Some mythical creatures, have their origin in tradition and some might be
living in distant past. However each culture is associated with a multitude of such creatures, many of them being humanoids. Literally, there are thousands of legendary humanoid creatures that might have in real or believed to be lurked upon our planet but we shall tell here the tales of the most popular
ones integrated in various cultures.
1. Gog and Magog
Gog Magog appear in the Qur’an, Book of Genesis, the Book of Ezekiel and the Book of Revelation. They are variously presented as supernatural beings, demons or national groups that lurked upon the land. Gog and Magog occur widely in mythology and folklore and their existence is accepted by many religions including Islam, Christianity and Judaism.
The widely accepted belief both in Christianity and Islam holds that “He of the Two Horns” (a great and righteous ruler) or Two Ages (one who impacts on two ages) travelled the world in three directions, until he found a tribe threatened by Gog and Magog, who were of an “evil and destructive nature” and “caused great corruption on earth.” The people offered tribute in exchange for protection, he agreed to help them, but refused the tribute; he constructed a great wall that the hostile nations were unable to penetrate. They will be trapped there until doomsday, and their escape will be a sign of the end: “The War of Gog and Magog” would precede the return of Jesus. .
2. Satyr
Satyrs were originally seen as companions of the goat god Pan in ancient Greek civilisation. The first drawings of satyrs were of normal men, though often with an erect phallus. It was later merged with the Roman faun which is when they began to be depicted as half men half goats (the upper body being that of the man, and the lower half being that of a goat). Satyrs are described as roguish but faint-hearted folk — subversive and dangerous, yet shy and cowardly.
Many early accounts which apparently refer to this animal describe the males as being sexually aggressive towards human women and towards females of its own species. In old age they are often seen with horns on their head, while young satyrs are seen with nubs instead.
3. Abarimon
Abarimon is the name of a legendary race with backwards feet, but in spite of this handicap were able to run at great speed. They lived side by side with wild animals and attempts to capture them failed because they were so savage.
They lived in a great valley of Mount Imaus (now called theHimalayan Mountains in Pakistan). There was a special quality of air which meant if it was breathed for a long period of time it would be impossible to breathe any other type of air and the inhabitants could never leave the valley alive.
4. Nephilim
Nephilim are beings, who appear in the Hebrew Bible; specifically mentioned in the Book of Genesis and the Book of Numbers; they are also mentioned in other Biblical texts and in some non-canonical Jewish writings. They were called fallen ones because men’s hearts would fail at the sight of them.
Some suggest that they were giants and when they fell, the ground shook, causing others to fall too. They might not be historical figures but ancient imagery with questionable meaning. Some view of them as the hybrid offspring of fallen angels and human women. In Hebrew Bible there is also mention of Rephaites alongside Nephilims, who were an ancient race of giants in Iron Age and were thought to be dead that lurked upon earth.
5. Mermaid
A mermaid is a mythological aquatic creature with a female human head and torso and the tail of a fish..The mermaids have been discussed since at least 5000 BC. Her origins are believed to be from the Great Queen Atargatis, who loved a mortal shepherd and unintentionally killed him.
Ashamed, she jumped into a lake to take the form of a fish, but the waters would not conceal her divine beauty. Thereafter, she took the form of a mermaid—human above the waist, fish below. Mermaids were however noted in British folklore as unlucky omens – both foretelling disaster and provoking it. There is a high possibility that people had been confusing them with Sirenias (aquatic animals) or people suffering from a congenital disease Sirenomelia (aka mermaid syndrome in which a child is born with his or her legs fused together).
6. Banshee
The Banshee is a female spirit in Irish mythology, usually seen as an omen of death and a messenger from the Otherworld. The story of the bean-sidhe began as a fairy woman keening at the death of important personages. In later stories, the appearance of the banshee could foretell the death.
According to the legend, the banshee can appear in a variety of guises. Most often she appears as an ugly, frightening hag, but can also appear as a stunningly beautiful woman of any age that suits her and is seen washing the blood stained clothes or armour of those who are about to die. Although not always seen, her mourning call is heard, usually at night when someone is about to die and usually around woods.
