Test yourself! Take this Mythical Creatures Quiz | Mythology Mixture

Answer: Monkey King

According to Chinese legend, the Monkey King had the ability to transform himself into many forms. He had learned his skills as the student of a Taoist priest. After he lost a bet with Buddha, the Monkey King was imprisoned under a mountain for 500 years. The novel "The Journey to the West" describes the Monkey King's adventures.

Answer: Bunyip

Descriptions of the Bunyip vary. Some myths describe it as a large snake while others believe it to be half-human. Most scientists believe that Bunyip is a myth. Some, however, believe that the creature might have existed as a diprotodon, a large marsupial of the Pleistocene period.

Answer: Chimera

The distinctive feature of the Chimera was the goat head that emerged from its back. The Chimera was not a friendly creature. It killed anything that crossed its path. The Chimera eventually had its comeuppance. The hero Bellerophon, riding on his horse Pegasus, used a spear to jam a piece of lead into Chimera's throat, suffocating the beast.

Answer: Draugen (Draugr)

Since the Draugen took over the graves of dead Vikings, they became undead Vikings. Possessed of incredible strength and the ability to change shape, the Draugen were a formidable force. It has been said that if a sailor saw a draugr rowing half a boat, he knew he was doomed.

Answer: Bogeyman

The Bogeyman, sometimes spelled Boogeyman, is also known as Sack Man. The Japanese have a form of Bogeyman called Namahage and Spanish-speaking countries call him El Cuco. The origin of the Sack Man dates back to 16th and 17th century Spain. Orphan collectors traveled around collecting young orphans in sacks before returning them to an orphanage.

Many of the children died before they made it back to the orphanage. The orphan collector thus became a skinny old man with a sack who stole and ate naughty children.

Answer: Baba Yaga

In the Czech and Polish languages she is known as Baba Jaga. In Bosnia and Croatia she is known as Baba Roga. In Romania she is Baba Cloanţa. The name may change but one thing remains the same: Baba Yaga is always old, mean and ugly. Baba Yaga travels through the air in a large mortar using a pestle to guide her, looking for children to kidnap.

Answer: Tarasque

Tarasque terrorized villages in southern France, particularly the area around Provence, as it burned everything in sight. The offspring of the Bible's Leviathan and Onachus, a scaly beast from Spain, Tarasque was eventually tamed by Saint Martha who lured the creature back to Provence with prayers and songs.

Answer: Basilisk

The Basilisk, also known as cockatrice, was born from the egg of a chicken and hatched on toad dung. Pliny the Elder described the Basilisk as resembling a cow, although most accounts refer to it as resembling a reptile. If a person happened to look the creature in the eye, that person would die instantly. Not a pleasant way to go.

Answer: Werewolf

Werewolves date back to medieval times. The term comes from the Old English word wer, which means man, and wolf. According to myth, a person could only become a werewolf by either being bitten by one or being born that way. Clinical lycanthropy is a psychological disorder in which a patient believes him or herself to actually be a wolf.

Although rare, these cases have been documented in scientific journals.

Answer: Troll

Trolls differ in size and shape according to the part of Scandinavia from which they came. In Norse mythology trolls were known as jötunn. They generally lived in caves and clustered together in families. In parts of Scandinavia there are large stone landmarks that are said to be trolls that turned to stone once they came out into the sunlight. I have a collection of those cute little troll dolls. So far they have behaved themselves.