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List of legendary creatures by type

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This list of legendary creatures from mythology, folklore and fairy tales is sorted by their classification or affiliation. Creatures from modern fantasy fiction and role-playing games are not included.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Animals, creatures associated with

Aquatic and marine mammals

  • Bahamut (Arabic) – Whale monster whose body supports the earth. Word seems far more ancient than Islam and may be origin of the word Behemoth in modern Judeo-Christian lore.
  • Bake-kujira (Japanese) – Ghost whale
  • Cetus (Greek) – a monster with the head of a boar or a greyhound, the body of a whale or dolphin, and a divided, fan-like tail
  • Devil Whale (English) – Whale capable of swallowing ships
  • Encantado (Brazilian) – shapeshifting trickster dolphins
  • Glashtyn (Celtic) – Horse goblin from the sea
  • Gveleshapi (Gregorian) - snake whale monster associated with lakes, rivers and springs. Said to be causes of floods and other water related disasters.
  • Makara (Hindu mythology) – half terrestrial animal in the frontal part (stag, deer, or elephant) and half aquatic animal in the hind part (usually of a fish, a seal, or a snake, though sometimes a peacock or even a floral tail is depicted)
  • Mug-wamp - (Canadian) giant sturgeon monster said to inhabit Lake Temiskaming in Ontario. Name is of Native origin. Monster may also be Native, but name was given from Native language by local whites & not the original name, if so.
  • Sea goat (Greek) – Half goat, half fish
  • Selkie (Scottish) – Shapeshifting seal people
  • Water bull (Scottish) – Nocturnal amphibious bull
  • Water Horse – General name for mythical water dwelling horses of many cultures

Arthropods

Bats

Birds

See also: Category:Legendary birds

Chickens

  • Alectryon – rooster (Greek)
  • Basan, a fire-breathing chicken from Japanese mythology
  • Cockatrice, a chicken-headed dragon or serpent, visually similar to or confused with the Basilisk.
  • Gallic rooster, a symbolic rooster used as an allegory for France
  • Gullinkambi, a rooster who lives in Valhalla in Norse mythology
  • Rooster of Barcelos, a mythological rooster from Portugal
  • Sarimanok, a legendary chicken of the Maranao people who originate from Mindanao (Philippines)
  • Víðópnir, a rooster that sits atop Yggdrasil in Norse mythology

Eagles

  • Aethon – eagle tormentor of Prometheus
  • Griffin – guards treasure and priceless possessions (Greek)
  • Hippogriff – winged horse with the head and upper body of an eagle (French, England)
  • Hræsvelgr – jötunn who takes the form of an eagle (Norse mythology)
  • Poukai (Māori) – monstrous predatory bird, likely based on an extinct species
  • Shahbaz (Persian mythology) – a god who helped the Iranian peoples and guided the Faravahar to the Iranian lands
  • Triple-headed eagle (multi-cultural) –
  • Wuchowsen - (Abenaki) One of the four wind spirits in Abenaki lore. Depicted as a giant eagle who lives atop a mountain.
  • Ziz (Jewish) – giant griffin
  • Zu – divine monster depicted as a lion-headed eagle

Owls

  • Nyctimene (Roman) – Transformed into an owl by Minerva.
  • Owlman – compared to America's Mothman (England)
  • Sirin (Slavic) – birds with women heads, lured men to their death
  • Strix – owl that ate human flesh (Greek)

Carnivorans

Bears

See also: Category:Mythological bears
  • Bjarndyrakongur - (Iceland) king of the bears. Polar beat with red patches on cheeks, a unicorn like horn topped with a round platinum knob that glows. Said to be a Polar bear- walrus hybrid. Other bears follow its every wish.
  • Bugbear (Celtic) – child-eating hobgoblin
  • Callisto (Greek) – A nymph who was turned into a bear by Hera.
  • Stiff-Legged Bear- (Iroquois) giant, hairless bear monster. Colonial interpretations also turned it into a pig monster, with tusks or tried to associate it with the Mammoth or Mastodon, during a time when colonial settlers believed such animals likely still existed somewhere in the continent.

