Odd Monsters

Bored with the bogeyman? Not finding the clown thing too funny anymore? Are vampires in your nightmares just sucking you dry? Well, not to worry, there's plenty of 'wonderful' creatures out there to ensure that your psyche stays freshly traumatized for years to come. Keeping the Japanese one to just one, because their mythology is so broad with yokai and spirits, that you can't possibly cover them all in one go.

Katawaguruma/Katawa Guruma

Origin: Japanese

The female counterpart to the Wa nyūdō, this creature appears in the shape of a woman (usually naked) burning in eternal torment with the lower portions, or attached to, an ox cart wheel. The causes bad luck, ill fortune, and misery to those who encounter her, what's more...the bad luck doesn't just stop at one person, it can spread through the entire community associated with anyone who has met her. She also harvests the souls of the 'impure', the cruel, the sinful, etcetera, etcetera.

Likhoradka/Tryasavitsa

Origin: Slavic

Embodying a tall woman with black, messy hair, Likhoradka will spread  horrible calamities and plague wherever she goes, and to whomever she encounters. She can also possess anyone she chooses.

Black Annis/Agnes

Origin: British

Save your jokes, this lady is not someone you want to mess with. Absolutely hideous creature, a wizened crone with gnarly black claws, sharp teeth, one eye, and mottled blue skin. Some say her claws are made of iron, some say they're just...particularly strong, I suppose. Residing around Leicestershire, Agnes spends most of her free time tearing travelers to pieces, redecorating her cave with the flayed skin of small children, and generally just being a terrible neighbor. Meg Mucklebones, anyone?

Kanontsistonties

Origin: Iriquois

Say what you will about Native American mythology, it seems to me that they really take the cake for the creepiest monsters out there. As much as I adore the Windigo, I felt like maybe delving into something a little less popular. Varying in size from miniscule to massive, the Kanontsistonties are essentially flying skulls with bat wings and a desperate craving for...you guessed it...human flesh. They are the product of two possibilities, victims of murder by beheading, or...they used to be cannibals in life, and decided they just couldn't kick the habit in death either. They can't stop, as they have no stomachs, so they're pretty much doomed to eternal hunger.

Cheval Mallet

Origin: French

Horses. You can't trust them. I had a horse step on my foot once. I didn't like it. So when I learned of the Cheval Mallet, it came as no surprise that it turned out to be an evil horse. Well, that and the fact that I took French in high school, so the connection wasn't too hard to make. Essentially, it appears at night as a beautiful horse, tricks you into riding it...and that's it, for the rest of your life (and onwards), you're trapped for eternity riding a beautiful horse. A beautiful evil horse. Or it drowns you. They like doing that, too.

Bad Omens and Superstitions on Halloween

I think we all know Halloween is a pretty dangerous night, so to protect the wiser amongst you from evil spirits...I have the following suggestions.

Disclaimer: I do not actually believe in any of this. Take it with a grain/circle of salt.

- When you are passing a cemetery, be sure to refrain from breathing. If you do, an evil spirit may possess your body.

- Be sure to keep your house surrounded by wind chimes with bells on them. This will ward away demons and ensure that plenty of angels get new sets of wings.

- Evil witches are color conscious...and they also hate jewelry. Combine their fears by wearing a blue bead on your person so they'll stay away from you.

- Plant ivy around your house to keep even more evil witches away, if the blue bead trick didn't work.

- Wearing a bridal veil will ward off evil spirits and people who place curses on you. I don't think this is gender specific, so if you're a man you might as well wear it too for good measure.

- When a snake crosses your path, it will bring bad luck. Kill it to negate the bad luck. If this is your roommate's pet corn snake, don't worry. They can buy a new one.

- Never throw a dinner party with 13 people unless you plan to stick around. The first person who leaves will die first. I guess it's like the opposite of catching the bouquet at a wedding.

- Don't kill robins, sparrows, ravens, crows, or albatrosses. Robins and sparrows carry the souls of the dead, ravens carry the soul of king Arthur, crows are death incarnate, and if you kill an albatross then you'll be lost at sea and have to recite a really long poem to redeem yourself later.

- People born on Halloween can see/hear evil spirits. This confirms my suspicions about my grandmother.

- If you visit a graveyard with someone and they ask 'where is blankety-blank's grave?' Don't point it out to them, because they're trying to trick you. If you do this, your finger will rot off.

Vintage Comics: Chamber of Chills – The Ghost of the Rue De Morte, How Death Valley Got Its Name, Weird Worlds (29-36)

Finishing up the final portion of this ‘Chamber of Chills’, the first story focuses on that age-old saying…curiosity killed the cat. Sometimes it seems being a skeptic is far more dangerous than it’s worth, especially when it comes to investigating an apparent ghost in a shady area of the city late at night. You’d think the man would have at least had a gun to defend himself with.

Then we get some fun facts about a group of people who struggled to get across Death Valley, and a bit of mythology. The ancient Greeks and Romans sure could be brutal with their stories. Anyway, it was fun to read this issue, but I still can’t let go of the nagging fact that there’s a serious case of excessive exposition…

Vintage Comics: Chamber of Chills - Table of Contents & The Old Hag of the Hills (Cover-11)

Sometimes it's hard for a comic author to find the balance between pictures and words. Too many words, you've got a heavily illustrated article, too many pictures and you've got something that can generally appear unfinished unless it's done just right. I get the distinct feeling that the writers for this comic must have written for radio before they found their voices in print.

This one is your classic story of a young man paying for the sins of his father, because for some reason you always get blamed when your ancestors did something stupid. Oh, and he kinda kills a guy. But it was an accident.