Book of the Dead

The Book of the Dead is an ancient Egyptian funerary text, used from the beginning of the New Kingdom (around 1550 BCE) to around 50 BCE. The original Egyptian name for the text, transliterated rw nw prt m hrw is translated as "Book of Coming Forth by Day". Another translation would be "Book of emerging forth into the Light". The text consists of a number of magic spells intended to assist a dead person's journey through the Duat, or underworld, and into the afterlife.

The Book of the Dead was part of a tradition of funerary texts which includes the earlier Pyramid Texts and Coffin Texts, which were painted onto objects, not papyrus. Some of the spells included were drawn from these older works and date to the 3rd millennium BCE. Other spells were composed later in Egyptian history, dating to the Third Intermediate Period (11th to 7th centuries BCE). A number of the spells which made up the Book continued to be inscribed on tomb walls and sarcophagi, as had always been the spells from which they originated. The Book of the Dead was placed in the coffin or burial chamber of the deceased.

There was no single or canonical Book of the Dead. The surviving papyri contain a varying selection of religious and magical texts and vary considerably in their illustration. Some people seem to have commissioned their own copies of the Book of the Dead, perhaps choosing the spells they thought most vital in their own progression to the afterlife. The Book of the Dead was most commonly written inhieroglyphic or hieratic script on a papyrus scroll, and often illustrated with vignettes depicting the deceased and their journey into the afterlife.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_the_Dead

Totenpass

Totenpass (plural Totenpässe) is a German term sometimes used for inscribed tablets or metal leaves found in burials primarily of those presumed to be initiates into Orphic, Dionysiac, and some ancient Egyptian and Semitic religions. The term may be understood in English as a “passport for the dead.” The so-called Orphic gold tablets are perhaps the best-known example.

Totenpässe are placed on or near the body as a phylactery, or rolled and inserted into a capsule often worn around the neck as an amulet. Theinscription instructs the initiate on how to navigate the afterlife, including directions for avoiding hazards in the landscape of the dead and formulaic responses to the underworld judges.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totenpass

Halloween

Halloween or Hallowe'en (a contraction of "All Hallows' Evening"), also known as All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly celebration observed in a number of countries on October 31, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows (or All Saints) and the day initiating the triduum of Hallowmas.

According to many scholars, All Hallows' Eve is a Christianised feast originally influenced by western European harvest festivals, and festivals of the dead with possible pagan roots, particularly the Celtic Samhain. Other scholars maintain that it originated independently of Samhain and has solely Christian roots.

Typical festive Halloween activities include trick-or-treating (also known as "guising"), attending costume parties, carving pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, playing pranks, telling scary stories, and watching horror films.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween

Nemesis

In Greek mythology, Nemesis (Greek, Νέμεσις), also called Rhamnousia/Rhamnusia ("the goddess of Rhamnous") at her sanctuary at Rhamnous, north ofMarathon, was the spirit of divine retribution against those who succumb to hubris (arrogance before the gods). Another name was Adrasteia, meaning "the inescapable." The Greeks personified vengeful fate as a remorseless goddess: the goddess of revenge. The name Nemesis is related to the Greek word νέμειν [némein], meaning "to give what is due"

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemesis_(mythology)

Kobalos

The kobalos (pl. kobaloi) was a sprite from Greek mythology, a mischievous creature fond of tricking and frightening mortals. Greek myths depict the kobaloi as "impudent, thieving, droll, idle, mischievous, gnome-dwarfs", and as "funny, little triksy elves" of a phallic nature. They were companions of Dionysus and could shapeshift as Dionysus in the guise of Choroimanes-Aiolomorphos. According to one myth, they robbed Herakles while he slept. He captured them in revenge but took pity on them when he found them amusing. In one version of the myth, Herakles gave them to the Lydian queen Omphale as a gift. The kobaloi were thought to live in Euboea or near Thermopylae.

Parents used tales of the kobaloi to frighten children into behaving. The term also means "impudent knave, arrant rogue" in ancient Greek, and such individuals were thought to invoke kobaloispirits. Depictions of kobaloi are common in ancient Greek art. Robert Brown has speculated that their inhuman features show that the kobaloi are non-Hellenic in origin. They are perhaps dervived from the original Aryans, i.e., the Proto-Indo-Europeans, the ancient ancestors of the Hellenic and other Indo-European peoples.

