Obscure Mythological/Religious creatures you would like to see more in fiction.

[the December King]

My vote is for more stories like The Wendigo. I love the idea of this kind of spirit.

Could be seen as a vengeful entity of the natural world that takes vengeance too far. Or it could be a hideous amalgam of cabin fever psychosis, poltergeist phenomena, cannibalism, and a hideous transformation from man to monster.

Or the Callicantzaros, I'd be happy either way.

 

[busterkeatonrules]

Black Shuck comes to mind. ('Shuck' is simply some ancient British word for 'fur'.) A great black spectral hound said to haunt the English countryside, it usually acts as a Banshee-style death omen. It is distinguishable from mortal dogs by its unusually large size, and its orange eyes which glow like hellfire. It is often described as having only one eye, in the middle of its forehead.

I like this kind of creature because of the inherent doubt it entails. In a story setting, any protagonists would never be sure if they should be worried about old Black Shuck or not. And there's not only the veracity of the actual legend itself to consider, either. In the dead of night, not only can Black Shuck be mistaken for any old harmless object - but, by the same token, any old harmless object can just as easily be mistaken for him!

 

[Misterian]

I'd go with the Greek Goddess Nemesis.

Goddess of Vengence? check

Hates when people are arrogant? check

Considered such a badass that even Zeus is afraid of her? check

Sure she's not the most complex of deities, but I think there's a lot you can expand upon.

 

[the December King]

Another one that I would love to see in an awesome and terrifying gore-fest type horror would be the Nuckelavee [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuckelavee], a Scottish evil sea spirit.

 

[Cycloptomese]

We need more Jabberwocks, Jersey Devils, and Krampuses. Granted, one of these is a literary creation and another a folk tale, but whatever.

Having never heard of Jersey Devil, I was compelled to do some googling. Thanks a lot. This was fairly fun to research.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

Hydras. Like proper ones. The only games I can think of that has them are Dark Souls and God of War, and neither of them regenerate their heads! That's the most memorable thing about them!

Dragon's Dogma has an amazing hydra battle with regenerating heads! The hydra can even eat you and it takes a couple minutes to swallow you too.

 

[Aerosteam]

Hydras. Like proper ones. The only games I can think of that has them are Dark Souls and God of War, and neither of them regenerate their heads! That's the most memorable thing about them!

Dragon's Dogma has an amazing hydra battle with regenerating heads! The hydra can even eat you and it takes a couple minutes to swallow you too.

-Vid snip-

Mmhmm. Pretty good, pretty good. If I could be a stickler for just a sec it needs exactly seven heads to begin with and when one is cut, two grow to take its place.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

Hydras. Like proper ones. The only games I can think of that has them are Dark Souls and God of War, and neither of them regenerate their heads! That's the most memorable thing about them!

Dragon's Dogma has an amazing hydra battle with regenerating heads! The hydra can even eat you and it takes a couple minutes to swallow you too.

-Vid snip-

Mmhmm. Pretty good, pretty good. If I could be a stickler for just a sec it needs exactly seven heads to begin with and when one is cut, two grow to take its place.

Haha, I figured you'd want more heads. I don't think there's a hydra fight in any game where the hydra actually moves about like in Dragon's Dogma. The game has lots of flaws but the fights are epic as hell, the big creatures feel big and you're not going to defeat them just slashing at their chins to lower their health.

 

[Kyrian007]

My favorite tabletop rpg has some excellent "Rascals, Varmints, and Critters" (the title of the Deadlands version of the Monstrous Compendium.)

Spoiler: los Diablos

A rattlesnake/buffalo that stalks players who survive several dangerous encounters.

Spoiler: Wendigo

The Deadlands Wendigo

Spoiler: Mojave Rattler

the fearsome Mojave Rattler.

And the even more fearsome...

