all 12 comments

[–]Ni-a-ni-a-ni 9 points10 points  (0 children)

So a lot of them are just misunderstandings of natural creatures (the questing beast (giraffe), the dragon that saint killed (crocodile)) and others are metaphorical. Some are more forces than literal creatures (some Ásatru followers have described jormungandr this way) and yet others are elemental forces or spirits like the djinn, ifrit, vampires(?) etc. It’s like how all the myths shouldn’t be taken literally.

My favourite is that in the Ramayana, a race of small monkey people is described. My personal theory is that they’re an undiscovered near-human cousin of ours that went extinct relatively recently. Maybe in the last 20,000 years or so.


Nah most of the moster mythologies arent really real. They were there just to serve a purpose and a lesson.

Or explain on wtf they were seeing on what they didn't understand like dinosaurs aka dragons

Or they were just symbols lile the norse worls serpent who represents oroboros

[–]JosephusHellyer 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Do you need them to be real? What is reality to you? If some one experienced it does it make it real for you, or would it have to be constantly verifiable? What would it being real vs it being a metaphor mean to you?

Moreover prove that you're real, or that anyone is. Reality is defined by the experience that the widest section of humanity believes in. But there is very little evidence that we are not all secretly just brains in jars hallucinating reality.

Do you have experienced evidence for an angler fish? Probably not. Therefore, to you and most people, a dragon is just as real.

[–]Sad-Security1307 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cogito, ergo sum.

[–][deleted]  (1 child)


    [–]Sesquipedalian61616 2 points3 points  (0 children)

    Where did you get that? I'd honestly like to know. It sounds like something a 'spiritualist' scam artist wrote if you ask me.

    [–]ChurchofCovid777 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    No. And yes?

    I've also considered that old world Occult terms are dated and inaccurate. It shouldn't even be called magick anymore. Getting kinda corny.

    [–]argh0123456789 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    In the past, monsters were things that were misinterpretations of existing animals. Like large lizards and snakes being mistaken for dragons. Strange disappearances in the night being attributed to werewolves. So in a way, monsters are a great symbol for something we don't know and are seeking to understand...

    [–]blackfootdreamwalker 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    It's been said that when the time is right, the forgotten and extinct creatures will return.... anything is possible.

    [–]Sesquipedalian61616 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    It depends on the monster. The idea of vampires came from Greek mythology and was likely based on victims of mundane if unusual diseases, and the Delphic sibyls got their 'oracles' from volcanic gases with hallucinogenic effects, so there's that.

    The idea of werewolves in its earliest form comes from Native American folklore of antiquity which reached the so-called 'Old World' as the result of what I like to call the Pre-Colubmian Exchange, which consisted of ancient trading, among other things, between civilizations from the Americas and Europe and Africa, such as how the ancient Romans tried unsuccessfully to take over what's now the eastern USA. The 'nahual' of Mesoamerican folklore and Norse sagas mentioning 'berserkers' are linked to it. Modern versions of the earliest werewolf and adjacent superhuman folklore, including lore about were-otters, are liked to but distinct from 'skinwalker' myths, which originally described something similar to the aliens from the sci-fi/horror film The Thing (1982), but have mutated into stuff about human supervillains.

    'Zombies', as in the namesake of the band Cannibal Corpse, not folkloric zombies, are in fact folkloric in origin, but ultimately from Tibetan folklore instead of Afro-Caribbean folklore. Specifically, the cannibal corpse, or 'hungry ghost', is accordingly a form of undead which is eternally hungry and will eat pretty much anything, including but not limited to the flesh of the living. It's known by such names as 'yidak' in Tibetan, 'jinkininki' and 'gaki' (the latter term is also used to refer to a less human-like oni-like creature) in Japanese, and by way of the Silk Road, 'nachzehrer' in German. It would seem that the whole thing comes from reports of people with certain skin and neurodegenerative diseases.

    The idea of 'faeries' appears to be inspired by alien visitation, with the mention of other worlds, memory alteration, hybridization, abductions, odd prices for things, the old Catholic Church declaring angels and demons to be faeries, and the like. Notably, various 'Old World' groups have various other versions, like šedim from Slavic and Jewish mythology, and jinn from per-Islamic, Islamic, and Arabian/Arabian-adjacent mythologies. Heck, some might argue that even certain deities are inspired by alien visitors, with demigods, divine weapons, sacrifices, angels, demons, divine wars, other worlds, and the like.

    I can say that the show 'Ancient Aliens' is utter crapulousness and the show exists in its entirety to make people who simply want to find the truth about the Ancient Aliens Theory (actually a hypothesis, to be honest) look ridiculous.

    [–]lxknvlk 0 points1 point  (1 child)

    There is a great book "Monsters: An Investigator's Guide to Magical Beings" by John Michael Greer

    Of course that monster hiding under your bed when you were little didn't really exist. Vampires, werewolves, zombies, demons―they're simply figments of our imagination, right? After all, their existence has never been scientifically proven. But there is one giant problem with such an easy dismissal of these creepy creatures: people keep encountering them.

    [–]ZeddzDeadd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    You’re shilling Greer a lot. I’m not saying he’s a good author....but mate. C’mon

    [–]A_Serpentine_Flame 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    As real as the faces of the people they wear.