The kobalos is related to two other Greek sprites: the kabeiroi (pygmies with large phalluses) and the kerkopes. The kobalos and kabeiroi came to be equated. Other European sprites may derive from belief in kobaloi. This includes spirits such as the Lancashire boggart, Scottish bogle, French goblin, Medieval gobelinus, German kobold, and English Puck. Likewise, the names of many European spirits may derive from the word kobalos. The word entered Latin as cobalus, then possibly French as gobelin. From this, the English goblin and Welsh coblyn may derive.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobaloi

Kumiho

A kumiho (구미호 / 구 "gu" - nine) Korean pronunciation: [kumiho] (literally "nine tailed fox") is a creature that appears in the oral tales and legends ofKorea, and are akin to werefoxes or European fairies. According to those tales, a fox that lives a thousand years turns into a kumiho, like itsJapanese and Chinese counterparts. It can freely transform, among other things, into a beautiful girl often set out to seduce men, and eat their liveror heart (depending on the legend). There are numerous tales in which the kumiho appears, several of which can be found in the encyclopedicCompendium of Korean Oral Literature (한국 구비문학 대계).

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumiho

Kitsune

Kitsune (狐^?, IPA: [kitsɯne]) is the Japanese word for fox. Foxes are a common subject of Japanese folklore; in English, kitsune refers to them in this context. Stories depict them as intelligent beings and as possessing magical abilities that increase with their age and wisdom. Foremost among these is the ability to assume human form. While some folktales speak of kitsune employing this ability to trick others—as foxes in folklore often do—other stories portray them as faithful guardians, friends, lovers, and wives.

Foxes and human beings lived close together in ancient Japan; this companionship gave rise to legends about the creatures. Kitsune have become closely associated with Inari, a Shinto kami or spirit, and serve as its messengers. This role has reinforced the fox's supernatural significance. The more tails a kitsune has—they may have as many as nine—the older, wiser, and more powerful it is. Because of their potential power and influence, some people make offerings to them as to a deity.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitsune

Kappa

Kappa (河童^?, "river-child"), alternatively called Kawatarō (川太郎^?, "river-boy"), Komahiki (“horse puller”), or Kawako (川子^?, "river-child"), are ayōkai found in Japanese folklore, and also a cryptid. Their name comes from a mixture of the word "kawa" (river) and "wappo," an inflection of "waraba" (child). In Shintō they are considered to be one of many suijin (水神,“water deity”), their yorishiro, or one of their temporary appearances. A hair-covered variation of a Kappa is called a Hyōsube (ひょうすべ^?). There are more than eighty other names associated with the kappa in different regions which include Kawappa, Gawappa, Kōgo, Mizushi, Mizuchi, Enkō, Kawaso, Suitengu, and Dangame. Along with the oni and thetengu, they are one of the most well-known yōkai in Japan.

Kappa are similar to Finnish Näkki, Scandinavian/Germanic Näck/Neck, Slavian Vodník and Scottish Kelpie in that all have been used to scare children of dangers lurking in waters.

It has been suggested that the kappa legends are based on the Japanese giant salamander or "hanzaki", an aggressive salamander which grabs its prey with its powerful jaws.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kappa_(folklore)

Kraken

Kraken (/ˈkreɪkən/ or /ˈkrɑːkən/) are legendary sea monsters of giant proportions said to dwell off the coasts of Norway and Greenland. The legend may have originated from sightings of giant squid that are estimated to grow to 13–15 m (40–50 ft) in length, including the tentacles. The sheer size and fearsome appearance attributed to the kraken have made it a common ocean-dwelling monster in various fictional works.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kraken

Succubus

In folklore traced back to medieval legend, a succubus is a female demon or supernatural entity that appears in dreams, who takes the form of a human woman in order to seduce men, usually through sexual intercourse. The male counterpart is the incubus. Religious traditions hold that repeated intercourse with a succubus may result in the deterioration of health or even death.

