Spooky Season is here, and Anderson Design Group’s popular art collection, Legends of the National Parks and Mythical Creatures Around the World, features over 100 original illustrations of mythological creatures, hand-rendered by our award-winning artists in Nashville.
In this article from last year, we handed out our famous “Mythical Creature Awards,” where we announced creatures who'd earned titles like “Spookiest Mythical Monster,” “Most Elusive Mythical Monster,” "Most Mysterious Mythical Monster,” “Most Lovable Mythical Monster,” “Most Confusing Mythical Monster,” and so on.
In this article from Spooky Season 2024, we rounded up the 20 most famous legends of mythical creatures and mythological monsters, focusing on the most well-known legendary beings and spooky cryptids across the world.
This year, for Halloween and Spooky Season, we bring you…
The Scariest Mythological Creatures in the World
There are quite literally thousands of mythological creatures spoken of in hushed voices around campfires and in the oral histories of Indigenous legends. Stories of these beings have been passed down in ancient writings and through countless cultures around the world. Many mythical legends are perplexing, some are endearing, a few are odd and even humorous.
Check out the video below for a sneak peek at our spooky monster art in prints, wall calendars, postcards, travel guides, and more!
But a handful of these legends are truly frightening. This year, when attempting to win the Best Halloween Art on the Block award, you can’t go wrong with art of these ten mythical creatures that are scary enough to keep you up at night:
Wendigo
A cannibalistic beast in Indigenous Algonquin and Ojibwa folklore, explorers in Acadia National Park have good reason to fear the Wendigo. As the legend goes, the Wendigo was once a man who roamed the forest looking for deer. But driven mad by his hunger, the hunter resorted to cannibalism, which turned him into a gruesome beast.
Some believe the Wendigo is a real creature that roams the forests of the northeast and midwest, but it’s worth noting that Indigenous Americans only began talking about the Wendigo after contact with European settlers. Some Indigenous historians believe that the Wendigo was once a symbol for the White man’s greed, land theft, and violence against Indigenous peoples. Some believe that Indigenous elders began telling the tale of the Wendigo to their children to discourage them from pursuing a life of greed and self-interest.
Cave Sloth
Carlsbad Caverns National Park holds a mystery that has puzzled scientists for decades. Scientists found the fossilized skeleton of a giant sloth 400 feet below ground inside the caverns. Estimates suggest the creature’s bones are 110,000 years old, placing the beast as being alive during the last Ice Age.
While evidence of the sloth creature’s existence in the caves is undeniable, endless questions remain. How did it get there? No one knows for sure. Did it live there? Almost definitely not. But then, how did it find its way 400 feet below ground? The questioning becomes circular, and thus the mystery persists to this day.
Keelut
Located deep in the Alaskan Interior, Denali National Park is a stunning wilderness with the giant peak of Denali as its focal point. While park rangers and visitors have explored much of the park, a darker, more mysterious element remains: a mythical creature from Indigenous Athabascan legend said to haunt Denali’s wilder, unexplored areas. This is the Keelut creature.
Spoken of by various Athabascan tribes from Alaska to Baffin Island in Canada, the Keelut (also called “Qiqirn”) is a monster that resembles a huge, hairless black dog. According to Inuit stories, the Keelut can access both the spirit world and the physical world. In addition to its magic and fierce physical form, Athabascan tribespeople say the creature preys on lonely travelers and unfortunate souls who wander off the beaten path.
Qalupalik
Glacier Bay National Park is eternally captivating in its natural beauty, but visitors should beware! In Inuit mythology, the Qalupalik live along Arctic shorelines near ice floes. They are said to steal children who wander too close to the water’s edge.
This mythological monster is thought to have been invented by Indigenous tribes in an effort to protect children. Parents would tell their sons and daughters horror stories about the Qalupalik to keep them from getting too close to the water, lest they fall in.
Spearfinger
With over 200 ancient cemeteries dotting the mountainsides and valleys of the Great Smoky Mountains, it’s no wonder the region has its fair share of ghost stories and mysterious happenings. One of the oldest and perhaps most terrifying legends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the Indigenous Cherokee story of Spearfinger, a stone-skinned, witch-like creature who has a long, sharp spear for a right index finger.
Spearfinger is said to prowl the forests and mountainsides of the Great Smoky Mountains at night, hunting for the livers of animals and humans alike. As the story goes, Spearfinger particularly likes to prey on Cherokee children, often appearing to them as a wise old woman, then turning into a monster as soon as the children got close.
