It’s no secret that I love monsters.
In a time period where dark fantasy is an escape from dark reality, I find myself craving tales of mysterious creatures with unknown intentions and fantastic qualities. But enough about what I like, let’s talk about the monsters.
Last year, there were 21 monsters in the Monster Monday Gallery, so why not up the ante, yes? This year, there are 31 original monsters in the now retitled Monster Month Gallery, each inspired by the fantastic folklore of the location where they ‘come’ from.
As I stated in the 2017 Monster Monday gallery introduction, Monsters are extensions of ourselves. But they are more than just distortions and expressions of humanity, they are manifestations of our history, our actions, and the relationships we have with our environment. So, returning to the seat of monster creation for the 2018 Monster Month gallery, the subtle running theme of this year is Our Relationship with “The Monster.” Some creatures such as the Delicious Windsprint Rabbit and Comadreja Engaños are hunted by humans, others are relied on and loved like the Balisa na Tuko and the Schulkinderschützer. Each one of these monsters have some sort of relationship with humans, be they friendly, or antagonistic.
They love us, they hate us, they eat us, they are us.
We love them, we hate them, we eat them, we are them.
Or, if you don’t care for my grandiose metaphor:
Check out these cool new monsters and take a look at the amazing work of the featured artists! Be sure to follow them on their social media and support them.
Many works have been cropped to fit the web page, so be sure to click on them to see the original sizes and resolution!
旧鼠温泉 / Japanese Bath Rat
The Japanese Bath Rat is a human-sized, Bipedal, thin furred creature that makes its home in Onsens. Despite their rodent-like appearance, it is unknown exactly what kind of creature the Bath Rat is. When a Bath Rat is found bathing in an Onsen, it is considered to be a sign of bad luck for the bathhouse and an indicator that its facilities need renovations. Older generations have believed that Bath Rats are guardian spirits of bathhouses and have even been given special bathing privileges and kimono.
Navagosósti / The Ship Eater
One must never set sail off the coast of Chalcis, Greece in the early morning. For the morning, the Navagosósti feeds. The Navagosósti is a sand elemental that is over 100 meters tall and 40 meters wide who lives beneath the water. When the Navagosósti emerges from the sand, it looks like a human face with a grouper fish's mouth. When it feeds, it sucks in everything around it and creates a powerful whirlpool that captures water, fish, and even human ships. Occasionally the Navagosósti will emerge from the water to sunbathe, taking the shape of an amorphous mass of sand that looks like a constantly moving island.
Australian Mint Fairy
This peculiar Fairy is known for its hot-temper, pension for human language, and above all else, it’s crippling addiction to Mint. Be it Peppermint, Sweet Mint, or Catmint, the Australian Mint Fairy will do anything it can to ingest mass quantities of any variation of mint, though Spearmint is its favorite. The Australian Mint Fairy is known to appear at ship docks all around Australia to bargain with traders and dockworkers. For as little as 6 kilograms of mint, the Australian Mint Fairy will exchange the herb for one wish. The Australian Mint Fairy’s magical range is limited, so the wishes must be quite minor, but among other Fairies of the world, the Australian Mint variety is looked down upon heavily for this ‘giving out’ of wishes. It is almost impossible to hold a long conversation with an Australian Mint Fairy because its breath is so powerful, it brings people to tears.
Kááʼtsʼiní Diné / The Armadillo Man
The Armadillo Man is a cryptid who has only been sighted in the North American Mojave Desert. Sightings and reports say that The Armadillo man is a humanoid creature that stands 4 feet tall and has a curved, hunched back. The Armadillo man is capable of contorting his body into a ball and rolling at top speeds comparable to that of a small to mid-sized sedan. The Armadillo Man is a carnivore who exclusively eats birds. Its bizarre hunting methods include building a small ramp of dirt at the foot of a hill and rolling down to launch itself into the air and snatch low flying birds. Either The Armadillo man is a species (possibly an offshoot of the Homo-Sapien) or an immortal being, because the Navajo people have considered seeing The Armadillo Man hunting to be good luck.
The Portuguese Drinking Buddy / O Amigo Sedento
This urban Vampyre can be found in the bars and pubs of Lisbon, Portugal. The Amigo Sedento preys on drunk humans, ‘ripening’ them by ordering them alcoholic drinks and getting them to a state of total inebriation. When the Amigo Sedento’s prey is ready for consumption, the creature leads them to an alleyway where they go in for a kiss. The Amigo Sedento affixes its lips onto those of its prey with retractable teeth above its lips and sucks the alcohol and stomach acid concoction from the prey’s stomach. There have been no recorded fatalities from an Amigo Sedento attack, but victims notice that the morning after such heavy drinking, they find that they don’t have a hangover.
