The International Guide to the Mythological

Origin: English and Scandinavian Habitat: Churchyards Behavior: Moderate Description:  A ghost of a big black dog. Facts:  Church grims oversee the welfare of a particular  church  and protects the  churchyard  from those who would profane and commit  sacrilege  against it.  It dwells in the churchtower or some other place of concealment, or wanders the grounds at night.  In English and Scandinavian folklore, when a new churchyard is opened it is believed that the first person buried there had to guard it against the devil. In order to prevent a human soul from having to perform such a duty, a dog is buried on the north part of the churchyard as a substitute.  In Yorkshire tradition, it is an ominous parent and is known to toll the church bell at midnight before a death.  They are associated with dark stormy weather . It often appears as a  black dog  but is known to take the form of other animals.  In Scandinavian folklore, o ther animals used to create the church

Origin: Dutch Mythology/Legend Habitat: Streets Behavior: Aggressive Description:  Oude Rode Ogen was said to have been a 7-foot-tall (2.1 m) black man who changed into a large black dog with fiery red eyes. In more recent times he has taken the form of a dark shadow figure with red eyes whose late evening appearance is usually followed by a menacing dog's growl.  Facts: Oude Rode Ogen  or  Old Red Eyes , otherwise known as  The Beast of Flanders , is a Dutch bogeyman or ghost  whose tales and sightings began after a true series of events . The legend of Oude Rode Ogen began in the Flanders region of Belgium in the late 17th century after reports of children who went missing and were believed to be victims of a cannibalistic shape shifter.  Witnesses claimed to have seen a large naked black man running away after trying to steal a young girl from her bed . He was shot at and seen to change into a large black dog. A homeless black man was soon found living near Nekk

Origin: Finnish Mythology  Habitat: Woods and forests Behavior: Moderate Description: A large woodland spirit of a bear.  Facts:  Commonly referred to as 'The King of the Forest' According to Finnish mythology, Otso was born on the shoulders of Otava, in the regions of the sun and moon, and ‘nursed by a goddess of the woodlands in a cradle swung by bands of gold between the bending branches of budding fir-trees.’  His nurse would not give him teeth and claws until he had promised never to engage in bloody strife , or deeds of violence. Otso, however, does not always keep his pledge , and accordingly the hunters of Finland find it comparatively easy to reconcile their consciences to his destruction.  Otso is called in the runes by many endearing titles as ‘The Honey-Eater’, ‘Golden Light-Foot’, ‘The Forest-Apple’, ‘Honey-Paw of the Mountains’, ‘The Pride of the Thicket’, and ‘The Fur-robed Forest-Friend’.  

Origin: Japanese Mythology  Habitat: Countryside Behavior: Aggressive Description:  Gashadokuro (translated to "Starving Skeleton") are skeletal giants fifteen times taller than an average person which wander around the countryside in the darkest hours of the night. Their teeth chatter and bones rattle with a “gachi gachi” sound, which is this yokai’s namesake.  Facts:  The Gashadokuro are created from the amassed bones of people who died of  starvation  or in battle, without being buried.   Soldiers whose bodies rot in the fields and victims of famine who die unknown in the wilderness rarely receive proper funerary rites.  Unable to pass on, their souls are reborn as hungry ghosts , longing eternally for that which they once had. These people die with anger and pain in their hearts, and that energy remains long after their flesh has rotted from their bones. As their bodies decay, their anger ferments into a powerful force – a grudge against the living – and this

Origin: Scandinavian Mythology Habitat: Water (Waterfalls) Behavior: Harmless Description:  He is a young and handsome looking man that sits at the base of the waterfall playing a fiddle.  Facts:  The Fossegrimen is neither good nor evil . The Fossegrimen is described as an exceptionally talented fiddler : the sounds of forest, wind and water play over his fiddle strings. The Fossegrimen is said to be willing to teach his skills in exchange for a food offering made on a Thursday evening. They enjoy 'fenalâr (smoked mutton) If the meal isn't sufficient, he'll only teach the supplicant how to tune the fiddle. If the offering is satisfactory, he will take the pupil's right hand and draw the fingers along the strings until they all bleed, after which he will be able to play so well that "the trees shall dance and torrents in their fall stand still".

Origin: Native American Mythology Habitat: Southeast Woodlands, Seminole, and Oklahoma Behavior: Harmless Description: A small dwarf with a sack. Facts: The Fastachee (or "Little Giver") likes to  provide acorns and medicine to people.

Origin: Czech Mythology Habitat: Riverbanks, Cornfields Behavior: Aggressive  Description:  A tall being with that resembles a scarecrow. It is seen with a large sack.  Facts:  Basically the Czech Boogeyman Carries a sack to steal bad people (Namely children)  It lures its victims to their death by  mimicking the cry of an innocent, unprotected baby .  On the night of the full moon, the Bubak weaves clothes from the souls of those it kills and drives a cart pulled by black carts . 

