Magical creatures are kind. Races of mythological creatures

Every person is familiar with the concept of “mythical creatures”. In childhood, everyone dreams of a miracle; children sincerely believe in beautiful and kind elves, honest and skillful fairy godmothers, smart and powerful wizards. It is sometimes useful for adults to detach themselves from the outside world and be carried away into the world of incredible legends, where magic and magical creatures live.

Typologies of magical creatures

The encyclopedia and reference books give approximately the same explanation for the term “magical creatures” - these are characters of non-human origin, a certain magical power that they use for both good and evil deeds.

Different civilizations had their own characteristic characters. These magical animals belonged to a specific species and genus, which were determined based on who their parents were.

People tried to classify mystical characters. Most often they are divided into:

• good and evil;
• flying, sea and living on earth;
• half-humans and half-gods;
• animals and humanoids, etc.

Ancient mythical creatures are classified not only by description, but also in alphabetical order. But this is impractical, because the collection does not take into account their type, lifestyle and impact on humans. The most convenient classification option is

Images of ancient Greek mythology

North American magical creatures

America was colonized quite late. For this, Europeans often called the continent the New World. But if we return to historical origins, then North America is also rich in ancient civilizations that have sunk into oblivion.

Many of them have disappeared forever, but various mythical creatures are still known today. Here is a partial list of those:

• Lechuza (Lechusa) - the ancient inhabitants of Texas called a werewolf witch with the head of a woman and the body of an owl. Lechuzas are girls who sold their souls to the devil in exchange for magical powers. At night they turned into monsters, so they were often seen flying around in search of profit. There is another version of the appearance of lechuza - it is the spirit of a murdered woman who returned for revenge. Lechusa was compared to such representatives of the ancient world as harpies and banshees.
• - small and very kind fairy-tale characters, whose image is actively used in modern Western culture. According to legend, they got their name because they put money or gifts under a child's pillow in exchange for a lost tooth. The main benefit of this character with wings is that they encourage the child to take care of his appearance and compensate for the loss of a tooth. It was possible to give a gift to the fairy on any day except December 25, because on Christmas such a gift would entail the death of the fairy.
• La Llorona is the name given to a ghostly woman mourning her children. Her image is very common in Mexico and the surrounding North American states. La Llorona is depicted as a pale woman in white, wandering near bodies of water and along deserted streets with a bundle in her hands. A meeting with her is dangerous, because after this the person begins to have problems. This image was popular among parents, who intimidated their naughty children by threatening that La Llorona might take them away.
• Bloody Mary - if you open the atlas, this mystical image is associated with the state of Pennsylvania. Here a legend appeared about a small and evil old woman who lived in the thicket of the forest and practiced witchcraft. In nearby villages and hamlets, children began to disappear. One day, a miller tracked his daughter to Bloody Mary’s home. For this, her fellow villagers burned her at the stake. Burning, she shouted a curse. After her death, children's bodies were found buried around the house. The image of Bloody Mary was used for fortune telling on Halloween night. A cocktail is named in her honor.
• Chihuateteo - this word in Aztec mythology refers to rare creatures, unusual women who died during childbirth and subsequently became vampires. Childbirth is a form of battle for life. According to legend, Chihuateos accompanied male warriors at sunset. And at night, like succubi, they seduced representatives of the stronger half, sucking energy out of them, and also kidnapped children to quench their thirst. To charm and subjugate, the Chihuateteo could practice magic and witchcraft.
• Wendigos are evil spirits. In the ancient world, people meant by this word “all-consuming evil.” The Wendigo is a tall creature with sharp fangs, a lipless mouth, it is insatiable and its silhouette features are similar to those of a human. They split into small groups and pursue their victims. People who find themselves in the forest initially hear strange sounds, while looking for the source of these sounds, they could only see a flashing silhouette. It is impossible to hit a Windigo with conventional weapons. Only silver items can take it, and it can also be destroyed by fire.
• A goatman is a humanoid that is similar to a satyr or . He is described as having a human body and the head of a goat. According to some reports, he is depicted with horns. Height up to 3.5 m, he attacks animals and people.
• Hodag is a powerful monster of an indeterminate kind. It is described as a large animal, reminiscent of a rhinoceros, but instead of a horn, the hodag has a diamond-shaped appendage, thanks to which the fairy-tale character can only see straight ahead. According to legend, he ate white bulldogs. According to another description, he has bone growths in the area of ​​his back and head.
• The Great Serpent is the central religious and social symbol of the Mayan tribe. The serpent is associated with the celestial bodies; according to legend, it helps to cross the space of the heavens. Shedding old skin is a symbol of renewal and full rebirth. He was depicted as having two heads. With horns, the spirits of previous generations emerged from its jaws.
• Baycock is a prominent representative of the mythology of the Cherokee Indians. He was presented as an emaciated man with scarlet fiery eyes. He was dressed in rags or ordinary hunting clothes. Every Indian could become a beycock if he died shamefully, or committed a bad deed: lying, killing relatives, etc. They hunted only warriors, were fast and merciless. To stop the chaos, you need to collect the baycock bones and arrange a normal funeral. Then the monster will calmly go to rest in the afterlife.

European mythical characters

Europe is a huge continent that contains many different states and nationalities.

European mythology has collected many fairy-tale characters that are associated with ancient Greek civilization and the Middle Ages.

Incredible facts

From the very beginning of its history, humanity has been drawn to legends and myths, many of which had very real reasons. The heroes of these myths often became prototypes of real-life creatures.

In 1799, the English zoologist George Shaw wrote that the platypus looks as if “the beak of a duck had been attached to the head of some quadruped.” However, for a long time the platypus baffled scientists not only with its appearance, but also with other oddities.

Naturalists around the world for a long period of time could not decide whether this creature was a mammal. Did it lay eggs or was it viviparous? In fact, it took scientists a hundred years to get answers to these and other questions regarding the platypus (which, by the way, happens to be one of the few egg-laying mammals).

Myths of Ancient Greece

Sirens

The legends about sirens are almost as old as the history of human navigation. One of the earliest mentions of sirens is associated with the era when the first mentions of the half-sister of Alexander the Great, Thessalonica, appeared.

Legend has it that after Alexander returned from his a journey filled with dangers connected with the search for the source of eternal youth, he washed his sister’s hair in living water.

