Imagine this: you are wandering in the desert when you come across these giant statues. They have the head of a human, the body of a lion, and they tower over everything for miles. You have just come across a sphinx.
The sphinx — in ancient egypt — was a spiritual guardian that was found near tombs and temples. Generally a male’s head, though sometimes a woman’s, the sphinx was often described as having the body of a lion and wings, wearing a pharaoh’s headdress. Besides the great sphinx of Giza, there is also a place called Sphinx Alley in Upper Egypt in which a two-mile avenue connecting the temples of Luxor and Karnak is lined with sphinx statues.
One of the most famous of the sphinxes comes to us from the Greek play Oedipus Rex, in which a sphinx terrorizes Thebes, demanding the answer to a riddle. The riddle, taught to her by the Muses, went: “What is it that has one voice and yet becomes four-footed and two-footed and three-footed?” Whenever the riddle was answered incorrectly, the sphinx would devour the man until Oedipus had given her the proper answer. Once learning it, the sphinx killed herself, thus sprouting the legend that the sphinx was an all-knowing creature of wisdom.
The sphinx was a creature to protect, not a monster. However, the idea that one of them would devour you had you not answered her riddle correctly is a terrifying thought. What if you didn’t know the answer? Well, then I guess the sphinx would make you their dinner.
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John White was delayed in England, and when he arrived back in Roanoke — three years after his departure — he found that the fort was deserted. The only piece of evidence that might hint as to where the colonists had gone or what had happened was the word “CROATOAN” which was carved into a nearby tree. Croatoan was the name of Chief Manteo’s home, though when John White went looking for them, he was stopped by a hurricane that damaged his ships so horribly he was forced to return to England. Though he made several attempts to go back, John White would never return to look for his family and died never knowing what had happened to them.
Imagine this: you are walking by the ruins of an abandoned castle in Ireland or Scotland in the middle of the night. The moon is high above you, and there is no one else around except for you. And then you hear a scream. You have just had an unfortunate encounter with a banshee.
There are several stories that point to the origins of a banshee. One story is that she was a murdered young woman, another that she was a mother who died in childbirth. The way she is described varies from an old woman in black with long, grey hair and a veil to the image of a headless woman, naked from the waist up, carrying a bowl filled with blood. Though her image tends to shift from region to region, she remains a harbinger of death to those that witness her and hear her wailing scream.
Wherever you go, folklore and urban legends lie in wait. Whether it’s a mythical creature or a curse or a ghost, lore of this sort is scattered from city to city, town to town. In the state of New Jersey there is said to be a creature that roams the Pine Barrens, and it is known as the Jersey Devil.
Another version states that the creature fled after its birth and returned every night to visit Mrs. Leeds, though she turned it away until it came around no more. Whichever story you believe, it all leads back to the Devil being loose in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Of course, what kind of creature would it be if it didn’t have stories of being spotted? One of the most famous accounts comes to us from the beginning of the 19th century when a Commodore Stephen Decatur — a naval hero — was testing cannon balls when he spotted a strange creature flying across the sky. He fired — and hit — the creature, but it continued to fly away. Others have seen the creature since, continuing into modern times with the most recent repost coming to us from 1987 when a german shepherd was found gnawed on and surrounded by mysterious footprints that could not be identified.
She was usually found in the Halls of Ma’at to await the judgement of the deceased, though she was also shown standing beside the scales of justice. Ammit would only devour the souls of those who did not measure up on the scales, and though she was called a demon, she is not evil. In fact, the person who was accused of being unworthy was given the chance to defend themselves before being judged to eternal damnation.
Have you ever wondered about what goes bump in the night? Ever seen the spooky spectres who haunt the halls or heard footsteps on the floor above you when you know no one is there? As Halloween draws near, we hear about ghosts and spirits, demons and imps that terrorize our homes and attack the everyday person. We will not be talking about those today, however, and instead we will be focusing on some famous ghosts that haunt the Glamis Castle all the way in Scotland.
The grey lady is reportedly the ghost of Lady Glamis — or Lady Janet Douglas. Lady Glamis was burned at the stake in 1537 supposedly because she was a witch, accused of murdering her husband and planning on poisoning the King — King James V of Scotland. Though she was accused of poisoning her first husband, she was acquitted and so married her second husband. However, nine years after her husband’s death in 1528, she was accused of planning to murder to king. She was innocent, of course, but that didn’t stop the king from torturing her family and servants until she was convicted, 
We might not know what exactly lurks in the darkness, but when we hear these stories we are reminded that some people are never forgotten. Whether it is a trail of ash or the screaming shouts of a drunk Earl, there are reminders of the past everywhere. That is, if one is only brave enough to stay around after dark and find them.
Australia. Home to twenty-one out of the twenty-five most venomous snakes in the world. A magical place where deadly creatures from sharks to box jellyfish to spiders roam free. And yet, despite all of these known creatures, there is a myth of one that is far more terrifying living in the swamps and lakes and rivers. Its name is the Bunyip.
Though the Bunyip can be either a monstrous man-eater or a benevolent protector, the legends seem to have some facts in common. If you find yourself traversing near bodies of water in Australia, remember to keep an eye out. For there may be something worse than the deadly bugs and snakes lurking about. One thing is for certain: if you hear its echoing cries or see a massive creature rise up from the depths, run.
Be wary travellers, when traversing the countryside alone. Keep your eyes peeled for a saddled horse dripping water. For it may not be a horse but a kelpie in disguise, waiting to drown its next unsuspecting victim.
Snakes appear throughout mythology in different forms, from the snake gods of Egyptian mythology to the world serpent Jormungand of Norse myth. However, in Greek myth snakes played many roles, and one such mythic snake was the Amphisbaina.
However, even though the Amphisbaina was considered deadly, it was also sought out for its healing properties. Some have speculated that its dried skin was a cure for rheumatism while others say that if the skin was worn around one’s neck it could cure a common cold. Another medicinal property tied with this creature states that the wearing of one of these — alive — around a pregnant woman’s neck would ensure a safe pregnancy. The Amphisbaina wasn’t just sought out for is healing properties. According to myth, it was also said that if the meat of the creature was ingested it would act as an aphrodisiac, attracting many lovers to the one who ate of it.
