As many know many popular creatures of fantasy had their roots in the old fairy tales and horror stories. So I was wondering what kind of creatures are preferred here. It may sound a bit vague though due to the vast quantity, but please remember to differentiate creatures from any myth or legend from the Fairy tales one. True they come from myths and legends, yet not all MyL's creatures are included in fairy tales, so regarding those just remember to mention those popularized in fairy tales. Horror are more easy to identify as most tend to be created for the sake of the story, not all time though. So which one are your favorites and why?. I personally always liked the Unicorn. When I was young I was very imaginative and childish, for some years I actually wanted to have an Unicorn (considering them real). However I always preferred the color black in horses instead of white, so asked my parents to get me a black unicorn, they laughed at it sometimes. Regarding horror's creatures I'm not sure as I'm not truly knowledgeable of many. However I do find ghosts interesting, I always wonder how will I react if I find a ghost. I say to myself: I'm sure I can control myself if I find a ghost, however a part of me say that I surely would scream in such a way that it would be heard all over the square. Yet well I dunno if ghosts are more classified as FT or Horror's creatures. Anyway, as I'm trying to get a bit of info of many different creatures go and tell me your favs 'kay?
My favourite horror creature is a vampire. The word actually originates in my country (Serbia, the word is 'vampir) it was coined together with the rest of the myth when a first known creature appeared there in the middle ages. So I feel strong familiarity with it. Favourite fairytale creature for me is always a tie between a mermaid and a dragon. And a genie in the lamp
I've always liked ghosts/poltergeists. Also, Lady Midday and kelpies are cool. Oh, and 'cause I'm a guy, I think niavkas are pretty awesome, but I wouldn't want to meet one.
I kinda like those Chinese demons who have some kind of connection to the land or forest, spirits who are good in nature but can be like creatures from hell when they get pissed off. I like angels as well but more like a "battle" angel who wields a spear and a shield.
Oh yeah, those are cool too, and totally kick the asses of every cute, cuddly cherub. I've always loved the picture of the armored angel with a huge sword standing over a felled demon in the instruction manual of Diablo I (I think it was drawn by Samwais Didier). And Castiel from Supernatural is awesome as well although all the other angels in the show are dicks.
Hmmm.... lol wolves have always been one of my favorite creatures, real life, fantasy, or even horror. They seem to be one of the few creatures that have a profound impact other than the raven. Plus, the different descriptions are amazing. Whether they are packed with muscle and soft, downy fur or emaciated beyond reason and have a mad glint in their eyes, wolves have always been easy to portray in so many different ways. Also, dragons and nagas have to be the top of my list of reptilian creatures from horror or fantasy. Though you don't see very many nagas... Then there's the water nymphs.
I really love Japanese mountain kamis (gods). You'll find it a lot in their history that mountain gods were worshiped and revered, and that many festivals and sacrifices were to keep them happy. Each mountain kami can and will most likely be different, but I love the idea overall of it. The protection for the faith and trust. Also, watch Mushi-Shi for some pretty interesting Japanese ghosts, fairies, and creatures. Overall, I think demons are intriguing as well. Because really, they're a completely blank canvas. No one actually KNOWS what a demon is like, everyone has their own opinions on them, and they're never really the same from story to story.
I find golems interesting, there's something so creepy about them. In general, the Jewish mythology contains some intriguing creatures and demons. Speaking of demons, in one of our works-in-infinite-progress T.Trian and I delved into the demon mythology for the first time and realized that we like them best when they're so badass some country bumpkin with a magic sword can't just go and slay 'em just like that. I agree with @TessaT, it's a black (or red or pink or yellow -- depending on what you're doing) canvas. Lots of leeway to do all kinds of stuff. Even make them sexy guys who fall for that nerdy, unsightly girl cute guys hardly ever fall for in real life...
Mermaids. Probably sparked from Daryl Hannah in Splash and her amazing hair, or those toys the Sea-Wees. Maybe the Little Mermaid - Ariel rocks! I don't know the idea of living under water just sounds so cool... and peaceful.
Oooo!! How fun!! I really love reading books that sympathize with demons. I was really getting into Tosca Lee's Demon: A Memoir, right until the ending. lol. One demon world that I think it really interesting is Kim Harrison's demonology. I find it to be completely original. Let me know when you post something about your current demon story!!
