10 mythical creatures, did they really exist? As they say, there is truth in every joke. The same can be said about myths, which are considered fiction, because there is also a particle of reality in them. It only at first glance seems that all mythical creatures, such as cyclops, unicorns and others, were invented in distant antiquity. Taking a closer look at these mysterious animals, one can understand that people only slightly embellished the creatures existing in the past, and invented myths about them. So we will analyze 10 mythical creatures, and let's see where these legends came from.
You probably won't meet a person who has no idea what a unicorn looks like. Even young children know perfectly well that unicorns are horses with one horn sticking out of their foreheads. These animals have always been associated with chastity and spiritual purity. In almost all world cultures, unicorns have been described in legends and myths.
The first images of these unusual creatures were found in India over 4 thousand years ago. Following the Indian people, unicorns were described in legends in western Asia, and then in Greece and Rome. In the 5th century BC, unicorns began to be described in the West as well. What is most surprising, in ancient times these animals were considered quite real, and myths were passed off as stories that happened to people.
Most of all animals that have existed in the world are unicorns like Elasmotherium. These animals lived in the steppes of Eurasia and resembled our rhinos. Their habitat was located slightly south of that of woolly rhinos. This happened during the Ice Age, at the same time the first rock carvings of Elasmotherium were recorded.
These animals reminded of our horses, only the Elasmotherium had a long horn on their forehead. They disappeared in the same period of time as the rest of the inhabitants of the megafauna of Eurasia. However, some scientists still believe that the Elasmotherium managed to survive and survive for a long time. It was in their image that the Evenks laid down the legends about bulls with a black color and a large horn on their foreheads.
In folk art, there are many stories about dragons and their varieties. The image of these mythical animals also changed depending on the culture of the people. So, in Europe, dragons were described as large creatures living in the mountains and breathing out fire. This description is classic for most people. However, in China, these animals were described in a completely different way, and looked more like huge snakes. In most cases, in legend, dragons represented a serious obstacle that had to be overcome in order to receive a generous reward. It was also believed that by defeating the dragon and invading its torso, one could gain eternal life. That is, the dragon meant both rebirth and temporary death at the same time.
In mythological stories, mentions of dragons most likely appeared due to the found remains of dinosaurs, which were mistaken for the bones of mythical animals. Of course, the legends about dragons did not appear groundless, and in reality there were animals that served as a pretext for the emergence of myths.
The largest terrestrial lizards known in the scientific field were called magalania. They lived in the Pleistocene era in Australia. It has been proven that they existed from 1.6 million to 40,000 years ago. The Magalania ate exclusively on mammals, and the size of the prey did not matter. Their habitat was sparse forests and grassy savannas.
It is believed that some varieties of Magalania managed to survive until the time when ancient people appeared. From there, images of huge lizards appeared, the length of which could reach up to 9 meters, and the mass of up to 2200 kilograms.
Icelandic sailors from ancient times described terrible monsters that resembled cephalopods. It was from the sailors of those times that stories began about a monster called the kraken. The first mention of this animal was recorded by a naturalist from Denmark. According to his descriptions, this animal was the size of a floating island, and possessed such strength that it could pull the most bulky warship to the bottom with its tentacles. Also, the conquerors of the seas were afraid of the eddies that arose when the kraken suddenly plunged under the water.
Many scientists today are convinced that the kraken still exist. They just call them big squids and do not find anything mythical about them. There is also evidence of the vital activity of these animals, from a large number of fishermen. Disputes are only about the size of the mollusk. So, more recently, in the southern seas, scientists managed to find a huge squid, the size of which was about 14 meters. It is also said that this mollusk, in addition to the usual suckers, had pointed claws at the ends of the tentacles. Having met such a monster, even a man of our time could be frightened. What can we say about medieval fishermen, who in any case would have considered a huge squid for a mythical creature.
There are many legends and stories about basilisks. In them, these monsters are most often described as snakes of unimaginable sizes. Basilisk venom was fatal to any living creature. Stories about this animal date back to the first century BC. However, at that time a basilisk was called a small, thirty centimeter snake, on the head of which there was a white speck. A little later, in the 3rd century, the basilisk acquired a new image and was described as a fifteen centimeter snake. Half a century later, numerous legend authors began to add new details to the basilisks, making a monster out of an ordinary snake. So, he had black scales that were located all over his body, large wings, claws like tigers, an eagle's beak, emerald eyes and a lizard's tail. In some cases, the basilisks were even "put on" a red crown. It was about such a creature that legends were made in Europe in the thirteenth century.
Modern scientists put forward a logical version that the basilisk is a prototype of some types of snakes. For example, it could be a well-known cobra. The rather fierce behavior of this snake, as well as the ability to inflate the hood and spit poison, could well have caused a violent fantasy in the heads of ancient writers.
In ancient Egypt, the basilisk was considered a viper with horns. This is how he was portrayed in hieroglyphs. Many believe that this was the reason for talking about the crown on the head of the snake.
Talk about centaurs has come down to us from ancient Greece. They were described as creatures with a horse body, but at the same time with a human torso and head. It was also mentioned that centaurs were mortal, just like ordinary people. It was possible to meet them only in the thicket of the forest or high in the mountains. Ordinary people feared these creatures, as it was believed that the centaurs were violent and unrestrained. Centaurs have been described in various ways in mythology, claiming that some of them shared their wisdom and experience with humans, teaching and mentoring them. Other centaurs were hostile and constantly fought with ordinary people.
It is believed that these creatures were invented by people from nomadic tribes who lived in the north. Despite the fact that at that time civilization already existed, and people learned to ride horses, in some places they did not know about it. So, the first mention of centaurs is attributed to the Scythians, Taurus and Kassites. These tribes lived at the expense of cattle breeding, in particular they raised fierce and huge bulls, from which the disposition for the centaur was taken.
Griffins have been described as having the bodies of lions and heads like eagles. In addition, these creatures had huge and sweeping wings, large claws, and lion tails. In some cases, the wings of the griffins were golden in color, in other stories they were snow-white. The nature of the griffins was described ambiguously: sometimes they were the embodiment of evil that could not be contained by anything, and they could also be wise and kind patrons responsible for justice.
The first mentions of these mythical animals also appeared in ancient Greece. It is believed that the inhabitants of this country were told about the outlandish animals by the Scythians from Altai, who were looking for gold in the Gobi Desert. Wandering through the sandy expanses, these people accidentally found the remains of a protoceratops and took him for an unprecedented creature.
Nowadays, scientists have found that the description of the griffin is almost identical to the dinosaurs of this species. For example, the size of the fossil and the presence of the beak matched. In addition, the protoceratops had a horny growth on the back of the head, which could eventually decay and become like ears and wings. This was the reason for the appearance of griffins in all kinds of myths and legends.
Bigfoot has a huge number of different names. In some places he is known as a yeti, in others bigfoot or saskoch. However, according to descriptions, Bigfoot is almost the same everywhere. He is presented as a creature similar to a person, but large in size. It is completely covered with wool and lives only in the mountains or thickets of forests. There is no scientific proof of the existence of this creature, although the legend that it wanders in the forests still exists in our time.
People who talk about their encounters with the Yeti claim that these monsters have a muscular body, a pointed skull, disproportionately long arms, a short neck and a weighty, protruding lower jaw. Everyone describes the color of the coat differently, to someone it seemed red, to someone white or black. There were even individuals with a gray cover.
Until now, among scientists, there is a debate about what species the Bigfoot can be attributed to. Among the plausible speculations is that this creature is a mammal, which is related to humans and primates. It was born in the prehistoric period and somehow managed to survive. It is also believed that Bigfoot is a native of another planet, that is, an extraterrestrial form of life.
Today, most opinions agree that the Yeti is none other than a species of Gigantopithecus. These animals were humanoid apes, whose height could reach up to 4 meters.
The mentions of encounters with the sea serpent are found all over the world. According to eyewitnesses, this mythical creature resembled a snake and was large in size. The head of the snake looked like a dragon's mouth, in other sources it resembled a horse's.
The image of a sea serpent could arise in people not only of the ancient, but also of the modern world after meeting with the herring king or with the belt fish. Due to its belonging to the belt fish, the herring king has a ribbon-like shape. However, only the length of the body is striking, it can reach up to 4 meters. The height of the body usually does not exceed 30 cm. Of course, there are also larger individuals, the weight of which reaches 250 kilograms, but this is very rare.
Even by the name of the dragon, one can understand that it was invented in Korea. At the same time, the creature was endowed with such features that are characteristic of this particular country. The Korean dragon was a serpentine creature without wings, but with a large and long beard. Despite the fact that in most countries of the world these animals were described as fire-breathing creatures that destroy everything in their path, the Korean dragon was a peaceful creature. They were the protectors of paddy fields and water bodies. Also in Korea, it was believed that their mythical dragon was capable of causing rain.
The appearance of such an amazing creature is confirmed by science. In the not so distant past, scientists managed to find the remains of a huge snake. It was this creature, who lived on earth from 61.7 to 58.7 million years BC, that was given the name Titanoboa. The dimensions of this snake were simply colossal - an adult was about 13 meters long and at the same time weighed more than 1 ton.
Cyclops beliefs came from ancient Greece. There they were described as humanoid creatures with great stature and only one eye. Cyclops were mentioned in many myths, where they were described as aggressive-minded creatures with superhuman powers. In those days, the Cyclops were considered a whole people living separately from all of humanity.
Scientifically speaking, the legends of the Cyclops are due to the dwarf elephants. Finding the remains of these animals, people could mistake the central hole on the elephant's head, for the eye socket of the cyclops.
Now we know the fundamental principle and understand what mythical creatures meant when talking about unicorns, dragons and cyclops. Perhaps a very real justification can be found for other myths as well?
Myths and legends, any oral or written legends tend to disappear over time, to be erased from a person's memory.
Such a fate befell many characters, both good and bad. Some of the images were modified under the influence of religion or the peculiarities of the folklore of the nations, gradually assimilating the indigenous people who gave birth to such a fantasy.
Others remained in the memory of mankind and even became a kind of "trade mark", a hot topic for books, films and computer games.
A mythical creature does not necessarily have features that are exaggerated by human fantasy. Monsters can be of a completely natural kind, be it an animal, a demigod, or an evil spirit in the guise of a human.
All of them have one thing in common - the ancient man's attempt to explain natural phenomena, catastrophes and misfortunes by the intervention of an extraterrestrial force, cruel and indifferent.
However, sometimes mythical animals, characters and images begin to live on their own. Once told, the legend is passed from person to person, acquiring details and new facts.
They are all related by a terrible disposition, fear of losing accumulated wealth and an extremely long life span.
The character of such a creature is peculiar. Most dragons are wise, but quick-tempered, cruel, and proud.
The hero often speculates on the lizard's attitude to himself in order to later kill him by deception and cunning and take possession of the dragon's untold riches.
Later, many variations of the original image appeared. Thanks to John Tolkien, Robert Salvatore and many other creators of the fantasy genre, dragons were divided by color and even acquired a direct "relationship" with the original powers.
A monster capable of drinking the blood of a person or subjugating him to his will. These evil spirits should be considered as a creature extremely malevolent and cruel.
The villagers mercilessly drive an aspen stake into another corpse, a carpenter famously cuts a cervical vertebra with an ax and another "vampire" goes to the Underworld.
Before Bram Stoker's novel was released, vampires were not endowed with anthropomorphic features. So, for example, a blood-sucking creature from South America looks like a mixture of a hellish dog with all sorts of monsters.
In the Philippines, a vampire is depicted as a winged torso with a proboscis similar to that of a mosquito.
Thus, the monster "drinks" a person, taking away his youth, beauty and strength.
The ancient people were not so scrupulous and believed that it was enough for a creature to chop off its head, well, or cut out a heart.
Not every mythical creature is terrible in nature, because darkness cannot exist without light, however, as well as vice versa.
Mythical animals quite often act as guides for the protagonist, helping him with both advice and deed.
Herald of the primordial light, at least according to most legends, is. This creature is pure by nature, aggression and violence are alien to him, therefore these animals are not left in the modern world.
