Mythology

Sugur-Mugur

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Tradition / Region: Moldova Mythology
Alternative names: Sugur Mugur
Category: Giant, Hero

The Myth

Sugur-Mugur was a legendary supernatural warrior from Moldovan folklore, feared for his immense strength and remembered as one of the greatest heroes imprisoned beneath the earth. Even after years of captivity, blacksmiths and travelers still spoke his name with awe.

He had once been so powerful that only horses wearing enormous magical horseshoes could carry him. Smiths said that no man besides Sugur-Mugur had ever ridden with iron, steel, or diamond horseshoes weighing twenty-five pounds each.

For twenty years the Black King kept him imprisoned deep underground in a dungeon sealed with gigantic chains. He survived there on only a crust of bread and a glass of water each day until a young hero named Peter finally freed him. When Sugur-Mugur emerged from the prison, he looked like a living skeleton, weak from starvation and age.

Yet his strength returned rapidly. After days of eating and drinking from magical supplies, Sugur-Mugur released terrifying cries that shook mountains, darkened rivers, toppled forests, and made the earth itself tremble. By the third great shout, hills collapsed and the world seemed to tilt beneath him.

Sugur-Mugur rode a monstrous black horse named Black-Devil, fed on burning coals until it became powerful enough to fly over impossible landscapes. Together with Peter, he crossed deadly stone and flint mountains that destroyed ordinary horseshoes, forcing blacksmiths to forge gigantic shoes of iron, steel, and finally diamond.

Despite his fearsome power, Sugur-Mugur became Peter’s loyal protector. He guided him to the radiant maiden Ilyana Kosinzyana, helped him infiltrate her magical castle, and defended the young couple during their long journey home. Each night while they slept, Sugur-Mugur remained awake watching for danger.

Three prophetic birds warned him repeatedly about traps prepared by the Forest Witch: poisoned wine, cursed flowers hiding wolf fangs and bear teeth, and finally an attack by twelve dragons. Sugur-Mugur secretly prevented every disaster, but each time he revealed part of the prophecy he was slowly transformed into stone.

At last he fought the Forest Witch and her dragons alone during a storm of thunder and fire. His sword shattered while battling the witch, yet he killed her with the broken hilt after slaying all twelve dragons. Only afterward did he reveal the final prophecy and become completely petrified.

Peter and Ilyana later restored Sugur-Mugur to life using the blood of a magical red goat that had once given supernatural strength. When he awoke from stone, Sugur-Mugur simply said:

“What a long sleep I have had.”

He remained remembered as a giant protector and wandering hero whose strength could shake the earth itself, yet who used that power to defend others from witches, dragons, and death.

Sources

Botezatu, G. (1986). Moldavian folk-tales (2nd rev. & enl. ed.). Kishinev: Literatura Artistikă.

White Bird with the Golden Tail

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Tradition / Region: Moldova Mythology
Alternative names: The White Bird, Golden-Tailed Bird
Category: Bird

The Myth

The White Bird with the Golden Tail is a mysterious supernatural creature from Moldovan folklore connected with enchanted trees, magical kingdoms, and distant otherworldly realms. It appears first as a radiant white bird with a shining golden tail, but later reveals its true form as a beautiful fairy-like maiden.

The story begins with an Emperor and Empress who longed for a child. After the Empress walked through the Blue Grey Wood at dawn along an untouched path wet with dew, she gave birth to a miraculous son named Break-of-Day. At the same time, an enormous tree began growing in the imperial garden, rising so high that its top disappeared into the sky. At its summit grew three golden apples.

Many warriors tried to climb the tree and failed, but Break-of-Day spent twelve years climbing until he finally reached the top. There he discovered the White Bird with the Golden Tail descending from the sky to eat the apples. Before the creature could devour the last one, Break-of-Day seized the bird by the tail. The bird escaped, leaving behind a golden feather while the prince saved the final apple.

