A monster is often a type of grotesque creature, whose appearance frightens and whose powers of destruction threaten the human world's social or moral order.
The Horned Serpent appears in the mythologies of many Native Americans. Details vary among tribes, with many of the stories associating the mystical figure with water, rain, lightning and thunder. Horned Serpents were major components of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex of North American prehistory.
Choctaw mythology is part of the culture of the Choctaw, a Native American tribe originally occupying a large territory in the present-day Southeastern United States: much of the states of Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana. In the 19th century, the Choctaw were known to European Americans as one of the "Five Civilized Tribes."
Cherokee spiritual beliefs are held in common among the Cherokee people – Native American peoples who are indigenous to the Southeastern Woodlands, and today live primarily in communities in North Carolina, and Oklahoma. Some of the beliefs, and the stories and songs in which they have been preserved, exist in slightly different forms in the different communities in which they have been preserved. But for the most part, they still form a unified system of theology.
The Abenaki people are an indigenous peoples of the Americas located in the Northeastern Woodlands region. Religious ceremonies are led by medicine keepers, called Medeoulin or Mdawinno.
Rakshasa is a supernatural being in Hinduism. As Hinduism influenced other religions, the rakshasa was later incorporated into Buddhism. Rakshasas are also called "man-eaters". A female rakshasa is known as a rakshasi. A female rakshasi in human form is a rakshesha. The terms asura and rakshasa are sometimes used interchangeably.
A kelpie, or water kelpie, is a shape-shifting spirit inhabiting lakes in Scottish folklore. It is a Celtic legend; however, analogues exist in other cultures. It is usually described as a black horse-like creature, able to adopt human form. Some accounts state that the kelpie retains its hooves when appearing as a human, leading to its association with the Christian idea of Satan as alluded to by Robert Burns in his 1786 poem "Address to the Devil".
In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shapeshifting is the ability to physically transform through an inherently superhuman ability, divine intervention, demonic manipulation, sorcery, spells or having inherited the ability. The idea of shapeshifting is in the oldest forms of totemism and shamanism, as well as the oldest existent literature and epic poems such as the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Iliad. The concept remains a common trope in modern fantasy, children's literature and popular culture.
The Bogeyman is a type of mythical creature used by adults to frighten children into good behavior. Bogeymen have no specific appearance, and conceptions vary drastically by household and culture, but they are most commonly depicted as masculine or androgynous monsters that punish children for misbehavior. The Bogeyman or conceptually similar monsters can be found in many cultures around the world. Bogeymen may target a specific act or general misbehaviour, depending on what purpose needs serving, often based on a warning from the child's authority figure. The term "Bogeyman" is sometimes used as a non-specific personification or metonym for terror, and in some cases, the Devil.
Wendigo is a mythological creature or evil spirit which originates from the folklore of Algonquin First Nations tribes based in and around the East Coast forests of Canada, the Great Plains region of the United States, and the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada. The wendigo is often said to be a malevolent spirit, sometimes depicted as a creature with human-like characteristics, which possesses human beings. The wendigo is known to invoke feelings of insatiable greed/hunger, the desire to cannibalize other humans, as well as the propensity to commit murder in those that fall under its influence.
Mermen, the male counterparts of the mythical female mermaids, are legendary creatures, which are male human from the waist up and fish-like from the waist down, but may assume normal human shape. Sometimes they are described as hideous and other times as handsome.
Book of Imaginary Beings was written by Jorge Luis Borges with Margarita Guerrero and published in 1957 under the original Spanish title Manual de zoología fantástica. It was expanded in 1967 and 1969 in Spain to the final El libro de los seres imaginarios. The English edition, created in collaboration with translator Norman Thomas di Giovanni, contains descriptions of 120 mythical beasts from folklore and literature.
Philippine mythology is the body of stories and epics originating from, and part of, the indigenous Philippine folk religions, which include various ethnic faiths distinct from one another. Philippine mythology is incorporated from various sources, having similarities with Indonesian and Malay myths, as well as Hindu, Muslim, Shinto, Buddhist, and Christian traditions, such as the notion of heaven, hell, and the human soul. Philippine mythology attempts to explain the nature of the world through the lives and actions of heroes, deities, and mythological creatures. The majority of these myths were passed on through oral tradition, and preserved through the aid of community spiritual leaders or shamans and community elders. Diwata is recognized as the universal supreme deity who is above all other supreme deities from different religions.
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the mimic is a type of fictional monster. It is portrayed as being able to change its shape to disguise its body as an inanimate object, commonly a chest. The mimic has a powerful adhesive that holds fast to creatures that touch it, allowing the mimic to beat its victims with its powerful pseudopods. The mimic was introduced in the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game's original Monster Manual. The mimic has appeared in subsequent editions. Several variants of the creature have been introduced, with a variety of abilities and sizes.
Sources and influences on the development of Dungeons & Dragons include fantasy fiction, mythology, and wargaming rules, among others.
Ningyo is a fish-like creature from Japanese folklore.
Spearfinger, or U'tlun'ta, is a figure in Cherokee legend that lived along the eastern side of Tennessee and western part of North Carolina. "U'tlun'ta" translates from Cherokee to "the one with pointed spear”, which refers to the sharp finger on her right hand. Sometimes, she was called Nûñ'yunu'ï, which means "Stone-dress". This name is from her stone-like skin.
The Nunnehi are a race of immortal spirit people in Cherokee mythology. In the Cherokee language, Nunnehi literally means "The People Who Live Anywhere", but it is often translated into English as "The People Who Live Forever", or simply "The Immortals". The Cherokee believed the Nunnehi to be a type of supernatural human being, completely distinct from ghosts and nature spirits, as well as from gods. In this sense, the Nunnehi are the Cherokee equivalent of fairies in traditional European folklore. The belief in fairy-like beings is universal among all ethnicities, including all American Indian tribes.
The Raven Mocker, or Kâ'lanû Ahkyeli'skï, is an evil spirit and the most feared of Cherokee witches. According to Cherokee mythology it robs the sick and dying of their heart. Normally appearing as old, withered men and women, or turning completely invisible except to certain medicine men, they take to the air in a fiery shape, with the sounds of a raven's cry and a strong wind as they hunt for their next victim. After tormenting and killing their victim by slitting the victim's head they consume his heart, and add a year to their life for every year that the slain would have still lived. The sound of a raven mocker means that someone in the area will soon die.
Myths of the Cherokee. James Mooney, 1889.
