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Atua

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Tradition / Region: New Zealand Mythology, Hawaiian Mythology, Maori Mythology
Alternate Names: —
Category: Demon

The Myth

Atua are supernatural beings known in the traditional beliefs of the Polynesian world. Among Hawaiians, Māori, and other Polynesian peoples, atua are regarded as powerful entities that exist beyond the human realm.

They are described as deities or demons, feared and revered alike, whose presence influences the natural world and human life. Atua may dwell in specific places, manifest through natural forces, or act invisibly, shaping events according to their will.

Through tradition, atua are remembered as ever-present supernatural beings, forming a vital part of Polynesian cosmology and belief.

Octopus Girl

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Tradition / Region: Japan (late Edo period)
Alternate Names: —
Category: Yōkai

The Myth

Octopus Girl is a monster depicted in Yoshimori’s Shinban Bakemono Tsukushi, created at the end of the Edo period. She appears as a female yōkai distinguished by her gigantic head, which dominates her form.

Beyond her appearance, little is recorded about her behavior or origin. She is remembered primarily through illustration, existing as one of the many strange beings cataloged in late Edo yōkai imagery.

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Mishipeshu

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Tradition / Region: Algonquian Mythology, American Mythology
Alternate Names: Mishibijiw, Mishipeshu
Category: Cat

The Myth

The Micibichi is a powerful being said to dwell in deep lakes, rivers, and underground waters. It is most often described as a great feline, resembling a lynx or panther, but far larger and more dangerous than any ordinary animal. Its body is sleek and muscular, armed with sharp claws, and it moves with sudden speed. Though it is a creature of the water, it also inhabits caves and places beneath the earth.

In many tellings, the Micibichi has a humanoid head, sometimes bearing horns, and its eyes shine with unnatural awareness. It is closely associated with copper and other riches hidden within the earth, and is said to guard these resources fiercely. For this reason, it is both feared and respected as a powerful spirit tied to survival and wealth.

The Micibichi rules liminal places where land, water, and the underground meet. It creates whirlpools, sudden storms, and dangerous currents, and is blamed for drownings and disappearances. Canoes that pass over its domain without proper respect may be overturned, and travelers pulled beneath the surface. Yet the Micibichi is not always hostile. Fishermen and travelers who offer tobacco, food, or other gifts may pass safely, believing the spirit has accepted their acknowledgment.

The creature is said to change in size. At times it may appear no larger than a common lynx; at other times it grows into a monstrous panther capable of crushing canoes and dragging prey into the depths. Its presence is often known before it is seen, through disturbances in the water or unexplained sounds rising from below.

In the wider order of the world, the Micibichi is understood as a counterpart to the great sky beings, dwelling below while others rule above. Its power balances the forces of the heavens, and its actions shape the fate of those who depend on water for travel, food, and life itself.

Thus the Micibichi remains a feared and revered spirit of the deep—guardian of waters and hidden riches, a being that punishes carelessness and rewards respect, and whose domain marks the boundary between the human world and forces far older and stronger than humankind.

Sources

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Underwater panther. In Wikipedia. Retrieved June 29, 2026, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underwater_panther

Lou Carcolh

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Tradition / Region: France (Gascony; Hastingues)
Alternate Names: Carcolh, Liu-Karkul
Category: Snail / dragon

The Myth

Lou Carcolh is a monstrous creature of Gascon folklore, whose name means “snail.” It is said to dwell in a deep cavern beneath the town of Hastingues in southwestern France. Half serpent and half mollusk, Lou Carcolh possesses a vast, elongated body crowned by an enormous shell as large as a house.

From its gaping mouth extend numerous long, hairy tentacles, slick with mucus. These appendages spread outward from the cave, lying flat against the ground and coated in thick slime. The tentacles can reach great distances, and anything that comes within their grasp is seized and dragged back toward the cave. Once pulled inside, the victim is swallowed whole.

People said that the creature’s slime could sometimes be seen long before Lou Carcolh itself appeared, glistening on the ground as a warning of its presence. Those who followed the trail too closely risked being taken without a sound, hauled away by the creature’s unseen reach.

Lou Carcolh became so closely associated with Hastingues that the creature’s name was used as a nickname for the town itself, which stands upon a rounded hill. In local tradition, the men of Hastingues were said to warn young women playfully, “The Carcolh will catch you,” invoking the lurking monster beneath the ground.

Through these stories, Lou Carcolh is remembered as a vast, slimy dragon-snail, hidden beneath the earth, whose silent tentacles stretched outward to claim the unwary and pull them into the darkness below.

