History NightmareFuel / MythologyAndFolklore

* The {{Skinwalker}}, or ''yee naaldlooshii'' of Navajo mythology, is basically a cross between a [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolf]] and a [[EvilSorcerer warlock]]. To become a skinwalker, one must cross the MoralEventHorizon by killing a member of your family. After you become one, you can change into any animal you desire, gain the ability to cast powerful and deadly curses on anyone, and [[ParanoiaFuel mimic the voices of your victims' loved ones]].

[[Caption-width-right:350:The Divine Insect, from the 12th Century]]

*** Similar to the Manananggal, Penanggalen from Malaysia. It's an undead monster who separates her head from her body an flies around with her entrails glowing like fireflies. As slight-NightmareRetardant, Website/GaiaOnline has her as a very {{Moe}} item...as {{Moe}} as a flying severed head can be...

* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goatman Goatman]], an AxCrazy being from the southern United States who brutally murders people and destroys parked cars with an [[AnAxeToGrind axe]].

** Although TheGreys are usually overdone to the point of {{Narm}} in pop culture, just the thought of ineffable, emotionless beings lodged right in the UncannyValley abducting people and probing their bodies - perhaps even impregnating them with alien-human hybrids - is just plain creepy.

* Many [[http://bogleech.com/realaliens.html aliens]] can be nightmarish, as well. Although many of the stranger aliens on this list are NightmareRetardant, the more infamous aliens on this list are truly creepy. From the rational viewpoint, as pointed out by the writer, the incident has enough concrete evidence and detail to not be immediately dismissed as a hoax...
** While the Hopkinsville Goblins are UglyCute, they're also [[NighInvulnerability Nigh-Invulnerable]] little bastards who allegedly attacked a Kentucky family's homestead, which makes them disturbingly creepy.

* Many [[http://bogleech.com/realaliens.html aliens]] can be nightmarish, as well. Although many of the stranger aliens on this list are NightmareRetardant, the more infamous aliens on this list are truly creepy.

* Myth/BrazilianFolklore is full of stories to scare children. Behave badly and the Cuca (an alligator-headed witch) comes to get you. Poach on the wrong forest/river and Caipora/Curupira/Iara or some other comes to kill you. Then there are stories such as the vengeful girl of a blonde girl who haunts schools's bathrooms, and a creepy clown who kills those who refuse to give it a smile. Oh, and two different tales of disembodied heads that roam around the night scaring people. Not to mention the Corpo Seco, the zombie of an evil man rejected by Heaven and Hell who haunts the living. And a giant-headed river beings that kills and eats girls named Maria to lift its own curse.

* Burrunjor. Descriptions of it say it is a large scaly predator that stands on two legs with two tiny arms. It is 25 feet in length, and eats large animals, like cattle. Casts of its footprints show it has three toes. Yeah, it's a motherfucking UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex. ''AND OF COURSE [[EverythingTryingToKillYou IT'S FROM]] [[LandDownUnder AUSTRALIA]]!''

** And last but not least, there are the Tamawo/Engkanto, the Philippines' own version of TheFairFolk. Common English translations range from 'faerie," to "elf," to "nymph." They live in trees and caves, and take offense to their homes being desecrated my humans. They'll take people away and replace them with banana leaves enchanted to look like the person's deceased corpse. If they fancy a human, they'll try to lure them into their homes and [[FoodChains trick them into eating their food]], thus condemning the person to live with them ''forever''. The one place they cannot stand, however, are church grounds. The reason? They are actually ''fallen angels'' who were cast out when Lucifer lost against God. These aren't your typical, Tinkerbell-esque fairies, people. Not ''at all''.

[[folder:Oceanian Folklore]]
* Burrunjor. Descriptions of it say it is a large scaly predator that stands on two legs with two tiny arms. It is 25 feet in length, and eats large animals, like cattle. Casts of its footprints show it has three toes. Yeah, it's a motherfucking UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex. ''AND OF COURSE [[EverythingTryingToKillYou IT'S FROM]] [[LandDownUnder AUSTRALIA]]!''
[[/folder]]

** The Manananggal, which flies by [[BodyHorror separating its upper body from its legs]] and [[AdultFear eats fetuses]] by sucking the life out of them with a proboscis.