Most noteworthy is the fact that the unicorn has a strange "bond" with a virgin, feels her and always comes to the call.
An interesting fact, the harsh northern peoples of Russia have their own unicorn, huge and "callous".
Sounds satirical? And yet they describe it that way. Unlike a brilliant and bright creature, Indrik belongs to the spirits of mother earth, and therefore looks accordingly.
A huge "earth mouse" is not attracted to virgins, but it can also come to the aid of a soul lost in the mountains.
Despite the fact that a siren and a mermaid are different concepts, they have a lot in common, which ultimately led to a conditional juggling of names and a little confusion.
However, this is acceptable. In the mythology of the Greeks, the Sirens are the nymphs of Persephone, who lost their will to live with their sovereign when she went to Hades.
With their singing, they lured sailors to the island, where they devoured their bodies, not otherwise out of longing for their patroness.
Odysseus almost fell into their network, who even ordered his comrades-in-arms to tie himself up so as not to become prey to carnivorous female fish.
Later, the image migrated into the mythology of Europe and even became a kind of common noun personification of the temptation of the deep sea for a sailor.
There have been theories that mermaids are actually manatees that may resemble fish with anthropomorphic features, but the image itself remains relevant to this day.
Unlike other characters, these creatures are still found all over the world.
Regardless of their veracity, the very fact of such finds is living proof that the images not only still exist, but also remain relevant.
It has one thing in common - the similarity with various stages of the evolutionary cycle of human development.
They are huge, have a thick woolly coat, are fast and strong. Despite the meager intelligence, the creatures continue to stubbornly avoid all the cunning traps created by all sorts of hunters for mystical secrets.
Mythical animals remain an extremely relevant topic, demanded not only by art workers, but also by historians.
The epic had a tremendous impact on the development of mankind, and the skepticism with which a modern inhabitant of the metropolis treats such mysteries is dictated precisely by mythology and its "domestication" of the forces of nature.
Every person has a belief in a miracle, in a magical unidentified world, in good and not so creatures that live around us. While we are children, we sincerely believe in fairies, beautiful elves, hardworking gnomes and wise wizards. Our review will help you, having renounced everything earthly, take away into this fantastic world of wonderful fairy tales, into the endless universe of dreams and illusions, where magical creatures live. Perhaps some of them are somewhat reminiscent of mythical creatures from or, while some are characteristic of a certain region of Europe.
1) Dragon
The dragon is the most common mythological creature, most of all resembling reptiles, sometimes in combination with body parts of other animals. The word "dragon", which entered the Russian language, borrowed from the Greek language in the 16th century, became a synonym for the devil, which is confirmed by the negative position of Christianity towards this image.
There are legends about dragons in almost all European countries. The mythological motive of the battle of the hero-snake-fighter with the dragon later became widespread in folklore, and then penetrated into literature in the form of the myth of St. George, who defeated the dragon and freed the girl he had captured. The literary adaptations of this legend and the corresponding images are characteristic of medieval European art.
According to the hypothesis of some scientists, the image of a dragon in the form, combining the features of birds and snakes, refers to approximately the same period when the mythological symbols of the site of animals as such gave way to gods, combining the features of man and animal. This image of the dragon was one of the ways to combine opposite symbols - the symbol of the upper world (bird) and the symbol of the lower world (snake). Nevertheless, the dragon can be considered a further development of the image of the mythological serpent - the main features and mythological motifs associated with the dragon, in general terms, coincide with those that characterized the snake.
The word "dragon" is used in zoology as the name of some real species of vertebrates, mainly reptiles and fish, and in botany. The dragon image is widely used in literature, heraldry, art and astrology. The dragon is very popular as a tattoo and symbolizes power, wisdom and strength.
2) unicorn
A creature in the form of a horse with one horn protruding from the forehead, symbolizing chastity, spiritual purity and seeking. An important role was played by the unicorn in medieval legends and the site of fairy tales, wizards and sorceresses rode it. When Adam and Eve were expelled from Paradise, God gave the unicorn a choice: stay in Eden or leave with people. The unicorn chose the latter and was blessed for compassion for people.
There is scattered evidence of encounters with unicorns from ancient times to the Middle Ages. In his Notes on the Gallic War, Julius Caesar talks about a deer with a long horn that lives in the Herzinian forest in Germany. The earliest mention of the unicorn in Western literature belongs to Ctesias of Cnidus, in the 5th century BC. in his memoir describing an animal the size of a horse, which he and many others called the Indian wild donkey. “They have a white body, brown head and blue eyes. These animals are extremely quick and strong, so that no creature, be it a horse or anyone else, can cope with them. They have one horn on the site of the head, and the powder obtained from it is used as a remedy against deadly potions. Those who drink from the vessels made of these horns are not subject to convulsions and epilepsy, they become resistant even to poisons. " Ctesias describes an animal similar in appearance to the unicorn, as it will be depicted on European tapestries a good two millennia later, but with a varied color.
The unicorn has always been of particular interest to German-speaking peoples. Since ancient times, the Harz mountain range in Central Germany was considered the habitat of unicorns, and to this day there is a cave called Einhornhole, where a large skeleton of a unicorn was discovered in 1663, which made a big splash. In contrast to the skeleton, the skull was miraculously preserved intact, and on it was found a firmly seated, straight, cone-shaped horn more than two meters long. A century later, another skeleton was discovered at the Einhornhol site near Scharzfeld. However, this is not surprising, because it is located very close by.
In the Middle Ages, the unicorn was the emblem of the Virgin Mary, as well as Saints Justin of Antioch and Justina of Padua. The image of the unicorn is widely represented in the art and heraldry of many countries of the world. For alchemists, the swift unicorn symbolized mercury.
3) Angel and Demon
An angel is a spiritual, disembodied being, possessing supernatural powers and created by God before the creation of the material world, over which they have significant power. There are significantly more of them than all people. Appointment of angels: glorification of God, embodiment of His glory, fulfillment of His orders and will. Angels are eternal and immortal, and their mind is much more perfect than human. In Orthodoxy, there is an idea of what God sends to each person immediately after his baptism.
Most often, angels are depicted as beardless youths in light-colored deacon's vestments, with wings behind their backs (a symbol of speed) and with a halo above their heads. However, in visions, angels appeared to people both as six-winged, and in the form of wheels studded with eyes, and in the form of creatures with four faces on their heads, and as rotating fiery swords, or even in the form of animals. Almost always, God does not personally appear to people, but trusts his angels to convey His will. Such an order was established by God so that a greater number of persons would be involved and thereby consecrated in the providence of God and so as not to violate the freedom of people who are unable to withstand the personal manifestation of God in all His glory.
Every person is also hunted by demons - fallen angels who have lost God's mercy and grace and who want to destroy human souls with the help of instilled fears, temptations and temptations. In the heart of every person, there is a constant battle between God and the devil. Christian tradition considers demons to be evil servants of Satan, living in hell, but able to roam the world, looking for souls ready to fall. Demons, according to the teachings of the Christian Church, are powerful and selfish creatures. In their world, it is customary to trample the lower in the mud and grovel in front of the stronger. In the Middle Ages and during the Renaissance, demons, as agents of Satan, became associated with sorcerers and witches. Demons are portrayed as extremely ugly creatures, often combining the appearance of a person with several animals, or as dark-colored angels in tongues of fire and with black wings.
Both demons and angels play an important role in European magical traditions. Numerous grimoires (witchcraft books) are permeated with occult demonology and angelology, which have their roots in Gnosticism and Kabbalah. The magic books indicate the names, seals and signatures of the spirits, their duties and possibilities, as well as the methods of invoking and subordinating them to the will of the magician.
Each angel and a demon's site have different abilities: some "specialize" in the virtue of non-possession, others strengthen people's faith, and still others help in something else. Likewise, demons - some catch up with lustful passions, others - anger, others - vanity, etc. In addition to personal guardian angels assigned to each person, there are guardian angels of cities and entire states. But they never enmity, even if these states are at war with each other, but pray to God for the enlightenment of people and the granting of peace on earth.
4) Incubus and succubus
Incubus is a dissolute demon seeking sexual relations with women. The corresponding demon that appears in front of men is called a succubus. Incubi and succubi are considered demons of a fairly high level. Contacts with mysterious and strangers who visit people at night are quite rare. The appearance of these demons is always accompanied by a preliminary deep euthanasia of all household members and animals in the room and adjacent premises. If a partner sleeps next to the intended victim, then he falls into such a deep sleep that it is impossible to wake him up.
The woman selected for the visit is put into a special state, on the border of sleep and wakefulness, something like a hypnotic trance. At the same time, she sees, hears and feels everything, but has no opportunity to move or call for help. Communication with a stranger occurs silently, through the exchange of thoughts, telepathically. The sensations of the presence of a demon can be both frightening and vice versa, pacifying and desirable. An incubus usually appears in the guise of a handsome man, and a succubus, respectively, a beautiful woman, in reality, their appearance is ugly, and sometimes the victims feel disgust and horror from contemplating the real appearance of the creature who visited them, and then the demon is fueled not only by sensual energy, but and fear and despair.
5) Undine
In the folklore of the peoples of Western Europe, as well as in the alchemical tradition, the water spirits of young women who committed suicide because of unhappy love. The fantasy of medieval alchemists and cabalists borrowed their main site features partly from popular Germanic ideas about water maidens, partly from Greek myths about naiads, sirens and newts. In the writings of these scientists, the undines played the role of elemental spirits that lived in the water and controlled the water element in all its manifestations, just as salamanders were the spirits of fire, the dwarves ruled the underworld, and the elves ruled the air.
Creatures that corresponded in popular beliefs to the Undines, if they were feminine, were distinguished by their beautiful appearance, had luxurious hair (sometimes greenish in color), which they combed when going ashore or swaying on the waves of the sea. Sometimes folk fantasy attributed them to which the torso ended instead of legs. Enchanting travelers with their beauty and singing, the undines carried them into the depths of the underwater, where they gave their love, and where years and centuries passed like moments.
According to Scandinavian legends, a person who once came to the Undines did not return back to the site of the earth, exhausted by their caresses. Sometimes the undines married people on earth, as they received an immortal human soul, especially if they had children. The legends of the Undines were popular both in the Middle Ages and among the writers of the Romantic school.
Spirits and keepers of fire of the medieval period, living in any open fire and often appearing in the form of a small lizard. The appearance of a salamander in the hearth usually does not bode well, however, it does not bring much luck either. From the point of view of influencing the fate of a person, this creature can be safely called neutral. In some ancient recipes for obtaining the philosopher's stone, the salamander is referred to as a living embodiment of this magical substance. However, other sources specify that the non-combustible salamander only ensured the maintenance of the required temperature in the crucible, where the lead was converted into gold.
In some old books, the site of the salamander's appearance is described as follows. She has the body of a young cat, behind her back are rather large webbed wings (like some dragons), the tail resembles a serpentine. The head of this creature is similar to the head of an ordinary lizard. The skin of the salamander is covered with small scales of a fibrous substance that resembles asbestos. The breath of this creature has poisonous properties and can kill any small animal.
Quite often, a salamander can be found on the slope of a volcano during an eruption. She also appears in the flames of the fire, if she herself wishes to do so. It is believed that without this amazing creature, the appearance of heat on the earth would be impossible, because without his command, even the most ordinary match cannot ignite.
Spirits of the earth and mountains, fabulous dwarfs from Western European, primarily German-Scandinavian, folklore, frequent heroes of fairy tales and legends. The first mentions of gnomes are found in Paracelsus. Their site images correlate with the doctrine of the primary elements. When lightning, striking the rock, destroyed it, it was regarded as an attack by the salamanders on the gnomes.
The gnomes did not live in the earth itself, but in the terrestrial ether. From the labile etheric body, many varieties of gnomes were created - brownies, forest spirits, water spirits. Gnomes are connoisseurs and keepers of treasures who have power over stones and plants, as well as over mineral elements in man and in animals. Some of the gnomes specialize in the development of ore deposits. Ancient healers believed that broken bones could not be restored without the help of the gnomes.
