Yara-ma-yha-who (Australia)

I learned about this little fellow from a Cracked article.  They were asking themselves what could possibly frighten little Australian children, who grow up amid poisonous lizards, snakes and spiders.  Not to mention sharks, dingos and the many other lethal predators which call Down Under home.

 

The answer to that question is the Yara-ma-yha-who, from Australian Aboriginal folklore.  It resembles a little red man with suckers on the ends of its hands and feet.  Its head and mouth are disproportionately large but it has no teeth. 

A froglike appearance is common among European goblins and earth-faeries (sometimes referred to as gnomes or brownies).  Brian Froud often depicts his gnomish faeries with a wide mouth or frog legs.

The Yara-ma-yha-who is an ambush hunter, hiding in trees to drop down on unsuspecting prey.  It drains its victim’s blood and then swallows him or her whole.  After a time, it regurgitates the victim, who comes back shorter and with a reddish tinge to their skin.  If a victim is fed on repeatedly, they turn into a new Yara-ma-yha-who.

This puts the Yara-ma-yha-who in the same category as nineteenth century vampires (like Dracula).  Originally, a vampire had to feed  many times on the same victim before that victim turned into a vampire.  In the novel, Dracula, Lucy Westenra is fed upon again and again before dying and rising from her grave to feed on beggar children.  Mina Harker also does not transform after a single feeding, although it makes her vulnerable to Dracula’s call.

One could probably argue that these creatures are a metaphor for falling in with a bad crowd.  After all, at first it seems relatively harmless, but then the victim is drawn deeper and deeper into something they can no longer escape from. 

Victims of the Yara-ma-yha-who can defend themselves by, first off, not wandering off alone in the bush.  However, if swallowed, they can play dead after being regurgitated and wait for the creature to fall asleep.  Victims have to be careful, though.  Like the crocodile in Peter Pan, the Yara-ma-yha-who will stalk a previous victim if they liked the taste.

The Blutsauger (German vampires)

This particular variation first caught my eye as part of a Cracked article on not-so-scary monsters.  According to them, it was a variation on a vampire.  It used to be human, preys on the living, can't tolerate the sun, is covered in fur and doesn't have a skeleton.

I don't know about you, but something which can squeeze under the cracks of my door to kill me is pretty scary.  So I decided to do a little Internet research and discovered that "blutsauger" is a name of a weapon in the video game Team Fortress 2 and that most of the pages featuring the word "blutsauger" are in German.

I did find some interesting information though.  Deliriums Realm told me that someone could become a blutsauger by not being Roman Catholic, dabbling in witchcraft, being immoral or committing suicide.  (The usual suspects in the don't-do-this-or-you'll-be-sorry speeches.)  You could also turn if you ate flesh which had been killed by a wolf or if animals jumped over your grave.

To kill them: drive a stake through their heart and stuff their mouths with garlic.

I couldn't find a confirmation that they didn't have a skeleton.

The idea of a monster without a skeleton is really intriguing.  I remember the first time I watched an octopus squeeze through a tiny crack.  I found a video on YouTube which demonstrates.

Now imagine it wasn't a tiny octopus but a giant man-sized blood-sucking monster sliding into your home.

Kitsune (Japanese Fox Spirits)

These mischievous shape-shifters have always intrigued me since I first read about them in Mercedes Lackey’s Chrome Circle as a teenager.  They appear in Japanese folklore as trickster spirits with supernatural powers.  Sometimes they can be guardians as well as tricksters.

Tricksters are usually teachers.  They may not always be friendly but there are often benefits to experiences with them.  The classic example is Prometheus stealing fire from the gods and bringing it to humans.

Kitsune spirits can be separated into benevolent tricksters and malicious ones.  This sounds very much like the divide between the Seelie and Unseelie Court for the Fae.  Even though the Seelie are considered to be the “good” fairies, they are still amoral and potentially dangerous to humans.  A Seelie fae might invite a mortal Underhill for a feast but when the mortal returns, over a hundred years have passed.  Unseelie fae can actively hunt and hurt mortals who trespass on their realm.

The tricks they play are also similar to those described in Celtic and European folklore.  In Japan, they say it is a kitsune but in Europe, they might say it was a fairy.  They lead travellers astray, play tricks on cruel nobles or cast the illusion of money over worthless twigs and leaves.  (Fairy gold is supposed to similarly transmute back into leaves and dirt with the morning sun.)  They might help a particular household (like a brownie does) as long as they are treated with respect.

There is a sweet Japanese story about a man whose faithful dog does not like his wife.  The man is surprised but refuses to send away his dog.  One day, the wife is so frightened by the dog that she turns into a fox and flees into the snow.

The man calls after her, telling her that he loves her no matter what form she takes.  She comes back every night as a woman and leaves each morning as a fox.

 

 

 

Japan has two fox species on the island: the Hokkaido fox and the Japanese red fox.  Both live closely with humans and, like all foxes, often use clever tricks to scavenge for food and escape predators.

 

I have borrowed the beautiful artwork for this entry from some magnificent artists.  The sketch at the top is from Raven 211 on deviant art and the painting at the bottom is from Stephanie Pui-Mun Law's collection.

 

Day of the Dead

The night between October 31st and November 1st is traditionally celebrated in many cultures as a time when the veil between the worlds is especially thin.  The spirits of the afterlife, the inhuman spirits of the Fae and other supernatural beings are all able to easily cross into our world.

In many cultures, these spirits are appeased by leaving food or treasure.  This is popularly believed to be the origin of trick-or-treating.  By dressing up as otherworldly creatures, people could help themselves to the offerings.  There are those who are appalled by our tradition of sending out our children on what can be one of the most magically dangerous nights of the year.

Spiritualists, psychics and mystics will often warn that this is a particularly dangerous night to indulge with Ouija boards, dowsing or other tools.  With the connection so thin, it can be easy to pull in something unexpected.  There are lots of stories of hauntings which begin with an innocent attempt to walk on the spooky side on Hallowe'en.

When I take my children out, I often look at the other children and adults in costume and I allow myself the pleasure of impossible speculations.  What if some of the little demons or monsters are actually supernatural creatures in disguise?  Wouldn't this be the perfect opportunity for a faerie or angel to come down and interact with humans without suspicion?

Sometimes the very air can feel thick with possibilities.  As if there are truly thousands of ghosts hovering invisibly among us.  I imagine my grandfathers looking in on their great-grandchildren and smiling.

If I were a ghost, I'd want to take the opportunity to come back and see loved ones.

Wouldn't you?