Mythical Creatures... What Will You See When Traveling The Globe This Summer?
Summer 2025 has officially arrived! Our poster art fans and vintage wall art customers couldn’t be more excited about their travel plans for the summer season, and it’s shaping up to be a busy one!
Before we jump into the international regions (and the mythical creatures we want to see in those places), the following is a video excerpt from ADG Social Media Guru and Customer Service Wiz Molly Mann’s adventures into America’s wilderness areas:
One of ADG’s Most Popular Poster Art Collections
As the video above shows, the artists of Anderson Design Group have spent years traveling to and documenting the wilderness and wonder of America’s national parks, to the point where our award-winning national park art collection now has over 300 original national park posters and original illustrations.
Since 2007, we’ve explored, rendered posters, written books, and photographed America’s most cherished public lands. During our research and adventures in the parks, we’ve also run across some pretty exciting legends. We’ve heard horror stories about strange creatures that others have seen, heard, (or felt). We’ve uncovered tall tales of unexplainable events, ancient myths, and local stories passed down by Indigenous Peoples, colonial settlers, and park visitors.
Many of the legends we’ve come across are based on Native American folklore. To the best of our abilities, we’ve indicated which tribes were associated with each story, being careful to respect the sacred traditions of Indigenous beliefs.
As we explored the parks and learned about the legendary creatures and mythical beasts said to inhabit the great American wilderness, we began creating poster art of mythical creatures in the national parks.
Broadening the Mythical Creature Art to Include an International Perspective
As we continued to dig deeper into national park legends, we realized that cultures from every continent on the globe have their rich traditions of mythology featuring bizarre, creepy, and quirky legendary beings. So, we began exploring and depicting magical, mystical monsters from all over the planet. We hope you enjoy our Legends Of The National Parks art and our art of Mythical Creatures from Around the World, too!
(It’s the mythical creature art and art of myths from around the world we'll be focusing on this article, so if you missed it, be sure to check out our recent blog post about national park legends and cryptids in the national parks!)
Read on for 12 legendary creatures from around the world, and be sure to be on the lookout for these beasties when you travel this summer.
12 Mythical Creatures from Around the World
Vampires of Romania
A creature legend originating in Romania, vampires were thought to be humanoid beings who fed on the blood of the living, mainly humans. Vampires were believed to be undead, meaning they had been humans who had died but then came back to “life” to feed on the living. The early 18th-century mass hysteria regarding vampirism in Eastern Europe resulted in the widespread popularization of the myth. Vampires have taken on different forms and cultural significance over the centuries. Today, vampires have a significant presence in pop culture.
From the early Slavic folk stories of vampires to the famous 1872 and 1897 novels Carmilla and Dracula, this mysterious beast has appeared in cultures throughout Europe and the world. To learn more about these creatures, check out this full review of vampire history and lore on the History Channel.
Yowie of Australia
Australian mythical creatures are many in number, but few are feared as much as the yowie. Yowies are thought by some to be the Australian Bigfoot, though descriptions of the creature vary. The mythical beast is said to live in the outback and other rural parts of Australia. Most sightings have been recorded in eastern Australian states. In Aboriginal legends, yowie-type creatures are described in great detail, with the creature depicted as a hairy, ape-like humanoid, ranging in height from 6 feet to 11 feet. The yowie’s feet are much larger than a human’s, and its footprints are inconsistent in shape and toe number, making it difficult to track. The yowie is said to have a large, flat nose, a huge mouth, and bat-like ears.
Descriptions of the yowie range from its visual appearance to its demeanor. Some describe the beast as timid or shy, and others say it is violent and aggressive. Some describe it as a harmless ape-like creature; others say it looks more like a hairy wild man. To learn more about the history and stories of the yowie, visit the website All That Is Interesting.
Tokoloshe of South Africa
African mythical creatures, even the most fierce ones, are said to fear the clever tokoloshe, often described as the trickster within the legendary creature kingdom. The tokoloshe is a Zulu mythical beast, a dwarf-like water sprite thought to be extremely mischievous and troublesome. The tokoloshe is committed to causing problems for humans and can turn invisible and escape capture, but only if it drinks water or swallows a stone.
