(ENG) D&D 5a Ed. - A Wizard's Bestiary - Flip eBook Pages 1-50 (2024)

Acclaim for the work A WIZARD’S BESTIARY is an ambitious and comprehensive compilation of imaginary-animal lore. The colorful text and abundance of both traditional and contemporary illustrations capture the rich variety of animal forms that the human imagination has reshaped over millennia. A valuable encyclopedic addition to the ever-growing shelf of books on fantastic creatures. —Joseph Nigg author of The Book of Fabulous Beasts This gorgeous, sumptuously-illustrated book is truly a stunning contribution to the cryptozoological and zoomythological literature, one that is destined to remain a standard reference work on these subjects for many years to come. —Karl P.N. Shuker, PhD author of The Beasts That Hide From Man As we stand at the edge of the vast unknown, we all look in to see and for some, to investigate cryptic animate enigmas. Those of us who have been doing this for decades, as Zell-Ravenheart has, view the fantastic world of animal mysteries, ancient living wonders, and accommodating new species in different ways. Cultural insights, ethnic folklore, native traditions, and magical tales mix in and have their place in this phantasmagoria involved in the study of hidden animals. This book shares overlooked insights and incredible clues for the casual reader or the dedicated student of cryptozoology. A valuable resource. Highly recommended. —Loren Coleman, co-author, Creatures of the Outer Edge, Cryptozoology A to Z Lively, entertaining and informative, this is the book I wish I had when I first began researching the lore of the world’s magical creatures. No monster hunter can afford to be without it. —John Michael Greer author of Monsters: An Investigator’s Guide to Magical Beings Oberon Zell! Who better to write such a book than this living legend from the magickal world. Here is the man who recreated living Unicorns, who traveled to the remote South Seas in search of genuine Mermaids. —Amber K, author of True Magick Oberon Zell-Ravenheart’s mighty tome is undoubtedly the one book that, more than any other, I was hoping someone, someday was finally going to write: namely, a definitive, encyclopedic study of the many and varied weird beasts, fabulous monsters, and diabolical creatures that are said to lurk in the darkened corners of our mysterious world. Whether your interest focuses upon those elusive, hairy man-beasts such as Bigfoot and the Yeti; the ghostly, black devil dogs of old England; the bloodsucking, vampire-like Chupacabras of Puerto Rico; or the many and mysterious long-necked serpents of the world’s lakes, lochs and oceans, Zell-Ravenheart’s title is one that I heartily recommend. With entries on a dizzying array of beasts, such as the terrifying, cave-dwelling Aatxe of Spain; and the Boroka of the Philippines—which has the unfortunate habit of dining upon human flesh; as well as much welcome data on monsters of the movies; and a rich array of drawings, photographs, maps, and more, A WIZARD’S BESTIARY is a book that is destined to become a true monster-hunting classic. —Nick Redfern author of Memoirs of a Monster Hunter and Three Men Seeking Monsters Oberon Zell-Ravenheart’s stunning new work lifts the curtain allowing the reader backstage to examine the elusive creatures of myths and legends. Bigfoot, Mermaids, Dragons and more, the Unicorn information alone is worth the price of admission. Not only a fascinating read but a comprehensive reference that you will find yourself going back to time and again. “Don’t wait, don’t hesitate, get a copy now!” —Rick West, Dr. West’s Traveling Sideshows and Animal Menagerie Acclaim for Dragonlore by Ash DeKirk: I just received the book today, and I’ve had a hard time putting it down. I have never seen a more complete discussion of dragons, from around the world, and through the ages. If you have any interest in the legends and lore of dragons, this book is for you. —Mark Mercier, Mobile, AL Anyone with an interest in dragons will enjoy this book. I can think of at least two DMs who will be receiving this book as a Christmas/Yule gift from me. Please keep more of these books coming. —FrogsDancing, Quakertown, PA There are legends of dragons all around us—and they appear in fantasy novels and games as well as movies. Any fan of dragons will be thus delighted with DRAGONLORE, which examines the details of every species of dragon, gathers myths under one cover, and considers the impact and presence of dragons in popular culture. Black and white illustrations pepper an excellent overview that is a pick for any dragon fan, and any collection strong in fantasy. —Midwest Book Review, Oregon, WI

Copyright © 2007 by Oberon Zell-Ravenheart and Ash “LeopardDancer” Dekirk All rights reserved under the Pan-American and International Copyright Conventions. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or hereafter invented, without written permission from the publisher, The Career Press. A Wizard’s Bestiary Edited by Kirsten Dalley Typeset by Oberon Zell-Ravenheart Cover design by Lucia Rossman/Digi Dog Design NYC and Ian Daniels Printed in the U.S.A. by Book-mart Press To order this title, please call toll-free 1-800-CAREER-1 (NJ and Canada: 201-848-0310) to order using VISA or MasterCard, or for further information on books from Career Press. The Career Press, Inc., 3 Tice Road, PO Box 687, Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417 www.careerpress.com www.newpagebooks.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Zell-Ravenheart, Oberon, 1942- A wizard’s bestiary / by Oberon Zell-Ravenheart and Ash “LeopardDancer” DeKirk p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-1-56414-956-5 ISBN-10: 1-56414-956-0 1. Animals, Mythical. I. DeKirk, Ash, 1978- II. Title. GR820.Z45 2007 398.24’54--dc22 2007042608

A Wizard’s Bestiary A Menagerie of Myth, Magic, and Mystery Oberon Zell-Ravenheart and Ash “Leoparddancer” DeKirk New Page Books A division of The Career Press, Inc. Franklin Lakes, NJ

Gessner’s duckfooted mermaid 1558 Foreword: Creatures of the Night by Jacques Vallee Creatures of the Night—is it wise to force them out of the gloom where they linger, like the ancient Chimaera that was part goat, part lion, and part Dragon, and presided over the passage of the evening sun into the darkness? At dusk, like the Salamander, they emerge at the intersection of magical biology and human imagination. Gubernatis, in his erudite Mythological Zoology, believes the Salamander represents the moon which lights itself, lives by its own fire, has no ray of its own, and makes the rays (and hairs) of the sun fall off. Before our friends Oberon and Ash, many scholars and sorcerers of every age, in their wisdom—or their temerity?—have attempted to catalogue and to elucidate the strange beings described by their contemporaries. The monsters did not always hide in the secret convenience of the dark. Some even dared to expose themselves in full daylight, the better to scare honest medieval folks out of their wits. Thus we find in Schedel’s Chronicles of Nuremberg (1493) the stupefying representation of a being with six arms, seen by astonished townspeople. A creature observed in Rome in 1530 had feet like a duck’s, an enormous forked tail like a fish, the breasts of a woman, and a human face with straight ears, like those of a deer. Gesner published an engraving of it in Zurich in 1558. Aldrovandi of Bologna relates the adventures of a horned hybrid in a book he published in 1642. As for Sebastian Munster, an illustration in his 1544 book titled Cosmographie clearly shows a woman kneeling (in adoration or begging for her life—or her virtue) before a tall biped with three heads: one belonging to a serpent, one to an eagle, and one to a lion. He grabs his genitalia while staring at her, in a manner suggesting that, monster or not monster, he is not immune to desire. Gesner also shows us an engraving of a Diable de Mer (Sea Devil), which must have been actually captured by brave fishermen, because he states it was “painted from nature.” The great Boaistuau himself regales us with true accounts of “a monster born alive on Earth, which was of human figure from the navel up, and the rest a dog” (Chapter xxxvii). In another part of his book (Chapter vii), he illustrates a report with an engraving of “a Monster of our own time, about which the question is settled of whether demons can procreate and exercise the work of the flesh.” In the present volume, focused on creatures closely related to animals, rather than meta-humans like elves and Cyclops, we meet beings from myth and legend all over the globe. Under Oberon’s gifted pen, they are brought to life again and become, in more ways than one, “familiar” to us. We live in an age that claims rationality as its standard. It relegates any deviation from the academic norm to the realm of the impossible, alongside the Mermaid and the Unicorn—phantasms of a bygone era when folks were insecure and uneducated. So the reader should be prepared for a shock when opening this book: You will learn that there is a perfectly rational explanation for Mermaids, and that Unicorns do exist. Several of them appeared in this century and followed Oberon and his jolly friends in their adventures. I have touched a live Unicorn and can report how wonderful it felt to experience something that every academic knew as an absolute fact to be impossible. We shouldn’t sell scientists short, however. Contemporary biotech must have learned some of the lessons from old grimoires, because it is busy reinventing the Chimaera in the lab through genetic manipulations that hope to save lives and throw new light on the mysteries of biology, birth, disease, and the evolution of species. They could also spell danger: As scary as the Gryphon may be, the chimaeras that contemporary labs are patenting with such entrepreneurial frenzy will be a thousand times more powerful. If cryptozoology gives any warning, it is that we only unleash such beasts at our peril. All the more reason to learn about them before it is too late. If Unicorns roam the land, what wonders will the Gargoyles belch out next, from the lofty spires of our ivy towers? If the Kraken is real, can Dragons be far behind? Fortunately, as ancient tradition teaches, there are convenient medicines to cure the ravages of nightly monsters. Thus, against the poisonous venom of Salamanders, Pliny advises the seeds of the hairy and stinging nettle, mixed with the broth of a tortoise. We can only wish that all human nightmares could be healed with such simple remedies. —Jacques Vallée San Francisco, 21 May 2007 Gessner’s Sea Devil

A Wizard’s Bestiary Table of Contents Creatures of the Night by Jacques Vallée ...... iv Preface I by LeopardDancer .......................... vi Acknowledgements........................................ vi Preface II by Oberon..................................... vii Introduction: An Unnatural History by Oberon . x I. The Magickal Menagerie ........................ 13 An encyclopedic Glossary from Aatxer-Ziz II. Creatures of Night Brought to Light . 106 Creepers 1. The Baleful Basilisk ......................... 107 2. Cosmic Serpents............................... 115 3. Dragons ............................................ 123 Walkers 4. The Universal Unicorn ..................... 135 5. Wonder Horses ................................. 146 6. Holy Cows & Sacred Bulls .............. 161 7. The Piasa & the Manticore ............... 166 Flyers 8. The Fiery Phoenix ............................ 171 9. Gryphons & Hippogriffs .................. 176 Swimmers 10. Merfolk .......................................... 180 11. The Kraken ..................................... 188 12. The Hippocampus .......................... 196 Human-Animal Hybrids 13. The Enigmatic Sphinx .................... 201 14. Hoof & Horn: Satyrs & Centaurs ..... 206 Animate Plants 15. Plantimals....................................... 209 Flights of Fantasy 16. Oriental Spirit-Creatures ................ 215 17. Fearsome Critters ........................... 223 III. Monsters of Mystery, Legend & History . 227 Cryptozoology and Phenomenology Aquatic Enigmas 18. Lake Monsters................................ 228 19. Sea Serpents ................................... 238 20. Titanic Turtles, Fish, & Lizards...... 252 21. Occult Octopuses ........................... 257 22. The Bunyip of the Billabong.......... 261 Arial Anomalies 23. Thunderbirds .................................. 266 24. Leather Wings ................................ 272 Prehistoric Puzzles 25. Living Dinosaurs ............................ 279 26. Hairy Hominids & Mystery Monkeys .. 286 Modern Mysteries 27. Demonic Dogs ............................... 299 28. Phantom Felines............................. 304 29. Curious Cats................................... 310 30. Mystery Monsters .......................... 313 Appendices Unnatural Histories—a Timeline ..............321 Comic Relief .............................................323 Here Be Monsters....................................324 Magickal Correspondences ......................331 Monsters in the Movies ............................333 Bibliography, Citations, Art Credits ..........337 Index .........................................................348

Preface I by Leoparddancer Acknowledgements by Oberon OR AS LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER, I’ve been interested in creatures regarded as mythical and legendary. My paternal grandparents instilled in me a sense of wonder regarding the world and all it contains. They also imparted a love of reading and learning that is still with me today. At an age when most children are still reading children’s books, I was engrossed in tales of Coyote and Raven, of Herakles’ trials and tasks, of Dragons, Gryphons, and Thunderbirds. My grandmother had a great deal of Native American blood in her lineage. Even more, she embraced Native American spirituality, which she managed to blend quite well with her Christian beliefs. It was the Native American beliefs, however, that she passed on to me. These beliefs included a deep and abiding respect for the land and all of its creatures, be they hawk or Tlanuhwa, lizard or Dragon. Growing up, I focused more and more on myths, legends, and the creatures within. Likewise, I became more and more addicted to reading in general. Through it all, I wondered: Was it possible that these creatures were real? What would they be like if they were real? Indeed, over the years I’ve seen many things that I could not explain. I could swear that I’ve seen the shadow of the Tlanuhwa. Certainly, it was the shadow of a bird far larger than any I’ve ever seen before (or since, for that matter). I could also tell you that, in a field along a route I used daily, I saw a great Earth Dragon basking in the sun. A second glance revealed only a moss-covered boulder that had never been there before, and is not there today. Then there are Master Oberon’s Unicorns, and anyone who has seen them cannot deny their existence! When I was still fairly young, I met those who would introduce me to the Dun’marran path, the path I still follow today. The Dun’marra are the People of the Dragon. Through this connection, I became very interested in the great beasts on which my path centers. I went on to study Dragonlore from around the world. Surprisingly enough, I found that Dragons exist wherever people live, from Africa and Asia to Europe and even the Americas. Within these pages, you will find Dragons and myriad other creatures of myth and lore—creatures such as the Gryphon, the Roc, the Unicorn, and the Yeti—that exist in many different cultures around the world. Eventually I was led to the Grey School of Wizardry, where I am now privileged to teach alongside some of the best people I have known. I am honored to have worked with Master Oberon on this project. I would like to dedicate this work in loving memory of Nina “Dancing Bear” Clark (1928–2006). First, of course, I dedicate this book to Morning Glory, the love of my life and my cosmic soulmate, with whom I have been privileged to share these past 34 years of amazing adventures. This book has been our dream for three decades, and finally, here it is! I would also like to acknowledge a few of the authors and pioneer researchers who inspired me to begin my own explorations into the mistry realms of fabulous and forgotten beastes: Roy Chapman Andrews, Bernard Heuvelmans, Ivan Sanderson, Peter Byrne, Doc Holiday, Roy Mackel, Richard Greenwell, and Grover Krantz. I also thank some current researchers who have been kind enough to consult with me in various aspects of this book: Joseph Nigg, Loren Coleman, and Rick West. I thank the curator of the Field Museum of Natsural History in Chicago, who took a young boy into the great museum’s back rooms and vaults, and gave him the first fossils of a lifetime colletion. I no longer remember his name, but his influence remains. I extend my appreciation to my old friend Tom Williams for his contributions to this book, drawn from our mutual interests in cryptozoology, and our shared adventures in pursuit of Unicorns and Mermaids. Another dear friend who deserves mention here is Diane Darling—our partner in many adventures for over a decade, and keeper of the last Unicorn. Thanks to the talented artists who contributed custom illustrations to this compendium: Joe Butt, Xander Carruthers, Ian Daniels, Ash DeKirk, Dana Keyes, Tam Songdog, and Tracy & Adam Swangler. I thank my brother, Barry Zell, for his diligence and recommendations in proofing the chapters of this manuscript as they were being written. And finally, I thank my dear friend Jacques Vallée for writing a perfect Foreword to this work. Incipit liber de naturis bestiarum. De leonibus et pardis et tigribus, lupes et vulpibus, canibus et similiis. Here begins the book of the nature of beasts. Of lions and panthers and tigers, wolves and foxes, dogs and apes. —Aberdeen Bestiary (12th century)

Preface II by Oberon …Now I will believe That there are Unicorns; that in Arabia There is one tree, the Phoenix’ throne; One Phoenix at this hour reigning there. —Shakespeare, The Tempest (3.3.21-24) HAVE ALWAYS HAD A DEEP FASCINAtion and affection for animals of all kinds, both real and imaginary. Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, I spent as much time as possible at the city’s zoos and museums, visiting farms, and going on camping and fishing trips. I got all the Golden Nature Guides as they came out, and never missed Disney’s “True Life Adventures” movies, Wild Kingdom on TV, and now, Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel. I have several sets of various animal encyclopedias, the Time-Life Nature and Science series, and entire shelves full of books on dinosaurs, nature, cryptozoology, and mythical monsters. One of the most significant revelations of my youth occurred in elementary school, when, in the process of reading the World Book Encyclopedia volume by volume, I turned to the entry on dinosaurs, with a two-page spread of Charles Knight’s iconic painting of a Triceratops facing off against a T-rex With a thrill that still sends shivers down my spine, I suddenly realized that Dragons were real! Just as the stories said, once upon a time the world really was ruled by huge and mighty reptiles. They lumbered over the land, they churned the seas, and, with wings as wide as those of an airplane, they commandeered the air. They were even more immense and diverse than the most imaginative tales had portrayed—and they really existed! From that point on, I became absolutely obsessed with dinosaurs. I learned everything I could about those amazing creatures. Similar to a sports fanatic memorizing statistics of all the players, I memorized every dinosaur name I could find and all their identifying features: what their Greek names meant, when and where they lived, what they ate, and how big they were. My parents thought this was all rather amazing, as they couldn’t even pronounce most of these names, and they’d ask me to come out at their parties and rattle off dinosaur stats for their guests. This passion excited by dinosaurs naturally came to extend to other fantastic creatures of long ago, including those of myth and legend. I began visiting natural history museums, hunting for fossils, and collecting dinosaur models as soon as they started being made, which I would carefully paint in realistic colors and install in dioramas. My library on these subjects grew, as did my collection of models, fossils, animal skulls, artwork, movies, and other memorabilia pertaining to the prehistoric and mythical menageries. Today I have perhaps one of the most extensive private collections of miniature dinosaur replicas in existence, going back nearly 60 years. Someday I need to open a museum. Since childhood, I have brought home, raised, and kept all kinds of wild animals as pets and rescuees (I worked for many years with Wildlife Rescue), including frogs, salamanders, snakes, lizards, turtles, tarantulas, praying mantises, caterpillars and butterflies, ants, bats, owls, herons, opossums, deer, and wild pigs. I have maintained multiple terrariums and aquariums, both fresh and salt water (yes, I had my “Age of Aquariums”). And I have had my share of domesticated animals as well, from gerbils, guinea pigs, hamsters, rats, cats, and ferrets to goats and Unicorns—which brings us to the great Unicorn Adventure and the present book. Triceratops & T-Rex by Charles Knight, Field Museum of Natural History

viii A Wizard’s Bestiary One evening, in the summer of 1975, my wife and soulmate, Morning Glory, and I were sitting around the living room with friends discussing mythical beasties, and we decided to look up some of them in the Encyclopedia Britannica. Under “Basilisk” (see picture), I found a fascinating article relating the co*ckatrice, Basilisk, Medusa, and a South American lizard to the Egyptian spitting cobra, and we conceived the idea of writing a book revealing the true origins and history of various “mythical” creatures and entities. Having just read Peter Beagle’s charming The Last Unicorn (1968), we decided to title our proposed book Creatures of Night, Brought to Light (as the novel’s Mommy Fortuna refers to her little mythic menagerie), and we began seriously and systematically collecting and filing legends, pictures, and accounts of sightings of everything from Nessie to Bigfoot. Shortly thereafter, Morning Glory and I sold our house in St. Louis, bought and converted an old school bus, and set off across the country to find America and visit friends and correspondents. From museums, libraries, universities, and friends, we were introduced to dozens of books on the subject of esoteric zoology (or cryptozoology, as it is now called), including On the Track of Unknown Animals and In the Wake of the Sea-Serpent, both by Bernard Heuvalmans; The Great Orm of Loch Ness by F.W. Holiday; The Lore of the Unicorn by Odell Shepard; the books of Charles Fort, Willy Ley, Ivan Sanderson, Frank Edwards, Peter Costello, and countless others, which we devoured and then added to our collection. In Oregon, I met Bigfoot researcher Peter Byrne, and I became a regular contributor to The Bigfoot News. After a few months of wandering, we came to roost in 1976 in Morning Glory’s home town of Eugene, Oregon. We lived there for a year, teaching a course on Celtic shamanism and mythology at Lane Community College. We became actively involved with Oregonians Cooperating to Save the Whales, lobbying for a legislative boycott of whaling nations and urging the tuna fisheries to stop killing dolphins. Meanwhile, we continued our research in the library of the University of Oregon. We explored arcane mysteries and histories, and sought to unveil the truth behind the legends of Sea Serpents, Gryphons, the Phoenix, Bigfoot, Atlantis, Witches, Faeries, Elves, the Kraken, Dragons, Amazons, Mother Earth, Magick, ESP, and Unicorns. In the course of our research, we discovered the lost secret of the Unicorns—how they were actually produced from ancient times to the Renaissance (see Chapter 4). In the summer of 1977, we abandoned our book project and moved to a 5,600-acre homesteading community in the mountains of Mendocino County, Northern California, to raise living Unicorns, which we did from 1980–85. During that time, we traveled all over North America exhibiting our Unicorns at Renaissance fairs, and appearing with them in countless TV shows, newspapers, magazines, and books. Finally, in 1984, our agents brokered an exhibition contract with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, and for the next four years our Unicorns became the stars of the Greatest Show on Earth! With the money from the Circus contract, we next mounted a diving expedition to New Guinea in search of real Mermaids—specifically, the unknown sea animals called Ri or Ilkai by the natives of New Ireland, where they were frequently seen. Find them we did, and, videotaping it all, we reported our findings to the 1985 annual meeting of the International Cryptozoological Society. We still have the videotapes, and someday we’d love to put together a documentary on that expedition (see Chapter 10). These remarkable stories you will find in this book, along with many other marvels and wonders of the natural and unnatural world. Enjoy!