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Me-te

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Tradition / Region: Japan
Alternate Names: Te no Me (“Eye of the Hand”)
Category: Yōkai

The Myth

Me-te is a yōkai known from writings attributed to Sato Arifumi. It is described as a blind creature that wanders through open fields, moving as though it cannot see the world around it.

Despite its blindness, Me-te is extremely dangerous. People are warned never to mock or make light of it. Those who laugh at Me-te or assume it is helpless are said to be punished, for the yōkai will suddenly attack and suck out their eyeballs.

Me-te is also known by the name Te no Me, meaning “Eye of the Hand,” a name that reflects its strange and unsettling nature. In illustrations, it appears in a form similar to figures shown in Gazu Hyakki Yagyō, though it is depicted without wrinkles on the face, and its empty eye sockets are shown through deep shading.

Though little is recorded about its origin or fate, Me-te is remembered as a wandering field yōkai whose apparent weakness conceals a brutal and sudden threat.

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Triangular Beast (Triceratops)

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Tradition / Region: China
Alternate Names: Triangular Deer
Category: Deer / auspicious beast

The Myth

The Triangular Beast is a mythical creature recorded in Chinese legend. It is described as a deer-like animal with three horns: one on the top of its head, one on its forehead, and one on its nose. Its body is red, and its feet are said to burn like flames, leaving fiery traces where it walks.

According to ancient descriptions, the Triangular Beast resembles a deer in form but differs in its unusual structure. It has a triangular body, a white belly, and a green tail. Its head is compared to that of a ze, with green hair, and it is often depicted on red banners or flags, especially in ceremonial contexts.

The creature is said to dwell on a western mountain, sometimes called the Western Convex Mountain. It does not appear at random. The Triangular Beast is regarded as an auspicious sign, and its appearance is believed to coincide with times of perfect order in the human world.

Several classical texts state that the Triangular Beast emerges only when the laws and regulations of former kings are faithfully upheld. When a ruler inherits the institutions of the past without alteration or neglect, the Triangular Beast is said to appear as a sign of harmony between heaven and the realm.

Thus, the Triangular Beast is remembered as a rare and sacred deer-like creature whose presence marks an age of rightful rule, established law, and cosmic balance.

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Jatai

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Tradition / Region: Japan (Ehime Prefecture and other regions)
Alternate Names: —
Category: Object/ yōkai

The Myth

The Jatai is said to appear at night as a living obi, a kimono sash that moves on its own like a great snake. By day it is nothing more than a length of cloth, but after night falls it slithers from its resting place, coiling and gliding through rooms in search of victims.

According to old folk belief, if a person lays an obi near their pillow while sleeping, they may dream of snakes. From this belief grew the story that the obi itself can transform. Because the word for a snake’s body sounds the same as the word for a wicked heart, the sash was believed to awaken as a murderous being. In this form it becomes the Jatai, a dangerous tsukumogami born from jealousy and malice.

The Jatai is especially associated with an obi once worn by a jealous woman. After long use, the resentment bound into the garment gives it life. When it hunts, it wraps itself around sleeping men and strangles them in their beds.

The creature is described as a poisonous snake, long enough to coil itself around a person seven times. This detail is remembered as part of its fearsome nature and its unnatural length. Once the Jatai has tightened its coils, escape is said to be impossible.

The Jatai is depicted in Toriyama Sekien’s Konjaku Hyakki Shūi, where it appears as a living sash transformed into a deadly serpent. Through these tales, the Jatai is remembered as a reminder that strong emotions can linger in objects, waiting for the moment when they take on a life of their own.

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Ud Ata

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Tradition / Region: Turkic mythology (Oghuz, Kyrgyz, Buryat traditions)
Alternate Names: Boğa Ata
Category: God / bull

The Myth

Ud Ata is the bull god, a powerful divine being who protects bulls and embodies strength. He is associated with physical force, vitality, and the sacred power believed to dwell within horned animals. In the traditions of the Oghuz Turks, Ud Ata is remembered as the being who gave his name to Oğuz Kağan, linking the legendary ruler directly to the strength and authority of the bull.

The horns of heroes are said to be inspired by the bull. These horns are signs of power and are closely connected with the moon. A single horn, or two horns placed side by side, resemble the crescent shape of the moon. Because of this, horns are understood as symbols of both strength and celestial order.

Among the Kyrgyz, it was believed that the world itself rested upon the horns of an ox. This belief placed the bull at the foundation of existence, supporting the earth and maintaining balance through its strength.

