See also
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This article includes a fiction-related list of lists.
The following is a list of lists of legendary creatures, beings and entities from the folklore record. Entries consist of legendary and unique creatures, not of particularly unique individuals of a commonly known species.
Cryptozoology is a pseudoscience and subculture that searches for and studies unknown, legendary, or extinct animals whose present existence is disputed or unsubstantiated, particularly those popular in folklore, such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, Yeti, the chupacabra, the Jersey Devil, or the Mokele-mbembe. Cryptozoologists refer to these entities as cryptids, a term coined by the subculture. Because it does not follow the scientific method, cryptozoology is considered a pseudoscience by mainstream science: it is neither a branch of zoology nor of folklore studies. It was originally founded in the 1950s by zoologists Bernard Heuvelmans and Ivan T. Sanderson.
A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude. Legend, for its active and passive participants, may include miracles. Legends may be transformed over time to keep them fresh and vital.
A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive, with a strange or grotesque appearance that causes terror and fear, often in humans. Monsters usually resemble bizarre, deformed, otherworldly and/or mutated animals or entirely unique creatures of varying sizes, but may also take a human form, such as mutants, ghosts, spirits, zombies, or cannibals, among other things. They may or may not have supernatural powers, but are usually capable of killing or causing some form of destruction, threatening the social or moral order of the human world in the process.
Yōkai are a class of supernatural entities and spirits in Japanese folklore. The word yōkai is composed of two kanji characters that both mean "suspicious, doubtful", and while it is regarded as deriving from the Chinese term yaoguai and involves similarly strange creatures, some Japanese commentators argue that the word yōkai has taken on multiple different meanings particular to a Japanese context, including a large number of uniquely Japanese creatures.
Creature often refers to:
Nordic folklore is the folklore of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. It has common roots with, and has been under mutual influence with, folklore in England, Germany, the Low Countries, the Baltic countries, Finland and Sápmi. Folklore is a concept encompassing expressive traditions of a particular culture or group. The peoples of Scandinavia are heterogenous, as are the oral genres and material culture that has been common in their lands. However, there are some commonalities across Scandinavian folkloric traditions, among them a common ground in elements from Norse mythology as well as Christian conceptions of the world.
There are a number of lists of fictional species:
Iranian mythology, or Persian mythology in western term, is the body of the myths originally told by ancient Persians and other Iranian peoples and a genre of ancient Persian folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities of deities, heroes, and mythological creatures, and the origins and significance of the ancient Persians' own cult and ritual practices. Modern scholars study the myths to shed light on the religious and political institutions of not only Iran but of the Persosphere, which includes regions of West Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, and Transcaucasia where the culture of Iran has had significant influence. Historically, these were regions long ruled by dynasties of various Iranian empires, that incorporated considerable aspects of Persian culture through extensive contact with them, or where sufficient Iranian peoples settled to still maintain communities who patronize their respective cultures. It roughly corresponds to the Iranian Plateau and its bordering plains.
The Curupira is a mythological creature present in the Tupi-Guarani myths in the Amazon rainforest of Brazil.
Chaneque, Chanekeh, or Ohuican Chaneque, as they were called by the Aztecs, are legendary creatures in Mexican folklore, meaning "those who inhabit dangerous places" or "owners of the house" in Náhuatl. These small, sprite-like beings hold a connection to elemental forces and are regarded as guardians of nature. Comparable mythical beings are found across Mesoamerican and Latin American folklore, often referred to as "duende" in Spanish. Within Yucatec Mayan folklore, the Yucatán Peninsula's tradition identifies similar elemental entities as "aluxob".
Magical creature, magical beast, or magical animal may refer to:
Colombian folklore are beliefs, customs and cultural traditions in Colombia.
Mythic humanoids are legendary, folkloric, or mythological creatures that are part human, or that resemble humans through appearance or character. Each culture has different mythical creatures that come from many different origins, and many of these creatures are humanoids. They are often able to talk and in many stories they guide the hero on their journey.
A legendary creature is a type of fantasy entity, typically a hybrid, that has not been proven and that is described in folklore, but may be featured in historical accounts before modernity.
The Aeternae were a race of legendary creatures described in the travels of Alexander the Great. As Alexander's army passed northern Indian plains, they supposedly encountered the Aeternae, who killed some of Alexander's men. The Aeternae were described as killing and wounding enemies with "bony, saw-toothed protuberances sprouting from their heads."
An Irshi is a type of mythical being or legendary fairy-like creature in Turkic folklore, a form of spirit, often described as supernatural or preternatural.
Gwragedd Annwn, alternatively known as Dames of the Lower Region, Dames of Elfin Land, or Wives of the Lower World, are beautiful female fairies who live beneath lakes and rivers found in Welsh folklore. They are counted among the Tylwyth Teg or Welsh fairy folk.The mythological narrative of Gwragedd Annwn is intertwined with the origin of the Welsh black cattle. Some legends hold that the existence of the Gwragedd Annwn was owed to the famed Saint Patrick. Occasionally, the fairies were said to ascend into the upper world, and be visible to ordinary people.