Mythical Monsters

Jwara is the lord of all diseases. Part Ayurvedic medical concept and part Hindu god, he’s a shapeshifting figure that causes a mysterious fever that has no cure. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sopona is one of the most powerful gods of the Yoruba religion. He's the god of the earth, in charge of blessing the crops and grains. But if you anger him, he'll clap back in a fearsome way, infecting your body with a deadly rash — a disease known today as smallpox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Deep in the forests of Germany and Britain lies a creature seemingly made of darkness. It will render you immobile in sleep, then crush your lungs so you can't breathe. This is the Mara, and she's the origin of the word “nightmare.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A beautiful woman transforms at nightfall, sprouting bat wings and severing the lower half of her body. Dragging her entrails, she goes in search of the one thing that will sate her appetite: fetuses. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A fearsome bat god of the K’iche’ Mayans, the Camazotz is at home in both the underworld and the apocalypse. And it specializes in slicing heads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the Caribbean, a blood-sucking fireball has an insatiable hunger, a terrible grudge, and a secret that will divide a family… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The monsters of Hercules’ eighth Labor put the ‘mare’ in ‘nightmare’ — they may look like ordinary horses, but these creatures are supernaturally strong, with an insatiable taste for human flesh. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hercules heads south to meet the Minoans. You might know them from the stories of Icarus, Daedalus, Theseus, and the Minotaur. But there was another fearsome beast that started it all... with plenty of blood, gore, and savage hatred. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the surface, hunting the Stymphalian Birds seems right in Hercules' wheelhouse: it should be a simple point and shoot. Unfortunately, things start to look a little more complicated once our hero gets to Lake Stymphalia... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The chase is on when Hercules is tasked with capturing the fastest creature in the world — a deer that can outrun the goddess of the hunt herself, Artemis. But the real challenge may come later, when Hercules must outwit a king… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An epic hero. An unusually terrifying monster. If Hercules is going to survive, his greatest weakness will need to become his greatest strength. Join us over the next four weeks as we look at the monsters of the Twelve Labors of Hercules, and the legendary showdowns that were his penance for a terrible crime. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The disfigured, betrayed bride known as Oiwa is one of Japan’s most legendary spirits. Her hideous appearance and thirst for revenge are scary enough, but what’s even more terrifying is her ability to warp her victims’ entire sense of reality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stalking the waters and villages of the Greenlandic Inuit, the Tupilaq is a horrific creature made up of parts from many dead animals. It’s conjured by a shaman for revenge… but all bets are off once the Tupilaq begins to think for itself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Erinyes are some of Greek mythology’s most menacing figures. Though the three winged sisters make their home in Hades torturing wicked souls, they will also rise up to the human world if it means they can drink the blood of those who break the moral laws of society. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Kanontsistóntie is a flying, blood-thirsty head that terrorized Native American and First Nation clans across the U.S. and Canada. It’s bound to stalk and devour anyone who sees it… and it’ll take one young woman’s cleverness and patience to defeat it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From Southeast Asia comes the legend of the Pontianak. Once an innocent victim, she’s now a vampiric monster who pursues men and pregnant women to avenge her unfair death… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

First observed by Spanish colonizers in the 16th century, the Dark Watchers reside high up in California’s Santa Lucia Mountains. But these phantom figures do far more than just watch… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It has a home covering nearly 200 square miles in Big Sky Country. This slithering, serpentine water-beast is Montana's Flathead Lake Monster and you better hope you see it before it sees you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From the dregs of war-loving humanity’s industrial waste comes the terrifying winged Mothman, who’s a warning of danger to come... and also the danger itself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The red-haired skunk ape stalks the Florida Everglades, and it’ll do anything to protect its territory against nosy humans and their cameras. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Grendel is the fearsome villain from the classic “Beowulf,” but this beast started out as a protector of nature. He only went bad to fight a terrifying threat to nature: humankind. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stinging tails. Fatal venom. The Scorpion Men from Babylonian mythology are ruthless guards of the underworld. But they were created by a powerful goddess for a noble purpose: to avenge a murder, and seek out justice. For more celestial stories, keep listening across Parcast Network for episodes on the Zodiac signs, constellations and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With their fifty heads and one hundred arms, the giant Hecatoncheires terrorize ancient Greece as they rise from their undersea prison to wreak havoc. It’s up to one scared young man to find his bravery and stop the devastation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The winged, feminine, and very feline Sphinx terrorizes ancient Greece with her sharp claws and unsolvable riddles. But all that changes when the Sphinx meets a young man named Oedipus… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Shojo is a water-dwelling monkey with bright red fur and a fondness for getting drunk. The creatures are said to have created sake, and they delight in drinking it with new human friends. But if a Shojo is betrayed, the party ends… and the danger begins. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amidst Japan’s highest peaks, a kindly woman provides weary travelers with food and shelter — if they obey her rules. If they don’t, the Yamauba reveals the demon inside of her. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Much like Godzilla, the Bagan is an ancient dragon-like beast who erupts from the Earth to wreak havoc. Though the fire-breathing monster leaves a trail of destruction in its wake, it may actually be there to teach a lesson about balance in the natural world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lurking in the rivers of Japan is the kappa, a turtle-monkey hybrid who’s quite curious about human ways. The kappa’s favorite food is cucumbers, so you’d better have some on hand. Otherwise, it will want to indulge in its other favorite: human blood. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Japanese Gashadokuro is a giant, ravenous skeleton made of restless, angry spirits. It can be controlled for a time with the right magic, but if it gets too hungry, it can ravage an entire country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before Eve, there was Lilith. Adam’s first wife was a feisty, lusty woman whose defiance gets her thrown out of Eden, and whose passions put her in the Lord’s line of fire. But her power is undeniable. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In biblical times, no tribe was as feared as the Amorites. Legends say they were fearsome giants with no morals — but this band of enormous shepherds had very human goals: to love, survive, and help their flock thrive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Book of Revelation presents an apocalypse worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster, with rivers of fire and gigantic beasts that lay waste to the land. These creatures haunt the visions of the old prophet John, who must figure out their meaning and warn the rest of the world before it’s too late. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The King of Demons stokes the flames of humanity’s lust and wrath. But when Asmodeus becomes obsessed with a young woman, killing her suitors until she agrees to marry him, a young man steps up to end his reign of terror... with a little help from an angelic guide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before she gained a reputation as a scheming sorceress and King Arthur’s nemesis, Morgan Le Fay was an ambitious teenager struggling to claim her power in the world of men. It takes a trip to an eerie fairy domain for Morgan to find her strength. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Fairy Godmother is a classic character who solves children’s problems with sparkles, magic, and whimsy. But some children have issues that are far more disturbing than finding the perfect prince… and it takes a fairy with edge and attitude to save the day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

