Paranormal and fantastic fiction has long been a home for the mythical creatures in folklore across different cultures.
Although the mythical beings in European legends hog all the headlines, there are several other exciting, chilling creatures from myths elsewhere.
While ours isn’t an exhaustive list, it comprises some of the most popular mythical creatures from Africa to Asia, Europe, Oceania, and the Americas.
Here are some mythical creatures from Africa that carry a cultural weight that deserves to be spotlighted:
From the rainforests of Central Africa, particularly the Congo, comes the Abada, a two-horned creature that sounds like a unicorn… but isn’t.
According to legend, the Abada’s horns possess powerful anti-poison properties. Some stories say the horns could purify water or detect toxins in food. That made them highly prized, not just by tribal hunters but also by colonial treasure seekers.
Naturally, that made the Abada a target, and its existence more mythical over time.
You’ll want to keep the lights on for this one. The Adze hails from Ewe folklore in Ghana and Togo, and it’s pure nightmare fuel. It’s a vampiric spirit that often takes the form of a firefly.
Once inside your home (which it enters through cracks or keyholes), it transforms into a humanoid figure and feeds, usually by draining the life force or blood of its victims while they sleep. It’s especially feared for targeting children. Worse still, it can possess humans and cause madness, misfortune, or even death.
In many ways, the Adze can be interpreted to be a cultural response to unexplained illness, mental disturbances, and nocturnal death. And with its vampiric roots, it deserves to be just as iconic as Dracula. Only this time, garlic might not save you.
Living in the canopy of Ghana’s Ashanti forests is a creature straight out of a horror movie: the Asanbosam. This beast hangs from tree branches using iron hooks for feet and drops down on unsuspecting victims who wander too close.
Its favorite hangouts are deep, dark forests and crossroads, where it’s said to feed on human flesh and soul essence, making it one of the deadliest spirits in West African folklore.
From the Zanzibar archipelago off the coast of Tanzania comes the Popobawa, a bat-winged entity that inspires mass hysteria.
Described as a shapeshifting demon that often takes the form of a huge, humanoid bat, the Popobawa attacks victims at night, often while they sleep, and is associated with sleep paralysis, physical assaults, and psychological torment.
But here’s the most unsettling part: it doesn’t just torment people—it demands you talk about it. Silence gives it power. If you’re attacked and don’t warn others, you might get a second visit.
From the Angolan and broader Central African region comes the Kishi, a creature that’s as seductive as it is sinister. Picture this: a man with two faces, one human, smooth-talking and charming, the other a snarling hyena hidden at the back of his head. I
The human face lures women in with its beauty and wit. But once the poor soul is drawn close enough, the hyena head emerges, often to devour them.
In North and Northeast African mythology, the Bouda is a terrifying shapeshifter, that turns into a hyena, typically at night. The legend has strong roots in Ethiopian, Sudanese, and Moroccan cultures, where Bouda are feared as witches or blacksmiths with cursed abilities.
In fiction, Bouda stories are rarely seen in mainstream media, but elements of the myth have bled into African horror cinema and are echoed in werehyena creatures in games like World of Darkness and The Witcher 3. In American Gods by Neil Gaiman, Mr. Nancy makes a subtle reference to similar African trickster spirits.
Straight from the heart of Northern Nigeria and the Hausa-speaking regions comes the Bultungin, which roughly translates to “I became a hyena.” That alone should tell you everything.
The Bultungin are humans who can transform into hyenas at will, and in some stories, entire villages are said to be made up of these shapeshifters.
Unlike werewolves, Bultungin don’t need the full moon or some dramatic curse. The transformation is more secretive—more tribal. Some legends even claim that people were initiated into hyena-hood through rituals, becoming night-stalking hunters with supernatural senses.
The Qori Ismaris is a mythical creature from Hausa legend, particularly around Nigeria and Niger. Though it doesn’t often feature in modern media, this creature occupies a fascinating niche in West African myth: part spirit, part shapeshifter, and entirely feared.
