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The ABCs of ABC – N
N is for… Nhang “Nhang” is a Persian word for crocodile. In Armenian it refers to the Biblical crocodile and hippopotamus and a monstrous aquatic spirit that lives in the Euphrates. It can appear as a...
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The ABCs of ABC – O
O is for… Opimachus The chargol insect of Leviticus begat the ophiomachus (“snake fighter”) of the Septuagint, by way of Aristotle’s account of snake-eating locusts. This in turn begat the opimachus of...
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The ABCs of ABC – P
P is for… Peteliae Aelian describes the Peteliae as tiny, pale crabs that form in mud. They have small wings that are incapable of flight, instead generating only enough lift to speed them up a bit....
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The ABCs of ABC – Q
Q is for… Qique Another of the many monstrous man-eaters of the Shan Hai Jing, the Qique or Qi-magpie looks like a white-headed chicken with rat’s feet and tiger’s claws. It lives on North Shouting...
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“Unlike my people, whose religious and superstitious beliefs are entirely grounded in verifiable, empirical science, and whose keen practical intellects could in no way conceive of fairies, dragons,...
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The ABCs of ABC – I
I is for… Ieltxu Ieltxu is a Basque spirit that appears as a human, a pig, or a bird shooting flames from its mouth. It is mischievous rather than evil, but that distinction is moot after you’ve spent...
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I always thought the Protoceratops-griffin connection was unrealistic, but this does a way better job of taking it apart than I ever could!
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Sadly I will never be able to top Lewicki’s rendition of the alligator-horse, published in the LIFE Treasury of American Folklore.
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There’s a good reason why it’s front half horse, back half alligator and not the other way round
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The ABCs of ABC – R
R is for… Rosmaputh The Rosmaputh is a hideous creature found in the Caspian Sea. It has a man’s head covered with bristles and armed with long sharp teeth. It has a long neck, scaleless skin, broad...
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The ABCs of ABC – S
S is for… Shuyu One of the many denizens of the Guideways, the Shuyu is a four-headed (or four-eyed) cawing red chicken with six feet and three tails. Eating it cures melancholy.
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The ABCs of ABC – T
T is for… Trollgädda The Trollgäddor or “troll pikes” are enormous pikes that haunt lakes in Sweden. The one in Lake Bolmen is as long as the lake is wide, and has a willow shrub on its head. One...
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Hot take: Fenrir, Skoll, Hati, Garm, Hrodvitnir, etc are all different names and roles for the same cosmic wolf, they just got their own names and personalities over time as they were differentiated.
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The ABCs of ABC – U
U is for… Ugunqu-kubantwana Ugunqu-kubantwana is the Mother of the Animals, a colossal Zulu monster who protects animals and guards a lake with water that tastes like milk. Her mouth is like a cleft in...
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The ABCs of ABC – V
V is for… Velachif The Velachif is a large amphibious snake found near Tenochtitlan. It has a round head with a parrot-like beak, and a colorful, mostly red body. Its bite is certain death.
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Al-Qazwini’s description of the sea turtle – not a distinct monster per se, just “sea turtles are huge and have vegetation on their backs and look like islands and people land on them”.
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The ABCs of ABC – W
W is for… Wapaloosie The Wapaloosie is a lumberwoods critter something like a squirrel, but with woodpecker feet and a distinctly caterpillarish way of climbing trees. Even dead and skinned, the...
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