make him
spill the water, the demon loses his power and can easily be
subdued.
Kasdeya The book of enoch refers to this demon as the "fifth
satan"
Kobal (Unk) Hell's entertainment liason.
Khanzab A demon who disturbs the prayers of Muslims, thus
causing doubt in their minds.
Kigatilik In Eskimo myth, a fanged demon and the enemy of
priests.
Kingu The demon in Mesopotamian myth who became the second
consort of the goddess Tiamat, after her first consort Apsu had
been slain. She gave him the Tablets of Destiny and intended to
make him lord of the gods. He was killed by the young god Marduk
who took the Tablets and fastened them on his chest. He killed
Kingu and created mankind from his blood. Kingu plays an important
part in the creation epic Enuma Elish.
Kishimo-jin The Japanese Buddhist patron goddess of little
children. Her name means 'mother goddess of the demons' and she was
originally a monstrous demon from India (called Hariti).
She abducted little children and devoured them, until the great
Buddha converted her. Now she represents the Buddha's appeal to
compassion, and his devotion to the welfare of the weak.
Kishimojin is portrayed as a mother suckling her baby, and holding
a pomegranate in her hand (the symbol of love and feminine
fertility).
She is also called Karitei-mo.
Kommasso Burmese evil spirits inhabiting trees.
Koschei the Deathless A demon of Russian folklore,a goblin
of death. This horrid monster is described as having a death's head
and fleshless skeleton, "through which is seen the black hood
flowing and the yellow heart beating."
He is armed with an iron club, with which he knocks down all who
come in his path. In spite of his ugliness, he is said to be a
great admirer of young girls and women. He is avaricious, hates old
and young alike, and particularly those who are fortunate.
His dwelling is amongst the mountains of the Koskels and the
Caucasus, where his treasure is concealed.
Kosh A wicked forest demon of the Bangala of the Southern
Congo.