Rare Monsters

  The Grand Lake hoedag is a fearsome critter from St Mary’s Ohio, not to be confused with the more famous Wisconsin hodag. It was said to be a lake monster, albeit one that was completely different from the typical plesiosaur / Nessie type. The hoedag was said to be a one of a kind, female creature, not a species. It appeared in news articles from 1912 to the 1960’s, and was never meant to be taken seriously. The hoedag was the size and shape of a giraffe. She had fur on her body and a combination of feathers and porcupine quills on her neck. Her body was covered in a cow spot pattern and had a camel like hump on her back. Her front legs were long like a chicken’s and her back legs were short like a pigs. Both sets of legs ended in plate shaped feet, which were capable of moving over mud and water plants without sinking in. On her head she had a singular green eye, partly covered by cow licked bangs. Her tail stuck up in the air like a flagpole and at the end of it was a red eye. ...

  Bai Ze is a monster from Chinese mythology. It’s also found in Japan, where it’s known as hakutaku. It is a good and pure creature responsible for warding off evil spirits. The bai ze was a wise and intelligent creature. It was one of the nine spiritual beasts which resided in heaven. Bai ze descended to Earth where it taught the Yellow Emperor about the various harmful ghosts in the world and how to expel them. These lessons resulted in the Bai Ze Diagram, a scroll depicting various harmful spirits and how to ward them off. The Bai Ze is mentioned many times throughout Chinese literature. Over time the bai ze became a protective charm. Images of the beast were hung in homes or carried with people to ward off ghosts and disease. The bai ze has many varying appearances in Chinese mythology. In the History of Yuan, written in 1370, the bai ze was described as having the head of a tiger, the body of a dragon, a single horn and a red mane. In the Sancai Tuhui, written in 1609, the ba...

I’ve seen articles written about Cathach the dragon a few times. Each time her sisters were mentioned by name, but descriptions were never given for them. So I was determined to find out what her two draconic sisters also looked like.  The story starts with three Tuatha-De-Danann brothers, Crohan, Sal and Daltheen fighting a campaign against the boars of Ireland and successfully wipe them out but one. The last one, the All Devouring Sow, mates with the gatekeeper of hell and birthed three dragons in revenge, the sisters Cathach, Dabran and Farbagh. They were subsequently nursed by the red demon of Western Ireland. Farbagh was the oldest of the sisters. She was a cat like dragon with a crescent moon on her forehead and a deadly nail on her tail. The three brothers slayed Farbagh by waiting for her to pounce from a height on them and skewering her on their spears as she landed. When the three brothers returned home they were told a prophecy that their sister Aonbhean would marry Diar...