Rare Monsters

  The beithir is a Scottish dragon. It inhabits mountainous regions, near water. Hiding out in caves and steep mountain valleys. Unlike other European dragons the beithir lacks wings or fire breath. Instead it’s highly venomous and has a poisoned sting. It’s also associated with ice and lightning. The beithir was considered the largest and most deadly of serpents. In addition to its other abilities the Beithir was cunning and had the ability to shape shift. The beithir would lurk in high mountain valleys near water and wait for passing victims. When an unlucky person would enter the territory of the beithir the dragon would sting their victim. The stung person then had to run to the nearest water and wash off the sting. If they made it to the water before the beithir then they were saved. If the beithir reached the water first then the victim would be devoured. It was believed that if a snake was killed then its head and body had to be separated from each other by quite a distance,...

  The zburator is a type of demon from Romanian mythology. The name means flyer. The zburator's true form is that of a wolf with draconic features and bat like wings. It's often depicted with fire as well, either being surrounded by flames, or having a mane or tail of flame. This is especially prevalent when the zburator flies across the sky at night in the form of a shooting star. The zburator is capable of shape shifting. Most often it takes on the form of a handsome young man. It uses this capability to visit women at night and temp them into sleeping with it. The zburator most favours women who are engaged, or otherwise in a relationship but not married yet, and takes great delight in convincing these women to cheat on their partners. Zburators are often invisible to all except the women they pursue. Zburators drain their victim's life force through sex, much like an incubus. This leaves their victims tired, pale and anemic. Zburators are often compared to vampires, e...

  The nguruvilu is a monster from Mapuche legend in Chile. It looks like an elongated fox, which can coil around like a snake. It's still fur covered like a fox. It has long sharp claws. The name nguruvilu means fox snake in Mapuche. The nguruvilu lives an amphibious life in rivers and can hide itself in the form of common water creatures. It's a dangerous trickster who drags people underwater and drowns them. The nguruvilu can make the water deep or shallow. It can make the river look inviting to lure people in and can also make whirlpools and rapids at will. It delights in drowning lone victims and watches the village morn. The only way to get rid of an nguruvilu is through the efforts of a machi, the Mapuche version of a shaman. At the river's edge the machi will make offerings to the gods and good spirits to protect him. Then he will dive underwater and guided by good magic will capture the nguruvilu in the form of a fish, frog or snake. He then threatens the nguruvi...

  Aitvaras are a type of malicious house spirit from Lithuanian mythology. They look like purely black or white roosters with flaming tails while inside the house, and like small dragons outside. When they fly they look like a comet streaking across the sky. Aitvaras hatch from eggs of a 9 to 15 year old rooster. Don't ask how a rooster would lay eggs, although it's a motif I've noticed popping up in mythology occasionally. The aitvaras would serve a family in a household through deceptive means. It would bring wealth and good fortune to the household by stealing from the neighbours. The aitvaras would go on nightly flights to rob them. Owning an aitvaras would inevitably bring strain between the household and the rest of the community. Additionally, the aitvaras would slowly siphon away the souls of the residents, damning them. Once an aitvaras was inside a house it was very difficult to remove. Killing it would be difficult as it would heal as soon as it touched the floor...

  Valravn, meaning raven of the slain, is a sort of boogieman from Denmark. Valravns were created when a raven ate the flesh of the fallen in battle who had not been given a proper burial. The valravn was a thoroughly evil creature that sought to bring harm to the surrounding communities. After being transformed the valravn gained human intelligence and various magical abilities that allowed it to spread pestilence and misfortune. It also gained the ability to shape shift into wolves or a half wolf – half raven form. Even with these abilities valravns still sought out more power. The one thing they desired the most was the ability to take on the form of a black knight, which they could only gain by devouring the heart of a child. How they accomplished this was usually left to the imagination. However in one traditional Danish song a valravn offered to protect a maiden on her way to her marriage in return for her first born child, echoing similar trickster deals made with fairies an...

       The kludde was an evil spirit or boogeyman from the low countries, spanning Belgium and the Netherlands. The kludde was always associated with water and inhabited places like swamps, reed beds, ponds and under bridges. While the kludde was capable of travelling over land, it couldn't enter hallowed ground, such as church yards.      The kludde gets its name from the sounds it makes. Although it's known regionally as kleure, klerre, or waterkledde.      The kludde was a dangerous monster, luring anyone who travelled by night into its swamp. There it would kill its victim, either by strangling or drowning. The kludde was capable of causing confusion and fear in its victims just by proximity, even without being seen. The kludde was especially dangerous to children, which it would hunt down even when closer victims were available. Because of this the kludde was used a as boogeyman to scare children into not going outside at night. ...