Overview
The book details strange but apparently "true" encounters with a variety of monsters. The book is divided into eight sections; ranging from wild-men, to bigfoot/sasquatch, through to sea creatures (including Loch Ness Monster), vampires and werewolves.
In North American folklore, Bigfoot or Sasquatch are said to be hairy, upright-walking, ape-like creatures that dwell in the wilderness and leave footprints. Depictions often portray them as a missing link between humans and human-ancestors. They are strongly associated with the Pacific Northwest, and individuals claim to see the creatures across North America. Over the years, these creatures have inspired numerous commercial ventures and hoaxes. The plural nouns 'Bigfoots' and 'Bigfeet' are both acceptable.
In Scottish folklore, the Loch Ness Monster or Nessie is a creature said to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is often described as large in size with a long neck and one or more humps protruding from the water. Popular interest and belief in the creature has varied since it was brought to worldwide attention in 1933. Evidence of its existence is anecdotal, with a few disputed photographs and sonar readings.
A vampire is a being from folklore that subsists by feeding on the vital force of the living. In European folklore, vampires were undead beings that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deaths in the neighborhoods they inhabited while they were alive. They wore shrouds and were often described as bloated and of ruddy or dark countenance, markedly different from today's gaunt, pale vampire which dates from the early 19th century.
Each section opens with an introduction into that particular set of monsters/creatures. Accounts and brief details then follow of supposed encounters, and each account then ends with a fact file. These fact files present a brief analysis of the events in the accounts, and then present miscellaneous related facts from other similar events.
The book is written so as to let the reader decide for themselves whether they believe the events therein to be true or not.
Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi (草薙の剣) is a legendary Japanese sword and one of three Imperial Regalia of Japan. It was originally called Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi , but its name was later changed to the more popular Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi. In folklore, the sword represents the virtue of valor.
Sea monsters are beings from folklore believed to dwell in the sea and often imagined to be of immense size. Marine monsters can take many forms, including sea dragons, sea serpents, or multi-armed beasts. They can be slimy and scaly and are often pictured threatening ships or spouting jets of water. The definition of a "monster" is subjective, and some sea monsters may have been based on scientifically accepted creatures such as whales and types of giant and colossal squid.
The Monster Manual (MM) is the primary bestiary sourcebook for monsters in the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game, first published in 1977 by TSR. It includes monsters derived from mythology and folklore, as well as creatures created specifically for D&D. It describes each with game-specific statistics, and a brief description of its habits and habitats. Most of the entries also have an image of the creature. Along with the Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide, it is one of the three "core rulebooks" in most editions of the D&D game. Several editions of the Monster Manual have been released for each edition of D&D. It was the first hardcover book of the D&D series. Due to the level of detail and illustration included, it was cited as a pivotal example of a new style of wargame books. Future editions would draw on various sources and act as a compendium of published monsters.
The Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting is a role-playing game sourcebook, first published in 1987. It details the Forgotten Realms setting and contains information on characters, locations and history, and sets specific rules for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. The latest edition was published in 2008 by Wizards of the Coast, for use with the 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons rules.
Creature Catalogue is a supplement for Basic Dungeons & Dragons first released in 1986, and updated in 1993.
Joe Nickell is an American prominent skeptic and investigator of the paranormal. He has helped expose such famous forgeries as the purported diary of Jack the Ripper. In 2002 he was one of a number of experts asked by scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. to evaluate the authenticity of the manuscript of Hannah Crafts' The Bondwoman's Narrative (1853–1860), possibly the first novel by an African-American woman. At the request of document dealer and historian, Seth Keller, Nickell analyzed documentation in the dispute over the authorship of "The Night Before Christmas", ultimately supporting the Clement Clarke Moore claim.
In Arkansas folklore, the Fouke Monster is said to have been seen in Fouke in Miller County, Arkansas, during the early 1970s. The creature was accused of attacking a local family. Initial sightings of the creature were concentrated in the Jonesville/Boggy Creek area, where it was blamed for the destruction of local livestock. Later, sightings were made several hundred miles to the north and the east of Fouke.
"Imprisoned with the Pharaohs" is a short story written by American fantasy author H. P. Lovecraft in collaboration with Harry Houdini in February 1924. Commissioned by Weird Tales founder and owner J. C. Henneberger, the narrative tells a fictionalized account in the first-person perspective of an allegedly true experience of escape artist Harry Houdini. Set in 1910, in Egypt, Houdini finds himself kidnapped by a tour guide, who resembles an ancient pharaoh, and thrown down a deep hole near the Great Sphinx of Giza. While attempting to find his way out, he stumbles upon a gigantic ceremonial cavern and encounters the real-life deity that inspired the building of the Sphinx.
Monster Mythology is a sourcebook for the second edition of the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. Released by TSR in 1992 and written by Carl Sargent, with interior illustrations by Terry Dykstra, John and Laura Lakey, and Keith Parkinson, Monster Mythology was released as a companion volume for Legends & Lore. This book contains detailed information on the societies, cultures, myths, and deities of several non-human pantheons, including those of the elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, orcs, goblins, dragons, giants, drow, and many other creatures.
Monster Manual IV is an optional supplemental source book for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game.
The Dresden Files Roleplaying Game is a licensed role-playing game based on The Dresden Files and using the Fate system. It was released in late 2010 in two hardcover volumes: Your Story with the rules information and Our World with setting information, and won numerous awards at all of the Origins Awards, the ENnies, and the Golden Geek Awards.
This is intended to be a comprehensive list of creatures that have appeared in various Dungeons & Dragons works. Each individual list covers a span of years by edition of the game, with monsters being listed chronologically by book in which they appeared.
In West Virginia folklore, the Mothman is a creature reportedly seen in the Point Pleasant area from November 12, 1966, to December 15, 1967. The first newspaper report was published in the Point Pleasant Register dated November 16, 1966, titled "Couples See Man-Sized Bird ... Creature ... Something". The national press soon picked up the reports and helped spread the story across the United States.
Jeff Belanger is an American author, public speaker and paranormal investigator. He has served as the host of New England Legends and has appeared on Ghost Adventures. Paranormal researcher Ben Radford has called Belanger a "ghost storyteller" not a "ghost investigator".
Old Empires is an accessory for the fictional Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the second edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The book, with product code TSR 9274, was published in 1990, and was written by Scott Bennie, with cover art by Brom and interior art by Valerie Valusek.
The Kane Chronicles is a trilogy of adventure and Egyptian mythological fiction books written by American author Rick Riordan. The series is set in the same universe as Riordan's other franchises, Camp Half-Blood Chronicles and Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard.
The Book of Lairs is an accessory book for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, first published by TSR in 1986. It contains an assortment of monster-themed mini-adventures. A second volume was published in 1987. TSR coded the accessories REF3 and REF4 respectively, as part of a series of similarly-coded accessories. Both volumes were received well by critics, with the second being seen more positively than the first.
This is the Index of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition monsters, an important element of that role-playing game. This list only includes monsters from official Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st Edition supplements published by TSR, Inc. or Wizards of the Coast, not licensed or unlicensed third party products such as video games or unlicensed Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition manuals.
Tracking the Chupacabra: The Vampire Beast in Fact, Fiction and Folklore is a non-fiction book by Benjamin Radford, an American writer and investigator. The book documents Radford's five-year investigation into accounts of the chupacabra. The chupacabra is said to be a vampiric predatory animal that drains the blood of animal victims while avoiding human detection.