Canines

See also: Category:Mythological canines
  • Adlet
  • Amarok
  • Anubis – jackal-headed god associated with mummification and the afterlife (Egypt)
  • Aralez
  • Asena
  • Axehandle hound – a dog-like beast that reputedly subsists on axe-handles left unattended (United States & Canada)
  • Black dog, also known as Barghest, Black Shuck, or Grim – associated with the Devil, Hellhound (Britain)
  • Beast of Gévaudan – man-eating wolf, terrorized the province of Gévaudan (France)
  • Carbuncle (Chilote) – one of its many descriptions is a luminescent small dog[3]
  • Cerberus – multi-headed dog, guards the gates of the Underworld, son/brother of Orthrus (Greek, Roman)
  • Chupacabra (Latin American) – Alleged creature reputed to attack and drink the blood of livestock, occasionally described with bat-like features. Sometimes thought to resemble, or mistaken for a hairless coyote.
  • Cu Sith (or Cusith) – Hellhound, harbinger of death (Scotland, the Hebrides, Ireland)
  • Crocotta – mythical dog-wolf, related to the hyena (India, Ethiopia)
  • Cynocephaly – having the head of a dog or jackal
  • Dogs of Actaeon – Hunting dogs that turned on Actaeon after he was turned into a deer
  • Fenrir – monstrous wolf, father of the wolves (Norse)
  • Gelert
  • Hellhound – supernatural dog, bringers of death (worldwide)
  • Huli jing or Kitsune or Kumiho – Fox spirits, like Fairies (China, Japan, Korea)
  • Huodou – a large black dog that can emit flames from its mouth (China)
  • Kludde - (Belgium) demon summoned from the ashes of witches taking the form of a black wolf with bat wings, a birds beak and bear claws. Has glowing eyes, shapeshifting abilities and great speed.
  • Orthrus – two headed dog, father/brother of Cerberus (Greek)
  • Penghou – tree spirit that appears like a black dog and tastes like dog-meat (Chinese)
  • Psoglav - (Bosnia) humanoid monster with dog's head, horse's legs, one eye and iron teeth.
  • Salawa – the "Typhonian Animal," a slender, vaguely canine-animal that is the totemic animal of Set
  • Sigbin – is a creature in Philippine mythology (Philippines)
  • Sky Fox (mythology), a celestial nine-tailed Fox Spirit that is 1,000 years old and has golden fur (Chinese)
  • Shug Monkey – dog/monkey creature found in Cambridgeshire (Britain)
  • Tanuki – Japanese raccoon dog, legends claim is a shapeshifting trickster (Japan)
  • Tulikettu (Finnish) - Fox with flaming fur, whose skin is said to be a safer alternative for lighting than fire. Catching on in a hunt will guarantee riches. Gives name to the northern lights. Translates to Firefox.
  • Vǎrkolak, or "Vukodlak" (Slavic) – undead vampire werewolf
  • Werewolf – human, shapeshifts to a wolf because of an affliction, lycanthrope (Worldwide)

Felines

  • Bael (Demonology) – First king of Hell with three heads: a man, a toad, and a cat
  • Ball-tailed cat (North American) – a feline similar to a mountain lion, except with a long tail with a bulbous end used for striking its prey
  • Cactus cat (North American) – a feline of the American Southwest with hair-like thorns that intoxicates itself by the consumption of cactus water
  • Canaima- (Mexico) term for a sort of were-jaguar. May be related to skinwalkers.
  • Cat-sìth (Celtic mythology) – spectral cat that haunts the Scottish Highlands
  • Cath Palug (Welsh) – a monstrous cat said to have killed 180 warriors
  • Carbuncle (Chilote) – one of its many descriptions is a cat with a luminescent chin[4]
  • Demon Cat (North American) – a ghost cat who is purported to haunt the government buildings of Washington, D.C.
  • Tyger
  • Underwater panther
  • Vapula
  • Wampus cat - (American) Said to have various Native origins in Southern Appalachia. Cat with six legs and a long tail. Was said to have once been a man who was cursed into a monster after losing his love to another man. May have been loosely based on some version of the Underwater Panther mythos.
  • White Tiger (Chinese) – a Guardian Of The West cardinal point
  • Winged cat
Lions
See also: Category:Mythological felines

Hyenas

  • Werehyena
  • Kishi – cannibalistic two-faced demon, half-human half-hyena (Africa)

Musteloids, mongoose and civets

Procyonids

  • Azeban is a lower-level trickster spirit in Abenaki mythology. The traditional homeland of the Abenaki is Wobanakik (Place of the Dawn), what is now called northern New England and southern Quebec. Azeban (also spelled Azban, Asban or Azaban) is a raccoon, the Abenaki trickster figure. Pronounced ah-zuh-bahn. Azeban does many foolish and/or mischievous things in Abenaki folktales, but unlike animal tricksters in some other tribes, is not dangerous or malevolent.

