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.

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

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European Folklore
Tibetan Folklore
Folklore of Tibet

This is a popular European name for the YETI, or ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN, of the Himalayan mountain region of Tibet and Nepal. The concept of this elusive giant hairy humanoid existing in the mountains was first made popular in Europe by members of Shipton's Everest expedition of 1951; and later Hillary-Tensing conquest party also reported evidence. The name ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN implies a humanoid shape, and, indeed, enormous tracks resembling those of a giant anthropoid have been photographed by European climbing in the region. While others are skeptical about the authenticity of such evidence, there exists a definite mythology of the indigenous people for the more bear like YETI.

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

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Geek Mythology
Roman Mythology

This is the name of a fierce predatory monster of the sea in the classical mythology of Greece and Rome. It was described as having the head of a dog, similar to as greyhound, on an enormous bloated body resembling that of a whale or dolphin, with a tail divided into two huge fan-like extensions. According to different sources, this monster had been created either by the king of the gods ZEUS/JUPITER or by the sea-god POSEIDON/NEPTUNE for the purpose of destroying the Andromeda, daughter of QUEEN CASSIOPEIA. The Queen had bragged about her daughter's beauty her more favorably than the goddess and sea nymphs. This so angered the gods that CASSIOPEIA was compelled to chain her daughter to a rocky promontory to await her death in the monster's jaws. Luckily, the hero PERSEUS came by with newly chopped head of the GORGON MEDUSA, and turned CETUS to stone. ANDROMEDA was thus rescued and became the wife of her hero.

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

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Folklore of Ireland

This is the name of a monstrous humanoid in the legends and traditions of Ireland. The FER CAILLE, whose name may be translated as the "Man of the Woods", is described as being huge-looking like a man but having only one eye in his head, one hand, and one foot. He is evidently not restricted by this, since he is occupied with controlling the great herds of beasts and frequently seen carrying a huge black pig over his shoulder and followed by an extraordinarily ugly hag. It is in the Togul Bruidne Da Derga , the epic of Destruction of the Hostel Da Derga that we are told how FER CAILLE waylays the hero CONAIRE on his way to Da Derga.

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

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Norse Mythology
Scandinavian Mythology

This is the name of a monstrous dog in the Norse Mythology of Scandinavia. GARM is the hound of Hell described as a vast, four-eyed, blood spattered, beast that inhabits the cavern of Gripa at the gates to Niflheim. There he stands guard, allowing none out and snarling at those whose miserliness in life prevented them from being kind to the poor. GARM will howl to all at the beginning of RAGNAROK and at the end of the battle, when only he and the one-handed god TYR are left; each will be slaughtered by the other.

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

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Celtic Mythology

This is a supernatural monstrous woman in Celtic mythology and folklore. She is much like MELUSINE of French legend in that she is part woman and part dragon. She has the ability to confer progeny for previous barren couples who treat her well but curses those who don't.

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

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A type of WereWolf

This is a type of WEREWOLF in the legends and folk beliefs of the people of Paraguay as well as many peoples of the Amazon Basin. The JAGUAR-MEN are in normal life quite indistinguishable from any other, but at night they use sorcerers' powers to enable them to stalk their human prey as jaguars.

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

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English Folklore
Created by Lewis Carroll
In a Poem from "Alice Through the Looking Glass"

This is the name of a monstrous creature in the classic work of English academic and author Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, 1832-1898), entitled Through the Looking Glass. The beast appears not in reality but in a poem within a book that Alice sees and decides to read. As she is through the looking glass, the writing is reversed, but when viewed properly the words are still rather incomprehensible. Thus when Tenniel, the artist commissioned for the publication, created his image of the JABBERWOCK, that too was based on conjuncture. The first verse of the poem itself was created by Dodgeson as an exercise in pseudo-Anglo-Saxon verse and written into the family magazine the he had produced. The later verses give something of a description as follows

"Beware the JABBERWOCK, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!"

And

The JABBERWOCK, with eyes aflame,
Came whiffling through the tugley wood,
And burbled as it came!

But this is as far as the image is relayed before the thing is despatched by the "vorpal blade". Tenniel's image, however, shows us a monstrous pseudo-dragon with bat wings, gigantic, spider-like eagle's talons, and a vast dragon's tail stretching into the wood from which he emerged. The head was something of an evil humanoid with globular eyes, huge incisors, whiskers, and sinuous horn protrusions. There is a sense of the ridiculous, however, as the vast, scaly body sports a waistcoat! This image was considered too terrifying for it's original place in the volume as its frontispiece and was placed instead in the text of the book.

