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Skinwalker/Yeenaaldlooshii
The Skinwalker comes from Navajo, Hopi, and Pueblo myth. Though they are known for taking the form of coyotes, they can also take other animal forms. Some believed the Anasazi were these shapeshifters and the word Anasazi either means “ancient enemies” or “ancient ones.” Skinwalkers were inherently viewed as evil, but in more recent times they are not always seen that way. They wear the skin of wolves or coyotes to transform. Citations: Brown, Nathan Robert. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Werewolves. United Kingdom, DK Publishing, 2009. Steiger, Brad. The Werewolf Book: The Encyclopedia of Shape-Shifting Beings. United Kingdom, Visible Ink Press, 2011.
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Kweo Kachina
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Skeljaskrímsli
The Skeljaskrímsli is a creature from Iceland whose name means “shell monster.” They are described as stocky creatures with large heads and huge mouths which are sometimes described as similar to that of a hippopotamus. Seashells cling to their scales, skin, hair, and they make a clinking and rattling sound as they move. Citations: Greene, A. Kendra. The Museum of Whales You Will Never See: And Other Excursions to Iceland’s Most Unusual Museums. United States, Penguin Publishing Group, 2020.
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Skatene
The Skatene is a bogeyman figure from the Choctaw Native Americans. Her story teaches children to not trust strangers, even if they seem nice. She appears as an old woman who could turn herself into an owl. There is a story where she befriends a child to gain access to the household, and then cut the fathers head off. She then fled with the severed head in a basket and threatened to blind any animals who asked about it. Some wildcats confronted her and ignored the threat. They saw the severed head and one held her down while the others grabbed a club. Skatene managed to escape in the form…
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Sidehill Gouger
The Sidehill Gouger is a creature from Lumberjack Folklore. It has the “scientific name” Membriinequales declivitatis. Their legs are longer on one side of the body than they are on the other. This allows them to live on steep cliffs and spiral around them on ledges instead of climbing straight up, as they can only go in one direction. They are known to dig holes into the sides of these hills and feed on the rabbits that fall in. They are only though to come out on dark moonlit nights. If confronted from the front and clubbed, they will tumble down the hill and be unable to right themselves again.…
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Shovel-Faced Oscar
The Shovel-Faced Oscar is a strange creature from Lumberjack Folklore. It has the “scientific name” Caputpala borgesia. They are creatures with four legs and a face shaped like a shovel that lives solely underwater. They use their shovel-like faces to dig out the burrows where bass then leave their eggs. Supposedly they are named after a man named Oscar Wicklem, who was one of the first people to encounter this creature. Citations: Yarns of the Big Woods, Written and Illustrated by Art Childs
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Shinigami
The Shinigami are Yokai of death from Japanese myth. They are sometimes seen as spirits of the dead that possess the living and seek to harm them. They typically resemble humans with pale grey skin and inhuman features. They are drawn to death and linger around areas where people have just died. They thrive in areas where particularly gruesome deaths have occurred, as they haunt areas tainted by evil and look for people to possess. They haunt people and alter their behavior causing them to become obsessed with death and their own sins, eventually leading to suicide. They particularly like targeting bad people but will target anyone. Anyone who sees…
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Shampe
The Shampe are from Choctaw myth. They are massive hairy wildmen with incredibly good senses. Their vision is like that of an eagle. They can smell blood from miles away and will relentlessly stalk anyone who is injured or who has freshly killed game. They are sometimes described as having coarse hair, but sometimes described as hairless. They have hiding places and only emerge from them to consume human flesh. They are weakened and made sick by sunlight, so they only hunt at night. They are relentless in hunting prey once they’ve set their sights on something. They are virtually indestructible aside from their weakness to the sun. The best…
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Serket
Serket is a minor goddess of scorpions and other venomous things. People call to her if they get hurt by something venomous. She is depicted as a woman with a scorpion on her head primed and ready to strike. She protected the throne of the king in the form of a scorpion. In a select few other interpretations she has been depicted as a woman, holding knives, with the head of a lioness and a crocodile head coming out of her back. She is the mother to a god named Nehebu-Kau, and she is also seen as a minor death goddess who guards the canopic jars or the god Qebehsenuef.…
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Sea Bishop/Bishop Fish
The Sea Bishop is a bizarre creature from Medieval times. It resembles a large fish with a head resembling a bishop’s miter hat, pectoral fins ending in claws, and a tail resembling legs ending in fishermen boots. Some were thought to have been captured in the Baltic Sea. There is an incident of Sea Bishops pleading for freedom from actual bishops and succeeding. Another was captured and refused to eat until it died. Citations: Bane, Theresa. Encyclopedia of Beasts and Monsters in Myth, Legend and Folklore. United States, McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers, 2016. Rosen, Brenda. Mythical Creatures Bible: The Definitive Guide to Legendary Beings. Taiwan, Sterling, 2009.
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Sanguisuga
The Sanguisuga is a Latin form of vampire. The name means “blood sucker” though it’s sometimes referred to as a “horse leech.” The term was used before the word Vampire was popularized, and likely referred to a Vampire or some other blood sucking demon. They are related to bats, and if pierced they pour out the blood they’ve consumed. Citations: Arnold, Thomas Kerchever, et al. A Copious and Critical English – Latin Lexicon, Founded on the German-Latin Dictionary of Dr. C.E. Georges. United Kingdom, Longmans, Green, and Company, 1865. Bunson, Matthew. The Vampire Encyclopedia. United Kingdom, Gramercy Books, 2000. Maberry, Jonathan. Vampire Universe: The Dark World of Supernatural Beings That…
