:: Encyclopædia Fantastica ::

It seems my entire life I have been imagining what fantastic creatures might be like if they were real. How does mermaid anatomy work when it combines both mammal and fish structures? Is a dragon's fire breath actually flammable gas that it somehow ignites, or is it purely magical? Is a griffin the literal half-eagle/half-lion, or is it an entirely unique creature that simply resembles these two halves? Answering these questions has become somewhat of a lifetime obsession of mine, and one that I have begun to exorcise from my brain by writing a reference book about it: The Encylcopædia Fantastica.

I have already compiled a list of roughly 150 entries that should cover most of the creatures known to the human imagination. I exclude most deities (unless they are universal enough so as to be ubiquitous thematically, if not in name—such as the Sacrificing God, or the God of Thunder, or the God of the Underworld, etc.) as well as unique beings (such as Scylla and Charybdis from Homer's Odyssey) unless they have survived in modern fiction as their own race (such as the Pegasus, the Phoenix, or the Minotaur, all of which were originally cast as single entities). I also gloss many cultural variations of a single creature together as one being (such as the Hob, Hobgoblin, Boggart, Boggane, and Brownie, just to name a few). What results then, is the list below.

As I intend to explain the fantastic world exhaustively, this will mean covering every major (and perhaps minor) topic that exists. Hopefully, when I am done, I will have a method for explaining any known mythological concept in universal terms ~ including the unique ones ~ from Amphisbæna to Zephyrus. But to do this, I need your help.

In order for the list to be complete, I must consider creatures that perhaps have never occurred to me. If you see any gaps on my list, or can think of a variation I might not have considered, PLEASE comment and add it. They should be races or classes of beings (such as fairies or deities) rather than named beings (such as Queen Mab or Zeus). Any suggestion is appreciated; future generations of nerds will thank you!

List of Fantastic Creatures (after the jump)

Aeryad

Angel

Asura

Banshee

Basilisk

Behemoth

Boggart

Brownie

Cambion

Caryatid

Centaur

Changeling

Cherub

Chimera

Cleric

Cockatrice

Couatl

Cyclops

Deity

Demi-human

Demon

Devil

Djinni

Doppelganger

Dragon

Drake

Druid

Dryad

Duergar

Dwarf

Efreeti

Elemental

Elf

Faerie

Familiar

Faun

Fiend

Gargouille

Ghost

Ghoul

Giant (Animal)

Giant (Human)

Gnome

Goblin

Golem

Gorgon

Gremlin

Griffin

Grim

Hag

Halfling

Hammadryad

Harpy

Hell Hound

Hinkypunk

Hippocampus

Hippogriff

Hob

Hobbit

Hobgoblin

Homunculus

Human

Hydra

Imp

Incubus

Intelligence

Jack o' Lantern

Kelpie

Kithkin

Knocker

Kobold

Kraken

Lammasu

Leprechaun

Leviathan

Lich

Lycanthrope

Mage

Magician

Magus

Mandrake

Manticore

Marid

Merfolk

Merrow

Minotaur

Monk

Mummy

Mystic

Naga

Nephilim

Nereid

Nixie

Nymph

Ogre

Oracle

Orc

Oreid

Pegasus

Phantom

Phoenix

Phooka

Piskie

Poltergeist

Prophet

Pyreid

Rakshasa

Red Cap

Roc

Sage

Salamander

Sasquatch

Satyr

Sea Sepent

Selkie

Seraph

Shade

Shaman

Skeleton

Skinchanger

Sorcerer

Spectre

Sphinx

Spirit

Spriggan

Sprite

Succubus

Sylph

Tarrasque

Telamon

Titan

Treefolk

Triton

Troll

Undine

Unicorn

Vampire

Warlock

Werewolf

Wight

Will o' the Wisp

Witch

Witch-doctor

Wizard

Wraith

Wunderkind

Wyrm

Wyvern

Yeti

Zombie