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Post by Geneva on Jul 21, 2014 21:07:38 GMT
Hey, Hive, how ya doin'? Ever the obsessive personality, I've recently become fascinated by different myths and legends. Whether it be urban or olden, it seems every region has at least a few kooky stories ranging from the psychedelic to the downright nightmarish. So, wanna swap legends? In Ireland we have all sorts of terrifying mythical creatures. Probably one of the better known is the Banshee which is the ghost of an old hag that wanders the landscape and wails endlessly into the night. Only people who have just lost loved ones can hear her cry so the legend of hearing 'the wail of the banshee' was meant to signal that someone close to you had died. Less well known is the Dullahan. The Dullahan is a horseman that carries it's head under one arm. The eyes of the head dart around it like flies and its smile stretches from ear to ear. It also carries a flail made from a human spine and its horse vomits flies, rats and vermin which all spread the plague in it's wake. It's scream also sends anyone who hears it completely insane.That one's pretty horrific actually. Lastly the Dearg Due is an undead woman whose death came about through the treachery or betrayal of her lover. She has crimson red hair and eyes that burn like fire and any man that looks at her directly immediately falls in love with her despite her having the body of a corpse. She lures her victim back to her grave where she drains them of their essence and devours their soul. Hmm... Irish mythology is pretty messed up now that I think about it. And don't even get me started on faeries. |
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Post by WestRider on Jul 22, 2014 1:07:25 GMT
The Dullahan sounds like it'd make a pretty good Nurgle Chaos Lord conversion. As far as I know, around here the main thing is Bigfoot. I'm kind of in the same camp as Ursula Vernon on that, tho, if there really were some big hairy ape-man wandering around here, someone would have sold him weed already  |
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Post by vectron on Jul 22, 2014 2:09:56 GMT
Most of the ones in Norway, where I live at least, seem to be tales to keep children from wandering off into the woods or playing near boddies of water. Commonly it's creatures inhabbiting the sea or living inside mountains and suchlike.
"Nisser": Sort of like ... gnomes, I suppose, but about child sized or larger. Commonly living on farms where they can help or hinder the folk living there, depending on their mood and how they are being treated. Has somewhat blended with Santa Claus.
Trolls: Generally not as violent as portrayed in Hollywood movies, and usually not quite as stupid, sometimes they will steal men or women to be their husband/wife and imprison them in their mountain halls. Of course, sometimes they will also decide to snack on the nearest Christian they can find, which they can locate by smell.
"Huldra": A deceptively beautiful female creature, that would lure young men astray and bring them underground to be their husbands. Recognizable by having a tail she attempts to hide under her dress. Usually associated with people (boys/men) getting lost in the woods.
"Draugen": A somewhat shapeless creature covered with seaweed, living beneath the sea, he surfaces during bad weather to pull unfortunate fishermen to their doom.
"Nøkken" : A non-horsie version of the Scottish Kelpie. Lives in freshwater lakes or bogs, and randomly drowns people.
Edit: Also an old term for a mentally/physically handicapped baby or child is "bytting", lit. switch-ling, ie. a child that has been taken by some of the underground people and replaced with one of their own.
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Post by Geneva on Jul 22, 2014 7:17:53 GMT
Hey, how ya doin'? Interesting. Irish unseelie faeries have similar legends to 'bytting' in the form of changelings. Pretty dark when you consider the connotations. |
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Post by arapaima on Jul 23, 2014 1:44:46 GMT
We have Youkais, they came from animals, let say foxes, snakes, tigers or spiders who amassed enough mystical power from older youkai of their kind or instigation of dark forces that grant them the ability of shapeshifting and acquire human sentinence. Despite gaining human awareness, the predatory of these animals never left them. The ability to shapeshift into human don't just allow them to live a human life but the perfect camouflage in an urban Jungle to hunt man. The journey to the west for example got a whole slew of them who frequently attacked Sun Wukong and his entourage because he is working for a blessed buddhist monk who taste super good. They usually use their human form to approach the group.
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Post by Overread on Jul 23, 2014 23:28:48 GMT
Where I live we've the dark and deadly Black Shuck en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_ShuckThere are many tales of dark beastly dogs across the region so there is some variety in his description; although a generally large black, shadowy dog is common; after that things vary even going to him having one blazing Cyclops eye or being headless. Tales also shift - he might scare you and bode ill omens for your loved ones or close family - or to see him is to bode ill for yourself as death shall soon take you - although there are some happier tales of the dark beast walking people home on dark misty nights. In more recent years there are also tales of the Panther who roams the lands. These latter ones are not so much mythology as they are based on the fact that during WW1/2 the situation got so bad that many private animal collectors would let animals go as they simply had no money to feed them; thus left them to fend for themselves. Thus its been assumed that the mysterious panther(s) that roam the land are from that period of time and that at least one viable breeding pair is out there - somewhere. That its gone mostly unseen is not impossible either - there are many wild board down in Kent (escapees from a meat factory setup years ago) and they are hardly ever seen. So if several 100 of them can hide a handful of panther have even more luck at doing so. I'll also share this - most terrifying beast www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtrYO-Mog60For if you are ever in the land of Oz watch out for the Bunyip! |
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Post by robomummy on Jul 28, 2014 0:54:44 GMT
Not much where I'm from (Connecticut, USA) but there is a forest in the western part of the state that is considered to be haunted. In this forest there is an urban legend of the Melonheads, they are deformed cannibals that live in the woods. Legend has it that there was a mental asylum that closed down and the patients were released, with nowhere to go they moved into the woods. After many years they have devolved into deformed inbred cannibals who kill and eat people who get lost in the woods. Might need some fact checking since i'm just writing from memory but I'm fairly certain that my recollection is accurate.
