The International Guide to the Mythological

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 –...

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 arou...