List of supernatural beings and description. Legends of Supernatural Beings

If in a dream you have magical abilities - the ability to fly, own magic, read minds, etc. - then, apparently, this is a dream about gaining power. Very often, in such a dream, only you will have such powers, and you will use them to achieve a certain accomplishment: escape, win a battle, or save others.

Sometimes these forces extend to others or meet with resistance from their side. In this case, the mind brings your forces in line with your needs, it gives you the opportunity, at least in a dream, to completely put your inner world in order.

Dream Interpretation - Fantastic Creatures

Have you ever watched the movie "Godzilla" before going to bed? For the most part, the fantastical creatures of our dreams are inspired by horror films. However, they are often endowed with power and destructive potential that can leave a deep imprint in our memory. In these cases, incredible creatures are the personification of unknown dangers that cause us to feel fear and confusion.

Sometimes we dream of less fantastical creatures that evoke mixed feelings in us. Such images can carry the features of close friends or favorite animals, or they can be a simple display of favorite literary or mythological characters. Such images are undoubtedly positive character.

Alkonost- a wonderful bird, a resident of Iria - a Slavic paradise. Her face is feminine, her body is birdlike, and her voice is sweet, like love itself. Hearing the singing of Alkonost with delight, he can forget everything in the world, but there is no evil from her, unlike Sirin. Alkonost carries eggs "at the edge of the sea", but does not incubate them, but plunges them into the depths of the sea. At this time, the weather is calm for 7 days.

Anchutka- a creature associated with water, a swamp, while it quickly moves and flies. In the south of Russia, the anchutka was described as a water monster living in rivers and ponds: they constantly frightened children. Anchutka was also sometimes called "fingerless" and "fingerless", which made him related to the well-known devil. Like any evil spirits, it instantly responds to the mention of its name.

Asp- a winged snake that has a bird's nose and two trunks. Wherever she gets into the habit of flying, she will devastate those places. The asp lives in the mountains and never sits on the ground: only on a stone. It cannot be killed by anything, it can only be burned.

baba yaga- a forest old woman-sorceress. She lives in the forest in a "hut on chicken legs", devours people; the fence around the hut is made of human bones, on the fence of the skull, instead of a bolt - a human leg, instead of constipation - hands, instead of a lock - a mouth with sharp teeth. Baba Yaga is trying to roast the kidnapped children in the oven. Baba Yaga has one leg - bone. She flies in a mortar, covering her trail with a broomstick. The connection with wild animals and the forest allows her image to be derived from the ancient image of the mistress of animals and the world of the dead.

Trouble- a demonic creature that wanders the white world in search of people doomed to constant misfortune and failure. “Trouble sleeps, but walks over people,” people used to say in the past. “Trouble does not walk through the forest, but through people”, “Trouble has come - open the gate!”.

Vedogon- an invisible spirit that accompanies people to death. During sleep, he comes out of a person and protects his property from thieves, and his life from enemies or other, unkind, vedogons. Between themselves, these spirits fight terribly, and if a vedogon is killed in a fight, then the man is his master, and soon he also dies.

Witches (sorceresses)- enchantresses, "indulgences", women who entered into an alliance with the devil (or other evil spirits) for the sake of gaining supernatural abilities. They could predict the future, make poisons and love potions. Witches are endowed with the ability to shapeshift, fly through the air, revive any object, and become invisible. To communicate with evil spirits, witches flew to the Sabbath riding a broomstick, a goat or a pig, into which they could turn a person.

Viy- known to us only from Gogol's story, sender of nightmares, visions and ghosts. This is a powerful old man with huge eyebrows and unusually long eyelashes that go down to the ground. His eyebrows and eyelids were so thickly overgrown that they completely obscured his vision. And therefore, in order for the viy to look at the world, several strong men are needed who could raise his eyebrows and eyelids with iron pitchforks. By the way, the word "viy" means eyelids. In the past, Viy was represented as a terrible fighter who kills people with his eyes and turns cities and villages to ashes.

Pitchfork (self-propelled)- female spirits, charming girls with flowing hair and wings, dressed in magical dresses: whoever took away their dress, they obeyed. The pitchforks could fly like birds, lived in the mountains, owned wells and lakes, and were able to "lock" the waters. Their legs are goat, horse or donkey, they cover them with white clothes. Vila are friendly to people, especially to men, they help the offended and orphans. Samovils know how to heal, they can predict death, but they themselves are not immortal. If she is angered, she can severely punish.