A Wizard’s Bestiary ix Introduction: An Unnatural History By Oberon Zell-Ravenheart

x A Wizard’s Bestiary But some day Unicorns will be remembered. And Griffins will again be brave and strong. A Phoenix will be seen on the horizon And all forgotten creatures shall belong. —Barbara Wersba The Land of Forgotten Beasts, 1964 E HAVE ALWAYS BEEN FASCINATED with, intrigued by, and fearful of the “ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties and things that go bump in the night,” from which that old Scottish prayer begs us to be delivered. Humans have never been nocturnal, but, since before our ancestors came down out of the trees, our predators have been. Our very first magick—the pivotal creation that turned us from animals to humans—was fire. And through the long hours of darkness, we huddled around the tiny circle of firelight, beyond which lurked the Creatures of Night. Who knew what unseen and monstrous shapes lay hidden behind those red, green, and yellow eyes that glowed from the shadows behind our backs? What night terrors growled, roared, screamed, shrieked, hooted, and howled out there in the dark? We could only imagine. And so we filled the Unknown with monsters, as noted in the blank spaces on of all those old maps. Many of them were quite real and quite dangerous, and many others were purely figments of our fevered imaginations. And we had no way of knowing which were which. We told stories. And, eventually, those stories got written down and compiled into books similar to this one. This bestiary (“book of beasts”) is but the latest in a long line of predecessors, and it only seems fair to introduce it with an homage to its proud lineage. The Physiologus and the Bestiary The bestiary as such is a peculiarly medieval European phenomenon. Although ancient writers such as Ctesias, Aristotle, and Pliny the Elder had described various animals, including many that were purely imaginary, the first to compile an intentional encyclopedia of all the world’s known creatures was an anonymous writer known as the Physiologus (“naturalist”), who lived in Alexandria perhaps as early as the 2nd century CE. Although he was probably Egyptian, he wrote in Greek, and his book was so popular that, within a couple of centuries, it was translated into all the languages of Europe. Eventually, the name Physiologus became identified with the compilation itself. The initial compilation included descriptions of perhaps 50 animals, trees, and minerals. Over the centuries, as travelers brought tales and reports from ever more distant lands, each copier and translator of the Physiologus bestiary added to it anonymously, filling in the blanks, and increasing the number of creatures included on the land, in the seas, and in the air. Though often distorted in descriptions and depictions, it has been estimated that 90 percent of the creatures listed are based on real animals. But the compilers had no way of making distinctions between actual or imaginary beasts—after all, the Unicorn certainly appeared no stranger than the hippopotamus, walrus, elephant, ostrich, kangaroo, pangolin, or giraffe—to say nothing of the platypus! And prehistoric creatures that were far more bizarre than the wildest imaginings of myth once walked the Earth. Imaginative reconstructions of their fossilized remains also contributed to the bestiaries. The first bestiary in French verse was written by Philip de Thaon between 1121 and 1135, and was dedicated to Queen Adela, wife of Henry I. While the original Physiologus and all its predecessors consisted entirely of textual descriptions, later Bestiaries came to be lavishly and imaginatively illustrated—surely none more spectacularly than the magnificent, 12thcentury Aberdeen Bestiary, listed in the inventory of the Old Royal Library at Westminster Palace in 1542 as Liber de Bestiarum Natura. This library was established by Henry VIII to house literary works rescued from the monasteries he dissolved. And, for centuries, monks had little to do but laboriously copy and re-copy old manuscripts, embellishing them as their only outlet for artistic creativity. The 13th century saw a veritable explosion of bestiaries, each attempting to outdo the others. The Physiologus and his successors, however, were less interested in the natural history of these marvelous and mundane beasts, birds, and sea-monsters than they were in the allegorical symbolism that could be drawn from them to illustrate Christian values and morality. In presenting the animals we have chosen for this book, we are omitting all those allegorical references. (Interested readers may find them in T.H. White’s charming Book of Beasts (1954), which is a translation of a late bestiary, with copious notes.) And we are not listing the bestiary’s common and well-known animals. Rather, what you will find here are creatures of myth and legend.

A Wizard’s Bestiary xi “Gorgons, Hydras, and Chimeras Dire” Fabulous monsters appear in the earliest myths and legends of all countries. In particular, the Greek heroic stories had the greatest influence on Western culture. For example, in Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus encounters the seductive Sirens, whose singing lures sailors to their doom upon the rocks. He also faces the paired terrors of the multi-headed Scylla and the maelstrom Charybdis, from which we derive the modern expression, “between a rock and a hard place.” Among the 12 labors of Heracles, he had to kill the nine-headed Lernean Hydra, capture the golden-antlered Arcadian Stag, drive off the brass-feathered Symphalian Birds, tame the flesh-eating Wild Mares of Diomedes, and carry off the three-headed guard dog, Cerberus, from the gates of the Underworld! Perseus beheaded the frightful Gorgon Medusa, whose gaze turned men to stone, and from her severed neck sprang the lovely winged horse, Pegasus, from whose back Bellerophon skewered the tripartite fire-breathing Chimera—with the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a serpent. Perseus used Medusa’s head to petrify the sea monster Cetus, thus rescuing the princess Andromeda to become his bride. Theseus slew the Minotaur in the heart of the Cretan Labyrinth. Jason and the Argonauts rescued the blind seer Phineas from the hideous Harpies, then went on to battle the Dragon guarding the fabled Golden Fleece of Aries, the constellation of the Ram. The origin stories of all the gods and monsters of Greek myth were splendidly told by Hesiod (ca. 700 BCE) in his Theogony. He recounts how the Titans Keto and Phorcys engendered the Gorgons and the serpent-bodied Echidna (“Mother of Monsters”), who in turn bore the Lernean Hydra, the Chimera, the Sphinx, the Harpies, the two-headed Orthus, the three-headed Cerberus, and the vulture-eagle that gnawed Prometheus’s liver. Even earlier, the ancient Sumerian Enuma Elish enumerated the monstrous brood of demons, scorpion-men, and horned serpents born to the primordial Dragon-Mother, Tiamet, who was slain by Marduk to create the lands and seas. Historians and Geographers The first writer to describe the exotic animals of various far-off lands was the Greek Herodotus (484– 425 BCE). In The Histories, he told of the Phoenix that flew to Egypt to be resurrected every 500 years from Arabia; in that country also lived Winged Serpents and the Cinnamon Bird who built its nest of that precious spice. He reported dog-size Giant Ants (marmots) that dug up gold from the Indian desert, and repeated the story of the gold-guarding Gryphons of Scythia and the one-eyed Arimaspians who tried to steal their hoard. Ctesias the Cnidian (ca. 400 BCE), a Greek serving as a doctor to the Persian royal court, wrote the book Indica, about a country he never visited. There were to be found a fierce, one-horned wild ass (the rhinoceros, often assumed to be the Unicorn), and the man-eating red Martikhora (tiger) with a human face and a scorpion’s tail. He also mentioned the Krokottas, now understood to be the hyena. In 44 CE, Pomponious Mela, the first Roman geographer, reported in his De Chorographia on the exotic creatures of Africa, including horse-eared birds called Pegasies, and horned ones called Tragopomones. Another denizen of the dark continent was the droopy-headed Catobleblas (gnu), with its petrifying, Gorgon-like gaze. Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), the world’s first true naturalist, included all the creatures previously recorded, adding the Yale, with its swiveling horns, and the baleful Basilisk to the mythic menagerie of his Natural History. He also reported various sea monsters, including Tritons, Nereids, and the Sucking Fish (remora), which reportedly could hold a ship immobile. Most writers following these [took them as the authority, prefacing their own entries with: “If Ctesias is to be believed….” Dragons, Salamanders, Sea Serpents, and many other creatures more and less bizarre and generally located in faraway lands found their way into the ever-expanding unnatural histories. Travelers’ Tales In the Middle Ages, trade routes began opening up for Europeans, and enterprising merchants set out on the Silk Road to Arabia, India, and the Far East. Some explorers began to penetrate into sub-Saharan Africa as well. During this era, marvelous travelers’ tales flourished, telling of exotic wonders, amazing discoveries, and romantic adventures far beyond the boundaries of the walled kingdoms of Europe. These stories were every bit as fascinating to medieval citizens as adventure tales and science fiction are to us today, with real as well as fictional explorers setting forth “to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no one has gone before!” With the advent of the Crusades (1095–1244), travel between West and East increased enormously, and soon, even remote hamlets in the British Isles had their returning crusaders, with their stories of the wonders of the Holy Land and Saracen civilization. The world had grown a whole lot bigger. Many of the more imaginative travelers’ tales were based on fantastical versions of the supposed adventures of Alexander the Great (356–323 BCE) as he conquered the known world all the way to India— and even to the heavens! Some of these fabrications were circulating as early as the 2nd century CE, but the legend reached its zenith during the 12th and 13th centuries, in the form of Alexander’s alleged Letter on India to Aristotle.

xii A Wizard’s Bestiary The first and most famous European to travel across the entire continent of Asia and return to describe its nations, peoples, and animals was the Italian, Marco Polo (1254–1324). His account of 25 years of travel with his father and uncle changed the maps and vastly expanded the European worldview. However, although his descriptions of various legendary creatures are quite realistic, illustrators continued to rely on traditional interpretations. Other travelers followed Polo, adding their accounts to the expanding bestiary. Genuine reports were overshadowed, however, by completely spurious fabrications, of which the most popular and influential were The Letter of Prester John (ca. 1175) and The Travels of Sir John Mandeville (ca. 1356). Prester John was the supposed Christian emperor of all the Indias, and the bogus letter described the marvels of his vast realm and invited the Byzantine emperor, Manuel, to visit. Over time, the location of Prester John’s kingdom shifted to Africa, and generations of explorers sought to find it. The fabricated Sir John Mandeville—the creation of an anonymous French or English author—presented a well-constructed amalgamation of material drawn from many classical and medieval sources. The narrative was taken seriously for generations as the first travel guide for pilgrims to the Holy Land, Persia, India, and far-off Cathay (China). Today it is considered the beginning of the travel-fiction genre. All these accounts—both factual and fictional— served as preludes and inspirations for the great Age of Exploration (1420–1620), made possible by the adoption of the ingenious Chinese invention—the compass. Fleets of trading ships began traveling around the horn of Africa and into the Indian Ocean and the many islands of the East Indies. In 1492, notwithstanding the Viking excursions of half a millennium earlier, Europeans officially “discovered the New World.” And finally, in 1606, Australia, the long-hypothesized southern Antipodes, completed the catalog of inhabited continents. (Frozen Antarctica wasn’t discovered until 1820.) All these places had their local fauna, both factual and fictional. Rational Disbelief Throughout these centuries, creatures we now consider to be fabulous were generally accepted as part of the larger animal kingdom, and were never treated as a category in and of themselves. No zoological compilations distinguished between natural and unnatural history, and thus the bestiaries simply included the magickal beasts right along with the mundane ones. By the 17th century, however, a new wave of rationalism was spreading across the Western world. Born in the twin fires of the Renaissance and the horrors of the Inquisition, the new philosophy sought to free humanity from the errors and shackles of superstition. The Scientific Revolution was officially christened with the founding of the Royal Society of London in 1660. Its Latin motto, Nullius in Verba (“on the words of no one”), signified a commitment to establishing truth through experiment rather than citation of authority. All things unprovable—including Dragons, Gryphons, Mermaids, Unicorns, and many other “Creatures of Night” which could not be brought to light—were dismissed with scornful derision by the new generation of scientists. Sir Thomas Browne (2605–2682), in his Pseudodoxia Epidemica (“Vulgar Errors”), dealt the most crushing blow to traditional beliefs regarding many favorite beasts. Published in 1646, Browne’s encyclopedic analysis challenges all the classical authorities—particularly Pliny—and devastatingly discredits such creatures as the Amphisbaena, Basilisk, Centaur, Gryphon, Phoenix, and Unicorn. However, while rejecting the accepted magical “vertues” of the Unicorn’s horn (alicorn), Browne concedes that “there be many Unicornes.” For the next two centuries, fabulous animals were largely ignored by scholars, except as allegories in art and poetry, or in attempts to rationalize them as cases of mistaken identity and fallacious thinking. Their habitations were relegated to heraldry and fairy tales, such as those collected by the Brothers Grimm from 1812–1815. Cryptozoology But as new generations of explorers continued to penetrate hitherto unknown territory, they encountered persistent reports and rumors of unknown animals said to be lurking in impenetrable forests, jungles, deserts, marshes, murky lakes, and the fathomless depths of the sea. At first, these reported creatures were invariably considered mythical by scholars and scientists; but eventually, one at a time, specimens were obtained that confirmed their existence and expanded the index of known zoology. Spectacular examples included the chimpanzee and gorilla of Africa, the Komodo dragon of Indonesia, the elephant bird of Madagascar, and the giant squid—the legendary Kraken of Viking lore. Many reported creatures, however, still remain elusive and unidentified, awaiting official discovery and scientific confirmation. These include such beasties as the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, Sea Serpents, the Mongolian Death-Worm, and the dinosaurian Mokele-mbembe of the African Congo. To encompass these elusive monsters, Bernard Heuvelmans (1916–2001) coined the term Cryptozoology, the study of unknown animals. The line between modern cryptids (as they are called), and historical creatures of fable, myth, and legend, is ultimately nonexistent. All these beasties are lurking within these pages, and now you may set forth upon your own journey of discovery: “Here be Monsters!”

I. The Magickal Menagerie

14 A Wizard’s Bestiary I. The Magickal Menagerie A Glossary of Fabulous Beastes “There be monsters of the deep, and beasts swim amid the slow and sluggishly crawling ships.” (—Avienus, lines 117–29 of Ora Maritima). Aatxer—A terrifying red bull in the Basque folklore of Spain. Dwelling among the canyons, caves, and gorges of the Pyrenees Mountains, he comes out on stormy nights to harass travelers. His younger self is called Aatxegorri. He is the nemesis of all Unicorns in Peter Beagle’s fantasy novel and movie, The Last Unicorn (1968). His mate is Beigorri, a crimson cow. Ababil—According to the Quran, these were huge birds that saved the city of Mecca in the year of Mohammed’s birth (571 CE) by dropping bricks on an attacking army of elephants—possibly an explanation for a meteor shower. Ababil is now a local name for the common Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica). See Roc. Abada—A type of small Unicorn said to dwell in the African Congo. Said to be very shy, it is probably a Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis). See Abath, Cartazonus, Karkadan, Kere, Serou. Abaia—A gigantic eel of Melanesian mythology. It lurks at the bottom of freshwater lakes throughout the islands of Fiji, Solomon, and Vanuatu and protects the fish. If humans attempt to fish in its lake, the Abaia causes terrible rainstorms and floods to destroy them. A Bao A Qu—A pathetic allegorical creature of Malaysian lore, it is said to lurk invisibly at the base of the winding stair of Chitor’s Tower of Victory. When a pilgrim sets foot on the first step, the A Bao A Qu awakens. Silently it follows the climber, gaining substance, color, solidity, and perfection with each step. Its manifestation is complete only at the final terrace, and only if the pilgrim is an enlightened being. In all the centuries, this has only happened once. Otherwise, the A Bao A Qu tumbles back down as the climber OST OF THE CREATURES CONSIDERED for inclusion in this glossary have been taken seriously and believed to have actually existed by those who have described and depicted them over the ages. Others are significant components of local and cultural myths, legends, and folklore. Yet another category we’ve included is fantastic animal representations, called charges, in European heraldry. These Fabulous Beastes still lurk deep in the hidden recesses of our collective cultural mythology. And sometimes, as with cryptids such as Bigfoot, the Kraken, and the Loch Ness Monster, actual sightings of which are reported by countless eyewitnesses, they even manifest in the flesh! As this is a bestiary, we have restricted these entries to creatures considered to be animals of some sort—and even a few animate plants, or plantimals. While some of the entries may have human components (such as Centaurs, Fauns, Sirens, Harpies, and Mermaids), we have not included gods, demigods, demons, humanoid monsters and beings (Giants, Faeries, Ogres, etc.), or the “Monstrous Races” of medieval travelers’ tales, said to reside in faraway lands. These will be covered in a future book. We have also excluded mere literary and movie monsters, such as those created by Lewis Carroll, J.R.R. Tolkein, J.K. Rowling, and other authors, that appear solely in these works. A few exceptions will be made, however, for such creations as have transcended the bounds of their original literary or cinematic context to become part of our general cultural mythos—such as Tolkein’s Ents, Lovecraft’s Cthulhu, and the movie monsters Godzilla, King Kong, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. We have also chosen to omit “Nursery Bogies”— those terrifying spooks that parents in every culture have invented to frighten their children into submission and keep them from wandering off into dangerous places, such as fens and forests, marshes and millponds, wells and woodlands. Although these are multitudinous, they are not truly “Fabulous Beastes” in the same sense as our other entries, as no adults actually believe in their existence, or ever have. The alphabet verses are by Elizabeth Barrette. A is for Amphisien: twoheaded, Serpentine, and surely to be dreaded. Touching nose to nose, it goes a-rolling Past knights who thought they’d find it a-strolling.

The Magickal menagerie 15 descends, until it is once again no more than a vague, amorphous presence. Abath—A female Unicorn said by 16th-century European writers to dwell in the forests of the Malay Peninsula of Southeast Asia. This was certainly the small and very rare Javan Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus). See Abada, Cartazonus, Karkadan, Kere, Serou. Abgal (or Apkallu)—These Merfolk of Sumerian myth were regarded as guardians of a sort, and teachers of the arts and sciences. They had the head of a man and the lower body of a fish. They are believed to have derived from the Apsu, of the entourage of Enki, god of wisdom. In Philistine-Assyrian myth, their king is Dagon, god of earth and agriculture. Achiyalabopa—This celestial bird hails from Pueblo Indian myth. Its rainbow-colored feathers are said to be sharp as knives. It is reminiscent of the Stymphalian Birds that Heracles killed for his sixth Labor. Achlis—A bizarre, elk-like beast of Northern European folklore, the Achlis has an enormous upper lip that forces the creature to eat by walking backwards. Having no joints in its hind legs, it is unable to rise from a lying position, and must rest by leaning against a tree at night. Clever hunters can capture it by partially cutting through its favorite tree. When the tree topples, so does the Achlis. It was described by Pliny the Elder (23 BCE–79 CE) in his Natural History. It is also known among the Fearsome Critters as the Hugag. Acipenser—An unusual beastie of European myth whose anatomy hinders rather than helps it. These monstrous fishes have scales opening toward the front. This fish is actually the Sturgeon (Acipenser), which derives its scientific name from its mythological antecedent. Adar Llwch Gwin—These bird-like creatures of Welsh Arthurian myth could understand human speech. They were commanded by Drudwas, and were used for magickal combat as well as for protection. They were so loyal to their master that they killed him after he ordered that they slay the first knight to appear on a field of battle. His opponents were delayed, making Drudwas the first to arrive. The Adar Llwch Gwin appear in the hit series Final Fantasy, in the guise of the Chocobo. Adaro—These are Merfolk of the Solomon Islands. But nlike most Merfolk, the Adaro have actual legs and feet from which sprout their fishy fins. In addition to this oddity, shark-like dorsal fins adorn their heads. They live in the sun, travel to Earth on rainbows, and ride on waterspouts over land. They shoot people with flying fish, causing unconsciousness and sometimes death. Aeternae—Ferocious beasts with sawedged horns reported as living in the northern plains of India in the 4th century BCE. They killed several of Alexander the Great’s soldiers who challenged them. This may be the same creature as the Antalops, possibly the Asiatic Ibex (Capra ibex sibirica). See Urus. Afanc (or Adang, Abhac, Abac, Addanc, Addane, Adanc, Avanc)—An evil water beast of Welsh folklore, the Afanc resembles the Hippocampus or Water-Horse in appearance, sometimes with elements of a crocodile or beaver. Lurking for prey in river pools near Brynberian Bridge, the Afanc pulls in those who are unlucky enough to wander too close, and causes random flash floods to the surrounding areas. Other locations where it was seen include Llyn Llion, Llyn Barfog, and Llyn yr Afanc. The Afanc was eventually destroyed, some say by King Arthur himself. See Aughisky, Kelpie. Agathodemon—A winged serpent in Gnostic lore said to bring good fortune. When equated with Aion, the god of time, it is shown with a lion’s head on a man’s body, and standing on a globe encircled by the signs of the Zodiac. Agogwe (Kakundakri in Zimbabwe; Sehit on the Ivory Coast)—Small, furry hominids sighted in Tanzania, East Africa, and other locales in SubSaharan Africa. With grotesque features and aggressive behavior, they are 3–4 feet tall, bipedal, long-armed, and covered with a scraggly coat of thick, rust-colored hair over reddish-yellow skin. Some cryptozoologists suggest that they may be remnant Australopithecines (shown). See Bigfoot. Ahani—A family of evil, predatory monsters in the mythology of the Navajo Indians of the American Southwest. The Binaye Ahani are limbless twins with deformed torsos. Filled with malice toward all creatures, the gaze of their eyes can kill. The Thelgeth are huge, headless monsters covered in shaggy hair, and the Tsanahale are giant, feathered bird-monsters resembling Harpies. Ahool—Reportedly seen in Java and Vietnam, these are giant bats of an unidentified species. Named for their cry, they are said to be the size of a year-old child, dark

16 A Wizard’s Bestiary grey, and with a head similar to that of a monkey. They resemble fruit bats, which are related to primates and thus really are a kind of flying monkey. The Malayan Flying Fox (Pteropus vampyrus) has a 6-foot wingspan. Despite its resemblance to the fruit bat, however, the Ahool is said to be a fisheater. SeeAlan, Guiafairo, Hsigo, Olitiau, Orang-Bati, Ropen, Sassabonsum, Vietnamese Night Flyers. Ahuizhotl (“Water Possum”; also called Sun Dog)—This vicious predator of Mexican and Central American myth resembles a medium-sized dog, with monkey paws and a human hand at the end of its prehensile tail. It snatches unwary fishermen and people walking too close to the shore, pulling them under the water to eat only their eyes, teeth, and nails. It is most likely based upon the Kinkajou (Potos flavus), also called the Honey Bear, which is the only member of the Carnivora with a prehensile tail. See Glyryvilu. Aillen Trechenn—A three-headed Irish monster that hated all humans, especially heroes. Each Samhain (Hallowe’en) it emerged from a mound to wreak havoc until it was eventually slain by Amairgen. Ai Tojon—A great, two-headed eagle of Siberian myth, the Ai Tojon lives at the very top of the World Tree, from which he shines forth light over all the world. Aitvaras(identical to Latvian Pûkis and Estonian Tulihänd, Pisuhänd, Puuk; also known as Kaukas, Damavykas, Spary•ius, Koklikas, Gausinëlis, •altvikšas, Spirukas)—A Lithuanian household spirit that resembles a co*ck while indoors, but outdoors appears as a dragon about 2 feet long, with a serpentine body and four legs. In some districts it has wings and flies through the air trailing fire. It may hatch from an egg of a 9- to 12-year-old rooster, and if it dies it becomes a spark. An Aitvaras will lodge itself in a house, refusing to leave. Its presence brings riches into the household, but the wealth is usually stolen from the neighbors. An Aitvaras can be purchased from the Devil, but the price is the buyer’s soul. Once bought, it is nearly impossible to get rid of. If injured, it can be healed just by touching the ground. See Lidérc. Aja Akapad—A lightning-swift, one-legged goat in Hindu mythology. It represents the force of lightning as it strikes the Earth with a single kick. Ajatar (also spelled Aiatar or Ajattara; related to the Lithuanian Aitvaras and the Estonian Äi, Äijo, or Äijatar)—An evil female serpent or Dragon from Finnish legend. Called “Devil of the Woods,” or “Mother of the Devil,” she suckles serpents that cause illness. Akhekhu— An Egyptian desert serpent with four legs, thought by European travelers to resemble a Gryphon in some unspecified respects. However, the description is more reminiscent of a long-necked lizard, most likely the Nile Monitor (Varanus niloticus). Akhlut—A spectral killer whale of Inuit myth, this creature is said to hunt the Alaskan ice in the form of a gigantic wolf. Avoid places where giant wolf tracks disappear near the edge of a floe, as this means that Akhlut is back in his killer whale form and lurking nearby. He may be hungry! See Amarok. Akuma—Also called Toori Akuma or Ma, this demonic Japanese monster is terrifying and evil. With an enormous flaming head and eyes like coals, it flies through the air brandishing a sword. It brings bad luck to anyone who sees it. Akupara—In the Hindu mythology of India, the Akupara is the gigantic cosmic turtle that supports the Earth upon the backs of four, eight, or 16 elephants standing on his shell. SeeFather of All Turtles, Kurma. Al (orElk)—This hairy, half-human, half-beast creature of Armenian, Libyan, and Persian folklore has fiery red eyes, tusks similar to those of a boar, iron teeth, brass claws, and copious, shaggy, snake-like hair. It lives in swamps, as well as damp, dark places such as stables and wet corners of houses, and attacks humans who wander into the wilderness. It becomes invisible when it dons a pointy hat covered with small bells. The Al actively hunts women—especially when they are incapacitated in childbirth, as newborn infants are its favorite delicacy. It carries scissors to cut the umbilical cord. It may also steal the woman’s liver, and the victim and her child both die when the Al touches the liver to water, which it must do in order to eat the liver. The Afghan version of this creature is a ghoulish female beast, with long, floating hair and talon-like finger nails, that consumes human corpses.

