Field file · Humanoid · Regional legend
Mô-sîn-á
Also known as Mo-sin-a, Moxina, 魔神仔, Little devils
Mô-sîn-á, the trickster of Taiwan’s mountains: small furry spirits said to lead hikers astray and lure people, especially children, into remote forest.
The mô-sîn-á (魔神仔, also written Mo-sin-a) is a creature of Taiwanese folklore. The name roughly translates as “little devils.” It is usually thought to be small, hobbit-like and often child-like in appearance, with short furry bodies. The beliefs are shared across Taiwan’s cultures, including Hoklo, Hakka and Indigenous groups, with each giving the figure its own variations.
Mô-sîn-á are tricksters tied to mountains, forests and the countryside. They rarely harm people directly and prefer pranks on the elderly and small children. The most common prank is to make people lose their sense of direction and lead them to a remote place from which they cannot find the way back, such as a deep forest or a cave. Tales involving missing small children have been compared to changelings in Icelandic folklore.
Unlike vampires, they are said not to fear sunlight, but they dislike loud noises, and some writers cite this as one reason for the many firecrackers on festive days. Japanese-era newspapers mention the creature several times, and the horror film series The Tag-Along and the 2012 film Moxina have drawn on it.
What does Mô-sîn-á look like?
Small, child-like and furry, human-like; sometimes seen only as a presence or a voice.
Where is Mô-sîn-á seen?
Mountain forests, caves and remote countryside, mainly at dusk and in fog.
Is Mô-sîn-á real? What could explain it
- Hikers and foragers who become lost, hypothermic, exhausted or confused in dense mountain terrain may feel they were led astray.
- Disappearances of children and the elderly were traditionally explained by the spirit to avoid more frightening accounts of accidents.
- The beliefs combine continental East Asian folk religion (similar tales exist in Fujian) with Taiwan’s native traditions.
Legend, culture and tourism
The mô-sîn-á appears in Taiwanese horror films, books and TV, and is used as a cautionary tale to children not to wander into the mountains alone.
Where it’s reported
Sources
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