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: 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...

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 doma...

Origin: Norse  mythology Habitat: Graveyards/Gravesite Behavior: Aggressive Description:  They are d ead bodies usually swollen, blackened or dead blue skin, and generally hideous to look at. Their bodies are described as being extremely heavy. Facts: Draugar live in their graves, often guarding treasure buried with them in their burial mound, wreak havoc on living beings, or torment those who had wronged them in life. They are animated corpses — unlike ghosts they have a corporeal body with similar physical abilities as in life. Older literature makes clear distinctions between sea-draugar and land-draugar.  Draugar possess superhuman strength , can increase their size at will, and carry the unmistakable stench of decay.  They are also noted for the ability to rise from the grave as wisps of smoke and "swim" through solid rock ,  which would be useful as a means of exiting their graves.  In folklore, draugar slay their victims through va...