The Mythical Spirits of Venezuela

The Mythical Spirits of Venezuela

In How to Write a Unique Spooky Story, I wrote about how to write a unique spooky story by either creating your own monster, creature, or horror yourself or by finding a monster that is not well known. I advised finding a monster by researching myths and legends in other cultures to find something that has a rich history surrounding it, but that is not considered modern. One of the countries that have some unique myths is Venezuela. Venezuela is officially known as the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and it is located in South America; it is mostly known for its high level of biodiversity.
El Silbon
El Silbon was once a spoiled child who killed his own father in order to eat his entrails, but was caught by his grandfather who whipped the boy. The grandfather then gave the boy his father’s bones in a sack, banished him from his home, set his dogs on him, and then cursed him. When the dogs caught up to the boy, they killed him, and the grandfather’s curse took hold, turning the boy into El Silbon. El Silbon takes the appearance of a ghostly man, over six feet tall, who is very skinny, and he carries a large sack on his back. El Silbon can be recognized by his eerie whistling which causes humans to feel intense fear and dread. At night, El Silbon sneaks into houses where he will count his father’s bones all night long. If the family living in the house hears El Silbon, then they will have good luck for a year; however, if no one hears El Silbon then at least one member of the household will die before morning.
La Sayona
La Sayona was once a very pretty young woman called Melissa who was married and had a young son. Melissa would swim naked in a river near her village every day, and one day a man came across and was hypnotized by her beauty. For weeks he would come to the river to watch her swim, until one day Melissa caught him and told him to leave her alone. The man told Melissa that he was there to warn her that her husband was sleeping with Melissa's mother. In anger Melissa killed her husband and her son, and then set out to kill her mother. As her mother was dying, she laid a curse on Melissa that she would have to avenge all women for all of time who had unfaithful husbands. When Melissa’s mother took her last breath, Melissa was transformed into the ghostly figure that became known as La Sayona. La Sayona is a mostly transparent ghost that can take the form of any woman to lure unfaithful husbands to come near. Once the unfaithful are within her grasp, La Sayona kills them and devours their life energy.   
La Llorana
La Llorana was once a young woman called Maria who drowned her two children to get revenge on her husband, who left her for a younger woman. However, she quickly fell into a deep despair when she realized that she had not just punished her husband, but also killed her own children. In her despair, she killed herself in the same river as she drowned her children. She then rose as a spirit known as La Llorana, who searches without rest for her children to beg their forgiveness. La Llorana will often drown any child that resembles her own dead children in the hope that their lives could be exchanged for those of her own children. She often asks for forgiveness from these children before she drowns them.

Written by Readers’ Favorite Reviewer Sefina Hawke                   

Monsters of Poland

Monsters of Poland

In How to Write a Unique Spooky Story, I wrote about how to write a unique spooky story by either creating your own monster, creature, or horror yourself or by finding a monster that is not well known. I advised finding a monster by researching myths and legends in other cultures to find something that has a rich history surrounding it, but that is not considered modern. One of the countries that have some unique myths is Poland.
Baba Yaga
Baba Yaga is an old witch that lives in Poland. She has gone by many different names over the centuries such as Jedza, Wiedzma, and Czarownica. It is believed that Baba Yaga lives in a hut that is held up by dead birds' feet, with a fence made of human skulls and bones, and the very walls of the hut are made out of human organs and skin. Baba Yaga is a witch that is both destructive and nurturing in that she is a cannibal that feasts upon the flesh of children, yet she is also known for reuniting lovers. She can take the form of a bird, fish, or reptile at will, yet in those forms she is known for nurturing life and not taking it. She can also alter her human form from that of a young maiden princess to that of an old crone.
Topielec
Topielec, also known as Vodník and Utopiec, are spirits of the water that were once humans who died violent deaths caused by drowning. After losing their human life due to a watery death, the spirit rises as a Topielec. Once risen, a Topielec immediately begins to hunt for humans who wander into the water that once stole the spirit’s human life away. Those humans that wander into the domain of a Topielec find themselves dragged and held underwater until they breathe their last breath. Topielecs are believed to feed off the misery and fear of the humans they drown; if there are not enough humans close to the Topielecs’ domain, they have been known to drown animals.
Leśny Dziadek
Leśny Dziadek loosely translates to forest gramps; these creatures appear like harmless, elderly human males. Yet, they have a sinister appetite for human flesh and organs. The Leśny Dziadek uses its harmless appearance to lure its victims with pleas for assistance. When its victim comes to help, the Leśny Dziadek strikes. Leśny Dziadek drags its victims back to its cave where it strips the victim of as much meat, skin, and organs as possible before the victim dies. The Leśny Dziadek has a particular taste for flesh and meat that is harvested while its victim still breathes.
Cmentar
Cmentar is a somewhat harmless monster known for living in cemeteries and feeding off the corpses of the dead. The Cmentar waits until midnight and then digs up the bodies of the freshly dead, which it then harvests for meat, flesh, and organs before putting the skeleton back into the grave and restoring the grave to its original appearance. The meat, flesh, and organs are then either eaten or preserved so that the Cmentar has a food supply, even if a new body does not come into the cemetery for a while. The Cmentar does not hunt humans for food nor does it wish them any harm unless it is attacked by them.

