Mythology!

Scorpion People

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Tradition: Sumerian Mythology, Iraqi Mythology
Alternative Names: Girtablilu, Girtablilu People, Aqra-buamelu, Aqra-buamele, Girtabullu
Category: Insect

The Myth

The Scorpion People are fantastical hybrid beings in Akkadian mythology, born from the goddess Tiamat to serve as warriors in her battle against the gods. Their bodies combine human and scorpion features, with the lower part formed from a scorpion’s body. They are formidable fighters, carrying weapons such as bows, darts, and spears. In depictions, they appear as human figures with scorpion tails and powerful, imposing forms.

Their origin lies in the conflict between Tiamat and the younger gods. According to the myth, the ancient inhabitants of the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers disturbed Apsu and Tiamat by making too much noise. Tiamat gave birth to younger gods, but their behaviour eventually angered their father, Apsu, who planned to destroy them. Although Tiamat initially tried to reason with him, the conflict escalated after Apsu was killed. Seeking revenge, Tiamat created an army of monstrous beings, including the Scorpion People, to fight against the gods.

The Scorpion People were associated with the gates of the mountains, where they guarded the passage between the human world and the realm beyond. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, they appear at the gates of Mount Mashu, where the sun rises in the morning and sets in the evening. Their appearance is terrifying, and their gaze is described as deadly. When Gilgamesh encounters them, their brilliant appearance and fearsome presence fill him with dread.

The Scorpion People are described as a race of nomadic beings living in the desert. They are characterized by their sharp stingers and their skill with weapons. Some accounts describe them as wearing camouflage-like clothing suited to their surroundings, while others emphasize their strength and skill in battle. They are sometimes portrayed as guardians who protect dangerous mountain passages, making them both formidable warriors and sentinels of the boundary between worlds.

The source also compares the Scorpion People with other mythological traditions. Their combination of human and animal features resembles other hybrid beings, while their role as guardians of a passage between worlds gives them a place among the supernatural gatekeepers of ancient mythology. A related modern interpretation appears in The Mummy Returns, where a centaur-like Scorpion King is depicted as a demonic figure associated with the god Anubis.

Sources

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


Xuánfēng

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Tradition: Chinese Mythology
Alternative Names: Black Bee; Dark Bee
Category: Insect

The Myth

The Xuánfēng is a gigantic bee-like creature recorded in ancient Chinese literature. It resembles a large grasshopper, with an enormous abdomen as big as a pot. Despite its unusual appearance, it is a dangerous insect that attacks people with its sting.

The Xuánfēng’s sting is poisonous and can kill a person, making the creature a deadly monster rather than an ordinary bee. It appears in two classical Chinese works: the Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shanhaijing), in the section known as Hainei Beijing, and the Songs of Chu (Chuci), in the poem Zhaohun.

Sources

“玄蜂.” 维基百科，自由的百科全书. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 18, 2026. https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%8E%84%E8%9C%82


Mukade

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Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: Giant Centipede; Ōmukade
Category: Insect

The Myth

The Mukade is a monstrous centipede appearing in Japanese folklore, often described as growing to an enormous size. Some traditions speak of giant centipedes more than ten jō long, large enough to attack and devour cattle. Their tough hides were reportedly used to make drums, while their flesh served as food for local people. In other accounts, centipedes longer than one shaku could fly through the air and threaten dragons, which retaliated by striking them down with lightning.

Giant centipedes are frequently portrayed as enemies of dragons and great serpents. In Konjaku Monogatari-shū, seven fishermen from Kaga Province are swept away by a storm and stranded on an island. There they meet a well-dressed young man who reveals that he caused the storm to bring them there. He asks for their help in defeating the ruler of another island, who threatens his domain. The fishermen agree, bringing their bows and arrows into battle.

Near dawn, two strange lights appear offshore as powerful winds rise and the waves churn. The fishermen discover that the lights belong to a gigantic centipede and an enormous serpent locked in combat. The battle is so fierce that clouds scatter and the sea becomes turbulent. The centipede’s many legs give it the advantage, and the serpent begins to lose. The fishermen shoot arrows into the centipede and then attack it with their swords, eventually killing the monster. The wounded young man appears afterward to thank them, revealing that he is a dragon who had taken human form. At the dragon deity’s request, the fishermen bring their families to the island, where they live peacefully.