Vodka- an unclean force that "leads", makes you wander. Believing that a person, for the most part, does not lose his way himself, but an unclean force “leads” him, people imagined vodka in different ways: both invisible, and indefinite, and in the guise of animals, people. "Driving" by an unclean force, especially an invisible or obscure appearance - something like a clouding; a person cannot explain how he got to this or that place, he cannot break invisible circles and go out onto a straight road. The reasons for the appearance of vodka next to a person were usually considered an unkind word said after, a curse.

Volkodlak A werewolf who has the supernatural ability to transform into a wolf. Its sign is the “wolf hair” noticeable from birth on the body. The werewolf became a ghoul, so his mouth was clamped with a coin after death. In Russian literature, A.S. Pushkin was the first to use the name "ghoul" for them.

Vostrukha- the spirit that lives in the dwelling, the oldest predecessor of the brownie. He lives behind the stove and guards thieves. Vostrukhin's acute hearing nothing will be hidden, where he lives, nothing can happen, nothing will be lost in the house. Even the beauty and chastity of young girls, as an honor and property of the house, is protected by the spirit!

Ghouls (ghouls and ghouls)- evil dead, akin to vampires, in which, 40 days after death, an unclean spirit is infused. The ancient Slavs "laid trebs", that is, they made sacrifices to ghouls even before they began to worship the thunderer Perun. A ghoul becomes after death a person born from evil spirits or spoiled by it (the future ghoul can be recognized by the double rows of teeth); the deceased, over whose coffin the devil jumped; "Pawned" dead man (suicide); witch; wolflac.

Gamayun- a prophetic bird, a messenger of the Slavic gods, their herald, singing divine hymns to people and proclaiming the future to those who can hear the secret. When Gamayun flies, a deadly storm comes from sunrise. He knows everything in the world: about the origin of the earth and sky, gods and heroes, people and monsters, birds and animals.

Grandfathers (dzyads)- spirits of ancestors. Among the Eastern and Western Slavs, a special ceremony of honoring grandfathers was performed in the spring on the seventh day after Easter (semukha, spring rainbow or Easter of the dead) or in autumn (grandfathers, or big autumns in Belarus, Kostroma grandfather's week, during which the deceased parents rested). Food was offered as a sacrifice to the dead. The souls of the dead were invited to a treat in the house: “Grandfather, come before dinner!” The first spoon or the first glass was dedicated to the grandfathers: it could be poured under the table or placed outside the window through which the "smaller" grandfathers flew in, while the "larger" ones entered through the door.

Sinister- an evil spirit, a tiny creature that, furtively settled in country house behind the stove, brings all sorts of misfortunes to this house. No matter how great the wealth of the owner, it will quickly perish, and terrible poverty will take the place of contentment. A proverb has been preserved: “The villains asked to visit for three days, but you won’t survive even in three years!” Sinister has a not quite definite appearance - he speaks, but is invisible. He can turn into a dwarf, a small child or a poor old man. He likes to suddenly jump on the back, shoulders of a person, “ride” him. There can be several evil ones, sometimes up to twelve. However, with some ingenuity, they can be caught by locking them up in some kind of container, which, by the way, is used by sorcerers, "taming" them in this way.

Zmiulan- a powerful patron of black clouds, an opponent of the King of Fire and Queen Molonitsa (Perun, Mokosh), associated with images Fire Serpent and the Serpent Gorynych. It is the embodiment of cunning and evil.

Karna and Jelly- the embodiment of the executioner and grief associated with the funeral squads.

Cow Death- an evil creature that brings death to the entire peasant herd. It appears in the form of an ugly, vicious old woman, who, in addition to all her ugliness, has hands with a rake. She never comes to the village herself, but is certainly brought in or brought in by a passer-by-traveler. To protect themselves from trouble, village women perform an ancient mysterious rite of plowing the village at night. If, while plowing, some animal came across, or, God forbid, a man, they attacked him with the whole crowd, drove him and tried to kill him or drive him away. The belief said that the Cow Death itself took on the appearance of that oncoming creature.

swan maidens- creatures of special beauty, seductiveness and things of power. They perform difficult, supernatural tasks and force nature itself to obey them.

Famously. It is also sometimes called famously One-Eyed, because it blindly rushes at anyone, not making out either rich or poor, neither right nor guilty. Famously - the embodiment of promiscuity, injustice of fate, fate. Sometimes he famously bypasses a great sinner and falls upon a good, industrious person: and Vacation home he will burn down, and the car will break down, and relatives will fall ill, and he himself will not know where to go from the disease, but everything is famously sitting on his neck - and his legs dangle!

Mara- the embodiment of death, pestilence. Later, she partially lost her connection with death, but retained her character, harmful to humans, the ability to be a shapeshifter.

