31 Days of Monsters - Day 26: The Billiwhack Monster

Teenagers who hang out near Southern California's Camulos Ranch take their lives into their hands. The area is prowled by an ape-like humanoid with ram's horns and long dagger-like claws. Some think it's a genetic experiment gone awry, others a demon from Hell.

31 Days of Monsters - Day 25: Jimmy Squarefoot

Jimmy is a pig-headed (literally) monster from the Isle of Man. Once the steed of a Fomorian chieftan, Jimmy now wanders the countryside alone. He is quite peaceful, but can be shocking to encounter.

31 Days of Monsters - Day 24: The Yucca Man of 29 Palms

The Yucca Man is a large bigfoot-like creature of California's high desert. The terrifying creature blends in to the surrounding trees after which it is named, and lurks along lonely roads and in neighborhoods at night searching for stray dogs and cats to feed on.

31 Days of Monsters - Day 23: Aufhocker

Aufhockers are Germanic vampire spirits that tear the throats from their victims. They have no consistent shape, but can change to any form that serves their ability to find victims. Aufhockers cannot be killed, but church bells and sunlight frighten them.

31 Days of Monsters -- Day 22: Toyol

A toyol is a child spirit formed and sold by Malaysian dark magicians to carry out thievery, abuse and other petty crimes. Toyols are created from aborted babies and are treated as pets by their owners. Toyols are not very smart and can be distracted from their tasks by shiny objects such as marbles and coins.

31 Days of Monsters - Day 19: Père Fouettard

Père Fouettard is a cannibalistic child-killer of French legend. This beastly butcher once captured and abducted and ate three children. St. Nicholas discovered the crime and resurrected the children to bear witness against Père Fouettard. Repenting his sinful ways, Père Fouettard indentured himself to St. Nicholas. Père Fouettard is now used as a bogeyman figure to scare disobedient children into behaving themselves.

31 Days of Monsters - Day 18: Dark Watchers of the Santa Lucia Mountains

Known to early Spanish settlers as Los Vigilantes Oscuros, the Dark Watchers are a group of shadowy specters that are often seen on the horizon of the Santa Lucia mountains in California. The watchers appear near twilight, and seem to wander the ridges above, observing hikers and other visitors to the area.

31 Days of Monsters - Day 17: Am Fear Liath Mòr

Big Grey Man is an enormous giant that haunts the summit of Ben MacDhui in Scotland. Hikers visiting the site are often gripped by an irrational fear, and hear the Grey Man's ponderous footsteps over the stony earth.

31 Days of Monsters - Day 15: Ymir

Ymir was the first creature of the Norse creation stories and foremost of the titanic jötnar. A hermaphroditic giant, Ymir spawned numerous other jötnar, and they in turn gave birth to the gods, including Odin and his brothers Vili and Ve. Odin, Vili and Ve turned on their progenitor and killed Ymir, carving up its body to create the cosmos.

31 Days of Monsters - Day 13: Thunderdell

Mr. E. Thunderdell was a two-headed giant in Cornwall who had amassed great wealth over a long lifetime of hard labor and careful investment. On the morning of May 7, 1720, authorities were alerted to a possible break-in at the Thunderdell residence. Upon arrival, constables discovered Thunderdell's body in the downstairs hallway. They also discovered that all of Thunderdell's possessions had been stolen. Authorities believe Thunderdell surprise a burglar and was attacked and killed. The suspect was believed to be a local transient named Jack with a history of crimes against the giant community.

31 Days of Monsters - Day 12: Fresno Nighcrawlers

In the late 2010s, strange creatures were seen in Fresno and Yosemite, California. The creatures, caught on security cameras appeared to be gangly, pale phantoms, and although they had no face-to-face contact with humans, they still unsettled the locals, who were worried about the beings' possible sinister intentions.

31 Days of Monsters - Day 9: Erdhenne

An erdhenne is a house spirit that is normally invisible. It watches over a home and clucks like a chicken when danger is near. If an erdhenne appears, it shows itself as a shaggy grey hen with a short neck. Seeing an erdhenne in this form means you will die within the year.

31 Days of Monsters - Day 8: Jenny Haniver

Many claim Jenny Hannivers are just the carved up carcasses of mummified sea skates, but others claim they are sea devils caught and preserved by fearless sailors. Either way, they are often seen in coastal sideshows and oddity museums.

31 Days of Monsters - Day 7: Vampire Pumpkins

Among the Romani people of the Balkans, there is a belief that any pumpkin kept longer than a week, or kept after Christmas, can become a vampire. The pumpkin will move about the house at night by itself and hurt people by crashing into them repeatedly. They are more of an annoyance than a real threat, and they can be identified by drops of blood on their skins. The same thing goes for watermelons.

31 Days of Monsters - Day 6: Hiisi (plural: hiidet)

Hiidet are Finnish nature spirits. They roam areas never visited by humans and attack humans who attempt to "civilize" those areas. The only escape from a hiisi is to flee to a human cultivated or developed location. Hiidet find these area abhorrent and poisonous.