Tag Archives: mythology

The Reality In Myths

Posted on March 27, 2024 by Charles Yallowitz

It’s fairly well-known that many, if not most, creatures of mythology are born from a real animal or event.  For example, the concept of mermaids could have come from sailors seeing manatees or sealions.  Supposedly, Christopher Columbus saw ‘mermaids’ and … Continue reading →

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Various Cardinal Symbol Systems

Posted on February 21, 2024 by Charles Yallowitz

I mentioned that there have been plenty of uses of the cardinal directions to create fantasy and mythological systems.  Sometimes, you even have a 5th direction of ‘center’, which is important when we get to Wu Xing.  I wanted to … Continue reading →

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Cardinal Symbols in Fiction

Posted on February 19, 2024 by Charles Yallowitz

Come to think of it, do people still care about the cardinal directions?  I remember being taught by my dad how to find north, south, east, and west.  It never stuck since I was supposed to use the sun.  I … Continue reading →

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Monster Month: Aun Pana

Posted on October 30, 2023 by Charles Yallowitz

Here we are at the last monster of the month.  This one comes from the Yanomami of Brazil and Venezuela.  Definitely looks like a dangerous critter.  There’s also not a lot of information out there on them. As you can … Continue reading →

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Monster Month: Tiddalik

Posted on October 27, 2023 by Charles Yallowitz

The Tiddalik comes from Australian mythology and is connected to a popular creation myth.  Specifically, this creature comes from the Australian Indigenous Dreaming Stories, which some people call ‘Dreamtime’.  To be honest, I couldn’t figure out if some of these … Continue reading →

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Monster Month: Kumiho

Posted on October 23, 2023 by Charles Yallowitz

This is the nine-tailed fox *glares at Naruto fans to stop them from interrupting* from KOREAN mythology.  Yes, it is similar to the kitsune from Japanese mythology, but it’s called the Kumiho.  Let’s get that right out in the open. … Continue reading →

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Monster Month: Grootslang

Posted on October 20, 2023 by Charles Yallowitz

So . . . The Grootslang is a thing.  It’s definitely . . . A sight to behold.  Also, I’m fairly certain at least one person’s mind went to a talking alien tree that I think talks about the power … Continue reading →

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Monster Month: Kurage-No-Hinotama

Posted on October 18, 2023 by Charles Yallowitz

I debated giving a day to this monster, but I really liked the concept.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t find much in the way of lore.  It definitely stems from Japanese mythology and seems to be a yokai.  Yet, I found more … Continue reading →

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Monster Month: Kawuso

Posted on October 16, 2023 by Charles Yallowitz

This creature comes from Japan and it is what they call river otters.  These fall into the category of yokai, which are Japanese demons.  Known to be tricksters, they are similar in habits to kitsune (foxes) and tanuki (coming on … Continue reading →

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Monster Month: The Hodag

Posted on October 13, 2023 by Charles Yallowitz

This one comes straight out of Rhinelander, Wisconsin.  I was surprised about how big and popular this monster was after I starting looking around.  So, what is a Hodag? First, let’s talk about the Hodag’s origin.  It is considered a … Continue reading →

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