The Magickal menagerie 17 Alan—Mischievous, half-human, halfbird creatures from the forests of the Philippines. With extended fingers on their backward-facing feet and stubby toes on their hands, they spend much of their time hanging upside down from trees. They are often very helpful toward humans, and supposedly served as foster parents to several legendary heroes whom they found lost in the forest as babies. This description, along with the locale, strongly suggests a giant fruit bat, such as the Malayan Flying Fox (Pteropus vampyrus), which has a 6-foot wingspan, although it only weighs up to 3.3 pounds. See Ahool, Alan, Guiafairo, Hsigo, Olitiau, Orang-Bati, Ropen, Sassabonsum. Alicanto—A luminous bird of Chile that feeds on silver and gold ores in the mountains. The Alicantos that eat gold shine like the sun at night, and the ones that eat silver glow like the full moon. Prospectors follow these lights through the darkness, hoping to be led to rich veins of ore, but they generally just fall over a cliff. These myths certainly refer to Fireflys (Lampyridae). See Cucuia, Ercinee. Alkonost—Similar to the Harpy, this horrible creature of Siberian myth has the upper body of a human female and the lower body of a gigantic bird of prey. She dwells in Rai, the Land of the Dead, where her grim task is to torment the souls of the damned. Her antithesis is the Sirin. But in Slavic myth, the Alkonost is the Bird of Paradise, with a voice so sweet that all who hear it lapse into forgetfulness. She lays her eggs on the seashore and puts them into the water. The sea is then calm for six or seven days, at which point the eggs hatch, bringing a storm. See Halcyon, Geraher. Allocamelus—A beast of English heraldry, with the body and legs of a camel and the head of an ass. Alloés—Described in the 16th century by Thevet in his Cosmography, this New World sea creature resembled a cross between a goose and a fish, with a long, bird-like neck, and flippers instead of wings and feet. It may have been the Great Auk (Pinguinus impennis), extinct since 1844. Almas (or Albasty, Abnuaaya, Abnuaaya, Almasti, Bekk-Bokk, Mongolian Wild Man)—Said to dwell in the Altai Mountains near Tien Shan in the province of Sinkiang, Mongolia, these “wild people” live like animals and are covered with hair, except on their hands and faces. Although this description would seem to describe some sort of unknown ape, some cryptozoologists have suggested that the Almas may be remnant Neanderthals. See Chuchunaa, Wudewasa, Yeti. Alphyn—A fantastic heraldic beast with a body similar to that of a wolf, and the front legs and belly of a dragon. It also has long, pointed ears, a long, thin tongue, and a knotted tail. Altamaha-ha—An aquatic mystery creature sighted by many witnesses since 1969 in the Altamaha River, the surrounding waterways and marshes of the South Georgia coast, and also in Florida. It is about 20 feet long and as big around as a man’s body, with front flippers and a horizontal fluked tail. It is described as very elongated, resembling something between an alligator, an eel, and a dolphin, with large, protruding eyes and an alligator-like snout armed with large, conical teeth. It has a serrated ridge down the back and a low dorsal fin. It has often been seen stranded on the banks of the river and cavorting on the surface like a dolphin. These descriptions suggest it is a freshwater dolphin . Amarok—A spectral wolf of Canadian Inuit myth, the Amarok will overtake and devour any who are foolish enough to venture out alone at night. See Akhlut. Amikiri — Small flying creatures of Japanese folklore, with crablike claws and long, serpentine tails. They cut up mosquito nets, fishing nets, and laundry hung out to dry. Ambize—A creature from the Congo River delta area of West Africa, where it was also called the Angulo (“Hog Fish”). It was described by 16th-century European sailors as having the head of a pig on the body of a huge fish. Weighing more than 500 pounds, it also had human arms and hands and a round, flat tail similar to a beaver’s. Its meat tasted like pork. This description is certainly reminiscent of an African Manatee (Trichechidae senegalensis). See Hoga, Igpupiara. Amhuluk—Serpentine Lake Monsters in the folklore of the Oregon Indians. They metamorphose into many different forms, each more terrible than the last. Animals that fall into the enchanted waters of their lakes are also transformed into monsters.

18 A Wizard’s Bestiary A-Mi-Kuk—A huge and hideous sea-monster in the folklore of the Inuits of the Bering Straits. With a slimy skin and four long, human arms instead of legs, it preys on fishermen. It can “swim” through the earth, pursuing its quarry to lakes far inland. Ammut (or Ammet, Amemet, Amermait, Am-Mit, Amam; meaning “Bone Eater”)—A terrible female monster in the Egyptian Underworld, she has the head of a crocodile, a lion’s mane, a leopard’s forelimbs and spots, and the hindquarters of a hippopotamus. The Egyptians called her “the Devourer of the Dead.” She personified divine retribution for all the wrongs one had committed in life. In Osiris’ Hall of Justice, the hearts of the dead were weighed against Ma’at’s feather of truth, and those who failed to pass the test were fed to Ammut. Amphisbaena (Greek, “goes both ways”; also called Amphista, Anksymen, Anphine, Fenmine, or Amphivena, “Mother of Ants,” which it feeds upon)—A snakelike reptile of Libya with glowing eyes and heads at both ends of its body. If cut in half, both halves will rejoin. It moves in either direction by placing one of its heads in the other’s mouth and rolling along like a wheel. According to Pliny, wearing a live amphisbaena will protect pregnant women, and wearing a dead one will cure rheumatism. The Amphisbaena is also a real animal, a kind of legless, burrowing “worm lizard” (Amphisbaenidae) whose tail is shaped exactly the same as its eyeless, earless head. There are 158 different species. They grow up to 20 inches in length, and crawl equally well forward or backward (but they don’t roll like a wheel!). See Amphisien, Hoop Snake. Amphisien (orAmphisaena, Amphisbeme)—A bizarre heraldic variant of the co*ckatrice, depicted as a Dragon-serpent with two heads, one in the usual place and the other at the end of its tail. It has birds’ legs and feet and Dragon wings. Amphisaena is also a bronchial ailment caused by the ingestion of amphorae. Amphitere—Beautiful, featherplumed or serpentine Dragons similar to the Aztec Quetzalcoatl or the Egyptian Apep. Amphiteres were reputed to possess great wisdom and knowledge, as well as some form of associated power, such as the ability to hypnotize. Many also guarded hordes of treasure, but, unlike typical treasure-hording Dragons, they took on the task out of obligation rather than out of a liking of shiny things. It was said that armed men would grow from the teeth of an Amphitere planted in fertile ground, and would be absolutely loyal to the sower. Anaye—A group of malevolent sibling monsters of Navajo Indian mythology. There are four kinds: the limbless Binaye Ahani; the headless Thelgeth; the Tsanahale bird; and an unnamed creature whose f u r grows like roots into the desert rocks. Considered to be the fatherless children of wicked women, they are the source of all misery, fear, and evil in the world. They are vanquished by the sons of the Sun and Water, but their other siblings—Cold, Poverty, Famine, and Old Age— continue to plague us. Angka—An enormous Arabian bird, large enough to carry off an elephant. Much like the Phoenix, it lives for 1,700 years, burns itself to ashes, and rises again. Because of its great size, it is also associated with the Roc. The Arabs believed that they were originally created as perfect birds, but over time, they devoured all the animals on Earth and started carrying off children. The people appealed to God, who prevented the Anka from multiplying; thus it eventually became extinct. Angont—A gigantic, poisonous serpent in the folklore of Eastern Canada’s Huron Indians. Indeed, the very flesh of this monster is deadly, much like that of poison arrow frogs. It lurks in forbidding and desolate places, from which it uncoils across the land to inflict pestilence and calamities upon humanity. Aniwye—A giant skunk-monster in the folklore of Canada’s Ojibwa Indians. Similar to its smaller brethren, the Aniwye uses a nasty spray as a defensive or offensive weapon. It has a taste for human flesh, and can understand human languages. Anthalops (or Alce, Alcida, Talopus, Calopus, Panthalops)—A large antelope whose curved horns have saw-toothed edges with which it can cut down large trees. In Babylonian myth, this creature was called Aptaleon. Descriptions and drawings seem to indicate the Sable Antelope (Hippotragus niger) as the most likely inspiration for this creature, but a strong case has also been made for the Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus), as an important aspect of the myth shows that the Anthalops often gets its horns stuck in branches of the Herecine Shrub (Hircus-cervus), and

The Magickal menagerie 19 Fabricus wrote that reindeer did indeed have saw-shaped horns. However, because reindeer live only in the far north, this identification seems unlikely. See Busse,Calopus, Parandrus. Antukai (or Atunkai)—According to native Oregon Indian legend, this was originally a grizzly bear that fell into the waters of the lake serpent Amhuluk and was turned into a huge beaver or otter-like monster that hunts people. During the Pleistocene era, there was a colossal beaver (Castoroides ohioensis) in North America. It was 8.2 feet long and weighed 485 lbs. Anzu (or Zû, Imndugud)—A gigantic, benevolent storm-bird in ancient Mesopotamian mythology. Similar to a Gryphon, it has a lion’s body and the head of an eagle with a saw-like beak; though it was sometimes said to have the body of an eagle and the head and torso of a bearded man. Later versions gave it two heads. It is the attendant of the great primordial serpent Dragon, Tiamet, and the thunderclap of its mighty wings brings welcome rains to the parched desert. See Uma Na-Iru. Apalala—A frightening water-serpent of India that ruled the source of the Swat River in the state of Peshawar, now Pakistan. It was tamed and converted by the Buddha, a scene often illustrated in Buddhist art. See Lake Monsters, Makara. Apis—(also Hap, or Greek, Epaphus) A gigantic black bull in ancient Egyptian mythology, sacred to the creator-god Ptah. He was represented as bearing a solar disk between his horns, with a white square or triangle on his face, a Scarab under his tongue, and a white eagle upon his back. He was represented in Memphis by a living bull who bore certain sacred markings, and whose mother had been struck by lightning. Upon death, he was mummified and entombed at Zaqqara, city of the dead. See Merwer, Buchis, Merwer, Mnevis. Apocalyptic Beasts—In the New Testament’s final Book of Revelation, three Beasts are prophesied to appear at the time of the Apocalypse (“Lifting of the Veil”), and will initiate Armageddon, the great battle between Good and Evil that will precede the Second Coming and the Day of Judgment. The first Beast will come out of the sea, and will have the body of a leopard, the paws of a bear, and seven leonine heads bearing ten horns and ten crowns. The second Beast will arise from the Earth. It will have the same bodily form, but with only one head and short horns. The third Beast resembles the first except that it is red in color, and upon it will ride the “Scarlet Woman” or “whor* of Babylon,” representing all corruption in religion and politics. See Hydra. Apotharni—A race of male and female Centaurs described by Conrad Lycosthenes in his Prodigorum ac Ostentorum Chronicon (1557). Dwelling in marshy areas, both sexes are bald-headed and have goatees on their chins. See Onocentaur, Hippocentaur. Apres—A Heraldic bull with a short tail similar to that of a bear. Aptaleon—This mythical Babylonian beast could saw down trees with his horns, but could get caught and held in a thicket or a bush called erechire. Probably based on antelopes, it appears in British heraldry and carvings in Churches. See Calopus, Antelops. Areop-enap—On the South Pacific island of Nauru, Areop-enap, the Ancient Spider, created the world out of an immense clamshell. Finding two smaller, hornshaped snail shells inside, he placed them at either side to form the sun and the moon. Then he enlisted a caterpillar named Rigi to pry open the lid of the clamshell, and Rigi’s salty sweat became the sea. The bottom part of the shell formed the Earth and the upper lid, the heavens. After Rigi became a butterfly, he flew between them to keep them separate. Arion—A magickal winged Pegasus, offspring of the grain-goddess Demeter and the sea-god Poseidon in their horse-god/-goddess guises. Arion has a rather unique feature in that both of his right feet are actually human hands. The name has been given to the common garden slug (Arion hortensis). Argus Fish—One of a number of bizarre sea monsters depicted in Olaus Magnus’ newsletter, Monstrum in Oceano Germanica (“Monsters of the North Sea,” Rome, 1537). The 72-foot-long creature is shown with several additional eyes on its flanks, and is therefore named for Argos, the thousand-eyed Titan of Greek mythology whose eyes were placed in the tail of the peaco*ck. This is clearly a representation of a Whale Shark (Rhincodon typus), whose dramatic “tic-tac-toe” markings of

20 A Wizard’s Bestiary white lines and dots do indeed give the impression of many eyes along its sides. It is the world’s largest fish, officially recorded at 40 feet long, with reported lengths up to 70 feet. Aries—A great winged ram from Geek mythology. Its name is Chrysomallus, “The Ram with the Golden Fleece,” and it is that legendary fleece that becomes the quest of the Argosy. The story goes that when young Prince Phryxus of Thessaly was accused by his wicked stepmother of causing a famine in the land, he fled to Colchis on the back of Chrysomallus. Arriving safely, he sacrificed the ram to Zeus and hung its fleece in the temple, from whence it was eventually stolen by Jason and the Argonauts. Zeus placed Chrysomallus himself in the heavens as the constellation of Aries the Ram. Recent archaeological research has revealed that the people of ancient Colchis used wooly sheepskins to filter gold particles from the rivers. Asipatra—This Stymphalian Bird of Indian myth has razor sharp claws and wings. Asiparta lives in Yamapura, the Underworld, where it tortures condemned souls. Asootee—In Hindu mythology, this is the enormous world-serpent with its tail in its mouth that encircles the entire universe— turtle, elephants, and Earth. See Jormungand. Aspidochelone (Latin, “Shield Turtle”; also Aspidodelone, Fastitocalon, or “Devil Whale”)—A sea monster similar to a giant whale or turtle, so immense that, when it is basking on the surface, sailors mistake its back for an island and land on it. When they build a fire, however, the “island” plunges into the depths, dragging the ship and crew to a watery doom. European sailors often told tales of its existence and sightings. Arabian writers called it the Zaratan. See Father of All Turtles, Imap Umassoursa, Jasconius. Aspis(Latin, “Asp”)—A two-legged Dragon of medieval Europe, depicted both with and without wings. Its bite causes instant death, and it is so poisonous that even touching its dead body is fatal. But it can be easily overcome by music, upon hearing which it jams its tail into one ear and presses the other to the ground. Ass-Bittern—A creature of British heraldry with the body of an ass and the head of a bittern bird (Botaurus stellaris). Audumbla—This immense cow was the second being after the giant Ymir to appear from the melting ice of Niflheim in the Norse creation myth. Her milk nourished Ymir, and her licking of the ice revealed the first gods. Aughisky (also Each Uisge or Alastyn)—A shape-shifting Irish water monster, virtually identical to the Scottish Kelpie and the Welsh Afanc. Appearing as a tame horse, it invites weary travelers to mount it, whereupon it plunges into the nearest water, drowns them, and devours everything but their livers. As long as the rider keeps the Aughisky away from water there is no danger, but any sight or scent of water means certain doom. Despite its horselike ears, it can sometimes appear human. See Horse-Eel, Kelpie, Peiste, Water-Horse. Auvekoejak—A sea monster found in the waters around Greenland. Inuit descriptions of these creatures resemble Merfolk, except that they are covered in fur rather than scales. The same creature was called Havstrambe by the Norse of Iceland and Scandinavia. It has been equated with the Northern Fur Seal (Callorhinus ursinus) as well as the Stellar’s Sea Cow (Hydrodamalis gigas), which Arctic explorers exterminated by 1768. See Ikalu Nappa, Margygr. Avelerion (also Allerion, Ilerion, Yllerion)—Eagle-like birds of prey, there is only one pair living in the world, in Asia or India. The spurious 12th-century Letter of Prester John described them as having fiery, razor-edged feathers, similar to Stymphalian Birds. At the age of 60 years they produce two or three eggs, and when the eggs hatch after 40 days, the parents drown themselves in the sea, a scene witnessed by representatives of all other birds. In heraldry they are often represented without a beak or feet, similar to footless Martlets. They are seen on the coat-of-arms of the Lorraine family, and depicted on the Mappa Mundi (“Map of the World”) disk of Hereford Cathedral in England (c. 1295). Axex—Similar to a Gryphon, this Egyptian creature sports a hawk’s head and wings on the muscular torso of a large feline. Three curved appendages atop its head resemble the crest of a rooster. The Axex has sometimes been confused with the winged British scavenger known as the Opincus.

The Magickal menagerie 21 Az-i-wû-ghûm-ki-mukh-‘ti —A fearsome creature of Inuit folklore said to resemble a walrus, but with the fanged head and legs of a dog, the tail of a fish, and shiny black scales. It can kill a man with a single swipe of its tail. See Equus Bipes, Marine Boar, Rosmarine, Sea Hog. Babai—A creature of the Egyptian Underworld, that assists Ammut, the Eater of the Dead, in disposing of any deceased who fail the test of Ma’at’s Feather of Truth. Badigui (or Diba, Ngakoula-Ngou)—A gigantic water snake said to dwell in the Ubangi-Shari of equatorial Africa. It browses on tree branches without leaving the water, and strangles hippos but does not eat them. Baginis—Half animal and half woman, these beautiful creatures of Australian folklore have clawlike fingers and toes. They capture men, but let them go after raping them. Bagwyn—A hybrid creature only rarely depicted in European heraldry. It has the body and tail of a horse and the head of a heraldic antelope, with long horns curved backward. Bahamut—An enormous, dazzlingly bright fish with the head of a hippo or elephant. In Moslem myth, it floats in a fathomless sea, supporting on its back an immense bull named Kujuta with 4,000 eyes, ears, nostrils, mouths, and feet. The bull in turn carries a gigantic ruby mountain, upon which stands an angel who holds the six hells. Above these is the Earth, and above the Earth, the seven heavens. Some say that beneath the sea is the Realm of Fire, where writhes Falak, a vast serpent whose mouth contains the six Hells. See Behemoth, Labbu, Makara. Bahri—A human-headed bird of Moslem myth, similar to the Greek Siren. Baikal Lake Monster—Lake Baikal in Siberia is the world’s largest body of fresh water. More than 4,900- ft deep, it contains more than 20% of the Earth’s fresh water, and harbors more species of animals and plants than any other lake on the planet. One of these is reported to be a gigantic sturgeon, even larger than the record of 27 feet for a Russian Sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii). Some think this monster is a mutant spawned by the massive pollution of the lake by the Baikalsk Pulp and Paper Mill, which has been dumping approximately 640,000 cubic feet of untreated waste into Lake Baikal every day since 1966. See Flathead Lake Monster, Mother of the Fishes, Whitey. Bakbakwakanooksiwae—A monstrous, vicious, man-eating bird in the Kwakiutl Indian folklore of Canada’s northwest coast. He is also called Hokhoky, “Cannibal-atthe-North-End-of-the-World.” He and his mate, Galokwudzuwis, hunt down people, smash in their skulls, and gobble their brains. Baku—A benevolent dream monster of Japanese folklore. It has the body of a tapir, the head of an elephant, the mane of a lion, the tail of an ox, and the legs and paws of a tiger. When invoked upon first awakening, by saying “O Baku, eat my dreams!” it gobbles up any lingering nightmares, so that the dreamer may have a peaceful day. Balam—Supernatural Jaguar guardians of the Four Directions in the folklore of the Quiché Indians of Mexico. Their names are: Iqi-Balam (“Moon Jaguar”), Balam-Agab (“Night Jaguar”), Balam-Quitzé (“Smiling Jaguar”), and Mahu-Catah (“Famous Name”). In their roles as guardians of nature, they protect the villages, the people, and their cultivated land. Balena—A female sea monster mentioned but not described in the 2nd- century Alexandrian Physiologus. The term eventually came to be applied to the great baleen whales (Mysticeti). Bar Juchne (or Bar Yacre)—InTalmudic Jewish legend, this is an enormous bird, similar to the Roc, whose wingspan can eclipse even the sun. It preys on cattle and even humans. It was said that once upon a time an egg fell from a Bar Juchne nest, shattering 300 trees and flooding 60 villages. See Anka, Ziz. Barliate (or Annes de la mer, Barchad, Barnacha, Bernekke, Bernaca, Bernicle, Barnacle Goose, Tree Goose)—A type of Goose that was believed to begin life as a kind of barnacle B is for Baku, the eater of dreams, Gobbling nightmares, swallowing screams. Head of an elephant, tail of an ox – Still it will come through, no matter the locks.