Descriptions of the Qori Ismaris vary, but most portray it as a being that can shift between human and animal forms, sometimes a hybrid of both. It has connections to forest spirits, jinn, or even djinn-like creatures in Islamic-influenced Hausa folklore, suggesting it’s not just a beast but a spiritual entity.
The Iwin are mysterious spirit creatures from Yoruba mythology. They dwell deep within the forests, especially sacred groves, and are rarely seen by humans. But when they are, it’s a moment you won’t soon forget.
Descriptions vary, but many portray the Iwin as small, beautiful beings, neither fully human nor beast, with a glowing aura or shimmering skin.
In Yoruba mythology, the forest is both wilderness and spiritual realm. And the Iwin are its guardians. They’re not malevolent by nature, but they are tricksters.
If you hear crying in the forest at night in southwestern Nigeria, turn around. Now! The Egbere is a forest spirit in Yoruba folklore, and while it might look like a small, harmless child, it is anything but.
Usually described as short, hairy, and humanoid, the Egbere is most recognizable by one eerie feature: it’s always carrying a small mat and weeping constantly. That mat isn’t just a random accessory.
According to legend, anyone who steals the Egbere’s mat will gain immense wealth. But good luck trying, because taking it means you’ve made yourself an enemy for life.
The Egbere doesn’t forgive. It’ll haunt you, torment you, follow you home, and make you wish you’d stayed broke. The weeping is a psychological weapon that breaks your defenses and dares you to act on your greed.
To speak of Oro is to speak carefully. Or not at all. In Yoruba cosmology, Oro is not a creature, but a deity, a force, a phenomenon. But within folkloric retellings, Oro can appear or manifest as a roaming, invisible spirit, summoned through ritual and heard as an eerie, whirring voice in the wind.
When Oro is loosed upon a town, everyone hides indoors. Especially women. Especially children. Traditionally, Oro is invoked by men during funeral rites or purification ceremonies, often tied to justice, secrets, and ancestral power.
It’s not often dramatized in film or books because of cultural taboos around its depiction, but Oro’s mythic potential is colossal.
In Yoruba, Oku simply means “the dead.” But in myth, it’s more than a term—it’s a phase, a state, a presence. Oku could be a restless ghost, an ancestor trying to return, or a spirit caught between worlds.
Depending on context, they appear as dream-visitors, shadows in familiar hallways, or even as those subtle cold shivers when no one’s around.
Oku isn’t always malevolent. Some return with messages, warnings, or blessings. But if an Oku spirit lingers too long, refusing to move on, it can become dangerous, influencing the living or haunting families with unresolved grudges.
An Akúdàáyà is a dead person who keeps living, as if nothing happened. They walk among the living, eat, sleep, and even marry. Only… they’re not supposed to exist. They’re supposed to be buried.
These beings are the Yoruba equivalent of a wraith, the undead masquerading as one of us, and have inspired stories in Yoruba theatre, Nollywood, and even modern books
In traditional tales, Akúdàáyà return to faraway towns and live new lives after dying in their own. Some don’t even realize they’re dead. Others know, and don’t care. They just want to keep being. Sometimes they disappear after being discovered. Other times… they don’t.
Unlike ordinary humans, Emere children are born with dual citizenship, with one foot in the human world, the other in the spirit realm. They’re beautiful, gifted, and often oddly mature. But don’t get too attached. Emere are known to die young, only to rejoin their spirit kin and be reborn again, sometimes over and over.
Parents fear them. Because while the child may be sweet and innocent, the Emere’s loyalty is split. They may vanish suddenly. They may fall sick inexplicably. Some legends say they even cause misfortune to their families as punishment for binding them to the human world when their true home lies elsewhere.
Spiritual remedies are often sought, including naming rituals, protective marks, and even chaining their “soul” with magical rites.
Egungun are not just spirits. They’re ancestral power made visible. In Yoruba tradition, Egungun appear during sacred masquerade ceremonies, where masked dancers channel the spirits of the dead.
Their appearance can bless a community or warn it. Their presence can be celebratory or terrifying. If you mock the Egungun, you’re mocking your ancestors. And trust me, they see everything.
