Beasts In Your Nightmares Trivia Quiz

In the swamps, bogs, and billabongs of Australia is the fearsome sea creature known as a bunyip. Australian Aboriginal folklore describes them as amphibious with a large roar. They loved to dine on human flesh and had an appearance of a hippopotamus with a long neck.

The legend of the chupacabra dates back to 1995 when rumors of livestock having their blood sucked out in Canovanas, Puerto Rico. The chupacabra have been described as goat-suckers, scaly reptilian creatures that suck their prey's blood like a vampire. Others describe them as resembling a hairless canine with scales down their back.

Found in the rivers of South America is the mythological creature known as the Maipolina, also known as a water tiger. They are said to live in the burrows next to rivers and are nocturnal hunters. Their appearance is cat-like but they have long fang-like tusks and short tails. These river monsters go back to French Guinea folklore.

Algonquian folklore brought us the legend mythological beast known as the wendigo. They were to be found in Canada and the Great Lakes region. Looking like a giant monstrous figure with decaying skin, the wendigo would stalk humans in the snow and deep forests before eating them.

Other legends of the wendigo had them supernaturally possessing humans and turning them into cannibalistic monsters.

In Slavic and Russian folklore we learned about Baba Yaga. She was a old witch with bony legs who would eat children. Her home was described as being surrounded by a fence of human bones and protected by fierce dogs. Baba Yaga was described as a shapeshifter who acted as a guardian between the living and the land of the dead.

Found in the Himalayan Mountains of Tibet was the Abominable Snowman, aka the yeti. The hairy ape-like creature is often compared to Sasquatch in North America. The dangerous beast is said to be a cross between a human and a giant ape, hairy, and having a broad forehead. Indigenous Himalayan folklore called the creature, yeh-teh.

Haunting Central Africa, and more specifically the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is the mythological elf-like creature known as the eloko. It was believed the eloko would lure people by dinging a magical bell and they spoke with voices that resembled a small child's voice. Once the humans neared the eloko, these small creatures would use their razor sharp teeth to eat the people.

Leprechauns originated in Irish folklore and are commonly described as a supernatural fairy living in a forest, cave, or garden. Rumors of leprechauns putting a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow or causing mischief are common beliefs. They have been described as having long beards and wearing a green coat and matching hat.

The French word "gargouille" is the basis for what we call a gargoyle. In the 13th Century, French architects installed water spouts on buildings that often resembled hideous creatures with giant wings or scary faces. As time progressed, a legend grew that a dragon called the Gargouille frightened the town of Rouen, France.

These same water spouts on building were now seen as potential monsters that would be stone figures in the day but had the potential to turn into fire breathing dragons after dark.

One of Japan's most famous mythological beasts is the wani. The name translates to "crocodile" or "sea shark". The giant sea dragon was rumored to rule the oceans and had the ability to turn into a human form. Pictures from ancient Japanese literature show the wani to look like a giant crocodile or dragon.