22 A Wizard’s Bestiary growing from trees or attached to driftwood. It is based upon actual Goose-Neck Barnacles (Lepas anatifera). Barmanu (“Big Hairy One”)—A kind of hairy hominid reported from eastern Afghanistan, as well as the Shishi Kuh Valley in the Chitral region of Northern Pakistan. Similar to the American Skunk Ape, it is noted for its revolting stench. See Bigfoot, Yeti. Barometz (Tartar, “Little Lamb”; or Tartary Lamb, Barbary Lamb, Scythian Lamb, Vegetable Lamb, Lycopodium)—In Hebrew legend, this is a woolly, sheeplike creature from the Middle East that is also half vegetable. Formally called Planta Tartarica Barometz, they are produced from little gourds and attached to shrubs by very short stems. Once they have eaten all the grass within reach, they die of starvation. Barometz was considered a delicacy as its meat supposedly tastes like crab, and its blood like honey. Its bones were used in rituals to give the power of prophecy. The “vegetable lamb” is generally assumed to be the Cotton Shrub (Gossypium), but it has also been explained as a Wooly Fern (Cibotium barometz) that grows in the Middle East and is used as a styptic. Yet another excellent candidate is Polypodium barometz, an Asian fern with thick roots growing along the surface of the ground, which are covered in a dense wool, and when cut, ooze a blood-red fluid. Basket Monster—In African Zulu folklore, this creature appears to be an open baby basket. But if an unwary mother places her baby inside, the basket grows legs and scuttles away like a crab. Basilisk (from Greek, basileus, “Little King”; or Latin,Regulus, “Prince”; in French, Basilic or Basili-coc)— Born from the blood of Medusa’s eyes, the Basilisk is described as a monstrous serpent crowned with a dramatic frill, crest, or crown, for which it is called the “King of Serpents.” It is so poisonous that it leaves a wide trail of deadly venom in its wake, and its gaze is likewise lethal. It poisons streams, withers forests, and causes birds to drop out of the sky. Its enemy is the weasel and mongoose. In actuality, the Basilisk derives from the Egyptian Spitting Cobra (Naja nigricollis), which grows to 7 feet long, and sprays lethal poison from its fangs with great accuracy into the eyes of its victims. There are also small South American lizards called Basilisks (Basiliscus), but they have none of the attributes of their legendary namesake. See also co*ckatrice, Muiriasc, Scoffin. Batsquatch—A bizarre, batwinged nocturnal primate said to dwell in the dense forests surrounding Mount St. Helens in the state of Washington. It has purple skin, red eyes, and a simian head with bat-like features. Some cryptozoologists speculate that it may be an unknown species of giant fruit bat. See Ahool, Alan, Big Bird, Guiafairo, Hsigo, Kongamato, Olitiau, Sassabonsum. Batutut—A small, red, apelike creature reported to dwell in the rainforest of the Malaysian state of Sabah, it is considered to be related to the little, frog-eating hairy hominid known as the Teh-Ma, and the Vietnamese NguoiRung. See Orang Pendek. Beast of Brassknocker Hill—In a 1979 sighting, this creature was seen stripping the bark and branches from trees in an area of England. Local small wildlife also began to decline. Finally, an eyewitness reported seeing a 4-footlong, bear-like creature with two dramatic white rings circling its eyes. Although supposedly still unidentified, this could only be an Andean Spectacled Bear (Tremarctos ornatus), probably escaped from a menagerie. Gerald Durrell’s Jersey Zoo has several of these. Beasts of Elmendorf—These hairless, blue-skinned, canine-like creatures have been terrorizing the farms of East Texas since 2004. Beast of Gévaudan—A vicious, wolf-like beast that ravaged the countryside of southeastern France from 1764– 1767. It was said to have killed more than 100 people and many cattle, ripping out their entrails. It was described as looking something like a wolf, with a shaggy coat, long legs, and glaring eyes. Many believed it to be a werewolf. When local hunters failed to kill it, King Louis XV sent his own soldiers, to no avail. In 1767, it was finally killed by Jean Chastel, who shot it with two silver bullets. It turned out to be a Striped Hyaena (Hyaena hyaena), escaped from the private menagerie of Antoine Chastel, Jean’s son. Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001) is an excellent film of these events. See Crocotta. Behemoth (or Enoch)—An exaggerated Biblical version of the hippopotamus, appearing in the Book of Job (40:15-19). The word comes from the plural of the Hebrew b’hemah, meaning “kingly beast.” Thus any large, heavy, and other-

The Magickal menagerie 23 wise unknown animal can be called a “Behemoth.” In Jewish legend, the Behemoth is a monster of formidable strength, often portrayed in battle with the Leviathan. In Christian apocryphal tradition, the Behemoth is identified with Satan, as a monster that must be destroyed. Some cryptozoologists have proposed that the Behemoth may be a reference to the Mokele-M’Bembe. See Bahamut, Hadhayôsh. Beithir—A giant eel or water-snake said to inhabit secluded waters of the Scottish Highlands. Witnesses report its length at 9 to 10 feet, and it has been seen moving over land. This may be a Conger Eel (Conger conger), which is known to attain that size. Many eels can squirm through wet grass from one pond to another. Or, it could be a typical Lake Monster. Benu—This heron-like bird is white with red legs and a crest of long feathers sweeping back from the crown of its head. The word Benu in Egyptian means both Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea) and palm tree. Much of the Phoenix mythology is based on Egyptian myths of the Benu, as it was said to rise from its burning tree with such melodious song that even the gods were enthralled. The Benu was a symbol of the sun-god Ra, reborn each morning in the fiery dawn. It was also identified with Osiris, as it resurrected itself from death. Ben-Varrey and Dinny-Marra (or Doinney Marrey, Manx, “Man of the Sea”)—These Merfolk dwell around the Isle of Man. Dinny-Marra are the males, which tend to be friendly and easy to get along with. The females are called Ben-Varrey, and they delight in enchanting human sailors with their beautiful songs, then luring them to their deaths. See Merrow, Havfrue, Havmand. Bergman’s Bear—A giant, short-haired black bear from Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. A pelt was examined in 1920 by Swedish zoologist Sten Bergman, who named it Ursus arctos piscator. It is believed extinct, but sightings are still reported. See Short-Faced Bear. Bessie—A Lake Monster reported since the 19th century in Lake Erie in Canada, “South Bay Bessie” has been described as a serpentine creature, more than 40 feet long, with a diamond-shaped head and humps along its back. Its colors range from dark green to black. It is also said to have a pair of long “arms,” similar to a giant squid. See Devil’s Lake Monster. Betikhân—A Faun-like creature of Indian myth, the Betikhân has the lower body of a goat or sheep and the upper body of a human. They dwell in the forests of the Neilgherry Hills, where they hunt animals. Bhainsâsura— Adestructive monster in Hindu folklore, it looks like a gigantic water buffalo. It appears at the time of harvest, and unless appeased by an offering of a pig, it will trample the crops in the fields. The Bhainsâsura is based on a creature from the Mahâbhârata called Mahisha, which is vanquished by Durgâ. See Con Tram Nu’Ó’ C. Bialozar—A gigantic, eagle-like bird of Polish folklore, much like the Roc. In Russia, the same bird is called the Kreutzet. TheBialozor is also a real bird found regularly year-round in Poland. Its English name is the Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus), a bird that resides only in northern forests. Biasd Bheulach—A monstrous phantom beast that haunts the Ordail Pass, on the Isle of Skye off the coast of Scotland, where its nocturnal howling and shrieking terrifies travelers. In the tradition of the Black Dogs, it is also said to appear as a grotesque, one-legged man. Bicha—A human-headed bull monster in Spanish folklore. See Minotaur. Big Bird—In 1976, residents of the Rio Grande Valley in Texas were terrorized by a 5-foot-tall, gorilla-faced creature with blood-red eyes and bat-like wings. No sightings have been reported since. See Batsquatch. Big Fish of Iliamna (or Giant Fish of Iliamna)— As described in the legends of the Tanaina Indians of subarctic Alaska, this ferocious fish attacks fishing boats amid the floating ice, biting chunks out of the bottom until they sink so it can eat the fishermen. Bigfoot (or Sasquatch)—A giant anthropoid (“man-ape”) reported for centuries in the ancient forests of the American Pacific Northwest. More than 3,000 sightings have been recorded. Eyewitnesses report that that they are 7 to 8 feet tall, weigh up to 400 pounds, and are covered in shaggy, dark brown hair. The many huge footprints found, and subsequently often cast in plaster, are the basis of its name. It is thought to be related to the Yeti of Nepal and the Yowie of Australia, as well as similar creatures around the world. See Kapre, Skunk-Ape. Bird of Paradise (or Manucaudiata, Manuqdewata, “Bird of the Gods”)—A glorious bird with spectacu-

24 A Wizard’s Bestiary lar, long flowing plumage of iridescent gold, red, and green, it was said to live in Paradise feeding only on dew. Having no feet, it rests by entwining two extra long tail feathers around a branch. It makes no nest; the female lays her eggs in a depression on her mate’s back, and the eggs hatch while the bird is in flight. It seems the entire legend derives from the stuffed skins of two such birds that the Sultan of Batjan, in the Moluccas, presented to the captain of the Victoria, the first ship to circumnavigate the world, as a gift to the King of Spain. It was simply the custom of the natives who prepared the specimens to remove the skin without retaining the feet. Thus the scientific name given to the species is Paradisea Apoda: “footless of Paradise.” See Martlet, Phoenix. Bishop Fish—A sea creature depicted in 16th-century bestiaries as looking somewhat like a robed Bishop of the Catholic Church. They have a mitered head, a scaly body with two claw-like fins instead of arms, and a fin-like cloak. In the 13th century, one was captured in the Baltic Sea and taken to the King of Poland. Upon being shown to some Bishops of the Church, it gestured for release, which was granted. In 1531, another was caught off the coast of Germany, but it refused food and died after three days. These were certainly Angel Sharks (Squatina), an unusual group of sharks with flattened bodies and broad pectoral fins similar to those of rays. According to J.W. Buel, “it is frequently called Monk-Fish on account of its rounded head, which seems to be enveloped in a hood, and also because of a habit it has of rolling its eyes in a kind of reverential and supplicatory manner.” It was a common taxidermy practice to creatively cut up and manipulate preserved rays into weird “creatures” called Jenny Hanivers. See Flying Fish,Monkfish. Bitoso—An ordinary-sized, multi-headed demonic worm of Romanian folklore, which caused stomachaches leading to loss of appetite. Hence its nickname, “the faster” (the verb, not the adjective). This sounds like a mythologized ver- sion of internal parasites, such as the Trichina Worm (Trichinella spiralis) or Tapeworm (Cestoda)—of which the largest grow to a stunning 100 feet in length. Bixie—A kind of Chinese Chimera, the Bixie is a winged lion with horns. Black Bird of Chernobyl— In the days preceding the infamous April 26, 1986 meltdown of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Ukraine, employees reported seeing a large, dark, headless man with gigantic wings and fire-red eyes. After the explosion, as Soviet helicopters circled the smoldering reactor, dropping clay, sand, lead, and extinguishing chemicals on the flames, some of the workers described a “20- foot bird” gliding through the radioactive smoke. Parallels to the Mothman phenomenon are uncanny. See Frieburg Shrieker, Man-Dragon, Owlman. Black Devil #1—A jet-black Centaur in the mythology of the Mayan Indians of the Yucatan. Black Devil #2—A jet-black stallion of Shoshone Indian myth. The Black Devil has fiery red eyes and sharp teeth. It is said to stalk and eat humans. Black Dogs (or Hellhounds)— Large and menacing black canines with glowing red eyes, that figure prominently in the folklore of the British Isles. These creatures can be as small as a calf or as large as a bear, and they usually move with utter silence, save for the clicking of their claws. They haunt lonely roads on dark nights, following or appearing alongside of wanderers, who suddenly feel a cold dread and despair that chills the heart and raises the hairs on the back of the neck. “Black Dog” is somewhat of a misnomer as they can be many different colors. Some have horns, others have saber teeth, and still others can shapeshift into a human, a headless person, a bear, or a white rabbit. Most of these beasties look like a mastiff, but others are said to be a more shaggy type of dog. Although Black Dogs are generally regarded as evil, some are benevolent and others, merely indifferent. In various times and places they are called by different names. See Chap. 27: “Demonic Dogs.” Bledmall (or Bladmall, Bledmail, “Sea Monster”)— Irish sea monsters that frighten local sailors and fishermen. No descriptions have been given regarding their appearance. Bo—A voracious, horse-like creature of Chinese legend, with the razor-sharp teeth and claws of a tiger and a single horn atop its head, similar to a Unicorn. It is impervious to all man-made weapons and can emit a thunderous roar like the sound of rolling drums. See Ki-Lin. Boars, Wild—Many myths of peoples throughout the world tell of legendary giant wild boars. These include the Calydonian Boar (or Aetolian Boar) of ancient Greece, hunted by many heroes in an epic adventure. Norse myths feature Gullinborsti(“Golden-bristled”), a mighty wild boar crafted of metal in the forge of the Dwarves, and who draws the chariot of Freyr, god of

The Magickal menagerie 25 fertility. There is also the porcine mount of Freya, wife of Odin, called variously Hildesvin (“Battle Swine”) or Slidringtanni(“Terrible Tusk”). Saehrimnir (“The Blackened”) feeds all the assembled Aesir and slain warriors of Valhalla, regenerating by the following dawn to repeat the daily cycle of being hunted, slain, roasted, and consumed. In the Welsh Mabinogion, Ysgithyrwyn (or Twrch Trwyth, Torc Triath, Porcus Troit, Porcus Troyn, Troynt) was the colossal king of the wild boars. Once a human king, he is transformed by the gods as a punishment. Hwch Ddu Gota (“Bob-tailed Black Sow”) is a gigantic black pig of Welsh folklore that was said to gobble up the final celebrants at the Celtic festival of Samhain (later Hallowe’en). Hindu mythology tells of Verethraghna, a ferocious giant boar with enormous tusks and a terrible temper, that is sent by Mithra to plague humans who offended the god. Kamapu’a (“Pig Child”) is a giant boar of Hawaiian mythology who roots up the islands from the sea with its huge snout. Boas—A kind of serpent monster first described in Pliny’s Natural History (77 CE). According to the Physiologus, “the Boas is a snake found in Italy; it is of a vast weight; it follows flocks of cattle and of gazelles, fastens on their udders when they are full of milk and sucking on these, kills the animals; from its ravaging of oxen, bos, it has got its name Boas.” Later depictions gave it wings, large ears, and sometimes two legs. The nameBoidae is now applied to large constricting snakes, mostly of the New World. Primitive Ophidians, such as Pythons, retain small ventral spurs which are remnants of hind legs, and are oviviparous, hatching shell-less eggs within the body of the mother to give live birth. Bocanach—A huge, frightening spectral goat that menaces night wanderers on lonely Irish roads. See Black Dogs. Bolla (or Bullar)—A serpentine monster in the folklore of southern Albania. It has four legs, small wings, and faceted silver eyes. When it wakes from its yearlong hibernation on St.George’s Day (April 23), it devours the first human it sees. After 12 years, it metamorphoses into a horrific, fire-breathing flying Dragon with nine tongues called Kulshedra. Sometimes described as an immense hairy woman with pendulous breasts, Kulshedra causes drought, requiring human sacrifice in propitiation. Bonnacon (or Bonasus, Bonachus)—An Asian beast with the body and mane of a horse and the head of a bull. Depicted as red in color, its horns, according to the Physiologus, are “curled around upon themselves with such a multiple convolution that if anybody bumps against them he does not get hurt.” But its most famous attribute is its burning, napalm-like excrement and terribly foul fart, “which covers three acres; and any tree that it reaches catches fire.” It is usually identified as the European Bison, or Wisent (Bison bonasus), or even the now-extinct Aurochs (Bos primigenius), but the description better fits the African Gnu, or Wildebeest (Connochaetes gnou). See Catoblepas. Booa—A fierce nocturnal creature reported from Senegal, East Africa. It is described as resembling a giant, strangely-colored Hyena. Its name is derived from the cry it makes. See Crocutta. Boobrie—An enormous, web-footed water bird said to haunt salt wells and lochs of Argyllshire in the Scottish Highlands, where it will catch and devour any beast or human venturing too close to the water’s edge. It has a terrifying roar like that of a bull instead of a normal birdcall, and is said to be a metamorphosed form of the Each Uisge, or Water-Horse. Boroka—An odd creature of the Philippines (particularly the Iloko), the Boroka has the head and breasts of a woman, the body and four legs of a horse, and the wings of an eagle. Boroka hunt and eat humans, being especially fond of young children. Al Boraq—(or Borak, Burak, “Bright-shining”)—In Moslem mythology, this is a fabulous flying steed. It has an equine body and neck with a luxu- rious mane, eagle’s wings, a peaco*ck’s tail, and a human head with long, donkey-like ears. It is pure white, but its wings, tail, and mane are studded with colorful, sparkling gems and pearls. Its breath is like sweet perfume, and it can understand all human languages. Originally the mount of the Arch- angel Gabriel, it travels farther in one pace than the eye can see. Mohammed rode it from Mecca to Jerusalem and back in but a moment, and ascended upon it to heaven. Boreyne—A heraldic creature with a barbed tongue, curly horns, a dorsal fin like a fish, the forelegs of a lion, and the hind legs of an eagle. Brag—Appearing as a misshapen black horse, this spectral steed might be seen on lonely moors and roads of England’s Northern Counties, where it lures wanderers to their death. See Kelpie, Phooka.

26 A Wizard’s Bestiary Brosnie—A 16-foot-long, bioluminescent, aquatic reptile with a serpentine head, this creature inspires terror in the fishing communities of Russia’s Lake Brosno and along the Volga River. See Lake Monsters. Broxa—A bird from Eastern European Jewish folklore, believed to suck the milk from goats during the night. In the Middle Ages, however, it was claimed that these creatures had developed a taste for blood, similar to vampire bats. Brucha—Irish monsters with fiery eyes and sharp iron spikes all over their bodies. They trample the trees and vines in orchards and vineyards, then roll on the fruit to impale it on their spines and take it back to their young ones. A similar story is told in the Physiologus about Ercius, or Urchin the Hedgehog (Erinaceinae), which is probably the basis of the Brucha. Buata—A gigantic, supernatural wild boar monster with huge tusks in the folklore of New Britain, it hunts people and can speak and understand human language. But it is very stupid and can easily be tricked out of taking a victim. Bucentaur—A creature with the torso of a man and the body of an ox, with cloven hooves. Ity is related to Centaur and Onocentaur. The Cretan Minotaur is sometimes thus portrayed. See Hea-Bani. Buchis (Greek, “Bull”; also Bukhe,Bukhe See)—A great bull in Egyptian mythology, sacred to the god Menthu at his temple at Hermonthis. His hair grows backwards, and changes color every hour of the day. See Apis, Merwer, Mnevis. Bulaing—Monstrous serpents of the Karadjeri Australian Aboriginal Dreamtime. See Rainbow Serpent. Bulchin (orBicorne, “Two-Horned”)—A female monster of medieval European folklore, depicted as a fat panther with a horned human head, and wearing a broad grin. Often carved on 16th-century church misericords, she was said to feed on henpecked husbands. Her scrawny mate, which preys on obedient and submissive wives, is theChichelvache. Bull of Inde—A gigantic ox in Indian folklore with an impervious yellow hide and massive horns that pivot in any direction. If trapped, it gores itself to death rather than be captured alive. See Catazonon, which may describe the same animal. Bunyip (“Evil Spirit”; also Moolgewanke, Tuntabah, Tunatpan, Wee-Waa)—A fierce, bellowing water-monster said to dwell at the bottom of still swamps, lakes, rivers, and billabongs (water holes) of the Australian outback. Described as about the size of a calf, and resembling a dark, hairy seal or hippo. Sometimes said to possess long arms and enormous claws, it has also been depicted as having tusks, fins, scales, wings, a long tail, and even feathers. In Tasmania, it is called the Universal Eye, and is portrayed as serpentine. It is greatly feared as a man-eater. Some cryptozoologists postulate that it may have been Diprotodon, a large, Ice-Age marsupial hunted by the early Aborigines and depicted in rock art. See Lake Monsters. Burach Bhadi (or Wizard’s Shackle)—An enormous, leech-like water monster inhabiting shallow lochs and river fords in the Western Isles near Scotland, and also reported in Perthshire. It has nine squinty eyes atop its hideous head and back. If anyone attempts to ride through the water, it attaches itself to the horse’s legs and pulls horse and rider under in order to suck their blood. See Lake Monster, Mongolian Death Worm, Orm. Buru—A reptilian monster reported to dwell in the marshy lakes of a remote valley in the Himalayan Mountains, until it was hunted to extinction in the 1940s. According to the Apu Tani people, the Buru was about 12 to 15 feet long, with stumpy, clawed legs and armored plates along its back and tail. Three rows of short, blunt spines ran down its back. It was mottled blue-black in color, with a pale underbelly. Its triangular head had flattened teeth, except for four sharp fangs in its upper and lower jaws. It was a shy animal and kept far away from people, hiding in the swamp during the dry season, but appearing in the rainy season when the swamp became a lake. This description matches very closely various Cretaceous Ankylosaurs like Hylaeosaurus (shown). However, some cryptozoologists believe it may just be an undiscovered species of giant lungfish. Busse—Reported to dwell in Scythia, the Busse was the size and shape of a bull, greybrown, with the head and antlers of a stag. It was said that it could change its color to camouflage itself from hunters. This is believed to be a description of a Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus), which molts seasonally, changing from dark grey-brown in summer to white against the winter snow. See Tarandrus.

The Magickal menagerie 27 Butatsch-Ah-Ilgs—A huge, hideous, shapeless, swollen stomach ringed with flaming eyes, it was said to dwell in the depths of the Luschersee, a lake in Switzerland believed to be the gateway to Hell. No one dared fish in those waters, nor graze their flocks on the surrounding hillsides. See El Cuero, Freshwater Octopus, Glyryvillu, Hueke Hueku, Invunche, Manta, Migas. Cacus(Greek, “Wicked”)—This monster of Greco-Roman myth was the progeny of Hephaestos and the Gorgon Medusa. It had a huge, spherical body on long legs, similar to a gigantic misshapen spider. Three fire-breathing, venom-spewing, humanoid heads sprouted from its scrawny neck. It hid by day in a cave above the River Tiber in Etruria, Italy, emerging at night to ravage any living creatures it could find, dragging them back to its lair. Heracles encountered and killed it as he returned from his 10th Labor. Cait Sith (or Cat Sith, Cu Sith, “Fairy Cat”)—A huge and evil feline of Scottish myth, the Cait Sith is the size of a large dog. It is all black with a white patch on the chest, shaggy, bristling fur, and an arched back. It is a popular blazon in Scottish heraldry, and is commonly seen at Hallowe’en. See Wild Cats. Caladrius (or Charadrius, Caladre)—A miraculous white river-bird of medieval European folklore, with the ability to diagnose whether a patient will live or die. If the bird refuses to look at the patient, his or her death is sure to follow. It draws out illness—especially jaundice—from a sick person into itself, turning its feathers grey. Then it flies out into the sun, where the poison melts away, restoring the bird’s pure white plumage. Discovered in Persia by Alexander the Great, its dung cures cataracts in the eyes. Scientists have assigned the name Charadiidae to the plovers, but T.H. White believed it to be a Wagtail (Motacilla alba Linn), which is still held in superstitious awe in Ireland for the skull-like markings on its head. Calchona—A great dog-monster in Chilean folklore, it has a long, white, woolly fleece like that of an unshorn ram, and a thick, tangled beard. Haunting mountain passes, it terrorizes travelers, frightening their horses and stealing their food. See Black Dogs. Calopus (or Chatloup)—A goat-like creature with serrated horns, said to live along the banks of the Euphrates River in Persia. It has a body like that of a wolf, a snout like a boar’s, a beard like a goat’s, tail and teeth like a lion’s, and spines down its back. It has cloven hoofs in front, and back feet like a Dragon’s. Mentioned since the time of ancient Babylon, its earliest known depiction was carved in a block of wood in Raveningham church, Norfolk, England, dating from around 1383. Most likely based on the Sable Antelope (Hippotragus niger), the Calopus can use its horns to cut through thickets or even fell trees. The name has also been assigned to a family of edible mushrooms, Boletus calopus. See Aptaleon, Antalops, Urus. Calygreyhound—A hybrid heraldic creature with the body of an antelope, the head of a wildcat, the front claws of an eagle, and the hind legs and hooves of an ox. Often it was depicted with ramlike horns. Appearing on the crest of the De Vere family, it symbolizes swiftness. Camahueto—A sea monster in the folklore of the Chiloé Islands near Chile. Described as resembling an aquatic horse or bull, it begins life in the high mountain streams, and migrates downstream to the sea as it grows, gouging out gullies in the river banks along the way with its terrible claws and fangs. In these lairs it lies in wait for shipwrecked sailors to devour them. Cameleopard (orCameolpardel,Cameleopardalis)—Supposedly the offspring of a camel and a leopard, it is about the size of a camel, but has the spotted skin of a leopard and two sharp, curving horns. Ancient Sumerians believed that it possessed both the speed and voracious appetite of the predatory leopard. Represented in heraldry and as a circumpolar constellation, it is clearly identified with the Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis). Camoodi—An enormous serpent in the native folklore of Guiana, in South America. Sometimes mistaken for a huge, fallen tree-trunk, it is the protector of the Camoodi Forests. It may be derived from the giant Green Anaconda (Eunectes murinus, “good swimmer”), which reaches lengths of more than 30 feet— possibly far greater, according to some accounts. See Mawadi, Sterpe. Sucuriju Gigante. Campacti (or Cipatli)—In Aztec folklore of Mexico, this is the vast primordial Dragonfrom whose slain body the Earth was formed. It was depicted as a fish-like crocodile. See also Tiamet. C is for co*ckatrice, bringer of death, Wilting whole forests with one noxious breath. Dragon-tailed rooster with wings like a bat – Crowing, it ruins its whole habitat.