Ud Ata is also said to take on a physical form. In some tales, he appears as a gray bull and wrestles with other bulls. In another tradition, Ud Ata, in the form of a bull, unites with a young woman, and a child is born from this union. The Buryat people are said to descend from this child. Because of this ancestral connection, it is known that the Buryats once offered gray bulls as sacrifices to Ud Ata.

Through these stories, Ud Ata appears as a divine bull who grants names, strength, lineage, and protection, moving between godhood and animal form while shaping the fate of peoples and the structure of the world itself.

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Jörmungandr

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Tradition / Region: Norse mythology (Scandinavia)
Alternate Names: Midgard Serpent, World Serpent (Miðgarðsormr)
Category: Snake / world-serpent

The Myth

Jörmungandr is the immense serpent who dwells in the world-sea that surrounds Midgard, the realm of humankind. He is so vast that his body encircles the entire world, and he lies beneath the waves biting his own tail. As long as he holds his tail, the world remains intact. When he releases it, the end of all things will begin.

He is the child of Loki and the giantess Angrboða, and the brother of Fenrir and Hel. When the gods learned of these children, Odin seized them. Fenrir was bound, Hel was cast into the realm of the dead, and Jörmungandr was thrown into the great ocean. There, the serpent grew without limit until he encircled Midgard itself.

From that time onward, Jörmungandr and Thor were bound as enemies.

Thor first encounters the serpent at the hall of the giant king Útgarða-Loki. There, Thor is challenged to perform feats meant to humiliate him. One such trial is to lift a massive gray cat. Thor strains with all his strength, gripping the cat around the belly, and manages to raise one of its paws from the ground. The giants watching grow afraid. Later, Útgarða-Loki reveals that the cat was Jörmungandr in disguise, magically constrained. By lifting even part of it, Thor had nearly lifted the World Serpent and stretched the world itself.

Thor’s second great encounter with Jörmungandr occurs during a fishing expedition with the giant Hymir. When Hymir refuses to provide bait, Thor tears the head from Hymir’s strongest ox and uses it on a massive hook. They row far out into the sea, beyond where Hymir dares to go. Thor casts his line, and Jörmungandr rises from the depths, biting the hook.

Thor pulls the serpent from the water until they face one another. The sea churns, poison sprays from the serpent’s mouth, and Hymir trembles in terror. Thor braces his feet through the bottom of the boat and reaches for his hammer to strike. At that moment, Hymir cuts the line, and Jörmungandr sinks back into the sea. In some older poetic accounts, Thor succeeds in striking the serpent before it escapes, though the outcome differs across traditions.

Jörmungandr remains in the ocean, coiled around the world, waiting. His final rising is foretold in the prophecies of Ragnarök. When the end approaches, the serpent will release his tail, causing the seas to surge over the land. Earthquakes and floods will follow as Jörmungandr crawls onto the shore, filling the sky and waters with venom.

At the battlefield of Vigrid, Jörmungandr and Thor will meet for the last time. Thor will strike the World Serpent dead, but after taking nine steps away from the corpse, he will fall and die, overcome by the poison that fills the serpent’s body.

Thus Jörmungandr is fated to remain bound beneath the sea until the final battle — a serpent whose body holds the world together, and whose death will end it.

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Tuuslar

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Tradition / Region: Estonian Mythology, Finnish Mythology
Alternate Names: —
Category: Sorcerer

The Myth

A Finnish Tuuslar once fled across the sea to the island of Lavassaare, pursued by enemies who sought to destroy him. As he fled, he used his magic to defend himself. He transformed fish in the surrounding waters into terrifying sea monsters, hoping to frighten his pursuers away. Even so, they continued after him and reached the small island.

When the enemies landed, the Tuuslar took a handful of feathers from his beak and blew them into the air. At once, warriors fell from the sky like hail, filling the island and driving the attackers into panic. Terrified, they fled, leaving the Tuuslar alone on Lavassaare.

The Tuuslar remained on the island for many years. From there, he played tricks on the people living along the Viru coast, using his witchcraft to deceive and trouble them. At last, he departed, flying away on the back of a great northern eagle, and was never seen again.

After his departure, the island of Lavassaare stood empty for a long time. People feared to land there, believing the Tuuslar’s magic still lingered. Eventually, peaceful Finns arrived and settled the island. These settlers were said to have lost their witchcraft spells, and their descendants are believed to live on the island to this day.

According to the legend, children are sometimes seen playing and throwing feathers into the air, saying, “Let’s try—can we get shepherds?” remembering the Tuuslar’s magic.

Another tale tells that a Finnish Tuuslar once threw a stone at the sleeping Kalevipoeg, but missed. The stone was said to remain near the Suigu farm in Viru-Jaagupi, marking the place where the spell failed.