Written by Readers’ Favorite Reviewer Sefina Hawke                   

Mythical Creatures of New Zealand

Mythical Creatures of New Zealand

In How to Write a Unique Spooky Story, I wrote about how to write a unique spooky story by either creating your own monster, creature, or horror yourself or by finding a monster that is not well known. I advised finding a monster by researching myths and legends in other cultures to find something that has a rich history surrounding it, but that is not considered modern. One of the countries that have some unique myths is New Zealand.
Nuku-mai-tore
The Nuku-mai-tore are creatures that appear as humans with short limbs, and sit on the branches of the tallest trees, just like a bird. These Nuku-mai-tore will only eat raw food and have a terrible fear of fire. The Nuku-mai-tore only give birth through Caesarean section performed by other Nuku-mai-tore, and the birth always kills the mother as the newborn Nuku-mai-tore takes the life energy of its birth mother. The Nuku-mai-tore generally ignore humans unless they attempt to chop down the tree that the Nuku-mai-tore call home; those that attempt this have been known to go missing.
Kahui-Tipua
The Kahui-Tipua are ogres that are believed to have been the very first inhabitants of New Zealand’s South Island. The Kahui-Tipua could shape shift into any form they desired at will and were best known for hunting with giant two headed dogs. The Kahui-Tipua had to move often as their hunger and thirst would cause them to leave their environment quickly barren of both prey and water. The Kahui-Tipua were believed to have been hunted to extinction after one of them took a human woman as a captive pet. When the woman managed to escape, she rallied her people to trap the Kahui-Tipua inside the cave that was their home and set it on fire.
Porotai
The Porotai are creatures that are made up of an equal measure of both flesh and stone and are invisible to humans. It is often believed that people who trip over “nothing” are in fact tripping over a Porotai. The Porotai are believed to be mostly reclusive creatures who occasionally come out of their seclusion to cause a bit of mischief to humans they dislike.
Maero
Maero are creatures that appear mostly human with knife like fingernails, long thin fingers, and with long, messy black hair. These Maero live in the forests of New Zealand and are known for their extreme strength and for being cannibals. Maero lie in wait in the forests they call home for unwary humans to wander into the forests, where the Maero hunt, and kill them using only stone clubs and their sharp fingernails.
Manaia
Manaia are believed to be creatures with the body of a human male and the head of a bird. The Manaia are messengers that can carry messages between living humans and the spirits of their friends, family, and ancestors. The Manaia have also become known as a protective spirit as they have the ability to fight off nefarious spirits who try to stop them from delivering their messages.