She’s charmed her way into the hearts and piggy banks of children across America… But instead of asking how much money she’ll give them for their teeth, perhaps kids should be asking instead: Why does the Tooth Fairy need all those teeth? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

No one likes a Wicked Fairy who crashes a christening and curses a princess, but maybe she has her reasons. Perhaps the Wicked Fairy is a mother herself, who’s only fighting for her own daughter’s future… and will do anything to prove her love. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You may know Puck as the impish sprite from Shakespeare’s tales, but he also lurks in the English countryside and offers help to people with household chores… for a price. As one overwhelmed, newly married housewife learns, a deal with Puck may bring bad luck. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Bái Hǔ is a celestial deity in ancient Chinese mythology who takes on the form of the majestic White Tiger. Those who worship Bái Hǔ can count on his blessings and protection… but those who thumb their noses at him may find themselves fleeing the claws and jaws of this ferocious beast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

High up in the Alps lives a creature that is part-snake, part-cat, and fully terrifying. The Tatzelwurm’s venomous bite can kill a man on sight, but it’s still a target for the Alps’ bravest hunters… especially Heinrich, a wrongly imprisoned man who learns that killing the beast will earn him his freedom. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Wampus Cat is a human-feline hybrid that stalks the woods of Appalachia and terrorizes young and old alike. But while legends of the Wampus have been around since the 19th century, its true origins may lie in the tale of the Ewah — a mythical Cherokee creature who is both predator and protector. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From Japanese folklore, the Bakeneko is a cat with supernatural powers. Unlike its benevolent cousin, the magical Maneki Neko, Bakeneko terrorized medieval Japan — but it has also been known to avenge cruel injustice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Jaguar is the animal embodiment of Tezcatlipoca, the Aztec god of chaos. While the Aztecs fear and celebrate him, their Spanish conquerors brush him off as a pagan myth… until the Jaguar returns to avenge his worshippers with sharp claws and madness-inducing magic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

She’s no Santa Claus: Frau Perchta is a Germanic Christmas witch who punishes lazy, unproductive people in sadistic ways. When a flax spinner named Anna spends a year mourning a loss, a visit from the Frau brings sharp clarity… and impending wrath. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A Norwegian water spirit will bestow the gift of musical talent upon desperate pupils — for a price. But a barter with this bard can be treacherous: Fail to uphold your end of the deal, and pay more dearly than you ever intended. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A brew of blood and honey bestows knowledge upon Fjalarr and Galarr, dwarf brothers in Norse mythology who begrudge their lowly status among the gods and their creations. But enlightenment brings its own set of troubles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jólakötturinn is the Icelandic Yule Cat, but this massive feline is anything but cuddly. He emerges from the dark mountain woods once a year to feast on lazy children… and this Christmas, a rude little girl named Margrét is on Jólakötturinn’s wish list. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the dense woodlands of Scandinavia, a beautiful maiden walks amid the pines. Her melodious song murmurs through the branches — and lures wandering men into her clutches. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Colossal fangs filled with venom. A body so large it encircles the world. Jörmungandr is the sea serpent middle child of Loki and Angrboda, and a Norse monster so menacing, his mere existence is a threat to humanity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The gods of Asgard use deception and wiles to betray the fearsome Fenrir, courting their own doom even as they make the giant wolf their prisoner. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices