Sometimes we lie in bed at night and think about our increasing mortgage repayments, getting that new car, or that idiot beside you at work, but there was a time in all of our lives when we lay there...
Global, myth, folklore, and legends provided inspiration for the vast array of vivid creatures and fantastical elements that fill the pages and the silver screen of the enthralling, magical world of...
Humbaba (Huwawa) is a guardian creature found in the Epic of Gilgamesh , which is generally considered to be the earliest surviving great work of literature. Although Humbaba is traditionally...
The bonnacon is a strange beast believed to have existed in the ancient world. The first attestation to the existence of the bizarre creature is traced to the Roman natural historian, Pliny the Elder...
Sweet dreams or nightmares – are we scaring our children to sleep? Have you ever thought about the lyrics sung in lullabies? Although it’s proven that lullabies help babies get to sleep, if you pay...
Bloodthirsty, warrior giants which came from far across the sea? Or was it the underworld? Perhaps they were more like monsters with a single leg, arm, and eye? No, it was heads of goats they had…or...
A menacing serpent-like monster glares down at you as you cross the plaza of Chicanná in Mexico. While it is certainly an unnerving thought, you decide to step inside the gaping serpent’s mouth...
Scandinavian mythology claims the Kraken swallowed up whales and devoured ships. It has been described as a huge version of an octopus or squid. Legends have even claimed the terrifying sea creature...
When the going got tough, it was believed sacrificing a virgin to the gods—by throwing them into the sea, burying them alive, or leaving them for hungry monsters—was the best plan. Virgin sacrifice...
Christian-Georges Schwentzel / The Conversation Somewhere in Iraq, the tomb raider Nick Morton (a never-ageing Tom Cruise) flies over the desert. This is where Egyptian queen Ahmanet lies in her tomb...
Scientists have discovered a 1,400-year-old tomb in China which includes some of the most fascinating images ever found. Among others, a blue monster, a winged horse and a nude deity known as the...
More humans have walked on the moon than have been to the deepest parts of planet Earth and although the oceans cover 70% of Earth’s surface, we only know around 1% of the seafloor. Many a mystery...
While completing his Twelve Labors, the Greek hero Heracles (a.k.a. Hercules) got up to tons of mischief—and that included bedding a lot of women. In the process, he fathered a whole host of...
The legend of Yuki-onna (the snow woman) comes from The Land of the Rising Sun. This beautiful but dangerous character may be a personification of death in a severe snow storm. Japanese legends do...
There is said to be a shark that is scarier than the one from the movie Jaws which is as large as the biggest whale. But this isn’t a monster from a sci-fi movie, it’s real. This kind of shark lived...
Am Fear Liath Mor, known also as the Big Grey Man of Ben MacDhui, or simply as the Greyman, is the name given to a creature said to live on Ben MacDhui, the second highest mountain, which is situated...
Coco is also known in folklore as Cuco, Coca, Cuca, Cucuy. It is a mythical dragon or a ghost monster which is said to appear in many different shapes and forms. There is no description of the beast...
Who knows if the people who lived in the Paraná Basin of southern Brazil years ago saw fossils of dinosaurs and came up with strange mythical beings because of them. Whatever connection there may be...
In ancient Greece there was a large and dangerous sea monster called the aspidochelone , which could be translated as asp-turtle . The people who described it for centuries probably just saw a whale...
The Loch Ness Monster is again in the news, as a Scotsman says his 2007 footage probably was not of the famed sea monster, but actually shows a 10-15 foot (3- 4.5 meter) giant eel. This too is...
In ancient times, a dark, hairy, horned beast was said to show up at the door to beat children, and carry them off in his sharp claws. The Krampus could be heard in the night by the sound of his...
Read Part I Who knew innocent little Fluffy could be so devious? Cats’ reputations have often swayed from good to evil over the years as they have been both revered and feared around the world. One...
A wooden figurehead depicting a doglike figure or monster from a historic 15 th century Danish ship has been pulled from Swedish waters. This is one of the oldest known preserved wooden carvings of...