Written by Readers’ Favorite Reviewer Sefina Hawke                   

Mythical Creatures of New Zealand

Mythical Creatures of New Zealand

In How to Write a Unique Spooky Story, I wrote about how to write a unique spooky story by either creating your own monster, creature, or horror yourself or by finding a monster that is not well known. I advised finding a monster by researching myths and legends in other cultures to find something that has a rich history surrounding it, but that is not considered modern. One of the countries that have some unique myths is New Zealand.
Nuku-mai-tore
The Nuku-mai-tore are creatures that appear as humans with short limbs, and sit on the branches of the tallest trees, just like a bird. These Nuku-mai-tore will only eat raw food and have a terrible fear of fire. The Nuku-mai-tore only give birth through Caesarean section performed by other Nuku-mai-tore, and the birth always kills the mother as the newborn Nuku-mai-tore takes the life energy of its birth mother. The Nuku-mai-tore generally ignore humans unless they attempt to chop down the tree that the Nuku-mai-tore call home; those that attempt this have been known to go missing.
Kahui-Tipua
The Kahui-Tipua are ogres that are believed to have been the very first inhabitants of New Zealand’s South Island. The Kahui-Tipua could shape shift into any form they desired at will and were best known for hunting with giant two headed dogs. The Kahui-Tipua had to move often as their hunger and thirst would cause them to leave their environment quickly barren of both prey and water. The Kahui-Tipua were believed to have been hunted to extinction after one of them took a human woman as a captive pet. When the woman managed to escape, she rallied her people to trap the Kahui-Tipua inside the cave that was their home and set it on fire.
Porotai
The Porotai are creatures that are made up of an equal measure of both flesh and stone and are invisible to humans. It is often believed that people who trip over “nothing” are in fact tripping over a Porotai. The Porotai are believed to be mostly reclusive creatures who occasionally come out of their seclusion to cause a bit of mischief to humans they dislike.
Maero
Maero are creatures that appear mostly human with knife like fingernails, long thin fingers, and with long, messy black hair. These Maero live in the forests of New Zealand and are known for their extreme strength and for being cannibals. Maero lie in wait in the forests they call home for unwary humans to wander into the forests, where the Maero hunt, and kill them using only stone clubs and their sharp fingernails.
Manaia
Manaia are believed to be creatures with the body of a human male and the head of a bird. The Manaia are messengers that can carry messages between living humans and the spirits of their friends, family, and ancestors. The Manaia have also become known as a protective spirit as they have the ability to fight off nefarious spirits who try to stop them from delivering their messages.

Written by Readers’ Favorite Reviewer Sefina Hawke                   

Monsters from Mesopotamian Myths

Monsters from Mesopotamian Myths

In How to Write a Unique Spooky Story, I wrote about how to write a unique spooky story by either creating your own monster, creature, or horror yourself or by finding a monster that is not well known. I advised finding a monster by researching myths and legends in other cultures to find something that has a rich history surrounding it, but that is not considered modern. Mesopotamian mythology has a rich diversity of monster myths and legends.
 Asag
Asag was a demon so monstrous that his very presence was enough to cause large bodies of water to boil to the point that the fish in the water would be cooked alive. Asag was often accompanied by his offspring, which were rock demons born of his unions with the mountains of the Earth. Asag was known for his warring nature and his cruelty that he inflicted on those he went to war against.
Kulullu
Kulullu loosely translates to Fish-Man. Kulullu had the form of a human male, except for the fact that his lower body was that of a fish. Kulullu’s presence was believed to provide prosperity and good luck to those to whom he revealed himself. Yet, Kulullu was not an entirely benevolent figure as he could just as quickly cause bad luck to fall upon those who disrespected him and the creatures of the water.  
Basmu
Basmu, also known as Bašmu or Bashmu, translates loosely into venomous snake. The Basmu had the appearance of a giant snake with horns atop its head, two giant legs, and a pair of wings. The Basmu was believed to be almost invincible in that a single drop of its venom would guarantee the death of the one it came into contact with.
Asakku
Asakku were evil spirits that often clashed with good spirits known as the Utukku. Unlike the Utukku who protected humans, the Asakku were spirits that set out to kill humans by making them develop a head fever that would usually claim the life of the human afflicted with it. The only time that the Asakku would not claim human lives is when one of the Utukku would interfere and best the Asakku in a battle for the human’s life.
Urmahlullu
The Urmahlullu was a creature similar to the centaur, except for the fact that it was not a combination of a human and a horse, but instead the combination of a lion and a human. The Urmahlullu were known for having their top half appear human and their lower half to be that of a lion. The Urmahlullu were predators and hunters, capable of taking down almost any prey with human intelligence and lion instinct.
Girtablilu
The Girtablilu were creatures that had the top half of a human and the bottom half of a scorpion, making them a sort of scorpion-centaur creature. The Girtablilu were known for their ability to strike quickly and with deadly precision. Their scorpion tail made them almost impossible to kill as one sting from their tail would leave their victim in paralyzed agony until the victim died.

