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Splinter Cat
The Splinter Cat is a creature from lumberjack folklore, particularly in Wisconsin and Minnesota. They’re described as large cats with hardened skulls. They solely feed on raccoons and bees by charging into trees and breaking them into splinters. The result of their actions makes the trees look like they were struck by lightning. Citations: Rose, Carol. Giants Monsters and Dragons: An Encyclopedia Of Folklore Legend And Myth. United Kingdom, WW Norton, 2001.
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Sisior
In a story from the island of Yap, there was a woman from Maki named Sisior. She went to bathe next to her house, and her tattoos were visible as she undressed. A demon in the form of an eel saw this and fell in love with her. When it approached her, she panicked and ran away. In her dreams, she saw a handsome man who asked why she ran away when he approached her in the water. She was confused until the man explained he appeared in the form of an eel. She explained she did see him but was afraid of the eel, so he asked her to…
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Nattramn/Nattravn
The Nattramn is a mythical creature from Swedish, and Danish beliefs, related to Germanic Nachktrapp. Its name means “Night Raven” since it takes raven form. They’re believed to be a manifestation of the souls of abandoned children. They’re associated with those who die and sink into marshes. Sometimes they are believed to be murdered children whose bodies have been hidden. They resemble black birds or bird skeletons with a hole in their wings. It’s believed anyone who looks through the hole in their wings will die. They’re also sometimes thought to foretell evil. Hearing the Nattramn flying causes illness or blindness and causes death within a year, and they may…
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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…
