Rare Monsters

  This is an odd one, not only because the creature is so bizarre, but because the place it was alleged to take place doesn’t exist either. It supposedly takes place on Henderson Island in the Puget Sound. But there’s no Henderson Island there. It’s possible the men relating this story meant Anderson Island, which does exist. Regardless, the location has led to one of the creature’s names, the Henderson Island Monster. It’s alternatively known as the Tacoma Electric Serpent, not to be confused with the Tacoma Sea Serpent, that’s a different monster.  This story first appeared on July 3rd, 1893, in the Tacoma Daily Ledger, with the events happening only days earlier. Seven men were on a fishing trip to the so-called Henderson Island. Two of them remained unnamed, while the other five men were William Fitzhenry, H. L. Beal, W. L. McDonald, J. K. Bell and Henry Blackwood.  The first day of their fishing trip went without incident.That night they camped near the shore. The me...

  Vishap is a dragon from Armenian mythology. He was depicted as a serpent with wings, often with features of other animals, such as horns. Vishap was closely associated with water. He was also venomous and able to taint everything around it, and associated with bad luck, curses and sudden tragedy. Vishap was thought to live in the Armenian highlands, especially Mount Ararat. The volcanic activity of Mount Ararat was attributed to Vishap. Vishap was also associated with thunderstorms, causing them when he ascended into the sky or descended back down to the ground. He was even responsible for eclipses. Unusual for dragons, but much like European fairies, Vishap was thought to steal children and replace them with a dragon whelp from its own brood. Vishap was slain by Vahagn, an important god in ancient pagan Armenia. He was the god of war, bravery and the sun. Vishap himself was also worshipped as an earlier god of water and fertility before becoming purely a monster. Vishap is also ...

  The raiju was a yokai from Japanese mythology that represented lightning strikes. It was once one of the most well known and feared yokais. Today it's lost much of its hold over the minds of people and is now confined to fantasy. Raijus were rarely seen and their appearance was highly variable from region to region. They could be any sort of predatory animal that occurred in Japan, such as wolves, weasels, cats, tanukies, and some animals which were not native, such as large jungle cats. The most common form Raijus took was that of a badger or civet. Some variations of the raiju were more fanciful, such as being a chimera of different animals, or having multiple limbs, such as having two tails or two sets of back legs. Regardless of appearance, raijus were always wrapped in lightning as they travelled to Earth. They had strong claws that could rip apart trees and tear holes in buildings. They could also set fire to anything they touched. Raijus were the pets of the storm god R...