Monster Monday: Mermaids

Contrary to popular culture depictions of fair in looks and fair of voice do-gooding, starry-eyed mermaids, these mystical sea creatures may have a malevolent agenda. A mermaid's kiss can heal and her tears might hold magical powers, however, her voice and otherworldly beauty are weapons she uses liberally. Mermaids are often grooming their long flowing locks and singing captivating melodies while perched, scantily clad, upon sunbaked rocks.

Entrapment much?

If merely seen from afar, mermaids are harbingers of devastating storms or nautical disasters. A close encounter can lead a young man to his watery grave wherein the mermaid will feed upon his soul. Mermen are more reclusive, yet are equally as ravenous as their female counterparts, capable of consuming their own young in fits of hunger.

Fair thee well as you journey along rocky shores, or peruse the beach for pretty little sea shells - for these horrific creatures remain AT LARGE.

Life-Saving Tip: One way to defeat a mermaid is to ensure it has NO access to water as it will soon dry up and die.

Monster Monday: Mummies

Today, mummies rank high on our Most-Wanted Monsters hit list, but ancient folklore speaks of a more sentimental, if not romantic past for these bandaged undeads rather than monstrous intent.

Unwilling to leave their loved ones in the hot desert to decompose, early Egyptians practiced embalming techniques that preserved soft body tissue long after death. Corpses were wrapped tightly in strips of linen soaked in resin – a process that took several hours. Impressive to be sure, but in most cases the bandaging did little to stop decomposition.

Modern mummies should be handled with extreme care – (hello – they’re crumbly!) They are also considered dangerous, some are even classified as cold-blooded killers. No, really – a common preservation method is burying the body in ice.

LIFE-SAVING TIP: Proceed with caution. An Egyptian pharoanic curse states that whoever disturbs the tombs or mummies of ancient Egypt’s Pharoah’s will be struck down with bad luck, or worse – death!

Monster Monday: Windigo

Windigo is a shapeshifter canibal creature of Algonquian, Cree and Ojibwe lore with the ability to assume multiple forms, mimic voices and has a heart of ice. Residing in the North it is the face of winter, famine and isolation. Many believe windigo began as human, perhaps woodsmen lost in winter storms and resorted to cannibalism to survive - only to find themselves burdened with a never ending craving for human flesh. They are often described as gigantic creatures with supernatural strength and speed. They are cunning hunters and dwell in dark, Northern forests.

Just as the windigo can take on many guizes, there are many variations in spelling and pronunciation of its name: weedigo, wehndigo, wetigo, etc.

Do not be fooled. These are all the same creature and they are hungry for you.

Be warned, to dream of windigo is to become windigo, this canibal spirit can possess humans via the dreamworld. Arm yourselves with silver, as with most shapeshifters, the windigo can be killed by silver to the heart.

Windigo join our ever growing, ravenous list of Most-Wanted Monsters.

Monster Monday: The New Jersey Devil

On a dark and stormy night (no really!), more than 3,000 years ago in New Jersey, Mother Leeds gave birth to her thirteenth child - a deformed, winged monster said to have climbed out of her womb, up the chimney and into the beautiful Pine Barrens forest.

The line between legend and superstition is sometimes blurred, but for the people of New Jersey, the local “devil” is deeply rooted in history. More than 2,000 sightings of this infamous cryptid have been reported, including the 10 encounters published in the New York Times – in 2008. That’s not ancient history, folks.

Though there are fewer pictures of the creature than other popular international cryptids, the New Jersey Devil has made the pop culture rounds, landing roles in shows like the X-Files and Extreme Ghosthunters. Bruce Springsteen devoted an entire song to it, and the monster even lent its name to the National Hockey League.

The beastie may not be good luck for the local livestock, but the New Jersey Devils boast a Stanley Cup hat trick – 1995, 2000 and 2003.

He’s an Ace in our Most-Wanted Monsters Deck of cryptids.

Life-Saving Tip: Get outta Dodge, er, Jersey!

Monster Monday: Werewolves

Evolution and sophistication may have stifled man’s bestial nature, but every now and then it rises to the surface to reclaim its skin. The werewolf is one of the most ferocious of the shapeshifters, and though pop culture may suggest it nothing more than an oversized, best-in-show, domesticated wolf – a creature that can shift at will…beware the moon.

The silver orb has control over more than the ebb and flow of the sea - she calls to werewolves, bringing the beast out of the civilized man. Worried you might be taking nightly walks on the wild side?

Do you….

- have hairy palms? (and not for the reason you’re thinking…oy!)
- have a recent allergy to silver?
- wake with blood in your mouth and no clothes upon your person?
- have a hankering for raw meat?
- experience memory gaps around the full moon?

If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, consider yourself WARNED. You are AT LARGE and join the others on our list of Most-Wanteds.