*** Then we have [[TheReptilians the Reptoids]]. While the Greys are mostly neutral, the Reptoids are [[ReptilesAreAbhorrent hostile]] [[LizardFolk reptilian]] [[VoluntaryShapeshifting shapeshifters]] who have infiltrated the highest levels of society and control the world (if you believe the {{Cloudcuckoolander}} ConspiracyTheorist Creator/DavidIcke, that is). Even then, the less batshit-crazy tales of Reptoids still paint a portrait of [[ToServeMan possible man-eaters]].

* Burrunjor. Descriptions of it say it is a large scaly predator that stands on two legs with two tiny arms. It is 25 feet in length, and eats large animals, like cattle. Casts of its footprints show it has three toes. Yeah, it's a motherfucking TyrannosaurusRex. ''AND OF COURSE [[EverythingTryingToKillYou IT'S FROM]] [[LandDownUnder AUSTRALIA]]!''

*** The infamous Flatwoods Monster is another alien sighting that has actually been hostile to humans. Not to mention its resemblance to traditional depictions of the Grim Reaper. And this... ''[[HumanoidAbomination thing]]'' is able to shoot venomous gasses from huge tubes on its body!

Everybody loves a good story. Humans have been telling stories for millennia - and many of them are [[NightmareFuel horror stories]].

*** And the kicker? The only way to finally kill a wendigo is driving a silver blade into its icy heart, cutting out and smashing the heart, putting the pieces in a silver box and burying the box in a churchyard. ''Then'' you need to hack the body to pieces with a silver-plated axe, salt and burn the pieces and scatter the ashes to the wind. And if you miss out a ''single'' step ''[[ParanoiaFuel it will resurrect and hunt you down.]]''
** Speaking of cannibalism, several Californian native tribes have the legend of Rolling Head. She was originally a young woman who went out to cut maple bark for a puberty ritual, even though it was forbidden. While cutting it, she pricked herself with a splinter and her finger began to bleed. [[WoundThatWillNotHeal It kept bleeding all day]], and when she tasted the blood, she discovered that she liked it, and [[{{Autocannibalism}} ate her finger. Then her hand. Then the rest of her body, until all that was left was her head.]] [[HorrorHunger And then she starts eating other people... even her sister, when she can't find anyone else to devour.]] She's eventually [[HoistByHisOwnPetard eaten by a pike when she falls in a river]], but the idea that ''anyone'' can become a cannibalistic, nigh-invincible monster if they violate puberty taboos is chilling.

** The Tiyanak, the [[TearJerker reanimated corpse of a baby that died before being baptized]] and returned as [[EnfanteTerrible a vengeful, undead beast.]]

** Another vaguely equestrian fairy is the Irish Dullahan, a man riding a black horse and [[HeadlessHorseman carrying his own head around.]] That head has a literal [[GlasgowGrin ear-to-ear grin]] and is very firmly rotting, [[{{Squick}} often described as looking like moldy cheese.]] The dullahan has a basin of blood that he ''throws at people'' as an omen that they're going to die. And if he comes through town, [[ImplacableMan no doors or gates can stop him.]] The only thing that he hates [[GoldAndWhiteAreDivine is gold.]]

*** Then we have [[TheReptilians the Reptoids]]. While the Greys are mostly neutral, the Reptoids are [[ReptilesAreAbhorrent hostile]] [[LizardFolk reptilian]] [[VoluntaryShapeshifting shapeshifters]] who have infiltrated the highest levels of society and control the world (if you believe the CloudCuckooLander ConspiracyTheorist Creator/DavidIcke, that is). Even then, the less batshit-crazy tales of Reptoids still paint a portrait of [[ToServeMan possible man-eaters]].