Another famous tale concerns Tawara Tōta, also known as Fujiwara no Hidesato, who defeats a giant centipede living on Mount Mikami in Ōmi Province. A great serpent or dragon, impressed by Tōta’s courage, asks him to destroy the monster. The story reinforces the traditional enmity between giant centipedes and dragons.

Giant centipedes also appear in legends surrounding Mount Akagi in Gunma Prefecture. The mountain’s deity, or one of its attendants, is said to take the form of a centipede. People living on the southeastern slopes traditionally avoided killing ordinary centipedes, instead releasing them with the words, “Go to Akagi.”

According to another legend, the deity of Mount Akagi once fought the serpent deity of Mount Nikkō over possession of Lake Chūzenji. The battle took place at Senjōgahara in present-day Tochigi Prefecture. In a version preserved in Akita tradition, Nikkō Gongen enlisted the help of Mantsu Saburō, a renowned archer from the foothills of Mount Nikkō. Akagi Myōjin appeared as a giant centipede so immense that it could cross mountain peaks. Armed with a white wooden bow and sacred arrows, Mantsu Saburō shot out both of the creature’s eyes and defeated it. In gratitude, Nikkō Gongen secured permission from the imperial court for him to hunt in the mountains. Mantsu Saburō later travelled to the mountains of Ani in Dewa Province, where he became regarded as an ancestor of the matagi, traditional Japanese mountain hunters.

Sources

“Mukade.” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1010654236.html

Pelesit

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Tradition: Malaysian Mythology
Alternative Names: Palasik
Category: Insect

The Myth

The Pelesit is a familiar spirit from Malay folklore that usually takes the form of a cricket, although it may sometimes appear as a grasshopper. Its name is associated with the buzzing or whizzing sound made by an insect. Unlike an ordinary insect, the Pelesit is a supernatural companion that can be kept by a human owner.

Belief in the Pelesit originated in Malay animistic traditions, before the introduction of monotheistic religions. It was said to be particularly prevalent in Kedah and was generally believed to be owned only by women. The spirit could be passed down through generations, making it part of a hereditary tradition.

The Pelesit is associated with another hereditary familiar spirit, the Bajang, which is considered its male equivalent. Because of their similarities, the two spirits are sometimes confused in folklore, although they are recognised as distinct beings.

Sources

“Pelesit.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 18, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelesit

Musca Macedda

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Tradition: Sardinian Mythology, Italian Mythology
Alternative Names: Musca Manchèdda da Mancu; Fly of the Left Hand
Category: Insect

The Myth

The Musca Macedda is a monstrous fly from Sardinian folklore, resembling an ordinary fly but growing to an enormous size. Some accounts describe it as being as large as a sheep, while the specimen reported at Nuchis was said to have been as big as an ox’s head. It possesses powerful wings and a gigantic, deadly stinger. Its infernal buzzing can supposedly be heard in places where these creatures lie buried, warning people of the terrible danger beneath the ground.

The Musca Macedda is associated with destruction, slaughter, and the devastation of entire communities. According to Sardinian legends, a terrible treasure lies hidden in many locations across the island. It consists of two identical barrels: one contains unimaginable riches, while the other holds deadly flies. Anyone who opens the wrong barrel unleashes the Musca Macedda, bringing death not only upon themselves but also threatening the destruction of the entire world. The treasure is said to exist in numerous places, including near Alghero, Esterzili, Sorgono, and the Church of Valenza, yet nobody has dared to open the barrels.

The creature’s name is associated with massacre and slaughter. It is also called the musca manchèdda da mancu, meaning the fly of the left hand. This name reflects the belief that the right hand belongs to God, while the left belongs to the Devil, linking the fly to demonic forces and destruction.

