Mythic humanoids

Mythic humanoids are mythological creatures that are part human or resemble humans through appearance or character.

Categories of mythic humanoids

The multitude of mythic humanoids can be divided into four categories:

Human skinned humanoids

These humanoids can pass unnoticed in human society. Their ears may be slightly misshaped, their eyes may not line up, or their height may not measure up, but their difference in appearance can be attributed to genetic mistakes or mutation. Sometimes they live separated from society, live in alternative realities, or occur only by night or under specific circumstances. This category includes elves, fairies, nymphs and house spirits.

Monster skinned humanoids

Portions of these humanoids are clearly not of human make. Drastic differences in skin colour, eye type, scales and fur, claws and tails. The average person may find them quite unpleasant and untrustworthy because they are not all human.

Monstrous humanoids

These humanoids are likely to instill fear and revulsion. They may walk, talk, and think like a human, but they are obviously not.

Temporary form humanoids

These are creatures that may temporarily disguise or transform into a human shape, but have entirely different true forms.

Human skinned

• Angel Spiritual being depicted as a human with wings.
• Arkan Sonney Fairy creature resembling a pig with long hairs.
• Bannik Slavic bathhouse spirit.
• Brownie Scottish household spirit
• Bugbear A type of hobgoblin comparable to the bogeyman.
• Changeling Fairy child that had been left in place of a human child stolen by the fairies.
• Ciguapa Women in the mountains of the Dominican Republic.
• Clurichaun Irish fairy resembling a leprechaun.
• Diwata Philippine deities/spirits.
• Dökkálfar Norse dark elves.
• Domovoi Protective house spirit in Slavic folklore.
• Dryad A tree nymph or tree spirit.
• Dullahan Irish unseelie fairy, headless rider.
• Dwarf Small human-shaped being that dwells in mountains and in the earth.
• Ebu Gogo Human-like creatures in Indonesian mythology.
• Elf Supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore.
• Erinyes Greek Furies, female chthonic deities of vengeance.
• Fairy Mythical being or legendary creature in European folklore.
• Fiura Evil creature in Chilean mythology, a small nasty woman with large breasts.
• Frankenstein's monster Creature from the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Stitched together from the bodies of several humans.
• Giant Monsters of human appearance but prodigious size and strength.
• Gnome Typically said to be a small humanoid that lives underground.
• Gremlin A creature commonly depicted as mischievous and mechanically oriented.
• Gwisin General term for ghost in Korea.
• Haltija A spirit, gnome, or elf-like creature in Finnish mythology that guards, helps, or protects something or somebody.
• Hobbit A fictional, diminutive, humanoid race who inhabit the lands of Middle-earth in J. R. R. Tolkien’s fiction.
• Huldra Seductive forest creature found in Scandinavian folklore.
• Imp A mischievous mythological being similar to a fairy or goblin.
• Incubus Seductive male demon. The male counterpart of a succubus.
• Kabouter The Dutch word for gnome or leprechaun.
• Kallikantzaroi A malevolent goblin.
• Kikimora Female house spirit in Slavic (especially Eastern) mythology.
• Klabautermann (Klabautermannikin, Kaboutermannikin) A water kobold or nix.
• Knocker Mischievous sprites.
• Kobold Shapeshifting German sprites.
• Korrigan Breton dwarves or fairies.
• Lares Guardian deities of ancient Rome.
• Leprechaun Little bearded men.
• Little people Small humanoids in mythology.
• Ljósálfar Norse light elves.
• Menehune Small people living in hidden Hawaiian valleys.
• Monaciello Little men dressed in the garments of monks.
• Monopod Mythical humanoids with a single leg.
• Naiad A type of water nymph.
• Nereid Female water spirits of Greece.
• Nix German shape-shifting water spirit.
• Norse dwarves Small Norse humanoids.
• Nuno Dwarf-like creature in Philippine mythology.
• Nymph Female nature spirits.
• Oberon (Fairy King) King of the fairies.
• Oceanid Sea nymphs, the daughters of Oceanus and Tethys.
• Pixie Benign fairy-like beings.
• Pombero Mythical humanoid creature of small stature being from Guaraní mythology.
• Poltergeist Ghosts known for causing physical disturbances.
• Pookha / Puck A domestic and nature sprite, demon, or fairy.
• Redcap A malevolent, murderous dwarf, goblin, elf or fairy found in Border Folklore.
• Rusalka Slavic water spirits.
• Salamander Fire spirit or elemental.
• Santa Claus
• Satyr / Satyress Ithyphallic men with goat-like features.
• Seelie Irish fae.
• Sidhe An Irish race of fae that made their homes in mounds.
• Slavic fairies Supernatural beings in Slavic folklore.
• Spriggan A grotesquely ugly mischievous fairy.
• Sprite Fairy, ghost and/or elf-like creatures
• Succubus Seductive female demon. Female counterpart of the Incubus.
• Svartalfar Norse for "black elves".
• Sylph A mythological spirit of the air.
• Siren Beautiful yet dangerous creatures, who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island.
• Tennin spiritual beings found in Japanese Buddhism that are similar to western angels, nymphs or fairies.
• Titania (Fairy Queen) A character from Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream.
• Tomte (Or Tonttu)A Scandinavian creature associated with the winter solstice and the Christmas season.
• Trauco Dwarf or goblin-like creature that inhabits the woods of Chiloé.
• Undine Water nymph.
• Valkyrie Female figure who chooses who lives and who dies in battle.
• Vampire A being from folklore who subsists by feeding on the life essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living.
• Vetter Nature spirits.
• Vila (fairy) Slavic version of nymphs, with power of wind.
• Xana A female creature of extraordinary beauty in Asturian mythology.