Marosses- evil spirits that are subordinate to Santa Claus. No wonder their names are consonant! In summer they sleep and fall to the ground in winter with the first snowflakes. Marosses run through the fields through the forests and blow into their fists, catching cold and ferocious wind with their icy breath. Their heels make the frozen ground and the trunks of frozen trees crackle, which is why people say, they say, "the frost is cracking."

Frost (Morozko)- an old man with a long gray beard, running through the fields and knocking causing terrible frosts.

Pererug- an evil spirit, like evil spirits. The nature of the quarrel is clear from his name, he strives to quarrel everyone, to bring discord into any family or company. At one time Perorug was revered as a god and sacrificed to him. And his altar was never empty, for everyone tried to appease this quarrelsome god: who wants sudden quarrels to destroy all undertakings and plans ?! At the same time, there were always not enough priests in the sanctuary of Perorug: they constantly quarreled among themselves and fought. If there was only one priest at the altar, then he constantly pinched his hand in order to anger himself as much as possible and then quarrel with himself more strongly.

Polevik (living grandfather)- the spirit that guards the grain fields. His favorite time is noon. This is a little old man with a body as black as the earth, with multi-colored eyes, hair and a beard made of ears of corn and grass. He lives in the field only in spring and summer, during germination, growth and ripening of bread. From the beginning of the harvest, a difficult time comes for him: he has to run from a sharp sickle and hide in unfinished strips. In the last sheaf - his last shelter. You can especially often meet him at the boundary (field borders). For example, it is impossible to sleep in such places: the children of field workers, mezhevichki and meadows, run around here and catch birds for their parents for lunch. If they find a sleeping person, they will fall on him and strangle him. So that the field spirits could spend the winter without need and care, the peasant, following the ancient custom, leaves a few plucked apples in the fields, and a few handfuls of threshed grain on the current, and for this he expects a good harvest next year.

Middays (rye)- field spirits. She was represented as a girl in a white dress, with long hair or a shaggy old woman who appears in the field and pursues those who work in the field. An afternoon can twist its neck, kidnap a child left in a field.

Rarog- a luminous fiery spirit associated with the worship of fire, the hearth. It was represented in the form of a bird of prey with sparkling, flaming feathers, a flame escaping from its beak, or in the form of a fiery whirlwind.

Sirin- dark bird, dark force, messenger of the sovereign underworld. From head to waist she is a woman, and then a bird. Whoever listens to her voice forgets about everything in the world and dies, and there is no strength to force them not to listen to her voice.

Goosebumps- ghostly creatures, spirits of timidity, cowardice, cowardice. It is they who lead a person to that nightmarish state when he “goosebumps” (from the word “mura”, that is, “mora”), because they are the faithful servants and maids of Morena, the ancient Slavic goddess of death.

Chur. This name is still on everyone's lips. Chur, was revered as the patron and guardian of the borders of underground possessions. At the boundaries of their plots, farmers poured mounds and installed on them a wooden image of a chur, which had the shape of a round log, a short stump as thick as a hand. On it were carved conventional signs, denoting the owners of a particular piece of land. Such stumps have retained their ancient name in the well-known words that have survived to our time: chump, chump, chock. No one dared to touch the chock on the boundary hill for fear of angering the spirit, which zealously guarded the boundaries of the possessions of different owners, restrained impudent and self-willed violators, stopped someone else's plow, and blunted the ax. Also, chur, protected a person and all his goodness from devils, therefore, in case of danger, it is still advised to remember this spirit and say: “Chur, me!”, That is, ask: “Chur, take care of me!”

Movies and series

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There are enough monsters in this series, because the main characters - Sam and Dean Winchesters (Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles) - have chosen a very dangerous "profession". They are hereditary hunters of evil spirits - the same was done by their grandfather, mother, father, who made the goal of life the massacre of the killer of his wife. One can only wonder how prolific the writers of Supernatural are. The monsters they have brought out in numerous episodes (the 12th season of the series is now being broadcast) are not only "usual" vampires or werewolves, characters of urban legends (like the Woman in White). Supernatural's scariest monsters can appear in your nightmares, haunt you in dark alleys, and (most dangerously) pretend to be your best friends. Get ready to experience a real shock, we begin!

"Supernatural": the monsters that scared us

Do not eat human flesh - you will become a wendigo

If a company of people got lost in a dense forest or crashed into the sea and was left without food, then the very last thing is to start devouring the flesh of their own kind. A person who satisfies hunger in a cannibal way can turn into a creepy wild creature that lives in underground mines or caves, a wendigo. The monster gradually loses its former appearance, grows wilder and goes hunting, tearing the victims to shreds. When the ogre is full, he will make a supply, and the unfortunate ones who fall into his clawed paws will slowly die of thirst and inflicted wounds, chained to slippery walls. The brothers hunted wendigo at the very beginning of their journey. They did not know then that the worst was yet to come.