Local legends tell of entire settlements devastated by these monstrous insects. At Iglesias, a holy man was said to have delivered the country from demonic flies that had already destroyed towns and villages, including Galte in Nuorese, Ilani near Orotelli, Oddini, and Thiddorai. Another Musca Macedda ravaged the region around Nuchis before finally dying between the Church of San Cosimo and the Parish of the Holy Spirit, near two black volcanic boulders.

The Musca Macedda may represent an ancient fear of epidemics and widespread disease. Some traditions connect the flies with the Spanish invasion of Sardinia, and one story claims that they emerged from the tomb of a Spanish saint. Another interpretation sees them as personifications of the devastating illnesses that repeatedly afflicted the island. Whatever their origin, these legends portray the Musca Macedda as a demonic force whose release could bring death and ruin on an immense scale.

Sources

“Musca Macedda.” A Book of Creatures, May 4, 2020. https://abookofcreatures.com/2020/05/04/musca-macedda/

Hiru-onna

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Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: Leech Woman
Category: Insect

The Myth

Hiru-onna is a female leech yōkai depicted as a large, leech-like creature with her hair tied up. She is said to inhabit muddy water, where she waits for humans to approach. Anyone who shows her warmth becomes her target, and she immediately latches on to suck their blood. Her attacks are so dangerous that people may even lose their lives to her.

Hiru-onna first appeared in 1908 in the opening installment of Shinsen Yōkai Zukushi (New Selection of Yōkai), published in Tokyo Puck, a satirical cartoon magazine founded during the Meiji era. Rather than simply presenting a monstrous insect, the illustration uses the leech as a metaphor for a ruthless woman who drains other people of their money, exploiting them until they are financially ruined.

The muddy water in which Hiru-onna lives is a euphemism for a red-light district, revealing the satirical intention behind the creature. The accompanying Chinese text states that courtesans can be considered a type of yōkai, making the comparison explicit. Hiru-onna thus embodies the idea of a woman who clings to her victims and drains them of their resources just as a leech sucks blood.

Sources

“Hiru-onna.” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1084324737.html


Wieżtyca

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Tradition: Polish Mythology
Alternative Names: None recorded
Category: Insect

The Myth

The Wieżtyca is a winged, translucent specter resembling a gigantic moth. It is a restless and resentful ghost that envies the living for the life it has lost. During the new moon, it howls beneath the windows of peasant cottages, lamenting its existence and seeking victims among those who sleep inside.

The ghost can slip into a house through even the smallest opening, passing beneath a door or through a keyhole. Once inside, it selects a victim, usually the youngest-looking member of the household. Using powerful magic to keep the person asleep, the Wieżtyca opens their chest and bites into their heart. The victim does not awaken during the attack, and after the ghost has fed, it flies away and magically seals the wound.

By morning, the victim awakens in terrible pain. Despite the apparently closed wound, the damage is fatal, and the person is said to die within the following few days.

Garlic is believed to offer protection against the Wieżtyca. People smear it on their breasts before going to sleep, particularly during Shrovetide, when nocturnal demons are thought to become more active. This practice is intended to keep the ghost away and prevent it from reaching the heart of a sleeping victim.

Sources

“Wieżyca.” Wikipedia, wolna encyklopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 18, 2026. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wie%C5%BCtyca


Aburamushi-tata

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Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: The Curse of the Cockroaches
Category: Insect

The Myth

Aburamushi-tata is associated with a tale of supernatural retribution involving cockroaches. The story appears in Kidan Zashishi (Miscellaneous Stories of Strange Tales) and concerns a woman from Osaka who had hated cockroaches since childhood. Whenever she encountered one, she would kill it by pouring boiling water over it.

Years later, the woman became seriously ill. As she lay close to death, a multitude of cockroaches suddenly appeared beside her. Terrified, she cried out that the cockroaches were going to seize her and kill her. She eventually died in a fit of madness.

People feared that the woman’s terrible death was punishment for her lifelong habit of killing cockroaches. The tale presents the insects as agents of supernatural vengeance, returning at the moment of death to torment someone who had repeatedly destroyed them.