Gut Buster
The Gut-Buster is a parasitic demon that possesses individuals with rather heavy smoking habits. This tiny demon uses tar buildup found in the lungs and moves it to the stomach, where it coats the area and creates a home in its host. The telltale sign of a Gut-Buster possession is smoke coming out of the mouth or nose for seemingly no reason. This more most likely than not the Gut-Buster enjoying a nice cigar in the host’s stomach.
ندف الرمال / The Sand Tease
The Sand Tease is found in deserts all over the world, but most sightings are reported in the Arabian desert. The Sand Tease is a reptile with long, dazzling reflective scales on its back. Utilizing the sun’s rays and the flexibility of these scales, the Sand Tease can contort itself to create a mirage such as the figure of a person, a pool of water, or even shade. The Sand Tease uses this ability to lure desperate prey into its clutches. Sand Teases sometimes travel in packs, morphing into intricate mirage displays of bazaars, broken down machinery, and even buffet tables.
ᑭᐦᒋ ᐅᑳᐄᐧᒫᐤ ᒨᐢᑯ ᒥᔦᐧᔨᐦᑕᒼ / The Great Blue
When you feel a drop of rain from above, even though there is not a cloud in the sky, you may have just been touched by The Great Blue. The Great Blue, also referred to in Ponca as Shiézhijékʰithe Túsábe is a massive ancient spirit that watches over all living creatures on earth. The Great Blue is a being capable of immense, omnipotent empathy that can sense when someone is not only sad, but when they are preventing themselves from grieving. When The Great Blue experiences this within someone, they begin to cry on the earth below. The Great Blue’s tears have incredible magical strength that overwhelms the emotions of whomever comes in contact with it, forcing them to confront their hidden grief.
The Fly-Thing
For a while, the Fly-Thing was considered to be a singular creature. Now, after the successful retrieval of a live specimen, the Fly-Thing is known as more of a phenomenon than a being. A Fly-Thing is created when enough flies cover a singular, organic object. The massive swarm of flies all works together as an autonomous hive mind to move the object around all while using its organic matter as a breeding ground to create more flies that therein leads to greater mobility and operation. The first successful capture of a Fly-Thing was in Beaver Creek Swamp, Alabama. This Fly-Thing was regarded as just a myth until the Limestone County police got reports that a foul-smelling man covered in flies was seen digging through people’s trash. When the man was apprehended, the thousands of flies that were stuck to his body took to the sky and left behind the half-decayed corpse of a man that had been dead for over 3 months.
Boulder Lord
Boulder Lords are spirits who live inside massive rocks and mountainsides. Tied to the health and the well being of the rock that they inhabit, Boulder Lords are fiercely protective of their homes, often times gathering all of the nearby gemstones, minerals, and ores in one place of the mountain that they can protect. Though Boulder Lords have had a bitter relationship with humans ever since the invention of dynamite, they have a soft spot for children and Druids. It has been said that an individual with powerful ties to nature can make a pact Boulder Lord that allows them access to the mountain’s treasures and safe storage of their own goods behind the Boulder Lord’s protective walls.
The Delicious Windsprint Rabbit
The Delicious Windsprint Rabbit is a near-immortal being that used to be found in forests all over Great Britain. Its Latin name is Lepus Delictus which literally translates to Delicious Rabbit. The creature’s meat, when consumed, has been described as “The most tender meat one could ever prey to put in their mouth with flavor qualities so rich and so rare, one could only compare it to Ambrosia of Greek myth.” Because of how incredible the taste of a Delicious Windsprint Rabbit is, the creature has been hunted ruthlessly. Though the Delicious Windsprint Rabbit is nearly immortal, with complex cellular structures that make the creature immune to disease, it is not immune to being hunted. The Delicious Windsprint Rabbit population used to be in the millions, now, after centuries of being hunted by British nobility, there is considered to be only one left alive. While the Delicious Windsprint Rabbit has been hunted for so long, what has kept it alive in the modern-day is the amazing hearing that comes from its massive ears that must be held up to properly work, and its keen ability to teleport short distances when it blinks.
