cazzy99

Henwen

by

Tradition: Welsh Mythology
Alternative Names: Hen Wen, Old White
Category: Pig

The Myth

Henwen, whose name means “Old White,” was a sow in Welsh mythology whose offspring included both beneficial and dangerous creatures. According to the Welsh Triads, she was kept by Coll son of Collfrewy, a swineherd serving Dallwyr Dallben. When Henwen was about to give birth, a prophecy warned that her offspring would bring misfortune to Britain. She was therefore pursued until she plunged into the sea at Penrhyn Awstin in Cornwall, eventually emerging at Aber Tarogi in Gwent Is-coed.

As she travelled across Wales, Henwen gave birth to a remarkable variety of offspring. At Maes Gwenith in Gwent, she produced a grain of wheat and a bee. At Llonion in Pembroke, the accounts differ over whether she gave birth to barley, wheat, or a piglet, while another tradition records a grain of rye at Lleyn in Arfon. On the hill of Cyferthwch in Snowdonia, she produced a wolf cub and an eaglet, and beneath the Black Rock at Llanfair in Arfon, she gave birth to a kitten. Her offspring thus included creatures associated with agricultural abundance as well as animals regarded as potentially dangerous.

The wolf cub and eaglet were adopted by prominent men, but both supposedly brought trouble to their keepers. The swineherd took the kitten and threw it into the Menai Strait. On the island of Anglesey, known in Welsh as Ynys Môn, the sons of Palug raised the kitten until it became Cath Palug, a monstrous cat. This creature later appeared in Arthurian tradition as an opponent of either Cai, also known as Sir Kay, or King Arthur himself. Henwen’s legend connects a mysterious animal’s journey across Wales with the origins of both prosperity and monstrous threats.

Sources

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

Shinchu

by

Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: Divine Insect
Category: Insect

The Myth

Shinchu is a gigantic divine insect that protects the world by devouring evil spirits and plague demons. It is depicted in the Hekija-e, a Japanese painting created in the latter half of the twelfth century to ward off evil. The painting, now held by the Nara National Museum, portrays Shinchu as an enormous insect with eight legs and wings, towering over the demons it hunts.

The divine insect is immensely powerful. Its body is far larger than that of the demons, and its strong hands can seize one of them in a single grasp. Shinchu devours its captives, covering the surrounding area with blood as it feeds. The demons appear terrified of the creature, and some are shown fleeing at full speed in desperate attempts to escape its grasp.

According to the accompanying text, Shinchu lives in the mountains south of Jambudvipa, the continent inhabited by humans in Buddhist cosmology. There, it feeds on various kinds of demons. Its appetite is extraordinary: it is said to devour three thousand demons in the morning and another three hundred in the evening.

Despite its frightening appearance and gruesome feeding habits, Shinchu is a benevolent protective deity. Its violence is directed against malevolent supernatural beings, making it a formidable defender against evil spirits and the forces responsible for plague and misfortune.

Sources

“Shinchū.” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1010655148.html


Fly Agaric People

by

Tradition: Itelmen Mythology, Russian Mythology
Alternative Names: Vapák; Banayamtaɬaʔh (Fly Agaric Girl)
Category: Insect

The Myth

Fly agaric people are supernatural beings from the beliefs of the Itelmen and neighbouring peoples of Kamchatka. They resemble fly agaric mushrooms but can take on human-like forms, sometimes appearing as one-armed and one-legged men or as stumps. They are associated with the intoxicating effects of fly agaric mushrooms, which are believed to allow people to perceive the mushrooms as living beings.

According to Itelmen beliefs, fly agarics can grow remarkably strong, with powerful roots that pierce tree roots and split them into two. They may crush these roots into small pieces, and their paths are winding. The mushrooms can take a person by the hand and lead them into another world, where everything is different. They visit the land of the dead and are believed to guide people along the paths of the deceased.

Eating fly agarics is understood as a fusion between the person and the mushroom spirit. The person inherits the mushroom’s traits, and the experience can alter their perception of their own body. One account describes a person who feels strong after eating a fly agaric, but whose legs move while their head seems different, as though the mushroom’s head has become their own.

Fly agaric visions are also associated with the disappearance of ordinary cultural restrictions and taboos. An old Itelmen named Nataliko recounted a dangerous spiritual journey in which, after eating a fly agaric, he found himself in the land of the dead. He passed through circles of the deceased, including drowned men and people who had died by hanging. Wherever he went, he was warned that if he lingered, he would remain there forever. Passing through the circle of those who had died by hanging was especially difficult, and he said he only managed to pass when he remembered the correct song.

Fly agaric girls are associated with a particularly erotic tradition among the Chukchi. They appear as supernatural seductresses who lead men into the forest, where they remain with them. The account describes them as sometimes semi-nude or nude, and their appearance can vary between visions. A Chukchi story tells of a man who follows a fly agaric girl into the forest, where she becomes a companion to him. These beliefs connect the mushroom beings with altered perception, dangerous journeys, the world of the dead, and encounters between humans and supernatural beings.

