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Wild Boar

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Tradition: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternative Names: Das wilde Schwein, The Hellish Beast
Category: Pig

The Myth

The Wild Boar is a terrifying creature described in a Luxembourgish legend about young horse herders who spent their nights taking horses out to pasture. An old farmer recalled that strange and frightening events often occurred during these nocturnal excursions. Among them, he particularly remembered a wild boar that periodically charged through their herders’ campfires, sending countless sparks flying into the air and leaving the men’s faces blackened by morning.

The appearance of this hellish beast brought disaster to the herders. Whenever they saw it, their horses would scatter in every direction, forcing them to search for the animals afterward. On one occasion, the boar suddenly sprang between the legs of one of the young men, compelling him to endure a terrifying ride through forests and rough terrain until he reached a distant, towering rock.

The unfortunate herder was trapped on the rock for seven days. Only on the eighth day did he manage to escape, facing numerous dangers along the way. He eventually returned to his companions, half-starved and covered in blood. The tale portrays the Wild Boar as a demonic and dangerous creature whose supernatural strength could carry people away and bring chaos to those tending horses at night.

Sources

La Fontaine, Edmond de. Luxemburger Sagen und Legenden. Luxembourg, 1882.

Village Pig

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Tradition: Swiss Mythology
Alternative Names: Dorfsschwein, Village Pig
Category: Pig

The Myth

The Village Pig is a mysterious supernatural creature from the legends of the Canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland, recorded by Jakob Kuoni in 1903. It was particularly known in stories told by the Stubetiknaben, young men who went out at night along country fields, forest paths, and village streets. During these nocturnal wanderings, a pig would suddenly appear among them and prove extraordinarily difficult to escape.

Some accounts describe the creature forcing itself between a man’s legs and carrying him away to a distant dwelling or barn. It would apparently continue its journey as long as it could find a house or livestock shelter. In other stories, the Village Pig pursued bachelors who had fled into barns, peering through windows or looking through barn doors while standing on a ladder. One man harassed by the creature in the meadows encountered a whole group of young piglets accompanying it.

The man eventually ordered the supernatural animals to leave in the name of the Devil. They immediately withdrew with grunts and squeals and disappeared into nearby woods. Another legend from Altstätten claims that the Village Pig once entered a church. When the clergyman and sacristan attempted to catch it, the clergyman mounted the animal, only to be carried away on its back. These stories portray the Village Pig as a mischievous and persistent nocturnal creature that tormented people who encountered it after dark.

Sources

“Dorfschwein.” SAGEN.at. https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/schweiz/st_gallen/dorfschwein.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Honton

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Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: 賁豚, 奔豚, Honto, Bentun, Kidney Accumulation
Category: Pig

The Myth

Honton, also known as Bonton or Bentun, is a creature-like manifestation of illness described in traditional Japanese medical literature. The term bentun refers to a condition in Chinese and Japanese medicine involving sudden attacks in which sensations of rising energy and palpitations seem to surge upward from the area around the navel. The disorder was associated with the kidneys and was believed to arise from an accumulation of pathological energy within the body.

An illustration of Honton appears in the medical text Hari Kiki-gaki (Needle Notes), which depicts various creatures believed to form inside the human body and cause disease. Honton is shown as a four-legged animal resembling a running young pig, with a white face and back, a red belly, two whiskers, and a long tongue protruding from its mouth. It was believed to move constantly up and down from the region below the navel, never remaining in one place.

Traditional explanations associated the area below the navel with the north and the element of water. Because water was understood to move continuously, Honton’s restless movement was interpreted as reflecting this elemental quality. People believed to suffer from the associated kidney disorder were said to develop darkened skin, crave salty foods, and experience severe bad breath. The medical text mentions several methods of acupuncture treatment but does not provide specific instructions, apparently assuming that the details would be transmitted orally.

Sources

“Honton.” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1073608506.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Buta Bake Bijo

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Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: 豚化け美女, Buta Baké Bijō, Pig Transformed into a Beautiful Woman, Pig-Woman
Category: Pig

The Myth

Buta Bake Bijo, meaning “Beautiful Woman Transformed from a Pig,” is a supernatural figure from Okinawan tradition in which pigs can take on human appearances. Tales collected in Folktales of Yonagusuku: Stories Told by Grandfathers and Grandmothers, published by the Yonagusuku Village Board of Education in 1989, describe pigs disguising themselves as beautiful women and appearing among young people gathered for nighttime singing, dancing, and socializing.