28 A Wizard’s Bestiary Campe—A monster in the Greek legend of the Titanomachia (“Battle of the Titans”) who guards Tartarus, the underworld pit where the Centimanes (“hundred-handed ones”) and Cyclopes (“wheeleyes”) are imprisoned. Camphurcii—A fish-eating composite sea creature dwelling in the coastal waters off the Island of Molucca, in Indonesia. It is described by Thevet in his 16th-century Cosmography as having the body and forelegs of a deer, the webbed hind feet of a goose, and a great, single horn extending more than 3 feet from the center of its forehead, like a Unicorn. Canvey Island Creatures—Several strange marine monsters that washed up on the shores of Britain’s Canvey Island in 1954. They had round, ruddy bodies, froglike mouths, bulbous eyes, prominent gills, and two stubby legs with webbed feet. They had no arms, so it was assumed they would have stood erect bipedally, in which case they would have been 3 to 4 feet tall. Eventually an ichthyologist identified the carcasses as Anglerfish (Lophius piscatorius), whose fleshy, jointed pectoral fins are easily mistaken for short legs with feet. A 68-pound specimen was caught off the shore of Canvey Island in 1967. Capricornus(Greek, “Goat-horn”)—First mentioned in Sumerian myth as an attendant of Ea, god of the waters, it was originally described as a fish with a human head, and was associated with the constellation of Sukhur-Mashu, the “Goat-Fish.” In Greco-Roman mythology, the great Dragon Typhon is transformed into a goat-fish upon chasing the goat-god Pan into the Nile River. Zeus then places the creature in the heavens as the constellationCapricorn. See Suhur-Mas. Carbuncle (or Carbunkel, Carrabuncle) —A small, squirrel-like creature of Paraguay, with a ruby (carbuncle) set in its forehead, the Carbuncle comes from tales of early South American exploration by Spanish conquistadors. The same name was also applied to a creature said to be the source of freshwater pearls found in Killarney Lake, Ireland. Caretyne—A fire-breathing heraldic creature with the body and horns of a bull and a porcine snout. White with yellow spots, it appears on the badge of a Tudor-period courtier. Caristae—”Birds which can fly through the flames without harm, burning neither their body nor their feathers” (Albertus Magnus, c.1200–1280). Carrog (Welsh, “Torrent”)—A monster said to dwell in the Conway Valley in County Gwynedd, Wales. When roused, it washes the valley clean from end to end. Cat-Fish—A creature of European heraldry depicted as a cat in the front parts, with a fish’s lower body and tail. In Chinese legend, it causes earthquakes. Cath Pulag (Welsh, “Cat with Sharp Claws”; also Capalus, Chapalu, Cath Paluc, Cath Balug, or Cath Balwg)—This phantom feline of Welsh and Arthurian myth hunts both cats and people to satisfy its ravenous appetite. The Cath Pulag has a spotted pelt and massive claws. It is conjectured to have originally been a leopard imported into Anglesey by a Welsh king. See Wild Cats. Catoblepas (Greek, “that which looks downward”; also called Gorgon)—A bull-like creature of Ethiopia and southern Egypt. It is covered in iron scales like those of a Dragon, with tusks like a boar’s, and no hair except on its porcine head, which always droops downward on its scrawny neck. It eats poisonous plants, and if frightened, it belches noxious fumes. Pliny claimed that “all who met its gaze expired immediately.” Because of this, it is also called the “Gorgon,” after the Gorgons of ancient Greece, of which Medusa, with her gaze that turned men to stone, was the most famous. Early accounts of the Catoplebas describe a herbivorous creature with hooves, but by the 1600s this description had changed to a scaly, winged beast with large teeth and claws. Cuvier suggested that it was based on the Gnu, or Wildebeest (Connochaetes gnou). See Bonnacon. Ccoa—A catlike monster in the Quechua Indian folklore of Peru. It is grey with dark, horizontal stripes, and has a huge head with great, fiery eyes that spit hail. It causes destructive storms and crop failure, and must be placated with offerings throughout the growing season. Its name has been adopted as an acronym for the Cougar Club of America. Ceasg—These Scottish Mermaids are very dangerous. Half-human and half-salmon, they can only be killed if their souls can be found and destroyed. The souls, however, are housed in special containers that are hidden away in the depths of the ocean. If a person is lucky enough to trap a Ceasg, then they will be granted three wishes. Ceasg have been known to marry humans, and the children of these unions become great sailors. Celestial Horse—A Chinese creature resembling a white dog with a black head, it has fleshy wings with which it can fly. See Pegasus.

The Magickal menagerie 29 Celestial Stag—A deer of Chinese legend, capable of human speech. Dwelling in the Heavens and beneath the Earth, it guides lost miners to veins of precious ores and gems. But if it ever touches the surface of the Earth it dissolves into jelly. Celestial Tigers—Four guardians and rulers of the Cardinal Quarters in Vietnam’s Annamite mythology. The Blue Tiger rules the East, governing spring and plants. The Red Tiger (reported from the Sunderbans area of eastern India) rules the South, controlling summer and fire. The White Tiger (now commonly seen in zoos) rules the West, autumn, and metals. And the melanistic Black Tiger is the ruler of the North, monarch of winter and water. All of these except the blue one represent actual recorded color variants of Tigers (Panthera tigris). But, in 1910, in China’s Fujian Province, American missionary Harry R. Caldwell encountered “a tiger coloured deep shades of blue and Maltese.” Celphies—Ethiopian creatures with a bovine body, “whose hind feet from the ankle up to the top of the calf were like a man’s leg, and likewise his forefeet resembled a man’s hand” (Solinus,Collection of Remarkable Facts, 200 CE). This sounds very much like Olive Baboons (Papiocynocephalus anubis). See Cynocephali. Centaur (also Ixionidae, in reference to their supposed human progenitor, Ixion)—Mythological half-man and half-horse, originally envisioned as a full man with the hindquarters and rear legs of a horse growing from his back. Later it came to be depicted with the man’s torso grafted onto the horse’s shoulders (properly, a Hippocentaur). They originally dwelt on Mount Pelion in Thessaly, northern Greece. Most were savage and lascivious, often carrying off human women. After a particularly noxious episode at the wedding of Hippodameia and Pirithous, king of the Lapiths, where they got drunk and attempted to abduct the bride, they were driven from Thessaly in a famous battle. But the Centaur Cheiron was a kind and wise teacher who tutored Aesclepius, Jason, and Achilles, and freed Prometheus by relinquishing his own immortality in trade. Zeus placed him in the heavens as the constellation Sagittarius. The myth of the Centaur is believed to be derived from garbled descriptions of early horsem*n by people who had never before seen horses being ridden. See Apotharni, Bucentaur, Hippocentaur, Ichthyocentaur, Onocentaur. Centauro-Triton—A scale-less variety of Ichthyocenaur in Greco-Roman mythology, with the dorsal fin and tail of a dolphin. Centipede (Greek, “Hundred-Footed”)—An immense, man-eating monster living in the mountains near Lake Biwa, Japan. The Dragon King of that lake asks the famous hero Hidesato to kill it for him. The hero slays it by shooting an arrow, dipped in its own saliva, into the brain of the monster. The Dragon King rewards Hidesato with a never-emptying bag of rice which feeds his family for generations. The name also refers to an arthropod, of which the largest—Arthropleura of the Carboniferous Era—was 11 feet long! The biggest living species is the Amazonian Giant Centipede (Scolopendra gigantea), which attains 14 inches in length. See Con Rit. Centycore (or Centicore)—A bizarre hybrid creature said by Solinus (c. 258 CE) to inhabit the plains of India. It has a horse’s hooves, lion’s legs, elephantine ears, a bear’s muzzle, a monstrous mouth, and a single ten-point antler protruding from its forehead. It has the voice of a man, and has no mercy. Although described very differently, it is equated in heraldry with the Yale. Cerastes (or Hornworm)—A monstrous serpent in medieval European folklore, which buries itself in the desert sands, showing only the four ramlike horns atop its head. When curious creatures approach to investigate, it strikes out with its poisonous fangs and drags them beneath the sand to be devoured, much like the ant-lion insect. It is derived from the 2-foot-long North African Horned Asp (Cerastes cerastes), which is common in Egypt, and which does indeed bury itself in the sand. Cerberus (or Kerberos,Greek, “Demon of the Pit”)— Cerberus is the great, 3-headed black dog with the tail of a Dragon, who guards the gates of Erebos, the Greek Underworld ruled by Hades and Persephone. He lets anyone in, but allows none to leave. His heads denote the past, the present, and the future, and they devour all things. A child of the giant Typhon and Echidna, originally Cerberus is described as having 50–100 heads. He is dragged out of Hades’ realm by Heracles as his final Labor. Wherever Cerberus’s saliva falls, the poisonous aconites sprout (also called monkshood or wolf’s bane). Later, the poet Orpheus charms the beast to sleep with the music of his lyre. In Roman mythology, the Trojan prince Aeneas and Psyche are able to pacify Cerberus with honey cakes (one for each head!). See also Garm, Sharama, Xolotl.

30 A Wizard’s Bestiary Cerynean Hind (or Arkadian Hind)—A mighty, magickal deer with golden antlers and hooves of brass, which Heracles was charged by King Eurystheus to capture alive as his fourth Labor. Ranging the slopes of Mount Cerynaea in Greece, the Hind was sacred to Artemis, goddess of the hunt. It induced a compulsion in hunters to pursue it until they died of sheer exhaustion. It was so swift of foot that it took Heracles a full year to get close enough to lame it with an arrow in the leg. He then bound the wound and carried the prize back to Eurystheus, at which point it was released. See White Hart, Zlatorog. Cetus (or Ketos)—A ferocious sea monster of Greek myth whom Poseidon sentto ravage the coast of Philistia (modern Israel) in retaliation for the Queen’s boast that her daughter Andromeda was as beautiful as the Nereids, or sea-nymphs. To appease the sea-god, Andromeda was chained to a rock at Jaffa as a sacrifice, but as Cetus approached, the hero Perseus flew by, having just slain Medusa. Perseus petrified the monster with the severed head of the Gorgon, saving the princess, whom he subsequently married. Cetus is described as having a dog-like head on a vast bloated body, with a huge tail divided into two flukes. It is commonly portrayed as a monstrous whale, from which derives the scientific name for whales and dolphins: cetaceans. Indeed, according to Pliny the Elder, “The skeleton of the monster to which Andromeda in the story was exposed was brought by Marcus Scaurus from the town of Jaffa in Judaea…it was 40 feet long, the height of the ribs exceeding the elephants of India, and the spine being 1- foot 6-inches thick.” Clearly this was a whale! Immortalized in the heavens as the constellation Cetus, it often appears among other sea-creatures on medieval maps. Chai Tung (or Hai Chiai)—A variety of Chinese Unicorn. See Ki-Lin. Chamrosh (or Cynogriffin)—A fabulous creature of Persian myth, living beneath the Soma tree upon which the mightySenmurv roosts. Similar to a Gryphon, with the head and wings of a bird upon the body of a dog, it gathers the ripe seeds that are shaken from the tree each time the great bird alights, and distributes them throughout the land. See Ziz. Chan—An immense clam in Chinese folklore, whose exhalations form wondrous undersea palaces of coral. Very likely a description of the Giant Clam (Tridacna gigas) that inhabits coral reefs of the South Pacific and Indian oceans. These can weigh more than 400 pounds and measure as much as 5 feet across. Chancha con Cadenas(Spanish, “Sow Harnessed with Chains”; also Chancho de Lata, “Tin Pig”)—A creature of Argentine folklore, it haunts the slums and riverside towns around Córdoba and Buenos Aires, where it runs along the railroad tracks and telegraph wires, making a deafening din. But as soon as one looks for the source of the racket, the phantom pig vanishes. Charybdis—Daughter of Gaia and Poseidon, this ambitious sea-nymph flooded land to enlarge her father’s kingdom. As punishment, Zeus transformed her into a horrific sea monster in the form of a vast, disembodied mouth gaping at the surface, sucking in both air and water in a vast vortex and spewing them forth three times a day. Devouring all passing ships, this maelstrom is set on one side of a narrow strait, across from an equally dreadful monster, the Scylla, whose six long necks support ferocious, toothy heads. In the Odyssey, Odysseus loses his ship and many men to these twin terrors, barely managing to survive himself. Traditionally, Charybdis has been located in the Strait of Messina off the coast of Sicily, opposite a rock called Scylla. But the whirlpool there is seldom dangerous, and scholars have recently suggested that a more likely location would be near Cape Skilla in northwest Greece. There are also families of crabs and butterflies called Charybdis. See Cìrein Cròin. Cheeroonear—These predatory creatures of Australian legend hunt and devour humans. They walk upright, trailing extremely long arms along the ground, and have canine heads. Cherufe—A giant lava monster in the folklore of the Aracanian Indians of Chile and Argentina, it lives in the magma of volcanoes in the Andes Mountains and preys on young maidens. Two warrior daughters of the sun-god control the monster with magickal swords that can freeze it. But occasionally it breaks free, causing volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. To appease the Cherufe, virgin girls are sacrificed by tossing them into the mouth of the volcano. Chiang Liang—A Chinese monster with the body of a Panther, the head of a tiger, and a human face. It has long hoofed legs, and is often shown with a snake in its mouth. Chichevache (French, “Scrawny Cow”; also Chichifache, “Thin Face,” or Thingut)—Mate to the over-fed

The Magickal menagerie 31 Bulchine (or Bicorne), it is frequently depicted on medieval church misericords as a scrawny, undernourished cow with a miserable-looking human face. It was said to feed only on submissive and obedient wives, for want of which nourishment it starved to death. Chimera (or Chimaera, “Goat”)—A firebreathing composite monster of Greek myth with the body of a goat, the head of a lion, and the tail of a dragon. Oddly, it is often shown with multiple heads, which is quite different from the way it is described. The offspring of Echidna and Typhon, it terrorizes the country of Lycia, in Asia Minor. It is slain by the Corinthian hero Bellerophon from the back of Pegasus, the flying horse. The myth likely originated from an eponymous mountain in that country, where ignited emissions of natural gas were seen. According to Servius (4th century CE), “Flames issue from the summit of Mount Chimaera. There are lions in the region under the peak. The middle parts of the hills abound with goats, and the lower with serpents.” Eventually, Chimera became a term for all improbable inter-species hybrids, and is commonly applied today to genetically modified organisms. Is it also the scientific name of a weird little fish, Chimaera affinis (shown), intermediate between sharks and bony fishes. Chio-tuan—A variety of Ki-Lin, the Chinese Unicorn. It is said that in the 13th century, a scouting expedition of Genghis Khan encountered one in the desert north of India, which the Emperor was planning to invade. It looked like a deer, with green fur and a single horn, and it spoke to the soldiers, saying, “It is time for your master to return to his own land.” When this was reported to the great Khan, he called off his plans for the invasion. Chonchón—A dangerous creature said to dwell in Chile, it is in the shape of a human head with enormous ears, which serve as wings for its flight on moonless nights. Chonchónes are visible only to Wizards, and are said to possess the same magickal powers. See Flying Heads, Leyak. Ch’ou-T’i—A composite creature of Chinese folklore, described as having a head at each end, similar to an Amphisbaena or Dr. Doolittle’s Pushmi-Pullyu.It lives in the country west of the Red Water. Chuchunaa (Tungus, “Outcasts”; also Mulen, “Bandit”; and Siberian Snowman)—These Siberian hairy hominids, or “Man-Apes,” have been seen clothed in animal skins, leading some researchers to speculate that they may represent a relic population of Neanderthals. They have been described by eyewitnesses as being tall and human-like, with broad shoulders, a protruding brow, long, matted hair and occasionally unusual fur coloration. See Almas, Marked Hominid, Wudewasa. Chupacabra (Spanish, “Goatsucker”)—A truly bizarre creature reported for decades throughout Central America, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. It is described variously by different witnesses, mostly farmers, who fear it as a predator of their livestock. Some claim it walks on four clawed feet, some on two. It has red or black eyes, often a long tail, and sometimes even batlike wings. It is 3 to 5 feet tall when standing upright, with smooth or scaly skin, and sometimes with hair or spines down its back. See Itcuintlipotzotli. Chuti—A ferocious cryptid inhabiting the Choyand and Iswa Valleys of Nepal, and often depicted in traditional art. It has a striped, tiger-like body and a canine head. This is certainly the Striped Hyaena (Hyaena hyaena). See Leucrocotta. Cigau—An aggressive mystery cat of Sumatra, with unmarked tan fur, a short tail, and a ruff encircling its neck. It is somewhat smaller but more heavily built than the Sumatran Tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae). See Seah Malang Poo, Yamamaya. Cigouave—A predatory monster of Haitian Voodoo folklore, it has the body of a lion or Panther and a humanoid head, and is derived from 16th-century missionary descriptions of the Indian Manticore. Cîrein Cròin(Gaelic, “Grey Crest”; also Curtag Mhòr a’ Chuain, “Great Whirlpool of the Ocean”; Mial Mhòr a’ Chuain, “Great Beast of the Ocean”; and Uile Bhéisd a’ Chuain, “Monster of the Ocean”)—According to Scottish folklore, this is the most enormous Sea Serpent that has ever existed, able to swallow entire whales in a single gulp. This is very likely a reference to the Corryvreckan whirlpool, located between the islands of Scarba and Jura in Argyll and Bute. At its wildest, this maelstrom forms a vast, swirling cauldron 300 feet wide and 100 feet deep, and has been known to suck ships to their doom. See Carybdis, Great Norway Serpent. Clifden Water-Horse—Similar to other WaterHorses, these are described as semi-aquatic, equine monsters, said to dwell in Lough Auna and Lough Shanakeever, two glacial valley lakes north of Clifden, Ireland. See Horse-Heads, Lake Monsters.

32 A Wizard’s Bestiary co*ckatrice—Originating as the serpentineBasilisk, the North African co*ckatrice is depicted as a rooster with a Dragon’s tail and bat-like wings, and so poisonous that its very glance or breath kills. It can rot the fruit on a tree from a distance, and any water from which it drinks will be polluted for centuries. It is said to be born from a co*ck’s egg, hatched by a toad. Similar to the Basilisk, its only foe is the weasel. Both co*ckatrice and Basilisk derive from the Egyptian Spitting Cobra (Naja nigricollis), which sprays poison from its fangs with great accuracy into the eyes of its victims. A popular heraldic beast, its name was later applied to a venomous lizard of Armenia, and a huge brass cannon of Tudor times. co*ck-Fish—A heraldic monster with the head, wings, and clawed feet of a rooster, and the tail of a fish. Cocodryllus (or Corkendril)—Though often bizarrely depicted, this is just a monstrous, 30- foot-long version of the crocodile, colored in vivid crocus or saffron hues. Nile Crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus) of Egypt and Estuarine Crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) of Indonesia and northern Australia can grow to this size, but they are basically grey in color, with yellowish underbellies. Coje ya Menia (Portuguese, “Lion of the Water”; or Dilali, Mourou-Ngou)—A large, amphibious animal reported in the area of the Kuango River in east Angola, Africa. Slightly smaller than a hippopotamus, it normally lives in the river, but comes out on land during the rainy season, when its mighty roars may be heard at night. It is known to attack and kill hippos, which flee the area. Although some claim it has a horse’s body and a lion’s mane and claws, it is most probably a Nile Crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus). See Kasai Rex. Colo-Colo—A baleful nightmare demon in the folklore of the Araucanian Indians of Chile, it hovers over sleepers and sucks their saliva until they succumb by dehydration to fever. Similar to the co*ckatrice, it is hatched from the egg of a black co*ck. Con Tram Nu’Ó’ C—A huge, supernatural water buffalo in the folklore of the Annam of Thailand. It can cross great dis- tances over any surface, including water, almost instantly. Anyone who can find a hair of this creature will be able to do the same. See Bhainsâsura. Conopenii—Giant, fire-breathing horse of Persian mythology, with the head of an ass. Con Rit—An enormous Centipede-like creature discovered washed up on the coast of Along Bay, Vietnam, in 1883. Called Con Rit (“centipede”), it was 60 feet long and 3 feet wide, dark brown on top and yellow underneath, with a segmented body of 3-foot by 2-foot chitinous hexagonal segments. 28-inch-long filaments protruded from both sides of each segment. Cryptozoologist Karl Shuker believes that the Con Rit is an invertebrate, perhaps a gigantic isopod or an undiscovered form of aquatic chilopoda. See Many-Finned Sea Serpent. Coonigator—Ferocious mammal-reptile hybrid creatures seen raiding campground dumpsters around Mount Pelier, Vermont. Described as being raccoon-sized with thick, grey fur, its face exactly resembles that of an alligator. Sightings have increased in recent years. Corc-Chluasask—Supernatural progeny of the Scottish and Irish Tairbh-Uisge, or Water-Bull, these appear as monstrous calves with velvety hides and split ears. To protect their herds, farmers on the Isle of Skye used to kill any calf born with malformed ears. Cornu—In Irish legend, this is a demonic black bird that St. Patrick banished to Lough Derg, where it lives on the miserable penitential island called St. Patrick’s Purgatory. Cows of Näkki—Bovine water monsters in Estonian folklore, they are driven up from the depths by the monstrous Näkki (a giant Water-Horse similar to the Irish Kelpie). It is said that if one of these could be captured, it would give superior milk. See Tairbh-Uisge, Water-Bull. Creature from the Black Lagoon —A humanoid fish appearing in three Universal movies: The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954); Revenge of the Creature (1955); and The Creature Walks Among Us (1956). In the first film, a paleontology expedition along the Amazon River discovers the Black Lagoon and its prehistoric inhabitant. The scientists capture the creature, but it escapes. It returns to kidnap the female research assistant, and the others have to rescue her. The Creature has entered our universal cultural mythology, and many similar creatures have been reported over the years. When Jenny Clack of the University of Cambridge discovered a fossil amphibian in what was once a fetid swamp, she gave it the Greek nameEucritta melanolimnetes (“Creature from the Black Lagoon”). See Frogman, Gatorman, Gillman of Thetis Lake, Green-Clawed Beast, Intulo, Lizard Men, Loveland Frog,Mill Lake Monster, New Jersey Gator-Man, Pugwis, South Carolina Lizard Man.