नागराज / Nagaraja Jr
Born Din Parikh in Chennai, India, the Nagaraja Jr. is a small child who has a full sized adult cobra growing out of the back of his head. Though they are physically attached, it seems that the Cobra and Din are separate entities. Many people believe Din to be the reincarnation of the Nagaraja, ‘King of Serpents’ but many more believed him to be cursed and cast him and his family out as pariahs. The current whereabouts of Din is unknown since a fanatic broke into him and his families home, stabbed, his father, and threatened to kill him. When the fanatic tried to kill Din, the snake on the back of his head lashed out, biting, and poisoning the attacker. The fanatic died only moments after being bitten due to his heart pumping heavily calcified blood. After this event, Din ran away, abandoning his family to protect them.
Capra Omul / Goat Head
The Capra Omul is either a chimera, a minor deity, or simply a human with a birth defect who lives in a studio apartment in the Rahova neighborhood of Bucharest, Romania. The Capra Omul has the body of a human, but the neck and head of a black goat. The Capra Omul is elusive and very secretive about his life, where he came from, or what he is; avoiding interviews and experimentation for decades. What is known about the Capra Omul is that he is unnaturally attractive, he likes wearing black suits with the top 2 buttons of his undershirt undone, he smokes Carpați cigarettes (a Romanian cigarette brand discontinued in 2010), and he plays folk guitar at local bars on Thursday nights. The Capra Omul has magical abilities linked to his horns. When he gets angry, his horns grow and his eyes turn black. Persistent scientists noted that they suffered intense headaches that lasted up to 3 weeks after witnessing the Capra Omul’s angered state. Really, it just seems like the Capra Omul wants to lead a normal, human life.
Gazers / Moonies / Stowaways
It is unclear exactly where the Gazers come from. These nocturnal, wide-eyed, long-haired creatures were originally found on the highest mountain tops on each continent, but since the invention of massive man-made structures like skyscrapers, some Gazers have been spotted on the highest points of these buildings. For this reason alone, it can be assumed that the Gazer’s natural habitat is not one that contains a comfortable or safe quality of life, simply one that is at a high altitude. Gazers get their name by the way they obsessively gaze up at the moon. Their large eyes reflect and even magnify the moon in their pupils. Some people believe that Gazers are born from the moon and thus, look up at the celestial body for comfort. Gazers are most often seen sitting on the wings of flying airplanes, lovingly staring up at the moon.
Wa-lo-si A-s-ga-ya / The Chilhowee Toad Man
In 1965, the residents of Chilhowee, Tennessee noticed that all the flowers and fruiting trees in the small village were wilting and dying. The cause? The Wa-lo-si A-s-ga-ya. An old Cherokee myth states that children who are not honest will manifest flies from their mouths every time they speak and the Wa-lo-si A-s-ga-ya will hunt them down. If the myth is even partly true, this creature's insatiable appetite for flies lead to the eradication of the fly population of Chillhowee, denying the village's plants of an essential pollinator. Soon after the mass malnourishment of the plants was reported, people started spotting a man with frog-like features in their gardens, teeth coated in dead bugs. After one witness, Mr. Jack Royfelt shot the creature with a BB gun, there have been no sightings of the Wa-lo-si A-s-ga-ya since.
Jebbadante the Showdemon
Jebbadante is a demon that has integrated himself into American society as successful casino and nightclub owner. His casino ‘Triple Sixes’ and his nightclub ‘Galore of Babylon’ existed on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana for over 150 years before Jebbadante started teleporting the location all around the world for people to enjoy in the early 2000's. Jebbadante has been described as a fair just boss by those who he has either paid off or threatened with eternal damnation. Jebbadante cannot breathe fresh, untainted air and because of this, excessively smokes cigars that can smog up an entire room in one exhale. Though by many he is considered to be a greed demon, Jebbadante's ex-accountant publicly revealed that he has actually donated most of his earnings to orphanages all around the world anonymously. Any and all who have confronted him on this matter have been fed to his pet Pine Mouth.
The Brimble
The Brimble are a hyper-intelligent shapeshifting race of creatures who all share the same name. Brimble often take the form of creatures that they find amusing, obsessed with becoming exactly like the kind of creature they take the form of, even being able to match linguistics and dialect. Though a Brimble can mimic such complexities, when taking on a name or title, a Brimble will always insist on being called Brimble, even blowing their own disguise for the sake of retaining their name. Perhaps it is a point of pride for a Brimble to keep their name, maybe it’s just obsessive.
Shock Goblin / 电妖 / 電気悪魔 / عفريت كهربائي
The Shock Goblin is found in every major city in the world, but is most common in cities that produce massive amounts of energy. The Shock Goblin’s normal color is navy blue, but as it consumes more energy, its color gets brighter and brighter until it is a glowing electric blue. Shock Goblins feed in power plants, chewing on wires and even sucking the acid out of batteries. There does not seem to be any sort of survival reason for the Shock Goblin to be so obsessed with consuming energy other than to be brighter than their brethren.