Determined to find the strange being, Break-of-Day journeyed through magical lands and eventually learned from the Black Arab — a powerful supernatural ruler and shapeshifter — that the bird was not truly a bird at all, but a maiden of extraordinary beauty living beyond deadly enchanted barriers.

Her realm was protected by poisonous gardens, magical walls, and powerful curses. When Break-of-Day finally reached her palace, he captured her by the waist while she slept, just as the Black Arab had instructed. But his curiosity awakened ancient powers and brought him into conflict with devils, underworld rulers, and supernatural horse guardians.

Throughout the tale, the White Bird remains connected to gold, light, and transformation. Her palace and gardens could be turned into golden apples, and when the Devil who controlled her finally died, the bird itself transformed completely into a beautiful maiden. She then traveled beside Break-of-Day as his companion and future bride.

The tale presents the White Bird with the Golden Tail as both an elusive sky-creature and an enchanted woman tied to magical kingdoms, impossible journeys, and supernatural trials. She belongs to the distant world above the clouds and beyond mortal lands, appearing first as a radiant bird feeding upon golden fruit high at the top of a tree that touched the heavens.

Sources

Botezatu, G. (1986). Moldavian folk-tales (2nd rev. & enl. ed.). Kishinev: Literatura Artistikă.

Gawgaw

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Tradition / Region: Malta Mythology
Alternative names: Il-Gawgaw
Category: Zombie

The Myth

The Gawgaw is a terrifying undead-like being from Maltese folklore, feared as a cursed creature that wanders through villages and fields during the night of Christmas Eve. It was believed to be connected to people born on December 24th, who were thought to have “stolen the Lord’s birthday” by entering the world on that sacred night.

According to the belief, anyone born on Christmas Eve carried a hidden curse. Every year, on the night of their birth, they would fall into a deep unnatural sleep and unknowingly transform into the Gawgaw. Their body or spirit — depending on the version of the tale — would leave the house and roam through the darkness until dawn.

The Gawgaw was described as a horrifying figure with long tangled hair covered in slime, twisted claws, and a staggering corpse-like walk. It moved through empty streets groaning hoarsely and terrifying anyone unlucky enough to encounter it. Some stories claimed it could slip through tiny cracks and openings to enter homes unnoticed.

Another tradition described the Gawgaw not wandering the roads, but furiously laboring through the countryside all night long. Dragging a massive harrow called a xatba behind it, the creature tore through fields making tremendous noise from midnight until the first church bells rang around four in the morning. Only then would it return home exhausted and resume human form.

Those cursed by the transformation supposedly remembered nothing upon waking, though their bruised bodies, exhaustion, and muddy clothes revealed what had happened during the night. Some wives even claimed their husbands physically vanished from bed every Christmas Eve before mysteriously returning by morning.

To prevent the transformation, the cursed person was required to remain awake the entire night. They occupied themselves by endlessly counting grains of rice or the holes of a sieve until sunrise, since falling asleep meant surrendering to the curse.

Old beliefs also claimed the Gawgaw could predict the end of winter. If, during its nightly wandering, its whiskers touched damp ground or dew, winter was considered nearly over. If the earth remained dry, cold weather would continue.

Children were warned that the Gawgaw hunted misbehaving youths. It was said to kidnap them during the night and carry them away to distant lonely places where they would perish from hunger and abandonment.

On the island of Gozo, folklore also spoke of the Mleika, the wife of the Gawgaw. She crept into houses on New Year’s Eve, bringing either good fortune or misfortune depending on the cleanliness and order of the household she visited.

Sources

Bestiary.us. (n.d.). Gavgav. Retrieved May 17, 2026, from https://www.bestiary.us/gavgav/

Phantom Knight

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Tradition / Region: Malta Mythology
Alternative names: The Black Knight
Category: Ghost

The Myth

The Phantom Knights are ghostly warriors said to haunt the ancient fortresses of Malta, lingering centuries after the rule of the Knights of St John. Clad in dark armor and bound to the stone strongholds they once defended, these spirits appear around harbors, bastions, and chapels overlooking the sea.

