List of legendary creatures by type

Summary

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This is a list of legendary creatures from mythology, folklore and fairy tales, sorted by their classification or affiliation. Creatures from modern fantasy fiction and role-playing games are not included.

Animals, creatures associated with edit

Aquatic and marine mammals edit

  • Bahamut - (Arabic) Whale monster whose body supports the earth. Word seems far more ancient than Islam and may be origin of the word Behemoth in modern Judeo-Christian lore.
  • Bake-kujira (Japanese) – Ghost whale
  • Cetus (Greek) – a monster with the head of a boar or a greyhound, the body of a whale or dolphin, and a divided, fan-like tail
  • Devil Whale (English) – Whale capable of swallowing ships
  • Encantado (Brazilian) – shapeshifting trickster dolphins
  • Glashtyn (Celtic) – Horse goblin from the sea
  • Makara (Hindu mythology) – half terrestrial animal in the frontal part (stag, deer, or elephant) and half aquatic animal in the hind part (usually of a fish, a seal, or a snake, though sometimes a peacock or even a floral tail is depicted)
  • Mug-wamp - (Canadian) giant sturgeon monster said to inhabit Lake Temiskaming in Ontario. Name is of Native origin. Monster may also be Native, but name was given from Native language by local whites & not the original name, if so.
  • Sea goat (Greek) – Half goat, half fish
  • Selkie (Scottish) – Shapeshifting seal people
  • Water bull (Scottish) – Nocturnal amphibious bull
  • Water Horse – General name for mythical water dwelling horses of many cultures

Arthropods edit

Bats edit

Birds edit

Chickens

  • Alectryon – rooster (Greek)
  • Basan, a fire-breathing chicken from Japanese mythology
  • Cockatrice, a chicken-headed dragon or serpent, visually similar to or confused with the Basilisk.
  • Gallic rooster, a symbolic rooster used as an allegory for France
  • Gullinkambi, a rooster who lives in Valhalla in Norse mythology
  • Rooster of Barcelos, a mythological rooster from Portugal
  • Sarimanok, a legendary chicken of the Maranao people who originate from Mindanao (Philippines)
  • Víðópnir, a rooster that sits atop Yggdrasil in Norse mythology

Eagles

  • Aethon – eagle tormentor of Prometheus
  • Griffin – guards treasure and priceless possessions (Greek)
  • Hippogriff – winged horse with the head and upper body of an eagle (French, England)
  • Hræsvelgr – jötunn who takes the form of an eagle (Norse mythology)
  • Poukai (Māori) – monstrous predatory bird, likely based on an extinct species
  • Shahbaz (Persian mythology) – a god who helped the Iranian peoples and guided the Faravahar to the Iranian lands
  • Triple-headed eagle (multi-cultural) –
  • Ziz (Jewish) – giant griffin
  • Zu – divine monster depicted as a lion-headed eagle

Owls

  • Nyctimene (Roman) – Transformed into an owl by Minerva.
  • Owlman – compared to America's Mothman (England)
  • Sirin (Slavic) – birds with women heads, lured men to their death
  • Strix – owl that ate human flesh (Greek)

Carnivorans edit

Bears edit

  • Bugbear (Celtic) – child-eating hobgoblin
  • Callisto (Greek) – A nymph who was turned into a bear by Hera.
  • Stiff-Legged Bear- (Iroquois) giant, hairless bear monster. Colonial interpretations also turned it into a pig monster, with tusks or tried to associate it with the Mammoth or Mastodon, during a time when colonial settlers believed such animals likely still existed somewhere in the continent.

