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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…
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Hai-Uri
The Hai-Uri are mythical creatures from the Khoikhoi people of Southwest Africa. Half of their bodies are visible in our world, while the other half is only visible in the spirit world. This causes them to appear as people split in half vertically. It’s believed they can run as fast as a gazelle and leap over large bushes and trees. They hunt down people and club them with their fists or jump on them until they die. They’re thought to consume the flesh, bones, and blood of their victims. Citations: Maberry, Jonathan. Vampire Universe: The Dark World of Supernatural Beings That Haunt Us, Hunt Us, and Hunger for Us. United…
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Florida Gator Man
The Florida Gator Man is a cryptid sighted numerous times by one individual witness, solely recounted to Linda S. Godfrey. The incident occurred in 2010, during spring break, and was seen again several times over the following years. It was reported by an 18-year-old volunteer at a paleontology museum going to college for paleontology and zoology. Strange things occurred in the East side of Florida, in the St. Johns River delta, specifically an area referred to as the Black Tea River. The water was described as brackish, filled with sediment, and mostly 5 feet deep. A manatee was found with odd U-shaped bite marks in its front flipper, and a…
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Duende/Dwende
The Duende are mythical creatures from the myths of the Philippines. Their name comes from the Spanish word for “dwarf.” They’re described as incredibly small humanoid figures that generally ignore people. It’s thought they can be appeased if given food left on the floor by a doorway. If they accept the offering, the Duende can be helpful to have around. They can bring good luck and help people find lost possessions and if fed offerings effectively and often enough, they may even protect households from malevolent supernatural forces and intruders. If given improper offerings like spoiled food, or otherwise offended, the Duence becomes malevolent. When angry, they may bring bad…