Gnomes were usually depicted as old fat dwarfs with long white beards in brown or green robes. Their habitats, depending on the species, were caves, stumps, or lockers in castles. They often build their dwellings from a substance that resembles marble. Gnomes-hamadryads live and die along with the site of the plant, of which they themselves are a part. The gnomes of poisonous plants have an ugly appearance; the spirit of the venomous hemlock is like a human skeleton covered with dried skin. Gnomes can change their size at will, as the personification of the terrestrial ether. There are good-natured gnomes and evil gnomes. Magicians warn against deceiving natural spirits, which can take revenge on a person and even destroy him. The easiest way is for children to come into contact with gnomes, since their natural consciousness is still pure and open for contact with invisible worlds.
Dwarves are dressed in clothing woven from the elements that make up their habitat. They are characterized by stinginess and gluttony. Dwarves do not like field work that harms their underground economy. But they are skilled artisans, making weapons, armor, ornaments.
8) Fairies and elves (alves)
Fairy people in Germanic-Scandinavian and Celtic folklore. There is a popular belief site that elves and fairies are one and the same, but they can be either the same or different creatures. Despite the frequent similarities in descriptions, traditional Celtic elves could be depicted as winged, in contrast to the Scandinavian ones, who in the sagas did not differ much from ordinary people.
According to German-Scandinavian legends, at the dawn of history, fairies and elves lived freely among people, despite the fact that they and people are creatures of different worlds. As the latter conquered the wild, which was the haven and home of the elves and fairies, they began to avoid people and settled in a parallel world invisible to mortals. According to Welsh and Irish legends, elves and fairies appeared before people in the form of a magical beautiful procession, which suddenly appeared before the traveler and just as suddenly disappeared.
The attitude of elves and fairies to humans is rather ambiguous. On the one hand, they are a wonderful "little people" living in flowers, singing magical songs, fluttering on the light wings of butterflies and dragonflies and enchanting with their unearthly beauty. On the other hand, elves and fairies were quite hostile to people, and it was deadly to cross the borders of their magical world. Moreover, elves and fairies were distinguished by extreme ruthlessness and insensitivity and were as cruel as they were beautiful. The latter, by the way, is not necessary: elves and fairies could, if desired, change their appearance and take the guise of birds and animals, as well as ugly old women and even monsters.
If a mortal happened to see the world of elves and fairies, he could no longer live peacefully in his real world and eventually died of inescapable melancholy. Sometimes a mortal fell into eternal captivity in the land of the elves and never returned to his world. There was a site, a belief that if on a summer night in a meadow you see a ring of magic fires of dancing elves and enter into this ring, then in this way a mortal will forever become a prisoner of the world of elves and fairies. In addition, elves and fairies often abducted babies from humans and replaced them with their ugly and capricious offspring. To protect their child from being abducted by the elves, mothers hung open scissors over the cradles, resembling a cross, as well as garlic and rowan brushes.
9) Valkyries
In Norse mythology, warlike maidens, participating in the distribution of victories and deaths in battles, are Odin's assistants. Their name comes from Old Icelandic “choosing the slain”. Originally, the Valkyries were ominous battle spirits, angels of death who relished the sight of bloody wounds. In horse ranks they swept over the battlefield like vultures, and in the name of Odin they decided the fate of the warriors. The chosen heroes of the Valkyries were taken to Valhalla - the site of the "palace of the slain", the heavenly camp of Odin's warriors, where they improved their martial arts. The Scandinavians believed that, influencing the victory, the warrior maidens held the fate of humanity in their hands.
In later Scandinavian myths, the images of the Valkyries were romanticized, and they turned into the shield-bearers of Odin, virgins with golden hair and snow-white skin, who served food and drinks to the chosen heroes in the banquet hall of Valhalla. They circled over the battlefield in the guise of adorable swan-maidens or horse-riders, galloping on magnificent pearl cloud horses, whose rain manes irrigated the land with fertile frost and dew. According to Anglo-Saxon legends, some of the Valkyries descended from elves, but most of them were princely daughters who became Valkyries, chosen by the gods during their lifetime, and could turn into swans.
Valkyries became known to modern man thanks to the great monument of ancient literature, which remained in history under the name "Elder Edda". Images of Icelandic mythical warrior maidens served as the basis for the creation of the popular Germanic epic "Song of the Nibelungs". One of the parts of the poem tells about the punishment that the Valkyrie Sigrdriva received, who dared to disobey the god Odin. Having given the victory in the battle to King Agnar, and not to the courageous Hjalm-Gunnar, the Valkyrie was deprived of the right to take part in the battles. At Odin's orders, she fell into a long sleep, after which the former warrior maiden became an ordinary earthly woman. Another Valkyrie, Brunhilde, after marriage with a mortal lost her superhuman strength, her descendants mingled with the goddesses of fate norns, spinning the thread of life at the well.
Judging by later myths, the idealized Valkyries were creatures more gentle and sensitive than their ferocious predecessors, and often fell in love with mortal heroes. The tendency to deprive the Valkyries of the sacred charms was clearly traced in the legends of the beginning of the II millennium, in which the authors often endowed Odin's warlike assistants with the appearance and fate of real inhabitants of Scandinavia at that time. The stern image of the Valkyries was used by the German composer Richard Wagner, who created the famous opera Valkyrie.
10) Troll
Creatures from Germanic-Scandinavian mythology that figure in many tales. Trolls are mountain spirits associated with stone, usually hostile to humans. According to legends, they frightened the locals with their size and witchcraft. According to other beliefs, trolls lived in castles and underground palaces. In the north of Britain there are several large rocks, about which there are legends: as if they were trolls caught in the sunlight. In mythology, trolls are not only huge giants, but also small, gnome-like creatures usually living in caves, such trolls were usually called forest trolls. The details of the image of trolls in folklore are highly dependent on the country. Sometimes they are described in various ways, even in the same legend.
Most often, trolls are ugly creatures from three to eight meters tall, sometimes they can change their size. Almost always, a very large nose is an attribute of the troll's appearance in the images. They have the nature of a stone, as they are born from rocks, turn into stone in the sun. They feed on meat and often devour people. They live one at a time in caves, forests or under bridges. The trolls under the bridges are somewhat different from the usual ones. In particular, they can appear in the sun, do not eat people, respect money, are greedy for human women, there are legends about the children of trolls and earthly women.
The dead, rising from their graves at night or appearing in the guise of bats, sucking blood from sleeping people, sending nightmares. It is believed that vampires were "unclean" dead - criminals, suicides, who died prematurely and died from the bites of vampires. The image is extremely popular for cinematography and fiction, although vampires from fiction usually have some site differences from mythological vampires.
In folklore, the term is usually used in relation to a blood-sucking creature from Eastern European legends, but similar creatures from other countries and cultures are often called vampires. The characteristics of a vampire vary greatly in different traditions. During the day, experienced vampires are very difficult to distinguish - they perfectly imitate living people. Their main feature: they do not eat or drink anything. A more attentive observer may notice that neither in sunlight nor in moonlight they cast no shadows. Moreover, vampires are great enemies of mirrors. They always strive to destroy them, because the reflection of the vampire is not visible in the mirror, and this betrays him.
12) Ghost
The soul or spirit of a deceased person who has not completely departed from the material world and is in his so-called etheric body. Deliberate attempts to connect with the spirit of the deceased are called a seance or, in a narrower sense, necromancy. There are ghosts that are firmly attached to a certain place. Sometimes they have been to its inhabitants for hundreds of years. This is explained by the fact that human consciousness cannot recognize the fact of its own death and tries to continue its usual existence. That is why, by ghosts and ghosts, it is customary to mean the souls of dead people, who for some reason have not found comfort for themselves.
Sometimes it happens that ghosts or ghosts appear, because the site is that the person after death was not buried according to the established custom. Because of this, they cannot leave the earth and rush in search of peace. There were cases when ghosts pointed people to the place of their death. If the remains were buried in accordance with all the rules of church rituals, the ghost disappeared. The difference between ghosts and ghosts is that, as a rule, the ghost appears no more than once. If a ghost appears constantly in the same place, then it can be classified as a ghost.
We can talk about the phenomenon of a ghost or ghost when the following signs are observed: the image of a deceased person can pass through various obstacles, suddenly appear from nowhere and just as unexpectedly disappear without a trace. Ghosts and ghosts are most likely to be found in cemeteries, abandoned houses, or in ruins. In addition, very often this site representatives of the other world appear at crossroads, on bridges and near water mills. It is believed that ghosts and ghosts are always hostile towards people. They try to scare a person, lure him into the impassable thicket of the forest and even deprive him of his memory and reason.
It is not given to every mortal to see. Usually it comes to someone who is destined to experience something terrible in the near future. There is an opinion that ghosts and ghosts have the ability to talk to a person or transmit certain information to him in some other way, for example, using telepathy.
Numerous beliefs and legends telling about encounters with ghosts and ghosts strictly forbid talking to them. The best protection from ghosts and ghosts has always been considered a pectoral cross, holy water, prayers and a sprig of mistletoe. According to people who have met with ghosts, they heard unusual sounds and experienced strange sensations. Scientists studying the site of such phenomena have found that the ghost is preceded by a sharp drop in temperature, and a person who is nearby at this moment experiences a severe chill, which many of the eyewitnesses call nothing but burial cold. In many countries of the world, legends about ghosts, ghosts and spirits are passed from mouth to mouth.
A monstrous chimera with the ability to kill not only with poison, but also with a look, breath, from which the grass dried up and the rocks cracked. In the Middle Ages, it was believed that the basilisk emerged from an egg laid by a rooster and hatched by a toad; therefore, in medieval images it has the head of a rooster, the body and eyes of a toad, and the tail of a snake. It had a crest in the form of a diadem, hence its name - "the king of snakes". One could be saved from the deadly gaze by showing him a mirror: the snake was dying from its own reflection.
Unlike, for example, a werewolf and a dragon, which the human imagination gave birth to the site invariably on all continents, the basilisk is a creation of minds that existed exclusively in Europe. In this fiend of the Libyan desert, a very specific fear of the inhabitants of green valleys and fields in front of the unpredictable dangers of sandy expanses was embodied. All the fears of warriors and travelers combined into one common fear of meeting with some mysterious ruler of the desert. Scientists call the original material of fantasy either the Egyptian cobra, or the horned viper, or the helmet-bearing chameleon. There is every reason for this: a cobra of this species moves half-erect - with its head and front part of the body raised above the ground, and the growths on the head of a horned viper and a chameleon look like a crown. The traveler could protect himself only in two ways: to have a weasel with him - the only animal that is not afraid of a basilisk and fearlessly enters into battle or a rooster with it, for, for some inexplicable reason, the desert king does not tolerate a rooster's cry.
Starting from the site of the XII century, the myth of the basilisk began to spread throughout the cities and villages of Europe, appearing in the form of a winged serpent with the head of a rooster. The mirror became the main weapon in the fight against the basilisks, who allegedly rampaged around dwellings in the Middle Ages, poisoning wells and mines with their presence. Weasels were still considered the natural enemies of basilisks, but they could defeat the monster only by chewing the leaves of the rue. Images of a weasel with leaves in its mouth adorned wells, buildings, and church pews. In the church, carved figures of weasels had a symbolic meaning: for a person, Scripture was the same as rue leaves for weasel - tasting the wisdom of the biblical texts helped to defeat the devil basilisk.
Basilisk is a very ancient and very common symbol in medieval art, but it is rarely found already in Italian painting of the Renaissance. In heraldry, the basilisk is a symbol of power, threat and royalty. The phrases “basilisk look”, “eyes like a basilisk's site” mean a look full of anger and murderous hatred.