Ghouls love carrion

Other Supernatural monsters are even more vile, as they prefer to eat carrion. But if the graveyard runs out of corpses or it is too old, the ghouls will not gnaw the bones: they will go after the living. The peculiarity of ghouls is that they have the ability to turn (outwardly) into their victim. Therefore, the Winchesters fell into the trap of the ghouls - they came to the call of their half-brother Adam, and were trapped by hungry creatures.

Genie: Not a cartoon character!

Jinn are very dangerous. They don't look like the merry fellow from the cartoon about Aladdin and, of course, do not grant wishes. But they immerse the victim in a trance and cast sweet illusions on them. It seems that this is bad? But while you are in this sleepy captivity, a real disaster can happen to your loved ones, you will lose your strength, your blood will slowly flow out. Dean and Sam experienced all the cunning of the genies - a mystical creature created a world for them in which everyone is alive - both parents and Sam's bride, both had good job, and there was no talk of any hunting. A few more such illusions - and the brothers would not have been saved.

Yellow-eyed demon Azazel

John Winchester (father of the main characters) put his life to find the culprit of the death of his beloved Mary. The demon Azazel (or "yellow-eyed demon"), once made his way into the bedroom of little Sam and dealt with his mother, burning her alive. This was part of a cunning plan to bring back Lucifer, who had been living in a hellish cell for centuries. In exactly the same way, Azazel killed Sam's girlfriend in order to guide the guy along the right path. In the end, John became the prey of the demon - he sacrificed himself to save Dean, who was on the verge of death after the accident.

King of Hell Crowley and his mother Rowena: two boots - a pair

One of Supernatural's most controversial monsters is Crowley's "King of Hell". This is an ancient demon who once promised his soul in exchange for a trifling favor. Then he was a resident of Scotland of the XVII century and was called Fergus Roderick McCloud. Later, this creature went to hell, rose to the "post" of the demon of the crossroads, was right hand Lilith (more on her later). After Lucifer's release failed, Crowley took the throne of Hell. The character is excellently played by Mark Sheppard. Now Crowley has made a truce with the brothers - their cooperation has proved mutually beneficial. All three of them (plus the angel Castiel) are obsessed with one goal - to return Lucifer who has escaped from the cage.

Maybe Fergus became a demon because his mother is to blame? She abandoned the boy as a child and joined a coven of powerful witches. However, Rowena began to share power with the sisters from the coven and harmed them. Therefore, she spent many years in exile, hiding from her own kind. When she appeared in the "arena", she tried to suck up to her abandoned son. He was well aware of the mother's deceit, but he so wanted to believe her! He was wrong, the red-haired beast Rowena (Ruth Connell) had her own plans. Although more often she becomes a puppet in the hands of Lucifer (he even killed her, but the sorceress returned from the dead thanks to a spell cast ahead of time).

Lilith: a girl in a bloody dress

And how do you like such a monster from Supernatural: he moved into the body of a little girl, tortured her family for a long time and with pleasure until he killed everyone. How wild it looked: an innocent angelic face, loose flaxen hair, a white dress stained with blood - like the little hands of a sadist.

This is another demon - Lilith, the firstborn (it was from her creation that Lucifer began his dark army). She was the main "lever" in terms of freeing her master, oh, and she ruined the lives of Sam and Dean! And she tortured and intimidated her friends with death, and pinned them to the wall, but did not kill - they were intended for another.

Temptress Ruby

But even Lilith and Crowley himself did not dream of the cunning of the demon Ruby! She almost became Sam's bodyguard, following him everywhere, protecting the guy and killing villains. She made the youngest of the Winchesters stronger, allowing him to drink her blood, and then she climbed into his bed, becoming his lover. It turned out that all this was done only to force Sam to break all the seals protecting Lucifer's cage. Ruby pretended and intrigued, seduced and endured the torture of her fellows in order to rescue her master.

Interestingly, two actresses played Ruby - Katie Cassidy, and then Genevieve Cortese. When Ruby took on the appearance of a petite brunette, Genevieve, the actress and Sam had an affair (apparently, their passionate scenes went off the set).

Now Ruby is dead, but Genevieve and Jared got married, now she has become Mrs. Padalecki and the mother of two sons.