Visually, they are stunning: swirling fabrics, masked faces, and a spiritual energy that pulses through the crowd. Egungun aren’t just Yoruba legends. They’re Yoruba law. Like Oro, there are cultural taboos around their depiction, as the controversies surrounding the portrayal of the Eyo (a type of Egungun peculiar to Lagos) in Prime Video’s Gangs of Lagos reveal.
Here’s a list of some of the most popular mythical creatures from various European cultures:
Dragons! The apex predator of mythology. The divine destroyer. The winged terror that haunts humanity’s oldest nightmares and dreams.
Every culture has a version of the dragon, fire-breathing or rain-giving, wisdom-keeping or gold-hoarding. From Tolkien’s Smaug to the Nāga of Southeast Asia, the Zmey Gorynych of Slavic mythology, and Quetzalcoatl of Mesoamerica, dragons have become so iconic that they’ve transcended myth and become their own fantasy sub-genre.
Tiny troublemakers with a flair for chaos, imps hail from Germanic and British folklore. They’re usually portrayed as small, devilish figures with red or dark skin, pointed ears, little horns, and barbed tails. However, imps weren’t always about laughs and minor mischief. In medieval legend, imps were believed to be familiars of witches or spirits bound by curses.
They’ve danced their way through many works of fiction, from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld, where one even runs a magical camera, to appearances in Hellboy, Charmed, and Supernatural. In World of Warcraft, they’re fire-flinging companions of warlocks.
While not as mainstream in pop culture, they’ve popped up in fantasy literature like Neil Gaiman’s work and whispered through the tunnels of Narnia in The Silver Chair.
Deep beneath the earth, in the twisting dark of old Cornish and Welsh mines, Knockers were said to dwell. They looked like small, hunched miners, with wrinkled faces, oversized heads, and tools in hand, working the rock with ghostly purpose.
Kobolds are a staple in Dungeons & Dragons, portrayed as reptilian tricksters obsessed with dragons. They’ve also appeared in games like World of Warcraft and The Elder Scrolls. Originally, though, they were more like moody house spirits than cave-dwelling lizard-thieves.
You never quite know what form a kobold might take. In German folklore, they could look like tiny goblins, cloaked house servants, or even glowing blue flames. Some took up residence in homes; others haunted mines. Wherever they appeared, mischief followed.
Originating from Norse and Scandinavian mythology, trolls are often depicted as massive, brutish beings living in mountains, caves, or forests. Some versions show them with rocky skin, long noses, and tusk-like teeth. Others are more human-like. Just… uglier and slower.
In folklore, trolls feared sunlight, as it could turn them to stone. This concept became iconic in pop culture, from Tolkien’s The Hobbit to Frozen and even Harry Potter.
Light, delicate, and often winged, sprites are usually associated with air, light, and joy. Rooted in Celtic and Western European folklore, these creatures are commonly mistaken for fairies, but while fairies can be moody or malevolent, sprites are usually pure elemental energy.
You’ll find them flitting about in The Legend of Zelda, Studio Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke, and Artemis Fowl. If pixies are pranksters, sprites are nature’s mood.
Fixies are the tiny, sprightly beings and tricksters of British folklore, often leading travelers astray with laughter and illusions. Unlike fairies, they rarely bother with nobility or wars. Pixies just want to mess with you for the vibes.
Modern media hasn’t ignored them. They show up in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (who could forget Gilderoy Lockhart’s disastrous classroom scene?), and also flit about in children’s shows, fantasy novels, and games.
Native to Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, and Belarusian folklore, the Leshy is more than a monster. He’s a force of nature who’s not necessarily on your side.
The Leshy is often described as a tall, humanoid figure with a wild, green beard made of leaves and vines, glowing eyes, and bark-like skin. In stories, the Leshy’s laughter is a bad omen. You hear it? You’re probably already lost.
While originally a neutral spirit, Christian influence in Eastern Europe morphed him into something darker and more devilish. Still, in many tales, he’s not evil. He’s just the forest. Ancient, unknowable, and proud.
The Leshy has seen a resurgence in modern fiction. He’s featured in The Witcher games and books, often as a terrifying forest boss. In Hellboy, Magic: The Gathering, and even Slavic Legends comics, he appears as both villain and misunderstood guardian.