In German-Scandinavian mythology, a huge wolf, the youngest of the children of the god of lies Loki. Initially, the gods considered him not dangerous enough and allowed him to live in Asgard - their heavenly abode. The wolf grew up among the aes and became so great and terrible that only Tyr, the god of military courage, dared to feed him. To protect themselves, the Aesir decided to bind Fenrir with a chain, but the mighty wolf easily tore the strongest chains. In the end, the aesir managed to bind Fenrir with the magic chain of Glaipnir by cunning, which the dwarves made from the noise of cat footsteps, a woman's beard, mountain roots, bear veins, fish breath and bird saliva. All this is no longer in the world. Glaipnir was thin and soft as silk. But in order for the wolf to allow himself to be put on this chain, Tyur had to put his hand in his mouth as a sign of the absence of evil intentions. When Fenrir was unable to free himself, he bit off Tyr's hand. The Aesir chained Fenrir to a rock deep underground and stuck a sword between his jaws. According to the prophecy, on the day of Ragnarok (End of Times) Fenrir will break his bonds, kill Odin and himself will be killed by Vidar, the son of Odin. Despite this prophecy, the Aesir did not kill Fenrir, because "the gods so honored their sanctuary and their shelter that they did not want to desecrate them with the blood of the Wolf."
15) Werewolf
A person who knows how to turn into animals, or vice versa, an animal who knows how to turn into people. This skill is often possessed by demons, deities and spirits. The forms of the word "werewolf" - the Germanic "werwolf" and the French "loup-garou", are ultimately derived from the Greek word "lycanthrope" (lykanthropos - wolf-man). It is with the wolf that all the associations generated by the word werewolf are associated. This change in the site can occur both at the request of a werewolf, and involuntarily, caused, for example, by certain lunar cycles or sounds - howling.
Legends about exist in the beliefs of almost all peoples and cultures. Phobias associated with belief in werewolves reached their apogee in the late Middle Ages, when werewolves were directly identified with heresy, Satanism and witchcraft, and the figure of the wolf-man was the main theme of various "Hammer of Witches" and other theological teachings of the Inquisition.
Werewolves are of two types: those who turn into animals at will (with the help of witchcraft spells or other magical rituals), and those who are sick with lycanthropy - the disease of transformation into animals (from a scientific point of view, lycanthropy is a mental illness). They differ from each other in that the former can turn into animals at any time of the day or night, without losing the ability to think humanly reasonably, and the others only at night, mostly on the site of the full moon, against their will, while human the essence is driven deep inside, freeing the animal principle. At the same time, a person does not remember what he did, being in an animal form. But not all werewolves show their abilities on the full moon, some can become werewolves at any time of the day.
Initially, it was believed that you can kill a werewolf by inflicting a fatal wound on him, for example, by striking him in the heart or chopping off his head. The wounds inflicted on the werewolf in animal form remain on his human body. In this way, you can expose a werewolf in a living person: if the wound inflicted on the beast later manifests itself in a person, then this person is that werewolf. In the modern tradition, you can kill a werewolf, like many other evil spirits, with a silver bullet or silver weapon. At the same time, traditional anti-vampiric remedies in the form of garlic, holy water and aspen cola are not effective against werewolves. After the site of death, the beast turns into a man for the last time.
16) Goblin
Supernatural humanoid creatures that live in underground caves and rarely go out to the ground. The term itself comes from the old French "gobelin", which is probably related to the German "kobold", kobolds - a special kind of elves, roughly corresponding to Russian brownies; sometimes the same name is applied to mountain spirits. Historically, the concept of "goblin" is close to the Russian concept of "demon" - these are the lower spirits of nature, due to the expansion of man forced to live in his environment.
Now the classic goblin is considered an anthropomorphic ugly creature from half a meter to two meters in height, with long ears, scary cat-like eyes and long claws on his hands, usually with greenish skin. Transforming or disguising themselves as people, goblins hide their ears under a hat, claws - in gloves. But they cannot hide their eyes, therefore, according to legend, you can recognize them by the site's eyes. Like gnomes, goblins are also sometimes credited with a passion for the sophisticated machines and technology of the steam era.
17) Lingbakr
The Lingbakr is a monstrous whale mentioned in ancient Icelandic legends. The floating lingbakr looks like an island, and the name comes from the Icelandic words for "heather" and "back". According to legends, sea travelers, mistaking a whale for a harsh northern island overgrown with heather, made a halt on its back. The sleeping lingbakr awakened from the heat of the fire made by the sailors, and dived into the depths of the ocean, dragging people along into the abyss.
Modern scientists suggest that the myth of such an animal arose from the repeated observation by sailors of islands of volcanic origin, periodically appearing and disappearing in the open sea.
18) Banshee
Banshee is a mourner, a creature from Irish folklore. They have long, loose hair, which they comb with a silver comb, gray cloaks over green dresses, eyes red from tears. site Banshee patronize the ancient human race, emit heartbreaking screams, mourning the death of any of the family members. When several banshees come together, it foreshadows the death of a great man.
Seeing a banshee is an imminent death. The banshee cries in a language no one understands. Her cry is the cries of wild geese, the sobs of an abandoned child and a wolf howl. A banshee can take on the appearance of an ugly old woman with matted black hair, protruding teeth and a single nostril. Or - a pale, beautiful girl in a gray cloak or shroud. She then sneaks among the trees, then flies around the house, filling the air with shrill screams.
19) Anku
In the folklore of the inhabitants of the Brittany Peninsula, the harbinger of death. Usually anku becomes a person who died in a particular settlement last in a year, there is also a version that this is the first person buried in a particular cemetery.
Anku appears in the guise of a tall emaciated site of a man with long white hair and empty eye sockets. He wears a black cloak and a black wide-brimmed hat, sometimes he takes the form of a skeleton. Anku drives a funeral cart drawn by horse skeletons. According to another version, a yellow skinny mare. In terms of its functions, the anku approaches another Kelian harbinger of death - the banshee. Basically, the fact that, like the Irish harbinger of death, he warns of death and allows a person to prepare for it. According to legend, whoever meets Anka will die in two years. A person who meets an anka at midnight will die within a month. The creak of Anku's cart also portends death. It is sometimes believed that anku lives in cemeteries.
There are quite a few stories about the Anka in Brittany. In some, people help him fix a wagon or scythe. In gratitude, he warns them of imminent death, and thus they manage to prepare for the site of their death, having settled the last affairs on earth.
20) Water Bouncer
An evil spirit from the tales of Welsh fishermen, something like a water demon that tore nets, devoured sheep that fell into rivers, and often uttered a terrible cry that frightened the fishermen so much that a water jumper could drag his victim into the water, where the unfortunate shared the fate of a sheep. According to some sources, the water jumper has no paws at all. According to other versions, the wings replace only the front legs.
If the tail of this strange creature is the remnant of the tail of a tadpole, not reduced during metamorphosis, then the hopper can be considered a double chimera consisting of a toad and a bat.
21) Selkie
In the folklore of the British Isles, there are entire peoples of magical creatures that can be very different from everyone else. Selkies (silks, roans), people-seals are one of such peoples. Selkie legends are found throughout the British Isles site, although they are most often told in Scotland, Ireland, the Farrer and Orkney Islands. The name of these magical creatures comes from the Old Scottish selich - "seal". Outwardly, Selki resemble humanoid seals with delicate brown eyes. When they shed their skins and appear on the shore, they appear as beautiful boys and girls. Seal skins allow them to live in the sea, but they have to surface from time to time to take a breath of air.
They are considered angels who were expelled from paradise for minor offenses, but these offenses were not enough for the underworld. According to another explanation, they were once people, exiled to the sea for sins, but they were allowed to take human form on land. Some believed that salvation was available to their souls.
Selkies sometimes go ashore for their holidays, shedding seal skins. If the skin is kidnapped, the sea fairy will not be able to return to the ocean site and will be forced to stay on land. Selkies can bestow wealth from sunken ships, but they can also tear fishermen's nets, send a storm, or take fish away. If you go to the sea and shed seven tears into the water, then the selki will know that someone is looking for a meeting with him. Both Orkney and Shetlands believed that if the blood of a seal was shed in the sea, a storm would rise, which could be fatal to people.
Dogs have always been associated with the underworld, the Moon and deities, especially the goddesses of death and divination. Over the centuries in Scotland and Ireland, many people have seen the terrifying one with huge glowing eyes. Due to the widespread migration of the Celtic peoples, the Black Dog began to appear in many parts of the world. This supernatural creature was almost always considered an omen of danger.
Sometimes the Black Dog appears for the site of the execution of divine justice, pursuing the culprit until justice somehow triumphs. Descriptions of the Black Dog are often unclear, mainly due to the long years of fear that it instills and is deeply rooted in the minds of people. The appearance of this eerie creature fills the one who sees it with chilling despair and a sense of hopelessness, followed by a decline in vitality.
This terrifying vision does not usually attack or chase its victim. It moves absolutely silently, spreading an aura of deadly fear.
23) Brownie
Scottish with disheveled hair and brown skin, hence the name (English: "brown" - "brown, brown"). Brownie belongs to a class of creatures that differ in habits and character from the fickle and mischievous elves. He spends the day in seclusion, away from the old houses he loves to visit, and at night he diligently performs any difficult work that the site considers desirable for the family to which he has dedicated himself. But a brownie does not work in hopes of a reward. He is grateful for the milk, sour cream, porridge or pastries left to him, but the brownie perceives the excessive amount of food left as a personal insult and leaves the house forever, so it is advisable to observe moderation.
One of the main properties of a brownie is concern about the moral principles of the household of the family he serves. This spirit usually perks up the ears at the first manifestation of negligence in the behavior of servants. On the minimum offense he noticed in a barn, cowshed or pantry, he immediately reports to the owner, whose interests he considers superior in comparison with all other things in the world. No bribe can make him remain silent, and woe to anyone who decides to criticize or laugh at his efforts: the revenge of a brownie insulted to the core will be terrible.
24) Kraken
In the legends of the Scandinavian peoples, the site of the peoples is a giant sea monster. The Kraken was credited with incredibly large dimensions: its huge back, more than a kilometer wide, protrudes from the sea, like an island, and its tentacles are able to encompass the largest ship. There are numerous testimonies of medieval sailors and travelers about the alleged encounters with this fantastic animal. According to the descriptions, the kraken looks like a squid (octopus) or an octopus, only its size is much larger. Quite often the stories of sailors about how they themselves or their comrades landed on the "island", and he suddenly plunged into the abyss, sometimes dragging the ship along with him, falling into the resulting whirlpool. In different countries, the kraken was also called polypus, pulp, crabben, kraks.
The ancient Roman scientist and writer Pliny described how a huge polypus raided the coast, where he loved to feast on fish. Attempts to bait the monster with dogs failed: he swallowed all the dogs. But once the watchmen nevertheless coped with the site and, admiring its enormous size (the tentacles were 9 meters long, and as thick as a human body), they sent a giant mollusk to be eaten by the proconsul of Rome Lucullus, famous for his feasts and gourmet food.
The existence of giant octopuses was later proven, however, the mythical kraken of the northern peoples, due to the incredibly large size attributed to it, is most likely the fruit of the unfolding fantasy of sailors in trouble.
25) Avank
In Welsh folklore, a fierce water creature, similar, according to some sources, to a huge crocodile, according to others - to a gigantic beaver, a dragon from Breton legends, allegedly found in the territory of present-day Wales.
The Lin-ir-Avank whirlpool in North Wales is something like a whirlpool: an object thrown into it will spin until it is sucked to the bottom. It was believed that this avank drags people and animals into the pool.
26) Wild Hunt
It is a group of ghost riders with a pack of dogs. In Scandinavia, it was believed that the wild hunt was led by the god Odin, who with his retinue rushed along the earth and collects the souls of people. If someone meets them, they will go to another country, and if they speak, they will die.
In Germany, they said that ghost hunters were led by the queen of winter, Frau Holda, known to us from the fairy tale "Madame Blizzard". In the Middle Ages, the main role in the wild hunt most often began to be assigned to the Devil or his peculiar female reflection - Hecate. But in the British Isles, the king or queen of the elves could be in charge. They kidnapped the children and young people they met, who became the servants of the elves.
27) Draugr
In Scandinavian mythology, a revived dead person close to vampires. According to one version, these are the souls of berserkers who did not die in battle and were not burned in a funeral pyre.
