MYTHICAL BEASTS---IX



European - Part 2


81.       Bloody  Bones:  Originally  hailing  from  Yorkshire  in
England, Bloody Bones is said to be a bogeyman that lives
in a dark cupboard under the stairs. He preys on young
victims, eating their bones which he then uses to make a
nest. The earliest reference to Bloody Bones is in the
Oxford
English Dictionary of 1550 in which we are told that the
monster is also known to some as
Tommy Rawhead.
82.       Glas Gaibhnenn: This mythical beast comes from Irish
folklore. A white cow covered in green spots, she is said to yield profuse quantities of milk for its owner.
83.       Selkie: North of mainland Scotland lie two remote island
groups called the Orkney and the Shetland isles. Sharing
similar folklore, both communities tell of creatures who live
as seals in the sea but shed their skin to become human on
land. If a man finds a Selkie’s skin which she has shed to
come on land, she will now be under his power and will
become his wife - although as her true home is in the sea
she will spend many hours gazing at the ocean. Both male
and female Selkies are said to be beautiful, and sometimes
seek out those who are dissatisfied with their lives to begin
a loving relationship with.
84.       Troll: In Scandinavian folklore, trolls are said to be ancient
and strong but slow and dim-witted. They turn to stone in
the sunlight and are dangerous should you come across
one at night - trolls will kidnap (and most likely eat) you.
In later folk tales it is said that the sound of church bells
scares the trolls away from human communities, whereas in
earlier legends lightning had the same effect.



85.     Banshee: This messenger from the underworld takes the
form of a fairy woman who wails at an impending death.
Important families in Ireland each had their own Banshee,
who’s mournful cries would signify the imminent passing of
one of their members. Whereas some Banshees are said to
be terrifyingly ugly, others have been described as beautiful
women, and some even as an animal such as a crow, stoat
or weasel. Likewise, the Banshee’s cry can be anything
from a ‘low, pleasant singing’ to a ‘thin, screeching sound
somewhere between the wail of a woman and the moan of
an owl’.
86.       Valkyrie: riding upon winged horses, Valkyries choose
slain Norse warriors from the battlefield as their husbands, and bring them to Valhalla, the hall ruled over by the god Odin. There, the warriors are served mead and prepare for a huge future battle.
87.       Leprechaun: around the height of a small child, with a red
beard and clothed in a green suit (although in older days
the suit was said to be red), a Leprechaun spends his days
making shoes. He is a magical creature who hides his coins
in a pot of gold which is stored at the end of a rainbow. When
a ladder falls over, a toe is stubbed or another ‘unlucky’
event occurs, it is actually the fault of the Leprechaun, who
loves to play practical jokes on us. If you catch a Leprechaun
however, he will grant you three wishes in exchange for his
release - although choose wisely, as things don’t always turn
out the way you plan...
88.       Ratatoskr: Ratatoskr is a squirrel from Norse mythology
who carries messages up and down the world tree Yggdrasil between Hraesvelgr (the eagle perched at the top) and Niohoggr (the wyrm who lives underneath its roots).



89.     Grindylow: should a child get too close to a lake, a
Grindylow with its long, sinewy arms will reach out and pull them in. Hailing from Yorkshire and Lancashire, the word Grindylow is thought to be associated with that of Grendel, a giant referenced in the epic poem Beowulf who is feared by all but the hero himself.
90.       Kelpie: usually appearing as a horse (but in fact able to take
on the form of a man or woman), this creature is a common
water spirit inhabiting lochs and pools of water in Scotland.
Similar to a Ceffyl Dŵr, they are said to be mischievous
but rarely dangerous to humans (although, like its Welsh
counterpart, you shouldn’t approach one in case it tramples
you to death, devours your carcass and throws your entrails
to the water’s edge). One question people often ask is how
you can tell a Kelpie from a normal horse; the best way to
do this is to look at the hooves - a Kelpie’s are backwards!































