Mythology @ FreshCaffeine.com

Folklore of the Romany Gypsies

A disease DEMON in the folklore of the Romany Gypsies of Europe. This evil SPIRIT was the result of the union between ANA and the King of the DEMONS after he had eaten cloves of garlic covered in his urine. BISTO, whose name means One Who Fasts, takes the shape of a tiny many headed worm. He is responsible for causing humans loss of appetite, headaches, and stomach aches. BISTO has several "children", each buzzing around human bodies causing problems such as earache, toothache, cramps, and colic.

SOURCE: Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns, and Goblins: An Encyclopedia

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Mexican Folklore

This is the general term for a group of semi-supernatural guardians in the beliefs of the QUICHE peoples of Mexico. The BALAM, whose names mean "Tiger" or "Jaguar", were originally gigantic terrifying manifestations of these big cats of the forest, assigned as guardians of the four directions. The names were IQI-BALAM (moon jaguar), BALAM-AGAB (Nocturnal Jaguar), BALAM-QUITZE (Smiling Jaguar), and MAHU-CATAH (Famous Name) - names that may have been euphemisms intended to ward off the predations of these beasts. In modern Mayan folklore, all four have been relegated to the role of guardians of nature. The BALAM now protect the inhabitants, the villages, and their agricultural land.

Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth

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French Folklore

This is the name of a DRAGON in the medieval legends of France. The TARASQUE was said to be the progeny of the monstrous LEVIATHAN and a B0NNACON and was described as having a body like that of an enormous ox, with the legs and feet of a bear. It was the terror of the countryside in the region of AIX la CHAPELLE until the blessed SAINT MARTHA tamed and vanquished it. Since that time, the TARAQUE has been paraded in the town's festivals and has and has influenced similar names of dragons in Spain known as TARASCA.

Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth

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Folklore of New Zealand

This is the name of a class of gigantic monster in the traditions and legends of the Maori people of New Zealand. TANIHWA is described as a vast, lizard-like creature or dragon with huge fangs in it's jaws and a long, spiny tail that attacked and devoured any humans that it encountered. The legends tell of the hero PITAKA who, with a band of fearless men and some magic chants, managed to trap and kill three of these TANIHWA, from which the bodies of all the people they had devoured tumbled when the bodies were slit open.

Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth

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Scottish Folklore

This is the name of a class of Wild Men of the Woods in the legends and folklore of Scotland. LAILOKEN is described as a very hairy humanoid, with the power of human speech, that inhabited the Strathclyde Welsh-speaking region during the sixth century. He was credited with prophecy and called to the court of RHYDDRECH HAEL. In the fifteenth century legend LAILOKEN AND KETIGERN, it was suggested that LAILOKEN considered himself responsible for the deaths at the battle of Arfderydd (c. 573) and confessed this to the Saint Ketigern.

Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth

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Roman Mythology
Greek mythology

This is the name of a gigantic monster in the classical mythology of Greece and Rome. This giant humanoid being had three bodies, three heads, and six arms but a single body from the waist down. He was the son of CHRYSAOR and CALLIRRHOE. GERYON ruled in the land known as EPIRUS, now the Iberian Peninsula in the region according to some sources, of PARTESSUS, or ERYTHA, or GADES according to others. The chief delight of this monster was the breeding of his great herd of red gigantic oxen that were guarded at night and by day by the giant EURYTION and his monstrous dog ORTHUS. It was given tot he hero HERCULES/HERACLES to slay the giant guard and capture the herd of oxen as the Tenth and Twelfth Labors he had to perform to gain the hand of DEIANERIRA.

Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth

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Assyrian Mythology
Mythology of Babylon

These are benevolent beings in the mythology of ancient Assyria and Babylon. They were portrayed as winged bulls or lions with human heads, or with the head of a bull with the traditional human male beard. The LAMASSU may be compared with the Egyptian SPHINX. The LAMASSU were regarded as female - their male counterparts were called SEDU or SHEDU - and in their most important role they formed the protection of the palaces and temples, where their effigies often remain this day.

Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth

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Afro-Brazilian Mythology
Religious Mythology
Curing Spirits

Originally applied as the name of uneducated backwoodsmen or the original inhabitants of Brazil, this name has been used by association for the nature spirits revered by those people and has come to include that group of SPIRITS in the pantheon of the Afro-Brazilian BATUQUE CULT. These SPIRITS are regarded as the lower-status ENCANTADOS and are characterized by unrefined behavior in possession of devotes; however, they are renowned for helping the sick in curing sessions. The most prominent of the CABOCLES are BOIADERIO DA VASURA, CONSTANTINO, ANTONIO LUIZ CORRE-BEIRADO, HERONDINA, and MESTRE MARAJO.

SOURCE: Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns, and Goblins: An Encyclopedia

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Mythology of Greece
Monstrous Humanoid Serpent

This is the name of a monstrous humanoid serpent said to be from the mythology of Greece. PRISCARAXE, according to a "discovered" fragment of ancient Greek script, was the mother of ALECTOR. The name and character was then incorporated by the Italian monk ANNIUS of VITERBO (Giovanni Nanni, c. 1432-1502) as ARAXA PRISCA, when he re-created a whole genealogy of GIANTS to justify the noble ancestry of the French nobility of the period. The was later supplemented by the humanist and poet LEMAIRE (1473-1524) and the name changed to ARAXA JUNIOR whom he compared as an ancestor, with MELUSINE.

Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth

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Folklore of Malaysia

This is the name of a ferocious monster in the legends and folklore of the people of West Malaysia. The GERJIS is described as being an enormous beast that looked something like a tiger, but preyed upon every living thing. Nothing was safe from this vast predator, and neither man nor beast could cross its territory and survive. The animals of the jungle were very soon depleted, and the remaining ones gathered together to discuss their fate. They knew that only some plot could save them, so while they dug a pit, KANCHIL the MOUSEDEER was elected to persuade the monster get in it. KANCHIL achieved this by convincing GERJIS that the sky was about to fall in on them all and offered to help save him in a special dug-out area. When they duly arrived at the pit and GERJIS jumped in, KANCHIL threw the earth back over him, then the elephant threw a tree on top and crushed GERJIS'S skull.

Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth

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European Mythology
A type of Spirit

This is an ancient European SPIRIT of the night. Originally an alternative name for one of the aspects of ODIN, it was later applied to the goblin or demon assuming a terrifying form, usually that of a large black dog or an owl, whose wails beneath the windows of the sick predicted their demise. This aspect of the FAIRY GRIM is described in The Life of Robin Goodfellow (1628). Different aspects of the SPIRIT'S role are denoted by a prefix, as in the FOSSEGRIM of Norway and the KYRKOGRIM, KIRKEGRIM, and CHURCHGRIM of Sweden, Denmark, and England, respectively. Essentially the GRIM is a warning rather then a terrifying SPIRIT.

SOURCE: Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns, and Goblins: An Encyclopedia

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American Folklore
Based on Literature
For my Husband

This is the name of a gigantic spider being in the literary works of the English academic and author J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) in "The Hobbit" (1937) and "Lord of the Rings" (1955). UNGOLIANT was a vast female spider the wove her vicious web of Unlight, killing the light of the trees of Valar. When she bred with her kind in the Nan Dungotheb, or "Valley of Dreadful Death", she produced SHELOB among many of her monstrous spiders. They were eventually killed in raging floods after the War of Wrath, and she was said to have consumed herself with hunger.

Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth

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Albanian Folklore

This is a demonic female water monster, also known as KUCEDRE, in thew folklore of Albania. It may manifest itself in two different forms, the first being that of a hideous hag with ugly pendulous breasts, the other a flying DRAGON like the AITVARAS, spitting fiery sparks as it travels through the air. The KULSHEDRA is entirely evil, it may despoil natural water with its urine, or it may cause a drought. It is thought that a human sacrifice is the only method of placating or averting the evil intentions of the KULSHEDRA.

Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth

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Lithuanian Folklore

This is the name of a flying dragon of Lithuanian folklore that assumes various shapes according to his environment. In the home he is described as resembling a black cat or black cockerel, but when traveling outside he may take on the appearance of a flying dragon or serpent with a fiery tale. These are the physical manifestations of a supernatural "luck bringer" that may be "purchased" from the DEVIL for one's soul. Like the BASILISK of Medieval European folklore, the AITVARAS is hatched from an egg of a seven-year-old cockerel or brought home unrecognized until it is too late. Once in the home, it is dislodged only with great difficulty if the occupant is an honest God-fearing person. The AITVARAS'S responsibility is to make his owner rich by any means. This task is usually accomplished by the theft of milk, corn, and gold, frequently at the expense of the neighbors. He demands only the sustenance of omelets in return for the goods he brings. The first mention of this supernatural creature was in an account of 1547, when the suspicious acquisition of wealth by a villager was investigated. Another account described how a wife could not understand why the grain she was grinding from the corn bin for her new mother-in-law never ran out. Taking a consecrated candle from the church, she investigated the contents of the bin, where an AITVARAS was seen disgorging constant streams of corn. The sacred candle was the instrument of it's demise, for the AITVARAS rose up in the air and was never seen again. The mistress of the house grieved for the loss of her wealth as well as for the damnation she incurred for pledging her soul as payment for the riches the AITVARAS would bring.

Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth

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British Folklore
American Folklore
Canadian Folklore
Armed Forces Legend

A female SPIRIT of the GREMLIN type in the folklore of the British, American, and Canadian armed Forces. This SPIRIT is closely related to the DINGBELLE. Although invisible, this SPRITE was able to tickle Air Force bombers and pilots just as their target coordinates were correct, thus causing an overshoot or an abort.

SOURCE: Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns, and Goblins: An Encyclopedia

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Greek Mythology
Roman Mythology
One of the Titans

This is one of the TITANS in the classical mythology of Greece and Rome. The name, according to various sources, means "the Bearer" or "Daring" or "Sufferer". ATLAS was the son of OCEANID TITANESS CLYMENE/KLYMENE and the TITAN JAPETUS/IAPETUS; his step-brothers were PROMETHEUS, MENOETUS, and EPIMETHEUS; and he was the father of the NYMPHS known as the PLEIADES, HYADES, HESPERIDES, CALYPSO, MAIA, HARMONIA, ELECTRA, and DIONE. ATLAS was also the ruler of ATLANTIS, a vast region of the earth flooded and destroyed by the newly emerging gods headed by ZEUS. In vengeance, ATLAS, with the other TITANS, waged war on the new gods of OLYMUS. However, when the TITANS were defeated, ATLAS was condemned to hold the sky forever on his shoulders at the edge of the known world in North Africa. During this period he was able to have but one period of rest - when the hero HERCULES/HERACLES, needing his help, took his place - However, when the hero PERSEUS returned on the winged horse PEGASUS returned via ATLAS'S place of resriction, bearing the head of a GORGON known as MEDUSA, ATLAS saw the head and was instantly turned to stone. He became the mountains bearing his name in what is now the country of Morocco. When a very early compendium of maps of the country of the world was printed, the cover bore an image of the TITAN holding the world; from this image we now have the word ATLAS, which to this day refers a group of such maps.

Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth

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Muslim Mythology
Arabic Mythology
A group of Jinn

The AFRIT is not one single being but a classification of five types of powerful JINNS of Muslim and Arabic mythology and folklore. They also go by the names AFREET, AFRITE, EFRIT, IFREET, and IFRIT in various Arabic regions. The AFRIT are described as being enormous both in height and girth and, often, as having horns on the head and hooves instead of feet. The tales associated with these beings tell of their extremely malicious behavior toward any human victim, such that the mere mention of their name inspires unspeakable terror. Ordinarily they inhabit desert wastelands, but the people of Kenya on the east coast of Africa believe they lurk in the muddy depths of pools and rivers. There, like the English Nursery bogie JENNY GREENTEETH, they seize unattended children by the legs and drag them to their deaths. According to Arabic legend, KING SOLOMON compelled an AFREET to become his servent. LORD BYRON, ever interested in the romantic legends of the middle east, wrote an AFRIT into his work "The GIAOUR".

Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth

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Greek Mythology
Roman Mythology

This is the name of one of the GIANTS in the classical mythology of Greece and Rome. MENOETIUS was one of the progeny of the TITAN called JAPETUS and the OCEANID NYMPH CIYMENE, according to HESIOD in his work Theogeny (c. 750 B.C.), but according to AESCHYLUS (525 B.C. - 456 B.C.), his mother was THEMIS. His siblings were the GIANTS ATLAS, PROMETHEUS, and EPIMETHEUS. Both MENOETIUS and ATLAS took part in the revolt against the gods, and for his part MENOETHIUS was condemned by the king of the gods, ZEUS, to the eternal darkness of EREBUS.

Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth

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Greek Mythology
Roman Mythology

These are variations on the name of a monster in the classical mythology of Greece and Rome. The CHIMERA , also spelled CHIMAERA, means "goat"; and indeed, according to Greek poet Homer, it has the body of a gigantic goat, but with the hind parts of a serpent and front part and head of a lion. Sometimes it is portrayed, as is Hesiod's Theogeny, as having heads of all three of these animals arranged along it's back. The Chimera was said to be the progeny of the monstrous ECHIDNE and TYPHON, and it's siblings were CERBERUS the dog of the underworld, the NEMEAN LION, the serpent HYDRA, and the enigmatic SPHINX. Once the monstrous pet of the KING OF CARIA, it escaped and went on a rampage within the court. Then it inhabited the region of LYCIA (now Turkey), where it inflicted damage with its fiery breath and devoured every mortal thing that came its way. The terrified people called for it to be dealt with, and the ruler, IOBATES, sent for the hero BELLEROPHON. Mounted on the flying horse PEGASUS, the hero managed to thrust the point of his spear into the CHIMERA'S mouth, where its fiery breath melted it and choked the monster to death.

Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth

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Folklore of Albania

This is the name of a monster in the form of a snake in the traditions and folklore of the Albanian people of southern Albania. The BOLLA, also known as BULLAR, is a predatory being that preys upon humans, but fortunately it is in hibernation most of the time. Should it see a human on SAINT GEORGE'S DAY (April 23) when opens it's eyes for the first time after waking up, that person will be killed and consumed. It is said that this creature metamorphoses into the terrifying KULSHEDRA after a period of twelve years.

Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth

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Greek Mythology
Roman Mythology

This is the name of a horse in the classical mythology of Greece and Rome. LAMPON, whose name means "Shining Lamp", is one of a team of Horses of the Sun that pulled the golden chariot that HEPHAESTUS had made for the Sun God, HELIOS. LAMPOS, like the other horses, is described as the purest white with flaring, fire-breathing nostrils. Each morning the NYMPHS OF TIME, the HORAE, harnessed LAMPON along with the other horses of the sun to the chariot for their journey across the sky; when their journey across the heavens was finished at dusk they browsed on magical herbs in the Island of the Blessed until they were harnessed for the next day.

LAMPOS is also given as one of the horses of the chariot of AURORA, the goddess of the dawn.

Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth

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Mythology of India
Cannibalistic Vampires

These are a class of GHOUL in the Tamil mythology of India and are also known in female forms as the ALAKAI, IRUCI, and PICACU. They are attendants of YAMA and are depicted as a type of monstrous humanoid with shaggy hair. The PEY are cannibalistic vampires that seek out human conflicts and battles to feed on the bodies of the wounded and drink the blood from their open wounds, ensuring their death.

Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth

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Greek Mythology
Roman Mythology
Symbol of Immortality

This is the name of a fabulous bird in the ancient legends of Europe and the Middle East that may have origins in the Egyptian BENNU BIRD. THe PHOENIX, also spelled FENIX, is described as looking somewhat like a pheasant in shape but larger than and eagle. Its plumage was mostly a reddish-purple, "PHOENIX" being derived from the Greek for purple, with gold around its neck. Other accounts say that it was purple, gold, red, and blue. This magnificent bird was said to be unique, no other bird being alive at the same time. It was said variously to inhabit the regions of Persia, India, Arabia, or Ethiopia where it existed on the finest of aromas. The first accounts of the PHOENIX come from the Greek writer Herodotus (485-425 B.C.), who related that as one bird died after 500 years of life another took took it to the temple of the sun at Heliopolis for burial. However, Ovid (43 B.C.-A.D. 17) and Pliny the elder in his Historia Natruralis (A.D. 77) suggested that the living PHOENIX constructed a nest of spices, upon which it incinerated itself. From this a sort of maggot emerged, which then developed into the progeny that took the ashes of the former bird in the nest to Helopolis. A later version stated that the PHOENIX constructed its nest of spices and sang to the sun god, who filled it with fire, consuming the bird. From the ashes an entirely mature PHOENIX emerged, taking the ashes to the alter at Heliopolis. Within the legends and traditions of Greece and Rome, the PHOENIX was a symbol of immortality and was portrayed on Funerary furnishings.

Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth

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Folklore of China

This is the name of a fabulous fish in the traditions and folklore of China. The name was translated by the medieval European writer Guillaume Rondelet as "sea Buddhist priest". This was described, in The Book of Sea Fishes by Rondelet, as a type of MERMAN or "Monk Fish". It was described as a fish except that it had the tonsure like a monk and a scaly type of hood and cloak beneath which extends it's fish's tail. This great sea monster was so belligerent that it would attack fully manned junks in the sea and completely overturn them, drowning all on board. The stench of burning feathers or a ritual dance by a member of the crew might avert disaster.

Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth

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Religious Mythology
A type of Giant

This is the name of a GIANT in the Hebrew scriptures and texts of the Jewish Religion. PALET was mentioned by the prophet and leader MOSES as being a GIANT that had survived the flood with NOAH and was now living in Syria. The GIANT is referred to in other texts as OG of BASHAN.

Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth

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Religious Mythology
A type of Giant

This is the name of a race of GIANTS mentioned in the Hebrew scriptures and the Old Testament as inhabiting the Hebron Valley in the land of Canaan before the flood in which all but NOAH and his family perished. These biblical GIANTS were described in the book of Genesis as so vast that when humans saw them they were terrified and felt themselves in comparison to be the size of mere grasshoppers. The NEPILIM were said to be the sons of ANAK and may also be referred to as the ANAKIM.

Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth

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Greek Mythology
Roman Mythology

This is the name of monstrous twins in the classical mythology of Greece and Rome. The MOLIONIDS, also known as the ACTORDAE, or ACTORIONE, were said to be the sons of MOLIONE by ACTOR or the sea-god POSEIDON/NEPTUNE. They were hatched from a silver egg. In earlier legends they were two separate beings named CTEATUS and EURYTUS. However in later myths they were described as having a single body from which two heads, four ams, and four legs emerged. The MOLIONIDS joined their uncle, AUGEAS, in his war with the hero HERCULES/HERACLES and were killed by him at Cleonae.

Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth

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Greek Mythology
Roman Mythology

This is the name of one of the monstrous twins known as MOLIONIDS in the classical mythology of Greece and Rome. The MOILONIDS, also known as the ACTORIDAE, or ACTORIONE, were said to be the sons of MOLIONE by either ACTOR or the sea-god POSEIDON/NEPTUNE, depending on the account. According to earlier legends, their names were CTEATUS and EURYTUS, who were hatched from a silver egg.

Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth

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Greek Mythology
Roman Mythology

This is the name of a class of hybrid beings in the classical mythology of Greece and Rome whose description was developed in later travelers' tales and bestiaries of medieval Europe. CENTAURS, also spelled KENTAURE or KENTAUROS, are described as having the body and hind quarters of a horse but the head and torso of a man. These beings were variously said to have been engendered from the union of the queen of the gods HERA/JUNO with IXION or from that of CENTAURUS (son of APOLLO) and the STIBIA (the Mares of Magnetism). They were also said to inhabit the mountains at Erymanthus in Thessaly or the countryside of Clyon. For the most part the CENTAURS were kind, hospitable, sporting, generous, and wise. However, they had some faults that proved their downfall on many an occasion, such as being bawdy and quick to fight, and having no tolerance for alcohol, which made them aggressively drunk.

Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth

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Scottish Folklore

This is a monster that was not defined clearly but was described as being of considerable size and inhabiting the depths of Loch Awe in the Highlands of Scotland. This enormous being had considerable strength and could be heard in winter breaking the ice on the surface of the loch as it rose from the bottom.

Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth

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Scottish Folklore

This is the name of a supernatural monster in the traditions and folklore of the Isle of Skye in the Herbridean Islands off the coast of Scotland. The BIASD BHEULACH, which haunted the locality of Ordail Pass, usually manifested as a grotesque man with only one leg, although it was sometimes described as a monstrous beast or huge greyhound. At night it could be heard howling and shrieking, causing terror to all who heard it or needed to travel through the pass. One morning, a workman was found dead with horrifying wounds to both his leg and side, but after this, the BIASD BHEULACH never reappeared.

Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth

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Ancient Sumerian Mythology

This is the name of a monstrous bull in the mythology of ancient Sumer. GUDANNA was described as a vast creature with such poisonous breath that it was capable of killing over two hundred warriors at a time. It was created by the great god ANU at the behest of the goddess ISHTAR to wreak vengeance on the hero GILGAMESH for refusing her advances. GILGAMESH, with the help of his friend ENKIDU, managed to slaughter and dismember GUDANNA. This so enraged the god that ERKIDU was slain in revenge.

Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth

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Tracks of Russian mystery creature

I know I don't typically post just links but this is a resent post about possible YETI footprints found in Russia. I can't tell if they are faked or not, that is left to you the viewer to decide. I just thought I would share it with you and give you the ability to make your own choice.

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African Folklore

This is the name of a gigantic malicious being in the legends and beliefs of the Khoisin people of South Africa. This monster would not let any human pass by unless they performed the challenge of throwing a stone at him on the edge of the pit to make him fall in. What the reluctant travelers did not know was that the stone would boomerang and instead cast the thrower into the pit. Thus GA-GORIB disposed of everyone who attempted to cross his territory. However, the hero HEITSI-EIBIB, who had a special magical birth, passed through the territory and was similarly challenged. He refused to rise to the challenge and engaged the monstrous GA-GORIB in distracting chatter and then quickly threw his stone. The challenger was caught off guard and tumbled into his own pit.

Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth

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Folklore of Chile
Could be a Giant Squid

This is a giant water monster in the folklore of the people of Chile. The CUERO, whose name means "hide" in spanish, was said to have been derived from the hide of a donkey that fell into the river, unfolded, came alive and then engulfed every other living thing that came it's way. It is a described as a flat extended skin like a cow's hide, either with eyes around the perimeter or on top where a head would have been or with eyes on the ends of tentacles that are variously described as having claws. This creature lures and sucks unwary humans down into the eddies of the water, where it folds around there bodies and consumes them. It has also been said to climb out onto the land where it lies in the sun, and it's return to the water, according to legend, is the cause of violent winds. There has been some speculation that it could have been some form of giant squid.

Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth

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Folklore of Chiloc, Chile

This is the name of a giant seagoing monster in the folklore of the people of Chiloc, Chile. The MANTA is said to be the sea-water equivalent of the CUERO. It is described as flat, extended skin, like a cow's hide, with eyes around the perimeter, four more on top, where a head would have been, and tentacles and tail with claws. This creature comes to the surface, where it lures and sucks unwary humans swimming there down under the water, where it enfolds their bodies and consumes them. The creature has been known to climb out onto the land, where it lies in the sun, but its return was said to be the cause of violent gales. The fishermen of Chiloc were naturally terrified of the creature and would leave the fishing grounds if a MANTA were seen. There has been some speculation that it could have been some form of giant squid.

Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth

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European Folklore

This is the name of a monstrous type of serpent in the legends and folklore of the North of England. This is the tale of a beautiful young woman turned into a gigantic serpent by a curse. The LAIDLEY WORM became the terror of the region. But she was set free from her hideous and terrifying form by the kiss of a young man.

Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth

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Greek Mythology
Roman Mythology
(2) Spanish and French Mermaid

Two characters bear this name:

(1) This is the name of a female supernatural monster in the classical mythology of Greece and Rome. The LAMIA was said to exist in the northern African deserts. She was described as being like that of a woman to the waist, but there after the body of a serpent, though she was able to assume the shape of a completely beautiful woman. There are a number of traditions concerning her origin. THe most usual is that she was a Lybian Queen loved by the king of the gods ZEUS/JUPITER. He had hid her from his consort, HERA, in a fabulous cavern in Africa and, to protect her, empowered LAMIA to remove her eyes and leave them to keep watch while she slept. However, ZEUS/JUPITER'S Queen, HERA/JUNO, found and transformed LAMIA into her hideous appearance, then took her children and destroyed them. Henceforth, LAMIA seeks and destroys men and children whenever she can entice them. Later on, her legend was associated with the EMPUSAE, the VAMPIRES of the ancient world, spawning with a horrible tribe of offspring known as the LAMYA, LAMIE, or LAMYE. From this earlier legend, used over a thousand years ago as a nursery bogie for Roman children, the tradition developed to the LAMIA described by Burton in The Anatomy of Melancholy (1621) and Keats's Lamia (1780) of the amorous sorceress, or SUCCUBUS.

In more modern times she has survived in the dual form of the demonologists' VAMPIRE or nightmare or the malignant melancholy FAIRY ROAD DEMON of modern Greek folklore.

(2) The LAMIA is a MERMAID of entirely benevolent nature in the folklore of the Basque people of Southern France and Northwestern Spain.

Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth

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Mythology of Mesopotamia

This is the name of a primordial monster in the mythology of ancient Mesopotamia. LAKHMU, together with a similar monster, was created by APSU'S union with the monstrous TIAMAT. LUKHMU and LAKHAMUS'S progeny are the first gods known as IGIGI, ANU, and ANUNNAKI, who immediately threatened the power of TIAMAT and APSU. In the battles that follow all monstrous beings, including LAKHMU and LAKHAMU, are destroyed by MARDUK, the great SON GOD.

Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth

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Folklore of Europe

In the folklore of this district of Cumberland in the northwest of England, a story is told of the disappearance of a peddler in the nineteenth century. This coincided with the appearance of the monstrous BLACK DOG, considered to be a type of BOGIE beast that terrorized and attacked travelers in the district at night. The local people connected the incidents, and when the peddler's body was found and interred in the churchyard, the BLACK DOG was no longer reported. The horrific injuries that it had inflicted on it's victims at last started to heal.

Source: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth

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Mythology of China
King of the Dragon Kings

This is the name of one of the four great DRAGON KINGS in the mythology and beliefs of ancient China. AO KUANG is the king of these DRAGON KINGS; the other tree are AO CHIN, AO JUN, and AO SHUN. Together they control a region of the seas and earth under the direction of the AUGUST PERSONAGE of JADE. They are responsible for the distribution of the rains and the waters in their own regions of the earth as well as in the seas. They are attended by crayfish, lobsters, and crabs as guards, and by scaly fish as servants, in their ocean palaces of crystal and pearl. When droughts or floods occur on the earth, the humans in the region petition their DRAGON KING to intercede with the AUGUST PERSONAGE OF JADE to rectify the water problem. If there is no response, an effigy of the regional DRAGON KING is left exposed in the roadside to wake him up by humiliation. AO KAUNG was succeeded in the status of king by this son AO PING.<