After Alexander died, his sister (and some sources claim that his mistress) decided to drown herself in the sea. However, Thessalonica could not drown in it. But she was able to turn into a siren.

According to legend, she called out to the sailors with the question: "Is King Alexander Alive?" If they answered that, they say, "he's alive, lives, reigns and continues to conquer the world" , then Thessalonica allowed sea travelers to sail past calmly.

If the unfortunate people dared to tell Thessalonica that the king was dead, she immediately turned into a terrible monster (perhaps the same Kraken?), which grabbed the ship and dragged it into the depths of the sea along with the entire crew.

The only possible explanation for the fact that sailors regularly reported sightings of sirens (that is, demonic creatures with the body of a woman and the tail of a fish) was that men confused them with herbivorous mammals living in sea water (for example, with dugongs or sea cows).

This explanation looks rather strange, since the same sea cows are far from being able to be called at all attractive and seductive creatures on Earth. How could the sailors make such a cruel mistake? Perhaps they had been swimming too long without women...

However, perhaps the reason was that manatees (that is, sea cows) have a habit of sticking their heads out of the water, shaking them in such a way that it looks like a man bobbing in water. When viewed from the back, their rough skin below the head may appear to have hair flowing down from the head.

Another reason could be the fact that the first navigators, who spent a long time at sea, often suffered from hallucinations. It is possible that, from a distance, with only the light of the moon, they could confuse the manatee with women. By the way, a group of animals was named after the mythical sirens, which included manatees and dugongs.

Vampires

Modern man's view of vampires was formed largely thanks to the famous (one might say cult) Irish writer Bram Stoker's Dracula, which was first published back in 1897.

Since then, the appearance of the “average” vampire has remained virtually unchanged - they were a stranger with pale, thin skin, speaking with an unbearable accent (apparently Romanian), sleeping in a coffin during the daytime. Plus, he was more or less immortal.

It is well known that the prototype of Bram Stoker's main vampire was a real historical character - Vlad III Tepes, Prince of Wallachia. It is also quite possible that Stoker was inspired by numerous rumors and superstitions regarding death and burial itself. These rumors were caused by the ignorance of people who did not particularly understand the processes of decomposition of the human body at that time.

After death, a person’s skin dries out in such a way that teeth and nails look more prominent and prominent against its background. It feels like they have grown up. In addition, internal organs disintegrate, various fluids leave the human body through the mouth and nose, leaving dark stains. People often interpreted these stains as if a dead man drank the blood of living people.

In addition to the above, there were other signs of vampirism that fueled superstition, associated, for example, with coffins. The thing is that sometimes scratches were found on the inner surface of the coffin lids after exhumation, which were perceived as a direct indication that the dead had ceased to be such and were trying to rise from the grave.

Such cases are explained by the terrible mistakes that were common in those days; sometimes they buried a seemingly dead person who was, in fact, in a short-term coma, for example. The unfortunate man, waking up and finding himself in pitch darkness, of course, frantically scratched the lid of the coffin from the inside, trying to get out...

It is also believed that the famous Scottish monk and philosopher, Blessed John Duns Scotus, died in this way. An exhumation was carried out, as a result of which it was discovered that his body in the coffin was curved in an unnatural way. The fingers were torn, and there was dried blood everywhere. Another person buried alive tried unsuccessfully to get out...

Greek mythology

Giants

Giants have remained a constant part of folklore for thousands of years. In Greek mythology, we encounter a whole tribe of giants who were born into the world by the goddess Gaia after she was fertilized with blood collected during the castration of the sky god and her husband Uranus by Kronos.

Germanic-Scandinavian mythology speaks of creation the largest giant of Aurgelmir from drops of water formed at the moment of contact between the land of ice and mists (Niflheim) and the land of heat and flame (Muspellheim).

It must have been really big! After Aurgelmir was killed by the gods, our Earth appeared. A stronghold was formed from the giant’s flesh, seas and oceans from his blood, mountains from his bones, stones from his teeth, the sky from his skull, and clouds from his brain. Even his eyebrows came in handy: they began to encircle Midgard, inhabited by people (that’s what the Vikings called the Earth).

The strengthened belief in giants can be partly explained by the phenomenon of hereditary gigantism (however, not in all countries). Scientists are confident that they managed to isolate a gene that leads to familial gigantism. According to the results of various studies, people suffering from gigantism often suffer from pituitary gland cancer, which stimulates uncontrolled body growth.

The height of the biblical giant Goliath, according to legend, reached 274 centimeters. In the modern world there is no clear rule or definition that would allow us to unambiguously say that a giant is a person of such and such height. The reason for this is that different peoples have different average heights (the difference can reach 30 centimeters or more).

One study published in the international medical journal Ulster Medical Journal suggested that Goliath (killed, as we know, by David with a stone thrown from a sling), whose family tree is easily identifiable, suffered from autosomal dominant inheritance of diseases.

They say that the stone that David used hit Goliath in the forehead. And if Goliath suffered from a tumor of the pituitary gland, which put pressure on his optic chiasm, then this could certainly lead to visual impairment, which did not allow the giant to see the stone flying at him.

Banshee

In Irish folklore, a banshee (that is, a woman from Shea, if translated from the language of the Scottish Celts) is a beautiful young woman, fairy, with flowing white hair and eyes red from continuous tears. He cries, thereby warning the person who hears it that someone in his family will soon die.

Her crying and lamentations are perceived more as a kind of help to a person, rather than a threat. Hearing the howls of a banshee, a person understands that he will soon have to say goodbye forever to someone close to him; and, thanks to the banshee, he has a little time for this.

It is not entirely clear when this legend first began. There are certain references to banshees, dateableXIV century. More precisely, in the year 1350, when a large-scale clash took place near the village of Torlaug between representatives of the Irish and English noble families.

After this, the banshee was almost never forgotten, until the middle of the 19th century. In fact, mourning the dead with lamentations has always been part of the tradition of Irish women, thus expressing bitterness, pain and the severity of loss.

Representatives of the fairer sex stood on the edge of the grave and began to scream at the top of their voices, mourning their loss. This tradition gradually died out during the 19th century because turned into a kind of “attraction” for tourists, who came to look at the mourners from a “real Irish funeral.”

