B

  • B,  Bogeyman Figures,  Celtic,  England,  R,  T,  The United States

    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…

  • B,  G,  Medieval Heraldry,  Psychopomps,  Q

    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…

  • B,  Ireland,  Lake Monsters,  P

    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.

  • B,  H,  Lumberjack Folklore,  West Virginia,  Wisconsin

    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…

  • Aliens,  B,  L

    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.

  • B,  C,  Scotland,  Witches

    Cailleac Bhuer/Black Annis/Blue Hag/Stone Woman

    Cailleac Bhuer is a monster from Scottish folklore. She appears as a monstrous old woman with blue skin and a single eye, and when seen on the road, she often presents herself as a struggling old woman. She is believed to haunt moors and rocky passes. She is viciously hungry and targets lone travelers, beating her victims over the head to knock them out, and dragging them away to be consumed. She sits on a pile of human bones and when human prey is unavailable she kills livestock. She often has a crow on her shoulder that acts as a familiar. Citations: Maberry, Jonathan. Vampire Universe: The Dark World of…

    Comments Off on Cailleac Bhuer/Black Annis/Blue Hag/Stone Woman
  • B,  Bagobos,  Bukidnons,  Ghouls,  Mandayas,  Ogres,  Philippines

    Busaw

    The Busaw are known from the Bagobos, Bukidnons, and Mandayas people of the Philippines. During the day, they look exactly like regular humans and are known to have normal lives and may even have farms. At night they take ogre-like forms with hooked claws, long tongues, and pointed teeth. Female Busaw are also thought to have a singular eye like a cyclops. They live in trees near cemeteries, in caves, or on isolated farms in the woods. They move through the night to search for human flesh to consume, most often digging up corpses rather than hunting living humans. Buried bodies can be protected from the Busaw if they are…

  • B,  Japan,  Yokai

    Buruburu/Zokuzokugami/Okubyohgami

    The Buruburu is a Yokai from Japan. They often appear as old men or women, shaking, and with one eye. The name Buruburu is meant to represent the sound of shivering in fear. They attack people by leaving their physical form and attaching their spectral form to a victim’s spine. The feeling of this attack causes the victim’s heart to seize up in horror. Sometimes it possesses without killing, leaving the victim overcome by fear so intense they fear everything. Victims of the fear caused by a Buruburu often commit suicide. Citations: Maberry, Jonathan. Vampire Universe: The Dark World of Supernatural Beings That Haunt Us, Hunt Us, and Hunger for…

    Comments Off on Buruburu/Zokuzokugami/Okubyohgami
  • Australia,  B

    Bunyip

    The Bunyip is a mythical creature from Australia. Their name comes from the Aboriginal word for “spirit.”They are often described as being the size of a calf. Often they are seen as immortal creatures. They live in calm, still waters and are docile when left alone, but incredibly dangerous and territorial. They have been described with several varied features including feathers, an otter body, flippers, walrus tusks, a long neck, a long pointed head, large ears that prick up when aware of someone’s presence, and a thick mane of hair. They have been described as having an awkward shambling style of movement with the front legs being larger than the…

  • B,  Korea

    Bulgasari/Hwagasari

    The Bulgasari is a creature from Korean myth. Its name means “one that cannot be killed” or “one who can be killed by fire” if called Hwagasari. It ate all the metal it could get to. Many people tried to kill it and failed. Sometimes it has no weaknesses, but in other situations fire is its only weakness. After it’s thrown into the fire, it will charge around completely on fire burning anything around it. It has a bear-like body with needly fur, an elephant nose, eyes like a rhino, claws like a tiger, and a tail like a bull. Some stories claim it originated by being made by a…

    Comments Off on Bulgasari/Hwagasari