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Myths and Legends: A Mythical Menagerie

What a party this list is — some might say "A Monster Mash!" Enjoy the guest list as you learn about these fantastic beasts.
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Full list of words from this list:

  1. dragon
    a mythological creature with a reptile body and wings
    The dragon’s magic had been so astonishing, she had forgotten all about the danger in the forest. Anya and the Dragon
  2. unicorn
    an imaginary horse with a long horn on its forehead
    The unicorn stopped fifty yards from the inn and would approach no closer. Stardust
  3. griffin
    mythical creature with an eagle's head and a lion's body
    Dylan points outs a griffin that swoops down in the distance and emerges with some poor creature in its beak. Amari and the Night Brothers
  4. phoenix
    a legendary bird that burned to death and emerged reborn
    “He’s really very handsome most of the time, wonderful red and gold plumage. Fascinating creatures, phoenixes. They can carry immensely heavy loads, their tears have healing powers, and they make highly faithful pets.” Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets
  5. mermaid
    a mythical sea creature that is half woman and half fish
    I dreamed I was a mermaid, the fastest mermaid in the ocean. Kira-Kira
  6. centaur
    a mythical being that is half man and half horse
    The satyrs are goat men and the centaurs are half man, half horse. Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes
  7. chimera
    a mythical creature formed from the parts of other animals
    She read about Mount Olympus and creatures like the chimera and the phoenix, and then read the story of Prometheus. The Invention of Hugo Cabret
  8. yeti
    a large hairy creature said to live in the Himalayas
    The yeti devours anything that strays into its path, though it fears fire and may be repulsed by skilled wizards. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
  9. goblin
    (folklore) a small, ugly creature that causes trouble
    “Draco, fetch the goblin, he can tell us whether the sword is real or not!” Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
  10. ogre
    (folklore) a giant who likes to eat human beings
    In the blackness of the eternal night, all the wickedest creatures—the trolls and banshees and ogres—have driven the good creatures into hiding. How to Disappear Completely
  11. fairy
    a small, mythological creature with wings and magical powers
    “A fallen fairy. Nasty little creatures. Imps despise themselves as much as fairies adore themselves. Just as fairies are drawn to beauty, imps are drawn to ugliness.” Fablehaven
  12. elf
    (folklore) a small fairy-like creature that is somewhat mischievous
    “Wake up, dearie. You were wise not to leave us during the night. These lands are dangerous. An elf might have gotten you.” Ella Enchanted
  13. gargoyle
    an ornament consisting of a grotesquely carved figure
    The falling snow had covered almost all of it, but part of one gargoyle still poked above the drift, its grotesque face snarling sightless at the sky. A Dance with Dragons
  14. sphinx
    a mythical creature with a lion's body and a human head
    If the riddle was too hard, he could keep silent, get away from the sphinx unharmed, and try and find an alternative route to the center. Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire
  15. nymph
    a minor nature goddess depicted as a beautiful maiden
    “We may have angered the nymphs who live in this lake. Like...all of them.” The Mark of Athena
  16. troll
    supernatural creature thought to live in caves or mountains
    The forest troll has a pale-green skin and some specimens have hair, which is green or brown, thin and straggly. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
  17. gremlin
    (folklore) a small fairy-like creature that is somewhat mischievous
    A beleaguered sprite was sheltering behind her ticket desk, besieged by angry gremlins. Artemis Fowl
  18. werewolf
    a mythological creature that changes from a man to wild animal at night
    “We can’t go in there at night — there’s all sorts of things in there — werewolves, I heard.” Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
  19. vampire
    a corpse rising at night to drink the blood of the living
    Harry had never met a vampire, but he had seen pictures of them in his Defense Against the Dark Arts classes, and Black, with his waxy white skin, looked just like one. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban
  20. zombie
    a spirit or supernatural force that reanimates a dead body
    Humans are obligated to kill zombies, just as zombies have an obligation to seek out humans and feast on their flesh. Where Things Come Back
  21. manticore
    a monster having the head of man and the body of a lion
    The manticore threw off his coat and transformed into his true self, his lion claws extended and his spiky tail bristling with poison barbs. The Titan's Curse
  22. banshee
    a female spirit who wails to warn of impending death
    “We’re going to howl like banshees!” he tells us in this excited way he gets sometimes. A Good Kind of Trouble
  23. satyr
    one of a class of woodland deities
    The poor kid—poor goat, satyr, whatever—looked as if he expected to be hit. The Lightning Thief
  24. imp
    one who is playfully mischievous
    Human-sized imps were spilling out of the front doorway, shaking their fists and hissing at the incoming fairies. Fablehaven
  25. wraith
    a ghostly figure, especially one seen shortly before death
    For a brief second, every horror came back to her, and she truly was a wraith, a ghost taking flight from a body that had given her only pain. Six of Crows
  26. faun
    a mythological creature that is half human and half goat
    I always thought when Gram talked about magic, she meant fairies and fauns and forest trolls. How to Disappear Completely
  27. leprechaun
    a mischievous elf in Irish folklore
    “The leprechaun is bound by certain rituals. Very specific rituals, I might add. We can use them to track one down.” Artemis Fowl
  28. kelpie
    a water spirit in the form of a horse
    Meanwhile the world’s largest kelpie continues to evade capture in Loch Ness and appears to have developed a positive thirst for publicity. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
  29. jackalope
    a mythical animal said to look like a rabbit with horns
    When Shaw attended the Naval Academy, his company was named after the jackalope, a mythical cross between a jack rabbit and an antelope.
    Washington Post
  30. thunderbird
    a mythological creature said to create loud sounds during storms
    Some Indigenous tribes believed the birds brought thunder when they flapped their enormous wings, earning them the nickname “thunderbird.”
    The Washington Post
Created on Fri Jan 12 13:56:28 EST 2024 (updated Thu Feb 08 12:14:17 EST 2024)

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