Many of the oral narratives of the Tehuelche—indigenous people from South America (Argentina and Chile)—are filled with creatures, both real and mythical. One of the most interesting mythical creatures contained in the Tehuelche’s bestiaries is the Okpe.

The Okpe is a massive, quadrupedal ogre that looks like a pig made of solid rock. As hunters, the Tehuelche were very well aware of the fact that the rock exterior of the Okpe didn’t have any soft spots or weaknesses, so it was virtually i...

In the folklore of the Inuit Yup’ik people, A kak-whan-u-ghat kig-u-lu-nik, generally anglicized as Akhlut, is a vicious orca whale with the ability of therianthropy (i.e., metamorphosing into other animals by means of shapeshifting but without changing the fundamental nature of its being).

So, when prey in the ocean is scarce, this creature changes from an orca into a wolf  and hunts on land.

These creatures inhabit along the coastlines of the Bering Strait, where packed ice constantly brea...

These beasts are as elusive as its name suggests, and their elusiveness is one is the reasons why Hidebehinds are so dangerous. Fond of concealing themselves within the woodland regions of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan (USA logging country) the hide-behind has inspired considerable debate about its appearance.

It has been described as canine, wraith-like, or humanoid. The diversity of these accounts might be the result of the hidebehind being able to rapidly change its shape.

However, exper...

A duppy is a type of ghost or spirit native to Jamaican folklore. Duppies, while ghosts, have much in common with European shapeshifters and roadside tricksters. They have a physical body, like to hide in dark places to then jump on their unsuspecting victims, like to play tricks on people. However, instead of crossroads and woods, Jamaican duppies preferred to hide in bamboo thickets and cottonwood groves, as many of them also feed on bamboo.

Duppies are nocturnal beings, appearing from se...

This mythical sea monster, a spirit of the sea in the mythology of the Yamana Indians of Tierra del Fuego, is one of the most dangerous sea creatures found in the waters off the coast of South America.

This creature, and its progeny of water spirits, have been known to tip canoes over, pull their occupants out, and drag them under to consume, leaving their entrails to float to the surface.

When angered, the lakuma can also create huge waves, summon whirlpools, and whip up storms to damage larger...

Of great interest to cryptozoologists is a brief account in John Gregorson Campbell’s Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland (1900) of the Big Beast of Loch Awe, and enormous animal which was heard—but rarely seen—in winter breaking the ice as it moved in and out of the frozen loch to hunt and swim.

Like so many other lake monsters, the true nature and appearance of this Big Beast also known as Beathach Mòr Loch Odha is shrouded in mystery.

According to some eyewitnesses’ accounts,...

According to old folks, eclipses of the moon or sun were caused by the Bakunawa (literally, large bent serpent). This mythical sky-serpent—which is also associated with darkness—of Asian folklore has analogues in China, India, Malaysia, Mongolia, Thailand,and the South Sea Islands, but nowadays, is in the Philippines where the legend most persists.

Philippine folklore describes the Bakunawa as dragon or serpent with added part of many other animals so that it head resembles a shark with gills and...

In Nheegatu, the language commonly known as Língua Geral Amazônica, tapirê-iauara can be translated as  Tapir Water-Lady, or as Tapir Nymph.”  This creature enjoys a wide distribution in the Amazonian Region, from the Orinoco in Venezuela down the Amazon River up to Pará.

Habitat-wise, the tapirê-iauara prefers slower-moving waters, near mangrove or palm trees, and avoids human settlements. 

In the past, fear of this creature forced locals out of many nutrient-rich floodplain systems (várzea...

The mysterious Tahbib al-Bahr, or Physician of the Sea, is mentioned in several documents collected by the Abbasid Caliphate (the third of the Islamic Caliphates to succeed Muhammad). The Abbasid dynasty was known for their interest in the study of the oceans and the creatures that inhabit them. They were also known for their patronage to Jabir ibn Hayyan; a renowned alchemist and the first person to mention the Tahbib al-Bahr.

This creature has been described as a large fish-like being with a la...