Fish

See also: Category: Mythical fish and Category: Legendary fish

Insectivores

  • Lavellan A Lavellan, làbh-allan, la-mhalan or la-bhallan etc. is a mythological creature from northern Scotland. It was generally considered to be a kind of rodent, and indeed the name "làbh-allan" is also used for a water shrew or water vole in Scottish Gaelic. It was however, reportedly larger than a rat, very noxious, and lived in deep pools in rivers. Its poisonous abilities were legendary, and it was said to be able to injure cattle over a hundred feet away.

Marsupials

Molluscs

  • Akkorokamui – octopus monster (Ainu, Japan)
  • Carbuncle (Chilote) – one of its many descriptions is a luminescent bivalve[4][3]
  • Lou Carcolh – A giant, man-eating snail with fur and tentacles (France)
  • Kraken – squid monster (Worldwide)
  • Shen – A clam-dragon that creates mirages and fata morgana at sea (China)

Primates

See also: Category:Mythological monkeys
  • Agropelter – a beast that amuses itself by hurling twigs and tree branches at passersby (United States & Canada)
  • Bigfoot or Sasquatch – Cryptid, animal of the Northwest (North America)
  • Hibagon or Hinagon – ape-like, similar to Bigfoot, or the Yeti (Japan)
  • Jué yuán – blue-furred man-sized rhesus monkey that abducts human women (China & Japan)
  • Satori – mind-reading magical ape or monkey (Japan)
  • Shōjō – anthropomorphic spirit, depicted as furred, somewhat confounded with orangutan (Japan)
  • Shug Monkey – dog/monkey (Britain)
  • Sun Wukong (proper name) – powerful warrior-magician in the form of a monkey who hatched from a stone egg (China)
  • Vanara – humanoid apes or monkeys (India, Hindu)
  • Yeren – man-monkey, cryptid hominid, resides in remote mountainous (China)
  • Yeti – Abominable Snowman, ape-like cryptid similar to Bigfoot, that inhabits the Himalayas (Nepal, Tibet)
  • Yowie – hominid said to live in the Australian wilderness, a cryptid similar to the Himalayan Yeti (Australia)

Rabbits and hares

See also: Category:Mythological rabbits and hares
  • Al-Mi'raj – rabbit with unicorn horn (Arabia)
  • Jackalope – (North America)
  • Moon rabbit – a rabbit living on the moon (Chinese)
  • Skvader
  • Wisakedjak - (Native American) aka Whiskeyjack. One of several names for the rabbit trickster spirit believed in across the Eastern Woodlands and Great Plains.
  • Wolpertinger

Reptiles, Limbed

See also: Category:Legendary reptiles

Reptiles, serpents and worms

See also: List of dragons in mythology and folklore, Category: Legendary serpents, and Serpents in the Bible

Rodents

See also: Category:Mythological rodents

Ungulates

Antelopes and deer

See also: Category:Mythological deer
  • Actaeon (Greek) – a hunter turned into a deer and tore apart by his dogs.
  • Ceryneian Hind (Greek) – Artemis' large, sacred golden hind
  • Deer Woman (Native American) – female human above the waist, deer below. Male version is Elk Man.
  • Eikþyrnir (Norse mythology) – stag which stands upon Valhalla
  • Goldhorn (Slavic) – white golden-horned antelope
  • Jackalope (North American) – jackrabbit with antelope horns
  • Keresh (Jewish) – giant deer of the forest of Bei Ilai
  • Peryton (Argentina) – Stag with bird parts
  • Qilin (Chinese) – East Asian chimerical good luck symbol
  • Tarand (European) also Parandrus. Antelope or deer like creature said to be found in Ethiopia who can change the color of their fur at will to camouflage.
  • White stag (worldwide) – magic white deer
  • Xeglun (Tungusic mythology) – celestial elk