In fact, it is not difficult to accept the fact that the impressionable Irish, who were always ready to believe in something supernatural, mixed their women wailing in grief and fairy tales to end up with a beautiful story about banshees warning outside the windows of the house his owners about the approaching grief...

Hydra

According to Greek mythology, Hydra is a gigantic snake with nine (or more) heads, one of which is immortal. If Hydra had one head cut off, then instead, two new heads grew from a fresh wound(or three - different data can be found in different mythological sources).

The killing of the Hydra is one of the 12 glorious labors of the great Hercules. To defeat this monstrously dangerous creature, Hercules enlisted the support of his nephew Iolaus, who helped the hero by cauterizing the heads severed by the strongman.

The confrontation was difficult, but all the animals were also on Hercules’ side. The battle continued until until Hercules cut off all of Hydra's heads, except for one – immortal. The strongman eventually chopped her off too, and then buried her in the ground near the road, covering her with a heavy boulder on top.

The myth of the many-headed hydra was probably inspired to the ancient Greeks by Mother Nature herself. Since ancient times, there have been numerous references to snakes with several heads (although no one has yet mentioned nine heads!). In fact, cases of polycephaly (being born with multiple heads) are much more common among reptiles than among any other animal.

Moreover: thanks to the study of Siamese twins, scientists themselves learned to create polycephalic animals. Known experiments of the German embryologist Hans Spemann, who at the beginning of the 20th century attached slamander embryos together using a child's human hair. As a result, a creature with two heads was born.

Mythical animals

dire wolves

These days, the so-called dire wolves are very well known to those who watch the TV series Game of Thrones. After all, these were the wolves that were given to the young Starks. In fact, dire wolves are not a figment of the imagination of the writers and authors of the famous series.

Dire wolves are huge wolves that actually existed in North America, extinct more than ten thousand years ago. These formidable creatures were larger, but stockier (due to shorter legs) than modern wolves.

About four thousand fossilized remains of dire wolves (in addition to many more remains of other animals) have been discovered in the area of ​​tar lakes called Rancho La Brea, Los Angeles, California, USA.

Researchers believe they became trapped in these tar pits when they arrived there to profit from the remains of numerous other animals, trapped in underground bitumen coming to the surface.

The dire wolf had a huge skull, but its brain was smaller than the brain of a modern wolf. Perhaps if the brains of these ferocious creatures were a little larger, they would realize that the remains of various animals did not end up in these tar pits by chance...

If you remember, there was an albino wolf in Game of Thrones. In fact, it is unknown whether there were albinos among dire wolves, although Among the population of modern wolves, albinos are far from uncommon. It is also noteworthy that dire wolves were not as agile as modern wolves.

Basilisk

According to the famous Greek myths and films about Harry Potter (choose for yourself which source is more authoritative for you), the basilisk was a snake with a deadly look and a deadly breath. Legends say that the basilisk hatched from the egg of an ibis bird, which was hatched by a snake.

It is assumed that the basilisk was afraid only of the cock's crow and caress, who was immune to his poisonous bites. Yes, they almost forgot about Harry Potter’s sword, with which he killed this snake - his basilisk, too, as it turned out, was afraid...

In Greek mythology, the basilisk was a normal-sized snake, but by the time this creature ended up at Hogwarts (the school of wizards where Harry Potter studied), it unexpectedly increased to the size of a mammoth (not to mention the length). This creature has had many other reincarnations over these past centuries...

The likelihood that a snake will actually hatch an ibis egg is almost zero (not to mention the fact that an ibis, in principle, is not able to lay an egg with a snake inside). Nevertheless, the legend of the basilisk has a very real basis. Researchers are convinced that the prototype of the mythical basilisk is an ordinary Egyptian cobra.

However, the Egyptian cobra is not so ordinary - it is an extremely dangerous reptile that constantly hisses, and even spits venom at a distance of up to two and a half meters. Moreover, he aims directly between the eyes of his potential enemy or victim.

And there is no other creature that would be as quarrelsome and as sociable as man: the first because of his vices, the second because of his nature.
Michel Montaigne

Mythical creatures among the Slavs

Ancient Rus' included many tribes, and each of them had their own mythical creatures, unknown to neighboring peoples: all kinds of banniki, ovinniki, anchutki and others. The Slavic people endowed the heavenly bodies and natural phenomena, mountains, trees and reservoirs with supernatural abilities. It is very difficult to list all the ancient mythical creatures of the Slavs: most of them have been studied very poorly and represent local varieties of spirits - forest, water or domestic, and some of them were very similar to each other.

List of pet creatures

The brownie is a kind spirit among the Slavs, the keeper of the house and everything that is in it. The brownie looks like a little old man with a beard. It is believed that the older the brownie, the younger he looks, since they are born old men and die babies. The brownie is most often invisible in the house, and appears only before some important event. Then people will find out what a real brownie looks like. Each brownie has his own character, his own quirks and characteristics. Our ancestors tried to establish contact with Domov - they invited him to a new house when they moved, and honored him on special days.

Barabashka is a mythical creature, a small household spirit. Its appearance is a matte fluffy gray ball. However, like many natural energy spirits, it can create an illusion that is very difficult for an ordinary person to distinguish without tactile contact. That is, a drummer can easily turn into a cat. If he appears to you in his true form, then he is on good terms with your Domovoi and trusts you. In this situation, it is quite possible to establish contact with him and even communicate; these spirits do not understand much, but they see and hear a lot thanks to their abilities.

Bannik in Slavic mythology was the owner of the embodiment of a rather dangerous place where people were cleansed of bodily and spiritual filth. Hence the image - not very friendly towards people, strict, but sometimes fair. They believed that the bannik washed itself at night, often together with other household and sometimes forest spirits. If you stand at the door to the bathhouse after midnight, you can hear characteristic sounds: the splashing of water, the splashing of brooms. The bravest who looked into the bathhouse saw Bannik himself or Obderikha (considered either a female Bannik or his wife, her other name is Shishiga).

Kikimora is an evil spirit that sends nightmares to people. During the day they are inactive, and at night they begin to play pranks. For the most part, this mythical creature does not cause serious harm to humans, mostly it only plays minor pranks: it sometimes knocks or creaks at night. But if the kikimora dislikes one of the family members, then the pranks will become much more serious: the spirit will begin to break furniture, break dishes, and harass livestock. The kikimora's favorite pastime is spinning yarn: sometimes he sits in the corner at night and starts working, and so on until the morning, but this work is of no use, it only tangles the threads and breaks the yarn.

