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Tsuchinoko/Gigi-Hebi/Bachi-Hebi/Koro/Koro-Hebi/Tsuchi-Korobi
The Tsuchinoko is a Cryptid, or UMA, and Yokai from Japan. The name Tsuchinoko has been translated as “child of the earth,” “small mallet,” or “mallet child.” This name references a Japanese mallet called a tsuchi similar in shape to the creature’s body. They’re described as short, thick, snake-like creatures. Some describe them as incredibly poisonous and believe they can survive even when their heads are cut off. They’re known to be incredibly rare with many trying hard to prove their existence. There is an urban legend from Kanazawa stating that there is a slope where one night a man saw something tumbling down it. When he approached he saw…
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Batak/Batta
The Batak is a form of witch doctor from the beliefs of Java, Indonesia. They’re known to hunt local vampiric creatures, especially the Pontianak. Some vampires take the soul from their victims, causing the body to slowly waste away, and Bataks can reclaim these souls and put them in their proper place. To do this, Bataks use garlic in specific rituals. Citations: Bunson, Matthew. The Vampire Encyclopedia. United Kingdom, Gramercy Books, 2000. 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.
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Blutsaugr
The Blutsaugr is a vampiric form of undead from the mythology of Austria, Germany, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The name translates to “blood sucker” and they have pale skin, rotten flesh, and emaciated frames. They are mostly mindless, only smart enough to avoid capture or death. In Bosnia specifically, the Blutsaugr is thought to have no skeleton and is covered in stiff dark hair. This version can turn someone else into a Blutsaugr by tricking someone into eating a bit of dirt from its grave, and can also turn into a rat, wolf, or hunting dog. Eating the meat of an animal killed by a wolf can turn someone into a Blutsaugr…
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Krampus
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Badak Tanggiling/Scaled Rhinoceros
The Badak Tanggiling is a cryptid sighted in Sumatra, Indonesia. They are described as hoofed mammals similar to the rhinoceros, but with only one horn. They measure ten feet long, and the females are sometimes hornless. A Hunter named J.. C. Hazewinkel supposedly shot eight of these in the 1920s. Some theorize a Javan rhino with a single form may have persisted in Sumatra during this time, leading to these sightings. Currently, Sumatra only has one species of rhino which has two horns. Citations: Eberhart, George M.. Mysterious Creatures [2 Volumes]: A Guide to Cryptozoology [2 Volumes]. Ukraine, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2002.
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Bifrost/Asabridge/Asbru
The Bifrost is a magical location from Norse mythology. It’s translated as “rainbow bridge” or “the trembling way.” It’s thought to connect the earth, Midgard, to the world of the gods, Asgard, by spanning across the sky. It’s constructed of three fragile-looking strands of air, fire, and water, though despite its weak-looking structure it’s impossibly durable. It’s believed that the god Heimdall guarded the bridge to prevent the Jötnar from crossing. He was given this duty due to his remarkable senses, and since he has a magic horn to alert the entire nine realms of danger. Most all the gods use to bridge to travel on horseback, aside from Thor…
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Rawhead/Tommy Rawhead/Bloody Bones
The Rawhead is a creature known from British and US folklore, commonly the American Midwest. Stories of this creature are thought to have originated in Britain or Celtic myth. It’s used as a bogeyman figure, and often seen as a companion to Bloody-Bones with them sometimes being seen as two parts of the same entity. One is a headless skeleton that dances, and the other is a skull that bites people. It’s described as very ugly with blood constantly pouring from the mouth. Sometimes it’s described as a tall figure in a black cloak. In the Pacific Northwest it sometimes appears as a cloud of green fog. It is thought to…
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Questing Beast/Beast Glatisant/Glatsaunt
The Questing Beast is a creature known from Arthurian legend. It had the body of a leopard, deer hooves, a serpent neck, and the back legs of a lion. It was named after its cry which sounded like forty dogs barking. It was thought to have been born through the incest of a brother and sister. It was also sometimes referred to as a psychopomp. Several knights attempted to kill the Questing Beast, but it was ultimately killed by the knight Percival. The body of this creature was tossed into a lake, and the water boiled as it sank. Citations: Bane, Theresa. Encyclopedia of Beasts and Monsters in Myth, Legend…
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Piast/Biast/Bestia
The Piast is a monstrous creature from Irish myth. They are described as giant lake monsters, being part salmon and part serpent. They are also thought to be capable of breathing fire. It is believed Piast are one of the kinds of monsters banished by St. Patrick until judgment day. Citations: Bane, Theresa. Encyclopedia of Beasts and Monsters in Myth, Legend and Folklore. United States, McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers, 2016.
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Hodag/Black Hodag
The Hodag is a well known creature from Lumberjack Folklore. They live in the swamps of West Virginia and Wisconsin. They have horns and spikes on their bodies and are often depicted with a crazed grin. Sometimes they have the head of a bull with a human face, short legs, clawed feet, a humped back like a dinosaur, and a prehensile serpentine tail ending in an arrowhead. Some describe them as chimerical hybrids of a frog, lizard, and mammoth. They eat wildlife, often feed on turtles, snakes, and muskrats from nearby swamps, and sometimes also eat humans. They smell so bad that people have been known to faint when they…
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Lake Baikai Humanoids
The Lake Baikal Humanoids were aliens sighted in Russia in 1982. These beings were reported by the Russian Navy in Lake Baikal. Divers encountered humanoid beings wearing silver suits without any obvious breathing apparatus. Three people tried to follow them but ended up dying in the process. Due to the lake being really deep, large, and old, some think it is home to an underwater alien base. Citations: Steiger, Sherry Hansen, and Steiger, Brad. Real Aliens, Space Beings, and Creatures from Other Worlds. United Kingdom, Visible Ink Press, 2011.