In one story, young men and women gather in the village of Nōbe for mōashibi, a traditional Okinawan custom in which young people meet outdoors at night to sing, dance, eat, and socialize. A beautiful woman arrives and joins the dancing. Captivated by her appearance, one of the young men follows her after the gathering. To his surprise, she enters a pigsty: the beautiful woman was actually a pig in disguise.

Another tale, reportedly heard in Yambaru by a resident of Tōbaru in Yonagusuku, concerns a large pig that had lived for eight years in a household in Kanna, Ginoza Village. The animal would eat when the household’s mother fed it but refused food from the young daughter-in-law. One day, when the woman tried to feed it again, the pig suddenly attacked her, grunting loudly. After she told her husband what had happened, the animal fled into the mountains.

Later, while young people were gathering for mōashibi near the racecourse at Kanna, a strange woman appeared among them, making pig-like grunting sounds. Recognizing the possibility that the escaped animal was a supernatural pig, the young people fled in fear. The story spread throughout the village, and young men reportedly began pursuing the pig with sticks each night, believing that it had to be killed.

Sources

“Butababijo.” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1073560156.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Inoshishi Muko

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Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: Ino no Muko, Boar Son-in-Law, Wild Boar Bridegroom
Category: Pig

The Myth

Inoshishi Muko, meaning “Boar Son-in-Law,” is a wild boar that appears as a supernatural bridegroom in Japanese folktales from the Chūgoku and Shikoku regions. These stories belong to the broader “monkey son-in-law” type of folktale, in which an animal demands a human daughter in exchange for helping her family. The boar typically offers to improve farmland or remove obstacles from agricultural land, expecting the old man’s daughter as its reward.

In a tale from Shikinobu Village in Hiroshima Prefecture, an old man with three daughters struggles to cultivate a barren field. A boar offers to plow the land if the old man promises it one of his daughters. After the boar quickly turns over the soil with its snout, the old man agrees. When his two older daughters refuse to marry the animal, the youngest volunteers out of concern for her parents. She takes flint, a fire-starting device, and bundles of thatch with her when the boar comes to collect her. During the journey into the mountains, she secretly ignites the thatch on the boar’s back. The animal runs wildly and eventually dies in the fire, allowing the daughter to return safely to her family.

A similar tale from Shishijima Island in Kagawa Prefecture tells of a boar that demands a daughter in exchange for removing large stones that obstruct farming. As in the Hiroshima story, the daughter burns the boar to death using straw carried on its back. This ending resembles the Japanese folktale Kachi-kachi Yama, in which an animal is defeated through a trick involving fire. However, not every version ends with the boar’s death. In a story from Sera District in Hiroshima, the boar drinks from a pond after bringing his bride home and suddenly transforms into a handsome human man. The couple returns to the girl’s family, leaving her older sisters envious of her good fortune. This version emphasizes the lesson that children should listen to their parents, while the other versions focus on the youngest daughter’s cleverness in escaping a dangerous marriage.

Sources

“Inoshishimuko.” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1073540291.html

Zhu Bajie

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Tradition: Chinese Mythology
Alternative Names: Zhu Wuneng, Wuneng, Zhu Bajie, Pigsy, Bajie
Category: Pig

The Myth

Zhu Bajie, whose Dharma name is Zhu Wuneng, is one of the four disciples of the Buddhist monk Tang Seng in the Chinese classical novel Journey to the West. He has a pig-like face, a human body, and the appearance of a black pig. His unusual appearance reflects his hybrid nature, combining human characteristics with those of a pig.

Zhu Bajie accompanies Tang Seng on his pilgrimage to obtain Buddhist scriptures, travelling alongside Sun Wukong, Sha Wujing, and the White Dragon Horse. Among the group, he is frequently the target of Sun Wukong’s teasing, who often calls him a fool. Despite his role as a disciple on a sacred journey, Zhu Bajie’s pig-like appearance and comic personality make him a distinctive figure in the novel.

Sources

“Zhu Bajie” (猪八戒). Chinese Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 27, 2026.

Lili

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Tradition: Chinese Mythology
Alternative Names: Powercat
Category: Pig

The Myth

The Lili, also known as the Powercat, is a strange creature said to inhabit the area around Willow Mountain in China. It resembles a pig, but has spurs on its feet, giving it an unusual appearance that sets it apart from ordinary animals.