Helpers of the Gods

In Slavic mythology, many creatures are not only assistants to the gods, but also have magical abilities themselves. People were afraid of evil monsters and believed in the kindness of spirits.

Gamayun is, according to Slavic mythology, a prophetic bird, a messenger of the god Veles, his herald, singing divine hymns to people and foreshadowing the future for those who know how to hear the secret. Gamayun knows everything in the world about the origin of earth and sky, gods and heroes, people and monsters, birds and animals. According to ancient belief, the cry of the bird Gamayun foretells happiness. It was believed that if a heavenly feathered creature flies low and touches a person’s head with its wings, good luck will accompany him in everything. But, in addition to fortune, patronage and protection, Gamayun could predict the future. And if someone managed to get her pen, then he received fame and fortune.

Sirin is one of the birds of paradise, even its very name is consonant with the name of paradise: Iriy. Sirin is a dark bird, a dark force, a messenger of the ruler of the underworld. From head to waist Sirin is a woman of incomparable beauty, and from the waist she is a bird. The songs of the dark maiden force people to completely forget about everything. Hearing her voice, a person plunges into a state of stupor, stops eating and drinking, cannot sleep and dies from physical exhaustion. This unusual effect continues even after the end of the enchanting singing.

Alkonost is a wonderful bird, a woman’s face, a bird’s body, and a voice as sweet as love itself. Hearing the singing of Alkonost with delight can forget everything in the world, but there is no harm from her to people, unlike her sister the bird Sirin. The creature is patronized by the Slavic god Horse. Alkonost spends almost his entire life in Iria, and only once a year they descend to land to lay eggs on the bottom of the sea. After 7 days they float to the surface and the chicks hatch. All this time, the weather around the nesting site is clear, windless, and the mother sings her wonderful songs, hiding nearby in the thicket of the forest. When the chicks hatch, the alkonost takes them and remains with the offspring on the ground for another 7 days.

Forest and water mythical creatures

Slavic myths transmitted orally have survived to this day. They tell of an amazing and magical world inhabited by omnipotent deities, fairy-tale creatures and capricious spirits. Ancient tales are an inexhaustible source of folk rituals and beliefs, pagan ideas about the structure of the world, and magical symbolism. Moreover, the Slavs did not have sea or mountain monsters, but forest and river evil spirits were abundant.

Vodyanoy - in Slavic mythology, a spirit that lives in water, the owner of the waters. Grandfather of the water in Slavic mythology is the real ruler of the river or lake bottom. He has his own farm, livestock, consisting of fish and waterfowl, and mermaids and other inhabitants are considered his subjects. Although the merman is not very evil, he will not miss the chance to lure unwary swimmers to the bottom so that they will entertain him there. That is why in Slavic mythology the merman is not considered a positive character. His image personifies the very element of water: dangerous, unpredictable.

Leshy is a forest spirit among the Slavs, the owner of the forest. He is neither good nor evil - it depends on his mood. It can help a lost mushroom picker or berry picker get out of their possessions, or it can lead them into the thicket and destroy them. But usually it harms those who did not follow the rules of behavior in the forest. The woodsman is capable of causing dangerous natural phenomena, including hurricanes. Birds and animals, trees and grass in the forest are also subordinate to him. Our ancestors believed that the favorite time of the devil, like many spirits, was night. However, you can see it in the morning and afternoon.

Polevik is the owner of the fields, one of the characters in Slavic mythology. Many customs and beliefs are associated with it that accompanied sowing, growing and harvesting. As mythology describes, the fieldman runs very fast. He helps diligent, hardworking owners and really does not like people who work carelessly - he will turn the plow out of the ground and slip a stone under it. It is one of the lower spirits, most of them hostile to humans. If he is not appeased, the field worker will torment the cattle in the pasture or dry up the ears of corn.

Undead and ghosts

Evil spirits, or undead, according to the beliefs of the ancient Slavs, inhabited all corners of nature: water, forests, fields and even homes. As a rule, evil spirits personified an evil, dark force, so they were afraid of it, tried to protect their home from it, and even performed special rituals and rituals. This type of creature includes the souls of people who did not die a natural death and roam the earth in search of peace.

Mavki is a type of mythical creature among the Slavic peoples. Mavkas look like girls and children in long shirts, but they have no skin on the back, which is why their internal organs are visible; they are called backless. They hide in forests, fields, rivers and lakes, often get close to mermaids and take revenge on people for allowing their early death, knocking travelers off the road, leading them into swamps and killing them, and can tickle them to death. Just like mermaids, they often lure men to them and then kill them. In ancient Rus' they believed that stillborn children and dead infants became Mavkas.

A mermaid is half-woman, half-fish. Instead of legs, the mermaid has a tail similar to a dolphin, but otherwise she is no different from a person, and when she gets onto land, her tail dries out and turns into human legs. The word mermaid itself means white, pure. In fact, mermaids cannot be classified as evil creatures: they do not attack people, at least not with the intent to kill, since their main diet is fish. They are very lonely: mermaids do not have males, therefore, when meeting men, they seek communication in every possible way, luring them to themselves, but since a person is not able to breathe under water, he dies.

Navya are special evil creatures, unclean spirits. Navya, they are also mortgaged dead - according to Slavic beliefs, people who died an unnatural death and did not receive peace after death. They were supposed to return to the world of the living and continue their existence on earth as mythical creatures. It was believed that they could send diseases to people and livestock, as well as natural disasters. At night, navyi rush through the streets, striking everyone who leaves the house. People died from their wounds. Then the Navy began to appear on horses during the day, but they were invisible.

Sinister is an evil spirit that brings poverty to the house in which it has settled. These spirits are subordinate to Navya. Sinister is invisible, but he can be heard, sometimes he even talks to people, in addition, the spirit can climb onto the inhabitants of the house and ride on them. It is difficult for an evil spirit to get into the house, since the brownie does not let him in, but if he has managed to slip into the home, it is very difficult to get rid of him. Often evil spirits live in groups, so that in one house there can be up to 12 creatures. Sinister creatures prefer to settle in human houses behind the stove, in chests or closets.