Bovines

See also: Category:Mythological bovines

Camelids

Caprids

See also: Category:Mythological caprids

Equines

Main articles: List of horses in mythology and folklore and List of winged horses
See also: Category:Horses in mythology
  • Anggitay – is a creature with the upper body of a female human and the lower body of a horse from waist down (Philippines)
  • Arion – Talking immortal horse (Greek)
  • Balius and Xanthus Greek – offspring of harpies, immortal
  • Buraq – Al-Burāq, steed from the heavens that transported the prophets (Islam, Persian Art)
  • Centaur – head, arms, and torso of a human, the body and legs of a horse (Greek)
  • Cheval Gauvin – horse which tries to kill its rider (French/Swiss)
  • Cheval Mallet; horse that tempts and kidnaps weary travelers (French)
  • Chiron – centaur believed to be exceptional among his brethren (Greek)
  • Chollima – a winged horse too swift to be mounted by any mortal (Chinese)
  • Drapé - (France) Ghostly horse monster who finds and spirits away children wandering at night to an unknown location, never to be seen again.
  • Gytrash- (english) shapeshifting spirit usually taking the form of a horse, mule or other animal. Opposite of a will o the wisp, as it appears to the lost and leads people back to where they want to be. Believed to be the same thing as the Shagfoal, Skriker, Padfoot and Barguest.
  • Haizum – horse of the archangel Gabriel (Islam)
  • Hippogriff – winged horse with the head and upper body of an eagle (French, England)
  • Ipotane – half-horse, half-humans, original centaurs (Greek)
  • Karkadann – monstrous, highly aggressive unicorn (India, Persia)
  • Kotobuki (Japanese) – Yokai with traits of all members of the Chinese zodiac
  • Longma – fabled winged horse with dragon scales (China)
  • Mankayia- (Kiowa) tornado spirit in the form of a horse.
  • Onocentaur – part human, part donkey (Greek)
  • Pegasus – white winged stallion (Greek)
  • Pooka – spirits, or fairies who lived near ancient stones, good or bad (Ireland)
  • Sleipnir – Odin's eight-legged horse, which he rode to Hel (location) (Norse)
  • Simurgh – like the Hippogriff with the head of a human (Persian)
  • Sihuanaba – a shapeshifting spirit that typically takes the form of an attractive, long haired woman seen from behind, before revealing her face to be that of a horse
  • Tikbalang – creature with the body of a man and the head and hooves of a horse, lurks in the mountains and forests (Philippines)
  • Uchchaihshravas – seven-headed all white flying horse (Hindu)
  • Unicorn – horse-like creature with a single horn, often symbolizing purity (Worldwide)
  • Water Horse – General name for mythical water dwelling horses of many cultures
  • White horse

Pachyderms

  • Abath
  • Baku
  • Behemoth
  • Quugaarpak - (Inuit) Explanation for Mammoths & other Ice Age remains washing out of riversides. Underworld monsters who dig their way up to the human world, but die upon breathing our air.
  • Taweret

See List of elephants in mythology and religion

Pigs and boars

See also: Category:Mythological pigs

Xenarthrans

Megafauna

Main article: List of megafauna in mythology and folklore

Giants

Main article: List of giants in mythology and folklore

Artificial creatures

This listing includes creatures that are man-made, mechanical or of alchemical origins.

Body parts, creatures associated with

Blood

Bone

Eye

One-eyed

Main article: List of one-eyed creatures in mythology and fiction

Face

Hair

Limbs

  • Asura (Indian)
  • Deva / Devi (Indian)
  • Hekatonkheires
  • Hinkypunk - (English) variation on Will o the wisp. A single, in corporeal leg hopping around bogs with a lantern.
  • Kui
  • O'nya:ten (Iroquoian) aka Dry Fingers. Mummified hand. Appears and leaps out at people after certain transgressions, such as speaking ill of the dead, or butting into other people's personal business.
  • Sleipnir
  • Three-legged bird

