Joshua Dowidat

Mythical Creatures: Tupilak

Hello Everyone,

We got another land based mythical creature today known as the Tupilak. Although there are similar types of mystical creatures we are going to focus on the ones in the Arctic Circle regions.

Tupilak:

Very similar to the Voodoo Doll, in a sense, the Tupilak is a small effigy formed from the remains of animals or humans. Sometimes these are dressed with hair, or cloth or even other body parts. They are designed to look like the native wildlife of the Arctic and some more resembled humans themselves.

The Inuit Tribes of the North were those most responsible for the little carvings. Their shaman or medicine man, known as angakuit, would be the ones to usually fashion these dolls. The problem is that not all angakuits made these dolls for good.

They were exactly what they were made of until the angakuit summoned them to life. Often a Continue reading →

Mythical Creatures: Harpies

Hello Everyone,

Well keeping up a little better than I thought and since a few close friends have been harping on me I thought we would talk about Harpies. Just a little corny joke.

Harpies Origins:

Starting in the Greek myth, or at least when they were first mentioned, they first seem to come about around the same time as the Gorgons and Furies. Perhaps it was an era in Greek Mythology for women to be the popular cursed beasts of legend.

In some tales they were not always as we know them today, almost seductive like the Sirens. Tales after Homer who described this way would see them as the hags that grew more popular in our culture and the myths in those times

Harpies:

Harpies were most mentioned as a nuisance rather than anything else. They stole food from the tables before people could eat them. They would Continue reading →

Mythical Creatures: Mara

Hello Everyone,

Wow, indeed. I have been lacking. Utmost apologies for that but perhaps as the more eerie time of year is starting to set in and everyone’s creepy level begins to climb a good blog about nightmares will redeem myself. Actually it’s not so much about the nightmares themselves but about a creature that helps cause them, known as the Mara.

Sleep Paralysis:

Most people these days are familiar with the term ‘sleep paralysis.’ This is because of modern science and studies that have shown that many people have this occur and some more than others. But back in the days before these studies this was considered to be caused by different aspects in one’s life. The Mara.

rem sleep paralysis

Mara:

Mara are evil spirits that attack when the victim is asleep. They press down, or sit, on the chest of the victim and interfere within the dreams of the person. Continue reading →

Mythical Creatures: Stymphalian Birds

Hello Everyone,

As we think of birds we usually of soft colorful, sometimes noisy, little birds that charm the morning sunrise and evening sunsets. However, stories and movies have managed to bring a darker side out of birds and it is not always in awe and wonder that the stories portray them. The Stymphalian Birds are one example of that. Probably best compared to stories of Hercules and darker played down versions like Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds movie that made audiences think twice about their little chirping friend.

The Stymphalian Birds:

Since they are most known as the huge swarm of birds that they are we will look at them this way throughout the post. This is how they get their greatest powers anyways, in numbers. The Stymphalian Birds are a large swarm of birds that plagued the ancient lands of myth. They were supposedly set to one location and Continue reading →

Mythical Creatures: Simurgh

Hello Everyone,

Back to the mythical creatures, at least for now, and this time it is another lesser known creature by the name of the Simurgh. Another creature of mythical legends that roams that skies and this one seems to be pretty much all good and granting wise words of wisdom.

SFA: Simurgh sketch by Unita-N

Simurgh:

A massive bird as are most of them in legends. Said to be the size of 30 birds, which doesn’t help much for defining an actual size, but there is one thing. It can be big enough to carry off a whale or elephant. This leads me to believe it is similar in size to the Thunderbird. Both share a similar trait when the size was mentioned.

The most popular story is one of a man named Zal. An albino born to a Persian king who was abandoned by his father to die for exposure. The Simurgh raised Continue reading →

Mythical Creatures: Amphisbaena

Hello Everyone,

Interesting how so many of the mythical creatures can seem very much alike but share completely different origins like with the Amphisbaena. A creature that is typically a specialized dragon, or at least some type or reptilian creature with two heads. Although there is some tales of other forms of Amphisbaena we are going to focus a little more on the reptilian or snake-like version.

Amphisbaena...a dragon?

Amphisbaena:

Known mostly to inhabit the Libyan deserts, the Amphisbaena was a poisonous foe of anyone who happened to cross its path. The stories seem to start with Greek mythology. A traveler speaking about mysterious beasts with venom and of course there name “amphisbaena” two ways. In this case its head.

The Amphisbaena was fast. Moving with stealth and cunning speeds it would confuse its enemy buy making you think there was only one set of eyes watching you. Once again, Pliny the Continue reading →

Mythical Creatures: Basilisk & Cockatrice

Hello Everyone,

This week’s blog is a little different as we discuss the Basilisk & Cockatrice. Although the Basilisk is bound to slither on the Earth’s surface the Cockatrice, however, has the ability to fly.

Basilisk:

Many of us are familiar with the Basilisk from the Harry Potter series but that particular Basilisk was much different than the more historical myth of the Basilisk. To start that one was huge. Slithered through large caverns like a serpent-like dragon. The mythical creature itself, according to Pliny the Elder, was merely a foot long.

It was, of course, a small slithering, and reptilian creature. Very much resembling a snake with a white spot on its head. But it didn’t need to strike to inflict damage. Looking at the Basilisk alone was immediate death. It could burn through grass while it slithered around. It could smash rocks apart just by being in their Continue reading →

Mythical Creatures: Mandrake

Hello Everyone,

Well many of us have seen some form of the Mandrake in movies or heard of them in tales. Unfortunately we have just experienced them as another part of a tale or as a character that has little explanation.

The Mandrake:

Any of you who have a little knowledge of the Mandrake know that it is a plant. More specifically a type of vegetable. And even more specifically an evil and conniving vegetable that is most often noted as a species of Mandragora. In America it is sometimes associated with the Mayapple.

The plant itself is poisonous to some extent. Used for concoctions to induce sleep or as an anesthetic. Tales are told of how an army abandoned their town to the invaders and left wine that contained some extract of mandrake. When the seizing army found it and celebrated their victory the town’s army returned and slaughtered Continue reading →

Mythical Creatures: Scylla & Charybdis

Hello Everyone,

So this blog actually covers two mythical creatures, Scylla & Charybdis. That is because they kind for work together if you know the tale and also because they are considered mythical monsters of the sea. This may be a little confusing since one resides on the land in a cave but the treachery she reeks on those who cross her path are usually seafarers.

Scylla & Charybdis:

Scylla & Charybdis are two mythical creatures that haunt seafarers in the Strait of Messina. Both were at one time beautiful women (Charybdis the daughter of a god) that were cursed to become creatures that terrorize sailors.

The strait is haunted my rocky shores and whirlpools from missing currents. Of course tales would be told that explain these dangerous situations to sailors. Also to strike fear in the hearts of any new seafarer who happened to sail the strait.

The tales Continue reading →

Mythical Creatures: Thunderbird

Hello Everyone,

Well here we go, first of the blogs with some sort of a different direction and since the overcast today was reminding of rain, I decided to touch base on the old Thunderbird to begin with.

Although I will be jumping around from different blogs at times, I did want to focus on these mythical creatures. I wanted to do this because sometimes when I do write my regular blogs, some of these mythical and eerie creatures are mentioned.

Hopefully this will be interesting for everyone and educational. Hopefully it will also clear up and wondering or help when these creatures show up in my “Haunted Places” or “Eerie for Thoughts.”

Thunderbird:

The Thunderbird gets its name from kind of obvious reasons. It’s a bird that comes with thunder. Although there are stories throughout ancient mythical history that are similar to the description of the Thunderbird, this one Continue reading →