List of legendary creatures (M)

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Contemporary poster of a "serpent priestess" painted in Hamburg by German artist Schleisinger, c. 1926, now displayed in shrines as a popular image of Mami Wata in Africa and in the diaspora. Mami Wata poster.png
Contemporary poster of a "serpent priestess" painted in Hamburg by German artist Schleisinger, c.1926, now displayed in shrines as a popular image of Mami Wata in Africa and in the diaspora.
  1. Maa-alused (Estonian) – Subterranean spirit
  2. Machlyes (Medieval bestiaries) – Hermaphroditic humanoid
  3. Macrocephali (Medieval bestiaries) – Giant-headed humanoid
  4. Madam Koi Koi (West African Mythology ) – Female ghost
  5. Madremonte (Colombian folklore) – Nature guardian
  6. Maenad
  7. Maero (Māori) – Savage, arboreal humanoids
  8. Magog (English folklore) – Giant protector of London
  9. Mahaha – Undead humanoids with long, claw-like fingernails
  10. Maha-pudma (Hindu) – Giant elephant that holds up the world
  11. Mahuika (Māori) - Māori fire goddess
  12. Mairu (Basque) – Megalith-building giant
  13. Mājas gari (Latvian) – Benevolent house spirit
  14. Majitu – in Swahili mythology, shape-shifting spirits that can pass as humans
  15. Makara (Indian mythology) – Aquatic beings
  16. Makura-gaeshi (Japanese mythology) – Pillow-moving spirit
  17. Mallt-y-Nos (Welsh) – Spirit of the hunt
  18. Mami Wata (Africa and the African diaspora) – Supernaturally beautiful water spirits
  19. Mamuna (Slavic) – Demoness or fairy
  20. Manananggal (Philippine) – Vampires that sever their torsos from their legs to fly around
  21. Mandi (Medieval bestiaries) – Humanoid with a forty-year lifespan
  22. Mandrake (Medieval folklore) – Diminutive humanoid plant
  23. Manes (Roman) – Ancestral spirits
  24. Mannegishi (Cree) – Little people with six fingers and no noses
  25. Manticore (Persian) – Lion-human-scorpion hybrid
  26. Mapinguari (Brazilian) – Giant sloth
  27. Mara (Scandinavian folklore) – Female night-demon
  28. Marabbecca (Italian folklore) – Malevolent water spirit
  29. Mare (Germanic and Slavic folklore) – Malicious entity which causes or appears in bad dreams
  30. Mareikura (Tuamotu) – Attendant of Kiho-tumu, the supreme god
  31. Mares of Diomedes (Greek) – Man-eating horses
  32. Marid (Arabian) – Jinn-associated fortune tellers
  33. Marmennill (Norse) – Mermen with prophetic abilities
  34. Maro deivės (Lithuanian) – Disease spirits
  35. Marozi (Kenya) – Lion-leopard hybrid
  36. Maski-mon-gwe-zo-os (Abenaki) – Shapeshifting toad spirit
  37. Matagot (French) – Spirit that takes animal form, usually that of a black cat
  38. Matsya (Hindu) – First Avatar of Vishnu in the form of a half-fish and half-man
  39. Mavka (Slavic) – Female forest spirit
  40. Mayura (Hindu) – Peacock spirit
  41. Mazzikin (Jewish) – Invisible, malevolent spirit
  42. Mbói Tu'ĩ (Guaraní) – Snake-parrot hybrid
  43. Mbwiri (Central Africa) – Possessing demon
  44. Medusa (Greek) – Female human-serpent hybrid (Gorgon) with numerous snake heads
  45. Melek Taus (Yazidi) – Divine bird
  46. Meliae (Greek) – Ash tree nymph
  47. Melusine (Medieval folklore) – Female water spirit, with the form of a winged mermaid or serpent
  48. Menehune (Hawaiian) – Little people and craftsmen
