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abatwa

A peaceful race of African peoples. They are the tiniest creatures in human form. They live in the anthills in Southern Africa and are very shy -- only revealing themselves to children under four years old, wizards or pregnant women. If a pregnant woman sees a male abatwa, she knows she will give birth to a boy.

adaro

The Adaro is a creature which is half human, half fish, having the upper body of a human and the lower part of its body is like a fish. They live in the sun, and travel to earth on rainbows. While on earth, they travel on waterspouts. This creature is from Melanesia. It is just one of such creatures which are recounted in legends from nearly all parts of the world which can be related to the tales of the Mermaid. Unlike mermaids, they are dangerous to humans, as they shoot them with flying fish, causing unconsciousness and sometimes death.

ahuizotl

This is a creature in the legends of Central America. In appearance it is half human and half monkey,with a hand coming out of the end of its tail. The Ahuizotl is greatly feared as an eater of human flesh, and it particularly likes eyes, teeth and nails. Being a water creature, it uses its tail hand to snatch people walking too close to the water's edge, or fishermen. Sometimes it cries and when people come near it to see what is wrong, it grabs them.

aitvaras

This Lithuanian creature is described as having the appearance of a cock while in doors and the appearance of a dragon out doors. An Aitvaras will lodge itself in a house, and refuses to leave. It brings both good and bad luck to the inhabitants of the house. It brings wealth, but since the money is almost always stolen it causes problems for the family. An Aitvaras can be purchased from the devil, the price being the soul.

ajatar

This is a dragon from Finnish legend. This dragon is known to be evil. She suckles serpents and causes pestilence and disease. It is possible that she is related to the Lithuanian Aitvaras.

akuma

The akuma is also known by the names Toori Akuma, or Ma. This Japanese creature is terrifying and evil. It has an enormous flaming head with eyes like coals. It flies through the air brandishing a sword. Even the sight of an akuma brings bad luck.

There are two versions of the al. In ancient Persian legend they're half human and half beast, having eyes like fire and tusks like a boar, iron teeth brass claws and copious shaggy hair. They prefer to live in swamps. They are particularity feared for preying on women in child birth, as new-born babies are its favourite food. In Afghan legends, the als are young women with floating hair and very long nails who feed upon the corpses of the dead.

alan

The alan are mischievous half-human half bird creatures from the Philippines. They usually live in forests and spend much of their time hanging upside down from trees. This is because they have fingers on their feet and toes on their hands. they are very friendly towards humans and in several Filipino legends have acted as foster parents to heroes.

amadán

This is one of many types of Irish færies. The Amadán are to be feared as even a faint touch from one can cause instant and complete paralysis. They are sometimes known because of this, as the stroke lads. They are particularly dangerous to criminals or to people who walk in the moonlight, and are particularly active in the month of June.

ammut

This is an Egyptian monster with the head of a crocodile, a lions body and the back end of a hippopotamus. The Egyptians call her the eater of the dead, for her function in the Hall of Double Justice of Osiris. The hearts of the dead were weighed against the feather of truth and those that failed to past the test were fed to Ammut.

amphisbæna

This is a serpent with two heads one at each end of its body, and glowing eyes. Its name means 'goes both ways' in Greek. Pliny recorded medicinal properties of the beast. Wearing a live amphisbæna will protect pregnant women, and wearing a dead one is a remedy of rheumatism.

anka

The anka was an Arabian bird of huge size, large enough to carry an elephant. Similar to the phoenix, it had a long life span (in this case 1700 years) at the end of which it burned itself and rose again. The Arabs believed that it was a creation of god, originally as a perfect bird, but over time, according to legend, they devoured all the animals on earth and started carrying off children. The people appealed to Jehovah who prevented the anka from multiplying, thus they eventually became extinct. Because of its huge size, it has also been associated with the roc.

argus panoptes

His name means "all seeing" or "bright" he was called this because he had 100 eyes. The eyes were all over his body and even when the others were closed, two stayed open and were watchful. He killed the horrible Echinda in her sleep. Hermes eventually charmed him to sleep and cut off his head. Hera took his eyes and placed them in the tail of the peacock. The myth of Argus can be found in Ovid's Metamorphoses, book 1..

aspares

The aspares are beautiful water nymphs from Hindu legend. They often transform into water foul. They are associated with warriors who have fallen during battle.

azeman

The azeman are South American vampires. During the day she has the form of a human female, but at night she is transformed into a bat or other animal. there are protections against the azeman. Since she is obsessed with counting, if seeds are scattered on the floor, she will stop to count them. Also, if a broom is placed across the door, she will not enter the room, as she will count the bristles of the broom.

aziza

While færies are usually associated with European cultures, the Aziza are a beneficent færie race from Africa, specifically Dahomey. Living in the forest, they provide good magic for hunters. They also give both practical and spiritual knowledge for people.

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