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

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American Folklore
Folklore of the Lumberjacks of Wisconsin and Minnesota
A Cannibal, Never Seen

This is a creature from the folklore of lumberjacks and forest workers, especially in Wisconsin and Minnesota in the United States, during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The HIDEBEHIND belongs to a group of beings affectionately known as Fearsome Critters, whose exaggerated proportions activities not only explained the weird noises of the lonely landscape but also provided some amusement at camps. This monster was able to hide around the trunks of trees or behind the huge piles of logs. It was so fast the no matter how swiftly the person turned after hearing it, it was still able to get behind them. The HIDEBEHIND was a predatory cannibal beast that lurked around the loggers' camps until one was alone long enough to be grabbed and carried away to be consumed. The HIDEBEHIND was described as a huge, strong beast, but because it was never seen by those still alive no real description exists.

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

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Scottish Folklore
Ancient Sea Creature

This is the name of a lake monster in the legends and folklore of Scotland. It is possibly one of the most famous and enigmatic mysteries in the world concerning this type of monster. Although there has never been a clear image, the description has usually been of a huge body, often serpentine, with humps or undulations out of the water, which stretch for some considerable length, up to 30 feet. The head has been described as like that of a dragon, or a serpent's head over a long, sinuous neck. As the monster moves in the water, the head is held erect and the neck creates a bow wave that extends in a great V shape, even in perfectly still conditions. The monster inhabits Loch Ness, from which it takes it's name, but is almost affectionately called "Nessy" or "Nessie". Loch Ness is an inland channel of about 755 feet in depth and some 23 miles long, connected to the North Sea and the Atlantic at either end by fresh water rivers.

Reports of sightings of the monster are ancient. The first recorded sighting was in the time of the Celtic saints, from ca. A.D. 690 in a hagiography by Adamanans of Saint Columcille (Saint Columbia, ca. 521-597). Sightings of the Loch Ness Monster did not reach the public very frequently until the advent of the road running the length of the Loch. Then, in 1933 a number of people monitoring down the road saw the monster and described it independently, which was reported widely in the press. In 1940 the legend was somewhat jokingly exploited in the "Detective Weekly" with a "Sexton Blake" mystery that "uncovered" a Nazi submarine conspiracy. This theme was taken up in the United Artist Film, "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes" supposedly set in 1887 and investigating German submarines. Curiously, during the filming the model Nessie sank unexpectedly to the bottom of the Loch without a trace.

Periodic sightings, photographs, and underwater investigations have taken place over the last 30 years, with little evidence to support or refute the theories concerning the survival of an ancient species.

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

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Irish Folklore
A Sea Creature

This is the name of a huge water monster in the traditions and legends of Ireland, the PEISTE is described as a type of amphibious "worm" or Dragon, recorded in early times and said to have been defeated by Saint Patrick. I recent sighting, by a group of friends on an outing, took place in Lough Fadda in the west of Ireland in 1954, and the folk beliefs still clearly lives on.

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

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Canadian Folklore
Native American Folklore

This is the name of a monstrous being in the legends of the PEIGAN NATIVE AMERICAN people of Canada. The story relates how a SIOUX wife named Onwi-Menocha, meaning "Moon Woman", was made to preform the "dance of secret loves" when he suspected her odd disappearances. From her green body paint and the writhings of her performance it was assumed that her lover was a forest serpent. Her death was demanded immediately, but she disappeared before this could be accomplished. The husband was assured by her in visions that she was indeed with the GREAT SERPENT OF HELL but would still protect his hunting.

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

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Greek Mythology
Roman Mythology

This is a monstrous bird in the classical mythology of Greece and Rome. It was the offspring of the monstrous ECHIDNE and the monster TYPHON and was to be the instrument of torture of PROMETHEUS. Everyday the terrible bird feasted on the liver of the immortal PROMETHEUS, and every evening, because he was immortal, the liver regrew, and the process of his agony was thus repeated. This is, until the advent of the hero HERCULES /
HERACLES, who killed it by shooting it in flight with an arrow. In modern times the VULTURE, Gryps Fulvus, has been named after this mythological monster.

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

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Egyptian Mythology
Guardian of the soul of AMUN

This is the name of a type of SPHINX in the mythology and art of Egypt. It is portrayed as having the head of a ram with huge horns and the body of a lion, and is usually depicted lying down with head erect in a guardian position. The CRIOSPHINX was regarded as the guardian of the soul of AMUN and the symbol of silence.

