Top 5 mythical creatures

Featured in: Greek mythology (and every fantasy lover’s collective desire to pet things they absolutely shouldn’t)

Is Cerberus objectively horrifying? Yes.

Or, is he just a giant puppy guarding the Underworld? Also yes.

Cerberus is one of the most iconic creatures in Greek mythology. He is the multi-headed hound tasked with guarding the gates of the Underworld and preventing the dead from escaping. But despite the whole “monstrous guardian of the dead” thing, there’s something weirdly endearing about him.

Maybe it’s because modern fantasy has collectively decided that terrifying magical dogs are still, fundamentally, dogs.

What I love about Cerberus in mythology is how clearly he represents threshold spaces. He exists between life and death, civilisation and chaos, and safety and danger. And yet modern retellings often soften him slightly, turning him into a creature readers are fascinated by rather than simply afraid of.

Which is understandable. I, too, would risk it all to pat the giant death puppy.

Image by Kovarikitti on Pinterest.

Featured in: The Witcher and Slavic folklore

Slavic folklore creatures have a very different energy to a lot of Western fantasy monsters. They tend to feel older, stranger, and much more tied to the natural world. The Leshy is a perfect example of that.

Traditionally, the Leshy (somewhat different from Dryads) is a forest spirit associated with wilderness and nature (less cute forest nymph and more terrifying tree monster). Depending on the story, it can be protective, dangerous, mischievous, or outright monstrous. It’s not evil in a straightforward sense. It simply operates according to rules that humans don’t fully understand. Much like the fae.

Which is exactly what makes it so compelling.

Modern fantasy adaptations, particularly The Witcher (is this also a subtle excuse to mention Henry Cavill? who can say 👀), lean heavily into the unsettling nature of the creature. The Leshy feels otherworldly in a way that many fantasy monsters don’t. Like the forest itself has become sentient and decided humans are no longer welcome there.

And honestly? That’s excellent creature design.

Image by Vishal Singh on Pinterest.

Featured in: Game of Thrones — vibes north of the Wall

Norse mythology does not do things halfway.

The draugr are undead creatures from Norse folklore, often associated with greed, burial mounds, vengeance, and physical decay. Unlike modern zombies, draugr aren’t mindless — they’re often depicted as powerful, intelligent, and deeply hostile beings that retain aspects of who they once were.

Which makes them significantly more terrifying.

A lot of modern fantasy draws on this imagery, but nowhere do I feel the influence more strongly than in the creatures lurking north of the Wall in Game of Thrones. That same sense of ancient death, relentless cold, and inevitability feels deeply rooted in Norse mythological storytelling.

There’s something uniquely horrifying about mythology that treats the dead not as tragic figures, but as active threats that refuse to stay buried.

Image by Zorkan KingDragon on Pinterest.

Featured in: The Folk of the Air, Shadowhunters, Reasons Not to Make Bargains in Fairy Circles (not a book, just good life advice), and every fae romantasy book in existence

Modern fantasy has done a lot to soften fae creatures. Old folklore absolutely did not.

The Aos Sídhe of Gaelic mythology are not tiny sparkly fairies fluttering around flower gardens. They’re powerful, unpredictable beings tied to bargains, rules, hospitality and terrible, violent punishments. They operate according to their own logic, and humans survive encounters with them mostly by being very careful.

Which is precisely why they work so well in fantasy.

The Folk of the Air series captures this especially well, leaning into the cruel beauty and danger of fae courts in a way that feels much closer to older folklore traditions than many modern romantasy interpretations. And while many of these romantasy books takes a different approach, you can still see those roots in the way supernatural beings interact with power, promises, and identity.

Personally, I will always prefer fae that feel slightly terrifying. If they seem too trustworthy, what’s even the point?

Image by VsArT on Pinterest.