The Fantastic Past

Dedicated to the creatures and deities from man's fantastic past.

[nimblesnotebook-blog]

Myths, Creatures, and Folklore

Want to create a religion for your fictional world? Here are some references and resources!

General:

General Folklore

Various Folktales

Heroes

Weather Folklore

Trees in Mythology

Animals in Mythology

Birds in Mythology

Flowers in Mythology

Fruit in Mythology

Plants in Mythology

Folktales from Around the World

Africa:

Egyptian Mythology

African Mythology

More African Mythology

Egyptian Gods and Goddesses

The Gods of Africa

Even More African Mythology

West African Mythology

All About African Mythology

African Mythical Creatures

Gods and Goddesses

The Americas:

Aztec Mythology

Haitian Mythology

Inca Mythology

Maya Mythology

Native American Mythology

More Inca Mythology

More Native American Mythology

South American Mythical Creatures

North American Mythical Creatures

Aztec Gods and Goddesses

Asia:

Chinese Mythology

Hindu Mythology

Japanese Mythology

Korean Mythology

More Japanese Mythology

Chinese and Japanese Mythical Creatures

Indian Mythical Creatures

Chinese Gods and Goddesses

Hindu Gods and Goddesses

Korean Gods and Goddesses

Europe:

Basque Mythology

Celtic Mythology

Etruscan Mythology

Greek Mythology

Latvian Mythology

Norse Mythology

Roman Mythology

Arthurian Legends

Bestiary

Celtic Gods and Goddesses

Gods and Goddesses of the Celtic Lands

Finnish Mythology

Celtic Mythical Creatures

Gods and Goddesses

Middle East:

Islamic Mythology

Judaic Mythology

Mesopotamian Mythology

Persian Mythology

Middle Eastern Mythical Creatures

Oceania:

Aboriginal Mythology

Polynesian Mythology

More Polynesian Mythology

Mythology of the Polynesian Islands

Melanesian Mythology

Massive Polynesian Mythology Post

Maori Mythical Creatures

Hawaiian Gods and Goddesses

Hawaiian Goddesses

Gods and Goddesses

Creating a Fantasy Religion:

Creating Part 1

Creating Part 2

Creating Part 3

Creating Part 4

Fantasy Religion Design Guide

Using Religion in Fantasy

Religion in Fantasy

Creating Fantasy Worlds

Beliefs in Fantasy

Some superstitions:

Keep reading

[yesterdaysprint]

The Winnipeg Tribune, Manitoba, May 19, 1928

[securityunit-ese]

Mysterious dog-like creature with the face of tiny bear baffles Russia

The animal was taken to an animal shelter in the city of Chelyabinsk in south-central Russia

What an interesting looking dog!

Locals were baffled after discovering the brown animal after it was brought into an animal shelter in the city of Chelyabinsk in south-central Russia’s Cheliabinsk Oblast region.

The animal stands on four legs and has thick brown fur.

But its face appears almost bear-like, with animal rights activists admitting they have “never seen anything like it before.”

They are now hoping to find the animal’s owners to find out what kind of breed of dog it is.

Vets estimate the dog bear to be around four-years-old and a male.

It has not yet been given a name as animal activists search for its home.

Animal activist, only named as Igor, said: “It has a difficult character, actually a little noxious.

“We had a tough time with it, while we were transporting it. The new owner would have to spend a lot of time in order to figure out individual approach to this dog.”

Vets say that although they are not sure, it is likely that the dog looks that way due to being a strange cross of a stray dog and chowchow.

The chowchow genes might be the ones that make it look like a bear.

[pastelxgalaxies]

Cryptozoology Moodboard

(requests are open)

[discardingimages]

the Beast

Apocalypse, France 1220-1270

Toulouse, Bibliothèque municipale, Ms 815, fol. 28r

[discardingimages]

phoenix

bestiary, England 13th century

British Library, Harley 4751, fol. 45r

[1700-something]

From perhaps my all-time favorite website, The Public Domain Review:

A selection of pages from an 18th-century demonology book comprised of more than 30 exquisite watercolours showing various demon figures, as well as magic and cabbalistic signs. The full Latin title of Compendium rarissimum totius Artis Magicae sistematisatae per celeberrimos Artis hujus Magistros, roughly translates to “A rare summary of the entire Magical Art by the most famous Masters of this Art”. With a title page adorned with skeletons and the warning of Noli me tangere (Do not touch me), one quickly gets a sense of the dark oddities lurking inside its pages. The bulk of the illustrations depict a varied bestiary of grotesque demonic creatures up to all sorts of appropriately demonic activities, such as chewing down on severed legs, spitting fire and snakes from genitalia, and parading around decapitated heads on sticks. In additon there seem also to be pictures relating to necromancy, the act of communicating with the dead in order to gain information about, and possibly control, the future. Written in German and Latin the book has been dated to around 1775, although it seems the unknown author tried to pass it off as an older relic, mentioning the year 1057 in the title page.

For more, even more horrifying images (no seriously), they’re over here.

[ducissatenebrarum]

Bibliothèque nationale de France, Département des manuscrits, Arabe 2492, f. 133v. Catalogue of the fixed stars by ʿAbd al-Raḥmân al-Ṣoûfî.

