Rare Monsters

  The hodag is a fearsome critter from lumberjack folklore, a hoax perpetrated by a businessman trying to advertise his resort, and the beloved mascot of Rhinelander Wisconsin. The hodag looks like a giant, green, hairy beast, with a short bulldog face and prominent tusks. The hodag has bull like horns on it's head and a row of spikes running down it's back. It has a long reptilian tail, tipped with a spike at the end. The legend of the hodag starts in 1893 with resort owner Eugene Shepard. He created the hodag as a hoax to stir up interest in the area around Rhinelander so people would visit his resort. Mr. Sheperd reported that he and a group of hunters had a battle in the forest with the vicious hodag. They had fought off the beast with hunting rifles, hounds and 'poisoned water' in toy squirt guns. All their efforts were to no avail though, until one of the hunters finally killed the hodag by throwing a stick of dynamite at it. At first people were intrigued and ...

  Shinchus are good monsters and considered holy. They are protective minor deities and are known as the divine insects. While shinchus look terrifying they only attack demons, especially those which cause disease. Shinchus violently rip these demons apart, leaving a trail of gore and blood. Every day a shinchu will devour six thousand demons, three thousand in the morning and three thousand in the evening. It's said the shinchu's appetite is as big as it is. Shinchus are silk moths the size of elephants or larger. They have bulging eyes, gaping mouths full of sharp teeth and a wasp like stinger. According to the myth, shinchus originated in India in the mythical lands of Jambudvipa. Of the four lands surrounding Mount Meru, Jambudvipa is the only one inhabited by humans and the only one where enlightenment could be achieved in one life time purely through study. Because such things could be achieved only in this one land it was under constant attack from demons who wanted to s...

In the years between 1764 and 1767 there was a string of some of the most bizarre animal attacks on farmers in history. In the French region of G é vaudan close to 300 people were reportedly killed by an unknown animal, who's species has never been identified. G é vaudan was a remote, mountainous and heavily forested region in southern French, which is now part of Loz è re. It was rugged and rural, the majority of people lived as shepherds and wood cutters. People didn't have access to the education and advancements of the enlightenment found in the more populous northern regions of France. For the average farmer life had changed little from the medieval era. The local noble ruler, the Marquis D'Apcher, spent most of his time in the royal court at Versailles, so actual leadership of the communities in G é vaudan was in the hands of the church and local elders. Rural people here lived a meagre life filled with hunger and hardship. Further compounding the hardships for the...