Well, hate to let you down, but we don't have sexy demons (well, I guess it depends on the pov. If you're another deamon...), we only have demons who are really hard to beat... And sometimes you're better off not even trying... Now if you like novels with hot demons and nerdy girls, Victoria Scott's The Collector might be your cup of infernal tea
Hoh? this is good, there are some creatures there I wasn't considering. Yet some of you are naming mythological beings that aren't part of Fairy tales...
For me, it would be Dryads. I used to love going into the woods as a kid and convinced myself I could see them when the wind shook the branches.
Oh see... I took the title to be 'Fairy tales' (one category) and 'horror's fantastic creatures' (second category).
This. When I say, 'Dryads' what I mean to say is 'Sidhe Draoi.' And they are about as Faerie -ish, as it's possible to get. I'm just aware that more people will be familiar with the Greco/Roman idea of them. Just as if I had said, 'Bean-si' it might have caused confusion, where if I said 'Banshee' there likely would be none.
Well, quite a few (bonafide, traditional-as-can-be) fairy tales and horror stories have demons in them, so how should we categorize those nasties? What about niavkas? I'm honestly interested since from what I've read about them (the best internet source seems to have vanished, alas, and they only get a mention in Wikipedia's Slavic Folklore-page), most of the time they're essentially harmless, frolicsome nymphs, living in their forest, minding their business, but when some doofus wanders into said forest, they eat him/her. So, most of the time they are straight out of a kids' fairy tale, and occasionally from a horror story, so...? In one of my and KaTrian's WIPs we have a niavka and I've tried to stay as true as possible to what little lore I've found about them, but I've had to improvise a lot firstly because of just that, scarce info, and secondly because I do like to take old fairy tales / legends and give them a new twist or a few (without sacrificing the "spirit" of the original, of course).
I think demons are normally categorized as horror, but I suppose it depends on their actual story. I think that the nivakas should be classified under fairytale, but more appropriately folktale. It seemed that depending on the story they either ate people or just haunted them. I even read where it said they were spirits of dead unbaptized babies. For me, the term fairytales embodies a more Disney feel, with the happy ending. I know that's not how fairytales originated, I just think its what they've morphed into. I think...I'm rambling. lol.
They're pretty difficult to categorize since fairy tales like The Demon's Daughter, Jack at Hell Gate, Ironhead, The Blacksmith and the Devil etc. all have demons in them, yet they are by no account horror stories. The funny thing is, a fairy tale like Vasilisa the Beautiful has more horror elements in it than any of the above mentioned even though it "only" has a witch + enchantments in it. Which stories are those? I'm looking for anything and everything regarding niavkas and since I've yet to read an actual fairy tale / story about them, I'd love to know which ones to look for. Yeah, even the classic fairy tales are told very differently nowadays than in the olden times. Back then (pre-Grimm), fairy tales were much darker and often had a more sinister feel to them. A professor at our uni spoke about this in one lecture and said he'd researched the original fairy tales quite a bit and that he'd been surprised at just how gruesome / harsh they could get. He even paraphrased a quote from Little Red Ridinghood where the cat says to Little Red something akin to "only a real slut would eat her own grandmother." I think some kind of cannibalism had occurred or something, but without context, that quote is just bizarre. Been meaning to ask the prof where to find these old versions, but haven't had the chance yet, and so far my google-fu has failed me. I wonder, do old Native American folk legends count as fairy tales? I've read quite a few and while I love them (especially trickster tales), there's some pretty weird stuff going on in them now and then, but some are about as innocent as our modernized Western fairy tales.
I forgot to mention The Little Mermaid. Well, mermaids are mythological creatures, they’ve appeared in the Greek Mythology and everything, but The Little Mermaid is a fairy tale, so then it’s this specific mermaid who’s my favorite. I cry every single time I read it.
The werewolf has always been one of my favorites. I always found them intriguing. I kind of prefer the anthropomorphic ones on two legs rather than the ones that just turn into regular four legged wolves with the exception of the one in An American Werewolf in London. For anyone that has played The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim that is one of my favorite werewolf designs. The ones in the movie Dog Soldiers looked really good as well. As for Fairy Tails, I'm not sure if they're classified as "creatures" but I do like Dwarves. The ones like Gimli from LOTR.