In modern fictional representations, a succubus may or may not appear in dreams and is often depicted as a highly attractive seductress orenchantress; whereas, in the past, succubi were generally depicted as frightening and demonic.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sucubus

Incubus

An incubus (nominal form constructed from the Latin verb, incubo, incubare, or "to lie upon") is a demon in male form who, according to a number of mythological and legendary traditions, lies upon sleepers, especially women, in order to have sexual intercourse with them. Its female counterpart is the succubus. An incubus may pursue sexual relations with a woman in order to father a child, as in the legend of Merlin. Religious tradition holds that repeated intercourse with an incubus or succubus may result in the deterioration of health, or even death.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incubus

Imp

An imp is a mythological being similar to a fairy or demon, frequently described in folklore and superstition. The word may perhaps derive from the termympe, used to denote a young grafted tree.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imp

Hippogriff

The hippogriff is a legendary creature which resembles a winged horse with the head and upper body of an eagle. The concept of the hippogriff may be derived from the Simorgh of Persian mythologies, which is related to the griffin.

The first recorded mention of the hippogriff was made by the Latin poet Virgil in his Eclogues. Though sometimes depicted during the Classical Era and during the rule of the Merovingians, it was first named and defined by Ludovico Ariosto in his Orlando Furioso, at the beginning of the 16th century. In this epic poem, written in the tradition of the Matter of France, the Hippogriff is a steed born naturally of a mare and a griffin. This creature is extremely fast and able to fly around the world. It is ridden by magicians and noble heroes, such as the wandering knight Roger, who, from the creature’s back, frees the beautiful Angelica. Due to the success of Ariosto’s narrative, the concept and name of the Hippogriff appear in other works of the same genre.

Sometimes depicted on heraldic coats of arms, the Hippogriff became a subject of visual art in the 19th Century, when it was often drawn by Gustave Doré. Like many legendary creatures, the Hippogriff has experienced a resurgence of popularity in modern works, especially in the realms of role-playing games and video games, as well as in fantasy novels.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippogriff

Hydra

In Greek mythology, the Lernaean Hydra (Greek: Λερναία Ύδρα) was an ancient serpent-like chthonic water beast, with reptilian traits (as its name evinces), that possessed many heads — the poets mention more heads than the vase-painters could paint, and for each head cut off it grew two more — and poisonous breath and blood so virulent even its tracks were deadly. The Hydra of Lerna was killed by Hercules as the second of hisTwelve Labours. Its lair was the lake of Lerna in the Argolid, though archaeology has borne out the myth that the sacred site was older even than the Mycenaean city of Argos since Lerna was the site of the myth of the Danaids. Beneath the waters was an entrance to the Underworld, and the Hydra was its guardian.

The Hydra was the offspring of Typhon and Echidna (Theogony, 313), both of whom were noisome offspring of the earth goddess Gaia.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lernaean_Hydra

Harpy

In Greek mythology, a harpy (Greek: ἅρπυια, harpyia, pronounced [hárpuja]; Latin: harpeia) was one of the winged spirits best known for constantly stealing all food from Phineus. The literal meaning of the word seems to be "that which snatches" as it comes from the Greek word harpazein(ἁρπάζειν), which means "to snatch".

A harpy was the mother of the horses of Achilles sired by the West Wind Zephyros .

Hesiod calls them two "lovely-haired" creatures, and pottery art depicting the harpies featured beautiful women with wings. Harpies as ugly winged bird-women, e.g. in Aeschylus' The Eumenides (line 50) are a late development, due to a confusion with the Sirens. Roman and Byzantine writers detailed their ugliness.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpy

Grindylow

A grindylow or grundylow is a folkloric creature that originated from folktales in the English counties of Yorkshire and Lancashire. The name is thought to be connected to Grendel, a name or term most famously used in Beowulf but also found in many Old English charters where it is seen in connection with meres, bogs and lakes.

Grindylows are said to grab little children with their long sinewy arms and drown them if they come too close to the water's edge. Grindylows have been seen as a bogeyman used as a ploy to frighten children away from pools, marshes or ponds where they could drown.

Peg Powler and Jenny Greenteeth are similar water spirits.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grindylow