Mythological creatures.

[Pentagathus]

Hi.
Instead of using fantasy races such as elves I prefer to adapt creatures from folklore to fit a fantasy setting. Preferable english/saxon or scottish folklore (simply becuase it's usualy more intresting.)
So does anyone know of any intresting mythalogical/folklore creatures I or anyone else intrested could use? Stuff I already know and good ole wikipedia has provided a fair amount but I would like more.
So far I have:
Black shuck/black dogs/Cu sith/cwn annwn - deamonic dogs
Bodachs -
Scaedugenga - shape shifters
Bleammyae - headless people with their faces in their chests
Druagr - undead norse creature
Drow - slightly elflike creatures that live in caves and like metal working
Eachy - lake dwelling humanoids monster

[Manarion]

Well, about the only things I could think of that come to mind are two things.


One would be the kelpa/kelpie. From scottish folklore, these malevalent beings are spirits of drown victims who sometimes go onto land and lure others into lochs and rivers.


The other is from German folklore, and would be the doppelganger. Simply, it means "double walker". A spirit of a person that is the harbinger of death to whoever it looks like.

[pyan]

How about the Dullahan?

And I'd be careful with Drow: the stories by R. A. Salvatore and others have sort of fixed the idea of them as Dark Elves.

[RcGrant]

I would tell you but then I would have to kill you. Which translates as I modified a lot of English folklore for my novel.

[Peter Graham]

Black shuck/black dogs/Cu sith/cwn annwn - deamonic dogs
Bodachs -
Scaedugenga - shape shifters
Bleammyae - headless people with their faces in their chests
Druagr - undead norse creature
Drow - slightly elflike creatures that live in caves and like metal working
Eachy - lake dwelling humanoids monster

With apologies to RCGrant, flex those Google-hunting fingers and have a look for:-

1. Black Annis and her northern sister, Jinny Greenteeth. Blair Witch eat you heart out....

2. Trowies - great big shambling Shetland troll-fairies

3. The Ferla Mor - great big evil presence who kills people in the Cairngorms

4. Brownies/Kobolds- they do the washing up and are the inspiration for JK Rowling's House Elves

5. Redcaps - nasty little demonic familiars who give their name to numerous North London pubs. Check out the story of Lord Soulis and Hermitage Castle

6. Cornish Piskies

7. Will O' Wisps

8. Glaistigs - check out Dunstaffnage Castle

9. Screaming skulls - Culgaith and Burton Agnes are a good starting point

10. Boggarts, bogles and dobbies (yep, really) - regional names for those irksome poltergeists.

That should keep you going for a while!

Regards

Owd Peter

[RcGrant]

I'll forgive you, Peter. You didn't touch on any.

[Pentagathus]

Thanks I should have a good stock of creatures to use with this and a talk with a guy I know who seems to know every peice of folklore to bew found in norfolk.
I was aware of Drows being used in a game or something as dark elves becuase wikipedia told me. And wikipedia never lies
@RCGrant
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr rrr. But seriuosly, I'm watching you

[RcGrant]

LOL I doubt even if you came across what I based them on you'd use them in the same way. Beauty of fiction.

An odd book I found very helpful (and fun - it's massive) is The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures. It's part of a series which also includes books on withcraft, symbolism, and the like.

I found this weird troll with a limp in that book, but I still haven't found a use for him yet. LOL

[Cheehwawa]

Banshees
Morrigan

[shadowbox]

Dryads - Lady spirits who inhabit woodland areas. They very depending on what they are protecting, such as various species of plant life and trees. Often they seek revenge on those who do harm to there lands.

[shadowbox]

Also in Bulgarian folklore there is a three headed dragon they call Lamia, I think.

[Cheehwawa]

The dryads are from greek mythology, lamia was also a baby-stealer from greek mythology. Howbout the nix, shape shifting water-spirits who usually appear in the form of women, from all germanic mythologies

Nix - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Tobytwo]

Even some very bland, generic concepts can come to life with a bit of thought. Clive Barker's Rawhead does the same stuff as an ogre (or perhaps modern-day troll): he eats children, kills people, hides in a wood and is dim, but Barker's writing is strong enough to make him into something new.

[jezelf]

Do you know about www.pantheon.org - The Encyclopedia Mythica? They have a bestiary of mythological creatures

handy and informative website on mythology...

1. Greek mythology
2. Norse mythology
3. Roman mythology
4. Celtic mythology
5. Greek people

[MistingWolf]

I have always personally enjoyed creatures like the grifyn or chimera. You could always use anthro-type versions of any of these beasts as well....