The Schrat or Schratt, also Schraz or Waldschrat, is a rather diverse German and Slavic legendary creature with aspects of either a wood sprite, domestic sprite and a nightmare demon.

German folklore is the folk tradition which has developed in Germany over a number of centuries. Seeing as Germany was divided into numerous polities for most of its history, this term might both refer to the folklore of Germany proper and of all German-speaking countries, this wider definition including folklore of Austria and Liechtenstein as well as the German-speaking parts of Switzerland, Luxembourg, Belgium, and Italy.