Sightings of the creature are thought to be a bad omen because seeing a tokoloshe means someone nearby summoned it, intending to harm others and wreak havoc upon the community. To learn more about the stories of the South African tokoloshe, check out the website Astonishing Legends.
Troll of Finland
Northern Europe is said to be home to mythical creatures, including trolls. Trolls are one of the most well-known mythical creatures, originating in Nordic folklore and Norse mythology but quickly spreading worldwide. In Old Norse stories, trolls are isolated creatures who live in small family clans in far-off mountains, caves, and forests. Trolls are rarely helpful to humans and are often described as violent.
Accounts of what trolls look like vary significantly, but Scandinavian writings suggest they are larger than humans, cunning and clever, but not particularly wise, and very, VERY strong. It is said that trolls turn to stone when touched by sunlight, making them entirely nocturnal creatures. To learn more about the history and stories of the trolls in Finnish folklore, check out the website This is Finland.
Mermaid of Vancouver Island
The mermaid myth has been a pervasive element in numerous cultures for centuries. The creature is said to be an ocean-dwelling humanoid with the head and upper body of a human woman and the tail of a fish. While sailors have told stories of mermaids in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas, some believe the sprawling coastline and cool waters of the North Pacific around Vancouver Island may be the best place to see a mermaid.
Case in point, some of the most recent mermaid sightings have occurred near the cities of Victoria and Vancouver in the Salish Sea, the Haro Strait, and the Strait of Georgia. Such sightings began in 1870, with the most recent occurring in 1967. (Most parts of the world haven’t reported mermaid sightings for a very, very long time, but you can still listen to oral accountings of mermaids in tribes and cultures in almost every corner of the world). To learn more about the history and stories of the Mermaid, check out the website for the Royal Museums Greenwich.
Death Worm of Mongolia
The Mongolian death worm is an Asian mythical creature allegedly found in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia and northern China. While the beast has been a feature of Mongolian and Chinese lore for over a century, the creature first came into the minds of Western cultures thanks to the 1926 book, On the Trail of Ancient Man. According to legends of the Indigenous peoples who inhabited the Gobi Desert, the dreaded Mongolian death worm, which local people call “olgoi-khorkhoi” or loosely translated, “large intestine worm,” has lived up to its name in its appearance and demeanor.
The beast can kill in several fearsome ways, including by spitting a stream of corrosive venom that is lethal to anything it hits. It is also said to be venomous to the touch, and some stories even reference the worm’s ability to electrocute its victims from a distance, though how it's able to do this is unknown. To learn more about the history and stories of the Mongolian Death Worm, check out the website Live Science.
Shenlong Dragon of China
Though Chinese legends are rich in stories of mythical dragons and dragon folklore, Shenlong is perhaps the most well-known. A spiritual creature from Chinese mythology, Shenlong was the master of storms and a bringer of rain, revered and feared alike. He was considered of equal or perhaps greater significance to other mythical creatures in Chinese folklore, such as Tianlong, the Celestial Dragon.
In Chinese legend, the Celestial Dragons governed the natural elements, such as wind, clouds, rain, and temperature, aspects of the natural world on which all agricultural life depended. For that reason, the dragons were considered both real animals and also powerful godlike creatures to be respected. Given that Shenlong had magical control over rainfall, not offending him was immensely important to Chinese farmers. To learn more about the history and stories of Shenlong and the other Chinese Celestial Dragons, check out the website for the Chinese Language Institute.
Taniwha of New Zealand
In Māori mythology, the taniwha are supernatural beings and spiritual creatures that live in deep pools and in rivers. Some legends suggest that the creatures also live in caves and the sea, especially in hazardous regions of the sea, such as areas with powerful currents or treacherous breakwaters that are difficult for even the most competent sailors to navigate. Much like the mermaid legend, some stories of taniwha suggest they are benevolent protectors, and others indicate they are dangerous predatory beings.
The taniwha creature is said to take on different forms depending on its location. For example, deep sea taniwha were thought to look like a whale or a large shark. When living in rivers or inland lakes, the taniwha would take on the form of an enormous gecko or giant lizard. Other stories suggest the taniwha could take on the appearance of a floating log, often to deceive passersby. To learn more about the history and stories of the taniwha, check out the website for the Encyclopedia of New Zealand.