A ghoul is a living dead who has risen from the grave. Outwardly, ghouls are practically no different from humans, their only difference is their sharp teeth, so all the teeth of a ghoul are pointed, reminiscent of a shark’s mouth, not a human’s. Usually sorcerers and werewolves turn into ghouls after death, but a living person who has become a victim of a curse can also become a living dead. Usually the living dead settle in cemeteries and do not stray far from their graves, but sometimes, in search of food or to escape from pursuers, ghouls can settle in the forest or even in villages, where they choose dark places for living where sunlight does not penetrate.

Anchutka is a little evil spirit. The height of the anchutki is only a few centimeters, their bodies are covered with hair and are black in color, and the heads of these evil spirits are bald. A characteristic feature of the anchutka is the absence of heels. It is believed that one should not say the name of this evil spirit out loud, since the anchutka will immediately respond to it and end up right in front of the one who said it. Anchutka can live almost anywhere: most often the spirit can be found in a field, in a bathhouse or on a pond; it also prefers to settle closer to people, but avoids meeting with stronger creatures.

Fairytale creatures

Slavic fairy tales are a bottomless well of wisdom, which, however, over the past centuries has undergone significant changes, both natural, due to the cultural characteristics of the development of our people, and artificial, introduced (primarily, this means distortions deliberately introduced by Christians, which will be discussed below). However, many legends, epics and fairy tales of Slavic mythology still retain their original images and symbols, which can tell us a lot about our ancestors.

Baba Yaga is a dark sorceress, the daughter of Viya, the wife of Veles, the initially caring Bereginya, who later, during Christianity, turned into a terrible, demonic creature that was used to scare children. Many old fairy tales, when our ancestors had already lost the original meaning of the mythological images of antiquity, show Baba Yaga in the guise of an old scary woman who lives in the Hut-on-chicken-legs on the very border of the Dark Forest. Meanwhile, the essence of this legendary character seems to be a much more curious tangle of diverse and sometimes contradictory information.

The Firebird is a fabulous bird with bright, golden plumage tinged with red. the incarnation of the God of thunder, thunder and lightning, the Almighty Thunderer Perun, flying to us from the divine Iria or from the distant thirtieth kingdom. In the thirtieth kingdom there are fabulously rich people and lands, which is why the Firebird itself is golden. The Firebird feeds on rejuvenating apples, which give everyone immortality, youth and beauty. The firebird cannot be picked up with bare hands, as its plumage burns, and the firebird is not surrounded by fire.

Koschei the Immortal- a cult character of Slavic mythology, whose folk image is extremely far from the original one. Koschey Chernobogovich was the youngest son of Chernobog, the great Serpent of Darkness. His older brothers - Goryn and Viy - feared and respected Koshchei for his great wisdom and equally great hatred of his father's enemies - the Irian gods. Koschey owned the deepest and darkest kingdom of Navi - the Koshcheev kingdom, in which the Lunar Palace, the abode of Chernobog, the ruler of Dasunya, was probably located.

Serpent Gorynych - personifies evil in folk tales and epics of the Slavs. In different legends, the description of the Serpent differs, which is why it is very difficult to create an accurate portrait of this character. But it is generally accepted that the Serpent-Gorynych is a talking dragon-like creature, with three heads, a tail and copper claws, and has the ability to breathe fire. The Serpent can have from 3 to 12 heads, and from 1 to 7 tails, depending on the source. The Serpent moves through the air, but fairy tales are silent about the presence of wings.

Cat Bayun is a character from Russian fairy tales, a huge cannibal cat with a magical voice. He speaks and lulls approaching travelers to sleep with his tales and those of them who are not strong enough to resist his magic and who are not prepared for battle, the sorcerer cat mercilessly kills. But whoever can catch the Cat will find salvation from all illnesses and ailments - Bayun’s fairy tales are healing. The cat Bayun is endowed with a voice that can be heard for seven miles, as he purrs, he will cast an enchanted dream on whomever he wants, which you cannot distinguish, without knowing it, from death.

Evil mythical creatures

If you think that in Slavic mythology the most terrible ones were Baba Yaga and the Serpent Gorynych, who constantly appear in fairy tales. In fact, in the mythology of our ancestors there were truly terrible and evil creatures that you would hardly want to meet.

Asp - A winged snake with two trunks and a bird's beak. Lives high in the mountains and periodically makes devastating raids on villages. He gravitates towards rocks so much that he cannot even sit on damp ground - only on a stone. The asp is invulnerable to conventional weapons; it cannot be killed with a sword or arrow, but can only be burned. However, the snake will never fly up to the fire, and it does not land on the ground. Only the sound of a trumpet can enrage an asp, in this state he rushes at everything that makes this sound, therefore the Asp can only be defeated by luring him into a fiery trap with the help of pipes.

Dashing One-Eyed is an evil humanoid creature, there are both male and female individuals. He is distinguished by his dashingly tall stature and lean physique; he has only one eye, so he sees in a narrow range. It feeds voraciously on the flesh and suffering of people and animals; it usually tries not to appear in large settlements, but spends most of its life in the forest, feeding on local animals and birds, which often angers the devil. But if a lone person or a small group of people comes across, then it will not miss its chance. When it comes to one person, it plunges him into despondency and feeds on negative emotions.

Viy is a character from the underworld whose gaze kills. His eyes are usually covered with huge eyelids and eyelashes, which he cannot lift without help. He looks like a scary, ugly old man, very tall and powerfully built. Viy is all overgrown with tree roots and moss, but the most terrible thing about this creature is considered to be his gaze; if someone helps him open his eyelids, then with his gaze he will be able to kill not only a person, but also burn down entire villages. Viy’s voice is very scary and disgusting, its drawn-out monotonous sound can drive any person crazy.

A werewolf is a person who can transform into a wolf (bear). You can become a werewolf voluntarily or against your will. Sorcerers often transform themselves into werewolves to gain the power of the beast. They are able to transform into a wolf and back into a human at will. To do this, the sorcerer just needs to somersault over a stump, or 12 knives stuck into the ground with the tip, and if during the time the magician was in the guise of a beast, someone takes out at least one knife from the ground, then the sorcerer will no longer be able to return back to human form. A person can turn into a werewolf even after being cursed, then the cursed person is not able to regain his human appearance.