  49. Menninkäinen (Finnish) – Little people and nature spirits
  50. Menreiki (Japanese) – Spiritual creature formed from 66 gigaku masks
  51. Mephistopheles (German) – Demon or devil
  52. Merlion (Singapore) – Lion-fish hybrid; the symbol of Singapore
  53. Mermaid/Merman (multiple cultures) – Human-fish hybrid
  54. Merlin (English) – Elderly wizard
  55. Merrow (Irish and Scottish) – Human-fish hybrid
  56. Metee-kolen-ol (Abenaki) – Ice-hearted wizards
  57. Mimi (Australian Aboriginal) – Extremely elongated humanoid that has to live in rock crevasses to avoid blowing away
  58. Minka Bird (Australian Aboriginal) – Death spirit
  59. Minokawa (Philippine) – Giant swallow
  60. Min Min Light (Australian) – Mysterious light phenomenon
  61. Minotaur (Greek) – Human-bull hybrid
  62. Mintuci (Ainu) – Water spirit
  63. Mishibizhiw (Ojibwa) – Feline water spirit
  64. Misi-ginebig (Ojibwa) – Serpentine rain spirit
  65. Misi-kinepikw (Cree) – Serpentine rain spirit
  66. Mizuchi (Japanese) – Water dragon
  67. Mogwai (Chinese) – Vengeful ghost or demon
  68. Mohan (Latin American folklore) – Nature spirit
  69. Moirai (Greek) – Three fates
  70. Mokèlé-mbèmbé (Congo) – Water-dwelling creature
  71. Mokoi (Australian Aboriginal) – Malevolent spirit that kills sorcerers
  72. Mokorea (Polynesian) – Amphibious humanoid living in the spirit world (underground world)
  73. Moñái (Guaraní) – Giant snake with antennae
  74. Mondao (Zimbabwean folklore) – Mermaids/water spirits with long black hair, blood-red eyes, pale skin, and sharp teeth
  75. Monocerus (Medieval bestiaries) – One-horned stag-horse-elephant-boar hybrid, sometimes treated as distinct from the unicorn
  76. Mono Grande (South America) – Giant monkey
  77. Monopod (Medieval bestiaries) – Dwarf with one giant foot
  78. Mooinjer veggey (Manx folklore) – Nature spirit
  79. Moon rabbit (Far Eastern folklore) – Legendary animal
  80. Mora (Slavic) – Disembodied spirit
  81. Morena (Slavic) – Winter spirit
  82. Morgens (Breton and Welsh) – Water spirits
  83. Morinji-no-okama (Japanese) – Animated tea kettle
  84. Mormolykeia (Greek) – Underworld spirit
  85. Moroi (Romanian) – Vampiric ghost
  86. Mo-sin-a (Taiwanese folklore) – Mountain demon
  87. Moss people (Continental Germanic mythology) – Little people and tree spirits
  88. Mothman (American folklore) – Large grey winged humanoid with glowing red eyes
  89. Mugwump (Canadian folklore) – Fish-like lake monster
  90. Mujina (Japanese) – Shapeshifting badger spirit
  91. Muldjewangk (Australian Aboriginal) – Water monster
  92. Multo (Philippine) – Spirit of a deceased person seeking justice or with unfinished business
  93. Mummy (Egyptian) – Undead creature who revives
  94. Muma Pădurii (Romanian folklore) – Forest-dwelling hag
  95. Mungoon-Gali (Australian Aboriginal) – Giant goanna
  96. Muscaliet (Medieval bestiaries) – Hare-squirrel-boar hybrid that has an intense body heat
  97. Muse (Greek) – Spirits that inspire artists
  98. Mushusshu (Mesopotamian) – Hybrid beast with long neck and eagle talons
  99. Musimon (Heraldic) – Sheep-goat hybrid
  100. Myling (Scandinavian folklore) – Ghosts of unbaptized children
  101. Myrmecoleon (Medieval bestiaries) – Ant-lion hybrid

References for M

  1. Jell-Bahlsen 1997, p. 105
  2. Chesi 1997, p. 255