Not all mythical beings are out for blood. Some just want your house clean and your manners intact. Enter the Domovoi, a household spirit from Slavic lore who protects the home and its family, but only if you treat him right. He’s small, often hairy, old-man-like, and lives near the hearth, under the floorboards, or in forgotten corners of the house.
Leave out food for him? He blesses your livestock. Keep the house tidy? He ensures peace. But disrespect him by swearing, fighting, or ignoring old traditions, and you’ll hear footsteps at night. Dishes will break. Things will go missing. Fires might start.
The Dullahan is the original headless horseman, a terrifying, death-dealing spirit who gallops through Irish folklore with his own head tucked under one arm, glowing like decayed flesh under the moonlight. His mount? A black horse with burning eyes, often dragging a wagon of human bones behind him.
The Dullahan doesn’t speak unless to call out a name. And when he does? That person dies instantly.
No locked door can stop him. No prayer can ward him off. He’s a harbinger, a messenger of death. His whip is made from a human spine. His presence is fear made form.
Here is a list of some of the most popular mythical creatures from various Asian cultures:
The concept of Tulpas originates from Tibetan mysticism, where advanced practitioners could supposedly create independent beings through deep meditation. Yes, literally thinking something into existence.
These days, tulpas have found a strange second life in both pop culture and internet subcultures. In the Supernatural TV series, a tulpa is a murderous entity shaped by collective belief. In fiction, they’re perfect horror fuel because they blur the line between idea and reality.
With a name that literally means “fox” in Japanese, the Kitsune is anything but simple. These are shape-shifting fox spirits in Japanese folklore, known for their beauty, intelligence, and wicked sense of humor.
You’ll find kitsune magic all over pop culture, from the seductive Ahri in League of Legends to Ninetales in Pokémon and even the nine-tailed fox that becomes Kurama in Naruto. They’ve also appeared in Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman: The Dream Hunters and several anime series.
In stories, kitsune can be both tricksters and protectors, depending on their age and alignment. Some serve Inari, the Shinto deity of rice, and become white-furred divine messengers. Others are mischievous rogues who delight in confusing mortals.
Born from the ancient epics of India (The Ramayana and The Mahabharata), Rakshasas are shape-shifting demons with a hunger for human flesh and a talent for sorcery. In their natural form, they’re fearsome: fanged, clawed, and often covered in animalistic features. But they can appear in any form they choose.
In the epics, they were the foot soldiers of Ravana, the demon king of Lanka. But the term “Rakshasa” is fluid. It can mean anything from a petty spirit to a world-ending warlord. In many tales, they live in forests, luring travelers to their doom.
Not to be confused with the anime genre, the Shōjō (written with different kanji) is a red-faced, sea-loving spirit from Japanese folklore, known for its fondness for sake. Yes, you read that right. This is a mythical creature with a drinking problem. And they’re adorably intoxicated.
They’re usually depicted as humanoid, with long red hair, a flushed face, and sometimes a barrel or gourd of rice wine clutched lovingly. Despite their drunken antics, they’re not malicious. In fact, they often bestow magical sake that heals or grants long life.
Unlike werewolves or savage forest beasts, Ōkami are spiritual guardians, noble and untouchable. In some mountain shrines, they’re even worshipped directly. People pray to them for safety, strength, and protection from disease or disaster.
These beings protect sacred spaces, ward off evil, and sometimes serve as messengers of the gods. One of the most famous representations of an Ōkami is Amaterasu, the sun goddess in wolf form from the critically acclaimed video game Ōkami. With her celestial brush and radiant fur, she’s become a modern icon of myth-inspired gaming.
Towering and terrifying, the Tikbalang is one of the most iconic mythical creatures in Philippine folklore. Imagine a lanky, humanoid figure with the head and hooves of a horse, standing tall enough to brush the clouds with its mane.
In Philippine urban legends, the Tikbalang is a prankster spirit, but older traditions depict it as a guardian of nature, especially ancient trees.
Before vampires had fangs and sparkles, India had the Vetala, an ancient undead spirit that possesses corpses, hangs upside down from trees like a bat, and loves to play mind games with the living.