Heroes of ancient legends

Slavic mythology is a collection of epics, myths, beliefs and cults of the Slavic peoples, where a significant part of our history is associated with little-known keepers of tradition and heroes of ancient legends.

The Berendeys were pagans and spiritualized all the nature around them. those. They considered the nature around them to be a living being with a soul - every pebble, especially a large boulder, every tree and every bush and leaf. In addition, the Berendeys possessed secret magical knowledge. Over the long period of its existence, the Berendeev family has developed the ability not only to be a werewolf. They can easily dissolve in stone, underground and underwater labyrinths, where an uninitiated modern person will never be able to detect them.

Volot is a small race of mighty giants that inhabited the territory of ancient Rus'. The Volots were once one of the most widespread races, but by the beginning of the historical era they had practically died out, forced out by people. Giants are considered the ancestors of the Slavs, which is confirmed by the appearance of heroes in the human race. Volots try not to contact or interfere with people, settling in hard-to-reach places, preferring to choose high mountain areas or hard-to-reach forest thickets for housing; they settle much less often in steppe areas.

Among Slavic mythical creatures there are very few monsters as such. Our ancestors led a calm, measured life, and therefore the creatures they invented for themselves were associated with the elementary elements, neutral in their essence. If they opposed people, then, for the most part, they were only protecting Mother Nature and ancestral traditions. Stories of Russian folklore teach us to be kinder, more tolerant, to love nature and respect the ancient heritage of our ancestors.

Are you familiar with Greek mythology? This list will help you test your knowledge or even enrich it. It was not without reason that the legendary creatures from ancient Greek folklore became famous throughout the world, because they had simply extraordinary qualities. These mythical monsters are some of the most bizarre, terrifying and incredible creatures, including not only amazing animals, but also the strangest humanoids imaginable. Are you ready for an educational program?

25. Python or Python

Usually depicted as a serpent guarding the entrance to the Delphic Oracle. According to legend, the cruel Python was killed by Apollo himself, one of the famous Olympian gods. After the death of the serpent, Apollo founded his own oracle on the site of the Delphic oracle.

24. Orff, Orth, Ortr, Orthros, Orfre


Photo: wikimedia commons

A two-headed dog whose task was to guard a huge herd of magical red bulls. This monster was killed by the Greek hero Hercules, who took the entire herd for himself as proof of his victory over Orff. According to rumors, Orff was the father of several other monsters, including the Sphinx and the Chimera, and his brother was the legendary Cerberus.

23. Ichthyocentaurs


Photo: Dr Murali Mohan Gurram

These were sea gods, centaurs-tritons, whose upper body looked like a human, the lower pair of limbs were like a horse, and behind them was a fish tail. They were often depicted next to Aphrodite during her birth. Perhaps you could also meet these ichthyocentaurs in paintings dedicated to the zodiac constellation Pisces.

22. Skilla


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The six-headed Skilla was a sea monster that lived on one side of a narrow strait under a rock, while on the other side the no less dangerous Charybdis awaited the sailors (13th point). The distance between the shores of this narrow strait and the shelters of evil mythical creatures was equal to the flight of a launched arrow, so travelers very often sailed too close to one of the monsters and died.

21. Typhon


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Typhon was the personification of the volcanic forces of the Earth and at the same time was considered the most deadly demon in all of Greece. His upper body was human, and this character was so huge that he supported the starry sky, and his arms reached to the eastern and western ends of the world. Instead of an ordinary human head, a hundred dragon heads erupted from Typhon's neck and shoulders.

20. Ophiotaurus


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Ophiotaurus was another Greek hybrid monster that was more feared than death. According to legend, killing and ritually burning the entrails of this half-bull, half-snake gave strength with which one could defeat any gods. For the same reason, the Titans killed the monster in order to overthrow the Olympian gods, but Zeus managed to send the Eagle to peck the offal of the defeated creature before they were burned on the altar, and Olympus was saved.

19. Lamia

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They say that Lamia was once a beautiful ruler of the Libyan kingdom, but later became a cruel child eater and a most dangerous demon. According to the myth, Zeus fell in love with the charming Lamia so much that his wife Hera, out of jealousy, killed all the children of Lamia (except for the cursed Skilla) and transformed the Libyan queen into a monster who hunts other people’s children.

18. Graia or Forkiades


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The Grays were three sisters who shared one eye and one tooth. It is not surprising that they were famous not for their beauty at all, but rather for their gray hair and ugliness, instilling fear in everyone. In addition, their names were very eloquent: Deino (trembling or death), Enyo (terror) and Pemphredo (anxiety).

17. Echidna

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Half woman, half snake. The echidna was called the mother of all monsters, since most of the monsters from ancient Greek myths were considered her offspring. According to legend, Echidna and Typhon passionately loved each other, and it was their union that gave birth to many insidious creatures. The Greeks believed that it produced a poison that caused madness.

16. Nemean Lion


Photo: Yelkrokoyade

The Nemean Lion was a vicious monster that lived in the Nemea region. As a result, he was killed by the famous ancient Greek hero Hercules. It was impossible to kill this mythical creature with a simple weapon because of its extraordinary golden fur, which was impossible to pierce with ordinary swords, arrows or stakes, and therefore Hercules had to strangle the Nemean Lion with his bare hands. The strongman managed to tear the skin off the beast only with the help of the claws and teeth of the defeated lion itself.

15. Sphinx


Photo: Tilemahos Efthimiadis / Athens, Greece

The Sphinx was a zoomorphic creature with the body of a lion, the wings of an eagle, the tail of a bull and the head of a woman. According to legend, this character was a ruthless and treacherous monster. Those who could not solve the riddles, according to the tradition of all myths, died a painful death in the mouth of the furious Sphinx. The monster itself died only after the brave King Oedipus solved its riddle.

14. Erinyes

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Erinia is translated from Greek as “wrathful.” These were avenging goddesses. According to legend, they punished anyone who uttered false oaths, committed any atrocity, or spoke anything against one of the gods.