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

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Greek Mythology
Roman Mythology
Part Human part Bull

This is the name of a humanoid monster in the classical mythology of Greece and Rome. The MINOTAUR, which means "Bull of MINOS,"was described as having the body of a man but the monstrous head of huge bull. It was said to be kept in the deep Labyrinth beneath the palace of Knossos in the island of Crete during the reign of King Minos. The legend relates how King Minos had been sent the Cretan Bull to make a sacrifice to the gods but substituted one of his inferior mortal bulls. In punishment, the gods made his wife love the Cretan Bull, and the MINOTAUR was their hideous offspring, whose name is variously given as ASERION or ASTERIUS. Not able to dispose of this semi-supernatural being, the king ordered DAEDALUS to construct a labyrinth in which it was to be housed and fed. this monster was a cannibal, and KING MINOS took his tribute from other lands in the youth of their people to feed the MINOTAUR. Then the hero THESEUS was sent to the island, having taken the place of one of the tribute prisoners. With the aid of a ball of string given to him by the king's daughter, ARIADNE, he was able to kill the MINOTAUR and retrace his way to escape from the labyrinth.

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

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European Mythology
Scottish Mythology
Female Version of Merman/ Half Fish Half Humanoid

This is the name of a female water being in the form of a beautiful young woman from the head to the waist, and the rest of her body being like the tail of a huge fish. MERMAIDS have been a part of folklore and mythology of maritime and freshwater cultures since ancient times. The derivation of the English name means both "sea" and "lake" maiden, however there are many different regional names in the British Isles, such as BEN VARREY, CEASG, CLYRTIE, GWENHIDWY, LIBAN,MARI MORGAN, MERROW, ROANE, and SELKIE.

The MERMAIDS are often seen as sitting on rocks holding a mirror and combing their long hair whilst singing and enticing curious sailors to come closer to the dangerous rocks. It is the singing that allies them to the SIRENS, luring sailors to their doom. Even the ancient accounts, as well as the more modern ones, mention the appearance of these supernaturals in conjunction with misfortune and disaster, although they can be benevolent. In regional tales from Scotland, Wales, and Cornwall England, when rescued they have given humans the knowledge of herbal cures for fatal sickness, other rich gifts, and warnings of storms. They may marry with humans, their offspring having webbed feet and fingers, but they usually return to their watery world, where their consorts are called MERMEN.

During the period in Europe the MERMAID was considered to be an agent of the devil and a symbol of deceit. She was often depicted on church furniture holding a fish, which symbolized the entrapment of of the soul of the Christian drawn to sin by charms and flattery. In later periods through to today, the image of the MERMAID is frequently to be seen in the coats of arms of Europe and is part of the repertoire of heraldry.

There is a rich tradition of folk-tales and songs about MERMAIDS from other cultures all around the world, such as the BONITO MAIDENS of the Solomon Islands; the Saivo-Neita and Havfrue of Scandinavia; the NAKINNEITO of Finland and the Nakineiu of Estonia; the IMANJA and JAMANIA from Brazil; LA SARENA from Spain; the HALFWAY PEOPLE of the Micmac of Canada; MARGYGRG of Greenland; and the NIGYO from Japan.

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

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Canadian Folklore
Resembling Mermaids

According to the legends and traditions of the Micmac people of eastern Canada, these are sea humanoids resembling the MERMAIDS of European legend. The HALFWAY PEOPLE are so called because they have the upper body resembling humans and the lower body of an enormous fish. Unlike their European counterparts, when the HALFWAY PEOPLE sang it was to warn the local fishfolk that a storm was coming. Whilever they were treated with respect, these beings would be benign, but should any human be disrespectful, then they would invoke storms and such turbulence that the fisherman would be drowned.

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 primordial GIANTS in the classical mythology of Greece and Rome. The TITANS were the progeny of URANUS and GAIA and originally were twelve in number: six sons named COEUS/KOIOS, CRIUS/KREIOS/CREIUS, HYPERION, JEPETUS/IAPETUS, and OKEANUS/OCEANUS; and six daughters, known as the TITANIDES, named MNEMOSYNE, PHOEBE/PHIOBE, RHEA/RHEIA, TETHYS, THEIA, and THEMIS. Their names and number varied, including EURIBIA/EURIBIE, CLYMENE/KLYMENE, and DIONE during the classical period, but the Italian poet Boccaio (1313-1375) mentions others who, in the classical period, were not counted as TITANS but as other classes of GIANT, including BRAREUS, TYPHON, TYPHEUS, ENCELADUS, ENCELADUS, EGON, ATLAS, ASTREUS, and ALOUS. These GIANTS were the siblings of the FURIES, THE CYCLOPES, and the HUNDRED-HANDED-GIANTS. The TITANS were so ugly that URANUS, their father, threw them into TARTARUS, or the belly of GAIA in some accounts.

The TITANS rebelled against their father, URANUS, and CRONUS took a sickle and castrated him. CRONUS, however, knew that one of his children would also rebel against him and he so set out to devour each one as it emerged. However, the last, ZEUS, was hidden by his mother RHEA, who persuaded CRONUS to vomit up the other children, the OLYMPIAN GODS, who waged a war against the TITANS and eventually threw them into Tartarus.

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

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