Archive for the ‘Creatures’ Category

by vedrisha
07-06-2010

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Cryptids That Turned Out To Be Real

Cryptids are animals that many claim exist but are often thought of by science to be subjects of tall tales or local legends, but some of these legends have turned out to have a truth to them. For example, the giant panda was thought to be just a part of Chinese folklore until the western world received actual specimens in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The panda is not the only example, though. The mountain gorilla was also originally scoffed at by science. In fact, many discoveries have proven that in the inexact, so called pseudo-science of cryptozoology, that sometimes cryptozoologists can be right.

by vedrisha
06-25-2010

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The Invisibles – Unseen Creatures

Humans rely a great deal on sight to live. The eyes are always seen as important whether they are metaphorical windows to the soul or simply the way to assess one’s surroundings. The movement to create special tools and instruments for the blind to get along by themselves without constant assistance by a loved one is relatively new as going blind (without gaining super powers of seeing into the future that is) really was seen as a slide into a lesser quality of life if not death all together since the person could not contribute much to the household as so much depends on sight. Therefore, creatures that can fool human sight—that is ones who can become invisible or are constantly invisible other than their actions on humans—can be considered to be a very scary concept. The innate fear humans have of the unknown or invisible is legend in itself. Yet, the creatures who make themselves unseen by human eyes are found in many cultures but tend to keep with the motif of being something to fear. They are playful tricksters in the least and downright dangerous at their worst. Either way humans tend to stay away from them if at all possible, meaning these “Invisibles” must seek out human interaction to play their tricks or bring their bad omens; and seeking out humans to engage with them becomes the specialty of these mythological and legendary invisible creatures.

by vedrisha
06-24-2010

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Five Monsters Rooted in Religion

We’ve all had one of those nights—our really sweet babysitter told an awful bloodcurdling story, or we didn’t cover our eyes during the scary part of that movie when mom told us to, and all of a sudden it’s the middle of the night and you’re gripping your sheets over your head and sweating buckets, or running full speed down the hall to your parents room. However, most of us have been lucky enough to not have been subjected to this terror in church…or have we? Here’s a list of five monstrous creatures that actually come from religious texts and beliefs.

by vedrisha
06-21-2010

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Things That Have Wings But Shouldn’t

Throughout myths and legends there tend to be creatures with wings that are not seen that way in nature. The human fascination with flight is something that countless psychoanalysts and psychologists have looked into for centuries. However, simply put, it is something we can not do without mechanical help and something we could not do at all until the early part of the 20th century with the invention of the airplane—albeit poorly made airplanes that did not stay in the air for too long until the invention was refined to the mass commuter planes of the modern age. We can walk, run, carry things, swim, dive, and countless other things, but humans can not fly like the countless birds in the sky. Myths and legends seem to be a pallet for us to impart this desperate desire of our hearts by including other creatures that can not fly and do not have wings then going through the process of giving them wings, creating a whole new species by the addition of these magical feathers. All cultures around the world have the habit of putting wings onto animals who are born without them, making this dream of flight a universal one that transcends space and time. Let’s take a look back at these fantastic beasts.

by vedrisha
05-27-2010

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Man and Wolf

The idea of a man transforming into an animal or a mystical creature that is part man and part animal has been around since the dawn of mankind. The earliest deities of primary civilizations were generally a mix between human and animal physical appearances. However, wolves have always been a preferable animal when a hybrid creature was formed. Stories of men that change into wolves are as old as time itself and span cultures and geography to show up over and over again. The name and even basic behavior of these creatures could vary, but the constant of it being a human who transforms into a wolf does not waiver. Numerous theories exist as to why so many cultures have legends about men who become wolves, including the close relation of early peoples to the natural world around them. Some scholars even believe that the idea of men turning into wolf-like creatures is actually a legitimate disease like congenital erythropoietic porphyria (a condition characterized by a sensitivity to the light of day, excess hair growth, poorly healing skin, and a reddish color to the teeth). Whether real or not though, the act of a man turning into a wolf is a legend that enthralls all people.

by vedrisha
05-22-2010

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Ten Types of Goblins

The term “goblin” can apply to many types of magical creatures around the world. However, the one unifying feature is a sense of evil, or at least mischievousness, embodied in a grotesque or off-putting form with a general link to nighttime or merely dark places. Goblins have been around for a very long time to the point of having a specific term for them in Medieval Latin. The English word “goblin” actually comes from the Greek “kobalos” which means rogue. Many sub-races of goblins roam the globe from northern Europe to the Mediterranean area and even Japan to make sure humans know of their presence. Supernatural abilities can vary from nation to nation or continent to continent though. The world of fantasy fiction has twisted these creatures into their own types of existence even though the varieties of goblins did not begin that way. Here is a countdown of the top ten of the tricky, sometimes malicious, legendary creatures from the real world!

by vedrisha
05-18-2010

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Is it A Hoax?

The Loch Ness Monster

The Loch Ness Monster really needs no introduction. It is one of the most famous cryptids in the world and there is controversial evidence of sightings dating back to the 7th century, but Nessie’s popularity didn’t really take off until the early 1930s after George Spicer and his wife saw “a most extraordinary form of animal” and an extraordinary photo was published.

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