Sources

“Ljudi Muhomory.” New Bestiary (Bestiary.us). https://www.bestiary.us/ljudi-muhomory

Bakekatatsumuri

by

Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: Giant Snail Yōkai
Category: Insect, Mollusc

The Myth

The Bakekatatsumuri is a gigantic supernatural snail said to grow much larger than a human. It inhabits a barren island without grass or trees, where it hunts people who become stranded after washing ashore. Rather than attacking immediately, the enormous snail slowly pursues its victims, steadily closing the distance until they become exhausted and can no longer escape.

Once its prey is worn out, the Bakekatatsumuri attacks and devours them. Its patient hunting method makes it particularly terrifying: the creature does not need to move quickly, relying instead on the isolation of its island and the gradual exhaustion of anyone trapped there.

The creature is described in The Complete Encyclopedia of World Yōkai, but the source of the legend is uncertain. One possible inspiration is Patricia Highsmith’s short story The Quest for Blank Claveringi, published in the 1970 collection Eleven. In that story, the protagonist encounters a giant snail on a remote island in the South Seas. The Bakekatatsumuri may have been created as a yōkai interpretation of this fictional creature rather than originating in an older Japanese folk tradition.

Sources

“Bakekatatsumuri.” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1074589325.html


Ndumakuvili

by

Tradition: Tanzanian Mythology
Alternative Names: Two-Headed Worm
Category: Insect

The Myth

Ndumakuvili is a mythological worm in Tanzanian lore, resembling an ordinary worm in size but possessing two toothed heads: one at the front of its body and another at the back. This unusual anatomy distinguishes it from common worms and gives it a striking, unnatural appearance.

The creature is regarded as the embodiment of deceit, cunning, and duplicity. Its two heads, facing opposite directions, reflect its association with dishonesty and the ability to act in contradictory or deceptive ways.

Encountering Ndumakuvili is considered an omen of misfortune. The appearance of this two-headed worm therefore carries a sinister significance, marking it as a creature whose presence warns of impending bad luck.

Sources

“Ndumakuvili.” New Bestiary (Bestiary.us). https://www.bestiary.us/ndumakuvili


Osō

by

Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: おそう
Category: Object

The Myth

Osō is a mysterious yokai depicted in a scroll of assorted monsters held in the collection of Kōichi Yumoto, a Japanese researcher and collector of supernatural imagery. The creature is portrayed with an animal-like face and a body covered in clothing.

In the illustration, Osō leans forward from above as though preparing to cover or pounce upon something beneath it. Beyond this depiction, little is known about the creature. No details survive about its origins, behaviour, or the circumstances in which it was believed to appear.

Sources

“Oso.” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1010652606.html

Doll on Klariden

by

Tradition: Swiss Mythology
Alternative Names: Zurrimutzi, The Living Doll of Klaridenalp
Category: Object

The Myth

The Doll on Klariden is a supernatural creature from a legend set on Klaridenalp, a mountain pasture between the Swiss cantons of Glarus and Uri. Centuries ago, a dairyman and two farmhands spent the summer tending cattle on this exceptionally fertile alpine pasture. The cows produced so much milk that they could be milked three times a day, leaving the men with little work. Their comfortable life eventually led to boredom and mischief. Complaining that God had forgotten them, the dairyman decided to make a woman of his own. Using old rags, torn trousers, a worn felt hat, and patched socks, he constructed a life-sized female doll stuffed with hay. The men named her Zurrimutzi.

The three herdsmen treated Zurrimutzi as a companion, including her in their card games and meals. They placed her beneath the cows to milk into her mouth, propped playing cards between her stiff fingers, and jokingly offered her food. One day, while the dairyman smeared cream across her face, the doll suddenly came to life. Her eyes began to move, her mouth opened, and she started swallowing the cream. Although the men initially fled in terror, they returned when she appeared to remain peacefully seated at the table. Soon, however, Zurrimutzi developed an insatiable appetite, devouring enormous quantities of cheese, bread, butter, milk, cream, and rice pudding. She grew into a tall, strong, shapeless woman whom the three men eventually struggled to carry to a neighboring pasture for her customary Sunday sunbathing.

As Zurrimutzi grew, she began speaking and helping with household chores, although her work was clumsy and she prepared vast quantities of food primarily for herself. She also joined the men’s card games and invariably won against whoever played her. At night, she sometimes ran across the roof of the alpine hut, making it thunder as though a dozen horses were galloping overhead. When autumn arrived and the herdsmen prepared to descend into the valley, they were ashamed to take their monstrous companion with them. They decided to leave secretly while she slept, unwilling either to kill her or to abandon her openly.

Their plan failed when Zurrimutzi appeared at the doorway and ordered the dairyman, as the head of the alpine farm, to remain with her. The two farmhands were permitted to leave, provided they did not look back. They obeyed but spent the night in another hut, hoping their master would join them. When he failed to appear the following morning, they returned to investigate, praying the Lord’s Prayer at every bend in the path. Near the hut, they discovered Zurrimutzi dancing on the roof, where she had spread the dairyman’s flayed skin to dry. As blood dripped into the gutter, she hopped from one leg to the other. When she noticed the farmhands, she roared that their prayers had saved them: had they not prayed, she would have bitten their throats as she had done to their master. Horrified, the two men fled down the mountain and did not look back until they reached a chapel in the Uri lowlands.