13. Charybdis


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The daughter of Poseidon and Gaia, Charybdis was a huge sea monster with a mouth all over her face and fins or flippers instead of arms and legs. Three times a day, she absorbed huge amounts of sea water and then spat it back, thus creating powerful whirlpools that easily sucked in large ships. It was she who was the neighbor of the deadly Skilla from 22 points.

12. Harpies


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These were creatures with the bodies of birds and women's faces. They stole food from innocent victims and sent sinners straight to the vengeful Erinyes (point 14). Harpy is translated as “kidnapper” or “predator”. Zeus often turned to them so that these creatures would punish or torture someone.

11. Satires


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Satyrs are often depicted as human-goat hybrids. They usually have goat horns and hind legs. Satyrs loved to drink, play the flute, and served the god of wine, Dionysus. These forest demons were true lazy people and led the most careless and unbridled lifestyle.

10. Sirens


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Beautiful and very dangerous mythical characters. These fatal goddesses with fish tails lured sailors with their sweet voices, and because of their spell, ships more than once flew into rocks and crashed off the coast. These creatures tore the drowning travelers into pieces and ate them.

9. Griffin


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The griffin is a mythical creature with the body, tail and hind legs of a lion, and its head, wings and claws on its front legs were those of an eagle. The lion was traditionally considered the king of all land monsters, and the eagle was the king of all birds, so in ancient Greek mythology the griffin was an incredibly powerful and majestic character.

8. Chimera


Photo: wikimedia commons

The chimera was a fire-breathing monster whose body consisted of 3 different animals: a lion, a snake and a goat. The monster was from Lycia (an ancient state of Asia Minor). Most often, a chimera was any mythical or fictional creature with body parts from different animals. In a figurative sense, a chimera is considered to be the personification of any unfulfilled desire or fantasy.

7. Cerberus


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Cerberus is one of the most famous characters in ancient Greek mythology. According to legend, it was a three-headed dog with a snake tail that guarded the gates to the Underworld. No one who crossed the River Styx could escape from the afterlife, and this was strictly monitored by the ferocious Cerberus, until one day Hercules defeated him.

6. Cyclops

Photo: Odilon Redon

The Cyclopes were a distinct race of one-eyed giants. But these creatures were cruel and ferocious monsters who were not afraid even of the gods, but at the same time they served the god of fire and blacksmithing, Hephaestus.

5. Hydra


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The Hydra was an ancient sea monster that resembled a huge serpent with reptilian features, with countless heads growing from its body. Instead of one severed head, she always grew 2 new heads. The hydra had poisonous breath, and even its blood was so dangerous that the slightest contact with it was fatal.

4. Gorgons


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Probably the most famous of all the ancient Greek gorgons was Medusa. She was also the only mortal gorgon among her evil sisters. Medusa had snakes instead of hair, and one glance from her was enough to turn a person to stone. According to legend, Perseus managed to behead her, armed with a mirror instead of a shield.

3. Minotaur


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The Minotaur was a mythical creature with the head of a bull and the body of a man who ate innocent people. He lived in the Knossos labyrinth, built by the ancient Greek engineer and artist Daedalus and his son Icarus. The monster was eventually defeated by an Attic hero named Theseus.

2. Centaur


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The centaur was a fairy-tale creature with the head, arms and torso of a man, and below the waist he resembled an ordinary horse. Chiron was considered one of the most famous centaurs in Greek mythology. Most centaurs were violent and hostile creatures who loved to drink and worshiped only the god of wine, Dionysus. However, Chiron was a wise and kind creature and even a mentor to such ancient Greek heroes as Hercules and Achilles.

1. Pegasus


Photo: shutterstock

This is one of the most famous mythical creatures of the ancient world. The Greeks believed that Pegasus was a divine stallion of snow-white color, and that he had huge wings. According to legend, Pegasus was the child of Poseidon and the gorgon Medusa. According to one legend, every time this fabulous horse hit the ground with its hoof, a new source of water was born.

Fictional stories and fantasy universes are famous for their detail. Races of mythical creatures have their own history, where they live, and unique traditions. These are distinct cultures with precise rationales and habits that are unique to characters created within one or more stories.

Origin of mythical creatures

Mythology is a separate art form. It describes the lives of the characters down to the smallest detail: they exist within the same social group. Peoples migrate, settle in one place, fight and create their own history. Their origin and behavior may differ. Depending on the type of legend, they grow and develop. Mythological races exist in one or more eras. Their uniqueness is due to the fact that the world around them is created in their image. Characters from the popular fantasy genre can interact with people. Their contacts give rise to new stories and create mutants.

The peculiarities of the life of peoples are taken into account in the narrative. Races of mythical creatures must exist, provide food for themselves, settle down and continue the race. Taken together, all the details come together into a single story. Not all stories are made up for the sake of literary genre.

Ancient legends are based on human fears: people were afraid of what they did not understand. And imaginary monsters saved us from the fear of the unknown. They explained the horrors of the era. Descriptions of monsters were passed on from one generation to another, and thus entire mythical races appeared.

Division of magical creatures into nations

Peoples exist separately from other creatures or interact with other social groups. The more characters involved, the stronger the lovelines, confrontations and issues of inequality. The differences between these groups explain the behavior and motives of the main characters or antagonists.

What is the difference between an individual character and a fictional cohesive group:

• in a group, characters must interact - on this contact, the features of everyday life, moral principles and habits are built;
• an individual character cannot connect many stories - his life path can be interesting, but not develop into something larger;
• characters develop better when they have support or an opposing side;
• with the help of descriptions of peoples, the history of individual heroes, their suffering and motives is more easily explained.

The list of groups is expanding in the modern world. In cinema and literature, old heroes get a new life: they undergo rebirth, gain skills and lose old skills that do not fit into the era given by history. The most popular peoples are used in folklore or in new sayings.

Werewolves

This race has many nicknames. The creatures are called werewolves or wolfhounds. There is a well-known belief that at different times terrible monsters operated in settlements near the forest. They attacked people, ate livestock and harmed everyone who got in their way.

Wolfdogs look like a large dog or wolf with a huge mouth. They are covered with dark fur, and their paws have large and sharp claws. In the mouths of werewolves there are fangs with which the monsters tear apart their victims. Their eyes are red, filled with anger and hatred. Werewolves are very cruel. They spare no one, and as soon as they see the victim, there is no mercy for her.