Vetalas don’t drink blood. They do worse. They reanimate corpses to taunt, curse, or manipulate the living, often taking residence in graveyards or haunted forests.
You’ll find them in the Sanskrit classic Baital Pachisi, a collection of stories featuring King Vikramaditya trying to outwit a clever Vetala who won’t stop riddling and rhyming while hanging from the king’s back.
Bai Ze is a mythological beast of knowledge in ancient Chinese legend. A holy creature, resembling a horned, lion-like white ox with multiple eyes and sometimes even extra heads, Bai Ze speaks the language of the gods.
Legend says Emperor Huangdi once met Bai Ze, who gifted him a detailed list of 11,520 types of supernatural beings and how to ward off each one. This encounter gave rise to early demonology texts in Daoist tradition.
Bai Ze isn’t widely featured in modern pop culture, but it does pop up in Pokémon (Entei was partially inspired by it), Final Fantasy, and Chinese fantasy manhua.
The Gumiho is Korea’s shapeshifting fox spirit that’s dangerously seductive and often transforms into a beautiful woman to lure men before devouring their hearts or livers.
Sometimes evil, sometimes sympathetic, the Gumiho can earn humanity by abstaining from killing and doing good for a thousand days, but most tales don’t end that well.
The Penanggalan is a nightmare from Malaysian legend, a vampiric woman whose head detaches from her body, entrails dangling like grotesque tentacles, as she floats through the night in search of blood, especially from pregnant women or newborns.
She lives a normal life by day, often as a healer or midwife. But at night, she soaks her disembodied head in vinegar to keep her organs supple and slithers out into the dark.
Arashan Kert is part of the Manas Cycle, one of the world’s longest epic poems and a bedrock of Kyrgyz cultural identity. Born from sacred elements, this horse can speak, fly, predict danger, and breathe fire.
Arashan Kert is the perfect example of Central Asia’s epic, elemental storytelling, where even a horse has more personality and magic than most fantasy villains and protagonists
Here are some of the most prominent mythical creatures from the Americas, where Indigenous legends and colonial fusion myths have created some of the most intense, terrifying, and awe-inspiring beings on the planet:
Few creatures have reached modern myth status quite like the Chupacabra. Born from the feverish imagination (or terror) of rural Puerto Rico in the 1990s, the name literally means “goat-sucker” in Spanish. And yes, it lives up to the branding.
The Chupacabra has starred in everything from The X-Files to Scooby-Doo, South Park, and even Goosebumps. It’s also made appearances in games like Fallout: New Vegas and Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare.
From the Algonquian-speaking peoples of Canada and the northern U.S., the Wendigo is the embodiment of greed, cannibalism, and unnatural hunger. It was once a human, until it committed the ultimate taboo: eating flesh to survive.
Now cursed, it roams frozen wildernesses as a gaunt, skeletal creature with glowing eyes and a never-ending appetite. Some versions give it antlers, others frostbitten limbs and breath like an open grave.
You’ll find it in Pet Sematary, Supernatural, Until Dawn, and Marvel Comics.
Translated as “The Whistler,” El Silbón is one of South America’s most terrifying ghosts, and he announces himself with a whistle that gets louder the farther away he is. When it’s soft, he’s close. When it’s loud, you’re safe… for now.
According to legend, El Silbón was a spoiled young man who murdered his father and was cursed to carry his bones forever. He’s tall, skeletal, and wears a tattered hat, often roaming the countryside at night with a sack slung over his back, filled with the bones of his victims.
The tale of La Llorona, “The Weeping Woman”, is whispered from Mexico to Chile, and it never loses its edge. She’s a ghost who wanders riverbanks at night, crying for the children she drowned in a fit of madness or despair.
She appears in everything from The Curse of La Llorona (Conjuring Universe) to Coco, and even DC Comics. But no adaptation has ever fully captured the despair she drags behind her like a veil.
The Mapinguari is a cryptid-legend hybrid that’s part ground sloth, part monster, all nightmare. Towering over humans, covered in thick fur, with a second mouth on its stomach and a stench that can drop you unconscious, this creature was feared by Indigenous tribes and rubber tappers alike.