The Magickal menagerie 33 Crocho—An immense bird, said to dwell on Cape Daib (Cape Corrientes) at the tip of Africa. It was reputed to be 60 paces from wingtip to wingtip, and able to carry off elephants. According to Fra Mauro (1459), in 1420, an Indian junk putting in at the coast discovered an egg of this bird that was “as big as a butt” (a large cask holding a volume of 126 gallons). See Roc. Crocotta (also Corocotta, Crocotte, Crocuta, Curcrocute, Cynolycus, Leucrota, Rosomacha, Akabo, Alazbo, Zabo, Lupus Vesperitinus)—An ass-sized dog-wolf of India with a leonine body, deer-like legs with cloven hooves, and a human-like voice with which it lures its victims. Instead of teeth, it has bony jaws to crush its prey, which it then swallows whole. It must turn its entire head to focus its immobile eyes. This is a derivation from the much earlier Leucrotta. Ctesias referred to this creature as the Cynolycus (“Dog-Wolf”). Also called Yena, Akabo, Alzabo, Zabo, Ana, and many other names, it is a scavenger clearly identified with the Hyaena (Crocuta crocuta), but confused with elements of the antelope. See Rompo. Crodh Sidhe (Gaelic, “Fairy Cows”)—In Irish folklore, these “seacows” live in the ocean and graze on seaweed. They are white or speckled, with red ears. They may reflect a memory of marine mammals such as the Stellar’s sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas), which Arctic explorers had exterminated by 1768. Cthulhu (or Great Cthulhu)—A hideous, primordial alien being created by horror fantasy writer H.P. Lovecraft (1890–1937), Cthulhu has become a cult icon whose popularity has spread far beyond its literary origin, figuring prominently in role-playing games, T-shirts, bumper stickers, parody songs and slogans, and even plush dolls. In his “Cthulhu Mythos,” Lovecraft conceived a secret world beneath our own, inhabited by ancient races and dark “Elder Gods.” Ruler of them all is Great Cthulhu, an octopus-headed monstrosity who plunged from the stars millions of years ago with his kin, ruling the world from the city of R’lyeh. When R’lyeh sank beneath the Pacific Ocean, all of its denizens fell into a sleeping death, awaiting a time when the city will rise again and they will be reawakened to ravish and slay across the world. Cucuio (or Cocuie, Fire-Bug, Fire-Beetle)—A tiny West Indian bird that gives off its own light. This thumbsized creature has four wings and bright shining eyes. It is said that poor people in Cuba and the Antilles capture them for lanterns, but must release them in the morning to recharge. These are clearly tropical Fireflies (Lampyridae), of which more than 2,000 species are known. Creole women are said to arrange the glowing larvae in their hair and garments, where they produce a dazzling effect superior to jewels. Ancient Chinese also sometimes captured fireflies in translucent containers and used them as short-term lanterns. See Alicanto,Ercinee. El Cuelebre—A vast, winged flying serpent of Spanish folklore, it guards a great treasure hidden in a cavern or under a waterfall. But anyone who finds it will never return. See Amphitere. El Cuero (Spanish, “Cowhide”; also El Trelquehuecuve; El Bien Peinado, “The Smooth-headed One”)—Reported lurking in the glacial waters of Lago (Lake) Lacar, in the Southern Andes Province of Neuquen, is a large and dangerous water monster, described as resembling a flat skin similar to a cowhide, with clawed tentacles and multiple eyes. According to legend, it originated from a donkey’s hide that fell into the water and came alive, engulfing every living thing it encountered by folding itself around them. It suns itself on the rocks and causes windstorms. It sounds very similar to a giant octopus, except that it lives in fresh water. A species that fits the description very well is the Japanese Pancake Devilfish (Opisthoteuthis depressa). See Butatsch-Ah-Ilgs, Glyryvillu, Freshwater Octopus, Hueke Hueku, Invunche, Manta, Migas, Oklahoma Octopus. Cynamolgus—This Arabian “Cinnamon Bird” brings cinnamon from afar to build its fragrant nest at the top of a tall palm tree, where spice gatherers shoot it down with leaden arrows. Its legend is conflated with that of the Phoenix, which is said to build its nest of cinnamon and other Arabian spices. Cynocephali (Greek, “DogHeaded”)—Said to be very common in Ethiopia, they are described as having a black, hairy, humanoid bodies with the head of a dog. These ferocious creatures have been identified with Olive Baboons (Papio cynocephalus). However, the 3-foot-tall Indris Lemur (Indri indri) of Madagascar also bears a striking resemblance to a short, dog-headed human, especially as it often stands or sits upright. See Celphies, Manticora, Sphinx, Wulver. Cynoprosopi—Dragons of the Sahara Desert, akin to the Ying-Lung of China. They are covered with shaggy fur, have dog-like heads, muzzles with profuse beards, and bat-like wings. They prey upon goats and antelope.

34 A Wizard’s Bestiary Dadhikra (or Dadhikravan)—A beautiful cosmic white horse in Hindu mythology of India, exactly resembling the Pegasus. Flying across the sky on eagle’s wings, it personifies the new moon. Dard—An Austrian lizard-monster with the mane of a horse and the head of a cat. It lives in a lake and may sometimes be seen basking on the shore. See Kelpie. Dea—A kind of Salamander lizard listed in an English bestiary from 1220, it lives in fires, upon which it feeds. Deer-Centaur—A variation of the Centaur, with a deer’s body instead of that of a horse. See Centaur. De Loys’ Ape—An ape-like creature—one of a pair—that was shot, killed, and photographed in 1920 by Swiss geologist Francois De Loys, during an expedition to the jungles of Venezuela. Other than this unique photo, apes are entirely unknown in the Western Hemisphere. In 1929, Dr. George Montadon named it Ameranthropoides loysi (“Loys’ American anthropoid”). Skeptics have dismissed the image as nothing more than a Spider Monkey (Simia paniscus), which has an adult body length of only 20 inches. But recently, fossilized remains have been found of a giant, prehistoric howler-spider monkey, which, if still living, could account for this specimen. Interestingly, in Sea and Land (1887), J.W. Buel reports that: “Dr. Lund has furnished us with descriptions of the Brazilian orang outan, which he calls the Caypore, obtained principally from the legends of the natives.” And in the early 19th century, German naturalist Al- exander von Humboldt heard stories from the Orinoco about furry, humanlike creatures called Salvaje (“Wild”). These were said to build huts, capture women, and eat human flesh. All apelike creatures reported from South America are collectively dubbed Mono Grande (“Large Monkey”). See Giant Monkeys, Memegwicio. Dendan—Gigantic black fish of Arabian legend. If they come into any contact whatsoever with humans—even the mere sound of a human voice—they die. Devil Bird (or Ulama, Maha Bakamuna)—A large, elusive bird found only in the densest mountain jungles of Sri Lanka and India, its extremely loud cry sounds eerily similar to a human in pain, hence its name. Although westerners assert that it’s a mere figment of superstition, a live specimen was rescued from attacking crows in 2001. The largest owl in Sri Lanka, it is now called the Forest Eagle Owl (Bubo nipalensis). See Strix. Devil Fish (also Sea Devil, Sea Bat)—A huge and powerful sea monster described by J.W. Buel as having “eight long arms attached to a broad, flat body, in the center of which are its leering eyes and cavernous mouth, around which are several horny spines.” The name and the eyewitness reports clearly identify it as the giant Manta Ray (Manta birostris), of which the largest known specimen had a 25-foot “wingspan” and weighed 6,600 pounds. However, these fish do not have tentacles, which makes the description a bit puzzling, as it seems to conflate the manta ray with a cephalopod—for example, the Pacific Giant Octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini), which may grow to more than 30 feet long and weigh more than 100 pounds. See Cuero, Glyryvilu, Iémisch, Manta. Devil’s Lake Monster —A Lake Monster said to inhabit the deep, cold, salty water of the mist-shrouded Devil’s Lake in Sauk County, Wisconsin. The local Nakota Indians have stories of this creature going back many centuries; one of the earliest recounts a fatal attack on a canoe full of warriors by something with many tentacles, similar to a Kraken. See Bessie, Cuero, Freshwater Octopus, Lusca. Devil Monkeys—Reported throughout the American Midwest and as far north as Alaska, these are described as baboon-like creatures with powerful, kangaroo-like hind legs. They are extremely aggressive, attacking people and even cars. See Goatman. Dhumarna (Sanskrit, “Smoke-colored”)—King of the Sea-Serpents in Hindu mythology. Like Attica’s legendary King Cecrops (shown), he is a snake from the waist down but human above, similar to a Naga. D is for Dragon who flies from afar, Each armored scale shining bright as a star. Gold is its treasure and greed is its game, Guarded by legend: the fierce dragon-flame.

The Magickal menagerie 35 Didi (or Dru-di-di, Didi-aguiri)—A small (up to 5 feet tall) hooting ape or hominid with red or black fur reported for centuries to be inhabiting the montane forests of Brazil, Suriname, and Guana. Some of the descriptions overlap those of the much larger Mapinguary. Named for the range of shrieks and whistles they emit, it’s very likely they are a type of Howler Monkey (Alouatta), of which nine species are currently recognized. With body lengths of up to 3 feet, these are among the largest of New World monkeys. Dingonek—Said to dwell in the rivers and lakes of western Africa (primarily in the area of former Zaire), the Dingonek is approximately 12 feet long, with a squarish head, saber-like, canine teeth, a long horn, and a poisonous “stinger” on the end of its tail. Its skin is scaly and mottled, like that of a Pangolin (Manidae manis).This description is reminiscent of the 8-foot-long Pleistocene Giant Pangolin (Manis palaeojavanicus) (shown), fossils of which have been found on the Indonesian islands of Java and Borneo. See Mokele-Mebembe, Veo. Dipsa—A deadly serpent so small that people can step on it without seeing it. Its lethal venom is so painless that victims are dead before they even realize they have been bitten. T.H. White suggests that this may be the Common Krait (Bungarus caeruleus) of India (shown). See Seps, Syren. Diwe—Huge, horned monsters of Iranian folklore that hunt and devour lone travelers. Djieien—A giant, six-foot-tall spider in Seneca Indian folklore of the northeastern United States. Its invincibility came from the fact that it hid its heart beneath the floor of its lair. But the hero Otheigwenhda, missing the monster with a thrust of a sharp stick, inadvertently stabbed the ground and pierced the hidden heart, thus killing Djieien immediately. See Tsuchi-Gumo. Dobhar-Chú (Gaelic, “Water Hound”; also Dorraghow, “King of the Lakes,” and Dhuragoo, Dorraghowor,Dobarcu, Anchu)—A voracious, man-eating, otter-like creature in Irish folklore, considered the Father of All Otters. Reported back at least to 1684, it is described as being “half-wolfdog and half-fish,” 6 to 8 feet long, with short, white fur and a dark brown cross on its back. Some, however, say it is hairless, with slimy black skin. Because of its ferocity, locals call it the “Irish Crocodile.” Dodu—A very aggressive ape reported from the southern Cameroons of Africa. It is dark grey, stands 6 feet tall, and is mostly bipedal. It has only three fingers on each hand, and three clawed toes on each foot. It attacks gorillas and leaves little piles of sticks on the ground. Dog-Centaur—A variation of Centaur with the body of a large dog. See Centaur. Dolphin (or Delphine)—The swiftest creatures in the sea, it is said that they can jump over most ships. They are supposedly attracted to human voices, and gather together to sing when music is played. When Dolphins play and leap in waves they forecast storms. There is said to be a kind of Dolphin in the Nile River with a serrated back, which kills crocodiles by slicing open their soft underbellies. Dover Demon—A strange, melon-headed humanoid creature reported to have been seen along the roadside at night by several teenagers in the Boston suburb of Dover, Massachusetts, in April of 1977. They said its thin body was about 4 feet tall, with peachy, smooth skin. It had long limbs and fingers and large, orange eyes. It has not been seen since. Was it a space alien? No one knows. Draco (Latin, “Dragon”; from Greek, draconta)—Depicted in classical Greco-Roman art as a great, bat-winged serpent, it was later said to inhabit caves in India and Ethiopia, where it preyed upon elephants. Draconcopedes—In medieval European folklore, these are serpents with a woman’s head and breasts. The serpent in the Garden of Eden was often so depicted. Dracs (from Latin, draco, “Dragon”)— Predatory water monsters said to inhabit the depths of the Rhône River in France, where they terrorized the town of Beaucaire by dragging victims from boats. Drac is the word for Dragon in Catalan and other languages. Dragon—A gigantic reptilian creature, frequently possessing bat-like wings and fiery breath. Some are capable of human speech. There are many varieties, living in all the Elements: Earth, Water, Fire, and Air. Wingless, legless dragons are called Lindorms, Wyrms, or Wyrms. Those with legs but no wings are called Drakes. A Dragon with two limbs and two wings is called a Wyvern. Dragons with feathery rather than leathery wings are called Amphiteres. Dragons exist in cultures the world over.

36 A Wizard’s Bestiary Eastern Dragons tend to be wise and benevolent creatures of clouds, rain, and bodies of water. Western Dragons tend to be crafty and evil, and many were slain by various heroes and knights. Some Dragons are based on known creatures, such as crocodiles, giant monitor lizards (such as the Komodo Dragon,Varanus komodoensis), the rib-winged flying lizards of Madagascar (Draco volens), and the remains of dinosaurs. And others—such as the MokeleMbembe of the Congo swamps, or the Loch Ness Monster and its kin—may still be lurking in unexplored regions and dwelling in deep lakes throughout the world. Dragons of Ethiopia— Great, serpentine Dragons up to 35 feet long, with one or two pairs of wings. They were said to prey on elephants. They may be derived from the Nile Crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) or the Reticulated Python (Python reticulatus), both of which may reach that size (but neither have wings!). See Draco, Pa Snakes. Dragon Horse—This creature of Chinese mythology resembles a horse, but has the head of a Dragon and scales instead of fur. Though some Dragon Horses can fly, none of them have wings; indeed, Dragon Horses are more often seen as water dwellers. Considered divine messengers, these creatures fly between the Heavens and the Earth, revealing the meaning of the Yin/Yang symbol. Dragon Kings—The five immortal Dragon Kings dwell under the sea in elaborate crystal palaces. One is chief over all, and the others represent one of the four Cardinal Directions: North, South, East, and West. Their names are Ao Ch’in,Ao Jun, Ao Kuang, and Ao Shun. They all answer to the Jade Emperor, who tells them where to distribute the rains. The Dragon Kings are said to be 3 to 5 miles long, with shaggy legs and tails and whiskered muzzles. Their slinky, serpentine bodies are covered in golden scales. It is said that when the Dragon Kings rise to the surface, waterspouts and typhoons are created, and when they take to the air, massive hurricanes result. Only the exceptional are allowed to meet with these great ocean sovereigns. Dragon-Mermaid—This female creature of Celtic myth enables childless couples to conceive, but requires a sacrifice in return. If she is refused, she lays a curse upon the family. Dragon-Tygre—A heraldic beast with the body of a Dragon and the head of a tiger. The European take on the Asiatic Dragons. Dragon-Wolf—A heraldic beast with the body of a Dragon and the head of a wolf. Another creature reminiscent of the Asian Dragons. Drake—A wingless Dragon or Lindorm in Swedish folklore, this term may also apply to Elemental Dragons, such as Fire-Drakes, Sea-Drakes, Ice-Drakes, etc. It is also used for male Dragons. See Orm, Python. Drekavac (Slavic, “One that cries while yelling”)—A terrifying night creature in Slavic mythology, sometimes described as an animal, sometimes as a bird. Some believe it is a soul of an unbaptized child; all agree that its yell is horrifying. There are regional variations, but its height when walking on all fours is about 3 feet. It lurks in deep caves and tunnels, sometimes in packs. Duah—Gigantic flying predators reported in Papua New Guinea. They have a 24- foot, leathery wingspan, a long, toothless beak, and a l a r g e head crest, precisely matching the presumed extinct pterosaur Pteranodon. Likewise, they are oceanic fish-eaters, though there are reports of vicious and fatal attacks on humans. This is likely to be a Bismark Flying Fox (Pteropus neohibernicus). Recognized by science as the world’s largest living species of bat, it has a wingspan of 5.5 to 6 feet and is native to New Guinea and the Bismark Archipelago. However, these fruit bats do not eat fish or attack people, so perhaps this is an unknown cryptid. See Kongamoto,Pterodactyls, Ropen, Snallygaster. Dunnie—A kind of shape-shifting Phookah haunting the area of Northumbria, England. It materializes as a plowhorse, donkey, or pony. If anyone attempts to harness it, however, the Dunnie disappears, laughing, leaving the person holding an empty harness. Dzu-The (Sherpa, “Big Thing”)—The largest of the three types of Yeti (distinguished by size), according to the Sherpas of Tibet. The others are the middle-sized Meh-Teh and the smaller Yeh-Teh, with teh meaning a flesh-and-blood animal. The Dzu-Teh normally walks on all fours, rising to its hind feet only when it runs. Some researchers think this is the Himalayan Black Bear (Ursus thibetanus), which often preys upon yaks.

The Magickal menagerie 37 Each Tened (Gaelic, “FireHorse”)—In Irish folklore, this flaming phantom horse carries off evil-doers, who are compelled to ride it, burning, for all eternity. Easg Saint (Gaelic,”Holy Fish”)—According to legend, a pair of these sacred fish lived in a well near a church in Ireland, eating hazelnuts that fell from the tree above the well. These imparted magickal qualities to the fish, including the ability to speak. Killing the fish brought divine retribution. Ebu Gogu—The native name for small, hairy, inarticulate cave dwellers first reported by Portuguese sailors visiting the Indonesian island of Flores in the 16th century. Sightings continued well into the 19th century. Then, in 2003, the sub-fossil remains of seven diminutive hominids were discovered on the tiny island. Officially designated hom*o floresiensis (“man of Flores”), they were immediately dubbed “Hobbits” in the popular press. Ranging in height from 3 to 4 feet, they appear to have been a dwarf island race of hom*o erectus. Echeneis (Greek, “ship-detaining”; also Remora, Mora)—A tiny “sea-serpent,” only 6 inches long, that can stop a ship under full sail by attaching itself to the hull. Said to dwell in polar seas, it freezes the air and water to hold a ship fast in an icy grip; thus, it is considered the arch-enemy of the fire-dwelling Salamander. The suckerfish, or Remora (Echeneis naucrates) (shown) attaches itself to large sharks. See Murex, Scolopendra. Echidna—The “Mother of Monsters” in Greek mythology. Daughter of Gaea and Tartarus, she was a beautiful woman from the waist up, but her lower body was that of a monstrous snake with speckled skin. By her Titan husband Typhon, she bore children that were equally horrible: Cerberus, Orthus, the Hydra, the Harpies, the Chimaera, and the vulture that ate Prometheus’ liver. She also bore the Sphinx by her son Orthus. She dwelt in a cave near Scythia, where she was eventually killed by the 100- eyed Argus Panoptes. The name Echidna has been given to the little egglaying “spiny anteater” of Australia. Eer-Moonan—Ferocious monsters of the Australian Aborigine Dreamtime, they have the bodies of dogs, the heads of echidnas (spiny anteaters), and the feet of human women. They hunt humans with deadly stealth. Eikthymir (Teutonic, “The One With the Oak-like Antlers”)—The great cosmic stag of Norse myth that stands on the roof of Valhalla and browses the vast World Tree, Yggdrasil. Elephant-Tiger—A fabulous creature in Thai folklore, with the body of a mighty elephant and the proportionally large head of a ferocious tiger. According to legend, it was captured by the hunters of King Phan, and then mated with his best elephants, breeding the invincible war elephants that later routed the armies of Phan’s enemy, King Kong. It is paraded in effigy in the annual celebration of that victory. Emela-Ntouka (Lingala, “Killer of Elephants”; also Chipekwe, Groot Slang)—A large, amphibious creature said to dwell in the Likouala swamps of the Congo, in Lake Banweolo, Cameroons, and in other swamps of the West African coast. It is slightly smaller than the hippos it kills and feeds upon. It has a smooth, dark green, grey, or brown body without bristles, a crocodile-like tail, and a single ivory horn like a rhino’s with which it disembowels elephants. Its elephantine footprints show three-toed claw marks. One was killed in 1934, but no scientific study was done. Some cryptozoologists have noted the similarity of this description to the Cretaceous ceratopsian, Monoclonius; however, those animals were herbivores. See Coje ya Menia, Kasai Rex, Mokêle-M’Bêmbe, Ngoubou. Empusa (or Empousa, pl. Empusae)—A shapeshifting female monster in Greek folklore, she is human from the waist up, with one leg of an ass and the other of brass. The goddess Hecate sends Empusa to harass lone travelers on dark country roads. Appearing as a Black Dog, a mule, an ox, or even a beautiful woman, she scares to death or eats anyone she encounters. Empusa is also a genus of the Empusidae family of mantis insects, which includes the praying mantis. Encantado (Portuguese, “Enchanted One”)—Creatures of Brazilian folklore that dwell in an underwater paradise called the Encante. The term may apE is for Enfield, from Ireland’s fame, Fox-headed wolf of the hero’s acclaim. After a battle, it watches and waits, Guarding slain chieftains and minding their fates.

38 A Wizard’s Bestiary ply to spirit beings or shapeshifting serpents, but most often it refers to freshwater dolphins that have the ability to transform into humans. The dolphin referred to is called the Boto, or Pink River Dolphin (Inia geoffrensis), which lives in the Amazon River. See Selkie. Enfield—A hybrid beast of Irish heraldry with the body of a lion, the chest of a greyhound, the hindquarters and tail of a wolf, the front legs and talons of an eagle, and the head of a fox. It was said to protect the bodies of fallen chieftains for proper burial. Enfield Horror—A mystery monster spotted in Enfield, Illinois. Witnesses described it as grey, with three legs, two arms jutting out of its chest, and two pink eyes the size of flashlights. Police investigators found doglike prints with six pads. Ents (Anglo-Saxon, “Giant”; Elvish, Onod, pl. Onodrim)—Historically referring to any number of large, roughly humanoid creatures, Ents are best known today as the ambulatory, humanoid trees from J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy world of Middle-Earth. A wise and ancient race, they appear to have been inspired by the talking trees found in folklore throughout the world. Their appearance and size varies according to the species of trees they shepherd. The longlost females are called Entwives. Epirotes—In Greco-Roman mythology, this gigantic serpent guards the sun-god Apollo’s walled garden of Dragons, divinatory descendants of the Delphic Python. Ercinee (or Hercynian Birds)—Luminous birds of Germany’s Hercynian Forest (der Hertzwald), whose feathers shine with bright phosphorescence to light their way through the darkest night. While there are no known phosphorescent birds, there are a number of such insects, of which the brightest by far is said to be the great Lantern Fly (Lanternaria phosphorea) of South America. It was believed, on the authority of Maria Sibylla Merian, that the huge, hollow structure on the front of its head, the so-called lantern, was luminous at night. Linnaeus adopted the statement without question and assigned several specific names, such as lanternaria, phosphorea, and candelaria in recognition of this, thus enshrining a myth which subsequent observations have failed to confirm. See Alicanto, Cucuio. Euroa Beast—In early 1890, residents of Euroa, Australia, claimed that their village was being terrorized by a 30-foot long, unidentifiable reptilian monster. A representative of the Melbourne Zoological Gardens, equipped with a big net, organized a search party of 40 trackers. They discovered a set of huge footprints, but these unfortunately terminated before the creature could be found. Was this a gigantic Estuarine Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), or could it have been the supposedly extinct giant monitor lizard, Megalania (Varanus prisca) (shown)? See Kurrea, Whowhie. Falcon-Fish—A creature of European heraldry with the body of a fish and the head and talons of a falcon. Oddly, it also has doglike ears. Fandrefiala—A snake of Madagascar, which, according to local legends, will plunge tail first from a tree like a spear to stab animals passing beneath. This could be a reference to the Paradise Tree Snake (Chrysopelea paradisi) or other Asian snakes that can actually glide through the air by flattening their bodies. See Jaculus. Farasi Bahari (or Sabgarifya)—Fabulous emeraldgreen horses that live in the Indian Ocean. On certain nights of the year, the stallions graze on an island off the coast of Africa, where horse breeders leave their mares in hopes that a mating will produce mighty green foals with incredible endurance owing to a lack of lungs. See Hippocampus. Father of All Turtles—An enormous sea-turtle of Sumatran legend, and one of several varieties ofSea Serpents distinguished by Bernard Heuvalmans (1916–2001), the father of cryptozoology. There have been four recorded sightings of such a creature in different oceans. Some think it may be the 14-foot-long Cretaceous sea-turtle Archelon (shown). See Akupara, Aspidochelone,Kurma. Fauns—In Greco-Roman mythology, Fauns are mischievous creatures with the legs, ears, short horns, and tails of deer or goats, and the faces and upper bodies of young men. They are children of the god Faunus, “the kindly one,” and can cause nightmares. At times, they can also be quite cheerful. The charming Faun Tumnus is F is for Firebird, silver and gold, Lighting the room when its fair wings unfold. Hearing its song heals the body and soul, Even of grief that no balm could console.

