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Megalania
The Megalania is a massive species of lizard from Australia and New Guinea. Most believe this species has been extinct for 19,000 years, though some think it could still be alive today. They are known to have serrated blade teeth and some suggest they could reach a max of 23 feet in length and weigh over 4000 pounds. They are related to the Komodo dragon, though their closest living relative is a lizard called the perentie. In one encounter from Australia, two lumberjacks encountered a 20-foot-long lizard in the woods. The creature bit off two fingers from one of the men, and the other man killed it by driving a…
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Koryo
The Koryo is a form of yokai from Japan and a variation of the Kitsune. It’s a fox spirit whose name translates to “ghost fox.” It’s thought to haunt and bewitch people. Citations: Bane, Theresa. Encyclopedia of Beasts and Monsters in Myth, Legend and Folklore. United States, McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers, 2016. Maberry, Jonathan. Vampire Universe: The Dark World of Supernatural Beings That Haunt Us, Hunt Us, and Hunger for Us. United States, Kensington Publishing Corporation, 2006. Picken, Stuart D. B.. Essentials of Shinto: an analytical guide to principal teachings. United Kingdom, Bloomsbury Academic, 1994.
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Kludde
The Kludde is a monstrous dog from Flemish myth. It takes the form of a giant black dog wrapped in chains as some believe it broke free from Hell. It can also change into the form of a giant black cat, a giant crow, or some other night predator. It attacks isolated travelers and is big enough to take down a horse and break its back. It runs around on its back legs and is incredibly fast. When someone hears chains, the best thing to do is run and hide somewhere safe. Citations: Maberry, Jonathan. Vampire Universe: The Dark World of Supernatural Beings That Haunt Us, Hunt Us, and Hunger…
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Kephn
The Kephn is a form of vampiric witch from the Karen people of Burma. They resemble severed human heads with their stomach hanging underneath but normally look like regular people. They’re believed to be people who made a deal with evil spirits for power. They hunt at night and are thought to feed on human souls. They sit in a chair and enter a trance to transform themselves into their monstrous form by tearing their head and stomach free. They can be killed if their body is burned when their heads are out flying and they can easily be killed in human form. A trained fighter known as a Ghurkha,…
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Kawauso/Kawaso
The Kawauso is a form of Yokai from Japanese myth sometimes equated to the Kappa. They’re known to cause mischief like Kitsune and Tanuki. They are related to river otters and can be found all across the country. Despite this, the real Japanese river otter was declared extinct in 2012. They have been depicted walking upright and wearing sedge hats. They commonly take the form of attractive people, often women, sometimes attempting to lure in victims they then kill. Other times they challenge humans to sumo wrestling matches. Citations: Foster, Michael Dylan. The Book of Yokai: Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore. United States, University of California Press, 2015.
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Kaupe
Kaupe is a monstrous figure from Hawaiian myth. He was described as a cannibalistic dogman, vaguely connecting him later on to werewolf myths. He was said to live at Lihue on Oahu where he attacked people but avoided high chiefs. One story tells of when he went to the island of Hawaii and stole a chief’s son to sacrifice. This chief follows him and gets help from another chief. This chief teaches him a prayer to get help from Kanaloa which allows the father and son to escape and run away. When Kaupe went back to Hawaii to find them, he then used a prayer to kill Kaupe. Kaupe’s spirit…
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Isitwalangcengce
The Isitwalangcengce is a mythical creature from Zulu legends in South Africa. It was described as being shaped like a hyena with a very broad head that functioned as a basket. During times of famine, it moved closer to villages seeking humans to consume. It waits for children carrying pieces of meat and pulls both the meat and the child into its basket head. In the modern day, the Isitwalangcengce is used as a bogeyman figure, with parents saying it will carry off misbehaving children. It didn’t consume the entire human, but broke their heads open with rocks and consumed their spilled brains. There is a story of a man…
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Ijiraq/Ijiralik/Ijirait(pl)
The Ijiraq is a mythical creature from Inuit myth known to kidnap people. They are described as spirit creatures, though in modern times they resemble people who can suddenly transform into caribou. They sometimes resemble humans with faces having muzzles, and wearing caribou skins. Most Ijirait are seen by shamans in spirit form, but some may see them manifested in the form of a caribou. Some believe the Ijirait are the spirits of people remaining on earth and others consider Ijirait to be the same as Tarriasuit. They have excellent eyesight and blink horizontally rather than vertically. Ijirait are known to run incredibly fast, and any humans kidnapped by them…
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Hokhokw/Hoxhogwaxtewae/Hoxhok-of-the-Sky/Huxwhukw:
The Hokhokw is a mythical figure from Kwakiutl myth. It’s described as a monstrous bird with a long beak that serves as an attendant to the monster Bakbakwakanooksiewae. Its beak has a square tip to break open human skulls and consume their brains. Citations: Bane, Theresa. Encyclopedia of Beasts and Monsters in Myth, Legend and Folklore. United States, McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers, 2016. Werness, Hope B.. The Continuum Encyclopedia of Native Art: Worldview, Symbolism, and Culture in Africa, Oceania, and Native North America. United Kingdom, Continuum, 2000.
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Hinge-tailed Bingbuffer
The Hinge-Tailed Bingebuffer is a potentially extinct creature from lumberjack folklore. It’s thought one of the last was killed in 1881 or 1882. They resemble huge hippopotami with long, flat tapering tails that can reach forty feet in length. They have short legs which makes moving their heavy bodies slow and difficult. They have a large pouch under their jaws that can hold an entire bushel. They often fill this pouch with small stones when hunting. The tail of this creature is hinged, and it can use this tail to launch the stones they store. This attack has incredible power and accuracy, allowing it to hit targets even hundreds of…