Monster skinned

• Adlet Dog-like humanoids in Inuit folklore.
• Asterius Two sacred kings of Crete, as well as a river and its god in Argos.
• Blafard Albinos long surmised to be the result of some kind of simian crossbreeding.
• Boggart Household spirits or genius loci.
• Centaur / Kentaurides Men and women with the lower bodies of horses.
• Cynocephaly Dog-headed humans.
• Ent Nature spirits that resemble trees.
• Fairy Spirits that are commonly depicted as having beautiful insectoid wings.
• Faun Humans with the horns and lower-bodies of goats.
• Garuda The bird-like mount of Vishnu.
• Goblin Small, grotesque humanoids.
• Gorgon Female creatures that are commonly depicted as having beastly features.
• Harpy Female creatures with the wings of a bird.
• Jengu Beautiful, mermaid like creatures.
• Jinn Genie-like beings.
• Lamia A beautiful, child-eating demon.
• Lich Undead magicians and kings which strived for eternal life.
• Manticore A creature with the head of a man, body of a lion, wings of a bat, and the tail of a scorpion.
• Mermaid / Merman Women and men with the lower bodies of fish.
• Minotaur A human with the head and sometimes legs of a bull.
• Mothman A winged, legendary man with the features of a moth.
• Nāga Humans with the lower halves of snakes.
• Ogre / Ogress Large, grotesque humanoids.
• Orc / Ork Humanoids with grey skin and tusks.
• Pan A god with the horns and legs of a goat.
• Sandman A man who puts people to sleep and brings good dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto the eyes of sleeping humans.
• Satyr / Satyress Ithyphallic men with goat-like features.
• Siren Dangerous women that lured sailors to their death with their voices.
• Sphinx A creature with the body of a lion and the head of a human.
• Tikbalang Tall, bony creatures with the features of a horse.
• Troll Large, grotesque humanoids.
• Triton The Greek god of the sea.
• Yacuruna Hairy beings with deformed feet and their heads turned backwards.