Canines edit

  • Adlet
  • Amarok
  • Anubis – jackal-headed god associated with mummification and the afterlife (Egypt)
  • Aralez
  • Asena
  • Axehandle hound – a dog-like beast that reputedly subsists on axe-handles left unattended (United States & Canada)
  • Black dog, also known as Barghest, Black Shuck, or Grim – associated with the Devil, Hellhound (Britain)
  • Beast of Gévaudan – man-eating wolf, terrorized the province of Gévaudan (France)
  • Carbuncle (Chilote) – one of its many descriptions is a luminescent small dog[3]
  • Cerberus – multi-headed dog, guards the gates of the Underworld, son/brother of Orthrus (Greek, Roman)
  • Chupacabra (Latin American) – Alleged creature reputed to attack and drink the blood of livestock, occasionally described with bat-like features. Sometimes thought to resemble, or mistaken for a hairless coyote.
  • Cu Sith (or Cusith) – Hellhound, harbinger of death (Scotland, the Hebrides, Ireland)
  • Crocotta – mythical dog-wolf, related to the hyena (India, Ethiopia)
  • Cynocephaly – having the head of a dog or jackal
  • Dogs of Actaeon – Hunting dogs that turned on Actaeon after he was turned into a deer
  • Fenrir – monstrous wolf, father of the wolves (Norse)
  • Gelert
  • Hellhound – supernatural dog, bringers of death (worldwide)
  • Huli jing or Kitsune or Kumiho – Fox spirits, like Fairies (China, Japan, Korea)
  • Huodou – a large black dog that can emit flames from its mouth (China)
  • Orthrus – two headed dog, father/brother of Cerberus (Greek)
  • Penghou – tree spirit that appears like a black dog and tastes like dog-meat (Chinese)
  • Salawa – the "Typhonian Animal," a slender, vaguely canine-animal that is the totemic animal of Set
  • Sigbin – is a creature in Philippine mythology (Philippines)
  • Sky Fox (mythology), a celestial nine-tailed Fox Spirit that is 1,000 years old and has golden fur (Chinese)
  • Shug Monkey – dog/monkey creature found in Cambridgeshire (Britain)
  • Tanuki – Japanese raccoon dog, legends claim is a shapeshifting trickster (Japan)
  • Vǎrkolak, or "Vukodlak" (Slavic) – undead vampire werewolf
  • Werewolf – human, shapeshifts to a wolf because of an affliction, lycanthrope (Worldwide)

Felines edit

  • Bael (Demonology) – First king of Hell with three heads: a man, a toad, and a cat
  • Ball-tailed cat (North American) – a feline similar to a mountain lion, except with a long tail with a bulbous end used for striking its prey
  • Cactus cat (North American) – a feline of the American Southwest with hair-like thorns that intoxicates itself by the consumption of cactus water
  • Canaima- (Mexico) term for a sort of were-jaguar. May be related to skinwalkers.
  • Cat-sìth (Celtic mythology) – spectral cat that haunts the Scottish Highlands
  • Cath Palug (Welsh) – a monstrous cat said to have killed 180 warriors
  • Carbuncle (Chilote) – one of its many descriptions is a cat with a luminescent chin[4]
  • Demon Cat (North American) – a ghost cat who is purported to haunt the government buildings of Washington, D.C.
  • Tyger
  • Underwater panther
  • Vapula
  • Wampus cat - (American) Said to have various Native origins in Southern Appalachia. Cat with six legs and a long tail. Was said to have once been a man who was cursed into a monster after losing his love to another man. May have been loosely based on some version of the Underwater Panther mythos.
  • White Tiger (Chinese) – a Guardian Of The West cardinal point
  • Winged cat
Lions

Hyenas edit

  • Werehyena
  • Kishi – cannibalistic two-faced demon, half-human half-hyena (Africa)

Musteloids, mongoose and civets edit

Procyonids edit

  • Azeban is a lower-level trickster spirit in Abenaki mythology. The traditional homeland of the Abenaki is Wobanakik (Place of the Dawn), what is now called northern New England and southern Quebec. Azeban (also spelled Azban, Asban or Azaban) is a raccoon, the Abenaki trickster figure. Pronounced ah-zuh-bahn. Azeban does many foolish and/or mischievous things in Abenaki folktales, but unlike animal tricksters in some other tribes, is not dangerous or malevolent.

Fish edit

Insectivores edit

  • Lavellan A Lavellan, làbh-allan, la-mhalan or la-bhallan etc. is a mythological creature from northern Scotland. It was generally considered to be a kind of rodent, and indeed the name "làbh-allan" is also used for a water shrew or water vole in Scottish Gaelic. It was however, reportedly larger than a rat, very noxious, and lived in deep pools in rivers. Its poisonous abilities were legendary, and it was said to be able to injure cattle over a hundred feet away.