Sources

“Aburamushi-tata.” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1075816535.html


Mosquito of Bukhe Beligte

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Tradition: Mongolian Mythology
Alternative Names: None recorded
Category: Insect

The Myth

The giant mosquitoes of Mongolian mythology are monstrous insects created by evil spirits and demons. They are described as being as large as scrawny horses, with enormous bodies and a loud, persistent buzzing. Their appearance is terrifying, and they are capable of overwhelming the landscape in vast swarms. According to the legend of the infant hero Bukhe Beligte, these creatures were created to torment him while he slept on a hilltop.

Although only a few days old, Bukhe Beligte was already fighting supernatural enemies. After defeating two black ravens with iron beaks and talons, he was left alone on the hilltop for another night. He prepared seventy snares around his sleeping place. His cries shook the earth, prompting nine hundred evil spirits and ninety black demons to create two giant mosquitoes. These monstrous insects came from a desolate, scorching land in the east, a place of marshy rivers, slippery slopes, and darkness, where demons and evil spirits made their home.

The two mosquitoes flew around the sleeping infant, pestering him with their buzzing. However, they became caught in the seventy snares he had prepared. Bukhe Beligte seized a black whip with eighteen tails and thrashed the enormous insects until they were reduced to a mass of ordinary mosquitoes and gnats, numerous enough to fill a river.

After defeating them, the infant pronounced a powerful oath. From that moment onward, the mosquitoes and gnats would live among the stems of grasses, buzzing about in search of food. Their transformation explained how the terrifying horse-sized insects of the ancient world became the smaller, numerous pests found among vegetation.

Bukhe Beligte celebrated another victory, declaring that he had defeated three enemies before reaching the age of three days. He then fell into a deep sleep. Yet his extraordinary strength continued to trouble his parents. Because of the terrible stench that accompanied him, they eventually abandoned him in a bears’ den. When his father returned the following morning, the boy ran to embrace him. The infant had already killed the black bear that lived there, revealing once again that even at such a young age, Bukhe Beligte possessed immense supernatural power.

Sources

“The Second Branch: Geser Comes Down to Earth (Part 1).” Buryat-Mongol. Internet Archive Wayback Machine, archived June 28, 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070628230811/http://www.buryatmongol.com/halaa2.html

Ka-sei

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Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: Mosquito Spirit
Category: Insect

The Myth

Ka-sei is a mosquito spirit that can transform into a human and disguise itself as a sumo wrestler. It appears in the Kyogen play Mosquito Sumo, where it comes from Moriyama in Ōmi Province, a place associated with mosquitoes. Taking advantage of the popularity of sumo wrestling, the spirit travels toward the capital in search of employment, intending to drink human blood.

The spirit encounters Taro Kaja, a servant tasked by his daimyo with finding a new retainer. Believing the stranger to be an ordinary sumo wrestler, Taro Kaja brings him to his master. The daimyo is delighted to discover that the newcomer is a wrestler and immediately challenges him to a match. However, the supposed wrestler moves with a buzzing, flying motion, making the daimyo dizzy and causing him to fall before he can touch his opponent. During the encounter, the mosquito spirit also bites him and sucks his blood.

In the Ōkura school’s version of the play, the daimyo eventually realizes the stranger’s true nature and devises a plan with Taro Kaja. During their next match, Taro Kaja uses a large fan to disrupt the spirit’s flight. Unable to move freely against the gusts of wind, the mosquito spirit is caught by the daimyo, who pulls out the stinger that has emerged from its mouthparts. Defeated, the spirit staggers away.

The Izumi school’s version ends differently. Although the daimyo initially manages to defeat the mosquito spirit with the help of Taro Kaja’s fan, the spirit throws him again while he celebrates his apparent victory. Having ultimately lost the match, the daimyo angrily throws Taro Kaja to the ground instead.

On stage, the mosquito spirit is represented using a mask called Usobuki or Usofuki, which has a narrowed mouth, along with a costume resembling mosquito wings. During the sumo scene, a long, thin roll of paper is inserted into the mask’s mouth to represent the mosquito’s needle-like proboscis.

Sources

“Ka-sei.” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1070069162.html