Category: Monsters

Banshee

The banshee is a ghost from Irish and Celtic Folklore. The appearance of a banshee differs depending on the story as well as the family but is commonly a dead woman, the state of decay depends on the individual banshee.

Banshees are spirits that are said to foretell of death, either to the one who hears it or of a family member. Despite there appearance and their role in foretelling death they are not evil figures or the cause of such death. Banshees are often a signal for the family that someone has or will die and gives them time to prepare to morn the person. In some cases the banshee appears long after the person had died and can be seen as a spirit that mourns for those who have passed.

Their are cases of banshees having a pleasant or youthful appearance and taking on the form of a family member who had died young.

Image Source: https://lorrs33.wordpress.com/2015/10/26/irish-folklore-the-banshee/

Fenrir

Fenrir is the most infamous wolf in Norse mythology. He is the son of Loki and is the father of Skoll and Hati. He was destined to grow to be quite powerful and ferocious and because of this was kept in Valhalla. Many of the gods feared Fenrir except Tyr who fed him.

As he continued to grow the other gods feared that if left alone he would spread destruction across the nine realms and thus decided a plan to restrain him. They attempted to bind him in chains with the assertion of a test of strength for Fenrir. Fenrir with the intent to impress the gods broke free of the chains each and every time.

After realizing that no simple chain would be able to hold him they went to the Dwarves for assistance who forged a binding that resembled a ribbon but would be able to hold Fenrir.

They brought it to Fenrir who upon seeing its appearance suspected the gods of some trickery. He would only let them rap it around them if one of them put their hand in his mouth and if there was an enchantment on it he would bite down and devour the god’s hand.

The only god who stepped forward was Tyr who upon the binding of Fenrir had his hand devoured. It was foretold that during Ragnarok Fenrir would brake free of his confinement and kill Odin only to be killed in return by Odin’s son Vidarr.

Hydra

The Lernean hydra, shortened to simply Hydra, is a serpentine monster in Greek mythology that resided in lake Lerna which is the source of Lernean in its name. The Hydra has from 3 to 9 heads and was virtually unbeatable given it;s powerful claws, which could slice through trees with ease, and its many heads which could attack from multiple directions. On top of that it could spew toxic fumes and had toxic blood

The attribute it is most famous for was its ability to sprout two heads when one was severed. Though this skill was countered when Heracles and his nephew Iolaus used a torch to cauterize the wound after Heracles decapitated one of its heads.

It was the offspring of Typhon and Echidna and is the sibling of Orthrus, Cerberus and Chimera.

Image source: https://www.thenewdealer.org/news/2016/02/06/the-hydra-of-new-york-city/

Chimera

The Chimera is a hybrid with the head and body of a lion, a goat head, a snake tail and in some depictions a dragon head as well as it’s wings. It’s depiction varies from culture to culture but what remained the same was the fear caused by the creature.

It was the daughter of Typhon and Echidna and was the sister of Cerberus, Orthrus and the Lernean Hydra. She was the mother of the Sphinx and Nemean Lion.

It was regarded as a bad omen to see or even dream of it and left devastation where ever it went. Given its ability to fly, breath fire, tear through people with it’s lion claws and incredible agility the Chimera spread terror where ever it went.

Though its rain of terror wouldn’t last as when it was attacking the Kingdom of Lycia it was confronted by Bellerophon who with the help of the Pegasus slayed the beast.

Image source: https://animebase.me/threads/blackbeard-theories.450543/

Medusa

Medusa is a well known monster in Greek Mythology. She is depicted as a woman with snakes for hair and the ability to turn anyone who looks at her into stone.

She was the daughter of Phorcys and Ceto. She had two sisters named Stheno and Euryale who both obtained immortality from their parents while Medusa was left mortal. Before the event that turned Medusa into the monster we know today she was a priestess at the temple dedicated to Athena on the island Sarpedon where she was born.

Despite her later appearance, Medusa was quite beautiful and had beautiful hair which drew the envy of Athena when worshipers would admire her beauty. This beauty was what drove the goddess Poseidon to rape her in Athena’s Temple.

Whether it was because of Athena’s envy towards Medusa’s beauty, the inability of Athena to directly punish Poseidon for the act or a combination of them, Athena turned Medusa into the monster we know her as today. It is possible that this act was done to take away and destroy the thing Poseidon coveted the most, Medusa’s Beauty.

Image Source: https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends-europe/legend-medusa-and-gorgons-002773

Nopperabo

The Nopperabo, which means Faceless Monk and may also be called Mujina, acts and resembles an average human and can blend into society quite well. It is commonly encountered on empty roads, stores or buildings late at night when no one is around except for its potential victim.

The common routine for a Nopperabo is to appear as a person with their back turned towards the victim, the victim might ask them for directions or some other inquiry which is when the Nopperabo’s true appearance is revealed. They turn around and reveal that they have no face. In some cases they appear to have a face only to remove it in order to maximize their reveal.

Nopperabo have been known to work in groups to increase the horror for the victim. As the victim runs away in horror they come across someone else and tries to explain what happened only for the individual to reply “Oh, you mean like this?” causing the person to repeat their horror and actions from before. This might happen multiple times to one victim and might even continue when they run home to tell their spouse of what happened only for them to reply “Oh, you mean like this?” since Nopperabo are able to impersonate relatives.

Though a Nopperabo might cause great horror and distress to an individual they fall under the prankster category of Youkai and don’t directly cause any harm to their victim.

Image and information Source: http://yokai.com/nopperabou/