Marsupials edit

Molluscs edit

  • Akkorokamui – octopus monster (Ainu, Japan)
  • Carbuncle (Chilote) – one of its many descriptions is a luminescent bivalve[4][3]
  • Lou Carcolh – A giant, man-eating snail with fur and tentacles (France)
  • Kraken – squid monster (Worldwide)
  • Shen – A clam-dragon that creates mirages and fata morgana at sea (China)

Primates edit

  • Agropelter – a beast that amuses itself by hurling twigs and tree branches at passersby (United States & Canada)
  • Bigfoot or Sasquatch – Cryptid, animal of the Northwest (North America)
  • Hibagon or Hinagon – ape-like, similar to Bigfoot, or the Yeti (Japan)
  • Jué yuán – blue-furred man-sized rhesus monkey that abducts human women (China & Japan)
  • Satori – mind-reading magical ape or monkey (Japan)
  • Shōjō – anthropomorphic spirit, depicted as furred, somewhat confounded with orangutan (Japan)
  • Shug Monkey – dog/monkey (Britain)
  • Sun Wukong (proper name) – powerful warrior-magician in the form of a monkey who hatched from a stone egg (China)
  • Vanara – humanoid apes or monkeys (India, Hindu)
  • Yeren – man-monkey, cryptid hominid, resides in remote mountainous (China)
  • Yeti – Abominable Snowman, ape-like cryptid similar to Bigfoot, that inhabits the Himalayas (Nepal, Tibet)
  • Yowie – hominid said to live in the Australian wilderness, a cryptid similar to the Himalayan Yeti (Australia)

Rabbits and hares edit

  • Al-Mi'raj – rabbit with unicorn horn (Arabia)
  • Jackalope – (North America)
  • Moon rabbit – a rabbit living on the moon (Chinese)
  • Skvader
  • Wisakedjak - (Native American) aka Whiskeyjack. One of several names for the rabbit trickster spirit believed in across the Eastern Woodlands and Great Plains.
  • Wolpertinger

Reptiles, Limbed edit

Reptiles, Serpents and Worms edit

Rodents edit

Ungulates edit

Antelopes and deer edit

Bovines edit

Camelids edit

Caprids edit

Equines edit

  • Anggitay – is a creature with the upper body of a female human and the lower body of a horse from waist down (Philippines)
  • Arion – Talking immortal horse (Greek)
  • Balius and Xanthus Greek – offspring of harpies, immortal
  • Buraq – Al-Burāq, steed from the heavens that transported the prophets (Islam, Persian Art)
  • Centaur – head, arms, and torso of a human, the body and legs of a horse (Greek)
  • Cheval Gauvin – horse which tries to kill its rider (French/Swiss)
  • Cheval Mallet; horse that tempts and kidnaps weary travelers (French)
  • Chiron – centaur believed to be exceptional among his brethren (Greek)
  • Chollima – a winged horse too swift to be mounted by any mortal (Chinese)
  • Haizum – horse of the archangel Gabriel (Islam)
  • Hippogriff – winged horse with the head and upper body of an eagle (French, England)
  • Ipotane – half-horse, half-humans, original centaurs (Greek)
  • Karkadann – monstrous, highly aggressive unicorn (India, Persia)
  • Kotobuki (Japanese) – Yokai with traits of all members of the Chinese zodiac
  • Longma – fabled winged horse with dragon scales (China)
  • Mankayia- (Kiowa) tornado spirit in the form of a horse.
  • Onocentaur – part human, part donkey (Greek)
  • Pegasus – white winged stallion (Greek)
  • Pooka – spirits, or fairies who lived near ancient stones, good or bad (Ireland)
  • Sleipnir – Odin's eight-legged horse, which he rode to Hel (location) (Norse)
  • Simurgh – like the Hippogriff with the head of a human (Persian)
  • Sihuanaba – a shapeshifting spirit that typically takes the form of an attractive, long haired woman seen from behind, before revealing her face to be that of a horse
  • Tikbalang – creature with the body of a man and the head and hooves of a horse, lurks in the mountains and forests (Philippines)
  • Uchchaihshravas – seven-headed all white flying horse (Hindu)
  • Unicorn – horse-like creature with a single horn, often symbolizing purity (Worldwide)
  • Water Horse – General name for mythical water dwelling horses of many cultures
  • White horse

Pachyderms edit

  • Abath
  • Baku
  • Behemoth
  • Quugaarpak - (Inuit) Explanation for Mammoths & other Ice Age remains washing out of riversides. Underworld monsters who dig their way up to the human world, but die upon breathing our air.
  • Taweret

See List of elephants in mythology and religion

Pigs and boars edit

Xenarthrans edit

Megafauna edit

See List of megafauna in mythology and folklore

Giants edit

See List of giants in mythology and folklore

Artificial creatures edit

This listing includes creatures that are man-made, mechanical or of alchemical origins.