Mothman
Part-man, part-moth, this humanoid creature with insect- and bird-like wings and a moth-like head sparked years of investigations, research, stakeouts, law enforcement examinations, and inquiries. The Mothman of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, first appeared in 1966, with dozens of eyewitnesses coming forward over the following year, claiming they’d seen the beast.
Some believe that the abrupt drop in Mothman sightings was because the creature had left Point Pleasant, West Virginia, perhaps going into hiding in nearby New River Gorge National Park. It’s hard to say where Mothman is now, but visitors to New River Gorge should keep an eye on the sky for a humanoid creature flying above, just in case!
Swamp Ape
Everglades National Park has many secrets, some of which we occasionally glimpse before they disappear back into the swamp. The Everglades Swamp Ape is one such mystery: an elusive creature that resembles Bigfoot but is believed to be much shorter, with longer, lankier arms and legs.
Those who have claimed to witness Swamp Ape say the creature is five to seven feet tall and is completely covered in mottled, reddish-brown hair. The creature is also said to emit a foul odor, which is why some call it “Skunk Ape.”
(Fun fact: Our founder and Creative Director Joel Anderson found a statue of Swamp Ape on his expedition to Everglades National Park! [See below]. Clearly the locals believe this creature is real. We can only hope Swamp Ape is a good neighbor!)
Walking Sam
Walking Sam is quite the mysterious legend, a South Dakota folk story of a ghost-like bogeyman who is said to live in the caverns of Wind Cave National Park, but who comes out at night to “haunt” people in nearby communities. In fact, people have reported sightings of Walking Sam all across the Dakota region. He is said to be a 7-foot-tall specter whose job is to collect the souls of the dead. Walking Sam saunters along behind depressed persons, ready to take them away when their lives come to an end.
Truly, Walking Sam is a spirit to watch for, and if you see him during your travels to the Dakotas, it would be a good idea to check in on your family members and loved ones. The Walking Sam bogeyman seems to be a grim omen of depression, sadness, and potentially harsh times ahead.
Chupacabra
Few mythical creatures have garnered as many reported sightings across such a wide geographic range as the Chupacabra. From the southwestern United States to Mexico and into the Caribbean Sea on islands like Puerto Rico, tales of the Chupacabra have haunted folks far and wide. The word ‘chupacabra’ is translated literally as ‘goat-sucker’; from Spanish: chupar, ‘to suck’ and cabras, ‘goats.’
As the story goes, the beast’s name comes from its reported vampirism, as rural farmers claim the chupacabra attacks and drinks the blood of livestock, mainly goats. Sightings have been reported in Puerto Rico since the 1970s. But this creature’s range is vast! Reports of the Chupacabra have surfaced as far north as Maine, as far south as Chile, and even outside the Americas in countries like Russia and the Philippines.
Bigfoot
Bigfoot might not be the scariest mythical monster in the world, but he is certainly one of the most famous. And since we don’t know for certain what his intentions are, whether he is a friend or foe, we decided he deserves a place on this list.
With officially recorded sightings of the creature now numbering in the thousands, there is no doubt that Bigfoot is the most famous legend associated with America’s National Parks. Fearsome indeed, the beast is said to stand anywhere from 6ft to 9ft tall, almost completely covered in brown and black fur, and believed to resemble an ape-like human.
Eyewitness accounts from those who’ve sighted the creature say Bigfoot is particularly elusive, always shying away from humans whenever spotted. However, when confronted, he’s not afraid to put forth a bloodcurdling roar!
Keep Your Eyes Peeled for Mythical Creatures this Spooky Season!
You never know what you’ll see when you step off the beaten path and explore dark, mysterious woods, a somber mountain valley, a dead-silent desert landscape, a humid swamp, or an icy-cold wilderness area. Mythological monster sightings have been reported in every climate and terrain in the U.S. and beyond. It’s just a matter of timing and luck (or lack thereof).
We hope your Spooky Season is beautiful, busy, and perhaps just a little terrifying. If you need art of spooky creatures and mythological creatures, we have the best mythical creature illustrations around.
And don’t forget, all of our designs are now available as 500- and 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzles.
We also have a Legends of the National Parks Memory Game, a limited-edition collector’s postcard set, and a mythical creatures guidebook made especially for our spooky legends art collection.
Happy Spooky Season!
-Ren Brabenec
Anderson Design Group Staff Writer
