Discover mythical creatures from around the world! These curious creatures appear in many myths and legends. Get to know them more with our fun facts for kids.

A mythical creature is a mystical or legendary creature often seen in ancient stories. These stories are called myths and legends. A mythical creature is usually a hybrid: a being made up of two or more real or fantasy creatures. Many mythical creatures have special powers that they can either use for good or to cause mischief or harm to people.

Let’s take a closer look at some interesting and intriguing mythical creatures facts for kids. Many of these creatures appear frequently in myths and legends from around the world. Which mythical creature is your favourite?

Mythical Animals

These creatures look like real animals but often have supernatural powers that they can use to help or harm humans.

Unicorns

Unicorns are usually characterised as very shy creatures, with special healing powers. They are described as kind, innocent and intelligent. Unicorns are usually shown to have the body of a horse (bright white in colour) but are distinguishable from horses due to their single, twisted horn on top of their heads.

These fantastical creatures feature in mythology from all over the world including myths from Babylonia and the Indus civilization. They can also be seen in many artworks and stories from Europe in the Middle Ages. The unicorn is also the national animal of Scotland and is included in their coat of arms.

Phoenix

The phoenix is a bird-like creature that appears in mythology from Greece, Egypt, and Rome. It is said to be born from fire and when the phoenix dies, it bursts into flames again. These birds are supposedly very beautiful, with feathers of red and gold. They represent rebirth and new beginnings.

Yeti

Also called 'The Abominable Snowman', this mythical creature is said to live in the Himalayan mountains where it’s very cold and snowy. Over the years people have claimed to have seen a giant ape, walking on its back legs.

Despite these sightings, blurry photographs, and rumours of remains of yetis being kept in Himalayan monasteries there is no real evidence to prove these strange creatures exist.

Pegasus

Pegasus was a winged horse that appeared in Greek mythology. He is usually white like a unicorn. It’s believed that Pegasus helped the hero Bellerophon defeat the terrifying chimera. When Bellerophon tried to enter the realm of the gods, on Mount Olympus, Pegasus threw the unfortunate hero off his back. This meant that Pegasus was awarded his own place on Mount Olympus with the ancient Greek gods.

Mythical Hybrids

These unique legendary creatures are part human and part animal or even a combination of several different animals.

Minotaur

The minotaur is from Greek mythology and is depicted as half man, half bull. A minotaur features in the legend of 'Theseus and the Minotaur'. According to the legend, it was a terrifying beast that was kept hidden in a great maze called a labyrinth.

Chimera

A chimera was a terrifying creature according to Greek mythology. It had the ability to breathe fire like a dragon and was made up of lots of different animals. It had a lion’s body, a goat’s head growing from its back, and a tail that had a snake’s head on the end!

Medusa

Another monster in Greek mythology, Medusa was a gorgon who had snakes for hair and a deadly stare. She had the power to turn anyone who looked at her into stone and was killed by Perseus with help from the goddess Athena.

Perseus used a mirrored shield given to him by Athena to watch Medusa’s reflection as she slept. He was then able to sneak up on her and kill her without being turned to stone.

Manticore

This legendary creature first appeared in Persian and Greek mythology before later being included in medieval art. Manticores were true hybrids as they had the body of a lion, a human head, and three rows of teeth like a shark.

Other versions of the manticore also had the tail of a scorpion or dragon making it a very dangerous creature! Manticores were thought of as a symbol of evil during the Middle Ages.

Humanoid Mythical Creatures

These creatures closely resemble humans in appearance but have powerful magical abilities.

Werewolf

A werewolf is a human who has the ability to transform into a wolf-like monster during a full moon. Its name comes from the Old English word ‘werwulf’ which is a combination of the words ‘wer’ (man) and ‘wulf’ (wolf).

Werewolves first appeared in the ancient Sumerian poem ‘The Epic of Gilgamesh’ around 2100 BC. Since then they have featured in Roman and Greek mythology as well as central and eastern European folklore.

It’s said that werewolves in human form will appear to be sick around the time of a full moon. When a person transforms into a werewolf, they lose their human mind and can’t resist attacking other people, even friends, and family. According to legend, werewolves can only be killed by silver bullets. When a werewolf is killed it turns back into a human.

Baba Yaga

Baba Yaga appears in Slavic mythology and is characterised as being an old woman living in a forest. She is said to steal, cook and eat her victims. Baba Yaga’s house was just as unusual as her. It was a forest hut built on huge bird legs that could walk around! When she wasn’t in her forest hut,

Baba Yaga would use a mortar and pestle to fly around the forest. It was believed that she could create storms and strong winds as she went.

Banshee

In Irish mythology, the Banshee is a female fairy spirit who wails or shrieks to lament the impending death of a family member. The Banshee is also described as wailing to warn people of danger, in the case it is unlikely they will survive a situation.

Pixie

Pixies are tiny mythical creatures that appear in English folklore, especially in Devon and Cornwall. They are mischievous little creatures similar to sprites and faeries. They are usually shown without wings with pointed ears and wearing green clothes.

Goblin

Goblins are part of British and Germanic folklore. They are believed to be evil creatures making them the opposite of pixies and faeries. There are many different types of goblins but it’s believed that they all like to live in dark places and frighten children.

Brownie

Brownies are similar to pixies except that they were thought to live inside the home. They are part of Scottish and North English folklore. People thought that they lived in houses and helped with household chores in exchange for food or small gifts. If brownies weren’t paid with these small gifts or mistreated, they could leave the house for a new one.

Mythical Sea Monsters

These creatures are said to call the deep blue water of oceans, rivers, and lakes home.

Loch Ness Monster

The Loch Ness Monster (also named Nessie) is said to be a large, whale-like creature with a long neck that lives in the depths of Loch Ness in the Highlands of Scotland. There have been many disputed claims of sightings of Nessie, but no real proof so far!

Kelpies

Kelpies come from Celtic mythology and are shape-shifting creatures that often appear as horses. The Kelpies tend to live near water and should be avoided! Although they may appear as gentle horses, they trick people into climbing upon their back before carrying them into the depths never to be seen again!

The Kraken

According to Norse mythology, the Kraken was an enormous squid-like creature that lived in the seas around the Scandinavian coast. This terrifying mythical sea monster would wrap its large tentacles around ships and pull them to the bottom of the sea.

Mermaids

A mermaid is a legendary creature that had a human head and torso and the tail of a fish. Although they were thought to live mostly in the sea, they could come out and sit on rocks near the sea.

The first mermaid legends were told in Assyria around 1000 BC. A goddess called Atargatis fell in love with a shepherd and accidentally killed him. She was so distraught that she dived into a lake to become a fish. However, the water wouldn’t let her beauty be lost so she was transformed into a mermaid: half woman, half fish.

Mermaids have also appeared in Persian, Roman, Greek, and European mythology. They are believed to be bad omens in British folklore. Sailors believed that mermaids were a sign of bad weather.

To learn more about mythical creatures and other fascinating myths and legends from all over the world, take a look at these helpful resources!

Mythical Creatures around the World

-Abhilasha Deshpande