Body parts, creatures associated with edit

Blood edit

Bone edit

Eye edit

One-eyed edit

Face edit

Hair edit

Head edit

Limbs edit

  • Asura (Indian)
  • Deva / Devi (Indian)
  • Hekatonkheires
  • Kui
  • O'nya:ten (Iroquoian) aka Dry Fingers. Mummified hand. Appears and leaps out at people after certain transgressions, such as speaking ill of the dead, or butting into other people's personal business.
  • Sleipnir
  • Three-legged bird

Mouth edit

Skin edit

Tail edit

Neck edit

Torso edit

Abdomen edit

Concepts, creatures associated with edit

Battle, Vengeance, Violence, and War edit

Birth and Rebirth edit

Death and Immortality edit

Dream, the Mind, and Sleep edit

Evil Eye and Sight edit

Fertility and Human Sexuality edit

Fortune, Luck, and Wealth edit

Light edit

Love and Romance edit

Sound edit

Speech edit

Note: see Talking animal

Time and Technology edit

Wisdom edit

Demons edit

Elements, creatures associated with edit

Aether edit

Air and wind edit

See also: List of flying mythological creatures

Darkness edit

Earth and subterranean edit

Fire edit

Light and rainbow edit

Metal and gold edit

Thunder and lightning edit

Water edit

Habitats, creatures associated with edit

Cave and underground edit

Celestial and heaven edit

Desert edit

Temperate forest and woodland edit

Tropical forest and jungle edit

Temperate grassland and garden edit

Savanna edit

Lake and river edit

Mountain and hill edit

Sea edit

Swamp and marsh edit

Volcano and lava edit

Polar, ice, and winter edit

Urban and house edit

Underworld and hell edit

 
Cerberus

Humanoids edit

See Mythic humanoids

Hybrids edit

See List of hybrid creatures

Astronomical objects, creatures associated with edit

Sun edit

Moon edit

Constellation edit

World edit

See also: List of mythological places

Creatures associated with Plants edit

Shapeshifters edit

See List of shapeshifters

Creatures associated with Times edit

Day and diurnal edit

Night and nocturnal edit

Undead edit

See also: Category:Ghosts, and Ghosts in Hindu Mythology – Bhoot, Baital & Pishacha

Corporeal edit

Miscellaneous edit

  • Anaye - (Navajo) various monsters that take the forms of animals, living objects and other things. Derived from a time where men and women bet on who would last the longest without the other sex and the women pleasuring themselves with whatever random things they thought would do the job, which caused their chosen toys to father them monstrous, man-eating children.
  • Daimon
  • Demon
  • Fairy
  • Familiar
  • Genie – or Jinn, Djinn
  • Monster
  • Sprite
  • Yōkai

References edit

  1. ^ a b Montecino Aguirre, Sonia (2015). "Alicanto". Mitos de Chile: Enciclopedia de seres, apariciones y encantos (in Spanish). Catalonia. pp. 47–48. ISBN 978-956-324-375-8.
  2. ^ Illinois, Reboot (30 October 2014). "5 Illinois Monster Stories That Will Make You Want to Check Under the Bed". HuffPost. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  3. ^ a b Quintana Mansilla, Bernardo. "El Carbunco". Chiloé mitológico (in Spanish).
  4. ^ a b c d Montecino Aguirre, Sonia (2015). "Carbunclo". Mitos de Chile: Enciclopedia de seres, apariciones y encantos (in Spanish). Catalonia. p. 130. ISBN 978-956-324-375-8.
  5. ^ a b c Montecino Aguirre, Sonia (2015). "Llamas". Mitos de Chile: Enciclopedia de seres, apariciones y encantos (in Spanish). Catalonia. p. 415. ISBN 978-956-324-375-8.
  6. ^ "Geryon". Theoi. Retrieved 10 February 2017. a three-bodied, four-winged giant
  7. ^ Platt, Rutherford (1926). The Lost Books of the Bible and the Forgotten Books of Eden. Entry: The Book of the Secrets of Enoch chapter XII