The body of a draugr site can swell to an enormous size, sometimes remaining undisturbed for many years. An unbridled appetite, reaching the level of cannibalism, brings draugr closer to the folklore image of vampires. Sometimes the soul is preserved. The appearance of the draugr depends on the type of their death: water constantly flows from the drowned man, and bleeding wounds gape on the body of the fallen soldier. The skin can range from deathly white to cadaveric blue. The draugram is credited with supernatural power and magical abilities: to predict the future, the weather. Anyone who knows a special spell can subjugate them. They are able to transform into various animals, but at the same time they have human eyes and mind, which they had in a "human" guise.
Draugr can attack animals and travelers staying overnight in the stable, but they can also attack housing directly. In connection with this belief, the custom arose in Iceland to knock three times at night: it was believed that the ghost site was limited to one.
28) Dullahan
According to Irish legends, the dullahan is an evil spirit in the form of a headless, usually on a black horse, carrying his head under his arm. The dullahan uses the human spine as a whip. Sometimes his horse is harnessed to a covered wagon, hung with all sorts of attributes of death: outside there are skulls with burning eye sockets that illuminate his path, the spokes of the wheels are made of thigh bones, and the lining of the cart is made of a burial shroud eaten by worms or dried human skin. When a dullahan stops his horse, it means that death awaits someone: the spirit loudly shouts out a name, after which the person immediately dies.
According to Irish beliefs, no obstacles can defend against the dullahan. Any gates and doors open in front of him. Dullahan also hates being watched: he can throw a bowl of blood on a spy on him, which means that the site of this person will soon die, or even whip a curious person in the eyes. However, the dullahan is afraid of gold, and even a small touch with this metal is enough to drive him away.
29) Kelpie
In Scottish lower mythology, the water spirit, hostile to man and living in many rivers and lakes. Kelpie appears in the guise of grazing by the water, exposing the traveler to his back and then dragging him into the water. According to the Scots, the kelpie is a werewolf capable of transforming into animals and into humans.
Before the storm, many hear the kelpie howl. Much more often than human, the kelpie takes the form of a horse, most often black. Sometimes they say that his eyes are glowing or they are full of tears, and his gaze causes chills or attracts like a magnet. With all its appearance, the kelpie invites the passerby to sit on himself, and when he succumbs to a trick on the site, he jumps with the rider into the waters of the lake. The person will instantly get wet to the skin, and the kelpie disappears, and his disappearance is accompanied by a roar and a dazzling flash. But sometimes, when the kelpie is angry about something, he tears his victim to pieces and devours it.
The ancient Scots called these creatures water kelpies, horses, bulls or simply spirits, and mothers from time immemorial forbade babies to play near the banks of a river or lake. The monster can take the form of a galloping horse, grab the baby, put it on its back and then plunge into the abyss with the helpless little rider. Kelpie footprints are easy to recognize: his hooves are set backwards. The kelpie is able to stretch as long as you like, and the person seems to stick to his body.
He is often associated with the Loch Ness Monster. Allegedly, the kelpie turns into a sea lizard, or this is its true appearance. Also, a kelpie can appear on the site as a beautiful girl in a green dress inside out, sitting on the shore and luring travelers. He can appear in the guise of a handsome youth and seduce girls. You can recognize it by wet hair with shells or algae.
30) Huldra
In Scandinavian folklore, huldra is a girl from the forest people or from the troll family, but at the same time beautiful and young, with long blond hair. Traditionally ranked as "evil spirits". The name "huldra" means "the one who hides, hides." This is a mysterious creature that constantly lives next to people and sometimes leaves traces by which one can guess about its existence. However, the huldra still showed itself to people. The only thing that distinguished the huldra from the earthly woman was a long cow's tail, which, however, is not immediately detectable. If a baptism was performed over the huldra, the tail fell off. Apparently, he is a site and served as an external sign of her "unclean" origin, connected her with the wild animal world, hostile to the Christian Church. In some areas, other "animal" attributes were also attributed to the huldre: horns, hooves and a wrinkled back, but these are deviations from the classical image.
Genetically, belief in huldr and nature spirits can be traced back to ancestor worship. The peasants believed that after the death of a person, his spirit continued to live in the natural world, and certain places - groves, mountains, where he found a posthumous refuge - were often considered sacred. Gradually, folk fantasy inhabited these places with various and bizarre creatures that were similar to the souls of their ancestors in that they guarded these places and maintained order there.
The Huldrs have always wanted to be related to the human race. Numerous legends tell of how the peasants married or got in touch with the huldrs. Often, a person, bewitched by her beauty, became a site lost to the human world. The Huldrs could take not only young men but also girls to their villages. In the mountains, the huldrs taught people many arts - from household crafts to playing musical instruments and poetry.
It used to be that rural lazy people ran to the huldram so as not to work in the hardships. Such a person was ordered to return to normal life: contact with evil spirits was considered a sinful weakness, and the church cursed such people. Sometimes, however, relatives or friends rescued the bewitched by asking the priest to ring the bells or going to the mountains with bells themselves. The ringing of bells removed the shackles of magic from a person, and he could return to people. If earthly people rejected the attention of Huldra, then they could severely pay for this until the end of their days with the loss of financial well-being, health and good luck.
31) Yule cat
Icelandic children are scared by the Yule cat, one of the symbols of Icelandic Christmas. In northern countries, the ancient holiday Yule was celebrated many centuries before the emergence of the Christian religion. The Yule festival also mentions abundant food on the tables and the giving of gifts, which is reminiscent of Christian Christmas traditions. It is the Yule cat who at night takes with him or eats those children who have been mischievous and lazy for a year. And the cat brings gifts to obedient children. The Yule cat is huge, very fluffy and unusually voracious. The cat confidently distinguishes idlers and loafers from all other people. After all, lazy people always celebrate a holiday in old clothes.
The belief about the dangerous and the terrible was first recorded in the 19th century. According to folklore stories, the Yule Cat lives in a mountain cave with the terrible cannibal Grila, who kidnaps naughty and capricious children, with her husband, the lazy Leppaludi, their sons Yolasveinars, the site they are also Icelandic Santa Clauses. In a more humane version of the tale, the Yule Cat takes only the holiday treats.
The origin of the Yule cat is associated with the traditions of Icelandic life. The production of sheep wool broadcloth was a family business: after the autumn shearing of the sheep, all family members take up the processing of the wool. According to custom, socks and mittens were woven for each family member. And it turned out that the one who worked well and diligently received a new thing, and loafers found themselves without a gift. To motivate the kids to work, the parents scared them by visiting the scary Yule Cat.
32) Doppelganger (doppelganger)
In the work of the era of romanticism, the double of a person is the dark side of the personality or the antithesis to the guardian angel. In the works of some authors, the character does not cast shadows and is not reflected in the mirror. His appearance often foreshadows the death of the hero. embodies shadow unconscious desires and instincts, repressed by the subject due to incompatibility with the conscious site of the idea of himself under the influence of morality or society, with his own ideas about himself. Quite often the double “feeds” at the expense of the protagonist, as he withers, becomes more and more self-confident and, as it were, takes his place in the world.
Another variant of a doppelganger is a werewolf, capable of reproducing with high accuracy the appearance, behavior, and sometimes the psyche of the one he is copying. In its natural form, the doppelganger looks like a humanoid figure, sculpted from clay with blurred features. However, in this state, he is rarely seen: the doppelganger always prefers to disguise himself as someone else.
A huge creature with a snake head and neck that lives in the Scottish Loch Ness and is affectionately called Nessie. There was always a warning among the locals about a giant monster, but the general public did not hear about it until 1933, when the first witnesses from travelers appeared on the site. If we turn to the very depths of Celtic legends, then for the first time this animal was noticed by the Roman conquerors. And the very first mentions of the Loch Ness monster date back to the 5th century AD, where one of the chronicles mentions the water beast of the River Ness. Then all references to Nessie disappear until 1880, when, in complete calm, a sailing ship with people sank to the bottom. The North Scots immediately remembered the monster and began to spread all kinds of rumors and legends.
One of the most common and plausible speculations is the theory that the Loch Ness Monster may be a surviving plesiosaur. This is one of the marine reptiles that existed in the era of the dinosaurs, which ended about 63 million years ago. Plesiosaurs were very similar to dolphins or sharks, and an expedition of scientists to the lake in 1987 could well support this hypothesis. But the site is that about ten thousand years ago, there was a huge glacier on the site of Loch Ness for a long time, and it is unlikely that any animals could survive in the ice water. According to researchers, the Loch Ness Monster does not belong to the younger generation of settlers. The family of the largest marine animals, which arrived in Loch Ness several decades or centuries ago, has nothing to do with the family of whales or dolphins, otherwise their appearance would often be observed on the surface of Loch Ness. Most likely, we are talking about a giant octopus, which is rarely shown on the surface. In addition, eyewitnesses could observe different parts of his gigantic body, which can explain the conflicting descriptions of the monster by many witnesses.
Research, including sonic scanning of the lake and many other experiments, only further confused the researchers, revealing many unexplained facts, but the site did not find clear evidence of the existence of the Loch Ness monster in the lake. The most recent evidence comes from satellite, which captures a strange spot, in the distance resembling the Loch Ness monster. The main argument of skeptics is a study that proved that the flora of Loch Ness is very poor, and there simply would not be enough resources even for one such huge animal.
Spring-Heeled Jack is one of the most famous Victorian characters in London, a humanoid creature, notable primarily for its ability to make jumps of astonishing heights. Jack wanders the night streets of the British capital, easily walks through puddles, swamps and rivers, enters houses. He attacks people, rips off their skin and kills mercilessly, agitating the police. The earliest reports of London are dated 1837. Later, its appearances were recorded in many places in England - especially a site in London itself, its suburbs, Liverpool, Sheffield, Midlands and even Scotland. The peak of reports was in the 1850s-1880s.
Not a single photograph of Jack the Jumper exists, although the photograph already existed then. One can judge about his appearance only by the descriptions of victims and eyewitnesses of his appearances and attacks on people, many of which are very similar. Most people who saw Jack described him as a humanoid creature of tall and athletic build, with a hideous devilish face, pointed ears, large claws on his fingers and glowing bulging eyes that resemble red balls of fire. In one of the descriptions, it is noted that Jack was wearing a black raincoat, in the other - that he was wearing a kind of helmet on his head, and he was dressed in tight-fitting white clothes, over which a waterproof raincoat was thrown. Sometimes he was described as a devil, sometimes as a tall and thin gentleman. Finally, many of the site's descriptions indicate that Jack could have emitted clouds of blue and white flames from his mouth, and that the claws on his hands were metal.
There are a large number of theories about the nature and personality of Jack the Jumper, but none of them is scientifically proven and does not give affirmative answers to all questions related to him. Thus, its history remains unexplained to this day, science does not know about the device with which a person could make jumps like Jack, and the fact of his real existence is disputed by a significant number of historians. The urban legend of Jack the Jumper was incredibly popular in England in the second half of the 19th century - primarily because of his unusual appearance, aggressive eccentric behavior and the aforementioned ability to make incredible jumps in height, to the extent that Jack became the hero of several artistic works of European tabloid literature site of the XIX-XX centuries.
35) Reaper (Reaper of Souls, Grim Reaper)
A guide of souls to the afterlife. Since initially a person could not explain the cause of death of a living being, there were ideas about death as a real being. In European culture, death is often depicted as a skeleton with a scythe, dressed in a black hoodie with a hood.
The medieval European legends of the Grim Reaper with the scythe may have originated from the custom of some European peoples to bury people with the scythe. Reapers are creatures with power over time and human consciousness. They can change the way a person sees the world around them and themselves, thus simplifying the transition from life to death. The Reaper's true form is too complex to replicate, but most people see them as ghostly figures in rags or wearing funeral robes.
Throughout history, people have come up with countless tales of mythical creatures, legendary monsters, and supernatural monsters. Despite their obscure origin, these mythical creatures are described in the folklore of various peoples and in many cases are part of the culture. It is amazing that there are people around the world who are still convinced that these monsters exist, despite the absence of any meaningful evidence. So, today we will take a look at a list of 25 legendary and mythical creatures that never existed.