Balisa na Tuko / Filipino Anxiety Lizard
Commonly found in the major cities of the Philippines, the Balisa na Tuko is a Monitor Lizard sized Gecko that prefers to walk on its back legs. The Balisa na Tuko gets its name from the slightly uncomfortable and concerned look that it always has, as well as its tendency to dissociate and stand still in the middle of walkways and streets while sunbathing. Its gaze always seems distant, as if it knows something it shouldn't or that there is a lot on their mind. There is a common belief that if a Balisa na Tuko makes direct eye contact with a person, they will never have anything to worry about. Because of this, superstitious people will knit small hats and coats for the creature to gain favor.
The North American Landlord
The North American Landlord is a harmless spirit found in and around households all across the United States. Its appearance is that of a human’s shadow with a timid and nervous posture. Most sightings are reported soon after new tenants move into an old house. It is said that a Landlord enjoys the company of humans and if invited inside, it will provide a blessing to both the home and its new owners
Kifo Malaika / Seraphim / Winged Horror
In the planes of central Africa, if you are suddenly cloaked in shade and there are no buildings or trees around, look up at the sky and you may see the thousands of sunlit wings of the Kifo Malaika before you are snatched up, never to be seen again. The Kifo Malaika is a large bird-like creature that is covered in an uncountable number of wings. The Kifo Malaika is carnivorous and feeds off of large mammals like bovines, lions, and even humans. Due to its many winged body, the Kifo Malaika was given the name Seraphim by Christian missionaries due to its slight visual similarity to some depictions of the angels of the same name. This new name came with the belief that when the Kifo Malaika picked you up, you would not be consumed, but rather brought up to heaven. Proof of such a fate remains to be confirmed.
Flóð ævintýri / Flood Nymph
The Flood Nymph of Iceland is a child-sized creature who makes its home in natural springs. Tied to the purity of the water it inhabits, the Flood Nymph is fiercely protective of its surroundings, and when threatened by an external threat (more likely than not human pollution) the Flood Nymph will enter the closest city or town to its spring. The Flood Nymph’s large, water droplet shaped eyes overflow with tears and it begins to cry loudly, pretending to be a lost child. When someone comes to help the Nymph, it extends its hand and as soon as it is touched it causes the person to see and feel as if their surroundings are being flooded with water. The Flood Nymph will repeat this with multiple people until mass hysteria is incited among the populous. Though not as successful in modern times, this method resulted in the abandoning of full villages in olden times.
The Arborpede
The Arborpede is a gargantuan insect that takes up half of the space of the Daintree Rainforest in Australia. Considered to be the largest creature to have ever lived, the Arborpede has been asleep for well longer than Homo-Sapiens have existed. The Arborpede sleeps on its back, with its legs extended up into the air. Though the Daintree Rainforest is known for its tall trees, most of the rainforest’s trees are actually the Arborpede’s legs. If and when the Arborpede wakes up from its slumber, all life on planet earth may be in danger. Though the Arborpede’s mere existence is a threat to the lives of every creature on earth, humans have taken to cutting down and using the creatures massive legs due to their beautiful wood-like look yet, stone like durability.
Schulkinderschützer / The Child’s Guide
Deep in the Black Forest of Germany lives a group of 8 foot tall, humanoid creatures whose footsteps are so heavy, they make the ground around them shake. Though these creatures appear to be made out of stone, possibly making them Golems, every inch of their bodies are covered in thick, green moss. Their common name, the Schulkinderschützer comes from their peculiar daily routine. Every morning at 6 a.m. the Schulkinderschützer emerge from the Black Forest and travel to the town of Mühlenbach where they can be found walking children to school.
Mèo nổ / Vietnamese Phoenix Cat
During the American War in Vietnam, many invading American soldiers reported being attacked by a small cat that would explode on contact. For a while, American Intel stated that the Viet Cong army was utilizing suicide bomb cats. This misinformation spread until Vietnamese born American operatives informed the United States government of the Mèo nổ. The Mèo nổ is found exclusively in Vietnam and is considered to be the offspring of one of the Four Holy Beasts, the Phụng. The Mèo nổ’s fur has special properties that make it incredibly flammable. The Mèo nổ’s skin is highly flame retardant, so when the feline is set ablaze, it will not get hurt. Mèo nổ fur is rich in pure Magnesium, an element that when ignited, produces a blinding white flame. Mèo nổ use their fur when they hunt or defend themselves, rubbing themselves against trees and stones to ignite their fur and stun their prey.
