When it comes to monsters in horror, there is usually some kind of background or urban legend surrounding the creatures that has its base in real world tales. Movies about Bigfoot didn’t invent the creature. Rather, it was the other way around. The story of Bigfoot roaming the countryside has long fascinated people, so it only made sense to have films about such a creature.
While the films often do a good job of portraying the strange creature we’re being made aware of, oftentimes it is the real story that is far more unsettling and eerie. That’s why I ventured into the world of folklore monsters and I found 10 examples that I think are perfect for the horror audience!
Check them out below and then let me know in the comments about some of the creatures from your neck of the woods!
Nykur – Iceland
A shapeshifting creature that most often took the form of a strangely shaped horse, the Nykur’s method of dispatching its victims was to lure them into mounting it, whereupon it would ride into a lake and drown its unfortunate rider. To defend yourself, you had to yell its name or make the sign of a cross over its rear. The former would send the creature back into the water (sans the rider) while the latter would allow it to be ridden like a normal horse.
A local superstition is that the Nykur is also associated with ice, particularly the sound of it cracking on a lake. When these cracks would appear, the accompanied sound would be said to be the neighing of the Nykur, according to Orkneyjar.
Wendigo – Canada
A staple of the beliefs of Algonquin-speaking peoples, the Wendigo is a creature that is humanoid yet monstrous in appearance. It is the embodiment of greed and voracious appetite as it is always on the hunt for more to eat, delighting in its taste for human flesh. Perfect for this time of the year, the Wendigo is often associated with winter and the cold. It looks like it is decaying and it is said that what lips it has are tattered, desiccated, and peeled back.
To defeat a Wendigo, there are three suggested methods. The first requires fire, as it will melt the creature’s icy heart. The second states that you must use a large amount of silver to purify the creature. This can be done with bullets, much like with a werewolf. The final method comes from an Ojibwe tale where a hunter simply stabbed the Wendigo in the head multiple times to kill it. Sounds like the third option is what most of us would have to fall back upon should we find ourselves face-to-face with a Wendigo.
Manananggal – Phillipines
The first of two creatures on this list from the Phillipines, the Manananggal is a blood-sucking witch-like creature that has a penchant for tearing itself in half at the abdomen, flying into the night in search of sleeping pregnant women, and then using a tongue-like proboscis to eat the hearts of their fetuses. To defend yourself from such a creature, you can use daggers, sunlight, or a buntot pagi (a whip that is made from the tail of a stingray).
Additionally, if you can smear the upper torso with garlic, salt, or ash, then it will be unable to rejoin with its lower half and will be vanquished by the sunrise.
Mylings – Sweden
This Scandinavian creature is as tragic as it is haunting. The Mylings are the souls of unbaptized children who are unable to move on after their death. They are forced to roam the world in an attempt to find someone who will bury them in a graveyard, allowing their spirit the opportunity to move on. However, this is not easy for the one that becomes burdened with this task.
What happens is that a Myling will jump on the back of a traveler during the night, demanding that the wanderer carry them to the closest graveyard. Although the Myling are children, their spirits are said to be large and heavy. Each step towards the graveyard sees them grow heavier, to the point that the person carrying them could very well sink into the ground. And should the wanderer fail to take another step, the Myling becomes enraged and will kill the wanderer only to roam the countryside looking for another unfortunate soul.
Black Annis – Leicestershire, England
If you’ve seen the Ridley Scott fantasy film Legend, then just imagine Meg Mucklebones and you’ll have a good idea what Black Annis (also known as Black Angus) looks like. Described as a witchy crone, she has blue skin and iron nails and a fondness for eating children. She lives in a cave in Dane Hills in Leicestershire, which she is purported to have carved herself with her clawed hands.
Her joy comes from wandering the local countryside and finding unsuspecting children or lambs, slaughtering them, and tanning their skins, which she wears around her waist. To this day, she is a warning from parents to children. “If you misbehave, Black Annis will get you in the night!”
Bukavac – Slavic Region
Much like the Icelandic Nykur, the Bukavac lives in the water of lakes and rivers. Described as a six-legged beast with large, twisted horns, it leaps from the water onto anything living and strangled them to death. The Pathfinder RPG states that they have a massive roar that can stun its intended meal. Additionally, they describe it as a large creature that is 11-ft long and can weight two tons.
Chupacabra – Central and South America
First spotted in Puerto Rico, the Chupacabra has become an urban legend of epic proportion in a relatively short time. First spotted in 1995, it has since been seen through Central and South America as well as various parts of the United States, although more so in the Southwest. It doesn’t attack people, preferring instead to drain livestock of every drop of blood via three punctures to the chest. As with every urban legend, no actual evidence has been found but there are theories that what people are seeing are canids that have been afflicted with mange.
An interesting tidbit is that the original interpretation of what a Chupacabra looks like was based on Sil from Species. In August of 1995, Madelyne Tolentino stated that she saw the creature and that she believed it to be the Giger-designed alien. She even stated in her report to the police, “It was a creature that looked like the chupacabra, with spines on its back and all… The resemblance to the chupacabra was really impressive. [Source]”
Loch Ness Monster – Scotland
Perhaps the most famous of all folklore monsters, Nessie is said to live in Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands, not far from Inverness. Her rise to popularity came in the early 20th century and since then people have been flocking to those waters to see if they can get real, provable evidence that such a creature does in fact exist.
Described as a sea serpent, Nessie is thought to be over 20 ft. long and can bring her head, which is said to be rather small, up to 4 ft. out of the water. Throughout the years, there has been no photograph, video, or recording of the Loch Ness Monster that has been enough to confirm its existence. However, that hasn’t stopped anyone from looking. Instead, it has only fueled the fire and any new photograph sparks interest and intrigue.
Jersey Devil – New Jersey, United States
The Jersey Devil has a rather interesting origin story, one that involves the Devil himself. Back in the early/mid-18th century, Mother Leeds (thought to be Deborah Leeds), a supposed witch, found out that she was pregnant with a 13th child. Convinced that this 13th child was the son of the Devil, she bore him only to find that he was normal in all respects. However, he quickly turned into a hooved beast with wings. He killed the midwife and flew out the chimney, vanishing into the nearby woods.
The Jersey Devil mostly kills livestock and farm animals, although it is known to sometimes kill children. The remains of these animals are found scattered about. Furthermore, it supposedly has the ability to dry up a cow’s milk by simply breathing on it.
The Jersey Devil hoax has such a following that in the early 60’s, the merchants of Camden, NJ offered a $10,000 reward for the creature, stating that they would build a zoo enclosure for it. That reward is still unclaimed.
Aswang – Phillipines
Similar in some ways to the Manananggal, the Aswang differs in a few ways. For example, it is a shapeshifter that lives during the day as a citizen of the town where it commits its atrocities. Often mild-mannered and meek, the Aswang can often make friends with its neighbors, who have no idea what kind of creature they are dealing with. And while they also enjoy the hearts (and livers) of unborn fetuses and infants, they are known to replace their victims with makeshift dolls, almost like they are covering their tracks. While each Aswang description varies, there are those who say that some are so thing that they can hide themselves behind a bamboo tree and not be noticed.
As mentioned before, the Aswang can become friendly with those around it. And should it end up marrying a human, their mate will turn into an Aswang.