Monstrous humanoids

• Abarimon A savage race of people with backwards feet.
• Abatwa Pygmy hunters.
• Ala A female demon that brings bad weather to farms.
• Aswang Shapeshifting Philippine ghouls.
• Baba Yaga A legendary witch who floes around in a mortar, wields a pestle, and lives/travels in a hut that has the legs of a chicken.
• Black Annis A blue faced crone or witch with iron claws.
• Blemmyes A headless man with facial features on their chests.
• Boogeyman A featureless, androgynous creature used by adults to frighten children into good behavior.
• Bunyip Large, water-dwelling creatures.
• Caliban The subhuman son of the witch Sycorax.
• Cyclopes Grotesque, one-eyed humanoids.
• Draugar Undead creatures that guard their burial mounds.
• Gargoyle Carved or formed grotesques. They are said to scare away demons.
• Ghoul Evil spirits which eat human flesh.
• Giant / Giantess Extremely large humanoids.
• Gigantes Extremely large humanoids.
• Gnome Small humanoid spirits.
• Goblin Small, grotesque humanoids.
• Gorgons Female creatures that are commonly depicted as having beastly features.
• Gremlins Grotesque, mischievous creatures who love to sabotage machinery.
• Grendel A giant monster.
• Hag A wizened old women.
• Hecatonchires Hundred-handed giants.
• Hibagon The Japanese equivalent of Bigfoot.
• Hitotsume-kozou A Yōkai takes on the appearance of a bald child with one eye in the center of its forehead.
• Hobgoblins Mischievous household spirits.
• Jenny Greenteeth A green-skinned river hag.
• Jotuns A Norse mythological race that live in Jötunheimr.
• Kappa A turtle-like yōkai which is about the size of a child.
• Manananggal A self-segmenting humanoid which preys on humans.
• Mangkukulam A person employing or using Kulam.
• Mummy A mummy is a deceased human or an animal whose skin and organs have been preserved.
• Nukekubi Rokurokubi whose heads come off and float about.
• Orcs Humanoids with grey or green skin and tusks.
• Ogre / Ogress Large, grotesque humanoids.
• Oni Yōkai which are similar to ogres/demons.
• Pugot A mythical fiend that is found in the Ilocos region.
• Rokurokubi Yōkai with long necks or heads which come off.
• Samebito A humanoid with inky black skin, emerald green eyes, a face like a demon's, and a beard like a dragon's.
• Succubus / Incubus Seductive female and male demons.
• Titan Gigantic humanoids.
• Tiyanak A vampiric creature in Philippine mythology that imitates the form of a child.
• Troll Large, grotesque humanoids.
• Trow Short, ugly spirits.
• Undine Female water spirits.
• Wendigo A cannibal, monster, or evil spirit native to the northern forests of the Atlantic Coast and Great Lakes Region of both the United States and Canada.
• Yama-uba A monstrous crone with cannibalistic tendencies.
• Yeren A legendary creature said to be an as yet undiscovered hominid residing in the remote mountainous forested regions of western Hubei.
• Yeti An ape-like entity taller than an average human that is said to inhabit the Himalayan region of Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet.
• Yowie A hominid reputed to live in the Australian wilderness.
• Yuki-onna A spirit or yōkai in Japanese folklore which is associated with snow.
• Zombie An undead human which preys on the living.

Temporary form humans

• Ala A female demon that brings bad weather to farms.
• Aswang Shapeshifting Philippine ghouls.
• Changeling Fairy child that had been left in place of a human child stolen by the fairies.
• Dokkaebi A mythical being in Korean folklore or fairy tales. Although usually frightening, it could also represent a humorous, grotesque-looking ogre or goblin.
• Doppelgänger A look-alike or double of a living person.
• Empusa A demigoddess of Greek mythology.
• Encantado A mythical river dolphin.
• Jorogumo A spider that can change its appearance into that of a seductive woman.
• Kitsune, Huli Jing and Kumiho Fox spirits.
• Lamia A beautiful, child-eating demon.
• Manananggal A self-segmenting humanoid which preys on humans.
• Mangkukulam A person employing or using Kulam.
• Rokurokubi Yōkai with long necks or heads which come off.
• Selkie Irish creatures which live as seals in the sea but shed their skin to become human on land.
• Skin-walker A type of witch who has the ability to turn into an animal, or to disguise themselves as an animal.
• Spriggan Grotesque forest spirits.
• Tengu Legendary creatures with human and bird features.
• Thunderbird Gigantic birds of prey.
• Werebear A ursidae therianthropic creature.
• Werecat A feline therianthropic creature
• Werehyena A hyaenidae therianthropic creature.
• Werewolf A canine therianthropic creature.
• Vampire A being from folklore who subsists by feeding on the life essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living.

See also

• List of legendary creatures by type
• List of cryptids
• List of fictional apes
• List of hybrid creatures in mythology
• Anthropomorphism/Personification