Mouth

Skin

Tail

Neck

Torso

Abdomen

Concepts, creatures associated with

Battle, Vengeance, Violence, and War

Birth and Rebirth

Death and immortality

See also: List of ghosts

Dream, the mind, and sleep

Evil Eye and Sight

Fertility and Human Sexuality

Fortune, Luck, and Wealth

Light

Love and Romance

Sound

Speech

Note: see Talking animal

Time and Technology

Wisdom

Demons

Elements, creatures associated with

Aether

Air and wind

See also: List of flying mythological creatures

Darkness

Earth and subterranean

Fire

Further information: Fire-breathing monster

Light and rainbow

Metal and gold

Thunder and lightning

Water

See also: Category:Mythological water creatures

Habitats, creatures associated with

Cave and underground

Celestial and heaven

Desert

Temperate forest and woodland

Tropical forest and jungle

Temperate grassland and garden

Savanna

Lake and river

Mountain and hill

Sea

Swamp and marsh

Volcano and lava

Polar, ice, and winter

Urban and house

Underworld and hell

Cerberus

Humanoids

See Mythic humanoids

Hybrids

See List of hybrid creatures

Astronomical objects, creatures associated with

Sun

Moon

Constellation

World

See also: List of mythological places

Creatures associated with plants

Shapeshifters

Main article: List of shapeshifters

Creatures associated with times

Day and diurnal

Night and nocturnal

Undead

See also: Category:Ghosts
  • Aswang
  • Banshee – (Scottish, Gaelic, Irish)
  • Chindi - (Navajo) The dark side of the soul which has the ability to remain behind in the earth after death and become a sort of dark spirit.
  • Drekavac (Croatia) Name used for several distinct undead monsters.
  • Ghost – (Worldwide)
  • Inipi- (California Native) shapeshifting ghosts
  • Jikininki
  • Kuchisake-onna
  • Lugat (Albanian)
  • Poltergeist – (Worldwide)
  • Preta
  • Revenant
  • Sluagh
  • Spirit – (Worldwide)
  • Tei Pai Wanka - (Wampanoag) Term for swamp lights in Algonquian lore. Enslaved souls of people taken by the Little People who are used to scare people who've done wrong or lure them to their deaths.
  • Vampire
  • Wanagi- (Lakota) Lakota name for Siouan shadow people. Essentially ghosts.
  • Wewe Gombel
  • Wili
  • Will o' the wisp – Jack o lantern (English)
  • Wraith
  • Yurei
  • Ghosts in Hindu Mythology: Bhoot, Baital and Pishacha

    • Corporeal

    See also: List of vampires in folklore and mythology and Category: Corporeal undead

    Miscellaneous

    • Anaye - (Navajo) various monsters that take the forms of animals, living objects and other things. Derived from a time where men and women bet on who would last the longest without the other sex and the women pleasuring themselves with whatever random things they thought would do the job, which caused their chosen toys to father them monstrous, man-eating children.
    • Daimon
    • Demon
    • Fairy
    • Familiar
    • Genie – or Jinn, Djinn
    • Monster
    • Sprite
    • Yōkai

    References

    1. ^ a b Montecino Aguirre, Sonia (2015). "Alicanto". Mitos de Chile: Enciclopedia de seres, apariciones y encantos (in Spanish). Catalonia. pp. 47–48. ISBN 978-956-324-375-8.
    2. ^ Illinois, Reboot (30 October 2014). "5 Illinois Monster Stories That Will Make You Want to Check Under the Bed". HuffPost. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
    3. ^ a b Quintana Mansilla, Bernardo. "El Carbunco". Chiloé mitológico (in Spanish).
    4. ^ a b c d Montecino Aguirre, Sonia (2015). "Carbunclo". Mitos de Chile: Enciclopedia de seres, apariciones y encantos (in Spanish). Catalonia. p. 130. ISBN 978-956-324-375-8.
    5. ^ a b c Montecino Aguirre, Sonia (2015). "Llamas". Mitos de Chile: Enciclopedia de seres, apariciones y encantos (in Spanish). Catalonia. p. 415. ISBN 978-956-324-375-8.
    6. ^ "Geryon". Theoi. Retrieved 10 February 2017. a three-bodied, four-winged giant
    7. ^ Platt, Rutherford (1926). The Lost Books of the Bible and the Forgotten Books of Eden. Entry: The Book of the Secrets of Enoch chapter XII
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