Some versions describe it as a cursed shaman who defied nature and was transformed into a beastly guardian of the forest. Others call it a surviving megafauna, an ancient creature from before humans ruled the Earth.
To the ancient peoples of Mesoamerica, the Nahual (or Nagual) wasn’t a shapeshifter and a spiritual double, an animal twin bound to your soul. In Aztec and Mayan mythology, shamans or powerful individuals could transform into their tonal, a spirit animal, often jaguar, coyote, or owl, and roam the world by night.
But over time, colonial fear of Indigenous power twisted the Nahual into something darker: a witch, demon, or sorcerer who preys on villagers, kills livestock, and practices dark magic under the full moon.
Camazotz (“Death Bat”) is a terrifying figure from ancient Maya mythology, particularly the Popol Vuh, where he’s one of the guardians of Xibalba, the underworld. He’s got a humanoid body, the wings of a bat, a face like a skull, and a taste for human flesh.
Camazotz has appeared in some modern pop culture, like Hellboy in Mexico, Smite, and Batman: Gods and Monsters, where he inspired a vampire-themed Batman variant.
These shape-shifting river dolphins from Brazilian legend transform into handsome humans at night to sneak into parties, seduce people, and then disappear back into the river by dawn.
Usually male, they wear white suits, play music, and often wear hats to hide the giveaway: a blowhole on their head. And the women they seduce often end up pregnant or mysteriously vanish into the river.
From Polynesia to Melanesia to Aboriginal Australia, the mythical beings here are closely tied to land, sea, and spirit.
In Māori mythology, Taniwha are powerful water spirits or guardians that dwell in rivers, caves, or the deep sea. They’re often described as giant, lizard-like or dragon-esque beings, sometimes serpentine, other times more like whales or sharks that are protectors of tribes (iwi), or punishers of those who desecrate sacred land.
In modern fiction, the Taniwha appears sparingly, but was referenced in The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness and even subtly in Moana.
Deep in the billabongs and swamps of Australia lives the Bunyip, a creature so mysterious that no two descriptions are alike. Sometimes it’s said to have the face of a dog, the body of a seal, and the howl of a banshee.
Other times, it’s reptilian, ape-like, or even spectral. But one thing is consistent: you do not want to meet it at night.
Colonial settlers tried to “scientify” the Bunyip in the 1800s, claiming it was a lost species. But the Aboriginal stories remain more compelling, layered with meaning, and always tinged with fear.
Mo’o are shape-shifting lizard spirits found throughout Hawaiian legend. They can appear as beautiful women, giant reptiles, or as mist along sacred trails.
Traditionally, Mo’o are guardians of freshwater sources like ponds, springs, and waterfalls, and are deeply respected. Offend one, and you risk drought, flood, or supernatural retaliation.
From the Solomon Islands comes the Adaro, a sea spirit as strange as it is menacing. Unlike most aquatic beings, Adaro aren’t fully physical.
They’re spiritual fragments that arise from a person’s shadow or soul at death. They’re described as humanoid, but with gills behind their ears, fins for limbs, and a horn or blade sticking out of their head. Also? They throw poisoned flying fish as weapons.
You read that right: flying fish. Weaponized.
The Yara-ma-yha-who is a tiny, red-skinned creature from Aboriginal folklore with a massive head, no teeth, and suckers on its fingers and toes. It lives in fig trees and drops down onto unsuspecting victims, drains their blood like a leech… and then swallows them whole.
But here’s where it gets creepier: after digesting them a bit, it spits them back out. Only now, they’re a little shorter. A little redder. A little… less themselves. Get attacked too many times, and you become one of them.
Tautaumona are the ancestral spirits of the Chamorro people of Guam and the Mariana Islands. They’re land-bound guardians of the ancient jungles, banyan trees, caves, and sacred grounds.
Some appear as towering, shadowy humanoids, while others shift form, blending into the trees or vanishing into the wind. You won’t always see them, but if you step where you shouldn’t, or disrespect their territory, you’ll feel it: sudden illness, paralysis, or a mysterious shove that sends you flying.