Lucifer: God's favorite who fell out of favor

And here is Lucifer himself, about whom so much has already been said! It was he who created the demons to annoy God. Once Lucifer was an angel and God's favorite, but when the Almighty created man, his favorite was seriously jealous. God was forced to imprison Lucifer in a cage, casting him into hell. When all the seals were broken, this evil broke out and did a lot of harm to humanity. The Winchesters were able to bring the monster back, but now he is again walking free, here Lucifer's cunning, Crowley's, Dean's, Sam's mouthfulness and Cas's sacrifice played their role. I wonder what this “coalition” will do to fix things? By the way, in "Supernatural" the monster (or rather, its "human vessel") was most often portrayed by Mark Pellegrino (the uncle of the "Arrow" star Stephen Amell). Lucifer is the strongest opponent of our beloved hunters.

Hunger: an insatiable womb in the body of a vile old man

But there is another monster in "Supernatural" whose appearance causes disgust: a decrepit old man sitting in a wheelchair, making some kind of hissing and wheezing sounds. He just looks so helpless, don't believe the first impression! This is the most strange and terrible of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, His Majesty Hunger. The influence of this monster is extremely great: he was able to make even Castiel feel an unquenchable thirst for red raw meat, to say nothing of mortals! Hunger swallowed a whole bunch of demons and not only didn’t choke - he couldn’t even get enough. That's a vile womb!

The supernatural has always attracted the attention of many people of all nationalities on all continents. This inexhaustible, permanent interest invariably influenced myths, religious ideas, folklore, and even the ordinary everyday life of every nation. It is possible to study and discuss all this heritage indefinitely. In this article, we will touch on this phenomenon only from one side - from the side of the inhabitants of that which we usually call "supernatural beings". A list and description of all such creatures in full would make up a whole library, so we will limit ourselves to the most famous and popular in contemporary culture creatures.

Gnomes

The word "dwarf" in Latin means an underground inhabitant. These creatures are known in almost all regions of the earth where there is a mountainous area or desert. The traditional, familiar image of a gnome comes from German-Scandinavian folklore, but is also known among the Slavs (for example, Polish dwarves are relatives of gnomes). Their own dwarf people, living in mountain dungeons, is also found in the Urals, where they are called either a miracle, or a bunch. According to popular legends, these supernatural creatures are engaged in jewelry making, mining of all kinds of treasures and, among other things, have significant knowledge in medicine.

The nature of the gnomes

By itself, the word "dwarf", according to one version, began to be used in the 16th century by Paracelsus, the famous European doctor and occultist. He used it to designate the spirits of the earth - the elementals. The latter are supernatural beings that set in motion the world, by influencing one of the four primary elements - earth, air, fire or water. So, the spirits, called gnomes by Paracelsus, just lived in the elements of the earth. Later, this term began to denote the entire list of supernatural beings living, according to legend, underground and united by common features - appearance, craft, etc.

Goblins

Goblins are another category of supernatural neighbors of humans. In general, they can be considered as distant relatives of the dwarves. They also live underground, in mountain gorges dotted with caves. Like the dwarves in many legends, goblins do not tolerate the light of the sun. But if the gnomes are still representatives of Scandinavian and German folklore, then the goblin is a character from Romanesque culture. These supernatural creatures got their very name from the old French language.

The appearance of goblins is described in legends very differently. But the invariable feature of all of them is an incredible ugliness. Goblins are human-like, ranging in height from thirty centimeters to two meters. When necessary, they can turn into beautiful people. But they are always given away by long ears, claws on their hands and sinister animal eyes. The only exception to the rule is the English hobgoblins, who play the role of cute brownies in British folklore, which we will talk about next.

Brownies

Creatures that are known in Russia under the name of brownies are perhaps the most common character in world folklore. Of course, they are described in different ways and interacted with in different ways, but everywhere these creatures top the list of supernatural beings. IN Slavic tribes they were also called kutny gods. The brownie lives with the family in their home and monitors the economy, security and a favorable atmosphere. However, if the owners are negligent, then he can also appear as a formidable, frightening creature. There was no consensus about where this keeper of home comfort comes from. Someone believed that this was a manifestation of the first ancestor, the progenitor of the genus. Others insisted that it was a deceased family member. With the Christianization of Russia, faith in brownies did not disappear, but opinions began to prevail among the people that it was either a spirit sent by God, or, conversely, a petty demon inhabited by the devil in order to harm the inhabitants as much as possible. However, there was also a belief that unrepentant sinners become brownies, whom God sends as a punishment to serve people as spirit protectors.

