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

A species of bird-like humanoids with wings, long teeth and hands and feet facing backwards. In the folklore of the Tinguian people of the Philippine Islands, they inhabit the jungles. At night they nest in trees, hanging upside down from the topmost branches like bats. There are also said to have homes beneath the ground that are lined with gold. They are most often represented as helping spirits who give aid to the heroes of the islands; however, at times they can be both mischievous and malicious.

A gigantic creature from the folklore of the Cheremis people of eastern Russia. On the ground, it can take the shape of any animal, but it is most often described as a giant,white-skinned man with long flowing hair. It can also fly through the air, at which time it takes on the appearance of a shooting star with a comet-tail of light behind it. Its origin is said to be the souls of baptized and illegitimate children. It punishes people who overindulge in sexual intercourse by providing them with such voracious sexual appetites that they eventually die of exhaustion. It often mates with humans and signs of this may be betrayed by the presence of a sore on the victim’s lips. The human lover of a woman who has lain with an Albastor will also become ill. It can be defeated in two ways: first by breaking the little finger of its left hand; secondly by placing crosses at doors and windows to prevent it entering the house.

The king of the dwarves in Teutonic and Scandinavian mythology, Alberich lives in a magnificent underground palace, the walls and ceiling of which are covered with gemstones. He guards a great amount of treasure, including a magic ring, the mighty sword Balmung, a belt which confers strength upon its wearer, and a cloak of invisibility. In common with most dwarves in this tradition, he is a famous smith and artificer, responsible for many of the great objects of power possessed by the gods – among them Freya’s necklace. He is an essential character of the ‘Volsunga Saga’ and ‘Nibelungenlied’, which describe the theft of this great treasure and the retribution that followed. Alberich is a major figure in Richard Wagner’s operatic ‘Ring Cycle’, which retells the Teutonic myths with psychological overtones.

One of the Furiesfrom Greek and Roman mythology, this hideous creature is shaped like a human with batwings and the head of a dog.Like her sisters, she was born from drops of blood that fell on the earth when the great TitanUranus was castrated by his son, Zeus. Her name means ‘the Unceasing’ and she is said to be responsible for war, pestilence and revenge.

In Scandinavian and Teutonic mythology, the Alfa, or elves,are divided into two tribes: the Svartalfar(dark elves) and the Liosalfar (light elves). The Liosalfar are bringers of light and are extremely beautiful, being tall, with skins whiter than the sun. They live in a realm between the Earth and Heavens known as Alfhime. The Svartalfar, on the other hand, live beneath the earth and their skins are blacker than a night without stars. They are famous smiths and responsible for many fabulous weapons and magical armour. Despite their evil reputation, they are associated with fertility and had a strong following among the Norse peoples. Both races are said to have originated from the maggots that ate the flesh of the cosmic giant Ymir.J.R.R. Tolkien drew heavily on their history in the creation of the elvish races which play such an important part in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

This creature from the folklore of Chile emerges at night, shedding a golden or silvery light from its great wings. The Alicanto is a strange bird-like monsterwhich likes to eat gold and silver, and if it discovers a rich vein of ore, will continue to eat until it is too heavy to fly. Gold prospectors in the Chilean foothills are always on the lookout for the Alicanto in the hope that it will lead them to golden riches. The wily bird, however, leads them only to their deaths, flashing its wings enticingly until they fall into a bottomless ravine.

An alternative name for the European Unicorn.

A great cosmic dragonfrom the mythology of the Buryat people of ancient Siberia. Its wings were black and so large that when spread they covered the entire sky – overcast days were said to indicate that the Alklha had opened its wings. The creature appears to have lived in a region high above the Earth, because from here it made periodic attacks on the sun and moon. To this day, the marks on the surface of the moon are said to be the claw or teeth marks of the Alklha. Anyone among the Buryat people, seeing a section of the sun or moon obscured – such as might happen during an eclipse – believed that the Alklha was active and would throw stones into the sky to discourage it. The gods finally found a solution to this troublesome creature by cutting it in half. One half remained in the heavens, the other on the Earth; that way, whenever the Alklha attempted to consume either sun or the moon, the heavenly sphere would fall straight through the monster and resume its place in the sky.

A Russian version of the Siren,this being is half woman and half bird. She lives in the land of the dead with her counterpart the Sirin.Her role is to torment the souls of the damned by singing terrible songs to them in her harsh voice and tormenting them with vile punishments.

One of the many strange and bizarre creatures found in the bestiaries of European heraldry. The Allocamelus has the head of a donkey and the body and legs of a camel.

A creature originating in Siberia and living in the northern forest and wastelands. The Alma has also been seen in Kazakstan and the Caucasus. The name means ‘Wild Man’ in Mongolian. It is a fur-covered humanoid like the Bigfootor Sasquatchfound in the United States. Gigantic and humanoid in shape, it is covered in shaggy brown, black or red fur. Sightings of Almas have been reported since the 17th century, the most recent being in 1948 by the Russian scientist, Alexander G. Pronin, who said it looked very like a man but with much longer arms.

In the mid-19th century, a female Alma with reddish-black hair and with a deeply sloped forehead was captured in Abkhazia in the western Caucasus. It was named Zanya. She reportedly mothered six children by different men of which four survived. These offspring looked like normal humans except for being of much darker complexion and immensely stronger than men. Descendants of these Alma children are said to survive to this day and were investigated by Russian historian, Boris Porshney. He was struck by their Negroid features and powerful jaw muscles. He attempted to unearth the remains of Zanya, but they only succeeded in finding the remains of her original descendants whose skeletal structure was nearer to that of a Neanderthal than a modern human. This find has led to speculation as to whether the Alma is a living survivor of the prehistoric early humans, the Neanderthal.

One of a number of strange beasts reported by early explorers of the New World, the Aloes appears in a 16th-century work by the antiquary Ambroise Pare, On Monsters and Marvels, in which it is described as a sea creature which had the head of a goose,a very long neck and four large flippers. It may have been a partial memory of the seal with a bird standing on its back. This is typical of many such descriptions penned by the first European explorers of the New World.