Sources

“Puppe Klariden.” SAGEN.at. https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/schweiz/uri/Puppe_Klariden.html

Nurukabe

by

Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: ぬる壁, ヌルカベ, Nuru-kabe
Category: Object

The Myth

Nurukabe is a mysterious yokai from Tenjin, in Kiyokawa Village, Ōno District, Ōita Prefecture, Japan. Its name refers to a wall that appears suddenly and blocks the way of travellers. The creature is associated with a mountain pass near an old graveyard in Kawauchi, where people travelling at night repeatedly encountered an invisible obstacle that prevented them from continuing their journey.

Those who attempted to cross the pass after dark found a wall appearing directly in front of them, leaving them unable to proceed. The villagers feared this phenomenon and called it the appearance of Nurukabe. The account does not describe the creature’s physical form, suggesting that its supernatural presence was experienced primarily through the mysterious obstruction it created.

According to local tradition, the problem ended after the villagers erected a Kōshin stone monument. Following its construction, Nurukabe ceased to appear. The legend connects the frightening obstruction with a sacred monument, suggesting that the community’s religious practice was able to protect travellers and restore safe passage through the haunted location.

Sources

“Nurukabe.” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1075303199.html

Futon Monster

by

Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: Futon no Kai, Futon Monster
Category: Object

The Myth

The Futon Monster is a supernatural phenomenon associated with old bedding, particularly futons that may have belonged to the dead or been acquired second-hand. Accounts of these strange occurrences were recorded in Japanese collections of modern folklore. The stories emerged in a context where material shortages made second-hand goods necessary, and objects previously used by unknown owners could carry disturbing histories.

One account comes from Jōsaka, Miyako District, Okinawa Prefecture, during the shortages following the Pacific War. A couple who had finally been blessed with a son after ten years of marriage held a large birthday celebration for him. During the banquet, a strange cry came from the back of the room, where the child had been laid down. His parents rushed over and found the futon shaking violently, with their exhausted son trapped underneath. The father tore it away and threw it into the yard, shouting that it was a monster. The futon continued to thrash about, and the villagers struck it with sticks before cutting it into pieces with sickles. Even the scraps kept moving until they suddenly fell still. Upon examining the remains, the villagers discovered human fingernails sewn into all four corners, with hair wound around them. The couple had bought the futon from a street vendor, and people suspected it had been unearthed by grave robbers and possessed by an evil spirit. The celebration ended in tragedy, and the child died the following day.

Two other accounts were recorded in Tokyo. In Kōtō Ward in 1946, a person who bought an old futon and slept beneath it repeatedly experienced a feeling of constriction and suffered nightmares. An examination revealed bloodstains inside the cotton. Police discovered that the previous owner had murdered someone inside the futon, replaced its outer covering, and sold it to a second-hand shop. The strange nightly experiences were attributed to the murdered person’s spirit seeking justice and proper memorial rites. In Machida, another person bought an inexpensive futon for a funeral and began using it for sleeping. Every night, an oppressive weight seemed to press down on the bedding, until the sleeper heard a woman’s voice and saw a sorrowful woman staring at him. Terrified, he abandoned the futon.

These accounts suggest that the Futon Monster is less a single creature with a fixed appearance than a category of supernatural disturbances associated with bedding. The stories reflect the unease surrounding objects previously used by the sick or dead, especially when poverty and shortages made it difficult to obtain new possessions. A futon could become a vessel for the lingering presence of a deceased person, carrying memories of suffering, murder, or an unfulfilled need for remembrance. Its ordinary domestic function made the supernatural occurrences all the more disturbing.

Sources

“Futon-kai.” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1072946883.html

Dondoro

by

Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: どんどろ, Dondoro Doll, Itō no Dondoro
Category: Object

The Myth

Dondoro is a strange folk-art figure that was sold as a souvenir in Itō, Shizuoka Prefecture, from around the 1950s onward. The figure consists of a bizarre head made from materials such as paper clay, mounted on a wooden base. It became known by names such as Dondoro Ningyō, or Dondoro Doll, and Itō no Dondoro, meaning Dondoro of Itō.

According to a legend printed with the dolls, Dondoro originated from a foreign deity brought to Japan by William Adams, the English navigator who served Tokugawa Ieyasu and became known in Japan as Miura Anjin. While building a Western-style sailing ship at the Itō Tōjingawa under Ieyasu’s orders, Adams supposedly remembered a god worshipped on a South Sea island he had visited before reaching Japan. He enshrined the deity in the hope of suppressing an outbreak of disease, and the ritual was said to help bring the shipbuilding project to completion.

The Dondoro Doll was presented as a representation of this foreign deity, which supposedly continued to be venerated in Itō. The figure was promoted as a protective charm against evil and a bringer of good fortune. However, the doll’s actual origins appear to date only to the postwar period, and the story connecting it to William Adams is believed to have been invented to give the souvenir an appealing legendary history.

Sources

“Dondoro.” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1062982791.html