Rare Monsters

  While most people know panthers as a jungle cat today in medieval bestiaries it was a very strange beast indeed. Just like other ‘mythical’ creatures like the calopus and the crocatta, the panther in medieval bestiaries is an example of a real animal from far off lands gaining a mythical status, to the point where it barely resembled it’s real life counterpart. The panther was first known to the ancient Greeks. To them it was still very cat like, being almost identical to a normal leopard, but with a multicolored coat. It was considered the mount of Dionysus. The panther was handed down from Greek records to medieval bestiaries, but by this time Europe was cut off from areas of the world where leopards actually lived, and the details of panther’s nature was largely forgotten. Instead the panther was made into an allegory about Christ gathering the people of the world. The panther would feast and then sleep for three days in a cave. On the third day the panther emerges and emits a...

  Tao Tie is a monster from Chinese mythology It is one of the four perils, four evil beings who represent the worst qualities and greatest threats to civilization. Tao Tie specifically represents greed and overconsumption. Even as the representation of greed and gluttony Tao Tie is sometimes listed among more beneficial beings, such as the Nine Sons of the Dragon. There his ravenous hunger is shown in a more benevolent light, as something that will consume anything, even the bad luck and aspects of life that are holding you back, so that better aspects have room to be fulfilled. Although 90% of the time Tao Tie is seen as a malevolent force. Tao Tie has several different origins. According to the classic Chunqui Tao Tie started out as the son of Jinyun, an officer of the Yellow Emperor. This son of Jinyun was so overcome by greed and hunger that he had no limitations. He would steal from orphans, the elderly, and respected officials. He had no decency or morals of any kind. No one...

  The llamhigyr y Dwr was a troublesome water spirit from Wales, especially well known from the lakes of Llyn Gwynant and Llyn Glas. Its name means water leaper. The llamhigyr y dwr had a large frog like head, bat wings for forelegs, no back legs and a long lizard like tail ending in a spike. The creature was quite large, comparable to a crocodile. While the llamhigyr y dwr was capable of flight it preferred to hide beneath the water. The llamhigyr y dwr would devour anything that would fit in its mouth. Shepherds wouldn't bring their flocks to the lake to drink, and people would keep their dogs and children away from the waters edge. If the llamhigyr y dwr's target managed to escape its reach it would use it tail like a whip to grab and pull its prey back into the water. Otherwise it would just leap out from the water's edge mouth first and swallow its prey whole. The llamhigyr y dwr would also rob bate and catches off fishing lines, and even overturn boats in an attempt t...

  Falak is a gigantic snake from Arabian legend. It's larger than the whole world combined. Falak resides in the abyss, the seventh and final level of hell. The other levels of hell are held in its mouth. In Arabian mythology the world is carried on the back of an angel, who stands on the celestial bull Kuyuta, who in turn stands on the whale (not dragon) Bahamut. Bahamut in turn swims in the celestial ocean, which are the surface waters leading to the abyss. Falak desperately wants to reach up out of the abyss and devour all these other beings and the whole world. It's only the fear of God's punishment that stops Falak from doing so. God also gave Falak the other six levels of hell to hold to keep it busy and not focused on destroying the world.  

  Tiangou is a celestial canine from Chinese mythology. He is usually associated with eating the sun or moon during eclipses but has many more roles than this. Tiangou's name means celestial dog. In his best known interpretations Tiangou is a giant black dog surrounded by flame. The most famous story about Tiangou is when he ate the moon in pursuit of Change'E. HouYi the legendary archer hero was given an elixir of immortal for his many great deeds. However his wife Chang'E drank the elixir before he could. For this the gods imprisoned Chang'E on the moon. They did this by making Chang'E so light that she floated up to the moon and couldn't step on the Earth. As Chang'E was floating away HouYi's dog licked up some of the immortal elixir that had been spilled on the ground. The dog grew in size to be larger than the heavenly bodies. It pursued Chang'E, trying to get the rest of the immortality elixir through her. The dog eventually ate the whole moon ...

  Peluda, known as La Velue in French, is a dragon from the River Huisne in France. It was known by many names in the Medieval era, including the Shaggy Beast in English, yet today it's best known by it's Spanish name Peluda. Peluda was most well known and feared in the High Middle Ages period and early Renaissance. Peluda had a snake's head and tail, an egg-shaped body that was covered in thick fur. From between the fur was porcupine or hedgehog like quills that were tipped in poison. It stood on four sturdy tortoise like feet. It was the size of a large ox. Peluda was green all over, even it's fur. According to legend Peluda existed from the early days of creation, on the day when God created all the things that swam in the sea and crawled on the Earth. During the flood, Peluda tried to climb on the ark with the other animals being loaded on. Noah and his family fought Peluda off and refused to let it on board, knowing it would devour all the other animals. Yet Peluda...