[phreemessen]

“I, however, wrote Pymander’s benefaction in me, and when I was completely filled with this, a supreme joy came over me. For the sleep of the body became the soberness of the soul; the closing of the eyes the true seeing; the silence became for me as a pregnancy of the good and the proclaiming of the word resulted in fruitful works of salvation. All this has come to me, because I received from Pymander, my Spirit-Soul, the Being that exists out of itself, the word from the beginning. Thus I am now filled with the divine breath of truth.“

— Hermes Trismegistus (Corpus Hermeticum)

[ducissatenebrarum]

Riding with the Devil -1584 Bibliothèque nationale France  

[magictransistor]

Ulisse Aldrovandi, Puella pilosa annorum duodecim, Monstrorum Historia Bologna, Italy (1642)

[realfootage]

someone: hey what do you think of (paranormal topic)

me, wise in the ways of the unexplained: well its either real or its fake

[thegmsighs]

know the difference

It has come to my attention that many people mistake wyverns for dragons, so here’s a post to help you remember

Dragon: 4 legs, 2 wings

Wyvern: 2 legs, 2 wings

Drake: 4 legs, flightless

Wyrms: long snake like body with no appendages, can also appear as a traditional Chinese dragon with 4. Legs and no wings yet can fly

Amphithere: 0 legs 2 wings, can be feathered

Lindwurms: 2 legs, 0 wings, long body

Luck dragon: 4 legs, no wings, can fly, long body, furry with dog like face

Komodo dragon: 4 legs, no wings, real

Bearded dragon: 4 legs, 0 wings, often kept as pets

[kick-my-ass-for-free]

as a person passionate as fuck about dragons, i stand by this post

please understand

[whorrorfying]

The Jersey Devil The Jersey Devil is a legendary creature or cryptid said to inhabit the Pine Barrens of Southern New Jersey, United States. The creature is often described as a flying biped with hooves, but there are many different variations. The common description is that of a kangaroo-like creature with the head of a goat, leathery bat-like wings, horns, small arms with clawed hands, cloven hooves and a forked tail. It has been reported to move quickly and often is described as emitting a “blood-curdling scream.” The Jersey Devil has worked its way into the pop culture of the area, lending its name to New Jersey’s team in the National Hockey League, appeared on an early episode of The X-Files and was a secondary character in the video game The Wolf Among Us.

☠✕

[lpbestiary]

The squonk is a legendary creature from North America. Said to live in the Hemlock forests of Pennsylvania, it is a sad and ugly critter.

Squonks are said to have wrinkly, sagging skin, covered in warts and boils. This condition means that the squonk hides away, ashamed of its appearance. It spends much of its time weeping, and it is said that if a squonk is caught, it can dissolve into a pool of tears to escape.

Image source.

Monster master list.

Suggest a spook.

[punk-rock-trolls]

like if you’d wipe away squonks tears reblog if you would ask it what’s wrong

[alanaisalive]

The other night husband and I were watching a documentary about the yeti where they were doing DNA analysis of samples of supposed yeti fur, and every one of them came back as bears.

Anyway, the next night we watched a thing about some pig man who is supposed to live in Vermont. People said it had claws and a pig nose but walked upright like a man. Now, I happen to know that sideshows used to shave bears and present them as pig men. So every piece of evidence they gave of this monster sounds to me like a bear with mange.

So now the running joke in our house is that everything is bears. Aliens? Bears. Loch Ness monster? Bear. Every cryptozoological mystery is just a very crafty bear.

Bears. They’re everywhere. Be wary. Anyone or anything could be a bear.

[iguanamouth]

oh shit

[masticgryaph-deactivated2023060]

@dftblove LOOK!!!

[dftblove]

haha yup it’s all bears @mysticgryph

[mortem-et-necromantia-deactivat]

TZITZIMIME

In Aztec mythology,  is a deity associated with stars. They were depicted as skeletal female figures wearing skirts often with skull and crossbone designs. In Postconquest descriptions they are often described as “demons” or “devils” - but this does not necessarily reflect their function in the prehispanic belief system of the Aztecs. Depiction of a Tzitzimitl from the Codex Magliabechiano. Depiction of Itzpapalotl, Queen of the Tzitzimimeh, from the Codex Borgia.

The Tzitzimimeh were female deities, and as such related to fertility, they were associated with the Cihuateteo and other female deities such as Tlaltecuhtli, Coatlicue, Citlalicue and Cihuacoatl and they were worshipped by midwives and parturient women. The leader of the tzitzimimeh was the Goddess Itzpapalotl who was the ruler of Tamoanchan - the paradise where the Tzitzimimeh resided.

The Tzitzimimeh were also associated with the stars and especially the stars that can be seen around the Sun during a solar eclipse. This was interpreted as the Tzitzimimeh attacking the Sun, this caused the belief that during a solar eclipse, the tzitzimime would descend to the earth and devour human beings. The Tzitzimimeh were also feared during other ominous periods of the Aztec world, such as during the five unlucky days called Nemontemi which marked an unstable period of the year count, and during the New Fire ceremony marking the beginning of a new calendar round - both were periods associated with the fear of change.