In 1818, John Cleves Symmes Jr proposed to mount an expedition to the North Pole, where he was sure they could locate an aperture to gain access to the inner Earth, believing that its interior would be "stocked with thrifty vegetables & animals if not men".

17 74

Edmund Halley theorised (in 1692) that Earth is a series of nested, spherical shells, spinning in different directions, all surrounding a central core. He also posited that the space between each shell may have had luminous atmospheres capable of supporting life.

4 15

It's amazing what you can find deep in a cave. In 'Journey into Mystery' Doctor Don Blake found the hammer of Thor.

2 6

The Hollow Earth Theory proposes the earth's core is hollow or contains another world. This was first depicted in the satirical sci-fi novel Niels Klim's Underground Travels (1741), in which a man discovers a smaller planet inside earth while cave-diving.

4 25

Story: The Lords

https://t.co/bWP1yvNtFw

Lightning bugs, Olympic divers, and anti-humans.

5 4


Cat-sìth or sidhe, was a witch & soul-stealer that would morph into its cat form & back 9 x. If one of these witches chose to return into their cat form for the 9th x, they would remain a cat forever. This is how the idea of a cat having 9 lives originated from

8 22

Black Shuck is a huge hound with glowing red-eyes who haunts the fens, lanes and churchyards of East Anglia, and is often viewed as an omen of impending death.

🎨by Graham Humphreys, 'The Usborne Book of the Haunted World', 1995.

17 78

In Irish folklore, the Banshee is often represented with red eyes, reddened by her continuous weeping, while also looking menacingly terrifying. Hearing her screech and keening is believed to be a certain omen of death.

🎨IrenHorrors, The Cry of a Banshee

15 70


The of Welsh legend lurk in woods & forests at night & their quest is to collect the souls of the treacherous. With white coats & red eyes and ears, the growling of these hounds grows ever quieter as they approach .....

6 22

DOGDYKE WEREWOLF Recorded in 1926, Langrick Fen, Lincolnshire. The skeleton of a half-wolf half-man creature was found buried in the peat. The story coheres remarkably with the British documented by Elliott O’Donnell in 1912

34 144

"It was like a man with wings. It wasn't like anything you'd see on TV or in a monster movie..."
Excerpt from Steve Mallette's 1966 sighting of the fabled Mothman.

21 95

The Ozark Howler has been sighted in the Ozark Mountains since the early 1800s. Described as bear-shaped with stocky legs, horns, shaggy black fur, & glowing red eyes, it emits a cry that sounds like a mix of a wolf's howl, an elk's bellow, & a hyena's laugh.

3 36

The Beast of Bray Road is a large, red-eyed, bipedal cryptid resembling a bear or a wolf, sighted on rural roads in Wisconsin & Illinois as far back as 1936. It attacks vehicles, leaving long claw marks. Theorists claim it's either a werewolf or a wendigo.

8 36

The Vila is a Slavic nymph/faerie. They are normally ambivalent towards humans. They will help those who respect them, but will attack anyone who disrespects them. The cloud type of Vila can fly and is sometimes described as a whirlwind

25 106


The Boobrie is a malicious monster size water fowl of Scottish Highland folklore. The creature inhabits fresh water and sea lochs of Argyl. It eats fish, sheep, cattle and otters.Tales speak of the tearing apart a fisherman or sailor who try to catch it

8 17

A 17-18th century illustration for al-Qazwini's 13th century cosmography shows the "island of big birds."

9 64

The Roc is a monstrous bird that can lift elephants into the sky & feeds them to its young. It makes several appearances in the 1,001 Arabian Nights. 

Art by Edward Julius Detmold
Plate from "The Arabian Nights", 'The Roc which fed its young on elephants.'

6 17


The magical were a gift to Drudwas ap Tryffin from his wife & would obey only him. Drudwas ordered them to kill the first man to arrive at a battle, his opponent was delayed, so Drudwas arrived first .... and was killed by them ....

5 20

Tengu are wrathful, tengu are wise: these Buddhist-infused yōkai are the bird-men of the mountains, sometimes appearing as long-nosed men, others as full raptors. They can curse families for generations or offer enlightenment-granting wisdom.

🖼: K. Kyosai

8 18