Russian brownies

One way or another, the brownie was the one on whom the well-being of the family depended. Therefore, they always tried to build good relations with him. It was customary to feed the brownie, leaving for him to special place a plate of food. The grateful spirit protected the dwelling from thieves, from fire, averted troubles and misfortunes. The brownie was especially concerned about livestock, and mainly about horses. It was believed that at night he was busy in the stable, taking care that the horse did not remain hungry or unkempt. Like other supernatural beings, in Russia it was believed that the brownie could predict the future. For example, if at night you hear a roar, howling, crying and similar ominous signs, then you have to wait for trouble. If at night there is a quiet laugh, joyful exclamations and the like, then a pleasant surprise awaits the family.

In some legends, female brownies also appear. In some cases, we are even talking about entire families of brownies. However, this is much less common in folklore.

dragons

Dragons are very popular supernatural creatures with hundreds of varieties all over the world. Currently, their popularity is increasing, thanks to the mass passion for the fantasy genre in art. Legends about supernatural beings, similar in appearance to huge lizards, cutting through the air space and breathing fire, are known literally on all continents among all tribes and peoples. The storyline in them can be very different, and the cultural codes and symbols they carry are correspondingly different. In Asia, for example, dragons are the wisest creatures who descended from heaven and gave people knowledge, culture, medicine, taught them magic, agriculture and morality. In the West, on the contrary, they were chthonic monsters, carrying with them only death and destruction. IN christian times the dragon was often associated with the devil, but at the same time it was a favorite heraldic symbol. The battle with him for the sake of saving a woman or acquiring wealth is a characteristic plot for European as well as Slavic folklore.

Unicorns

Our list of supernatural creatures continues with such an interesting character as a unicorn. He is depicted, as a rule, in the form of a horse with a beautiful straight horn growing from his forehead.

The earliest images of this animal come from India, and their age is estimated at four thousand years. Gradually, from Asia, this character penetrated into ancient Greece and Rome. However, there he was considered a very real animal. Such beliefs spread among the Greeks thanks to a doctor named Ctesias, who spent many years in Persia, and upon returning to his homeland in Hellas, described in his writings massive Indian donkeys with a horn growing on their foreheads. All this took place in the 5th century and was later popularized by Aristotle. The traditional equine appearance of the unicorn today was not originally taken for granted. He was represented both with the body of a goat and a bull, and according to some descriptions, this creature looked more like a rhinoceros.

Unicorns in later legends

In late Western European myths, the unicorn appeared as a ferocious creature, a meeting with which promised death. But, being the personification of morality and holiness, this creature could only be tamed by a virgin and kept in submission only by a golden bridle. It is not surprising that with the spread of Catholicism, this animal became one of the emblems of the Virgin Mary. His enemies were elephants and lions. Belief in them was so strong in Europe and Russia that as early as the 19th century, naturalistic studies were carried out to find out whether supernatural creatures called unicorns really exist or not. Some European monarchs, including those, were proud that their wands - attributes of royal power - were made from the horn of this animal. There was even a European market for the sale and purchase of these horns, in which Russian merchants (mostly Pomors) played an important role. Today it has been established that these horns actually belonged to narwhals.

Werewolves

Werewolves are another supernatural being, the list of varieties of which exceeds all conceivable limits. But they all have common feature They have the ability to transform from humans into animals and vice versa. Most often these are wolves, but in fact there are legends in which heroes turned into birds, fish, and other animals. The difference between werewolf reincarnations and other magical transformations is that they do it either of their own free will or under certain conditions, but in any case they turn back into people. In Russian mythology, even one of the heroes named Werewolf possessed this ability, according to folk legends, and the prince. Similar plots in Indian, Scandinavian and Celtic mythologies are extremely popular. In addition, the ability for such reincarnations was almost everywhere assigned to sorcerers and witches. During the time of the Inquisition, the accusation of such an act served as a pretext for initiating an investigation into connections with the devil.

Sometimes they distinguished werewolves from birth and those who became such for some reason. That person could be born a werewolf, whose mother during pregnancy ate the meat of an animal killed by a wolf, or bore the curse of werewolf herself. And to acquire the ability to turn into animals, one could either magically, or become an apostate. It was believed that in the latter case, a person becomes a werewolf, however, after death. The latter are joined by children who died not baptized. Accordingly, some werewolves experience this ability as a curse, while others use it as a magical gift and know how to control this ability.

