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Starting off October’s monster theme, I’m going with a creature from the frozen north. It is part of Inuit mythology and not the easiest thing to find a picture of. To be honest, I got all of these monsters off a ‘Mythical World’ puzzle I did earlier in the year. So, I went with as many obscure ones as I could, which made pictures and information difficult. Still, I like a challenge and have rambled enough.
The Akhlut is from Inuit mythology and is considered a rather vicious beast. As you can see, it has orca traits as well as four legs. This is because this aggressive spirit takes the form of an orca, but transforms into a wolf in order to hunt on land. You can tell one has been around when you find wolf tracks leading to or from the icy water. This is pretty much it as far as physical traits since it is fairly elusive. There are times where it is described as a hybrid of a wolf and orca like above.
There are many origin myths for the Akhlut, but this is the one I found most often. A man became obsessed with the sea and wanted to stay there. It reached the point where the people of his village could not recognize him, so they made him leave. He ‘hungered for revenge’ and joined a pack of wolves to survive. He may have worked with the wolves to attack villagers, but that wasn’t consistent. Anyway, his love of the ocean returned after he fed and he dove in to transform into an orca. Now, he remains in that form, but returns to land and becomes a wolf whenever he is ‘hungry for revenge’. It does appear that this eventually evolved into hungry for food over time.
I tried to find more lore, but all I found was a possible origin. Arctic wolves are able to swim in icy waters, which is why one would find tracks leading to and from the water’s edge. Fishermen were attacked by mysterious creatures either while on their boat or resting near the shore. Finding the tracks, people would assume it was a kind of wolf that also lived in the water. Folklore has a lot of shape-shifting, so that led to the aggressive orca being combined with the wolf.
Another fact that can explain the Akhlut is that wolves and orca both hunt in packs. They are also seen as dangerous, vengeful, and aggressive. Orca are even called the wolves of the sea. So, this could have led to the Inuit thinking that there is a mystical connection between them. I mean, that does make some sense, especially if you find tracks that head into the water and see orca nearby. This happening after an attack or disappearance would cement the possibility.
Legends of Windemere 
This is fascinating, Charles! Thanks for sharing, and have a wonderful week 💕🙂
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You’re welcome.
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What an all-around monster with four legs, a fin, a tail, and a shark’s head. It’s got my shivers!
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It’s definitely a bit creepy.
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I have never heard of this monster!!! It should definitely be in a movie!
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That would be terrifying.
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I would hate to meet up with one of these. An entertaining description of the monster and lore, Charles.
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Thanks. I’m sure it would as friendly as a wolf-orca combo could be.
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Yes indeed.
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It looks pretty scary, all right.
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I would definitely hate to run into it.
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It checks the obscure box. It’s kind of cool, though.
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Can’t go wrong with orcas and wolves
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Really interesting, Charles. Many of these mythological creatures seem to be combinations of known ones. Your explanation is a good one for this creature.
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That tends to be a common theme in mythology.
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Thanks for posting, Charles. Just come across your blog and am enjoying this series of posts. I find mythological creatures so interesting – beyond the strangeness of the creatures themselves, they offer a window into past cultures. Looking forward to the next one.
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You’re welcome. Hope the rest of the monsters are well-received. 😊
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