Unicorn in the wild
Unicorns, a horse or goat-like animal with a single horn, are a commonly depicted mythical creature. From ancient mythology (in Mesopotamia, India, Greece, and China) all the way into the modern age, people have been fascinated by these majestic creatures. Unicorns were said to contain healing properties. For example, if you drank from a cup made out of a unicorn horn, you would be protected from poisons.
Dragons are giant serpent-like, winged monsters that have been featured in myths from all around the world. Despite being so well-known, the origin of the dragon myth is something of a mystery. Furthermore, there are some cultures that believe that the creatures are not in fact mythical, but rather giant creatures who had previously died out, like dinosaurs.
While many believe that this creature is the missing link between apes and human beings, Bigfoot or Sasquatch is widely considered to be a mythological being. Bigfoot is described as being a large, hairy humanoid creature, somewhere between six and nine feet tall. Specific to North American folklore, supposed Bigfoot sightings have occurred in Northern California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.
In Greek mythology, the Chimera was a fire-breathing mythical creature, usually depicted as a lion merged with a goat and a snake, which was related to monsters such as Cerberus. However, the term chimera is now often used to describe any creature that is a hybrid of multiple animals, often composed of wildly different parts.
Another mythical creature from ancient Greece, the Hydra was depicted as a gigantic, snake-like monster with many heads, each of which could dispel acid. In mythological accounts, cutting off one of the Hydra’s heads would result in two more growing into its place. Before his death at the hands of Hercules, the Hydra was known to terrify the people living in the marshes of Lerna.
For anyone who likes horror films, you’ll know that zombies have a long and varied history not only in Hollywood but in legend. Zombies originated in Haitian folklore, with the Haitian French term “zombi” or Haitian Creole “zonbi” used to describe a corpse reanimated through magic or other means. Across the years, zombie stories have shifted to meet current cultural fears and contexts, and bodies are often reanimated through viruses or other scientific processes.
One of the scariest ghost stories from around the world is the story of the pontianak. In Indonesian and Malay mythology, the pontianak is a female spirit of a woman who died while pregnant. The pontianak is a pale creature with long dark hair and red eyes and while objectively frightening, she can transform into a beautiful woman to prey on men. She is said to appear at the full moon and feast on the bodily organs of her victims. Talk about spooky!
Originating in Irish folk tales, the banshee is a female spirit said to appear preceding the death of a loved one. She will wail or shriek to warn family members of the coming disaster. Physically, descriptions of the banshee vary, from a one-foot tall old woman to a young woman in the family who died at a young age.
The dybbuk is a Jewish folk tale of the ghost or dislocated soul of a dead person which then possesses a living human. Derived from the Hebrew for “adhere” or “cling”, this malevolent spirit is said to only depart from its host once it has achieved some sort of goal, allowing it to pass on.
Over the years, vampires have taken many forms. And I don’t mean just turning into bats. While the vampire myth originated in Europe, most cultures have folk tales surrounding vampiric creatures. The most predominant feature of vampires (or vampyres) is the consumption of a person’s vital essence, most often in the form of blood. It’s interesting to note that the pale and sophisticated vampire which has become commonplace in the media did not exist before the 19th century.