The Magickal menagerie 39 an important character in C.S. Lewis’ Narnia books. See Satyrs, Selin, Silvan, and Betikhân. Fastitocalon (“Floater on Ocean Streams”)—A stonyskinned sea monster the size of a whale, resembling a small rocky island fringed with sand and seaweed. It is very dangerous, luring ships’ crews to disembark for shore leave, then plunging with them into the depths to devour them. Absent any human victims, it emits a sweet perfume from its mouth that lures shoals of fishes within, swallowing them by the thousands. See Aspidochelone, Imap Umassoursa, Jasconius, Zaratan. Fating’ho—A shaggy, black-haired, bipedal, apelike creature sighted by an entomologist in Guinea, West Africa, in November of 1992. According to native tradition, it is neither a chimpanzee nor a gorilla. It has not been identified by science. Fearsome Critters—A term coined by 19th-century American and Canadian lumberjacks to encompass an endless and entertaining assortment of imaginary animals with colorful names which were claimed to inhabit the vast timber woods of North America. Invented as preposterous explanations for the unknown dangers and difficulties that sometimes claimed the lives of loggers, these wacky beasts were created to impress gullible tourists and newcomers to the logging camps. Fearsome Critters ranged from downright silly to bizarre and terrifying hybrids. Fei Lian (orFeng Bo, “Wind Lord”)— A celestial monster in Chinese mythology, with the body and legs of a stag, the spots of a leopard, and the tail of a serpent. Its sparrow-like head has bull horns. It controls the fierce storm winds, releasing them from a bag at whim. Fêng Huang (or Fum Hwang)—The Chinese Phoenix, the Fêng is male and the Huang is female; together the pair symbolizes everlasting love. These beautiful birds stand about 9 feet tall. They have the breast and sinuous neck of a swan, the head and comb of a pheasant, the face of a swallow, the back of a tortoise, and the 12- feathered tail of a peaco*ck. This descriptions fits remarkably well the Ocellated Pheasant, or Rheinart’s Crested Argus (Rheinarta ocellata), found in central Vietnam and the Malayan peninsula. The form of the Fêng Huang represents the six celestial bodies, and its shimmering, striped plumage displays the five fundamental colors (yellow, green, red, black, and white). It will not eat any living thing, including plants. One of the Ssu Ling, the four spiritual creatures of China—the others being the Lung Wang (Dragon), the Gui Xian (Tortoise), and the Ki-Lin (Unicorn)—the Fêng Huang stands at the South, and represents the season of summer. It is a symbol of high virtue, representing Yin andYang, and the primordial force of the Heavens. Its appearance is an omen of good fortune, bringing peace and prosperity. Its chicks are called Yoh Shoh. Fenrir, the Fenris Wolf (Fenriswulf or Fenrisúlfr; also called Hrodvitner)—A huge and terrible monster in the form of a wolf, he is the eldest of three horrific children of the malicious Norse God Loki and the Giantess Angboda. Knowing that Fenris, Loki, and the Giants will one day destroy the worlds of Gods and men, the Gods had the Dwarves fashion a magickal fetter to constrain the beast. This apparently delicate ribbon was woven of six impossible things: the footsteps of a cat, the roots of a mountain, the beard of a woman, the nerves of a bear, the breath of a fish, and the spittle of a bird. Fenrir was then chained to a rock a mile below the Earth, with a sword between his jaws. But, at Ragnarok, Fenrir will break his chains and join the Giants in their final battle against the Gods. Ferla Mohr (Gaelic, “Big Grey Man”)—An aggressive grey ape that stands 20 feet tall and lives in mountainous areas of Scotland. There are legends of such giant apes throughout the British Isles, where they were greatly feared. Figonas—Winged cosmic serpents who were the creators of all life in the mythology of the Melanesian people on the Solomon Island of San Cristoval. The greatest of these is Aguna. He created the first man, who was so helpless that Agunua also had to create a woman to make fire, cook, and weed the garden. Hatuibwari is considered the primal ancestress of the human race. Her vast serpentine body has a human torso, with four pendulous breasts to nourish all creatures. She also has four eyes and two enormous wings. Fillyloo (alsoGowrow,Golligog,Gollygog, Moogie)—A giant lizardmonster or Dragon in the Native American legends of the Ozark mountains, which it was reported to frequent in the 19th century. As described by V. Randolf in 1951, it was said to be at least 20 feet long, with boar-like tusks. Fin People—Half fish and half human, these Merfolk bask on the shore during the summer near Eynhallow village

40 A Wizard’s Bestiary in Scotland’s Orkney Islands. According to legend, once the humans of Eynhallow were in communion with the Fin People of Finfolkaheen, a mirror village beneath the waves. If any of the Fin People could succeed in seducing a human, they would lose their fish tail and could live on land. Firebird (Russian, Zshar-Ptit*a)— A miraculous celestial bird of Russian fable, with shining feathers of gold and silver and sparkling crystal eyes. Pearls fall from its beak when it sings, and its song can heal the sick and cure blindness. A single fiery tail feather can light up an entire room. It grazes in the garden of its owner, Tzar Dalmet, but at night it sometimes sneaks into the nearby orchard of Tzar Vyslav Andronovich to steal his golden apples of youth, beauty, and immortality. It is considered to be the Russian Phoenix, and its origin may likewise have been in Bird of Paradise skins. Fire-Drakes—Great, firebreathing, bat-winged Dragons inhabiting marshes in the British Isles and mountain caverns of northern Europe, where they guard hordes of treasure. Fish Pig—One of many fanciful sea-creatures often depicted in the oceans of medieval maps. This one has strange tentacles surrounding its head, and may actually be intended as a representation of a Giant Squid (Architeuthis). See Kraken. Flying Fish—A strange sea-creature caught off the northwest coast of Italy in the 16th century. About 5 feet long, it had a huge head, wide wings, and a long tail. It frightened members of the royal court where it was exhibited. From the depiction it appears to have been a cow-nosed ray (Rhinoptera bonasus). See Serra. Flying Heads (or Big Heads)— Weird aerial disembodied heads in the folklore of the Iroquois Indians of the eastern United States. They have flashing fiery eyes, huge, wing-like ears, and great, gaping, snarling mouths. Gnarly claws protrude from under their long scraggly hair, which holds them aloft as they are carried by the storm winds, hunting unwary humans. See Chonchón, Leyak. Flying Serpent of Isa—A monstrous serpent of medieval Christian legends, reported by travelers as being hatched from the egg of a co*ckatrice in the desert of Ethiopia. The most venomous of all serpents, it could fly as well as crawl. See Basilisk, Amphitere, Syren. Focas—”A Sea-Bull, very strong and dangerous. He always fights with his wife until she dies, and when he has killed her he casts her out of his place and seeks another, and lives with her very well until he dies, or until his wife overcomes him and kills him. He always stays in one place, and he and his young live by any means they can” (Physiologus). Fo Dogs (or Dogs of Fo; also Foo Dogs, Kara-Shishi, Shiski Dogs, Lions of Buddha)—Chinese temple guardians. They have a body like that of a winged lion, a bushy tail, and a broad, doglike head, sometimes with a horn on the forehead. They are always shown paired—the males with one forepaw rested on a ball, and the females with puppies at their feet. Freiburg Shrieker—A terrifying, black, Mothman-like creature with huge wings that blocked the entrance to a coal mine in Freiburg, Germany, on September 10, 1978. As miners approached to go to work, it let out a series of unbearable piercing shrieks, driving them back. An hour later, an enormous explosion destroyed the mine. When the smoke cleared, the strange apparition had disappeared, and the lives of the men were saved. See Black Bird of Chernobyl, Man-Dragon, Owlman. Freshwater Octopus—Although there are no known species of cephalopods able to live in fresh water, there have been numerous reports of octopus-like creatures hailing from lakes in Indiana, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and West Virginia, as well as in the monster-infested Ohio River. They are always described as being “ugly,” grey in color, and about 3 feet long. They seem similar to Octopus burryi and Octopus filosus/hummelinki. With about 300 species of octopus catalogued to date, it is possible that a freshwater variant might turn up, though probably not as impressive as J.R.R. Tolkein’s “Watcher in the Water!” See Devil’s Lake Monster, Oklahoma Octopus. Frogman—A 3-foot-tall creature reported by eyewitnesses in Juminda, on the coast of Estonia in the fall of 1938. It had brownish-green skin, no neck, humanlike hands, and a hump in the front of its body. Its mouth was like a large slit. See Loveland Frog.

The Magickal menagerie 41 Fuath(Gaelic, “Hatred”; also Arrachd or Fuath-Arrached)—Shapeshifting water-monsters in the folklore of the Scottish Highlands. Dwelling in rivers, lochs, and the open ocean, they have webbed feet, yellow hair, a tail, no nose, and dress in green. There are several subspecies: Beithiris a monstrous serpent that haunts the corries and mountains of Glen Coe. The Brollachan is a shapeless entity said to be responsible for many weird or inexplicable occurrences. The Fachen (or Fachan,Fachin) is a horrible, birdlike monster with a single eye in the middle of its forehead, a mangled arm jutting out from its chest, and a single leg growing at an awkward angle. It is covered in feathers, with a tuft of them like a co*ck’s comb on its head. Roaming desolate back roads in search of human prey, whom it mutilates before killing, it ruffles up its feathers like a turkey before leaping upon its victim. The Peallaidh (“Shaggy One”) inhabits the upland rivers and forests of Perthshire, Scotland. A lowland variety is called the Shellycoat. Fuath has become a generic term for any nature spirit, but particularly the evil kind. See Urisk, Vough. Fur-Bearing Trout—A species of trout said to be living in lakes and rivers of the northern United States and Canada, where the water is so cold that they have evolved a pelt of fur to keep from freezing. Stuffed and mounted specimens of these fantastical fish have been popular tourist items since at least the 1930s, and can still be found in museums of curiosities. In reality, the “cotton mold” Saprolegnia does sometimes infect fish, causing fuzzy white growths to appear on the skin. A severe infection will kill the host, and, as the fungus continues to grow afterward, dead fish covered in this “fur” can occasionally be found washed up. Gaasyendietha—A fire-spitting cosmic dragon in Seneca Indian folklore of the northeastern United States. It dwells in lakes and rivers, but flies through the night sky as a blazing meteor. See Jurik. Gaffs—In the jargon of carnival and circus freak shows, gaffs are fabricated “creatures” created by skilled taxidermists and exhibited in presentations designed to lure gullible paying customers in to see them. Modern examples include Mermaids, Jackalopes, Wolpertingers, Chupacabras, Furbearing Trout, and Bigfoots. The foremost modern creator of sideshow gaffs is Doug Higley, whose exhibits of realistic oddities are usually aptly titled, “What is it?” See Jenny Hanivers. Gagana—A miraculous bird of Russian folklore, with copper claws and an iron beak. Often invoked in spells and incantations, it is said to live on the wondrous otherworldly Booyan Island, which is located in the Eastern Ocean near Paradise. Gainjin—The first animals in the mythology of the Papuans of Keraki, they descended to Earth from the heavens to help in the creation. Only two remained after it was finished: Bugalthe snake, and Warger the crocodile. Gamayun—Another miraculous prophetic bird of Russian folklore inhabiting the magical Booyan Island, along with other fabulous creatures and holy men with healing powers. This one has a human head. Gandharvas (Pali, Gandhabbas)—A kind of shaggy, Centaur-like creature of India, they have the bodies of horses, but with human heads atop equine necks. They drive the Horses of the Sun. Entertainers of the gods and keepers of the heavenly beverage, soma, they are famed for their lovely music, and they also teach the medical arts to humanity. They dwell in fabulous, mirage-like palaces, and may be found in forests, mountains, or clouds. The word Centaur may derive from Gandharva. Gansas—A swan-like bird with only one web-footed leg, which has one talon. They migrate annually to the moon. Garafena—A magickal snake of Russian folklore, it lies upon a golden artifact on the fabled Booyan Island and is invoked in spells against snake bites. Gargouille—A legendary great Dragon that lived in the marshes of the Seine River and ravaged the countryside around the town of Rouen in France. It was particularly noted for causing waterspouts, and upsetting boats to drown and devour boaters and fishermen. The monster was slain in the 7th century by St. Romain, then Bishop of Rouen. He tied two criminals to stakes to bait the Dragon, and when it appeared, he transfixed it with his crucifix, tied his bishop’s stole around its neck, and led it docilely into Rouen, where it was killed by the townsfolk. From that time on, all monstrous building decorations, antefixes, and waterspouts have been called Gargoyles. See Tarasque. G is for Gryphon, an eagle before Leonine hindquarters even the score. Vigilant guardian, strong in attack – Many’s the thief who’s turned into a snack.

42 A Wizard’s Bestiary Gargoyle—Grotesque carvings of humanoid and animal monsters often found on the eaves of Gothic buildings and churches throughout Europe. Originally designed as ornamental water spouts to direct rainwater clear of a wall, in medieval times they acquired religious significance as protectors of humans and averters of evil. Garm (or Garmr)—The blood-spattered, four-eyed Hellhound that guards the gates to Niflheim—land of the dead and the dread domain of the goddess Hel in Norse mythology. From his post in the cave of Gripa, he allows no one to leave. Garm has been compared to the Greek Cerberus, as both are ferocious dogs that guard the entrance to the Underworld in their respective mythologies. See Sharama, Xolotl. Garuda (or Taraswin, “Swift One”)—A gigantic, manlike bird of Hindu mythology that is the celestial mount of the god Vishnu. It has the body, wings, talons, and head of an eagle-vulture (lammergeier), but with a human face and limbs. Its colors are gold, scarlet, and green. It is the sworn enemy of the snakelike Nagas. Emblemizing royalty throughout Southeast Asia, it is also the symbol of the Indonesian Garuda Airlines. In Thailand it is called Galon or Khrut. Gatorman—Reports of these bizarre, human-reptile hybrid creatures lurking in the Florida Everglades and other large swamps in the American Southeast date back to the mid-1700s. They are said to be about 5 feet long, with a child-sized head and body, four stubby, gator-like legs with webbed feet, and a long, muscular tail. They are covered with greenish scales, and have a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. Alleged photos are obviously Gaffs. In the summer of 1973, a similar gator-humanoid hybrid was sighted by numerous witnesses in New Jersey’s Newton-Lafayette area. And in 1977, New York State Conservation Naturalist Alfred Hulstruck reported that the state’s southern region was inhabited by “a scaled, manlike creature [which] appears at dusk from the red, algae-ridden waters to forage among the fern and moss covered uplands.” See Intulo, Lizard Men, New Jersey Gatorman, Mill Lake Monster. Gengen Wer—In the Egyptian creation myth, she is the cosmic goose that lays the egg from which all living things are hatched. Geraher—A seabird mentioned in medieval bestiaries, she lays enormous eggs, which causes her great agony, then hides them at the bottom of the sea to protect them from predators. When the eggs hatch, she leads her chicks to the shore to feed. See Alkonost, Halcyon. Gçush Urvan (or Gosh, Gôshûurûn, Gôshûurvan)— A vast cosmic cow in Persian mythology, she contained the seeds of all plants and animals. For 3,000 years she grazed upon the barren Earth until she was killed by Mithra. From her body emerged a pair of cattle plus 282 pairs of other animals, and from her legs arose 65 species of vegetation. One version of the myth has her as a bull. See Hadhayôsh. Ghul (pl. Ghilan)— Shapeshifting creatures of Arabic lore that haunt lonely places, where they lure travelers away from their companions to devour them. They can be killed with a single blow, but if a second blow is struck, they come back to life. No doubt this is the origin of Ghoul, the graveyard-haunting corpse eater of Western lore. Giant Ants—Described as “larger than a fox and smaller than a dog,” these animals live in the deserts of India, where they dig up gold that men tried to steal. Sir John Mandeville, a fictional English knight who left England around 1322 and journeyed throughout the Middle East, identified their homeland as the island of Taprobana (Ceylon). He said the ants separate the gold from the dirt as they excavate their burrows. In the heat of summer, the aggressive ants stay in their holes during the day, and men come on camels or horses and take the gold. In other seasons, men send in horses carrying empty baskets. The ants, who cannot abide anything empty, fill the containers with gold, and then the horses are recalled. These creatures have been identified as Red Marmots (Marmota caudata), large rodents living in colonial burrows like those of prairie dogs. Marmotmeans “mountain ant,” and to this day, people living above the Indus River collect gold dust from their burrows. Giant Monkeys—Reports of these from around the globe probably involve several species. They range from 4 to 6 feet tall, with barrel chests, thick arms, powerful legs, and bushy tails. Smaller ones are said to resemble kangaroos. They have fierce-looking, baboon-like faces and pointy ears. Their fur may be short to shaggy, and varies from red to black. Their three-toed tracks are 12 to 15 inches long, with

The Magickal menagerie 43 the larger ones being thinner. American versions are often called “Devil Monkeys,” or, more recently, Napes (an acronym for “North American apes”). Chimpanzeelike primates reported from the forests and swamplands of the southeastern and midwestern United States, these appear to be smaller than and distinct from the large bipedal hairy hominids, such as Bigfoot. A famous example is the 5-foot-tall, grayish El Campo Ape Man, encountered in 2004 by residents of El Campo in Matagorda County, Texas. A large, apelike creature sighted in the area around Clanton, Alabama, in the fall of 1960 was called Booger. It made cries “like a woman screaming,” and left big footprints in the sand along a creek. The Fouke Monster, a large, hairy “man-ape” reportedly stalking the backwoods and creeks of Miller County in Arkansas, has been known to attack and kill animals. One three-toed footprint measured 13.5 inches long. See DeLoys Ape, Memegwicio. Giant Salamander—Huge amphibians, 5 to 9 feet long, sighted in several lakes and rivers of California’s Trinity Alps since the 1920s. The largest known salamander in North America is the Pacific Giant Salamander (Dicamptodon tenebrosus), but it never grows more than a foot long. However, the Japanese Giant Salamander (Andrias japonicus) (shown), the largest known in the world, reaches 6 feet in length and lives more than 80 years! Giant Sloth of Patagonia—Huge, red-haired creatures roaming the forests of Patagonia in South America have been reported since the 1890s. Cryptozoologists believe they could be Mylodons(shown), giant ground sloths with thick, orange fur thought to be extinct for 10,000 years. They weighed 450 pounds and stood 10 feet tall, using their sturdy tails to balance themselves upright. Patagonian Indians tell of hunting the Iemisc or Mapinguari, a terrifying creature that lived in the mountains. This animal was the size of an ox, with short legs. It had reddish fur, a soul-wrenching scream, and a horrible stench. It was nocturnal and slept during the day in burrows. The Indians found it difficult to penetrate the animal’s hide with their arrows. A small section of apparently fresh Mylodon hide was found by a rancher named Eberhardt in a Patagonian cave in 1895. Nearby human remains suggested that it had been hunted by people. The skin was studded with bony nodules and would have been impervious to the teeth of Pleistocene predators as well as Indian arrows. See Mapinguari. Gigelorum (or Giol-Daoram)— Found in Scotland, this smallest of all creatures nests in a mite’s ear and cannot be seen by the naked eye. Gillman of Thetis Lake—A man-sized, gilled, amphibious humanoid said to inhabit Thetis Lake on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. It emerged from the lake on August 19, 1972, and attacked two boys. Nearly 5 feet tall and weighing about 120 pounds, it was covered in silvery-grey scales and had webbed hands and feet with sharp protrusions with which it slashed one of the boys. A few days later two other young men encountered the same creature, which they described as having a monstrous face with dark, bulbous eyes, a fish-like mouth, huge ears, and six sharp projections on its head connected by a thin membrane. It reminds one very much of the 1954 movie, The Creature from the Black Lagoon. See Green-Clawed Beast, Lizard Men, Pugwis. Girtablili (or Girtablulu)— Scorpion men and women of Babylonian mythology who guard the pass into the Mashu Mountains where the sun rises. They were depicted with a human upper body, arms, and head, but with the lower body, legs, and tail of a scorpion. The males have a snakeheaded penis. They are mentioned in the Epic of Gilgamesh, and images of them appear on Babylonian and Assyrian seals and talismans against psychic attack. Glashtyn—A Manx version of the Water-Horse, or Phooka. Like them, it may appear as a handsome young man, but his horse ears are a dead giveaway. See Aughisky. Globsters (or Blobs)—Moundlike, amorphous carcasses that have washed up on ocean beaches of Bermuda, New Zealand, and Tasmania. Roughly cylindrical in shape with a flattened underside, they have varied in size from 8 to 30 feet long. Virtually unidentifiable masses of fibrous collagen, they have no internal skeleton—neither of bone nor cartilage—and their rubbery skin is as tough as a car tire and covered in thin hair. Some appear to have gill-like slits, small mouths, and long fleshy lobes or tentacles along the sides, but no eyes have been reported. Although considered by many to be storm-ravaged carcasses of the (as yet unconfirmed) Octopus giganteus, it has recently been determined that they are the boneless remains of Sperm Whales (Physeter macrocephalus), consisting of the huge “melon” and strips of blubber from between the ribs. See Lusca, Tumu-Ra’i-Fuena. Glyryvilu (or Guirivulu; also Vulpangue, “Fox-Serpent”)—A freshwater Lake Monster dwelling in Chile’s Andean Mountains. In some districts it is described as

44 A Wizard’s Bestiary a fox-headed snake or a puma with the head of a fox. Its long tail terminates in a vicious claw, with which it seizes its victims. As it swallows them whole, its mouth and belly extend like those of a snake. Elsewhere, it is said to be a gigantic fish or Dragon. And yet another version says it is flat and disc-shaped, similar to a ray, but with tentacles like those of an octopus and eyes around its perimeter. A marine animal that fits the latter description very well is the Japanese Pancake Devilfish (Opisthoteuthis depressa) (shown). SeeAhuizhotl, Cuero, Devil-Fish,Freshwater Octopus, Iémisch, Manta. Goatman—A malevolent, goat-human hybrid creature reported around the United States. Some witnesses say it is a man with a goat’s head, whereas others say it looks more like a Satyr, and yet other reports combine the two. Its reported height varies from 6 to 12 feet. It has attacked pets and even cars—sometimes with an ax. See Devil Monkeys. Goayr Heddagh—In Manx folklore, a luminous spectral goat that haunts lonely roads and menaces nocturnal travelers in the same fashion as a typical BritishBlack Dog. See Shuck Dog. Godzilla (Japanese, Gojira, “Gorilla Whale”)—Popularized in about 30 Japanese films since his first appearance in 1954, this colossal, dinosaur-like reptile has become part of our world cultural mythology. Towering 500 feet tall and spewing atomic fire, this radioactive monstrosity is said to have been created by nuclear bomb testing in the Pacific, either releasing some prehistoric beast from eons of entombment beneath the sea, or mutating an island lizard such as the Galapagos Marine Iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus). The films invariably feature Godzilla demolishing the city of Tokyo, though in a 1998 American version by TriStar Pictures, he attacks New York City. As a symbol of thermonuclear destruction, Godzilla has become a kind of anti-hero figure, even saving the Earth from alien invaders. Gollinkambi (or Vithafnir)—A great golden rooster that perches on the highest branch of the Norse World Tree, Yggdrasil, and watches for signs of the coming Ragnorak, the Doom of the Gods. Gorgoniy—A mythical beast of Russian folklore that protects Paradise against mortals who would invade it. Grant—From the folklore of the British Isles, this spectral colt with glowing, red eyes always walks on its hind legs. First mentioned in 1212 by Gervase of Tilbury, its appearance at the edge of a town sets the dogs to barking, warning the townsfolk of an immanent fire. See Brag, Phooka. Great Norway Serpent—An enormous Sea Serpent reported dwelling in the North Sea. Black and scaly, with a long mane of hair, it is said to be 200 feet long and 20 feet thick. It inhabits coastal caves, and on summer nights it emerges onto the land to feast on livestock. See Cìrein Cròin, Havhest, Sjøorm. Green-Clawed Beast—While swimming in the Ohio River near Evansville, Indiana, on August 21, 1955, Mrs. Darwin Johnson was suddenly clutched around the knee by a large, claw-like hand. Kicking free of the unseen attacker, which kept trying to drag her under, she eventually made it to shore. She was treated for multiple contusions on her leg, which bore a green, hand-shaped stain that remained for several days. See Creature from the Black Lagoon, Gillman of Thetis Lake, Lizard Men, Pugwis. Grendel—A monster from the 8th-century Anglo-Saxon epic, Beowulf. The name derives from an ancient word grindill, meaning “to bellow,” and Middle English grindel, meaning “angry,” and suggesting a loud, deep-throated growl. Grendel’s physical appearance is never described, and most illustrators interpret him as an Ogre. Originally, however, a Grendel was a type of serpentine monster, or Worm. Depending on its habitation, it was referred to as a Grendel-pond, a Grendel-pit, or a Grendel-wood. Beowulf’s Grendel was called a Grendel-mere because it lives in a large, brackish pond full of coarse ferns. In the epic, Denmark’s King Hrothgar builds a mead-hall near Grendel’s lair. Hating the sounds of raucous merry-making, Grendel creeps into the hall while all are sleeping and kills 30 men, dragging their bodies into the swamp to be devoured. After several nights of this, the court abandons the hall. 12 years later, the 21-year-old Geat hero Beowulf sails to Denmark and offers to destroy the monster. He and his men stay in the mead-hall, and when Grendel appears, Beowulf cuts off one of its arms, mortally wounding the beast. Unfortunately, the next night, Grendel’s mother, whose existence had been unsuspected, returns to avenge her son. Beowulf tracks her back to the swamp to slay her in a bloody underwater battle.