Tengu of Japan
Tengu, spelled in Japanese as: ‘天狗,’ means ‘Heavenly Sentinel.’ These seemingly supernatural beings and mythical legendary creatures are winged Japanese mountain and forest ‘yōkai.’ Yōkai are a unique class of supernatural entities in Japanese folklore that are said to embody a role as divine messengers.
The Tengu’s supernatural powers include the ability to shapeshift into human or animal forms. The creature can speak to humans without moving its mouth, it can also move instantly from place to place without using its wings (teleportation), and it has the magical ability to appear uninvited in the dreams of the living. The Tengu are also known for their skill in martial arts and other forms of ancient Japanese combat. To learn more about the history and stories of the Tengu, check out the website Tofugu.
Kraken of Norway
The subject of sailors’ nightmares since time immemorial, the Kraken is a legendary sea monster and demigod-like creature thought to originate in Norwegian nautical lore. While stories of the Kraken first cropped up among 18th-century Norwegian sailors, the myth soon spread to sailors of other nationalities, with several 18th-century French scholars producing texts, descriptions, and written hypotheses on what the Kraken might look like. The beast is said to resemble an octopus but of enormous size, much larger than any other sea creature and certainly larger than modern-day cephalopods.
Some legends claim that the Kraken takes on the form of a giant squid. Other ancient writings have described the beast as a sea serpent or something resembling a giant whale or even a shark. But no matter the exact description, the Kraken mystery has been carried forward through cultures across all corners of the world and into the present day. To learn more about the history and stories of the Kraken, check out the website for the Natural History Museum.
Kongamato of Congo
Visitors to the wilds of Africa, beware! Lions and leopards are not the only large predators that may be prowling in the night. The Kongamato is a large, pterosaur-like mythical winged creature and legendary beast said to inhabit semi-tropical regions of Africa, specifically the Congo, Zambia, and Angola. The beast’s name, “kongamato,” is an indigenous term that translates roughly to “breaker of boats” or “overturner of boats.” African tribal stories told tales of the creature attacking people on rivers and overturning their canoes, hence the name.
Stories of the Kongamato have traveled far beyond Africa, as some early European explorers to the region insisted they had been attacked by large winged beasts (though such explorers were never able to capture one of the beasts or obtain proof of their existence). To read a collection of kongamato sightings, check out this website.
Mapinguari of Brazil
This beast truly is fearsome and frightening. A Brazilian folklore story and a legendary creature of the Amazon rainforest, the mapinguari is a monstrous cyclops giant. But unlike other cyclops, the mapinguari has a mouth protruding from its abdomen!
This creature is described by many as a hulking, hairy entity with a body not unlike Bigfoot but possessing only one eye, a gaping mouth, ape-like ears, and a second, protruding mouth located in the center of its stomach region. Others have described the mapinguari as somewhat resembling a giant ground sloth, a now-extinct beast that lived in the Amazon region during the last Ice Age. To learn more about the history and stories of the mapinguari, visit the website All That Is Interesting.
Cryptid Art and a National Parks Guidebook
For the full story on these legendary creatures and mythical beings, cryptids, ghosts, aliens, and other spooky myths, order a copy of Legends of the National Parks.
For this book, our artists interpreted the creatures featured in the legends of the National Parks art collection, rendering images of fantastic beings that incorporated historical references and artistic license. We created a repository of cryptid information, pinpointing the various national parks in the U.S. and countries around the world where each legend originated.
ADG artists, researchers, and writers worked together to create maps, captions, facts, and infographics to bring these mysterious creatures to life in this handy, pocket-sized national parks guidebook.
The legends are retold and amplified with info about the powers and characteristics of each creature, along with plausible natural explanations for how each mystery may have come to be. This book is ideal for anyone who is a fan of national parks, mythical creatures, and creepy, unexplained phenomena. In addition to featuring 32 Legends of the National Parks, there is a bonus section highlighting 19 other mythical creatures from around the world, including the legendary monsters featured in this article. For the full display of national park monsters and mythical creatures around the world, check out this art collection.
Be prepared when you head out into wilderness places in other countries this year and don’t forget to document your experience. And don't forget, we at ADG donate a portion of our profits to the National Park Foundation each year, so every time you order prints of mythical creatures or national park art, your purchase is helping preserve the places these beasties like to call home!
-Ren Brabenec
Anderson Design Group Staff Writer
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