Budak is featured in many Czech fairy tales and legends. This monster is usually described as a creepy creature that resembles a scarecrow. It can cry like an innocent child, thus luring its victims. On the full moon night, Budak allegedly weaves fabric from the souls of those people whom he killed. Sometimes Budak is described as an evil version of Santa Claus, who travels around Christmas in a cart pulled by black cats.
The ghoul is one of the most famous creatures in Arabian folklore and is found in the collection of The Thousand and One Nights. The ghoul is described as an undead that can also take the form of an intangible spirit. He often visits cemeteries to eat the flesh of recently deceased people. This is perhaps the main reason why the word ghoul in Arab countries is often used when referring to gravediggers or representatives of any profession directly related to death.
Loosely translated from Japanese, Yorogumo means "temptress spider", and in our humble opinion, the name perfectly describes this monster. According to Japanese folklore, Yorogumo was a bloodthirsty monster. But in most tales, he is described as a huge spider that takes the form of a very attractive and sexy woman who seduces her male victims, captures them in a web, and then devours them with pleasure.
In Greek mythology, Cerberus is the guardian of Hades and is usually described as a bizarre-looking monster that looks like a dog with three heads and a tail, the end of which is the head of a dragon. Cerberus was born from the union of two monsters, the giant Typhon and Echidna, and is himself the brother of the Lernaean Hydra. Cerberus is often described in myth as one of the most loyal guardians in history and is often referred to in the epic of Homer.
The legend of the Kraken came from the North Seas and its presence was initially limited to the shores of Norway and Iceland. Over time, however, his fame grew thanks to the wild imagination of storytellers, which led subsequent generations to believe that he also lives in all the seas of the world.
Norwegian fishermen originally described the sea monster as a gigantic animal that was as large as an island and posed a danger to passing ships not from a direct attack, but from the giant waves and tsunami caused by its body movements. However, later people began to spread stories about the violent attacks of the monster on ships. Modern historians believe that the Kraken was nothing more than a giant squid and the rest of the stories are nothing more than the wild imaginations of sailors.
The Minotaur is one of the first epic creatures we meet in human history and takes us back to the heyday of the Minoan civilization. Minotaur, had the head of a bull on the body of a very large, muscular man and settled in the center of the Cretan labyrinth, which was built by Daedalus and his son Icarus at the request of King Minos. Everyone who got into the labyrinth became a victim of the Minotaur. The exception was the Athenian king Theseus, who killed the beast and left the labyrinth alive with the help of the thread of Ariadne, the daughter of Minos.
If Theseus hunted the Minotaur these days, then a rifle with a collimator sight would be very useful to him, a huge and high-quality selection of which on the portal http://www.meteomaster.com.ua/meteoitems_R473/.
Those familiar with psychology have probably heard the term "Wendigo psychopathy", which describes a psychosis that prompts a person to eat human flesh. The medical term takes its name from a mythical creature called the Wendigo, which according to the myths of the Algonquin Indians. The Wendigo was an evil creature, like a cross between a man and a monster, something like a zombie. According to legend, only people who ate human flesh were able to become Wendigo themselves.
Of course, this creature never existed and was invented by the elders of the Algonquins who tried to prevent people from practicing cannibalism.
In ancient Japanese folklore, Kappa is a water demon that lives in rivers and lakes and devours naughty children. Kappa in Japanese means "child of the river" and has the body of a turtle, frog limbs and a head with a beak. In addition, there is a water cavity on the top of the head. According to legend, Kappa's head should always be moisturized, otherwise it will lose its strength. Oddly enough, many Japanese consider the existence of Kappa a reality. Several lakes in Japan have posters and signs warning visitors that there is a serious risk of being attacked by this creature.
Greek mythology has given the world the most epic heroes, gods, and creatures, and Talos is one of them. The huge bronze giant allegedly lived in Crete, where he defended a woman named Europa (from which the European continent got its name) from pirates and invaders. For this reason, Talos patrolled the coast of the island three times a day.
According to legend, Menehune was an ancient race of gnomes who lived in the forests of Hawaii even before the arrival of the Polynesians. Many scientists explain the existence of ancient statues in the Hawaiian Islands just by the habitation here of Menehune. Others argue that the legends of Menehun appeared with the arrival of Europeans in these areas and were created by the human imagination. The myth goes back to the roots of Polynesian history. When the first Polynesians arrived in Hawaii, they found dams, roads, and even temples that Menehune had built.
However, no one has found skeletons. Therefore, it still remains a big mystery what kind of race built all these amazing ancient structures in Hawaii even before the arrival of the Polynesians.
The griffin was a legendary creature with the head and wings of an eagle and the body and tail of a lion. The griffin is the kings of the animal kingdom, who were a symbol of power and domination. Griffins can be found in many depictions of Minoan Crete and later in the art and mythology of Ancient Greece. However, some believe that the creature symbolizes the struggle against evil and witchcraft.
According to one version, Medusa was a beautiful virgin intended for the goddess Athena, who was raped by Poseidon. Athena, furious that she could not confront Poseidon directly, turned Medusa into an unsightly, evil monster with a head full of snakes for hair. Medusa's ugliness was so disgusting that those who looked at her face turned to stone. In the end, Perseus killed Medusa with the help of Athena.
Pihiu is another legendary monster hybrid originally from China. Even though no part of its body resembled human organs, the mythological creature is often described as having the body of a lion with wings, long legs, and the head of a Chinese dragon. Pihiu is considered the guardian and protector of those who practice feng shui. Another version of pihiu - Tian Lu is also sometimes considered a sacred creature that attracts and protects wealth. This is the reason why small statues of Tian Lu are often seen in Chinese homes or offices, as it is believed that this creature can contribute to the accumulation of wealth.
Sukuyant, according to Caribbean legends (especially in the Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Guadelupe), is an exotic black version of the European vampire. By word of mouth, from generation to generation, Sukuyant has become a part of local folklore. He is described as a hideous-looking old woman during the day, transforming at night into a gorgeous-looking young black woman resembling a goddess. She seduces her victims in order to then suck their blood or make them her eternal slaves. It was also believed that she practiced black magic and voodoo, and could transform into ball lightning or enter the houses of her victims through any opening in the house, including cracks and keyholes.
According to the mythology and legends of Mesopotamia, Lamassu was a protective deity, depicted with the body and wings of a bull, or with the body of a lion, the wings of an eagle and the head of a man. Some described him as a menacing male, while others described him as a female deity with good intentions.
The tale of Tarasque is reported in the story of Martha, which is included in the biography of the Christian saints Jacob. Tarasque was a dragon with a very intimidating appearance and bad intentions. According to legend, he possessed the head of a lion, six short legs, like a bear, the body of a bull, was covered with a turtle shell and a scaly tail that ended with a scorpion sting. Tarasque terrorized the Nerluk region of France.
It all ended when a young devoted Christian named Martha came to town to spread the gospel of Jesus and found that people had been fearful of the fierce dragon for years. Then he found a dragon in the forest and sprinkled it with holy water. This action tamed the dragon's wildlife. After that, Martha led the dragon back to the city of Nerluk, where angry locals stoned Tarasque to death.
On November 25, 2005, UNESCO included Tarasque in the list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
Draugr, according to Scandinavian folklore and mythology, is a zombie that emits a surprisingly powerful putrid smell of the dead. It was believed that Draugr eats people, drinks blood, and has power over the minds of people, driving them crazy at will. Typical Draugr was somewhat similar to Freddy Krueger, who, apparently, was created under the impression of the tales of the Scandinavian monster.
The Lernaean Hydra was a mythical water monster with many heads that resembled large snakes. The ferocious monster lived in Lerna, a small village near Argos. According to legend, Hercules decided to kill Hydra and when he cut off one head, two appeared. For this reason, Hercules' nephew Iolaus burned every head as soon as his uncle cut it off, only then they stopped multiplying.
According to Jewish legend, Brox is an aggressive monster, similar to a giant bird that attacked goats or, in rare cases, drank human blood at night. The legend of Brox spread throughout the Middle Ages in Europe, where it was believed that witches assumed the form of Brox.
Baba Yaga is perhaps one of the most popular paranormal creatures in the folklore of the Eastern Slavs and, according to legend, looked like a fierce and terrible old woman. Nevertheless, Baba Yaga is a multifaceted figure capable of inspiring researchers, capable of transforming into a cloud, a snake, a bird, a black cat and symbolizing the Moon, death, winter or the Goddess of Mother Earth, the totemic progenitor of matriarchy.
Antaeus was a giant with immense strength, which he inherited from his father, Poseidon (god of the sea), and mother Gaia (Earth). He was a hooligan who lived in the Libyan desert and challenged any traveler in his lands to battle. After defeating the alien in a deadly wrestling match, he killed him. He collected the skulls of the people he had defeated in order to one day build a temple dedicated to Poseidon from these "trophies".
But one day, one of the passers-by turned out to be Hercules, who made his way to the garden of the Hesperides to complete his eleventh feat. Antaeus made a fatal mistake by challenging Hercules. The hero lifted Antaeus off the ground and crushed him in a bear hug.
The fierce and powerful Dullahan is the headless horseman in Irish folklore and mythology. For centuries, the Irish have described him as a harbinger of doom, traveling on a black, terrifying-looking horse.
According to Japanese legend, Kodama is a peaceful spirit that lives inside certain types of trees. Kodama is described as a small white and peaceful ghost that perfectly synchronizes with nature. However, according to legend, when someone tries to cut down the tree in which Kodama lives, bad things and a series of misfortunes begin to happen to him.
A strange creature named Corrigan hails from Brittany, a cultural region in the northwest of France with a very rich literary tradition and folklore. Some say that Corrigan was a beautiful, kind fairy, while other sources describe him as an evil spirit who looked like a dwarf and danced around the fountains. He seduced people with his charm in order to kill them or steal their children.
1. Fish-man Learhans.
Almost every one of us has heard of certain magical and mythical creatures that inhabit our world. However, there are many more such creatures, the existence of which we know little or do not remember. In mythology and folklore, many magical entities are mentioned, some are described in more detail, others less.
Homunculus, according to the ideas of medieval alchemists, a creature similar to a small person, which can be obtained artificially (in a test tube). To create such a man, the use of a mandrake was required. The root had to be plucked at dawn, then it had to be washed and "nourished" with milk and honey. Some prescriptions said that blood should be used instead of milk. After which this root will fully develop into a miniature person who can guard and protect its owner.
Brownie- the Slavic peoples have a domestic spirit, a mythological master and patron of the house, providing a normal family life, fertility, health of people and animals. They try to feed the brownie, leave a separate saucer with food and water (or milk) on the floor for him on the floor. Otherwise (which happens more often), he begins to dirty things, breaks and hides things, encroaches on the light bulbs in the bathroom, creates an incomprehensible noise. It can "choke" the owner at night by sitting on the owner's chest and paralyzing him. The brownie can change its appearance and pursue its owner when moving.
Babay in Slavic folklore, it is a night spirit, a creature mentioned by parents to intimidate naughty children. Babai does not have a specific description, but most often he was presented as a lame old man with a bag over his shoulders, into which he takes naughty children. Usually, parents remembered Babai when their child did not want to fall asleep.
Nephilim (observers - "sons of God") described in the book of Enoch. They are fallen angels. The Nifilim were physical beings, they taught people the forbidden arts and by taking human wives as wives, they gave birth to a new generation of people. In the Torah and several non-canonical Hebrew and early Christian letters, nephilim means "who make others fall." The Nephilim were gigantic in stature, and their strength was enormous, as was their appetite. They began to eat up all human resources, and when they ran out, they could attack people. The Nephilim began to fight and oppress people, which was a huge destruction on the earth.