The Magickal menagerie 45 Gryphon (or Griffin, “to seize”; also Gryph, Gryphus, Epimacus; and Gryps or Grypes, meaning “curved, having a hooked beak”)—A popular heraldic creature with the posterior and tail of a lion, and the head, wings, and claws of a mighty eagle. It also has prominent ears, like those of a horned owl. It is depicted in the paintings and sculptures of the ancient Babylonians, Assyrians, and Persians. Gryphons were said to take gold from the stream Arimaspias, which the oneeyed people of the region tried to steal. In actuality, the Gryphon is the Vulture-Eagle (Gypaetus barbatus aureus) or lämmergeier, meaning “lamb-stealer.” The bird is sometimes called a “lion eagle” or a “bearded vulture” because of the “mane” of long ragged feathers around the its head. The largest and most powerful of all raptors, with a 10-foot wingspan, it is the eagle of Zeus. Despite its name, the Griffin Vulture (Gryps fulvus) is a different bird. A Japanese version of the Gryphon is called a Kirni. See Heliodromos, Keythong. Grylio—An evil, Salamanderlike reptile described in medieval bestiaries. It climbs into fruit trees and poisons the ripe fruit. Not only does the fruit become deadly, but also any water into which it falls. The name has been given to the Pig Frog (Ranna grylio). But it should be noted that many newts secrete potent toxins through their skin as a defense against predators. The Rough-Skinned Newt (Taricha granulosa) of the Pacific Northwest produces more than enough tetrodotoxin to kill an adult human foolish enough to swallow the animal or drink water in which it has lain. In order to take effect, the toxins must enter the body by being ingested or entering a break in the skin. See Basilisk. Gryllus(“Grunting Pig”)—A bizarre monster of Greco-Roman myth, originally depicted as having a porcine face in its belly and human-like legs. It came to refer to any creature with its head placed directly upon its legs. The name has been given to the family of insects popularly called crickets, as well as to cricket frogs. Guardian of the Fishes—A giant, fish-like Estonian watermonster that can also walk on land. Its most notable feature is a sawtoothed ridge running the length of its back, suggesting that it is most likely a Russian Sturgeon (Acipenser), which is known to reach at least 27 feet. See Baikal Lake Monster, Mother of the Fishes, Whitey. Gugalana (orGudanna)—Anu’s monstrous Bull of Heaven from the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh, his poisonous breath can kill 200 warriors. Gugalana is the first husband of the Goddess of the Underworld, Ereshkigal. Gilgamesh and Enkidu fight and butcher him, but in retaliation, Anu causes Enkidu to sicken and die. This is a reference to the constellation Taurus, and the precession of the Equinoxes. Guiafairo—A great, grey flying creature reported from West Africa, where it hides in caves and hollow trees during the day, emerging only at night. It has clawed feet and a human-like head. Cryptozoologists speculate that it may be an unknown species of giant bat, or the Hammerhead Fruit Bat (Hypsignathus monstrosus). Hammerheads are the largest African bats, and are dark gray with black wings spanning 3 feet. See Ahool, Alan, Hsigo, Olitiau, Orang-Bati, Ropen, Sassabonsum. Guita (“Kicking Mule”)—A Spanish Dragonslain long ago, whose great green effigy is now paraded in the festivals of Corpus Christi in Catalona as a talisman against evil. It has a black face with rolling eyes and huge fangs in an open red mouth, from which fireworks issue to simulate its fiery breath. See Tarasque. Guivre—A vicious French monster with the body of a snake and the horned head of a Dragon. Said to inhabit forests, pools, and swamps, it is depicted in French heraldry. See Kelpie. Gui Xian (or Xuánwu)—The great Black Tortoise of Chinese mythology, sometimes called the Black Warrior of the North. Representing the North and the season of winter, it is one of the four Ssu Ling, or “Spiritual Creatures,” that stand at the four corners of the Earth. The others are the Lung Wang (Dragon) in the East; the Fêng Huang (Phoenix) in the South; and the Ki-Lin(Unicorn) in the West. The Black Tortoise is usually depicted as both a tortoise and a snake, with the snake coiling around the tortoise. Gulon (or Jerff) This disgusting beast from Scandinavian legend was described by Aldrovanus and Gesner as a cross between a lion and a hyena, with sharp claws and the tail of a fox. It is often used as a symbol of gluttony, as it is said to squeeze itself between two trees in order to vomit or defecate what it has eaten to make room for more. In Germany this animal was known as the Vielfras, and was compared to both the weasel and

46 A Wizard’s Bestiary the Wolverine (Gulo gulo), which bears its name. It entered American lumberjack lore as a Fearsome Critter called the Gumberoo. Gurangatch—An immense lizard-fish from the Dreamtime lore of the Aborigines of New South Wales, Australia. This water-monster can tunnel through solid rock from pool to pool, causing rivers to overflow their banks. Gwenhidwy (or Gwenhudwy)—A Welsh Mermaid, said to be a shepherdess of the waves, of which every ninth one is a ram. The sight of her brings good fortune. See Havfine. Habéby (or Fotsiaondré, “white sheep”)—A sheepsized nocturnal beast said to inhabit the Isalo range of Madagascar. It has cloven hooves, a long muzzle, long furry ears, large staring eyes, and a white coat with buff or black spots. Habergeiss—A three-legged Alpine bird of Austrian folklore whose nocturnal moaning and screaming presages an impending death. It is represented at the annual Perchtenlauf festival each January 5 as a goat-like hobby horse with snapping jaws. Hadhayôsh (or Hadhayâoshi, Sarsaok)—In the Zoroastrian mythology of ancient Persia, a mighty ox that carried the first humans over the primordial ocean. At the time of the Frashkart—the ending of all things—its fat will be used to create an elixir of immortality, called haoma, for the resurrection of the righteous. It is equated with the Behemoth of Hebrew legend. See Gçush Urvan. Haetae—A leonine creature of stone. It feeds on fire and therefore guards against it and all other forms of disruptive or violent change. It can challenge time itself, bite the sun or moon, and create an eclipse. The Haetae also symbolizes water and justice. Statues of Haetae were installed at the gate outside the Kyongbok Palace in South Korea to protect the royal line and the nation. Hafgygr (“Half-Woman”)—A female water-monster of Norse myth, she dwells in stagnant pools and murky swamps. See Grendel’s Mother. Hai Ho Shang (also Sea Bonze or Sea Priest)—A great, belligerent sea monster of Chinese folklore, with the body of a fish and the head of a Buddhist monk. It is fiercely territorial, very aggressive, and fully capable of capsizing a seagoing junk, drowning all aboard. Medieval European writers translated its name as “Sea Buddhist Priest,” equating it with the Monk-fish. This creature is evidently based upon the Angel Shark (Squatina), (shown), also called the monk-fish. See Merfolk. Haietlik (or Heitlik, “Lighting Serpent”)—A giant water-monster in the legends of the Clayoqut and Nootka Indians of Canada’s Pacific coast. It has a serpentine body like an elongated alligator, with a huge, horse-like head. It inhabits lakes and inland waterways and aids hunters and fishermen. Carrying a Haietlik skin was considered essential for whalers. The earliest recorded sighting was in 1791. See Haikur, Horse Heads, Lake Monsters, Sea Serpents, Water-Horse. Haiit—An arboreal beast recorded in 16th-century European writings, and said to dwell in central Africa. It has a large furry body, a very small tail, threetoed feet with long claws, and a face similar to that of a human. Most likely this was a Common Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes). Hai Riyo (or Tobi Tatsu, Schachi Hoko)—A fabulous Japanese flying creature with the feathered wings and lower body of a bird and the head of a Dragon. They are related to the P’eng-Niao of China, and are similar to the Amphiteres of Europe and the plumed serpents of the Americas. See Quetzalcoatl, Ying Lung. Hai-Uri—A one-legged, one-armed, one-sided monster in the folklore of the Khoikhoi natives of Africa. Nearly invisible, it relentlessly pursues human prey by hopping over all obstacles with remarkable speed and agility. Hakenmann(“Hook Man”)—A vicious, predatory sea monster in the coastal folklore of northern Germany. Similar to other Merfolk, it has a humanoid torso and head with the lower body of a gigantic fish. See Halfway People, Havfrue and Havmand. H is for Hippocampus, an ocean Creature half-horse, halffish, grace in motion Pulling Poseidon’s chariot, swimming Swift under water, under stars dimming.

The Magickal menagerie 47 Hakulaq—A huge female sea-monster in the folklore of the coastal Tsimshian Indians of America’s Pacific Northwest. She uses her child as bait, so that when humans try to rescue the baby from the water, she follows and swamps their boats with stormy waves. This is reminiscent of the Stellar’s Sea Cow (Hydrodamalis gigas), exterminated by whalers in 1768. Halata—”A sea beast that does unnatural deeds, for when she feels her young move, or stir in her body, than she pulls them out and looks at them. If she sees that they are still too young, she puts them in again and lets them grow until they are bigger” (Physiologus). Halcyon (also Alcyone or Altion)—A Mediterranean seabird that is said to lay its eggs on the beach sand in midwinter, at the highest tide and amid the fiercest storms. Thereupon, the weather immediately calms for seven “brooding days” up to the chicks’ hatching on Winter Solstice, followed by seven “feeding days.” These 14 days of midwinter calm are therefore called by sailors “Halcyon days.” The sacred day of the Halcyon is December 15, beginning the Halcyon Days festival, a time of tranquility. This bird is equated with the Belted Kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon) (shown). See Alkonost, Geraher. Halfway People—Giant Merfolk in the folklore of the Micmac Indians of eastern Canada, their upper bodies are humanoid, whereas their lower parts are those of huge fish. They sing to warn people of approaching storms, but if shown disrespect, they invoke terrible tempests and turbulence. These may have been based on Walruses (Odobenus rosmarus) or the extinct Stellar’s Sea Cow (Hydrodamalis gigas). See Hakenman, Havfrue and Havmand, Margygr. Halulu—Man-eating birds of Hawaii whose feathers are composed of water from the sun. They can assume human form. Hanuman—The popular monkeygod of India, the son of the monkey nymph Anjana and fathered by Vayu, the wind god. Yellow in color with an endless tail, he is a god of speed and strength and patron of athletes and warriors. In the Hindu epic, the Ramayana, Hanuman helps Rama (an avatar of Vishnu) rescue his wife, Sita, when she is abducted by the demon king Ravana. The Hanuman Langur (Semnopithecus entellus) is named for him, and considered his avatar. These sacred monkeys are allowed to roam freely in Hindu temples. See Sampati, Sinhika. Harpies (Greek, Harpyiai, “snatchers” or “swift robbers”; also Arepyiai, “slicer” or “tearer”)— Foul and hideous sisters with the gnarled faces and withered breasts of old hags, and the wings, bodies, and clawed feet of vultures. Their names are: Aello (“rain-squall”), Celaeno (“storm-dark”), Okypete (“swift-flying”), and Podarge (“swift-foot”). Originally personifications of the storm winds, hurricanes, and whirlwinds, they are also known as the “Hounds of Zeus.” They can fly as fast as lightning, and their task is to carry souls of the dead to Hades. Everything they touch becomes contaminated with an awful stench. They fear only the sound of a brass instrument. Jason and the Argonauts vanguished them on the Quest of the Golden Fleece. Havfine (“Sea-Woman”)—Norwegian Mermaids with a fish’s tail and a woman’s torso. They are wave-herders; when the storm waves are driven like fleecy sheep upon the shore, any sailors still at sea are in danger of shipwreck. See Gwenhidwy, Merfolk, Havfrue and Havmand. Havfrue and Havmand (or Hav-strambe in Greenland; also Auvekoejak)—Merfolk of Danish folklore, a female is called Havfrue or Havfinë (“sea-woman”), and a male is Havmand or Havman (“sea-man”). They have blue skin and green or black hair, and tend to be very unpredictable— one moment kind, the next vicious. It is considered very unlucky to see one. They can live in either salt or fresh water. The “Little Mermaid” of the Hans Christian Anderson story was a Havfrue. See Margygr, Sea Trow, Dinny-marra and Ben-varrey. Havhest(“Sea-Horse”)—A giganticSea Serpent of Scandinavian folklore, with a horse-like head. It has glittering yellow eyes, a long mane down its back, and front flippers like those of a seal. Its tail is two-lobed like that of a fish, and its double row of fangs may grow to 6 feet long. On top of all this, it breathes fire! It is a sinker of ships, but has only been seen a few times since the 19th century. See Great Norway Serpent. Heavenly co*ck (or Bird of Dawn)—A goldenplumed, three-legged Chinese rooster that crows three times a day—at dawn, noon, and sunset. From his perch in the vast fu-sang tree, the first crowing stirs the heavens and awakens all creatures. The eggs he lays produce red-combed chicks from which all the roosters of Earth are descended.

48 A Wizard’s Bestiary Hedammu—A vast, all-devouring Sea Serpent in the mythology of the Hurrians of ancient Mesopotamia. See Musmahhu. Heliodromos—A fusion of Gryphon and vulture in medieval European lore and heraldry. It is known today as the Griffin Vulture (Gryps fulvus). Hellhounds—A particularly demonic aspect of the traditional British Black Dogs, they are believed to hunt and drive lost or damned souls into Hell, Annwfn, or the Underworld. Their master is the Lord of Death. See Cerberus,Cwn Annwfn, Coinn Iotair, Gabriel Hounds, Garm,Ki Du. Hercynian Stag—A mighty stag built like an ox, with a single, branching palmate horn growing from the center of its forehead—sort of a Unicorn moose. This may represent a remnant memory of the extinct Pleistocene Irish elk, Megaloceras (“great horn”), or an interpretation of its fossil remains. See Sadhuzag. Herren-Surge—A seven-headed serpent of Basque legend. Although wingless, it can fly. It lives underground and devours unattended livestock. SeeApocalyptic Beast, Balaur, Chudo-Yudo, Hydra, Ihuaivulu, Illuyankas, Kaliya, Kraken, Leviathan, Ladon, Lotan, Musmahhu, Naga Pahoda, Orochi, Scylla, Thu’ban. Hibagon—A foul-smelling hairy hominid sighted in Hiwa, Japan, in 1972. Resembling a gorilla, it is about 5 feet tall, with a bristle-covered face, glaring eyes, and a snub nose. Hibagon footprints can be 10 inches long and 6 inches wide. See Almas,Barmanu, Bigfoot, Skunk Ape, Yeti, Stinking Ones. Hînqûmemen (“Engulfer”)—A unique kind of Lake Monster, this is an actual living body of water in the folklore of the Coer d’Alene Indians of British Columbia. If anyone takes water from the lake, the rest of the water will come after them as a flood and drown them. Hippalectryon—The fabulous co*ck Horse in Greek mythology, it had the foreparts of a horse and the wings and tail feathers of a rooster. Later, the Hippalectryon became a sort of comic symbol for ridiculous pomposity, especially of military leaders with plumes in their helmets. Hippocampus (Greek, hippos, “horse,” and kampos, “sea monster”; also Hydrippus, “Water Horse”)—An aquatic monster or sea horse in classical Greco-Roman mythology, it has the head and forelegs of a horse with the body and tail of a fanciful fish. Its equine forefeet terminate in finlike flippers rather than hooves. It is the mount of Poseidon or Neptune, King of the Sea, and a team of them draw his chariot. The scientific name Hippocampus has been given to the peculiar little fish we call the seahorse, of which the largest species is only 14 inches long. See Kelpie, Horse-Heads, Sea Horse, Water-Horse. Hippocentaur (“Horse-Centaur”)—This is the full name of the Centaur, which has a horse body and four legs, with a human torso growing from the equine shoulders. Other “Centaurs” might have the body of a bull (Bucentaur), an ass (Onocentaur), or even a fish (Ichthyocentaur). The original version of the generic Centaur had a full human figure (including regular human legs) with the addition of a horse’s hindquarters. Hippocerf (Greek, Hippocervus, “Horse-Deer”)—A creature of European heraldry that is deer-like in the front, and equine in the back. Because of its opposing elements, it symbolizes indecision. This animal may have been the Pleistocene Irish Elk (Megaloceros), presumed extinct for more than 10,000 years. See Hercynian Stag, Sadhuzag, Sianach. Hippogriff (Greek, Hippogryph, “Horse-Gryphon”)—Similar to a Gryphon, having the head, wings, breast, and claws of an eagle, but with the hind parts of a horse instead of a lion. Living far beyond the seas in the Rhiphaean Mountains, the Hippogriff is the result of the impossible breeding of a mare with a male Gryphon (whose favorite food was horseflesh). A large and powerful beast that can fly faster than lightning, it appears in Ludovicio Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso (1516) as a mount for the Wizard Atlantes. Hirguan—A large, shaggy manape in the folklore of La Gomera in the Canary Islands. SeeBigfoot. Hiyakudori—A two-headed bird in Japanese myth. Resembling the Bird of Paradise, it symbolizes the union of two famous lovers. Hoga (or Andura)—A huge, fishlike Lake Monster reportedly dwelling in the Mexican lake of Themistitan. It

The Magickal menagerie 49 has a head and ears like a pig’s, with very thick whiskers or long barbels around its mouth, and great fangs or tusks. It can change color to be red, yellow, or green. This is most likely the Caribbean Manatee (Trichechus manatus).In addition to the overhanging leaves of the hoga tree that it browses at the lakeshore, it is believed to also consume fish and any animals that get too close to the water. The South American version, called Andura, is probably the Amazon Manatee (Trichechus inunguis), but it may be the Amazon River Dolphin (Inia geoffrensis), or bouto. See Ambize,Igpupiara, Sea Hog. Ho-Oo—This is the Japanese Phoenix, the Ho being the male and the Oo being the female. It comes to Earth to do good deeds for people, and its appearance heralds the dawn of a new era. The bird then ascends back to heaven to await the next cycle. Much like the Chinese Phoenix, the Feng-Huang, the Ho-Oo has been adopted as a symbol of the royal family, particularly the Empress. It represents the sun, justice, fidelity, and obedience. Hoop Snake—A venomous snake of American folklore, said to grasp its tail in its jaws and roll along the ground, like a wheel, in pursuit of prey. At the last moment it straightens out, skewering the victim with its pointy tail. This reminds one of the Ouroboros, or the Amphisbaena. Some cryptozoologists believe this is a distorted description of the Sidewinder Rattlesnake (Crotalus cerastes) of the southwestern deserts. The Mud Snake (Farancia abacura) is popularly called the Hoop Snake or “stinging snake” for the sharply pointed tail with which it prods its prey. Horned Alligator— A Lake Monster in the folklore of the Kiowa Indians of America’s southern plains. Described as a great, gator-like beast, it has two horns on its head which are considered powerful medicine for healing as well as poisoning. See Horned Serpents. Horned Serpents (or Great Serpents)—Enormous serpentine Dragons, usually aquatic, of Native American lore. They are extremely long with great, gaping mouths and horns atop their heads. The horns may be straight, curved, or branched. Some horned serpents have snake heads, whereas others have heads similar to a horse’s. These beasties may be benevolent or malevolent toward humans. Most are scaled like snakes, but some, such as Misikinpik, have fur. Oftentimes, eating the flesh of the horned serpent would grant one great wisdom or even turn one into a horned serpent. These creatures are prevalent throughout Native North America, often in the guise of deities or demigods. Specific names include: Doonongas (Seneca), Kichiknebik (Iroquous, Lenape and Algonquin), Kolowisi (Zuni), Misikinpik (Cree and Algonquin), Onniont (Huron), Tatosok (Abenaki), Tcinto-Sakto (Cree), Tcipitckaam (Micmac and Maliseet), To Kas (Klamath), Tzeltal (Chiapas),Kinepikwa, Kitychi-at’Husis, Mishipzhiw, Oyaleroweck and Sisiutl. See Lake Monsters. Horse-Eels (also Water-Horses or HorseHeads)—A common description of Lake Monsters throughout the world, these are immense, undulating, serpentine creatures with a head and neck similar to that of a horse, complete with “ears.” Some witnesses, however, describe these appendages as horns, so the animals may also be called Water-Bulls or Horned Serpents. Sometimes they are said to have glowing red or yellow eyes, great fangs, and the ability to breathe fire. See Haietlik, Haikur, Havhest, Kelpie. Horses of the Sun—In many ancient cultures, the sun was seen as a chariot driven by a divine charioteer, and drawn across the sky by mighty celestial horses. In Greco-Roman mythology, four great winged Pegasi pull the chariot of Helios, the sun-god. In the Vedic mythology of India, the seven dawn-red horses that pull the chariot of Suraya, the Hindu sun-god, are called the Gandarva, after a Sumerian sky-dragon. In Norse myth, two giant horses pull the chariot of Sunna, the Norse sun-maiden. In another Norse legend, the sun chariot is pulled by a celestial horse named Skinfaxi(“Shining Mane”), and the moon chariot is pulled by Hrimfaxi (“Frost-Mane”). Hounds of the Wild Hunt —These spectral dogs serve the gods of death. When storms rage over the moors, folks say that the Wild Hunt is riding out, hungering for human blood or the souls of unbaptized babes. Anyone who catches sight of these terrible hounds will sicken and die within the year. Hraesvelg (“Corpse-Eater” or Windmaker)—A vast, eagle-like bird of Norse mythology that nests upon the icy peaks of the frozen north. Her eaglets are the frigid winds blasted forth by the flapping of her mighty wings. See Bmola, Roc.