Erymanthian boar a giant boar driven into a snowdrift and trapped there by Hercules.
fachan an evil Irish spirit known for killing and mutilating travelers; it had one eye in its forehead and one hand protruding from its chest, and it was covered with feathers.
falcon-fish heraldic compound of a fish and a falcon with a hound's ears.
falin Scottish mountain demon.
faun in Greek legend, part goat, part man, similar to a nymph.
fire-drake a cave-dwelling, fire-breathing dragon who hoarded treasures of the dead.
fuath a Scottish water spirit with webbed feet and yellow hair.
Gabriel Ratchet a ghost hound heard yelping in the sky in the midst of severe storms, believed to be a portent of death.
Ganesha in Hindu culture, a creature having a human body and an elephant head.
gargouille a dragon who made waterspouts in the Seine; the inspiration for gargoyles.
gargoyle a fantastic medieval sculpture having a wide-open mouth for spouting rain- or wastewater near the roofs of buildings.
Geryon a three-headed, three-bodied man joined at the waist, shot by Hercules.
ghul an evil spirit encountered by travelers in the Arabian desert.
gigelorum a microscopic beast of Scottish folklore; it made its nest in a mite's ear.
Girtablili in the Babylonian epic of creation, a half- man, half-scorpion.
glastig in Scottish folklore, a half-woman, half-goat who wore green and was kind to the old and feeble but who liked to misdirect travelers.
gremlins rabbitlike creatures who sabotaged airplanes and pulled pranks in World War II. Were believed to live in holes around airfields.
griffin in Indian and Arabian folklore, part lion and part eagle.
grylio a medieval, salamanderlike creature said to poison apples in apple trees.
gryphon a griffin.
Harpies vulturelike birds having the head and breasts of women, from Greek legend.
hidebehind a mysterious creature known to hide behind trees and sneak up on lumberjacks in North America; they were never seen, however.
hippocampus a half-horse, half-fish with a serpent's tail; it pulled Poseidon's chariot.
hodag a horned, human-eating beast with a spiked back, said to live in the swamps of Wisconsin.
hoop snake a snake said to hold its tail in its mouth and roll about like a wheel, from American lore.
hydra a beast with seven to nine heads, one of which is immortal. If any of the heads were cut off the blood would cause a new head to grow back. Hercules killed this beast by burning the heads and burying the immortal head under a rock.
jinshin uwo the giant fish on which Japan was thought to float; the lashing of its tail was the explanation for earthquakes.
kraken a sea creature said to be a mile and a half in length in sailor lore of the 1600s and later, and probably based on the giant squid.
leprechaun an Irish fairy less than 2 feet in height, believed to haunt wine cellars and to guard huge hoards of treasure.
Leviathan the great fish of Hebrew myth.
lindorm a snakelike, heraldic dragon.
Loch Ness monster the elusive lake monster of Scotland.
Medusa the snake-headed Gorgon who turned people to stone.
minocane a heraldic beast, half-child, half-spaniel.
Minotaur a bull-headed man kept in a labyrinth and slain by Theseus.
monoceros a howling beast something like a cross between a rhino and a unicorn.
orc according to Pliny, "an enormous mass of flesh armed with teeth," based on the killer whale.
Orthos two-headed guard dog, brother to Cerberus.
padfoot a devil dog who haunted the area of Leeds, England.
Pan the Greek god of the woods and fields; a humanlike creature having the belly and legs of a goat.
Peist the Irish dragon whom St. Patrick imprisoned.
phoenix in Egyptian mythology, a brilliantly colored bird who lives more than 500 years, then consumes itself in fire and rises anew from the ashes.
puk a small, household dragon who brings treasure to its master.
roc in Arabian legend, the giant, eaglelike bird who carried off young elephants and ate them.
rumptifusel a large, vicious beast who slept wrapped around a tree and was often mistaken for a fur coat by passing lumberjacks.
safat a dragon-headed creature that flew so high in the sky it vanished from sight.
salamander a cold-bodied lizard thought by the Greeks to live in fires.
satyr fish a winged, heraldic beast with the head of a satyr and the body of a fish.
satyrs manlike creatures with legs, hindquarters, and horns of a goat; they were the attendants of Bacchus and Pan.
serra a flying sea monster with a lion's head and a fish's tail.
side Irish fairy who lived in barrows.
stringes Greek vampire who sucked the blood of sleeping victims and brought nightmares.
thunderbirds from Native American folklore, giant birds whose flapping wings were thought to be the cause of thunder.
tritons dolphin-tailed beasts with humanlike faces, the conch-blowing attendants of Neptune.
troll in Scandinavian folklore, a large, evil fairy or elf who could charm men and who was scared away by church bells. Trolls who roamed at night were turned to stone if caught in daylight. Standing stones are thought to be the petrified bodies of trolls.
were-jaguar South American version of a werewolf.
werewolf a wolf disguised as a human.
wodewoses mute, club-wielding ogres with shaggy green hair who kidnapped women and ate children in medieval times.
wyvern heraldic flying serpent with a barbed tail and legs like an eagle's.
modern religions
Buddhism
ahimsa the doctrine of nonviolence and the unwillingness to harm any living creature, including animals for food.
Amida Buddha the Buddha of "immeasurable light."
bhakti the love and devotion a follower feels for someone more spiritually advanced.
bodhi the Buddhist term for enlightenment, the spiritual awakening all Buddhists strive for.
bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism, a being or person devoted to attaining enlightenment for all living things.
bodhi-tree the fig tree under which Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment while meditating.
Dalai Lama the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism. Every new Dalai Lama is believed to be a reincarnation of the former Dalai Lama.
dharma the path to enlightenment, specifically living a life of generosity, love, and wisdom.
dukkha the Buddhist belief that everything eventually leads to suffering.
enlightenment spiritual awakening; the state of being a Buddha; supreme bliss, perfect wisdom and compassion, and profound insight into the meaning of life. Also known as nirvana or the transcendental.
five precepts a set of rules for moral behavior; in general, don't lie, steal, kill, drink or use drugs, or misconduct oneself sexually.