Abaasy- in the folklore of the Yakut peoples, a huge stone monster with iron teeth. Lives in forest thickets away from human eyes or underground. It is born from a black stone, similar to a child. The older he gets, the more the stone looks like a child. At first, the stone child eats everything that people eat, but when he grows up, he begins to eat the people themselves. Sometimes referred to as anthropomorphic one-eyed, one-armed, one-legged monsters as tall as a tree. Abaases feed on the souls of people and animals, tempt people, send misfortunes and diseases, and can deprive them of their minds. Often the relatives of the sick or the deceased sacrificed an animal to Abaasy, as if exchanging his soul for the soul of a person whom they threaten.
Abraxas- Abrasax is the name of a cosmological being in the minds of the Gnostics. In the early era of Christianity, in the 1st-2nd centuries, many heretical sects arose, trying to combine the new religion with paganism and Judaism. According to the teachings of one of them, everything that exists is born in a certain higher Kingdom of light, from which 365 discharges of spirits emanate. At the head of the spirits is Abraxas. His name and image are often found on gems and amulets: a creature with a human body and a cock's head, instead of legs there are two snakes. Abraxas holds a sword and shield in his hands.
Baavan shi- in Scottish folklore, evil, bloodthirsty fairies. If a raven flew up to a person and suddenly turned into a golden-haired beauty in a long green dress, it means that in front of him is a baavan shi. They wear long dresses for a reason, hiding under them the deer hooves, which the baavan shi have instead of feet. These fairies lure men into their homes and drink their blood.
Baku- "Eater of dreams" in Japanese mythology is a kind spirit that eats bad dreams. He can be called by writing his name on a piece of paper and placing it under the pillow. At one time, images of Baku were hung in Japanese houses, and his name was written on pillows. They believed that if Baku was forced to eat a bad dream, then it had the power to turn the dream into a good one.
There are stories where Baku looks not very kind. Eating all dreams and dreams, he deprived sleeping people of beneficial effects, or even completely deprived them of sleep.
Kikimora- a character of Slavic-Ugric mythology, as well as one of the types of brownie, causing harm, damage and minor troubles to the economy and people. Kikimors, as a rule, settle indoors if a child died in the house. The swamp or forest kikimora was accused of kidnapping children, leaving an enchanted log instead. Her presence in the house could be easily identified by the wet footprints. The caught kikimora could be turned into a human.
Basilisk- a monster with the head of a rooster, the eyes of a toad, the wings of a bat and the body of a dragon that exists in the mythologies of many peoples. All living things turn to stone from his gaze. According to legend, if the Basilisk sees his reflection in the mirror, he will die. The habitat of the Basilisks are caves, they are also its source of food, since the Basilisk eats only stones. He can leave his shelter only at night, because he cannot stand the crow of a rooster. And he is also afraid of unicorns because they are too "clean" animals.
Baggain- in the folklore of the inhabitants of the Isle of Man, an evil werewolf. He hates people and harasses them in every possible way. Baggain is able to grow to gigantic proportions and take on any form. He can pretend to be human, but if you look closely, you can see the pointed ears and horse hooves, which will still give away the buggein.
Alkonost (alkonst)- in Russian art and legends, a bird of paradise with the head of a virgin. Often mentioned and depicted with the other bird of paradise, Sirin. The image of Alkonost goes back to the Greek myth of the girl Alcyone, turned by the gods into a kingfisher. The earliest depiction of Alkonost is found in a miniature book of the 12th century. Alkonst is a safe and rare creature living closer to the sea. According to folk legend, in the morning on the Apple Spas, the Sirin bird arrives in the apple orchard, which is sad and crying. And in the afternoon, the Alkonost bird arrives at the apple orchard, which rejoices and laughs. The bird brushes off the living dew from its wings and the fruits are transformed, an amazing power appears in them - all the fruits on the apple trees from this moment become healing
Water- the master of waters in Slavic mythology. Aquatic animals graze their cows at the bottom of rivers and lakes - catfish, carp, bream and other fish. Commands mermaids, undines, drowned men, aquatic inhabitants. More often he is kind, but sometimes he drags a gape of a person to the bottom so that he entertains him. It dwells more often in pools, likes to settle under a water mill.
Abnawayu- in Abkhaz mythology ("forest man"). A gigantic, ferocious creature with extraordinary physical strength and fury. The entire body of Abnauayu is covered with long hair, similar to stubble, he has huge claws; eyes and nose - like people. It lives in dense forests (there was a belief that one Abnauayu lives in each forest gorge). A meeting with Abnauay is dangerous, the adult Abnauay has an ax-shaped steel protrusion on his chest: pressing the victim to his chest, he cuts it in half. Abnauayu knows in advance the name of the hunter or shepherd he will meet.
Cerberus (Spirit of the Underworld)- in Greek mythology, a huge dog of the Underworld, guarding the entrance to the afterlife. In order for the souls of the dead to enter the underworld, they must bring gifts to Cerberus - honey and barley biscuits. The task of Cerberus is not to allow living people who want to rescue their beloved from there into the realm of the dead. One of the few living people who managed to enter the underworld and leave it unharmed was Orpheus, who played beautiful music on the lyre. One of the feats of Hercules, which the gods ordered him to do, was to bring Cerberus to the city of Tiryns.
Griffin- winged monsters with a lion's body and an eagle's head, guardians of gold in different mythologies. Griffins, vultures, in Greek mythology, monstrous birds with an eagle beak and the body of a lion; they. - "Zeus's dogs" - guard gold in the country of Hyperboreans, guarding it from the one-eyed Arimasps (Aeschyl. Prom. 803 next). Among the fabulous inhabitants of the north - the Issedons, Arimasps, Hyperboreans, Herodotus also mentions the Griffins (Herodot. IV 13).
There are also griffins in Slavic mythology. In particular, they are known to guard the treasures of the Ripean Mountains.
Gaki... in Japanese mythology - eternally hungry demons. Those who, during their lifetime on Earth, gobbled or threw out completely edible food, are reborn in them. The gaki's hunger is insatiable, but they cannot die from it. They eat anything, even their children, but they cannot get enough. Sometimes they get into the Human World, and then they become cannibals.
Vuivre, Vuivra... France. The king or queen of snakes; in the forehead - a sparkling stone, a bright red ruby; the form of a fiery serpent; keeper of underground treasures; can be seen flying across the sky on summer nights; dwellings - abandoned castles, fortresses, dungeons, etc .; his images - in the sculptural compositions of Romanesque monuments; when he bathes, the stone is left on the shore, and whoever manages to take possession of the ruby will become fabulously rich - he will receive part of the underground treasures that are guarded by the snakes.
Dressing- a Bulgarian vampire who feeds on dung and carrion, because he is too much of a coward to attack people. It has a bad temper, which is not surprising with such a diet.
Ayami, in the Tungus-Manchu mythology (among the Nanai), the ancestor spirits of shamans. Each shaman has his own Ayami, he instructed, indicated what kind of costume a shaman (shaman) should have, how to heal. Ayami appeared to the shaman in a dream in the form of a woman (a shaman - in the form of a man), as well as a wolf, a tiger and other animals, possessed shamans during prayers. Ayami could also have spirits - the owners of various animals, it was they who sent Ayami to steal the souls of people and cause them diseases.
Duboviki- in Celtic mythology, evil magical creatures living in the crowns and trunks of oak trees.
They offer delicious food and gifts to every person passing by their home.
In no case should you take food from them, let alone taste it, since food prepared by oak woods is very poisonous. At night, Duboviks often go in search of prey.
You should know that passing by a recently felled oak tree is especially dangerous: the oak trees who lived in it are angry and can do a lot of misfortunes.
Damn (old spelling "damn")- an evil, playful and lustful spirit in Slavic mythology. In the book tradition, according to the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, the word devil is a synonym for the concept of demon. The devil is social and most often goes hunting with groups of devils. The trait is attracted to drinking people. When the devil finds such a person, he tries to do everything so that the person drinks even more, driving him to a state of complete madness. The very process of their materialization, popularly known as "getting drunk to hell", is colorfully and in detail described in one of Vladimir Nabokov's stories. "Through prolonged, stubborn, lonely drunkenness," the famous prose writer reported, "I brought myself to the most vulgar visions, namely: I began to see devils." If a person stops drinking, the devil begins to waste away without receiving the expected recharge.
Vampal, in the mythology of the Ingush and Chechens, a huge shaggy monster with supernatural strength: sometimes Vampal has several heads. Vampalas come in both male and female genders. In fairy tales, Vampal is a positive character, distinguished by nobility and helping the heroes in their battles.
Hyana- in Italian folklore, mostly female perfumes. Tall and beautiful, they lived in the forests, were engaged in handicrafts. They could also predict the future and knew where the treasures were hidden. Despite their beauty, the hyanas, among whom the majority were women, found it difficult to find a mate. There were very few hyana men; the dwarfs were not good husbands, and the giants were real rude ones. Therefore, the gians could only do their work and sing sad songs.
Yrka in Slavic mythology- an evil night spirit with eyes on a dark face, glowing like a cat's, is especially dangerous on the night of Ivan Kupala and only in the field, because the goblin do not let him into the forest. It becomes a suicide. Attacks lonely travelers, drinks their blood. Ukrut, his assistant, brings him rascals in a sack, from whom Yrka drank life. He is very afraid of the fire, does not approach the fire. In order to escape from him, you cannot look around, even if they call out in a familiar voice, do not answer anything, say “mind me” three times or read the prayer “Our Father”.
Div- Demonic character of East Slavic mythology. Mentioned in medieval teachings against pagans. There are echoes of the latter meaning in the episodes of The Lay of Igor's Campaign, where the expression “the divas crashing to the ground” is perceived as a harbinger of misfortune. Divus turned people away from dangerous affairs, appearing in the form of never seen. Seeing him and being surprised, people forgot about the unrighteous deed that they wanted to do. The Poles called him esiznik ("There is also a znik", there is and was lost), that is, the god of vision.
Ayustal, in Abkhaz mythology, devil; brings harm to people, animals. According to popular beliefs, if Ayustal possesses a person, he falls ill, and sometimes dies in agony. When a person suffers greatly before death, they say that Ayustal has taken possession of him, but often a person wins a victory over Ayustal by cunning.
Sulde "vitality", in the mythology of the Mongolian peoples, one of the souls of a person, with which his vital and spiritual strength is connected. Sulde of the ruler is the spirit - the guardian of the people; its material embodiment is the ruler's banner, which in itself becomes the object of a cult, is guarded by the ruler's subjects. During wars, human sacrifices were made to raise the military spirit of the Sulde Banners. The Suldi banners of Genghis Khan and some other khans were especially revered. The character of the shamanic pantheon of the Mongols Sulde-tengri, the patron saint of people, is apparently genetically related to the Sulde of Genghis Khan.
Shikome in Japanese mythology, a warlike race of creatures vaguely similar to European goblins. Bloodthirsty sadists, slightly taller than humans and much stronger, with developed muscles. Sharp teeth and burning eyes. Do not do anything other than wars. They often set up ambushes in the mountains.
Buka - scarecrow... Small evil creature that lives in the closet of the nursery or under the bed. Only children see him, and the children suffer from him, since Buka loves to attack them at night - to grab their legs and drag them under the bed or into the closet (his den). He is afraid of the light, from which the faith of adults can also perish. Afraid that adults will believe in him.
Beregini in Slavic mythology, spirits in the guise of women with tails, living along the banks of rivers. Mentioned in ancient Russian historical and literary monuments. They protect people from evil spirits, predict the future, and also save small children left unattended and falling into the water.
Anzud- in Sumerian-Akkadian mythology, a divine bird, an eagle with a lion's head. Anzud is an intermediary between gods and people, at the same time embodying good and evil principles. When the god Enlil took off his insignias while washing, Anzud stole the tablets of fate and flew with them to the mountains. Anzud wanted to become more powerful than all the gods, but by his act he violated the course of things and divine laws. The god of war, Ninurta, set off in pursuit of the bird. He shot Anzud with a bow, but Enlil's tablets healed the wound. Ninurta managed to hit the bird only on the second attempt or even on the third attempt (in different versions of the myth in different ways).
Bug- in English mythology and spirits. According to the legends, the bug is a "childish" monster, even nowadays English women scare their children with it.