Ghosts and ghosts

Ghosts are, perhaps, the only supernatural beings whose list and photos can be viewed from strictly scientific positions. This phenomenon is so unprecedented that it goes beyond the boundaries of myths and legends and is part of Everyday life. And today there are a lot of people who even grew up in the conditions of an advanced civilization, but, moreover, are confident in the existence of ghosts. Furthermore, great amount eyewitnesses claims to have had or are having contact with them. We are talking not only about mediums and parapsychologists, but also about specialists who are within the framework of strict academic science. However, the number of the latter is small. But the amount of eyewitness testimony, mysterious photographs and video footage of ghosts is overwhelming.

According to the most common belief, ghosts are the souls of dead people. Why do they appear in this world and what is their nature - there is no unity of opinion. But practically no one has any doubts that the dead appear in the form of translucent silhouettes.

Mermaids

Finishing off our list of supernatural creatures are mermaids. In modern culture, this is a very ambivalent character. It must be said right away that beautiful maidens with fish tails are not mermaids, they are sea maidens. Mermaids, on the other hand, are girls of a completely human appearance, originating from Slavic legends. In pre-Christian times, they were considered the spirits of rivers, and after Christianization, the opinion spread that drowned women who committed suicide become mermaids. They are not accepted for them in the afterlife, and therefore they are forced to serve their sentence on earth, living at the bottom of the river. The only night the mermaids come ashore is at night

Conclusion

As already mentioned, the characters listed above are far from all supernatural beings. Their list can be continued up to tens and hundreds of thousands of names, if you delve into the beliefs of each people in detail. The curious will no doubt be able to do this and find much more new unknown material.

It's no secret that people are always interested in the unknown. The most mysterious creatures arouse genuine interest, and also influence legends and folklore. different countries and peoples.

In this article, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the least known creatures, however, no less scary and frightening. Whether they are mythical is up to you.

There are two alternative versions of the appearance of the wendigo.

1. Based on the first, it is believed that a brave warrior sold his soul in order to protect his tribe from an impending threat. After the tribe was saved, he went into the forest and was never seen again.
2. Another version says that the wendigo began to lose its human appearance due to the use of black magic, and was also a cannibal. In any case, in the end, this monster appeared.

Many compare it with, but outwardly it is completely different from. And the behavior of the wendigo has significant distinguishing features.

Growth exceeds the average, but you can’t call it huge. However, he is very thin. According to some descriptions, it is clear that sometimes parts of the body may be missing due to frostbite: toes, the tip of the ear or nose. The body is covered with matted hair, or may be completely bald.

Wendigo love to hunt down their prey. Overtaking a lonely traveler, they begin to frighten him by making sounds. When the person begins to look around for the source of the sound, the wendigo attacks.

It will not be possible to escape, because wendigo are very fast and hardy. As a rule, no one manages to survive after meeting with this monster.

The only way to kill this monster is to stick an iron or silver blade through the heart.

The folklore of every country is filled with stories of reborn people who have received new abilities. One of these creatures was the shtriga, or strix.

Being people from birth, they turned into because of the addiction to eat human flesh.

In the Middle Ages, shtriga belonged to witches. It is possible that they could be a kind of vampire ancient rome.

Ultimately, shtrigi are dead mythical creatures, but by using the life force of slain families, they prolong their existence.

You can only kill a monster with a red-hot iron while eating.

Draugs or Draugrs

Like shtrigi, they were originally human. But after death, they turned into the living dead.

The draugs live in a cemetery, next to the graves of the Vikings. Approaching any settlement, they sow fear and death, destroying everything in their path.

Surprisingly, draugs are mentioned in some books. For example, "The Saga of the People from the Sandy Shore" tells about Thorolf.

Being a draugr, he killed people, after which the valley was empty. Draugs are also mentioned in the Saga of the Sand Valley Men.

These monsters love to inhabit the tombs of rich people, thus protecting their property from thieves.

Draughs are strong, have pale skin, and are able to grow in size. After killing a person, the monster first drinks his blood, and then begins to eat him.

It is believed that draugs appear in the form of smoke, being released from their graves.

Icelandic legends say that the only way to kill a draugr is to cut off its head, then burn it and scatter the ashes over sea ​​water.

These mythical creatures prefer to live near the sea coasts. Freed from the graves, they are looking for victims among the sailors.

They can take on many different forms, causing people to be scared to death. For example, instead of a head, algae grow.

Nautical legends say that draugs can take the form of stone or seaweed. Before you step on something like that, you need to spit on it.

If the draug gets on the ship in the form of a stone, then the ship is doomed to death along with the entire crew. And sometimes draugs can be harbingers of death.

ghouls

The word "ghouls" comes from Arabic myths and refers to demons. They lived in cemeteries, and according to legend, they are the descendants of the Iblis.

Iblis are genies who have an analogue in Christianity - Satan. Iblis harass women, and if they succeeded, then ghouls appeared.