One of the most famous apparitions is the Black Knight of Manoel Island. Within the old fortress built by Grandmaster Manoel de Vilhena, witnesses have reported seeing a silent armored figure dressed completely in black steel. He appears especially when the chapel or burial crypt of the knights is damaged, opened, or disturbed. Workers restoring the site have claimed the figure stands nearby watching them in silence, never speaking or interfering. The spirit is believed to be de Vilhena himself, returning to guard the resting place of the dead knights buried beneath the fortress. Once the crypt is sealed and the work completed, the apparition disappears.

Another phantom is said to haunt Fort Ricasoli at the entrance of the Grand Harbour. Fishermen and sailors speak of a horrifying scream echoing from the cliffs and ramparts during the night — the cry of a man endlessly falling through darkness. According to legend, the voice belongs to Captain St Clement, a knight condemned for cowardice after fleeing battle. He was strangled and thrown from the bastions onto the rocks below. His spirit still relives the final moments of his execution, screaming through the harbor night after night.

The Phantom Knights are not wandering spirits of ordinary dead men. They remain tied to Malta’s fortresses, chapels, and walls, continuing their eternal watch over the harbors and stone strongholds of the island.

Sources

Mifsud, S. D. (2014). The Maltese bestiary: An illustrated guide to the mythical flora and fauna of the Maltese Islands.

Qawqam

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Tradition / Region: Malta Mythology
Alternative names: Qawqam
Category: Cow

The Myth

The Qawqam is a mysterious supernatural ox from Maltese folklore that roams the rocky countryside, hills, and isolated roads of the island at night. It is described as an enormous wild ox with immense strength and long powerful horns rising high above its head. Golden in color, it appears both beautiful and frightening, standing apart from ordinary animals.

The creature moves silently through open fields, low brushlands, and abandoned paths, appearing suddenly out of darkness before disappearing again without warning. Villagers believed that encountering the Qawqam was extremely dangerous. People who crossed its path risked injury or death, and its mere appearance was enough to drive travelers indoors after sunset.

The Qawqam was said to travel not only across the surface of the land but also beneath it. Certain hills and rocky places were believed to contain hidden passages through which the beast entered the underworld and returned again. Because of this, the ox was considered a creature that moved between worlds, belonging partly to the realm of the living and partly to unseen places below the earth.

At times the Qawqam was seen grazing quietly in the wilderness, glowing gold beneath moonlight as though it were part of the land itself. Yet people believed it could never truly be captured, owned, or followed. It always vanished before anyone could approach too closely.

Farmers and herdsmen sometimes connected the creature to the fragile nature of wealth, labor, and possession. The Qawqam represented power that could not be controlled — something valuable yet untouchable, capable of disappearing without trace.

The Qawqam remains remembered as a horned night-beast of Malta: a golden ox wandering lonely hills, hidden tunnels, and dark roads between the visible world and the unseen depths beneath the island.

Sources

Mifsud, S. D. (2014). The Maltese bestiary: An illustrated guide to the mythical flora and fauna of the Maltese Islands (p. 28).

Drymiais

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Tradition / Region: Macedonian Mythology
Alternative names: Drymiais (Δρύμιαις), Drymmata
Category: Spirit

The Myth

The Drymiais are mysterious supernatural beings connected with the dangerous days at the beginning and end of March and August in Macedonian folklore. They were feared throughout coastal Macedonia and the Aegean islands as invisible forces capable of damaging trees, clothing, crops, water, and even the human body.

The first three days of March and the first three days of August were considered especially dangerous and were called the Days of the Drymiais. In many places the final three days of these months, along with certain Wednesdays and Fridays, were also feared. During these periods people avoided cutting trees or vines because they believed the plants would immediately wither and die. Clothes were not washed because they were thought to decay or rot, and people avoided bathing in the sea because the Drymiais could cause the body to swell or become sick.