Usually these creatures have the appearance of shaggy monsters with matted, ragged fur. Many English children believe that bugs can enter rooms using open chimneys. However, despite their rather frightening appearance, these creatures are completely non-aggressive and practically harmless, since they have neither sharp teeth nor long claws. They can frighten in only one way - by twisting a terrible ugly face, spreading their paws and raising the hair on the nape.
Alraune- in the folklore of European peoples, tiny creatures living in the roots of the mandrake, the outlines of which resemble human figures. Alrauns are friendly to people, but they do not mind playing a joke, sometimes very cruel. They are werewolves, capable of transforming into cats, worms, and even small children. Later, the Alrauns changed their way of life: they liked the warmth and comfort in human houses so much that they began to move there. Before moving to a new place, the Alrauns, as a rule, test people: they scatter any garbage on the floor, throw clods of earth or pieces of cow dung into the milk. If people do not sweep the garbage and drink milk, Alraun understands that it is quite possible to settle here. It's almost impossible to drive him away. Even if the house burns down and people move somewhere, the Alraun follows them. Alraun had to be treated with great care due to its magical properties. You had to wrap or dress him in white robes with a gold belt, bathe him every Friday, and keep him in a box, otherwise Alraun would start yelling for attention. Alrauns were used in magical rituals. It was assumed so that they bring great luck, in the likeness of a talisman - a four-leafed leaf. But possession of them carried the risk of prosecution for witchcraft, and in 1630 three women were executed in Hamburg on this charge. Due to the high demand for the Alrauns, they were often cut from the roots of bryony, as genuine mandrakes were difficult to find. They were exported from Germany to various countries, including England, during the reign of Henry VIII.
Authorities- in Christian mythological representations, angelic beings. Authorities can be both good forces and minions of evil. Among the nine angelic ranks, the authorities close the second triad, which, in addition to them, also includes dominions and powers. As Pseudo-Dionysius says, “the name of the holy Powers signifies an equal to the Divine Dominions and Powers, an orderly and capable of receiving Divine insights, and the device of premium spiritual dominion, which does not use autocratic powers for evil given sovereign powers, but freely and respectfully to the Divine as itself ascending and others sacred to Him leading and, as much as possible, likening to the Source and Giver of all power and depicting Him ... in a completely true use of his dominion power. "
Gargoyle- the fruit of medieval mythology. The word "gargoyle" comes from the old French gargouille - a throat, and its sound imitates the gurgling sound that occurs when gargling. Gargoyles sitting on the facades of Catholic cathedrals were presented in two ways. On the one hand, they were like ancient sphinxes as guardian statues, capable of reviving and protecting a temple or a mansion in a moment of danger, on the other hand, when they were placed on temples, it showed that all evil spirits were fleeing from this holy place, since they could not bear the temple purity.
Make-up- according to medieval European beliefs, they lived throughout Europe. Most often they can be seen in old cemeteries located near churches. Therefore, scary creatures are also called church make-up.
These monsters can take on a variety of guises, but most often they turn into huge dogs with coal-black fur and eyes that glow in the dark. You can see the monsters only in rainy or cloudy weather, they usually appear at the cemetery in the late afternoon, as well as during the day during the funeral. They often howl under the windows of sick people, foreshadowing their imminent demise. Often, some make-up, not afraid of heights, climbs into the church bell tower at night and starts ringing all the bells, which is considered a very bad omen among the people.
Ahti- a water demon among the peoples of the north. Neither evil nor kind. Although he loves to joke and with jokes can go too far so that the person will be dying. Of course, if you make him angry, then he can kill.
Attsys“Without a name”, in the mythology of the West Siberian Tatars, an evil demon who unexpectedly at night appears in front of travelers in the form of a shock, a cart, a tree, a fireball and strangles them. Attsys was also called various evil spirits (matskai, oryak, uyr, etc.), the names of which they were afraid to pronounce aloud, fearing to attract a demon.
Shoggoths- creatures mentioned in the famous mystical book "Al Azif" better known as "Necronomicon", written by the crazy poet Abdul Alhazred. About a third of the book deals with the management of Shoggoths, which are presented as shapeless "eels" of protoplasmic bubbles. The ancient gods created them as servants, but the Shoggoths, possessing intelligence, quickly got out of control and since then have acted of their own free will and for their strange incomprehensible goals. It is said that these entities often appear in narcotic visions, but there they are not subject to human control.
Yuvha, in the mythology of the Turkmens and Uzbeks of Khorezm, the Bashkirs and Kazan Tatars (Yukha), a demonic character associated with the water element. Yuvkha is a beautiful girl, whom she turns into after living for many (for the Tatars - 100 or 1000) years.According to the myths of the Turkmens and Uzbeks of Khorezm, Yuvkha marries a man, setting a number of conditions to him in advance, for example, not to watch her comb her hair, not stroking the back, bathing after intimacy. Having violated the conditions, the husband discovers the snake scales on her back, sees how, combing her hair, she removes her head. If you do not destroy Juvha, she will eat her husband.
Ghouls - (Russian; Ukrainian upir, Belarusian ynip, Old Russian Upir), in Slavic mythology, a dead man attacking people and animals. At night, the Ghoul rises from the grave and, in the guise of a bloodshot corpse or a zoomorphic creature, kills people and animals, sucks blood, after which the victim either dies or can become a Ghoul itself. According to popular belief, people who died "an unnatural death" became ghouls - forcibly murdered, drunken drunkards, suicides and also sorcerers. It was believed that the earth does not accept such dead and therefore they are forced to wander around the world and harm the living. Such deceased were buried outside the cemetery and away from their homes.
Chusrym in Mongolian mythology - the King of fish. He freely swallows ships, and when he protrudes out of the water, he looks like a huge mountain.
Shuffle, in Hungarian mythology, a dragon with a serpentine body and wings. You can distinguish between the two layers of Shuffle concepts. One of them, associated with the European tradition, is represented mainly in fairy tales, where Sharkan is a fierce monster with a large number (three, seven, nine, twelve) heads, the hero's opponent in battle, often an inhabitant of a magic castle. On the other hand, there are known beliefs about the one-headed Shuffle as one of the assistants of the sorcerer (shaman) taltosh.
Shilikun, Shilihan- in Slavic mythology - hooligan petty spirits that appear on Christmas Eve and before Epiphany run through the streets with burning coals in pans. Drunk people can be pushed into the hole. At night they will make noise and chatter, and turning into black cats, they will crawl under their feet.
They grow from a sparrow, legs like a horse - with hooves, fire breathes from the mouth. In Baptism, they go to the underworld.
Faun (Pan) - spirit or deity of forests and groves, god of shepherds and fishermen in Greek mythology. This is a cheerful god and companion of Dionysus, always surrounded by forest nymphs, dancing with them and playing the flute for them. It is believed that Pan possessed a prophetic gift and endowed Apollo with this gift. Faun was considered a crafty spirit who stole children.
Kumo- in Japanese mythology - spiders who know how to turn into people. Very rare creatures. In normal form, they look like huge spiders, the size of a person, with glowing red eyes and sharp stings on their paws. In human form - beautiful women with cold beauty, luring men into a trap and devouring them.
Phoenix- an immortal bird personifying the cyclical nature of the world. Phoenix is the patron saint of anniversaries, or large time cycles. Herodotus expounds with emphasized skepticism the original version of the legend:
“There is another sacred bird there, its name is Phoenix. I myself have never seen it, except as drawn, for in Egypt it rarely appears, once every 500 years, as the inhabitants of Heliopolis say. According to them, she flies when her father dies (that is, she herself) If the images correctly show her size and size and appearance, her plumage is partly golden, partly red. Its shape and size are reminiscent of an eagle. " This bird does not multiply, but is reborn after death from its own ashes.
Werewolf- Werewolf is a monster that exists in many mythological systems. This means a person who knows how to turn into animals or vice versa. An animal that knows how to turn into people. This skill is often possessed by demons, deities and spirits. The wolf is considered a classic werewolf. It is with him that all the associations born of the word werewolf are associated. This change can occur both at the wish of a werewolf, and involuntarily, caused, for example, by certain lunar cycles.
Viryava- the mistress and spirit of the grove among the peoples of the north. Presented as a beautiful girl. The birds and animals obeyed her. She helped the lost travelers.
Wendigo- a cannibalistic spirit in the myths of the Ojibwe and some other Algonquian tribes. Served as a warning against any excesses of human behavior. The Inuit tribe calls this creature by various names, including Windigo, Vitigo, Vitiko. Wendigos enjoy hunting and love to attack hunters. A lone traveler who finds himself in the forest begins to hear strange sounds. He looks around for the source, but sees nothing but the flicker of something moving too fast for the human eye to detect. When the traveler begins to run away in fear, the Wendigo attacks. He is powerful and strong like no other. Can imitate people's voices. In addition, the Wendigo never stops hunting after eating.
Shikigami... in Japanese mythology Spirits summoned by the magician, expert Onmyo-do. They usually look like they are small, but can take on the forms of birds and beasts. Many shikigami can take over and control the bodies of animals, and the shikigami of the most powerful magicians can take over people. It is very difficult and dangerous to control shikigami, as they can break out of the magician's control and attack him. An expert Onmyo-do can direct the power of alien shikigami against their master.
Hydra monster, described by the ancient Greek poet Hesiod (VIII-VII centuries BC) in his legend about Hercules ("Theogony"): a multi-headed snake (Lernaean hydra), in which two new ones grew instead of each severed head. And it was impossible to kill her. The hydra's lair was at Lake Lerna near Argolis. Under the water was the entrance to the underground kingdom of Hades, which was guarded by a hydra. The hydra hid in a rocky cave on the shore near the source of Amimona, from where she came out only to attack the surrounding settlements.
Fights- in English folklore, water fairies who lure mortal women by appearing to them in the form of wooden dishes floating on water. As soon as a woman grabs onto such a dish, Drak immediately takes on its true, ugly appearance and drags the unfortunate woman to the bottom so that she can look after his children there.
Sinister- pagan evil spirits of the ancient Slavs, the personification of Nedoli, navi servants. They are also called kriks or hmyri - swamp spirits, which are dangerous to those who can stick to a person, even move into him, especially in old age, if in life a person did not love anyone and he did not have children. Sinister can turn into a beggar old man. In the Christmas-time game, evil person personifies poverty, misery, winter gloom.
Incubus- in medieval European mythology, male demons coveting female love. The word incubus comes from the Latin "incubare", which means "recline". According to ancient books, incubus are fallen angels, demons, carried away by sleeping women. Incubuses showed such an enviable energy in intimate affairs that whole nations were born. For example, the Huns, who, according to medieval beliefs, were descendants of "outcast women" of the Goths and evil spirits.
Goblin- the owner of the forest, a forest spirit, in the mythology of the Eastern Slavs. This is the main owner of the forest, he makes sure that no one in his household does any harm. He treats good people well, helps to get out of the forest, but not too good people - badly: he confuses, makes them walk in circles. He sings in a voice without words, claps his hands, whistles, auk, laughs, cries. The goblin can appear in various plant, animal, human and mixed images, it can be invisible. Most often appears to be a lonely creature. Leaves the forest for the winter, sinking into the ground.
Baba Yaga- a character of Slavic mythology and folklore, mistress of the forest, mistress of animals and birds, guardian of the borders of the kingdom of Death. In a number of fairy tales, it is likened to a witch, a sorceress. Most often - a negative character, but sometimes acts as an assistant to the hero. Baba Yaga has several stable attributes: she knows how to conjure, fly in a mortar, lives on the border of the forest, in a hut on chicken legs surrounded by a fence of human bones with skulls. She lures good fellows and small children to her, ostensibly in order to eat them.
Shishiga, an unclean spirit, in Slavic mythology. If he lives in the forest, he attacks people who accidentally wander in, in order to gnaw their bones later. At night they like to make noise and chatter. According to another belief, shishimora or shishigi are mischievous restless house spirits mocking a person who does things without praying. We can say that these are very instructive spirits, correct, accustoming to a pious routine of life.