Valkyries


The Most Amazing Creatures


91.       Jimmy Squarefoot: usually peaceful, this creature with a
pig’s head wanders around the Isle of Man reared up on his
two hind legs. His enormous feet are square in appearance
and was once the steed of the
Foawr, a local race of giants.
92.       Jenny Greenteeth: with her sharp green incisors, Jenny
Greenteeth lies beneath the surface of lonely water, ready
to pull in any inquisitive child who comes too close to the
edge. Sometimes, algae can grow over the surface of a pond
making it look like a particularly well-manicured lawn; in
legend this is said to be the hair of Jenny Greenteeth, who
will quickly roll over and grab you should you decide to
take a closer look!
93.       Moon Rabbit: in both East Asian and Aztec mythology, it
was said that a rabbit lived on the moon - this was based
on the satellite’s markings, which some thought looked like
a rabbit grinding and pounding using a pestle and mortar.
The Chinese say it is concocting the elixir of life, whereas the
Japanese and Koreans believe it is making tasty rice cakes.
One Chinese legend tells of how a girl named Chang-o was
banished to the moon for stealing the pill or immortality
from her husband; she managed to take her pet rabbit with
her and they have been living there ever since. Fantastically,
the astronauts of Apollo 11 were told to look out for the girl
before the 1969 moon landing!
94.       Cipactli: the Aztecs spoke of a primeval sea monster who
was always hungry. Part fish, part crocodile and part toad, every joint on his body was said to have a mouth!



95.     Will-o’-the-Wisp: also known to some as Jack-o’-Lantern,
these ghost lights float a few feet above the surface of the
marshes and resemble a flickering gas lamp. Should a
traveller stray from the safe path to take a closer look at one
of these intriguing lights, the flame recedes and the ‘victim’
will more than likely be stuck in the boggy ground until he
perishes. Some believe that there is a scientific explanation
for the will-o’-the-wisps; that naturally occurring swamp
gas ignites and slowly burns, causing the effect. Others
however say there is a more supernatural explanation, and
that the lights are the souls of the dead.
96.       Näkki: just like Jenny Greenteeth, a Näkki lives under
the surface of the water, ready to pull young children to
their deaths should they lean a little too far over bridges
or railings that cross rivers in Finland. Said to appear as a
beautiful woman from the front, but a hideous hairy fish-
man from the rear, this shape-shifter can even transform
into a fish, horse or dog at will. If you want to see a Näkki
without dying, perhaps your best chance is to visit the
country on Midsummers night, when they are said to rise
up from the water to dance and join the local celebrations.
97.       Gashadokuro: surely one of the most frightening beasts
in this book, Gashadokuro are giant skeletons of Japanese
legend, fifteen times the height of a normal man. As soon
as it spots a human, this terrifying entity will grab them
and bite their head off, enjoying and drinking the spray
of blood that this act creates. If this wasn’t scary enough,
the Gashadokuro can also make themselves invisible (and
indestructible) and target people when they are alone -
however, a sure sign of one approaching is that you will
hear an extremely loud ringing of bells in your ears.



98.     Manticore: similar to the Sphinx, the Manticore had the
body of a lion and the head of a human - although this beast
of Persian mythology was also said to have three rows of
shark’s teeth, the wings of a bat, the tail of a scorpion and
a voice that sounded like a trumpet. It could kill its victims
by shooting poisonous spines at them, then devouring its
prey whole not leaving a single bone behind. The Manticore
should not be confused with the Mantiger (or Mantyger)
popular in medieval bestiaries, which had the body of a
tiger, the head of a man and the feet of a monkey.
99.       Cockatrice: mentioned in English myths dating back
centuries, the magical cockatrice looked like a two-legged
Dragon with the head of a rooster. It was supposedly born
from an egg that had been laid by a chicken but incubated
by a toad, and had the ability to turn people to stone with
its gaze, just like a Basilisk. If one found an egg suspected
of containing a cockatrice, the best way to prevent it from
hatching was to throw it all the way over your house,
ensuring it didn’t hit anything during its high trajectory.
100.     Mongolian Death Worm: said to inhabit the Gobi desert,
this red worm grows up to five feet long and can spew an acid that can kill a human and will even corrode metal. Not only does it possess this unusual ability, but it can also electrocute victims at will from a distance. Amazingly, this is another mythical beast referenced in this book for which many expeditions have set out attempting to locate it... It is thought that this creature could well exist!


























A Manticore




101.  Slenderman: some people will tell you that Slenderman is
            an invention of the internet - and as mythical creatures go,
            that would be quite interesting by itself. However, legends
           
of a tall, thin skeletal figure have persisted for years across
           
many cultures, even if they don’t have the abilities that
           
current Slenderman mythos attributes - being able to cause
           
Slender Sickness for instance. Said to sleep on a bed of dirt
           
taken from a fresh grave, or to inhabit a fetid well near to his
           
intended victims, Slenderman is a truly terrifying mythical
            beast worthy of inclusion on any list of creatures of legend

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