John Matthews - The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures - The Ultimate A–Z of Fantastic Beings from Myth and Magic

The extreme rationality of our time has led magical creatures to the very brink of extinction, engulfed in shoals of disbelief. Whenever such terrible times come round, there is usually a corresponding defence and rallying of forces. The magical creatures that once so occupied the imaginations of adult scholars of all ages, had become merely the stuff of children’s stories, suitable for infants and fanciful people of little intelligence. Just when it seemed that all magical creatures were ‘only imagination’, the very imagination that society so spurns came to the rescue. In literature and in film, magical and fabulous creatures began to flourish and spread once more. From the monster movies of Godzilla and King Kong through to Jurassic Park, from the horror films of the Wolf Man through to the zombies of Night of the Living Dead, and the successive school terms of Hogwarts where Harry Potter and friends learn more about griffins, dragons and the practicalities of dealing with pixies, mandrakes and serpents.

Are there yet more magical creatures about whom we as yet know nothing, animals and other beings that are still about to reveal themselves? If we look at the evidences of cryptozoology websites dedicated to sightings of unknown animals, we find many new creatures everyday, such as the Moth Man, the Chupacabras(Goatsucker) and many others whom we don’t yet rightly know. Not all the magical creatures were described by Pliny the Elder or the bestiaries of the Physiologus, nor are all species pinned down and classified by naturalists. Our evolutional history is still being written, as the Epilogue demonstrates; while in the realm of the imagination we have only to look at the species invented by the fertile mind of George Lucas in his Star Wars films to see how new creatures continue to appear.

Despite our sophistication and civilization, our electric light and concrete roads, not all creatures are domestic, friendly, tamed or under our control. When darkness falls, when the sidewalks fall into shadow, on the lonely roadside, in the mountain passes, rustling in the trees, bubbling mysteriously in the waters, other creatures lurk. Some we do not see, some we do not wish to be seen by, some make us hurry onwards.

We believe that life finds many forms and will seek its unfolding evolution in ways that we cannot yet dream. Despite its extent, this book is a work in progress, a report of magical creatures whose numbers increase and decrease on a daily basis. Those that we believe to be dead and gone are not really extinct – they merely slip sideways into the Otherworld to haunt our imaginations, choosing their moment of reappearance. New composites and creations have yet to appear, wondrous, fabulous, magical. As you close this book at the end of the day, laying your head upon your pillow, what magical creatures will dance out of the darkness to enter your dreams? For in our dreams and imaginations, there is no ‘extinct’ or ‘ yet-to-be’, only an eternal present where all creatures meet together.

This strange creature originates on the Malay Peninsula. Described as having many tentacles and a soft smooth skin, it waits for unwary pilgrims at the bottom of the Tower of Victory in Chitor. Pilgrims come to climb this tower, each level representing a further stage on the journey towards enlightenment. As the pilgrim climbs, the creature grows stronger, changing colour and shape, drawing the life force from the unsuspecting victim. Supposedly, the creature will only attain a final form, and be fully alive, when a pilgrim reaches the top of the tower. To date no one has been dedicated enough to do this. The A Bao a Qu is bound to the tower until such time as a truly enlightened seeker arrives and climbs to the top.

In African folklore, the aardvark or ant- bearis much admired because of its diligent quest for food and its fearless response to soldier ants.Hausa magicians make a charm from the heart, skin, forehead and nails of the aardvark, which they pound together with the root of a certain tree. Wrapped in a piece of skin and worn on the chest this gives the owner the power to pass through walls or roofs at night. The charm is widely used by burglars and those seeking to visit young girls without their parents’ permission.

In Basque mythology of Spain, Aatxe was a spirit in the form of a bull.He haunts the caves and gorges of the Pyrenees Mountains, coming forth at night, especially during stormy weather, to trouble wayfarers. The younger form of Aatxe is called Aatxegorri, who is a red steer.

A race of enormous birds described in the Koran as dropping red clay bricks on the army of elephantssent by the king of Yemen to attack the city of Mecca in the year (571) when the Prophet Mohammed was born.

A type of small Unicornreported to live in the lands of the African Congo. The Abada is seldom seen for it is a shy animal.

In the mythology of Melanesia, the Abaia is a gigantic eel-like monsterthat lives at the bottom of a lake. It considers all of the fish in the lake its children and protects them furiously against anyone attempting to catch them. Those foolish enough to try are immediately overwhelmed by a tidal wave caused by the Abaia swishing its enormous tail.

Accounts of this animal were brought back by 16th-century European travellers to the Malay Peninsula. Described as female, with a single horn growing from its forehead, these were probably the result of a half-glimpsed Javan or Sumatran rhinoceros. Like the Unicorn,a powder made from the horn served both as an aphrodisiac and as an antidote to poison. However, since the Unicorn was invariably represented as male, and since there was only ever one in existence at any time, the Abath seems to have developed independently from the European myths of the one-horned creature. ( See also Alicorn, Chio-Tuan, Ki-Lin.)

A race of tiny fairieswho share the dwelling of the antsin parts of South Africa. They only occasionally reveal themselves – usually to children, wizards or pregnant women. To see one in the seventh month of pregnancy ensures the mother will give birth to a boy.

A kind of early form of the merman, the Abgal is mentioned in Sumerian mythology. It is one of a number of spirits, originally servants of Ea, the god of wisdom. Like the centaursof Greek mythology who helped civilize humanity, the task of these beings was to teach the arts and sciences to humanity. They did this during the day while fasting, only stopping to eat at night. Early carved reliefs show them men above the waist, fish below.

The Abominable Snowman is a name given to the Yetiwhich lives in the Himalayas.

These weather- fairiesfrom Bolivia have special influence over rain, hail and frost. They live underground in caves and are rarely seen. When they do appear they usually take the form of small, wizened men.

One of the names of the Cyclopsin Greek Mythology.

In Greek mythology, the Acephali were human beings whose features were situated in their chests. They had no heads at all. According to the accounts of Herodotus and Josephus, the Acephali lived in Libya. They are similar to the Blemyahs.