According to beliefs, the face of the beast reflects the true nature of a person. During the day and on ordinary nights, when the moon waxes or wanes, werewolves hide among people. They have a casual, casual look. The wolfhounds themselves do not remember everything that happens to them after reincarnation. They know about the curse, but they hear details of the murders from other people.

They cannot control the animal part of themselves. Werewolves are both female and male. The curse passes through the family - the child is doomed to constant reincarnation. The first experience occurs in adolescence. Then the young werewolf becomes more aggressive: the closer the full moon, the stronger the internal anxiety.

The clan is headed by the first werewolves. They are almost immortal and live for at least 200 years.

Magic shifters

Well-known races of shapeshifters can not only transform themselves, but also get along well in the role of other people. From birth, creatures have their own appearance, but the older the child gets, the more he tries to imitate those around him. Gradually he learns to change his physical shell and thinking. Changelings do not depict other living flesh, but play the image to the smallest detail.

What are they doing:

• transform into any creature of flesh and blood - stories describe shapeshifters who can transform into magical creatures and acquire their powers;
• change appearances as needed - if they sense danger, the changes do not bring any pain and occur in a few hours;
• for plausibility, the changeling can kill his victim and take his place.

It is very difficult to calculate the creature. He becomes an exact copy of a person. Adopts his habits, character and even temperament. Mythical creatures can stay in the same shell for years: they get along in a role in which they are safe. Changelings live no more than 300 years.

Hobbits

A race of mythical short men known for their incredible stories. The creatures owe their birth to John Tolkien, who described the enterprising people in his books “The Lord of the Rings”. They are also called halflings - their distinctive feature is their short stature and thick legs. Hobbits are rarely thin. The more successful and wealthy they are, the fatter their body. Halflings have curly hair and round faces.

The people are very attached to the area, they honor their culture and have a well-developed ancestral connection. Hobbit houses are passed down from generation to generation. Halflings are born with 4-5 children. By nature they are calm and overly cautious. They are never drawn to adventure. The best thing that can happen to a hobbit is a calm and measured life. The main occupation is agriculture. Halflings make delicious cheese and various pickles.

They are very thrifty: every self-respecting hobbit has a pantry stocked with food just in case. The creatures are not endowed with dexterity or cunning, but you can rely on them in difficult times. If they make a promise, they will do everything possible to keep it.

Orcs

Among the magical creatures there are mutants who frighten with their appearance. are described in the same story as the hobbits. They are the product of evil, pure black force. The orcs of Middle-earth are not born from a mother, but appear from the foot of the mountains. They are born as adults and are ready to fight. Mutants have no emotional attachments. They are ready to kill and always fight to the death. Sauron commands the horde - with their help he tries to suppress the peoples who oppose him.

Another type of orc is found in games and modern films. This is a different social group. Unlike their relatives, such mutants live in tribes - they have children, build families and obey a fair leader. These orcs are born and bred, so they have their own personality. Tribal residents feed on magical power. It gives them power that can crush any enemy. Barbarians attack only according to a well-thought-out plan: no one commands them, they follow their leader.

Gnomes

The list of magical races always includes them. They are also called dwarves or underground people. They are distinguished by their great hard work and rarely go out: they live in mines and specially created underground passages under the mountains, mining metal or diamonds. They are greedy, which explains their hard work.

Description of the gnome's appearance:

• short;
• overweight;
• strong;
• looks like a person.

Residents of underground passages have a bad character. A gnome always has a beard - by this feature he can always be distinguished from a dwarf or other creature. Carls are very proud of their facial hair. The beard can be used to determine the status and age of a gnome.

There are legends about the women of the people. They are rarely mentioned, but their appearance is almost always terrifying. According to legends, women of the underground people are similar to men. They are hairy, masculine and rough. According to other stories, women are cheerful and very peaceful. They hide, and even when the enemy attacks, only males are engaged in protecting the home.

Trolls

Large creatures have a special role in mythology - they serve to intimidate. Therefore, giants, as trolls are also called, live in the forest and remote areas. Terrible cannibals have a massive body, and when they walk on the ground, the roar spreads over several kilometers. Trolls are good at tracking down prey. They have a good sense of smell and great physical strength. Giants love fresh meat with blood. In this case, people are the fastest and most delicious prey for them. The skin color is green, and over the years it darkens.

The creatures do not shine with mental abilities. But they are distinguished by some cunning: if necessary, they can deceive the enemy or pretend to be dead. Giants survive due to good physical characteristics.

They have a difficult character: trolls can get angry in a few minutes. When they are angry, they destroy everything around them and spare no one.

People can be wild or socialized. Trolls live in a group, in which it is easier to hunt, or alone - such creatures are less dangerous, they kill only in extreme cases.

Elves

Fairies

Dryads

Undines

Sea peoples are no less popular in mythology. They are the patrons of all bodies of water around mountains, forests and settlements. The sea people are also called mermaids. These are half people, half fish. They can swim, but move on land if necessary.

According to some beliefs, mermaids are beautiful and sweet creatures; they swim along the seabed and enjoy life. According to other legends, they are insidious seductresses who lure strangers to themselves. They feed on their life forces.

Ondines rarely make contact; they are closed and withdrawn. The more people pay attention to them, the further they hide. Undines do not like to live in groups: they choose a solitary life at the bottom.

Vampires

One of the most popular images is often used in modern fiction. Beautiful seductive bloodsuckers can live for centuries and hide among people. According to legend, they are not much different from ordinary women and men. In the past, they were people who were bitten by other vampires. Immediately after the bite, the person dies and gradually turns into a bloodsucker.

What is special about the life of nocturnal creatures:

• according to legend, they cannot tolerate daylight - as soon as a ray of sun hits their skin, they begin to burn;
• they bite a person and can drink all his blood;
• to turn into this creature, you need to drink the blood of a vampire or be bitten;
• Vampires do not eat regular food - it makes them very sick;
• in various sources, the creatures cannot tolerate garlic or holy water, and you can kill them with an aspen stake.

Vampires live among people. They sleep during the day and go hunting at night. The fangs with which they drink blood are not always visible. Monsters have an attractive appearance to lure new victims. Vampires don't age. Eternal youth is their gift and at the same time a curse. You can kill a creature with a stake or by burning the entire body. First, the vampire's head is cut off.