Iblis could wander the earth, since Allah thus tested people: whether Iblis could sow immorality and vice in their heads.

According to some reports, ghouls are those living in the desert, capable of taking the form of hyenas or other animals.

Luring the wanderers deep into the depths, the ghouls ate them. They gave preference to children, but sometimes they did not disdain the dead.

They most often take the form of werewolves, but can take the form of any creature they kill, including humans and animals.

In order to renew their appearance, they shed their old skin like snakes.

In appearance, it is impossible to distinguish whether it is a real person or a shapeshifter.

The only thing that gives them away is the glow of the eyes, which can only be seen on video frames or photographs.

Familiars. Black Dogs

Witches with black magical abilities give birth to peculiar animals - familiars.

These mythical creatures are connected to the master by demonic bonds or magic.

European witches prefer cats, weasels, toads or owls. Shamans use a totem as a familiar.

Black dogs can also be familiars of black witches.

An old English legend tells of Black Shaq, who foreshadowed death by his appearance. In 1577, A. Fleming described his appearance in the book Strange and Terrible Miracle.

The dogs appear in bright flashes of light, just as they disappear, but the place is chosen exclusively for witchcraft.

Japanese legends also mention black dogs that were sacrificed to bring rain. In Asia, the blood of black dogs was considered a powerful talisman.

Reaper

To summon this creature, you need an altar, as well as a number of magical items for the ritual: human blood and a special cross.

After the Reaper appears, he takes the life of the one who called him to restore balance.

The reaper is not a demon, it's just the appearance of death, which was called the psychopomp.

They served as a kind of guide to the afterlife. Charon in Greece, Valkyries in Norway, Anubis in Egypt, and so on. Some shamans, for example, are psychopomps themselves.

Reapers have power over time and people's minds. It can change the vision of the world, of the person himself.

The appearance of the Reaper is different for each individual case, but it is generally accepted that he appears in rags or funeral clothes.

There is speculation that Peter Pan was some kind of guide to the underworld, as the book describes how he accompanied the children on their journey after death.

Lycanthropy

In the Middle Ages, this phenomenon was associated with sorcerers who wore magical clothes or a belt.

As they are also called, they covered the body with a potion, put on a special belt and turned into a wolf with great strength and endurance. Later, the myth of the magic belt gradually disappeared.

Now it is read that werewolves can turn themselves on a full moon. It is not known how much of this is fiction, but the Roman writer left one story that told real events involving a werewolf.

In many folk stories different peoples there is an opinion that werewolves are exiles, vicious people.

In Armenian folklore, there is a mention of women who were possessed by a spirit for their sins. They could turn into wolves and were forced to kill their own children.

In North America, there is a legend about a lu-garoo who came from France. After conversion, this creature turned into a monster for 101 nights in a row, and during the day it experienced torment and suffering. Most often, they were expelled by people, which angered the lu-gara, contributing to bitterness and murder.

You can kill them with silver: a bullet or a blade. But it is possible to cure lycanthropy. If you kill the progenitor, the one who turned the werewolf, then all those infected by him will be released.

Volkolak existed in Slavic mythology. They could be of their own free will. Most often, sorcerers turned into werewolves to enhance their abilities.

An evil spirit from old Russian mythology. He was several centimeters tall, his body was covered with black hair, and his head was bald. Anchutka had no heels.

There is an opinion that it is impossible to pronounce his name aloud, otherwise Anchutka will instantly appear in front of you.

Residence, as a rule, a field, a bathhouse or a reservoir. The main condition is proximity to people, but away from other supernatural beings.

Field anchuts are the most peaceful. Bathhouses and swamps have a perky disposition, they joke evilly, endangering a person’s life.

Marsh anchutkas grab swimmers by the legs and try to drown them, while bathing anchuts scare people with strange sounds or appear in terrible images.

Anchutki can be invisible. They move quickly and are afraid of iron and salt.

Shakers and Navi

Shakers -, disease-causing. Most often mentioned in conspiracies.

Represented as 12 ugly women. They are associated with evil spirits, and when a person is sick, they appear next to him in the guise of a devil.

Navi - the spirits of death. Ancient Russian creatures that send diseases to both people and cattle. Their involvement in disasters was not ruled out.

At night they roam the dark streets, killing all travelers. The only way to escape from the Navi was not to leave the house, protecting it with amulets.

An infinite number of creatures and monsters are present in various myths and religions. Differing in appearance and abilities, they always created problems for people, and most often killed them.

Of course, the existence of each has not been proven, so believing in them or not is entirely your choice.