7. Abatwa
In Zulu mythology, Abatwa are tiny humans said to be able to hide beneath a blade of grass and to be able to ride ants. They are said to live a nomadic lifestyle and are continually on the hunt for game. Legend states that if one happens to come across an Abatwa, one will typically be asked a question like, “From where did you first see me?”
One must reply by saying one saw them from a mountain, or some far away area. They are said to be extremely sensitive about their size, and if one answers by saying that one only saw them right then for the first time, the Abatwa will try to kill them with poison arrows. Stepping on an Abatwa by accident is also said to be a death sentence.Due to their shy nature, they will only tolerate being seen by the very young (said to be anyone under the age of 4), by magicians, and by pregnant women. If a pregnant woman in her seventh month of pregnancy sees a male Abatwa, it is said that she will give birth to a boy.
8. Elf
An elf is a being of Germanic mythology. The elves were originally thought of as a race of divine or semi-divine beings endowed with magical powers, which they use both for the benefit and the injury of mankind.
In pre-Christian mythology, they appear to have been divided into light elves and dark elves, The earliest preserved description of elves comes from Norse mythology that holds that the men could be elevated to the rank of elves after death, Crossbreeding was possible between elves and humans in the Old Norse belief.Words for the nymphs of the Greek were translated to be same as “elves” or its variants by Anglo-Saxon scholars.
9. Cyclops
In Greek and Roman mythology, a cyclops is a member of a primordial race of giants, each with a single eye in the middle of its forehead. It is a great possibility that people have been mistaken a congenital abnormality called Cyclopia in which the human baby is malformed having only one central eye.
10. Orc
Orc is a word used to refer to various races of tough and warlike humanoid creatures in various fantasy settings. Orcs are often portrayed as misshapen humanoids who are brutal, warmongering, and sadistic.
Orcs are described of varying size, ugly, filthy, with a taste for human flesh. They are fanged, bow-legged and long-armed, and some have dark skin as if burned. The author Tolkien describes them as “squat, broad, flat-nosed, sallow-skinned, with wide mouths and slant eyes … degraded and repulsive versions of the (to Europeans) least lovely Mongol-types”. They are portrayed as miserable, crafty and vicious beings. In nearly all the epic works, their origins are considered as foul broodlings animated solely by the Satan’s evil will.
11. Kapre
Kapre is a Philippine mythical creature that could be characterized as a tree demon, but with more human characteristics. It is described as being a tall, brown, hairy male with a beard. Kapres are normally described as smoking a big tobacco pipe, whose strong smell would attract human attention. The term kapre comes from the Arabic “kaffir” meaning a non-believer in God.
Kapres may make contact with people
to offer friendship, or if it is attracted to a woman. If a Kapre
befriends any human, especially because of love, the Kapre will
consistently follow its “love interest” throughout life. Also, if one
is a friend of the Kapre then that person has the ability to see it and
if they were to sit on it then any other person could see it. Kapres
are also said to play pranks on people, frequently making travelers
become disoriented and lose their way in the mountains or in the woods.
12.Leperchaun
Leprechauns have been linked to the Tuatha Dé Danann of Irish mythology who are thought to derive from the pre-Christian deities of Ireland. When the surviving stories were written, Ireland had been Christian for centuries, and the Tuatha Dé were represented as mortal kings, queens and heroes of the distant past; however there are many clues to their former divine status.
Popular depiction shows leperchauns as being no taller than a small child. The leprechaun is said to be a solitary creature, whose principal occupation is making and mending shoes, and who enjoys practical jokes. According to William Butler Yeats, the great wealth of these fairies comes from the “treasure-crocks, buried of old in war-time”, which they have uncovered and appropriated.According to McAnally the leprechaun is the son of an “evil spirit” and a “degenerate fairy” and is “not wholly good nor wholly evil”
13. Ogre
Ogre possibly derived from Oegrus from Greek mythology who was the son of Greek blood shedder god. The word ogre is of French origin. Keeping the Greek myth, Oegrus might have cursed some people to ogres where an ogre is described large, cruel, monstrous and hideous humanoid monster.
