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Wyrm/Ormr/Verm/Worm
The Wyrm is a form of dragon originating in Norse myth. They’re described as serpentine creatures and deemed dragons when large enough. The earliest known depiction of this creature is a wood panel from the year 1100. This image shows a Wyrm with an open mouth filled with teeth, eating a person. It had almond-shaped eyes, a curved nose on a long snout, a recurved horn, and ears that were laid back. Its long neck was in two coils, and it appeared it may have had a rider on its back at some point. Citations: Bane, Theresa. Encyclopedia of Beasts and Monsters in Myth, Legend and Folklore. United States, McFarland,…
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Shade/Shadow/Umbra
The Shade are a form of ghost from theosophical beliefs. It was believed to be the spirit that remains after the body dies and hovers near where it was buried. After death, the Romans believed the spirit was separated into the Anima, which ascended to heaven, the Mane, which descended to the underworld, and the Shade that remained on earth. Citations: Bane, Theresa. Encyclopedia of Spirits and Ghosts in World Mythology. United States, McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers, 2016.
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Shachihoko
The Shachihoko is a mythical creature from Japanese and Chinese myth. They’re known to have a striped tiger head or the head of a dragon. The body is described as resembling a carp covered in poisonous spikes or scales. It’s believed they can crawl onto land to transform fully into a tiger. Carvings of Shachihoko are used similar to Gargoyles in Japan. Duer to their ability to make rain, it was thought their statues deterred fire. 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,…
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Red-Legged Scissor-Man/Great Long-Legged Scissor-Man/The Great Tall Tailor
The Red-Legged Scissor-Man was a bogeyman figure from children’s stories in England and Germany. He was used by Victorian parents to scare their children into behaving, and originated in a book called Struwwelpeter by Heinrich Hoffmann in 1847. The story follows a boy named Conrad who had a habit of sucking his thumbs. His mother warned him that the Red-Legged Scissor-Man would come for him if he continued. He didn’t believe her and continued sucking his thumb as soon as she left. The Red-Legged Scissor-Man burst in with a giant pair of scissors and cut off both of his thumbs. Citations: Rose, Carol. Giants Monsters and Dragons: An Encyclopedia Of…
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Quickfoot/Ghost Ape of Marwood/Martyn’s Ape
Quickfoot is a hairy hominid cryptid sighted in Great Britain. It’s described as being covered in hair with a large muzzle, green eyes, and a human-like face. It stands six feet tall and is known to run quickly. In 1978, three boys in the woods near Kings Nympton, Devon, England, sighted a strange hairy humanoid similar to an ape or a bear. In another incident, a man driving in Bathgate Hills, West Lothian, Scotland, saw a humanoid figure running down a path at high speeds. Citations: Eberhart, George M.. Mysterious Creatures: A Guide to Cryptozoology. United Kingdom, ABC-CLIO, 2002.
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Orobon
The Orobon is a monstrous creature from medieval belief. They were thought to have lived in the Red Sea and the Mount Mazocan region. They were described as amphibious creatures measuring nine to ten feet in length. They were covered in thick scales like a crocodile and had long tails. They would use these tails to grab humans and constrict them to death, before pulling them into the water, where they would be swallowed whole. Citations: Bane, Theresa. Encyclopedia of Beasts and Monsters in Myth, Legend and Folklore. United States, McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers, 2016.
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Jaracacas/Jaracas
The Jaracacas is a vampiric and demonic creature from Brazilian myth. They move around in the form of a snake searching for humans to feed on. Often, they prey on mothers who are breastfeeding. They nurse off the sleeping mothers and drain their blood at the same time. Sometimes they are thought to consume the entire breast. If the baby cries in response to this creature, then it stuffs its tail in the child’s mouth. This keeps the infant quiet, but may also suffocate it. When attacking a man, they feed off the upper arm and take a small amount of blood. They will repeatedly feed on the same victim,…
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Invunche
The Invunche is a creature from Chilean myth. Its name means “master of the hide,” and they are considered pitiable among supernatural monsters. They are created when a witch kidnaps a firstborn son while he’s an infant. They take this child back to their cave, accessible only through an underground lake. They proceed to break the child’s legs and bend them back over the spine. The other limbs are twisted and broken into unnatural shapes. A hole is cut under the right shoulder blade, and the right arm is pushed through the opening so it looks like the arm is growing from the back. Their head are bent and misshapen…
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Honey Island Swamp Monster/Wookiee
The Honey Island Swamp Monster is a hairy hominid from Louisiana. Some locals jokingly call this creature a “Wookiee.” This creature is similar to the Skunk Ape and Fouke Monster. It’s said to live in the desolate swamps surrounding the remote Honey Island in Louisiana. It stands over seven feet tall, and it is believed to weigh between four to five hundred pounds. It’s thought to have grey or brown, matted hair and amber-colored eyes. It was first documented in 1974 by two hunters. They found strange footprints near the remains of a slaughtered boar, and the next day they saw the creature in person, which they said smelled like…
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Flatwoods Monster/Braxton County Monster/Phantom of Flatwoods/Frankensteins Monster with B.O.
The Flatwoods Monster is a mysterious creature from West Virginia. It has been described as an alien, a robot, a cryptid, and a phantom. On September 12th, 1952, in the town of Flatwoods in Braxton County. It was sighted by 5 boys ages 10-15 at night near an elementary school. They saw a fiery UFO streaking across the sky and landed on a hill at a nearby farm. The boys went to the spot after picking up the mother of two of the boys, a 17-year-old National Guardsman, and a dog. When they arrived, they saw the ship with a strange mist surrounding it, filled with red strobing lights. The…
