The Top 10 Most Powerful Creatures/Monsters in Folklore

Welcome to the eighth day of my daily October posts! Throughout these next 24-days, I will be posting different spooky fun facts, tricks and treats. Today, I will be ranking the top 20 most powerful monsters in all folklore! If you don't agree with any of these ranks, then please let me know your chosen ranks in the comments below!! Enjoy!

1. The Harbinger or Psychopomp of Death - This one is an interesting part of folklore as many cultures have some form of psychopomp or harbinger of death. Someone to lead/guide people to their or through their death such as Anubis in Egyptian mythology or Hermes in Greek mythology. Other figures of personified death include the grim reaper—widely associated with the Black Death plague from 14th century Europe, although not from a single country. There is also the angel of death from ancient Europe who is another piece of Greek mythology—Thanatos, King Yan from Chinese mythology, the Irish banshee faerie, the Visayan deity Cipa, the Norse spirit of Vörõr, the Coyote from Native mythology, and the Hindu god, Yama. All of these figures hold extreme significance as they are strong contenders for the most powerful monsters in folklore as death knows no bounds. If I missed any, let me know in the comments below!! 

2. Norns & Fates - The Norns of Norse mythology were deities known to control the fate/destiny of all—even the gods. They weave the threads of life at the Well of Urðr beneath Yggdrasil, the world tree. The Norns are made up of the past (Urðr), present (Verðandi), and future (Skuld). The Greek goddesses known as the Fates, or Moirai, are similar to the Norns. The three were made up of the spinner (Clotho), the alloter (Lachesis), and the inflexible (Atropos). They too control the destiny and fates of all beings—hence why they’re known as “the fates”. 

3. Typhon - The father of monsters was born of the earth (Gaia) and underworld (Tartarus). He sits comfortably at position three on this list as he is ultimately defeated, but not killed. Zeus defeats him in order to protect Olympus from Typhon’s control. Unable to kill him, Zeus imprisoned Typhon beneath Mount Etna as legend has it. However, the father of monsters is by no means weak. In appearance he is a gigantic creature with a man’s torso, snake-like legs, fiery eyes, has the wings of a dragon and a hundred dragon heads sprouting out from his back/shoulders. His voice alone can shake the earth. His abilities include controlling storms and wind, fire/venom-breathing, flight, immense strength, and the ability to cause natural disasters. 

4. Jörmungandr - From Norse mythology and called by many different names, we have Jörmungandr, the Midgard serpent child of Loki and Angrboða. As a young serpent, he was thrown into the ocean by Odin as he feared the prophecy of Loki’s gigantic children. Jörmungandr grows so long that his body wraps around the entirety of Midgard through the waters. He’s too long for this, and even has his own tail in his mouth—remember the circle. As fate would have it, Jörmungandr is to die at the hands of Thor—although Thor also dies by Jörmungandr’s venom during the battle at Ragnarök, the Norse apocalypse. The giant snake is so large and heavy that his slithering around alone causes massive earthquakes. His position in Norse mythology is of fate, chaos and destruction. These earthquakes released his father and brother—Loki and Fenrir, out of their chains to fight at Ragnarök. Although he brings destruction, Jörmungandr is neither good or evil—often seen as a state of cosmic balance. His death paved the way for new life. You may have seen the famous symbols of Jörmungandr eating his own tale to represent this circle of life and destruction—the ouroboros. 

5. Djinn - Generally thought of as mere ”genies” in Western culture, Djinn’s are actually quite powerful beings. In Disney’s iteration, they are unfortunately bound to an object as eternal servants for their magical abilities. Djinns are actually a large part of pre-Islamic Arabian mythology. The legend is that they exist in a separate world than our own while still being able to interact with our realm, live long lives (not immortal), and are made by God from smokeless, scorching fires. They have free will, causing them to be intriguing creatures as they are not necessarily good or evil—it depends on the djinn. They can even be extremely dangerous and torment humans if they choose. They possess abilities to perform powerful magic, shapeshift, and fly. 

6. Aswang - An absolutely horrifying aspect of Filipino folklore, the aswang is a beastly shapeshifting creature known for its desires to feast on the human viscera and/or blood. These creatures are often associated with vampires, witches and ghouls. These predators have been known to prey on pregnant women in search of their fetuses, shapeshift into were-dogs and other hybrid beasts, and worst of all the manananggal. The manananggal is a type of aswang that is disembodied with a long, spear-like tongue that can reach into a human’s heart. Although, its primary prey seems to be a pregnant women’s fetus as well. 

7. Kitsune - A magical, shapeshifting (often into beautiful women), and/or deceptive fox spirit from Japanese folklore. The kitsune are often seen as messengers for the god of rice, fertility and prosperity—Inari. They possess the abilities to magically breathe fire, create illusions, have super-human speed, agility, and senses. They tend to have multiple tails that represent their long ages or wisdom levels—the highest amount is nine tails. Some kitsune are dangerous and mischievous. They use the powers for deceit or harm as a part of their wild nature. This type of kitsune is called a nogitsune, while the messenger is called a zenko.  

8. Oni - Yet another strong contender from Japanese folklore! These giant demon-ogres are known for their cruel and malicious peril on human life. Although some iterations of the oni have been converted to Buddhism and are seen as protectors, most are known to cause earthquakes, disease and famine. They are large orc-like creatures with immense strength, great horns, sharp claws, large fangs and occasionally a third eye. They are thought to have been transformed from extremely wicked humans into their current state.

9. Skvadrón - A powerful and terrifying representation of misfortune, death, and the spiritual realm within Icelandic Norse mythology. These creatures act as a powerful omen within their mythology—such as the selkie (shapeshifting seal-women of Scottish and Irish folklore that represent the omen of loss). The skvadrón is a skeletal, winged monster that is associated with the dark and harsh, cold skies of Iceland.

10. Nuckelavee - This monster has the appearance of a skinless man’s torso and head fused to the back of a skinless horse. It’s known to emerge from the waters to spread disease, famine, natural disasters and poison livestock. The only weakness known is freshwater—victims pray for rain to save them from this Orcadian demon. 

Honorable mentions: 

• The Pied Piper of Hamelin - The Pied—meaning multicolored, Piper of Hamelin is a legend about consequences. The pied piper played his magical pipe to rid the town, Hamelin, of a rat infestation. Upon the removal, the Hamelin’s leaders refused to pay the piper for his trouble. In response, the pied piper played his magical pipe once more to lure all of the children out of the city to never be seen again. He is an honorable mention as he can hypnotize any living creature from animals to humans on his own will. I wouldn’t be surprised if daisies popped out of the ground and hopped after him if he played for them. 

• The Deer Woman - I saved the best for last! In Native folklore—specifically from the Eastern Woodlands and Central Plains tribes, we have the Deer Woman. A mighty and honorable mention to say the least. The Deer Woman is a protector and sort-of omen. She is a beautiful woman with deer legs, or occasionally has appeared as a full deer. She is often associated with care, protection, love and fertility. However, she is also associated in her omen-state with malevolence, death and ruin. She is a vengeful spirit that preys on men who have abused their power—usually over women or nature. Men are usually lured to her by her beauty, only to find their death. Women, however, see her as a protector.

Thank you for reading and make sure to come back for tomorrow's post!

Sincerely, 

        your 21st century poet <3