Also featured in mythology, folklore and fiction. Ogres are often depicted in fairy tales and folklore as feeding on human beings, and have appeared in many classic works of literature. In art, ogres are often depicted with a large head, abundant hair and beard, a voracious appetite, and a strong body. The term is often applied in a metaphorical sense to disgusting persons who exploit, brutalize or devour their victims. The French tale tells of them as habitants of kingdom of Logres [England].
14. Dziwożona
Dziwozoana or Mamuna are female swamp demons in Slavic mythology known for being malicious and dangerous. Most at risk of becoming one of these demons after death were thought to bemidwives, old maids, unmarried mothers, pregnant women who die before childbirth, as well as abandoned children.
Sometimes they carry off young men to be their husbands. The Dziwozona had huge breasts which they used for attack and murdering.
15. Mono Grande
They are descibed as ape-like hairy and men-like torso-ed cannibals sighted in South America. They are reported as being aggressive to humans.
And on encounter they attack humans on sight but might carry off women for breeding. However they are unrecognized by a scientific consensus and myths that came to South America with European colonists.
16. Vampires
Vampires are mythological beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence (generally in the form of blood) of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person.Although vampiric entities have been recorded in many cultures, the belief in vampires and bloodsucking demons is as old as man himself, and may go back to prehistoric times.
Vampires were generally referred to as cold beings who could be destroyed by daylight. Holes appearing in the earth over a grave were taken as a sign of vampirism. There is no scientific evidence of vampirism except the Vampire Bat.
17. Tellem
The Tellem were the people who inhabited the Bandiagara Escarpment in Mali. It is thought by some in Mali today that the Tellem possessed the power of flight.
They are described like “Lord of the ring’s Hobbit like creatures” and they built dwellings around the base of the escarpment as well as directly into the cliff-face like the hobbits. Many of these structures are still visible in the area.
18. Yeti
Yeti or abominable snowman mythological humanoid creature said to inhabit the Himalayan region of Pakistan and Nepal. The scientific community largely regards the Yeti as a legend, yet it remains one of the most famous creatures of cryptozoology parallel to Bigfoot of North America.
It is tall, bipedal creature covered with long white hair and wore no clothes. He had an interesting feature of changing his hair colour in sunlight to fox red.
19. Tiyanak
Tiyank is a creature which, in Philippine mythology, imitates the form of a child. It usually takes the form of a newborn baby and cries like one in the jungle to attract unwary travelers.
Once it is picked up by the
victim, it reverts to its true form and attacks the victim. Aside from
slashing victims, the tianak also delights in leading travelers astray,
or in kidnapping children.
Theories claim that the
tianak is the spirit of a child whose mother died before giving birth.
This caused it to be “born in the ground”, thus gaining its current
state.20. Werewolf
Werewolf is a mythological human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely, by being bitten or scratched by another werewolf, or after being placed under a curse.
This transformation is often associated with the appearance of the full moon. Werewolves are often attributed super-human strength and senses, far beyond those of both wolves or men.
21. Fomorian
In Irish mythology, were a semi-divine race who inhabited Ireland in ancient times. They may have once been believed to be the beings who preceded the gods, similar to the Greek Titans.
It has been suggested that they represent the gods of chaos and wild nature, as opposed to the Tuatha Dé Danann who represent the gods of human civilization. They are sometimes said to have had the body of a man and the head of a goat, or to have had one eye, one arm and one leg, but some, for example Elatha, were very beautiful.
22. Blemmyes
The Blemmyes was a tribe which became fictionalized as a race of creatures believed to be acephalous (headless) monsters who had eyes and mouths on their chest. Ancient writers sometimes used the term anthropophagi (Grk: man eaters) to describe the Blemmyes, as they were known for their cannibalistic proclivities.
23. Tikbalang
Tikbalang is a creature of Philippine myth said to lurk in the mountains and forests of the Philippines. It is generally described as a tall, bony humanoid creature with disproportionately long limbs, to the point that its knees reach above its head when it squats down. It has the head and feet of an animal, most commonly a horse.
It is sometimes believed to be a transformation of an aborted fetus which has been sent to earth from hell. Tikbalangs are said to scare travelers and lead them astray such that they keep on returning to an arbitrary path no matter how far he goes or where he turns. Supposedly this is counteracted by wearing one’s shirt inside out.
