Wednesday, April 24, 2013

U Is For Unusual...

In fantasy, you have the usual creatures, but you also have the unusual to go right along with it. Creatures that give you the heebie jeebies or a sense of awe. They can be just about anything. I have a book called, "The Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were". Makes for some interesting reading.

The Djinn or Genies ~ Wish granting, smoke-legged beings that can range from evil to good all seem to have their own agenda. Get their bindings off of them no matter the cost. Be careful what you wish for? Absolutely! If you wish for riches, someone close to you will die so you can inherit the wealth. Wish for anything and the Djinn will take it from someone close to you so you may have it. Wish granted.

Bunyips ~  Water monsters with a diet consisting of mainly of women and children. Their cry is a loud, booming roar. Their description varies so much, because people who have seen them never live to tell the tale.

Banniks ~ If your stories have a bath house or anything related to steamy saunas, bring in Bannik-like creatures. Their touch against bare skin is unmistakable. A caress brings good fortune, a scratch bodes ill.

These are just a few. For the life of me, I can't recall any others and I know there are tons of them out there. Tell me some unsual creatures in the comments!

11 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I'd have to go home and pull out my D&D books.

M.J. Fifield said...

That sounds like an awesome book. I need to track that one down.

How about the creatures that appear in The Dark Crystal or Labyrinth? Or the eels or R.O.U.Ss in The Princess Bride?

Jai said...

Wow - I'm going to have to get a copy of that book. Sounds very cool.

Mel Chesley said...

@ Alex ~ Mine were packed away. :(

@ M. J. ~ All of those creatures were great. Especially the R. O. U. S.s. :)

@ Jai ~ It helps when you're looking for some unusual stuff or just the history of others.

Anonymous said...

Mel, have you read the Bartimeus trilogy by Jonathan Stroud? The djinni in that is hilarious.

Allison said...

Ahh, haven't heard of the last two!

Allison (Geek Banter)

Kas said...

Ha! I love it. I want to find that Encyclopedia!

Also, I've nominated you for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award on my blog. : ]

Unknown said...

I used to have a book called Creatures from Elsewhere that had a host of weird creatures to draw inspiration from

Jamie @ Mithril Wisdom

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Love bunyips! And jabberwockys!!

Misha Gerrick said...

I've never heard of the last two before, but they really are interesting.

:-D

Michelle Wallace said...

My unusual creature is a "slumgullion" which was part of my S-post!
Bannik... never heard of it before.
Happy A to Z'ing!

Writer In Transit