Origin: American Colonial Mythology Habitat: Forests, Woods, Behavior: Aggressive Description: Due to its nature, it has never been seen before. Some have reported it as furry and tall.  Facts: The Hidebehind is said to prey upon humans that wander the woods at night , and was credited for the disappearances of early colonial loggers when they failed to return to camp.  As its name suggests, the Hidebehind is noted for its ability to conceal itself. When an observer attempts to look directly at it, the creature can suck in and morph its body to  hides again behind an object of any shape or the observer and therefore can’t be directly seen.  The Hidebehind uses this ability to stalk human prey without being observed and to attack without warning. Once the person is killed, the Hidebehind drags the person back to their lair to be eaten. The Hidebehind enjoys eating intestines specifically. 

Origin: Hindu Mythology Habitat: Sky Behavior: Harmless Description: A beautiful white bird that sits on the Chandra.  Facts: Not much is known about them.  They feed off moon lights .

Origin: Japanese Urban Legend Habitat: Streets Behavior: Aggressive Description: A once before now hideous woman with a bloody smile carved into her face. Usually seen with a surgical mask over her face before she shows you what's underneath. Facts: Kuchisake-Onna was a beautiful woman who was found in bed with another man and her husband in a fit of rage took a large pair of scissors and carved a smile into her face from ear to ear. He then asked her, “Who will think you’re pretty now?” and decapitated her. Her spirit walks the streets of Japan and when you encounter her, she approaches you and says, “Am I pretty?” and if you say yes, she will take off the mask and ask again.  If you reply to her by saying, “You’re ugly.” she will kill you with a large pair of scissors and if you say “You’re pretty” she will carve a smile in your face to make you as ‘pretty’ as her.  However, if you reply by saying, “You’re average.” She will stop and get confused giving you enough

Origin: German Mythology  Habitat: Alpine forests of Bavaria in Germany Behavior: Moderate Description:  It has a body comprising various animal parts — generally wings, antlers, tails and fangs, all attached to the body of a small mammal.  The most widespread description portrays the Wolpertinger as having the head of a rabbit, the body of a squirrel, the antlers of a deer, and the wings and occasionally the legs of a pheasant. Facts: They are often characterised as being mischievous.

Origin: Arabian Mythology  Habitat: Inanimate Object (Lamp) Behavior: Aggressive Description:  A race of supernaturally empowered beings with shapeshifting abilities. They are often portrayed as having a demonic-like appearance, but they can also appear in beautiful, seductive forms.  Facts:  Djinn have the ability to intervene in the affairs of people . Djinn are self-propagating and can be either good or evil. They can be conjured in magical rites to perform various tasks and services. A djinni (singular) appears as a wish-granting “genie” in folk tales such as in The Book of 1001 Nights collection of folk tales.  The djinn are masterful shape-shifters, and their favored forms are snakes and black dogs . They also can masquerade as anything: humans, animals, ghosts, cryptids, and other entities such as extraterrestrials, demons, shadow people, fairies, angels and more.  They exist in their own realm, possibly a parallel dimension, and they have the ability – and th

Origin: Slavic Mythology Habitat: Water (Rivers and Lakes) Behavior: Aggressive Description: A beautiful woman with long wild green hair like seaweed and pale (Slightly greenish) skin.  Facts: In Slavic mythology, a rusalka is something similar to the Celtic mermaids or the Greek sirens . They are beautiful young water nymphs who live in bodies of water and entice men into following them to a watery grave.  Known for living in rivers and lakes (Not seas like mermaids and sirens), they come out many times during the year, especially during the summer, and dance around the nearby woods. They can often be seen combing their hair or crafting flower garlands.  While lore often says that the rusalki could not completely stand out of water , some fiction works tell of rusalki that could climb trees and sing songs, sit on docks with only submerged feet and comb their hair, or even join other rusalki in  circle dances  in the field.  It is also believed, by a few accounts, tha

Origin: Philippine Mythology Habitat: Mountains, Forests Behavior: Moderate Description:  It is a tall, bony humanoid creature with the head and hooves of a horse and disproportionately long limbs, to the point that its knees reach above its head when it squats down. Facts:  The form of the Tikbalang traces back 4000 years, with roots in Hinduism.  Tikbalangs scare travelers, lead them astray and play tricks on them such that the travelers keep on returning to an arbitrary path no matter how far they go or turn. This is counteracted by wearing one's shirt inside out. Another countermeasure is to ask permission out loud to pass by or, not to produce too much noise while in the woods in order not to offend or disturb the tikbalang.  A superstition popular with the Tagalog of Rizal Province is that Tikbalangs are benevolent guardians of elemental kingdoms. They are usually found standing at the foot of large trees looking around for anyone who dare to bestow maligna

Origin: South American Mythology Habitat: Mountains, Jungles, Woods, Forests Behavior: Aggressive Description:  They can take on the appearance of a beautiful woman but when changing into their true form, the most notable feature is their one leg terminating into a bovine-like hoof . They is described as possessing one breast, bulging eyes, catlike fangs, a hooked nose, big lips, and tangled hair.  Facts: Deriving from vampire mythology, the Parasola or "One foot" is a female monster from the jungle who lures men away from their companions and sucks the blood from her victims .  They can transform into other animals,  materializing as a large black dog or cow.  They often interferes with work by blocking shortcuts through jungles, disorienting hunters, and throwing hunting dogs off the scent of their game.  They is  usually regarded as protective of nature and the forest animals and unforgiving when humans enter their domains to alter or destroy them. La