How do you slay a dragon? What the origins are in the Loch Ness Monster story? How many heads did Cerberus have? From ancient mythology to creatures from popular films, Dragons & Mythical Creatures features 85 beasties from mythology, folklore and fiction. With 45 dragons from Chinese, Japanese, Babylonian, Mediterranean and Nordic mythology, as well as examples from more recent fantasy literature, such as J.R.R. Tolkien’s dragon Smaug in The Hobbit, the book also includes 40 mythical beasts, ranging from European werewolves to Chinese giants, from Scandinavian serpents to Aztec bats to Inuit wolves. Illustrated throughout with outstanding, full-colour artworks for every featured entry, each spread includes easy-to-follow text telling the story of each creature, locator maps and information boxes giving further revealing details about each myth or literary creation. Including 85 entries, Dragons & Mythical Creatures is a lively exploration of some of the most fascinating creations from the world’s folklore and fiction.

Table of Contents:
Introduction DRAGONS 1. Beowulf’s Dragon 2. Gorynych, a green, three-headed Russian dragon 3. Krak’s dragon from Poland 4. Knucker, a water dragon from English mythology 5. Orochi, a many-headed Japanese dragon that demands young women as tribute 6. St. George’s dragon 7. Wyvern plague dragon from English mythology 8. Apalala, a water dragon that became a Buddhist in south Asian mythology 9. Fafnir, a fierce dragon from Norse mythology 10. Futs-Lung, a noble dragon from China 11. Hatuibwarr, a four eyed, winged dragon from Melanesian mythology 12. Jawzahr, a comet dragon from Persian mythology 13. Ladon, a hundred-headed dragon from Greek mythology 14. Ryujin dragon from Japan 15. Shen-Lung from China 16. Glaurung, the fiercest firedrake from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion 17. Hungarian Horntail from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 18. Luckdragon from Michael Ende’s novel and film The Neverending Story 19. Norwegian Ridgeback (Hagrid’s pet dragon) in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone 20. Smaug in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit 21.The Red Dragon – from the medieval Welsh Mabinogion story Lludd and Llefelys. 22. Bakunawa – From Filipino mythology. It falls in love with a human girl and when it is banished, it eats the moon each month. When there is an eclipse, it is Bakunawa trying to return. 23. Zilant – a giant, two-headed dragon from Kazan in Russia. One head eats only grass, but the other eats children. 24. Green Death – the dragon villain from the novel and film How To Train Your Dragon 25. Cuelebre – a Spanish dragon that lives in a cave, guards treasures and keeps nymphs as prisoners. 26. Typhon – from Greek mythology. A gigantic dragon with a human head as well as 100 dragon heads and viper coil tails that hissed. His whole body was covered in wings, and fire flashed from his eyes. 27. The Colchis Dragon – in Greek mythology, Jason has to steal the Golden Fleece, but it is guarded by a sleepless dragon. Jason sprayed the dragon with a potion given by Medea. The dragon fell asleep, and Jason was able to seize the Golden Fleece. 28. Tugarin Zmeyevich – a dragon-man in Slavic legends. He hisses, flies with papery wings and has body is covered with fiery snakes. He has a duel against a knight and is killed, his body being cut up and scattered. 29. Illuyanka – a serpent dragon from Hittite mythology. 30. Lagarfljót Worm – from Icelandic folklore. A giant, sea-serpent dragon that grew out of a small “lingworm” or heath-dragon. 31. Gong Gong – A Chinese dragon from creation mythology. Also a sea monster, he had red hair and was so destructive that he knocked the Earth off its axis, which is why the sun moves East to West and rivers in China move West to East. 32. Tiamat – perhaps the oldest dragon in the world. A sea-dragon from Mesopotamian mythology 33. Bolla – an Albanian dragon. It sleeps all year until St. George’s Day, when it wakes up and eats a human. Every 12 years it grows nine tongues, horns, spines and larger wings, transforming into the fire-breathing Kuçedra (hydra). 34. Lindworm – a wingless, two-footed dragon from Scandinavian and Germanic folklore. A girl receives a baby lindworm as a gift. As the lindworm grows, it eventually encircles their house and takes the girl hostage, demanding to be supplied with no less than one ox a day. 35. Rong – from Vietnamese mythology. Rong’s bodies are divided into 12 parts, representing the 12 months of the year. 36. Zahhak – in Persian mythology, the three-headed dragon king who ruled for centuries before being defeated. 37. Nidhogg – in Norse mythology, the dragon that gnaws at the root of the World Tree. 38. The Seven-Headed Dragon that eats maidens from Grimms’ folk tale The Two Brothers 39. Tintaglia – from Robin Hobb’s Tawny Man Trilogy. She is a silvery-blue dragon and a haunter of dreams. 40. Balaur – a Romanian dragon that has many heads, must be killed to free the princess and whose saliva can create precious stones. 