Bilen / The Cavernous Knower
In a cave atop Mt. Ararat in Turkey lies a creature of unknown origins known as Bilen, The Knower. Bilen has a humanoid body and a long, sharp nose that it uses as its prime mode of navigation and identification. Though it is certainly not human, Bilen does speak some sort of undiscovered language that may be unique to the creature alone. The first known transcription of Bilen’s language came from the writings of Turkish scientist, Deniz Aksoy. Aksoy reported that when he visited Bilen, the creature inhaled around him deeply, spoke one sentence, and then retreated into the darkness. After nearly a year of attempting to translate the language, Aksoy’s attempts produced only a date: April 5th, 1998. On that day, Aksoy suffered a brain hemorrhage and died, leading the scientific community to believe that Bilen either knows when an individual will die or can condemn an individual to a death on a specific date of its choosing.
The Irish Slinger
Irish children who don’t listen to their parents may not fear disciplinary punishment, but most certainly fear a visit from the Slinger. The Slinger is a furry, humanoid creature with beady red eyes and thin, long arms that it uses to grab playing children and launch them high in the air. It is said that the Slinger does this so it can eat the smushed remains of the child with ease. The more bratty the kid, the more in danger they are of being hunted by the Slinger. This is, of course, because rude children taste sour and the Slinger enjoys such a tangy flavor.
Comadreja Engañosa / Peruvian Time Weasel
The Comadreja Engañosa is a clever and sadistic creature who preys on chicken farms all over rural Peru. The Comadreja Engañosa is an especially long Mustela that grows up to 4 meters long with both ends of the creature fanning out like the two hands of a clock. When it hunts, the Comadreja Engañosa’s eyes glow yellow and it is capable of sealing whatever it is staring at into a “Time Lock” where it can rapidly age whatever is directly in front of it. This only works on small objects that the Comadreja Engañosa can see entirely, so it is no threat to humans. The Comadreja Engañosa feeds on ‘lost time’ and thus, it mostly hunts for eggs, trapping them in a Time Lock and rapidly aging them until they are rotten, all while consuming their lost time. Not only does the Comadreja Engañosa feed on this, but it also gets some sort of pleasure from stealing time and spoiling something fresh or alive. The Comadreja Engañosa’s ability to distort time allows it to quickly escape dangerous scenarios, making the creature nearly impossible to hunt down without the help of a Gata de Correcciones
La Gata de Correcciones / Peruvian Corrector Cat
La Gata de Correcciones is a highly intelligent, all female, leopard sized, white, long-haired species of cat that can be found in the wild everywhere in South America. Most trained Gatas de Correcciones are found in Peru, hired along their masters to hunt down Comadreja Engañosa. The Gata de Correcciones has a natural hatred for the Comadreja Engañosa and when it sees one, will hunt it for days and even weeks until it kills its prey. The Gata de Correcciones’ pitch black eyes have the ability to reverse and inverse the Comadreja Engañosa’s Time Lock, jumping in front of the weasel while it is using its time manipulation and sending it back. When a Comadreja Engañosa is hit by a Gata de Correcciones reflection, it experiences every moment slower, giving the cat just enough time to make its kill. It is unknown exactly what other powers the Gata de Correcciones has, but due to its almost vigilant nature, if anyone were to mess around with the flow of time, this creature would have a bone to pick.
Coughing Ghost
When a human dies of the common cold, there is a slim, but real chance that they may be turned into a Coughing Ghost. Coughing Ghosts act much like normal ghosts, but always seem to have to cough. Coughing ghosts can only find respite when they successfully posses a healthy person and that person consumes cough syrup. The biggest issue for coughing ghosts is that it’s hard to sneak up on humans when you always have to cough.
Doorknob Fiend
This trickster fiend is found wherever doors can be found, which is generally everywhere. A Doorknob Fiend’s shape much like that of a copper doorknob with a beautiful, intricate, yet malicious design. When a Doorknob Fiend is installed into a door (be it by its own effort or that of the witch who summoned it) it places a curse on the door that, when opened, transports the user to a randomized place of unknown origin. The result of a Doorknob Fiend’s magic normally causes its victims to be jarred and inconvenienced, rarely resulting in harm (though, in 1893 a German textile maker by the name of Fritz Schidle walked through a Doorknob Fiend’s door and ended up being transported atop a live volcano.)
