Do you imagine monsters lurking in the shadows? Are you afraid of every whisper in the night? Then this is the right place for you. For all those who think that monsters lurk in the dark recesses of the world, you are probably right. Most cultures have very similar folk tales about the cretins that haunt their people. All stories begin somewhere, and even if we do not know what the origin of the monsters are, the least we can do is keep ourselves updated about them.
Here is a list of monsters that you have to keep a lookout for, and never peek under the bed, because there is always something there.
Vampires
Bloodsucking fiends, vampires have their presence in folklore all over the world. They are a form of the undead and subsist by feeding on the life essence, generally in the form of blood of the living.
Chudail
According to legends, a woman who dies during childbirth or pregnancy, or due to suffering at the hands of her in-laws will come back as a chudail to seek revenge.She is described as extremely ugly and hideous and has the power to disguise herself as a beautiful woman to lure men to the mountains where she either kills them or sucks their virility, turning them into old men.
Werewolves
The werewolf is a creature from folklore who is part human, part wolf. Every full moon, the human, under a curse, or bitten by another werewolf, changes into a half-wolf who wantonly attacks and kills people.
Chupacabra
A heavy creature, the size of a small bear, with a row of spines reaching from the neck to the base of the tail, this creature gets its name from the creature’s reported habit of attacking and drinking the blood of livestock, especially goats.
Mummies
A mummy is a human or animal corpse that has been preserved through embalming and buried in a careful and respectful manner. Mummies have often been described as wielding supernatural powers, and usually attack and drain the life force of mortals for themselves.
Banshee
A banshee is a female spirit in Irish mythology who heralds the death of a family member, usually by shrieking or keening. Usually with long, disheveled hair, she can appear in a variety of forms. Most often she is seen as an ugly, frightful hag, but she can also appear young and beautiful if she chooses.
Poltergeist
Traditionally described as troublesome spirits who haunt a particular person instead of a specific location, a poltergeist is a type of supernatural entity which is responsible for physical disturbances, such as loud noises and objects being moved or destroyed. They are purportedly capable of pinching, biting, hitting, and hurting people.
The Loch Ness monster
The Loch Ness Monster, or Nessie, is an aquatic being which reputedly inhabits Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is similar to other supposed lake monsters in Scotland and elsewhere, and is often described as being large in size, with a long neck and one or more humps protruding from the water.
Zombie
A zombie is a dead body reanimated through various methods, most commonly magic, but also through radiation, mental diseases, vectors, viruses, scientific accidents, etc. They are mindless monsters who are usually hungry for human flesh, and will not hesitate to rip out a human’s throat once they catch them.
Yeti
The Yeti is an ape-like entity, taller than an average human, that is said to inhabit the Himalayan region of Nepal, Bhutan, and Tibet. It is generally known to be non-violent, but will sometimes steal children from villages to take to its cave. It is known to attack lone trekkers on the Himalayas.
Kraken
The Kraken is a legendary sea monster of giant size that is said to dwell off the coasts and prey on ships and mortals. The monster cracks the hulls of ships, and its sheer size paralyses men, giving the Kraken time to kill them. Different cultures have different descriptors of its powers. Some say it can heal the sick and that it preys on the vile and vicious, and others say that its poisonous hide poisons the waters around it, so that any man in the water touching its ink dies a painful death.
Wendigo
The wendigo is a malevolent, cannibalistic, supernatural being, which feasts on the flesh of humans. It is said that a wendigo is created when a man is trapped, and then resorts to cannibalism. It is said that the human flesh gives them special powers, making them stronger, faster, and more vicious. They are strongly associated with the winter, the north, and coldness, as well as with famine and starvation.
Basilisk
A basilisk is a legendary reptile reputed to be the king of serpents and said to have the power to cause death with a single glance. The monster is supposed to be gigantic and is so venomous, it leaves a wide trail of deadly venom in its wake, and its gaze is likewise lethal. The basilisk is alleged to be hatched by a cockerel from the egg of a serpent or toad.
Djinns
A creature believed to have been born out of smokeless fire, or a ‘mixture of fires’ the djinn is believed to be a creature of both spiritual and physical manifestation. A djinn can be good, evil, or neutrally benevolent and hence is believed to have free will like humans. A djinn may sometimes agree to help a human, but more often than not, they will kill and feed on humans that come in their way.
Ghouls
A ghoul is a monster or evil spirit, associated with graveyards and consuming human flesh. It is a certain kind of undead monster who delights in the macabre, and is directly linked to death. According to folklore, they are crafty shapeshifters and take on the forms of animals in order to lure unwary people into their territory so that they may devour them.
Skinwalker
A skinwalker is a type of harmful witch who has the ability to turn into, possess, or disguise themselves as an animal, usually for the purposes of harming people. Most skin-walker magic is done with the intent to commit murder.
The White Woman
A White Woman or a White Lady is a type of female ghost dressed in all white, reportedly seen in rural areas and associated with some local legend or tragedy. The White Lady legends are found in many countries around the world, and common to many of these legends is the theme of loss of a daughter or betrayal of a husband.
Rusalka
A rusalka is a water nymph or a female spirit in mythology and folklore. She can appear either as a beautiful maiden or a gorgeous horse. Her main purpose is, however, to lure young men, seduced by either her looks or her voice, into the depths of the waterways where she would entangle their feet with her long red hair and submerge them.
Dragons
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically scaled or fire-spewing and with serpentine, reptilian, or avian traits, that features in the myths of many cultures around world. There are many types of dragons, from fire to ice, water, and air. They are elemental beings who are believed to be very wise, and can be fierce and murderous according to different situations.
Kichkandi
In folklore, a kichkandi is a spirit of a woman that is latched to an uncremated part of her dead body, usually a bone. They are generally known to be solitary spirits that haunt a particular location. According to sightings, they are supposed to have unusually long black hair, pale and bony complexions, and their feet face backwards. They also sap the life out of young humans who come across them.
Are you going to be sleeping alone tonight, thinking about every rustle, or are you going to be out looking for the creepy crawlies in the big bad world?
Happy Halloween.
The spooktastic creatives were made by Chhabi Parmar.