41. Neak – from Cambodian folklore. They are like multi-headed cobras. The more heads a Neak has, the higher its rank. 42. Chrysophylax Dives – a comic, haughty, villainous dragon from J.R.R. Tolkien’s story Farmer Giles of Ham. 43. The Northern Dragon – from C.S. Lewis’s story The Pilgrim’s Regress, in which the cold Northern Dragon is so greedy that his anxiety for gold barely allows him to sleep. He even eats his wife. 44. Sarkany – from Hungarian folklore, a seven-headed, man-shaped dragon usually seen at night on horseback 45 Campe – A half-dragon from ancient Greek mythology who a beautiful woman’s head and upper body and a scorpion-like tail. She was defeated by Zeus in battle. OTHER MYTHICAL BEASTS Ahuizotl – An aquatic, dog-like Aztec creature with human-like hands and even a hand on its tail. It enjoyed eating human flesh, especially nails, eyes and teeth, and would drag its prey into the water by the hand on its tail. Amarok – In Inuit myth, a giant wolf responsible for the deaths of many hunters. Ammut – From Egyptian mythology, an Underworld creature that was part hippopotamus, part lion and part crocodile. It consumed the hearts of the condemned. Atraoimen – In Caribbean myth, Kalinago’s sons were jealous of him and poisoned him. His soul passed into the body of the Atraoimen, a monstrous fish-like creature, who hunted down the sons. Bhainsasura – A water buffalo-headed elephant god in Hindu myth that destroys crops when it does not receive enough Bunyip – an aboriginal Australian swamp-dwelling monster Camazotz – In Mayan mythology, Camazotz were the bat-like monsters of the Underworld. Cerberus – multi-headed dog from Greek mythology Cetus – A sea monster sent to ravage the coast of Cepheus’s kingdom in Greek mythology. Only sacrificing his daughter Andromeda to the monster will save the kingdom. Unless Perseus can save her... Chimaera (Chimera) – From Greek Mythology. A lion with a head of a goat arising from its back and a tail that ends in a snake’s head Cthulhu – from H.P. Lovecraft’s short story The Call of Cthulhu. A huge, “awful, squid-headed” beast “with writhing feelers” and “flabby claws”. Dracula Ethiopian Bull – Twice the size of normal bulls, flesh-eaters rather than herbivores, and with horns which they could move, rotate and raise. No spear or arrow can pierce their hide. Gudanna – A gigantic bull that appears in the Epic of Gilgamesh. Its poisonous breath could kill 200 warriors at a time. It was created by the god Anu at the request of the goddess Ishtar, who sought to wreak vengeance on Gilgamesh after he had refused her advances. With the help of his friend Enkidu, Gilgamesh slayed the bull. Hedammu – a sea serpent from Mesopotamian mythology that devoured everything. On her second attempt, the goddess Ishtar managed to defeat Hedammu. Herren-Surge – A seven-headed snake that has the ability to fly despite the fact that it has no wings. It lives underground and eats herded animals. It is a part of Basque legend and many a hero has tried to slay it but none have succeeded. Humbaba – in Assyrian mythology, a lion-faced giant whose head was cut off by demigod Gilgamesh. Hydra – a multi-headed serpent from Greek mythology Hydrus – Different from the Hydra, the Hydrus is a serpent found in Medieval bestiaries. While in the Nile, a crocodile would roll the Hydrus in the mud before eating it. However, once inside the crocodile’s stomach, the Hydrus would burst free from the crocodile’s stomach lining. Jabberwock – the dragon-like beast from Lewis Carroll’s nonsense poem Jormungand – from Norse mythology, a giant sea-serpent Koshei the Deathless – From Russian mythology, a dragon-like man who kept his soul outside his body. He could only be killed if his soul – kept in an egg that was kept inside a duck who was hidden in a rabbit – was destroyed. Lambton Worm – –a giant worm from north-east England that terrorised villagers. Lampalugua – – In the legends of the Araucanian people of Chile, the Lampalugua are a class of lizard-like monsters. They are described as huge reptiles with enormous claws that devour both humans and cattle. Loch Ness Monster Nuckelavee – a vicious elf from the Scottish Orkney Islands. He is skinless and has a single, giant eye that burns with a red flame. Peuchen – A gigantic flying snake from Chilote mythology in southern Chile. It produced strange whistling sounds, while its gaze could paralyse an intended victim and allow it to suck its blood. Scylla – sea monster Set – In Egyptian mythology, an aardvark-headed god who murdered his brother Osiris, a green-skinned god with mummy-wrapped legs. Talos – A giant ‘man of bronze’ from Greek mythology said to be kept alive by black blood Tarb Uisge – A Scottish sea bull. A vast black creature with fiery red nostrils, it emerged at night from the sea and rampaged across the land. Offspring from Tarb Uisge mating with cows would only have one ear. Tatzelwurm – from the European Alps, a cat-headed, lizard-like figure that preys on travellers. Theelgeth – A hairy, headless man-eating creature who was defeated in part of the Navajo creation mythology. Troll – from Norse mythology, fierce beasts of the wilderness Vritra – in Hindu mythology, a serpent that blocked the rivers causing drought until four-armed demi-god Indra defeated it. Werewolf Xiang Yao – a Chinese serpent with nine human heads that broke a hole in the heavens and caused the sun, moon and stars to move to the west and Chinese rivers to flow to the east. Xingtian – in Chinese mythology, the giant Xingtian lost his head in a duel with the Yellow Emperor. But the giant didn’t die and his face appeared on his torso. Zmag Oghjeni Vuk – a Balkan warrior werewolf that can breathe fire. Zombie Index