31 Days of Monsters - Day 31: The Bogeyman

Every culture has their own version of the Bogeyman. In fact, all monsters that are said to prey on misbehaving children are versions of the bogeyman myth. The human race’s first bogeymen were most likely the wild animals that stalked the night. After humans asserted dominance over nature, with threats from bears and lions diminished, the first tale of the bogeyman was born to keep rebellious children in line.

31 Days of Monsters - Day 30: Iku-Turso

Iku-Turso is a titanic monster from Finland that is known as the father of diseases and a god of war. One of his epithets gives rise to a modern Finnish name for octopi, but he is also known by names that mean “bearded” and “horned,” and the word tursas is an older name for walrus. Confusing as his description might be, all who have seen him will never forget their encounter.

31 Days of Monsters - Day 29: Charman

Long ago a wildfire roared through Ojai, California. While townsfolk fought to extinguish the buildings in town, they forgot to save a father and son who lived on the outskirts of town. Still alive, but horribly burned by the ravaging flames, the son was eventually found by a rescue party. Driven insane from pain, he had cannibalized his father to stay alive, and fled into the wilderness where he lives to this day.

31 Days of Monsters - Day 28: Yacumama

The waterways of South America are haunted by Yacumama. Said to be the mother of all sea creature, Yacumama is fiercely protective of her watery home. To avoid ending up as her meal, tribes will blow a horn before entering the water to avoid spooking her.

31 Days of Monsters - Day 27: Dwayyo

In Middletown, Maryland, a strange beast prowls the woods. Reportedly as large as a calf, with werewolf-like features and a long bushy tale, the Dwayyo has a personality as nasty as it’s appearance. It will tangle with any creature that gets in its way, and is very hard to track.

31 Days of Monsters - Day 26: Ludwig the Bloodsucker

A strange figure used to stalk the streets of New York during the late 1800s. Part urban legend, part delirium tremens, Ludwig the Bloodsucker was a squat, hairy beast of a man who haunted the city’s back alleys and tenements. A vampire by nature, Ludwig preyed upon the drunks of the Bowery, draining them of their tainted blood with relish. Nobody believed his victims, which provided him more than enough cover for his sanguinary cravings.

31 Days of Monsters - Day 25: Reptilian

People believe strange things. One such belief is that a hidden race of tall lizard-people masquerade as human beings and secretly control all the world governments, religions and corporations. These reptilians come from either underground, another planet or another dimension depending on whom you talk to. They supposedly farm humans, conduct Satanic rituals, drink human blood and are responsible for every tragedy to befall humanity since the dawn of time.

31 Days of Monsters - Day 24: Drude

A Drude is a Germanic demon or imp associated with nightmares. In medieval times, drude was a word used to describe hags, but true drudes are supernatural in nature rather than human practitioners of black arts. Drudes lend their name to the drudenfuss (literally "drude's foot") to the pentagram that has been used by sorcerers and witches for centuries. Like wise, a stone that has a natural hole in it is called a drudenstein, and is prized as a charm against nightmares.

31 Days of Monsters - Day 23: Tahquitz

Near the San Jacinto mountain range of California lurks the ancient spirit of the first Cahuilla shaman. Legend says that Tahquitz became corrupted and was banished to the mountains that now bear his name. He hunts people who enter his domain, for food, and as tools for his bloody rituals.

31 Days of Monsters - Day 22: The Pascagoula Aliens

On the evening of October 11, 1973, two fishing buddies heard a strange whirring and saw an oval-shaped craft hovering toward them. The men were subdued and taken captive by three strange creatures that emerged from the "ship". The beings were unlike any aliens ever seen before or since, with long clawed arms, wrinkly skin and spikes in the place of facial features. After being subjected the strange tests by the creatures, thee men were released, and the creatures were never seen again.

31 Days of Monsters - Day 21: The Miniwashitu

The Miniwashitu of North Dakota is a bizarre minotaur-like aquatic monster with one eye and one horn. It has human hands, but cloven feet and barbs running down its spine. The Miniwashitu is said to be the cause of the Missouri River’s spring ice break. According to legend, it delights in smashing the ice with it’s horn. Seeing the Miniwashitu is bad luck, and those who have lose all will to live and are consumed with madness. Most who see the Miniwashitu die soon after.

31 Days of Monsters - Day 20: Yr Hwch Ddu Gwta

In Wales, November 1 is the start of winter, and Calan Gaeaf is celebrated. A pyre is built and people surround the bonfire with rocks marked with their names. As the fires dwindle everyone runs home before the Yr Hwch Ddu Gwta comes. The Yr Hwch Ddu Gwta is a monstrous, tailless black sow that hunts down people who aren't safe at home. In the morning, the stones are inspected, and if a person can't find the stone with their name on it, they know that they will die within the coming year.

31 Days of Monsters - Day 19: The Beast of Busco

Local legend around Churubusco Indiana says there is a monstrous snapping turtle named Oscar living in a small lake on the property of Fulk Lake. Many attempts have been made to catch the beast, but the creature remains elusive.

31 Days of Monsters - Day 18: Kushtaka

Kushtaka are otter-like shapeshifters of the Pacific Northwest coast of North America, that can assume human form at will. They are capricious and sometimes deadly, and delight in playing tricks on humans. They will “save” humans lost in the cold, by changing them into Kushtaka. so they can survive. They can be warded off with copper and urine.

31 Days of Monsters - Day 17: Tuttle Bottoms Monster

An unusual BHM (Big Hairy Monster) lives near the Saline River in Harrisburg, Illinois. Described as ape-like, but with a long nose like an anteater, the creature seems harmless to humans, but its odd and sudden appearance has caused nightmares in numerous witnesses over the years.

31 Days of Monsters - Day 16: Bergmonch

Bergmonch is a German spirit that takes the form of a giant white haired creature wearing a monk's hood. He lives in mountains and likes to play dangerous, often fatal tricks on ill-tempered hikers and miners. He has foul breath that can kill an entire mining crew, and shapeshift into the form of a long-necked horse.

31 Days of Monsters - Day 15: The Ozark Howler

In the wild places of Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas, there is said to roam a bear-like beast known as the Ozark Howler. It is a vicious hunter of humans with an unearthly cry that many say is part wolf howl, part bugle call and part roar.

31 Days of Monsters - Day 14: Wanyūdō

After death, an evil Japanese nobleman was cursed to wander the roads between Hell and Earth in the form of a burning, human-faced ox-cart wheel. Wanyūdō travels the world to remind people to be kind to one another, but he will grab anyone he can and drag them to Hell with him on his next lap.

31 Days of Monsters - Day 13: Nain Rouge

Nain Rouge is a small demonic creature with crimson skin and a toothy smile. Hailing from Detroit, Nain Rouge is a harbinger of doom, appearing shortly before tragedies or catastrophes. Every year a parade is held in which Nain Rouge is symbolically chased from town as a way of securing a year free from trouble for the city.

31 Days of Monsters - Day 12: The Loveland Frog Monsters

In 1955 a motorist reported seeing a trio of enormous humanoid frogs on a bridge near Loveland, Ohio. After observing the the strange creatures converse with each other, the witness saw one of them raise a wand over their heads, and fire a spray of sparks into the air. Startled, the motortist fled the scene, fearing for his safety.