20 Mythic Beast That Never Existed But People Believed In Anyway
#1 Medusa
According to one version of the story, Medusa was a beautiful maiden of Athena who was raped by Poseidon while in the shape of a horse in Athena's temple. Athena, enraged by the fact that she could not confront Poseidon directly, took it out on poor Medusa and transformed her into an unattractive, hateful monster with a head full of snakes rather than hair. Medusa's ugliness was so hideous that whoever looked at her face turned to stone.
#2 Broxa
According Jewish urban legend the Broxa is an aggressive, intimidating-looking bird that attacked goats for their milk or, in rare cases, would go for human blood during the night. T
#3 The fish-man of Liérganes
The fish-man of Liérganes' existence has been suggested but has not been proven and belongs to the mythology of Cantabria, an autonomous community located in northern Spain.
#4 Minotaur
The Minotaur is one of the first epic creatures we meet in the history of humankind since it takes us back to the days of the Minoan civilization's prime. The Minotaur was said to have the head of a bull on the body of an extremely large, muscular man and dwelt at the center of the Cretan labyrinth, which was designed by Daedalus and his son, Icarus, at King Minos's request.
#5 Baba Yaga
Baba Yaga is probably one of the most popular paranormal creatures in Eastern European folklore and, according to urban legend, had the appearance of a ferocious and extremely intimidating older woman.
#6 Dullahan
The fierce and powerful dullahan is a headless horse rider found in Irish folklore and mythology. For centuries the Irish have believed in its existence, especially during the Middle Ages and have described him to be a harbinger of doom who traveled on a black, malevolent horse with his terrifying, decapitated head under its arm.
#7 Ghoul
The ghoul is one of the most well-known creatures in Arabian folklore and we were introduced to it in the collection of tales, One Thousand and One Nights. The ghoul is described as an undead monster that can also take the form of an immaterial spirit and usually goes into graveyards to eat the flesh of the recently dead.
#8 Lernaean Hydra
The Lernaean Hydra was a mythical water monster with many heads that resembled big snakes, and which Heracles killed in the second of his twelve labors. The ferocious monster lived in Lerna, a small village near Argos, from which it took its name.
#9 Grypas
The grypas was a legendary creature with the head and wings of an eagle and the body and tail of a lion. As the lion and the eagle are the kings of the animal kingdom, the grypas, as a combination of both, was symbolic of power and domination. T
#10 Kodama
According to Japanese legend, a kodama is a peaceful spirit that lives inside certain kinds of trees. Those who have claimed to have seen a kodama describe it as a small white and peaceful ghost that syncs perfectly with Mother Nature.
#11 Korrigan
The weird creatures named korrigan come from Brittany, a cultural region in the northwest of France with a very rich literary tradition and folklore.
#12 Kraken
The legend of the Kraken came from the Nordic seas and its presence was initially limited to the coasts of Norway and Iceland.
#13 Menehune
According to the urban legend, the Menehune were an ancient race of dwarves who lived in the forests of Hawaii before the Polynesians settled there. Many scholars attribute the existence of ancient statues on the Hawaiian Islands to the Menehune.
#14 Pixiu
The Pixiu is another legendary hybrid creature that comes from China. Even though no part of his body resembled a human organ, the mythological creature was often described as having a Chinese lion's body with wings, the legs of another legendary creature of Chinese myth, the qilin, and a head of a Chinese dragon.
#15 Cerberus
In Greek mythology, Cerberus is the guardian of Hades and is usually described as a bizarre-looking monster that looks like a dog with three heads and a tail whose end is a dragon's head. According to the ancient tragedian Aeschylus, Cerberus was born from the union of two monsters, the giant Typhon and Echidna, which would make Cerberus brother of the Lernaean Hydra.
#16 Bubak
The Bubak is pretty much to Czech tales and folklore what the bogeyman is to Western European and American folklore. It was usually described as a creepy creature resembling a scarecrow, and could cry just like an innocent, unprotected baby to lure its victims to their deaths.
#17 Talos
Greek mythology has given to the world some of the most epic heroes, gods, and creatures, and Talos is no doubt one such case. The huge bronze giant supposedly lived in Crete where he supervised and protected a woman named Europa (from whom the continent of Europe got its name) from pirates and invaders.
#18 The Wendigo
Those of you who are familiar with psychology have probably heard the term "Wendigo Psychosis," which describes a psychosis to eat human flesh. The medical term takes its name from the mythical creature called the Wendingo, which, according to the Native American tribe the Algonquian, was an evil creature that looked like a cross between a human and a monster, something similar to a zombie. According to legend, only people who ate human flesh were at risk to become Wendigos.
#19 Draugr
A draugr, according to Norse folklore and mythology, is a zombie that has the putrid smell of the dead and is amazingly powerful. It was believed that they could eat humans, drink blood, and had the power to play mind-games and drive people insane.
#20 Kappa
In ancient Japanese folklore the kappa is a water demon that lives in rivers and lakes and devours naughty children. Kappa means "child of the river" and has the body of a turtle, frog limbs, and a head with a beak. Also at the top of its head there is a cavity with water. While it is supposedly an aquatic creature, they are active on dry land.