24. Encantado
An encantado is a Brazilian legendary creature. They live in a deep underwater realm named the Encante. Encantados are most commonly viewed as a type of freshwater dolphin or sea snake that has the ability to shapeshift into human form.
They are characterized by superior musical ability, seductiveness, and attraction to parties. The creature’s transformation into human form seems to be rare, and usually occurs at night. While in human form the encantado will wear a hat to hide its protruding forehead. It does not disappear while shapeshifting and frequently displays magical abilities, such as the power to control storms and haunt humans. They use various mind control techniques and can inflict illness, insanity, and even death. The creatures are known for kidnapping humans. Many villagers will not go near the Amazon River at night because of this. Plenty of South Americans believe in the existence of the encantado and claim to have seen and interacted with the species.
25. Aswang
Aswang is a mythical creature in Filipino folklore. The aswang is an inherently evil vampire-like creature and is the subject of a wide variety of myths and stories, the details of which vary greatly.
Spanish colonizers noted that the Aswang was the most feared among the mythical creatures of the Philippines, even in the 16th century. “Aswangs” are often described as a combination of vampire and witch and are almost always female. They are sometimes used as a generic term applied to all types of witches, manananggals, shapeshifters, werewolves, and monsters. Aswang stories and definitions vary greatly from region to region and person to person, so no one particular set of characteristics can be ascribed to the term. However, the term is often used interchangeably with manananggal, which is a particular creature with a specific set of features. They are often portrayed as a monster with wings which flap loudly when she’s far away and quietly when she’s nearer.
26. Basajaun
In Basque mythology, the basajaunak are a spirit dwelling in caves or in the woods who protects flocks of livestock and teaches skills such as agriculture and ironworking to humans.
The basajaun also exists in Aragonese mythology in the valleys of Tena, Ansó, and Broto. Fifteenth-century carvings depicting the basajaunak can be seen in Burgos Cathedral and in the monastery of Santa María la Real in Nájera.
27. Rakshasa
Rakshasha is a demon or unrighteous spirit in Hindu and Buddhist mythology. They are believed to be derived from foot of the Hindu God of Creation. Rakshasas are a populous race of supernatural humanoids who tend toward evil. Powerful warriors, they resort to the use of magic and illusion when unsuccessful with conventional weapons.
As shape-changers, they can assume various physical forms, and it is not always clear whether they have a true or natural form. Rakshasas are notorious for disturbing sacrifices, desecrating graves, harassing priests, possessing human beings, and so on. Their fingernails are venomous, and they feed on human flesh and spoiled food.
28. Wendigo
Wendigo is a mythical creature appearing in the mythology of the Algonquian people. It is a malevolent cannibalistic spirit into which humans could transform, or which could possess humans. Those who indulged in cannibalism were at particular risk, and the legend appears to have reinforced this practice as taboo.
Wendigos were alien like embodiments of gluttony, greed, and excess; never satisfied after killing and consuming one person, they were constantly searching for new victims. In some traditions, humans who became overpowered by greed could turn into Wendigos; the Wendigo myth thus served as a method of encouraging cooperation and moderation.
29. Incubus
Incubus is a demon in male form supposed to lie upon sleepers, especially women, in order to have sexual intercourse with them, according to a number of mythological and legendary traditions. An incubus may pursue sexual relations with a woman in order to father a child, to carry on its legend.
Some sources indicate that it may be identified by its unnaturally large or cold penis. Tradition holds that repeated intercourse with an incubus may result in the deterioration of health or death. Victims may have been experiencing waking dreams or sleep paralysis. The influence of incubi could also have been invoked to explain otherwise “unexplainable” pregnancies or real rapists might have been described as incubus to escape punishment.
30. Sasquatch
Sasquatch or better known as Bigfoot is usually described as a large, hairy, bipedal humanoid. The scientific community considers Bigfoot to be a combination of folklore, misidentification, and hoax, rather than a real creature.
Alleged witnesses have described large eyes, a pronounced brow ridge, and a large, low-set forehead; the top of the head has been described as rounded and crested, similar to the sagittal crest of the male gorilla. Bigfoot is commonly reported to have a strong, unpleasant smell by those who claim to have encountered it. Proponents have also claimed that Bigfoot is omnivorous and mainly nocturnal.