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Post by Silegy on Aug 23, 2014 20:12:33 GMT
Well, Slavic folklore is very rich in this sense. I used to live in a town with approx 16k population. And we had a book of our myths and legends. My ex-classmate lives in a village with like 100 or 200 pop. Hell, even they do have their own book. Of course, one of the most well known Czech literature masterpieces is Kytice (Bouquet) by Karel Jaromír Erben, which is a collection of myths and legends turned into wonderful poetry. And as a proper citizen of Czech Republic.. I have no idea about our myths and legends!  But as I see you seem to focus mainly on creatures, two come to my mind: Polednice (translator suggests "Midday Witch") and Klekánice (Vesper-bell Witch? lol..). They look a bit like the new Wailing Soul Hearthstone card: old, tall and skinny hag with a cape and some walking stick. They are used to scare children (well, nowadays this lives only in villages, not really in cities. cities have rapists and stuff,lol) so they are home on time for lunch/dinner. And so when a poor little kid was late, playing with friends, mom would yell from the window "Yo, little brat, come home or vesper bell witch will kidnap you." Trust me, you ran home like Usain Bolt. |
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Post by Davor on Aug 24, 2014 7:18:57 GMT
Well in Canada, I think somewhere in British Columbia (could be wrong, memory is not the greatest) we don't have the Loc Ness monster, but we have Ogo Pogo.
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Post by Remalis on Sept 4, 2014 1:44:40 GMT
Australia has heaps of myths and legends. Quinkin are sort of equivalent to european fae. Tamara are tree fae. Tall a bit chaotic but good natured and helped folk. Injin were the goblin fae. Small tubby club tailed and would steal children away. Turramulli was a giant (knight-sized) Quinkin. The fae equivalent of a dimachaeron. It would chase down and eat anything that moved. Other quinkin, humans, animals... it was one scary mofo.
We've also got the bunyip, a sort of water lictor, ambushes from the water with teeth claws and flesh hooks.
But the most terrifying creature in all the land is the drop bear. This thing is what gives Tyranids nightmares. A psychotic monster small in size, bezerker by nature . Isolated Towns in Australia lie abandoned after hearing the growling call of the drop bear on its borders. Of Those that decided to stay.... well, there are no eyewitness accounts of events that followed, only the signs of brutal violence and empty silences to mark the passing of this horror.
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Post by gman25639 on Sept 4, 2014 18:33:39 GMT
Aren't drop bears just a joke to trick the new hunters or whatever? (Like the whole, "snipe hunt" thing?) They're supposed to be little bears that fall from the sky I think...
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Post by Remalis on Sept 4, 2014 21:39:47 GMT
Drop bears are just an 'urban' legend... or ARE they? <cue dramatic music>
Australia - 'where everything but the people will try and kill you'
Probably not the best tourist marketing campaign. We've enough everyday living creatures that are deadly, so our myths and legends tend to amplify to extremes.
Drop bears are based on a evolved version of a Koala (not a bear). Don't be fooled by the semi domesticated Koalas you see on tv. Wild Koalas are territorial rage filled creatures when riled, with big (please do not swear) off claws. And two thumbs per claw hand. No lie, look it up. Weirdest thing.
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Post by blackrainbow on Sept 6, 2014 6:12:13 GMT
As most myths and folk tales can be taken as either learning tools (don't wander into the woods) or history lessons (we share our world with many dangerous creatures, so don't wander into the woods), they all seem to be instructional in some manner or another. Break them down, change their names, alter the trigger mechanisms, BAM, you have Tyranids. Or so I like to believe.
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Post by barbedsparky on Sept 7, 2014 9:22:46 GMT
As most myths and folk tales can be taken as either learning tools (don't wander into the woods) or history lessons (we share our world with many dangerous creatures, so don't wander into the woods), they all seem to be instructional in some manner or another. Break them down, change their names, alter the trigger mechanisms, BAM, you have Tyranids. Or so I like to believe. Pretty much avoid all axe wielding, giant, chitonous, acid drooling maniacs driving a shabby van advertising free candy and naps... |
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Post by blackrainbow on Sept 7, 2014 16:10:55 GMT
Which is a nice modern take on the classic.
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