Written by Readers’ Favorite Reviewer Sefina Hawke                   

Three Most Fearsome Mythical Creatures of Brazil

Three Most Fearsome Mythical Creatures of Brazil

In How to Write a Unique Spooky Story, I wrote about how to write a unique spooky story by either creating your own monster, creature, or horror yourself or by finding a monster that is not well known. I advised finding a monster by researching myths and legends in other cultures to find something that has a rich history surrounding it, but that is not considered modern. One of the countries that have some unique myths is Brazil. Brazil is officially known as the Federative Republic of Brazil and it is the largest country in Latin America and South America.
Cabeça Satânica/Cabeça Errante
The Cabeça Satânica, also known as Cabeça Errante, translates to 'wandering devil’s head.' This creature is, in fact, a disembodied demon head that is often thrown by evil demons at humans in order for the demon to get enjoyment out of the human’s descent into madness and insanity. Most people go insane from the mere sight of the Cabeça Satânica/Cabeça Errante. For those with a strong constitution who manage to maintain their sanity, the Cabeça Satânica/Cabeça Errante will bounce up and down until it touches the person, as one touch is all it takes to kill a person.
Caboclo D’água
The Caboclo D’água is a monster with green skin, two legs, one eye, and razor sharp teeth that makes its home in the Rio São Francisco River and can transform into any creature that lives in its river with a single thought. The Caboclo D’água despises those that try to enter its river and will often act to either scare or kill the fishermen who not only enter its river, but wish to take from the river’s bounty. Caboclo D’água is known for scaring fish away from the fishermen, flipping their boats, and running their boats aground. The only known way to survive Caboclo D’água once the monster has spotted a fisherman is to placate the monster by throwing tobacco into the water, which will distract Caboclo D’água long enough for the fisherman to escape.
Mapinguari
Mapinguari translates to 'roaring animal and fetid beast,' and this creature is very similar to the legends of Bigfoot. Mapinguari has the legs of a grizzly bear, the face of a monkey, the fur of a musk ox, a second mouth on its stomach, and a skin thick enough to stop bullets. Mapinguari is seen as either a protector or a monster, depending if the person encountering the creature is trying to take more from the forests of Brazil than they need. The Mapinguari is believed to protect the forests from hunters and individuals that wish to strip away the resources of the forest for selfish gain; however it will allow people to take from the forest as long as the person only takes what he or she needs and no more than that. The Mapinguari will first play tricks on those that are greedy by making them get lost and causing them to experience feelings of confusion; only those that ignore these warnings have found themselves truly harmed or killed by the Mapinguari.

Written by Readers’ Favorite Reviewer Sefina Hawke                   

Austrian Monster Myths

Austrian Monster Myths

In How to Write a Unique Spooky Story, I wrote about how to write a unique spooky story by either creating your own monster, creature, or horror yourself or by finding a monster that is not well known. I advised finding a monster by researching myths and legends in other cultures to find something that has a rich history surrounding it, but that is not considered modern. One of the countries with some unique myths is Austria. Austria is located in Central Europe, and is filled with mountain villages, alpine terrain, and Imperial history.
Habergeiß
Habergeiß translates to buck goat and the creature itself is a combination of a bird and a goat. Some legends portray Habergeiß as a creature that can shift its physical form from goat to bird at will; others see Habergeiß as a three-legged bird with a goat’s face, and a few myths believe that Habergeiß is the result of the mating of a bird and a goat that left Habergeiß with an equal blend of bird and goat features. Habergeiß is a creature that was born when the ancient people of Austria were in danger from a famine as their harvest was poor. Habergeiß became the spirit of corn and its job was to see that the harvest was protected so that the people of Austria would not starve. While Habergeiß is mostly a benign creature, it has been known to turn violent against any person or group that seeks to harm the harvest.
Krampus
Krampus is believed to be a demonic beast that punishes naughty children during the holiday season. Krampus has thick brown-black hair that covers his whole body, the hooves of a horse, the horns of a goat, and a long pointed tongue that rolls out of his mouth to his chest. Krampus stalks the streets at night with rusty chains draped over his shoulder, a large black sack in his hand, and large bells that, when rung, make all those that hear them feel deep despair. Krampus is known for punishing children that are naughty during the holiday season, though the punishment is almost always more extreme than the naughtiness committed by the child. Those children that Krampus deems the worst of the worst are kidnapped from their beds and thrown into his sack; all that is known is that once the children enter the sack, Krampus takes them back to his lair and the children are never seen or heard from again. Some believe that Krampus eats the children while others believe that the children are forced to work for Krampus and they are the ones that identify the naughty children for Krampus to kidnap and punish.
Frau Perchta
Frau Perchta is the descendent of the Alpine goddess of nature and is a witch known for punishing and rewarding people from December 25th through January 6th. For those who commit crimes during the holidays, Frau Perchta’s favorite punishment is to replace the criminal’s organs with garbage and to laugh as they slowly die.

Written by Readers’ Favorite Reviewer Sefina Hawke