Rare Monsters

  To end off the one year anniversary month I'm featuring one of the strangest beast I've ever found in mythology, the khara. Also known as the three legged ass, it's a unicorn found in Zoroastrian mythology, which is like no other. Khara means donkey in Sanskrit, it's name in Persian is xar-i-se-pay. It's one of the oldest written accounts of a unicorn like creature and likely influenced every other unicorn from Europe and western Asia. The idea of unicorns purifying water with their horn certainly originated with the khara. The overall appearance is like a donkey, and the khara was said to be a divine donkey. It was as tall as a mountain. It had three legs that were like tree trunks. The khara had six eyes, two in the normal location, two on top the head, and two on the shoulders. With this arrangement of eyes the khara could see in all directions at once and no threat could sneak up on it. The strangest aspect of the khara is that it is covered in extra mouths...

  The snawfus is a pure white stag with flowering branches for antlers and supernatural abilities. It comes from the folklore of the Ozarks and is found in Arkansas and Missouri. The snawfus is associated with the cool misty winters of the region. It was said to be the origin of the blue haze which shrouded the Ozark mountains in the wintertime by breathing out clouds of blue mist. Legends most often speak of their only being one snawfus, unlike many fearsome critters which are treated like species. Instead the snawfus is more like a spirit, and guardian of the Ozarks' wilderness. The snawfus was much larger than the average buck, being more akin to an elk in size. Yet in spite of this, it was far more swift than any regular deer, to the point it couldn't be captured or shot down by any means. The snawfus was also able to jump up into the canopy of the forest and walk along the branches. In spite of its size the snawfus could perch on the smallest of twigs. Sometimes it just ha...

  The indrik is a gigantic unicorn from Slavic mythology. The Indrik has ancient roots going back to Slavic paganism and predates Christianity bringing legends of western European unicorns to Russia. Its inspiration may lie with the Khara from Persia, a similarly huge unicorn. The indrik was massive, being larger than all other beasts. It was also said to be the 'father' of beasts, being both their originator and an example for them to strive towards. The indrik was associated with strength and might. It was also associated with purity and protection from evil, even before associations with western European unicorns. The indrik was the opponent of serpents, both small and monstrous. The indrik had the head of a bull, the body of a horse and the hooves of a deer. There was a large single horn in the middle of its forehead the color of amber. Although two horned depictions exist as well, usually with the horns one in front of each other, like a rhinoceros. The indrik is best kn...

  Bies, also called Bes and Biesy, was a type of demon from Slavic mythology and paganism. They were known throughout eastern Europe. Bies had no consistent appearance other than it was beast like. Often depicted as either an anthropomorphic or beastial mish-mash of different animals, combining hoofed animals and predators together. It was a primeval nature spirit. Even in paganism it was considered a demon, personifying chaos, evil and everything uncontrolled in nature. Bies demons lived in mountain ranges, untouched forests and swamps, anywhere that human habitation had not encroached on nature. Beis's name means fury or rage, and was used as a euphonious for insanity, as it would cause this condition in it's victims. When a human enters the bies's home it can hypnotize and take control of the human, driving them mad and filling them with panic. If the human some how staves off such attacks and meets the bies face to face the bies will attack with more ferocity than any ...