Some traditions imagined the Drymiais as a type of nature spirit related to ancient nymphs. The March Drymiais were associated with forests and trees, while the August Drymiais were linked to water and the sea. Folk sayings reflected this belief:

“August is bad for linen,
And March for trees.”

Another version stated directly:

“The Drymiais of August affect the linen,
And those of March affect the woods.”

Although vague and mysterious, the Drymiais were treated as living supernatural beings rather than simple unlucky dates. This appears in the custom of carrying rusty iron nails while bathing during August. People believed iron protected them from the Drymiais and prevented the spirits from approaching. Similar beliefs throughout European and Middle Eastern folklore held that iron repelled fairies, elves, demons, ghosts, and jinn.

The Drymiais were therefore understood as ancient hostile spirits tied to unstable seasonal transitions — beings of sea, forests, decay, storms, and sickness who became active during the dangerous turning points between seasons.

Sources

Abbott, G. F. (1903). Macedonian folklore. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Karakondzhul

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Tradition / Region: Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Turkish, Albania, Kosovo
Alternative names: Karakondzhal, Karakoncolos
Category: Demon

The Myth

The Karakondzhul is a terrifying winter demon from Balkan and Anatolian folklore that appears during the darkest and coldest days of midwinter. These creatures emerge during the dangerous period between Christmas and Epiphany, especially during severe frosts and the “unbaptized days” of winter when the boundary between the human world and the spirit world was believed to weaken.

The demons rise from rivers, caves, frozen lakes, abandoned places, and other unclean locations after midnight. They wander through villages, fields, and riverbanks until the first rooster crows at dawn. During these nights people avoided traveling alone because the Karakondzhuls were believed to attack travelers, leap onto their backs, and force them to run wildly through the darkness until exhaustion or death.

In Serbian tradition, Karakondzhuls were associated with the spirits of children conceived or dead during the impure winter period. They were believed to especially target women and children, scratching faces, drinking blood, and devouring victims.

The appearance of the Karakondzhul changes constantly. Folklore describes them as shaggy black or red humanoids with horns and tails, naked thorn-covered creatures, horse-bodied beings with human heads and wings, monstrous little people that lure victims onto dangerous ice, or animals such as dogs, sheep, and calves. Some traditions considered them werewolf-like beings capable of changing shape freely.

In Turkish and Anatolian folklore, the related Karakoncolos appears as a small black hairy creature roughly the size of a monkey, child, or cat. It roams winter roads at night questioning travelers with strange riddles such as “Where are you from?” and “Where are you going?” The answer had to include the word kara, meaning “black.” If the traveler failed, the creature attacked them using a massive comb.

People believed iron, fire, bread, salt, ashes from the Christmas badnjak fire, and sharp metal objects could repel the demon. In some regions combs were hidden during winter so the Karakoncolos could not use them as weapons.

The Karakondzhul was feared not simply as a monster, but as a spirit of the dangerous winter season itself — a creature of darkness, frost, wilderness, and the chaotic nights when the world temporarily fell outside divine protection.

Sources

Bestiary.us. (n.d.). Karakonj. Retrieved May 16, 2026, from https://www.bestiary.us/karakonj

Almajonas

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Tradition / Region: Portuguese Mythology
Alternative names: Armajonas, Almazonas
Category: Giant

The Myth

The Almajonas are enormous supernatural women from Portuguese folklore believed to be wandering souls of the dead. They appear as gigantic human-like females who roam through remote places carrying children on their backs. According to popular belief, they are almas penadas — restless spirits unable to find peace.

The Almajonas are described as unnaturally tall and powerful, towering over ordinary people. Some traditions portray them almost like female giants wandering silently across hills, forests, and lonely roads. Their appearance was both frightening and strange because despite their monstrous height they still resembled ordinary women.