Spoiler: be warned

Jackalope

 

[Fieldy409_v1legacy]

Actual jewish mythology style angels. Not winged beautiful people but theres some freaky ass angels in the old stuff, trippy like one angel being just a ball of eyes...

 

[Thaluikhain]

Actual jewish mythology style angels. Not winged beautiful people but theres some freaky ass angels in the old stuff, trippy like one angel being just a ball of eyes...

A giant spinning wheel made of light and eyeballs. A lion a goat and a human head surrounded by wings. Old angels were hardcore as shit.

I don't blame angels for starting every sentence with "don't be afraid"

I like the ones that were colour coded and had more wings the more important they were. Easy to tell the hierarchy at sight.

 

[Igor-Rowan]

I want more chimeras, I know the usual ones we see is body of a lion with wings, etc. But the concept of chimeras is enough to make an entire game around it. To show f*cked up they can get with parts of animals we rarely see, especially some Australian and Brazilian ones.

There are also selkies, but the only reason I know about them is Song of the Sea and the new Pok?mon starter, fairly recent stuff, but still, a lot of untapped potential.

Spoiler: selkie

 

[Rahkshi500]

How about more Fair Folk? The way fairies and such were portrayed in the old days, mischievous at best, demented at worst. They can come in all shapes and sizes, and can fit a lot of different kinds of games. RPGs, action, horror, you name it.

 

[Thaluikhain]

How about more Fair Folk? The way fairies and such were portrayed in the old days, mischievous at best, demented at worst. They can come in all shapes and sizes, and can fit a lot of different kinds of games. RPGs, action, horror, you name it.

I believe they've recently become a lot more popular, though how accurately they are portrayed is another thing.

 

[Rahkshi500]

I believe they've recently become a lot more popular, though how accurately they are portrayed is another thing.

In a way, kinda, but it still depends on which particular Fae you're using or just making up your own brand. I haven't seen any yet that deals with likes of the Sidhe or the Red Caps.

 

[RaikuFA]

I want more chimeras, I know the usual ones we see is body of a lion with wings, etc. But the concept of chimeras is enough to make an entire game around it. To show f*cked up they can get with parts of animals we rarely see, especially some Australian and Brazilian ones.

There are also selkies, but the only reason I know about them is Song of the Sea and the new Pok?mon starter, fairly recent stuff, but still, a lot of untapped potential.

Spoiler: selkie

Hunter X Hunter had Chimera Ants. Ants who'd be a mix of whatever the queen ate.
http://hunterxhunter.wikia.com/wiki/Chimera_Ants

 

[iwinatlife]

My vote is for more stories like The Wendigo. I love the idea of this kind of spirit.

Could be seen as a vengeful entity of the natural world that takes vengeance too far. Or it could be a hideous amalgam of cabin fever psychosis, poltergeist phenomena, cannibalism, and a hideous transformation from man to monster.

Or the Callicantzaros, I'd be happy either way.

You might enjoy Until Dawn...just throwing that out there

 

[the December King]

My vote is for more stories like The Wendigo. I love the idea of this kind of spirit.

Could be seen as a vengeful entity of the natural world that takes vengeance too far. Or it could be a hideous amalgam of cabin fever psychosis, poltergeist phenomena, cannibalism, and a hideous transformation from man to monster.

Or the Callicantzaros, I'd be happy either way.

You might enjoy Until Dawn...just throwing that out there

Thanks, I'll have a look.

 

[Ayame Murasaki]

I've always liked nagas, myself. I don't mean D&D style nagas, which are just big crabby snakes with human heads, and I don't mean yuan-ti, either (more D&D monsters, the purebloods basically look like humans while the abominations look like scaly snake-headed dudes with snake tails). I mean upper half of a person, lower half of a snake nagas. Think Miia from Monster Musume without the scales on her cheeks or the pointy ears. (Before anyone jumps on me about the fact that Miia is a lamia, not a naga, I'm pretty sure that lamias are just an all-female race of nagas...happy now?)