Mouras are shapeshifters with formidable strength and beauty. Basically, the whole package superpower-wise. They’re found in Portuguese and Galician fairy tales, and are often very seductive and magical.
A little darker than the previous figure, the Santa Compaña is a procession of souls in torment. They’re known by many names across Portugal and Galicia, including As da nuite (the Night Ones).
Coco, or Cucuy, is a very unusual mythical figure. It’s a ghost-monster which usually appears as a human body with a pumpkin head. Creepy right? That’s what they thought too, and el coco was (and sometimes still is) invoked to freak kids out of they were misbehaving.
Similar to goblins and sprites, the Duende is small and magical. In Portuguese and Spanish mythology, they lure young children into the forest by whistling an enchanting tune. Little is known about these figures now, and the name Duende has come to be used as a sort of umbrella term for sprite-like creatures.
In Jewish folklore, Broxa is a bird that is said to suck the milk of goats and sometimes human blood during the night. In medieval Portugal, the Broxa was considered to be a shape shifting entity-as a witch in female form and in male form, a demon. It has been speculated that this creature was derived from the Jewish mythical creature