Myths and Legends: A Mythical Menagerie

The dragon’s magic had been so astonishing, she had forgotten all about the danger in the forest. Anya and the Dragon

The unicorn stopped fifty yards from the inn and would approach no closer. Stardust

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

“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

I dreamed I was a mermaid, the fastest mermaid in the ocean. Kira-Kira

The satyrs are goat men and the centaurs are half man, half horse. Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes

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

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

“Draco, fetch the goblin, he can tell us whether the sword is real or not!” Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

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

“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

“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

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

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

“We may have angered the nymphs who live in this lake. Like...all of them.” The Mark of Athena

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

A beleaguered sprite was sheltering behind her ticket desk, besieged by angry gremlins. Artemis Fowl

“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

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

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

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

“We’re going to howl like banshees!” he tells us in this excited way he gets sometimes. A Good Kind of Trouble

The poor kid—poor goat, satyr, whatever—looked as if he expected to be hit. The Lightning Thief

Human-sized imps were spilling out of the front doorway, shaking their fists and hissing at the incoming fairies. Fablehaven

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

I always thought when Gram talked about magic, she meant fairies and fauns and forest trolls. How to Disappear Completely

“The leprechaun is bound by certain rituals. Very specific rituals, I might add. We can use them to track one down.” Artemis Fowl

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

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

Some Indigenous tribes believed the birds brought thunder when they flapped their enormous wings, earning them the nickname “thunderbird.”
– The Washington Post