Strange Mythological Creatures That Wound Up Being Real

Mythical But Also Real

Human imagination is potent, being able to weave tales of terror from incomprehensible experiences. The beasts of folklore are usually too wild for this world. Sometimes though, the creatures of our dreams (or nightmares) wind up being real.

Present But Rarely Seen

Throughout civilization, there have been stories of monsters who roam the land, sea, and sky, dominating the rest of all creatures with their strength and might. The limited sightings of these beings shroud them in mystery but also divulge that they may not be all that otherworldly after all.

Creatures

Artuller, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Gorillai

Opening the list is a surprising contender amongst the ex-cryptids, the Gorillai. Prior to Darwin's theory of evolution that is now universally recognized for hypothesizing that humans evolved from apes, this creature was never before seen by anybody outside of the African subcontinent.

Darwin

Julia Margaret Cameron, Wikimedia Commons

Gorillai (Cont.)

Therefore, it’s not astonishing that when Greek adventurer Hanno The Navigator encountered Apes on the west coast of Africa in 500 BC, he described them as creatures resembling extremely hairy women, calling them Gorillai. The Gorilla can now be seen in zoos and wildlife sanctuaries all around the world.

Mountain Gorilla Eating

Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Kraken

This legendary sea monster has struck fear in the hearts of sailors and explorers for centuries, with a terrifying reputation even today. The earliest records of the being are from the 1700s in Francesco Negri’s travelog. Thirty years later, sea-faring Danish and Norwegian missionaries would talk of…

Francesco Negri

Anonymous, Wikimedia Commons