Despite its pig-like body, the Lili makes a sound like a barking dog. Its appearance is considered an omen rather than merely a strange encounter with wildlife. The creature is said to foretell that extensive earthworks and construction projects will take place in the surrounding district.

Sources

“Lili.” A Book of Creatures https://abookofcreatures.com/2021/05/24/lili/

Watterswyn

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Tradition: Dutch Mythology
Alternative Names: Watterswyn
Category: Pig

The Myth

The Watterswyn is a pig-like water spirit from the island of Schiermonnikoog in the Netherlands. According to local tradition, this dangerous creature lurked near the sea and threatened small children who ventured too close to the waves.

The Watterswyn was said to seize children who approached the water’s edge, making it a frightening figure associated with the dangers of the sea. Its story served as a warning to children to keep their distance from the waves and avoid wandering too close to the shoreline.

Sources

Van der Veen, Abe. “Van aardmannetje tot zwarte juffer: Een lijst van Nederlandse en Vlaamse elfen en geesten.” Abe de Verteller.

Sæhrímnir

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Tradition: Norwegian Mythology
Alternative Names: Saehrimnir, Sæhrímner
Category: Pig

The Myth

Sæhrímnir is a remarkable creature in Norse mythology that is slaughtered and eaten every night by the Æsir, the gods, and the einherjar, the warriors who dwell in Valhalla. Despite being consumed completely, the animal comes back to life each day, allowing it to provide an endless supply of food for the divine household and the honored dead.

The task of preparing this extraordinary meal falls to Andhrímnir, the cook of the gods. Each night, he slaughters Sæhrímnir and cooks its flesh in the enormous cauldron Eldhrímnir. The feast sustains the inhabitants of Valhalla, and by the following day the creature has been restored to life, ready to be killed and eaten once more. Its continual death and renewal make it a source of inexhaustible nourishment.

Sæhrímnir appears in both the Poetic Edda and Snorri Sturluson’s Prose Edda, texts recorded in the thirteenth century that preserve older Norse traditions. In the Prose Edda, the creature is explicitly identified as a boar. However, some scholars interpret the earlier Poetic Edda passage as referring to an animal without specifying its exact kind. This difference has led to debate about Sæhrímnir’s identity and the meaning of its name. Some scholars have also suggested that the nightly slaughter and restoration of the creature may preserve traces of ritual animal sacrifice in ancient Germanic religion.

Sources

“Sæhrímnir.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 27, 2026.

Pig-Faced Women

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Tradition: English Mythology, Dutch Mythology, French Mythology
Alternative Names: Pig-Faced Lady, Pig-Faced Woman
Category: Pig

The Myth

Pig-faced women are figures from a legend that emerged in the Netherlands, England, and France around the late 1630s. The stories describe wealthy women whose bodies are otherwise entirely human but whose faces resemble those of pigs. In the earliest versions, this strange appearance resulted from witchcraft rather than birth or natural causes.

The most familiar version tells of a pig-faced woman who marries a man. On their wedding day, her husband is offered a choice: she can appear beautiful to him but retain her pig-like face in the eyes of everyone else, or appear beautiful to everyone else while looking like a pig to him. When he leaves the decision to his wife, the enchantment is broken, and her human appearance is restored. The tale became particularly popular in England and later spread to Ireland, often presenting the breaking of the curse as a lesson about respect and personal choice.

Over time, the magical elements faded, and stories about pig-faced women increasingly circulated as claims about real people. In early nineteenth-century Dublin, rumours suggested that the reclusive philanthropist Griselda Steevens had hidden herself because she possessed a pig’s face. In London in late 1814 and early 1815, reports spread about a supposed pig-faced woman living in Marylebone, accompanied by alleged portraits that were published as evidence of her existence. Showmen also exhibited supposed pig-faced women at fairs, though some attractions may have involved shaved bears dressed in women’s clothing rather than actual people with unusual faces.

Belief in pig-faced women gradually declined, and the legend had largely disappeared from public attention by the twentieth century. One of the last significant works to present their existence as genuine appeared in 1924. The legend illustrates how a supernatural folktale could evolve into a widely circulated urban rumour, reinforced by sensational journalism and public entertainment.

Sources

“Pig-Faced Women.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 27, 2026.