Folklore says they carried babies or children strapped to their backs while traveling. Some accounts describe them with extremely long breasts which they pulled over their shoulders in order to nurse the children they carried.

In older Portuguese traditions, the word “amazon” was sometimes used as another name for “wild woman,” and the Almajonas seem connected to that idea. Their husbands were sometimes called Alamões, who were also described as very tall supernatural beings.

The Almajonas were not always portrayed as openly violent creatures, but they were feared because they belonged to the world of wandering dead souls and appeared in isolated places far from villages and settlements.

Sources

The Narrator. (2020). Corrilários. In portuguesecreaturesandlegendsgalore.wordpress.com, from https://portuguesecreaturesandlegendsgalore.wordpress.com/2020/01/17/corrilarios/

Balborinho

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Tradition / Region: Portuguese Mythology
Alternative names: Borborinho, Barborinho, Belborinho
Category: Spirit

The Myth

The Balborinho is a supernatural whirlwind from Portuguese folklore that appears suddenly on roads, fields, and crossroads during hot open hours of the day. It looks like a spinning column of dust, straw, leaves, and wind moving violently across the land. People believed something alive moved inside it.

According to tradition, the Balborinho contains the tormented souls of peasants who committed crimes involving land, theft, or agriculture during life. These dead souls cannot enter heaven because they still owe a debt to the living. The whirlwind wanders endlessly, carrying straw and debris as it searches for rest.

In many regions of Portugal people believed witches, devils, or evil spirits hid inside the spinning wind. In Minho and Moncorvo, villagers threw knives or open razor blades into the center of the whirlwind to drive away the spirit inside it. Elsewhere people crossed themselves and shouted protective prayers or insults at the storm.

Some traditions claimed the straw carried by the Balborinho came from stolen fields and marked places where injustice or wrongdoing had happened. In Guimarães there was even a belief that every leaf spinning inside the whirlwind carried a tiny devil riding upon it.

The Balborinho was especially feared in isolated rural places where sudden whirlwinds could appear without warning. In Beira Alta it was described as a violent localized wind capable of lifting entire piles of straw into the air with loud cracking sounds. People connected these unnatural winds directly with demonic forces.

Although terrifying, the Balborinho was not always seen as purely evil. Some stories described it as a suffering spirit trapped between worlds, wandering because of sins committed in life and unable to find peace.

Sources

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Balborinho. In Wikipédia. Retrieved May 16, 2026, from https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balborinho

Bicho do Cidrão

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Tradition / Region: Portuguese Mythology
Alternative names: None recorded
Category: Ghost

The Myth

The Bicho do Cidrão is a ghostly being from the mountains of Madeira said to wander the highlands with an invisible flock of sheep. People never clearly see the creature itself, but they hear strange cries echoing through the mountains — sounds identical to the bleating of lambs. These cries are believed to foretell rain, storms, or approaching bad weather.

According to legend, the creature was once a human shepherd who lived in Montado do Cidrão in the region of Curral das Freiras. One day his beloved sheepdog disappeared into the mountains. Desperate and overwhelmed with grief, the shepherd silently promised his soul to the devil if the dog would return.

Soon afterward, the missing dog came back.

After the shepherd eventually died, he did not rest peacefully. Instead, he became the Bicho do Cidrão, a strange supernatural being condemned to roam the mountains forever with his unseen flock. Travelers sometimes claimed to hear phantom sheep moving through foggy valleys or across rocky slopes even when no animals could be seen.

The creature’s mournful cries were feared because they announced storms and rain approaching the island. In older times people in Madeira said the sound could be heard clearly through the mountains during dark or misty weather, though many later claimed the cries had not been heard for many years.

Sources

Bestiary.us. (n.d.). Bishu du Sidran. Retrieved May 16, 2026, from https://www.bestiary.us/bishu-du-sidran/