mythic creatures that never existed but people believed in anyway

According to Mesopotamian mythology and legend, the lamassu was supposed to be a protective deity whom a few people claimed to have seen and in their descriptions portrayed as a creature with a bull s body and wings, while others saw a creature with a lion s body, eagle s wings, and a man s head. Some described it as an intimidating looking male creature while others as a female deity with good intentions. Of course we will never know what exactly a lamassu was since its existence was only in the heads of some people.

The soucouyant is, according to Caribbean urban legend, specifically in Dominican, Trinidadian, and Guadeloupean folklore, the exotic black version of the European vampire. From mouth to mouth and generation to generation the soucouyant became part of local folklore, and tales about them talk about a hideous looking old woman by day who transformed to a gorgeous looking young black woman by night resembling a goddess. She then seduced her victims with her looks and her dance only so she could suck their blood or make them her eternal slaves. It was also believed that she practiced black magic and voodoo, and could move fast after taking the form of a fireball or enter her victims homes through any hole in it, including cracks and keyholes.

The Pixiu is another legendary hybrid creature that comes from China. Even though no part of his body resembled a human organ, the mythological creature was often described as having a Chinese lion s body with wings, the legs of another legendary creature of Chinese myth, the qilin, and a head of a Chinese dragon. It is widely considered to be the guardian and protector of those who practice feng shui, while Tian Lu, the version of the Pixiu with two horns on its head, has been considered from antiquity a sacred creature that attracts and protects wealth. This is the reason why one often sees little statues of Tian Lu in Chinese homes or offices, since it is believed that the creature can prevent wealth from flowing away.

The tale of Tarasque is reported in the story of St. Martha, which is included in Jacobus de Voragine s hagiographic (biographies of Christian saints) collection The Golden Legend. Tarasque was a dragon with a very complicated appearance and bad intentions. According to legend, he had a lion s head, six short legs like a bear s, an ox like body covered with a turtle s shell, and a scaly tail that ended in a scorpion s stinger, and terrorized the area of Nerluc, France. All this, however, ended when a young devoted Christian named Martha arrived in the town to spread the gospel of Jesus and discovered what the people were going through for years because of the ferocious dragon. When she found him in the forest, she supposedly sprinkled holy water on him and tamed his wild nature. She then took him back to the town of Nerluc, where the angry locals stoned Tarasque to death before Martha could explain to them that the dragon was now harmless. On November 25, 2005, UNESCO included the Tarasque on the list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, in this way recognizing the immense cultural impact of the dragon s tale, especially in medieval Europe.

The grypas was a legendary creature with the head and wings of an eagle and the body and tail of a lion. As the lion and the eagle are the kings of the animal kingdom, the grypas, as a combination of both, was symbolic of power and domination. The grypas can be found in many depictions of Minoan Crete during the Bronze Age, but also later in the art and mythology of ancient Greece in general. However, some believe that the creature existed way before its figuring in ancient Greece, since similar forms of the hybrid animal have been found in ancient Egypt and Persia, where grypas symbolized the struggle against evil and witchcraft.

According to the urban legend, the Menehune were an ancient race of dwarves who lived in the forests of Hawaii before the Polynesians settled there. Many scholars attribute the existence of ancient statues on the Hawaiian Islands to the Menehune. Others argue that the legend of the Menehune emerged with the arrival of Europeans in the area and that there was no such race in reality, but rather a creation of the human imagination. The myth goes back to the roots of Polynesian history. When the first Polynesians arrived in Hawaii they found dams, roads, and even churches which some claimed to were built by the Menehune, who, among other things, were apparently famous craftsmen. However, no one has found skeletons or remains of the small bodied people in Hawaii to confirm their existence despite there being strong evidence that there was an ancient tribe living there that happened to include exceptional craftsmen well before the Polynesians or Europeans arrived.

Greek mythology has given to the world some of the most epic heroes, gods, and creatures, and Talos is no doubt one such case. The huge bronze giant supposedly lived in Crete where he supervised and protected a woman named Europa (from whom the continent of Europe got its name) from pirates and invaders. For that reason Talos patrolled the island s shores three times every day while in some other stories Talos takes the form of a bronze bull. The ancient Greeks also believed that Talos had a bronze body simply because he was the only living survivor from the Bronze Age and was blessed or cursed to carry his heredity in a way that couldn t go unnoticed.

In ancient Japanese folklore the kappa is a water demon that lives in rivers and lakes and devours naughty children. Kappa means child of the river and has the body of a turtle, frog limbs, and a head with a beak. Also at the top of its head there is a cavity with water. While it is supposedly an aquatic creature, they are active on dry land. According to legend, a kappa s head should always be kept wet otherwise it will lose its strength. Strangely enough, many people consider the existence of a kappa a sure thing and there are signs at some lakes in Japan warning the visitors that there s a serious danger of being attacked by the creature while they enjoy their picnic.

Those of you who are familiar with psychology have probably heard the term Wendigo Psychosis, which describes a psychosis to eat human flesh. The medical term takes its name from the mythical creature called the Wendingo, which, according to the Native American tribe the Algonquian, was an evil creature that looked like a cross between a human and a monster, something similar to a zombie. According to legend, only people who ate human flesh were at risk to become Wendigos. Of course, this creature never existed and was a myth invented by the wise Algonquian who tried to prevent their people from engaging in cannibalism, which was apparently a problem among their tribe.

The Minotaur is one of the first epic creatures we meet in the history of humankind since it takes us back to the days of the Minoan civilization s prime. The Minotaur was said to have the head of a bull on the body of an extremely large, muscular man and dwelt at the center of the Cretan labyrinth, which was designed by Daedalus and his son, Icarus, at King Minos s request. As one can easily understand, whoever was unlucky enough to get lost in the labyrinth became the Minotaur s prey, the exception being the Athenian king Theseus, who killed the beast and was the only one who made it out of the labyrinth alive with the help of Ariadne, Minos s daughter.